With the announcement that Rosalind Kurita is withdrawing from the primary election for the U.S. Senate, there is no progressive Democratic opposition to Harold Ford Jr. in the Democratic primary August 6. I have decided to offer my name once again as a write-in candidate for those Democrats who wish to vote for a real progressive, liberal Democrat in the primary election. I want Democrats to win in November and take back control of the U.S. Congress, therefore I will support Harold Ford Jr., or whoever wins the Democratic primary, in the general election. But I and many other Democrats want a choice in this primary election, and an opportunity to offer an alternative vision for the future of the Democratic Party.

Some background:

On Sept. 30, 2004, Rep. Harold Ford Jr. reversed prior position statements and voted for the anti-gay "Federal Marriage Amendment" (H.J. Resolution 56), which would amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit states from allowing gay and lesbian couples to enjoy the legal rights of marriage.  Because Rep. Ford  has voted against gay and lesbian civil rights, because he has voted with opponents of gay and lesbian equality, and because he voted against the position of the Democratic Party and its Presidential Candidate John Kerry, I decided to oppose him as a write-in candidate in the Nov. 2, 2004 election.  ( I received 166 votes.)

While Rep. Ford has consistently opposed gay marriage, he has also taken the position of John Kerry and the Democratic Party that it is wrong and unnecessary to amend the U.S. Constitution to block the right of states to allow gays and lesbians to marry--until Sept. 30, 2004 when he caved in to a campaign of intolerance waged by anti-gay churches and clergy in Memphis.  I and many other gay and lesbian supporters of Harold Ford Jr. were very disappointed with his betrayal.

This is not the first time he has endorsed conservative positions.  He has supported President Bush's "Faith-based Initiatives" which violate the First Amendment's anti-establishment clause and the constitutional separation of church and state.  He supported the Iraq War and wasteful military spending.  I have decided that I can no longer support him or vote for him and believe that voters deserve a better choice, someone who stands up for his beliefs and principles, defends civil rights, equality and social justice for all, and supports the separation of church and state.

It is now clear that Harold Ford Jr. crossed party lines and voted for the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment in anticipation of running for the U.S. Senate 2006.  His campaign for the Senate has emphasized his vote for the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment and his opposition to gay marriage, as well as his votes to restrict the right of women to abortion, and he has indicated that he supports some version of the Republican plan to "privatize" Social Security, as he has supported much of the Bush Administration's conservative policies. 

Progressive Democrats must challenge Harold Ford Jr. and the "centrist" Democratic Party establishment that supported him over his main Democratic opponent, Rosalind Kurita, who has withdrawn from the race for lack of money and party support.  It is very disturbing to me that candidates who cannot compete against other candidates with large corporate and other political establishment donors are forced to drop out of the political process.  People with money and family name recognition should not be automatically entitled to political office.

I still believe that PROGRESSIVE Democrats deserve a real choice in this election and so I offer my name as a write-in candidate for the August 2 primary for Democrats who share my unwavering believe in the progressive Democratic principles of peace, social justice, equality and the separation of church and state.   I still believe in the Democratic Party and urge progressive Democrats to join me in the fight for the heart, soul and future of the Democratic Party and our country.

Jim Maynard for U.S. Senate
http://www.jimmaynardforcongress.com

I am moving Queer Notes to blogspot.com
http://queernotes.blogspot.com

Since I submitted my last Queer Notes column for the Triangle Journal News, I've been thinking about all the things I wanted to say but did not have the space for about what I have learned about the Memphis gay community and what is holding us back as a community.

I mentioned the problems of leadership and members in gay organizations, but the larger problem I believe is apathy and political/religious conservatism. I estimate that at least half of the gay communty is political apathetic and is not involved in any political organization fighting for their civil rights. Another 25 percent or so are political (REPUBLICAN) or religious (CATHOLIC, ETC.) conservatives who support organiznations that are working against our civil rights.

I've been trying to point out the serious problem of Uncle Tom (gay) Republicans who support the anti-gay Republcian Party and candidates like George Bush who are alligned with the anti-Christian Right. I don't believe we should tolerate this kind of treason.

