Category Archives: United States

Jun 18 4 comments
Politics, United States

A recommendation: Senate’s apology for slavery

The U.S. Senate will debated a resolution, Senate Concurrent Resolution 26, apologizing for slavery and “Jim Crow” today

The resolution reads that the Senate…

Acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws;

Apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws; and

Expresses its recommitment to the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and calls on all people of the United States to work toward eliminating racial prejudices, injustices and discrimination from our society.

A better ending would be something that, oh, I don’t know, extends upon the that “principle that all people are created equal” thing they just talked about.

My recommended language: “…calls on all people the United State to work toward eliminating from our society the prejudices, injustices and discrimination against all people where ever and however it appears.”

Oh well… I guess the queers will get an apology of some sort in 2150 (that is, if we are even treated as full citizens by then).

Jun 11 4 comments
Anti-LGBT, Politics, Sexuality, United States

National Right to Life holds convention in Charlotte

The National Right to Life Committee, the nation’s largest anti-choice organization, will hold its annual convention in Charlotte June 18-20 (Charlotte Observer story here).

The group’s annual convention, being held at the Blake Hotel in Uptown Charlotte, will feature dozens of speakers, including anti-choice and anti-gay activists and leaders.

Get the whole story »

Jun 09 15 comments
LGBT, United States

Five Alternatives to the March on Washington

It has become one of my biggest pet peeves (and, I do have many) since beginning work at a “real world” day job. When people offer complaint, they should also offer a suggestion for improvement or a solution. Criticism is fine by me, but it should be constructive.

1979_marchVeteran activist Cleve Jones has called for a march on Washington. He says it’ll be different from what most people think of as a “march on Washington.” None of the big flashy staging. None of the celebrity and fanfare. None of the circuit parties.

“This is a march - a demonstration - not Lollapalooza,” Jones told the Washington Blade. “It’s not a national political convention. We are trying to unite around a single, all uniting, all encompassing goal of equality.”

For the record: I think a march on Washington, in this day and time, is a bad idea. Jones is planning his march for October. Veteran gay activist David Mixner has called for one in November. Marriage advocate Robin Tyler says hold off to 2010. Whatever the date, whatever the time, there are several reasons why a march remains a bad idea: the money isn’t there, the time to plan and organize isn’t there and, even if the time and money suddenly appeared, national marches don’t accomplish squat.

In the days since Jone’s call for a march has become public discussion, we’ve seen plenty of similar reasons not to plan the event. An L.A.-based LGBT journalist put together a list of five reasons not to march. An Indiana-based blogger put together a similar but more comprehensive list of 10. In a thread of 80 comments (and likely more by the time you read this), citizens of the LGBT blogosphere weighed in on the topic at Pam’s House Blend.

And while there have been ideas for better uses of time and energy, what we haven’t seen as much are constructive alternatives to the march: ideas to turn whatever passion there is for a national march into real, change-inspiring, on-the-ground, long-lasting action. My five suggestions aren’t anywhere near exhaustive, complete or perfect, but, at the least, it is a start.

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Jun 08 1 comments
Anti-LGBT, Politics, United States

Obama: Defender of Discrimination?

Throughout the campaign and through his first few months in office, we’ve heard Obama and his assistants say that the president is still committed to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Except, Obama’s administration isn’t fighting to repeal the ban. Instead, they’re fighting to defend it. The Associated Press reports (emphasis added):

The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a challenge to the Pentagon policy forbidding gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, granting an Obama administration request to maintain the Clinton-era “don’t ask, don’t tell” directive.

The court said it will not hear an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the military’s policy.

[..snip..]

In court papers, the administration said the appeals court ruled correctly in this case when it found that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is “rationally related to the government’s legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion.”

[..snip..]

During last year’s campaign, President Barack Obama indicated he supported the eventual repeal of the policy, but he has made no specific move to do so since taking office in January. Meanwhile, the White House has said it won’t stop gays and lesbians from being dismissed from the military.

Jun 07 6 comments
Politics, United States

DeMint: Twisting history on economic progress

South Carolina’s Greenville News has a report on U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and his vision for the Republican Party.

Raju Chebium reports:

Since Democrats took control of Congress and the White House in January, the South Carolina Republican has sharpened his message of economic fundamentalism and is trying to get more Republicans to oppose what he calls the big-spending, big-government Democratic agenda.

But in the process he’s irked the moderate faction of the GOP, which accuses him of putting his ideology ahead of practicality and argues that the conservative wing has hijacked the party and tarnished its image.

“I see my role as reminding the American people of the principles that work, that made our country prosperous and successful — the principles of limited government, free markets and individual freedom,” DeMint told Gannett Washington Bureau in a recent interview.

Nothing about DeMint’s cute little soundbite is true. Time for a reality check, yes?

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May 27 1 comments
LGBT, Politics, United States

Charlotte’s first openly gay candidate?

owensutkowskiOwen Sutkowski will officially kick off his campaign for Charlotte City Council on May 28. He might just be Charlotte’s first openly gay man on a ballot for city election.

But a couple Q-Notes readers say a man named Robert Sheets ran as an openly gay man on the ballot in 1989. In the 1990s, an open lesbian ran as a write-in candidate.

FOX Charlotte reports that the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections doesn’t keep records as far back as 1989, so