There is no justification for the gay Republican support of George Bush and the GOP. Here are their stated reasons for supporting Bush and the GOP, and my refutation of them:

1. Conservative gays support the Republican party because they believe in limited government.
* Then how can they support George Bush? Bush inherited a budget SURPLUS from Clinton and has turned it into record DEBT and DEFICITS.
The Republican Party supports BIG government! They support INCREASING corprate welfare and MILITARY spending... which is BIG GOVERNMENT! And the Republican Party supports an Orwellian BIG GOVERNMENT that invades the privacy of homes, families and bedrooms!

2. Gay Republicans support the Republican Party because they support a strong military and the "war on terrorism".
*So do Democrats! The difference is that Bush and neo-Conservatives ignored the threat of terrorism and failed to protect us from it. (According Richard Clarke and other terrorism experts and the 9/11 Commision!) According to many military supporters, the Bush administration (Rumsfield, etc.) have weakened our military considerably. Bush's illegal invasion of Iraq, which had NOTHING to do with fighting terrorism, has fueled more anti-american sentiment and terrorism!

3. Democrats, like John Kerry, Do no Support Gay Marriage either, so the Democratic Party is no better than the Republican Party...
*In fact, there is more support for gay marriage in the Democratic Party and among liberal Democrats than among Conservative Republicans. The main reason Democrats do not publicly support gay marriage is the Republican Party's political strategy of using cultural issues like gay marriage, "family values" and abortion to attack Democrats and win elections in the South and conservative states. While the difference between Democrats and Republicans on gay marriage is not clear, the differences on other gay rights issues is very clear. The Republican Party's platform explicitly rejects gay and lesbian civil rights, including protections against workplace discrimination, and supports the exlusion of gays in the military. The Democratic Party Platform supports civil rights, including civil unions and domestic partnership benefits, and calls for the repeal of the "don't ask don't tell" military policy, which Clinton was forced to accept as part of a compromise with the Republicans and the military. Remember that Clinton was attacked by the REPUBLICAN PARTY for his effort to end discrimination against gays in the military.. And Bill Clinton was the FIRST President to include gay and lesbian civil rights in his campaign and his state of the union messages.

We must challenge the Uncle Tom Republicans and refute their lies and misinformation. They are supporting an anti-gay political party and president and are supporting the oppression of gays and lesbians for mainly economic reasons... They are after all mostly upper middle class White men who care more about protecting their social status than social justice and equality.

The Christo-fascist, anti-gay Christian Right, continues its attacks against gays and lesbians by targeting businesses that in any way support equality for gays and lesbians or treat gays and lesbians with dignity or respect. They cannot tolerate treating gay people as human beings.

The American Family Association, headed by the looney Don Wildmon, dropped a threatened boycott of Ford Motor Co. after claiming the company had given into its demands to stop advertising in gay magainzes and supporting gay organizations. At first it appeared that Ford had caved in to the AFA's bigotry, when the company pulled advertising of some of its automotive brands from gay magazines. However, after meeting with leaders from several gay organizations, Ford issued a statement affirming its policies of providing benefits for gay and lesbian employees and said it will continue to advertising some car models in gay magazines. Apparently the AFA was lying about its secret deal with Ford.

Focus on the Family announced that it is withdrawing its funds from Wells Fargo Bank because of that company's support of gay and lesbian organizations. Wells Fargo also refused to cave in to ant-gay bigotry and affirmed its support of gay and lesbian organizations.

Now the homophobic Christian Right are attacking the new gay-love cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain, claiming the film is propaganda for the homoseuxal agenda. (Wasn't the Passion of the Christ propaganda for the Christian Right?) Anyway, why are these so-called Christian so afraid of same-sex love? Why can American society tolerate violence between men, applaud men who kill other men in war, and men who beat each other in boxing and wrestling rings, but refuse to accept two men loving each other or, gasp, kissing!

While they claim that showing two men kissing or showing love and affection is "sick", "evil" and "gross," I think the real reason they fear it is that they know it is not "gross" at all, that they fear that it will tempt all the repressed homosexuals in their churches. I think Freud was right about the problems repressed homosexuality causes in society, and the more some men protest against men loving other men, the more I think they are repressing their own natural feelings. It is essential to compulsory heterosexuality and hegemonic masculinity to repress same-sex love between men.

Brokeback Mountain is getting lots of critical praise and is a leading contender for Oscar awards.. so it may be a historically important movie if enough theaters will show it and hopefully enough straight people will see it to appreciate a great love story.

Every year the right-wing Christo-fascists scream and yell that Christmas, and Christians, are under attack by the secular "liberal" media and liberal groups like the ACLU and People for the American Way. In reality, these liberal groups are protecting the Constitution and defending the "separation of church and state" from the Christo-fascists who believe the United States should be a theocracy in which the government and laws are based on their fundamentalists (irrational) religious beliefs.

"Christmas" is not under attack from liberals, it is under attack from corporate consumerism. People are free to celebrate Christmas or Hannaka or whatever religious holiday they wish, but the government cannot sanction or endorse any religious groups holiday. The government must be neutral and separate from Christianity or an other religion.

Secularists are under attack. If we speak up to defend our constitutional right to be free FROM religion we are viciously attacked by the right-wing media and their goons. This last week U of Kansas professor Paul Mirecki was forced out of his position as chair of the religious studies dept. for trying to teach a class on "Intelligent Design and other Myths." In emails to students he referred to the Christian fundamentalists who were forcing Creationism to be taught in the public schools as "fundies." For that he was attacked and forced out of his job...

I wish there was a real war on religious fundamentlism in the United States. I wish more "liberals" would defend the SECULAR Constitution of the United States from the Christo-fascists.. but it looks like it is only a few of us who are willing to speak up and risk getting attacked and loossing our jobs to stand for the truth..

Harold Ford Jr. is starting to pay a political price for his vote in favor of the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment in the House of Representatives. The Advocate reports that pro-gay San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom backed out of a fundraiser for Harold Ford Jr. after learning that Ford had voted for the FMA, urging him to cancel the event.

Ford thought, probably correctly, that voting for the FMA and opposing gay marriage will help him in his campaign for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee. Now he will face problems getting support and raising money outside of the conservative south in more liberal states. It may not be enough to stop his campaign, but hopefully he and other Democrats will learn that they cannot get away with opposing gay rights to win political offices in the Democratic Party.

Tennessee gay Democrats should be doing more to oppose Harold Ford Jr. and support his opponent, Rosalind Kurita, who seems to be more progressive, but I'm not sure how gay supportive she is. If I'm not mistaken, I believe she voted for the TN anti-gay marriage amendment.

Too bad we don't ahve a strong state or local chapter of the Stonewall Democrats to organize in this campaign.

The Repugnant Republicans showed their true colors again this week. With Bush and the Republican Congress loosing popular support, the Repugs in Congress voted to CUT billions of dollars from frood stamps, medicaid, student loans and other programs so that they can give another big tax cut to the top 1 percent of American taxpayers. This is the first time EVER in U.S. History that taxes were cut during wartime.

And the Republicans and Bush continue to insist that even though the intelligence on Iraq was bad, the Iraq is still justified and is still part of the "war on terror" which continues to expand and grow taking more and more of our constitutional rights away in the name of fighting terrorism...

They will not admit what the facts make very clear--Bush and Cheney misled (LIED) the United States into an unwinnable War...

And now more and more moderate Democrats & Republicans are speaking up against the war, including Rep. John Murtha (PA), a hawkish Democrat who supported the war and voted to give Bush the green light to invade Iraq. In an eloquent speech on the House floor, he made the exact same case agains the war that anti-war activists have been making all along! It's hard for the Republican war mongers to question the patriotism of a former Marine who is known for his strong support of the military, but that didn't stop them from trying to smear him like that did John Kerry (remember the Swift Boat Liars?)

Of course, the Republicans who attacked Murtha never served in the military, including Dick Cheney who got FIVE military deferments....

Bush keeps on lying...
In his Veteran's Day Speech he lashed out at the critics of his illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Bush claimed, once again, that Democrats in Congress had access to the same intelligence reports he did and they supported the war. Congress does NOT have access to the same intelligence reports as the President, and as many reports have proven (including the "Downing Street Memos"), the Bush adminstratioin was delilberately "cooking" the intelligence data to support the decision they already made to invade Iraq. Not only did the Bush administration use bad intelligence information, including FAKED reports on Iraq's alleged attempt to get uranium from Niger to build nuclear weapons, they also misued intelligence information to mislead Congress and the public into supporting their invasion of Iraq.

What willl it take to impeach this lying war criminal? Maybe if Karl Rove performs oral sex on Bush Congress will begin impeachment hearings and investigations into the criminal behavior of this administration!

After growing opposition from *conservative* groups, Harriett Miers withdrew her nomination for the Surpeme Court. Evidently she was not right-wing enough for the Neo-Fascists, even though she was conservative evangelical corporate attorney. The neo-fascists wanted another corporate attorney like John Roberts with more judicial experience, and they got U.S. Circuit Judge Samuel Alito. Alito has a very disturbing conservative record supporting corporate and business interests over workers and minorities. And he is a guaranteed no vote on abortion rights for women and will add the fifth vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, which will satisfy the Christo-fascist Republican Right. His record on gay rights is not as clear, but it can easily be assumed that he is not a friend of the gay community.

According to the Washington Post, the White House consulted with a number of anti-gay conservative religious groups, including Concerned Women for America, and assured them that Alito would oppose abortion and gay rights.

The Conservatives held out for and got a very ACTIVIST conservative nominee who will join with the rest of the neo-fascists on the Supreme Court (Thomas, Scalia and Thomas) to further restrict the rights of workers, minorities, women and gays, and weaken environmental and other regulations of corporations.

The good news is that Bush's poll numbers continue to fall; his approval ratings are now around 35% . The Democrats are starting to show some spine and envoked Section 21 of the Senate rules to force a closed session of Congress to deal with all the lies coming from the Bush administration after the indictments for Cheney & Bush advisor Scotter Libby, who conspired with Karl Rove, Cheney and other Bush admin. officials to distort intelligence information to support their illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Over 2,000 U.S. soldiers have now paid the price of Bush's lies and war crimes.
We need impeachment hearings!

Folks,
Leon Gay, “Progressive Talk” 680 AM’s local talk show host, has repeatedly attacked the legitimacy of “gay rights” and condemns homosexuality as a “lifestyle choice” etc. He has also supported school prayer and teaching creationism (i.e., “Intelligent Design”). Leon Gray is a fundamentalist Christian, which he has the right to be, but he is NOT “liberal” or “progressive”, he seems to share a lot of the same beliefs as the Christian Right, which he and many African-Americans seem to identify with. Part of me is angry about his constant use of anti-gay phrases like “lifestyle choice, etc” but I think we need to educate him and the many African-Americans who share the same anti-gay religious fundamentalist beliefs as anti-gay conservative Republicans.

I support Leon’s right to his beliefs, but I wish 680 AM would add a more progressive/liberal pro-gay, non-religious fundamentalist program/talk show to its lineup. It is frustrating to hear the same anti-gay bigotry wrapped in “christian compassion” on a radio station that claims to be “progressive.”

I ask Leon and 680 AM to help organize a forum so that gays and lesbians can discuss/educate the Memphis “progressive community” about gay and lesbian issues:
Being gay or lesbian is NOT simply an issue of “lifestyle” or “choice”!
Civil Rights are not just based on biological factors, people have a “right” to be religious fanatics or Republicans, those are also “choices”
There is NO “gay lifestyle”!! Just as there is no “black lifestyle”!
I ask, beg, plead with African-Americans to stop attacking the “civil rights” of gays and lesbians... Dr. King’s vision of civil rights was not just based on skin color, he supported an INCLUSIVE movmement for social justice and equality, and that movement included gays and lesbians (the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington was a black gay man, Bayard Rustin!!)
I call upon African-Americans to stop supporting homophobia and embrace black gays and lesbians who are a very important part of your community, and ours.... Lets build a bridge !

There is NO WAY, Bush’s nominee to replace Sandra Day O’Conner, Harriet Miers, is the "most qualified" person Bush could find to put on the Supreme Court! She is being rewarded for being Bush's personal attorney who helped him clean up his criminal record (drugs/alcohol arrests) and cleaned up his failure to fulfill his duty in the Texas National Guard.

Miers is payback for the the Christian Right and the anti-abortion/choice groups who mobilized to keep The Shrub in the White House. She is a conservative Christian evangelical who is very close to the anti-choice movement and organizations.

It was reported in the media that she supported “gay rights” in a questionnaire from a Dallas gay rights group, but if you read the whole questionnaire she is NOT very gay supportive at all. While she claimed to support the civil rights of gays and lesbians, she would not support a non-discrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation and she even refused to support the effort to overturn the Texas sodomy law (which has since been overturned by the Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas). According to the notes of one of the participants in a meeting with her, she said her “personal conviction is not consistent with the homosexual lifestyle,” and did not consider sexual orientation to be a burning issue...

While some elitist conservatives are not happy with Miers, the Christian Right should be happy to get one of their own on the Supreme Court. The White House (i.e., Karl Rove) has been making personal calls to leaders of the Christian Right, including Focus on the Family's James Dobson, to assure them that Miers will vote to overturn Roe V. Wade and support their agenda.

It looks like the Christian Right will get the vote they need to overturn Roe V. Wade and possibly Lawrence v. Texas....

Not since Richard Nixon has the Republican Party been this corrupt!
House majority leader Tom DeLay has been indicted and Senate Majority leader Bill Frist is under investigation for insider trading!

Tom DeLay found a way for the Texas Republican Party to get $190,000 in illegal corporate donations... he formed a PAC that raised the money, then sent it to the National Republican Party, and then got exactly $190,000 back rom the GOP to give to Texas Republican candidates. He stepped down as House Majority Leader, but was replaced with another right-wing crook, Missouri Republican House majority whip Roy Blut.

Hopefully the voters will have enough of these bozos and elect a Democratic House in 2006 so we can begin impeachment hearings on the most corrupt of all Republicans, George W. Bush.

Between 100,000 and 300,000, depending on who's estimate you choose, anti-way protestors marched and rally in Washington DC on Saturday, Sept. 24. It was the largest anti-gay March since the U.S. (illegal) invasion of Iraq.

The majority of Americans now oppose the way and want to bring the troops home, so the anti-war movement now represents the MAJORITY of the American people!

The pro-war rallies, that were expecting 20,000, only drew a hundred or fewer people!

It is time now to focus on impeaching George W. Bush for high crimes. It is a crime to invade another country which did not attack the United States. Bush misled (lied) to justify the invasion of Iraq and he and his administration misled the American people and the world to "fix" intelligence data to justify the war.

Where is the Democratic Party? The base of the party is energized to stop the war and impeach Bush, but where is the leadership in the Democratic Party? The Democratic Party must stand up and demand the impeachment of Bush and Cheney!

Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark has drafted Articles of Impeachment . You can vew them and Vote to impeach Bush at www.impeachbush.org

Go to www.impeachbush.org to support this effort.

If he had any conscience, George W. Bush would resign now! He failed to heed the intelligence warnings about terrorism prior to 9-11, and his administration failed to prepare and respond to hurricane Katrina, and thousands of people have died because of his ineptitude.

FEMA and other experts have been warning for years about the consequences of a category 4 or 5 hurricane hitting New Orleans, a city below sea level with a levee system in dire need of improvements to protect the city from a certain flood. Not only were these warnings ignored, the Bush administration actually CUT federal funding to repair the levees and water pumps, moving money into "homeland security" and Iraq. The national guard, which should have been there to protect the people in their home states, were also deployed to Iraq.

The tragedy in New Orleans also underscores the consequences of racial and economic inequality in American society. The mostly white middle and upper classes left before the Hurricane, leaving mostly black poor people behind, with no transportation or money to escape on their own. It is another example of institutionalized racism, as the black underclass is ignored by American politicians, government and the public.

Where are the Democrats? The Democratic Party must get a backbone and stand up for the poor, working class and other oppressed groups suffering under George W. Bush and the fascist Republican Party.

www.impeachbush.org

Bush's poll numbers continue to slide, according to a recent poll only 36 percent of Americans approve of the "job" he is doing... that's less than Richard Nixon!

The dwindling number of die-hard Bush supporters are closing their eyes and mind to realtiy and facts.

Thanks to Cindy Sheehan, more and more Americans, including many Veterans and military families, are speaking out against the war and against Bush. The Right-Wing is up to it's old tricks, accusing anyone who questions Bush or the war of being "traitors" and terrorist sympathizers.

Why do conservatives continue to attack peace activists and accuse them of being "ant-american" and "un-patriotic"? The anti-war Activists were RIGHT about Vietnam and we were right about the Iraq war as well. Both wars were based on lies and deception. Real patriots question their own government and hold it accountable for crimes and deception.

Christian/Republican businessman Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuela's popular, democartically elected President Hugo Chavez on his "religious" 700 Club program. Robertson accused Chavez of being a "dictator" even though Chavez won a democratic election and enjoys the support of 70 percent of his country (that's twice Bush's approval!)... even though the U.S. government has been trying to overthrow his government, and maybe even assassinate him like they did Chile's socialist president Alllende in the 70s.

Robertson is an example of American Christo-Fascism at work. He has supported right-wing dictators around the world (in Africa and in Central America). No only is it "un-chrsitian" to call for someone's assassination, he also advocated terrorism. Why isn't the Bush Administration locking Robertson up in Guantanomo?

What if a radical/left liberal had called for the assassination of George Bush?? How would Republicans and the conservative or mainstream press react?

Hurray for Cindy Sheehan! The ant-war mother of a soldier killed in Bush's illegal war in Iraq is camping out near Bush's vacation "ranch" in Crawford, Texas demanding that he meeti with her so she can ask him what 'noble cause" her son died for.

As expected, the right-wing conservative media and wacko talk radio bigmouths attacked her, as they have everyone who questions the Bush Adminstration and the war, as a commie/terrorist sympathizer. It is amazing how hypocritical the conservative pro-war Republican Right is. They claim to support the troops and the U.S. military, while they blindly support a president who is weakening the military by over extending our forces, cutting veteran benefits, and inciting violance and terrorism.

Too bad more "Democrats" haven't challenged this President's illegal actions.

Bush's jop approval ratings are finally falling! His approval is not in the low 40s (40-42 percent), the lowest of any two-term president. (Clinton's second term approval was at 61 percent!). Only the die-hard religious fanatics who blindly follow Bush seem to be supporting him.

More and more veterans and their families are speaking out against Bush and the War. When Republicans start lossing military support they are really going to be in trouble.

It is time for Democrats to press for the Impeachment of Bush!

The confusion over Bush Supreme Court nominee Judge John Roberts got a little more complex this week when the Los Angeles Times reported that Roberts did pro bono work to assist gay rights advocates fighting Colorado's Amendment 2 ten years ago.

Lawyers who were preparing to argue Romer v. Evans before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1995 got help from Roberts law firm HHogan & Hartson. Roberts helped pred lead counsel Jean Dubofsky on her argument before the Supreme Court.

It's difficult to know what Robert's views on gay issues are, but this indicates he is probably not an extreme right-wing homophobe as we feared. It does not make him a strong supporter of gay rights either. The Rover v. Evans decision found Amendment 2 to be a clear violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. The majority opinion overturning Amendment 2 was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, no friend of the gay community. It is also important to consider that Roberts defended the exclusion of gays from the Boy Scouts.

We do know for a fact that Roberts was chosen by Bush because of his conservative record and his "strict* interpretation of the Constitution, which pleases right-wing groups who want to overturn Roe v. Wade. If one takes a strict conservatve approach to the Constitution, then there is no "right to privacy" which was the legal basis for Roe V. Wade, as well as the Lawrence v. Texas deicison overturning sodomy laws. If Roberts does not accept this basic right of privacy and would vote to overturn Roe v Wade, he would probably also vote against a right to privacy in sexual activities. Lawerence also involved equal protection issues, since the Texas sodomy law did not apply to hetersoexuals. So he MIGHT rule in our favor in the basis of equal protection, but if state's "sodomy" law applied equally to gays and straights would he have overturned it? Roberts also defended the ant-abortion terrorists group, Operation Rescue.

Roberts is a big mystery, which is probably why Bush chose him. He does not have much judicial experience or writings to investigate. He could be a positive suprise like Sueter, or he could be what the political and religious right think he is... a "strict constructionist" who will oveturn Roe V. Wade.

So far, only one right-wing conservative group as withdrawn its support of Roberts. All of the other major conservative gropus, including Focus on the Family, still support him. They believe that he will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, and will not insist on a "wall of sepration" between church and state.

We do know that he is a conservative Corporate lawyer who has a history of supporting the interests of corporations over labor and the environment. He opposes government regulations of corporations, etc. So even if he is not a anti-gay homphobe, he is not a good choice for the Supreme Court because of his pro-corporate/anti-labor record which will threaten the civil rights of everyone.

Here is where the gay right and the gay left part ways. Progressive/liberal gays would not support a court nominee who fovored the corporate rich over workers and the environment, and who did not believe in women's right to privacy and reproductive rights. The gay right would.

The Islamic fascist state of Iran executed (hanged) two gay teens tuesday (July 25). The London activist group Outrage! is calling world attention to the barbaric acts and human rights organizations are condemning them.

Like many muslim countries in the middle east, Iran is ruled by fundamentalist Islamic law which calls for executing homosexuals. Saudi Arabia recently beheaded a couple of gay men and thousands of others have been killed.

These are examples of the cruelty and inhumanity of religious fundamentlism. Islam is not alone. Some Chrisitan and Jewish groups also believe that homosexuals should be killed, based on the Book of Leviticus in the bible which clearly states that "if a man lies with a man he should be put to death.."

Of course, most Jews and Christians no longer believe or advocate what the Bible says about homosexuality, but many do. All Bible-based religions share a hostile attitude toward homosexuality and gays and it is one reason I am no longer a Christian and reject bible-based religions.

The Bible is filled with irrational homophobic and sexist ideas and teachings and has no place in a rational humanistic world.

This is an example of the dangers of the theocracy advocated by the Christian Right. Remember, Jerry Falwell agreed with the 9/11 terrorists that the U.S. was attacked because of "godless secular humanists, feminists and homosexuals."

We must pressure governments and world human rights organizations to condemn Iran and other religious fundamentalist persecution of gays and lesbians.

Visit Doug Ireland's website for pictures and more information:
http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2005/07/iran_executes_2.html

Well I got a little behind the past week! There's so much going on in political news it is hard to keep up.
First, Karl Rove and probably someone else (Bolton?) in the Bush Administration committed TREASON by outing CIA agent Valerie Plume to undermine her husband Joe Wilson's criticisms of Bush's Lies to justify the Iraq War. The story gets complicated, especially with all the Rove/GOP lies about the crime and the coverup, but the best place to get the facts is www.mediamatters.org

Bush nominated John G. Roberts for the Supreme Court. The imporant thing to know is that he has already argued for overturning Roe v. Wade. It does not look as though Roberts believes in a constitutional right to privacy, the basis of Roe, so not only will Roe V. Wade probably be overturned, Lawrence v. Texas (overturning sodomy laws), is in danger as well. Roberts is getting praise from the right-wing nuts like Jerry Falwell and Operation Rescue. He is a very conservative corporate Lawyer, labor rights and the environment are also in danger. You can thank all your friends who voted for Bush!

Bush called Jerry Falwell for his advice on who to nominate, and Falwell said he had complete faith in Bush becuase of his record at appointing conservative judges... in fact, Bush has already appointed many conservative circuit court judges, which may have a greater impact on constitutional rights than the Supreme Court....

Canada and Spain have now joined Belgium and the Netherlands to legalize gay marriages, giving gays the same legal rights as straight couples. So much for the U.S. being the leader of the "free world."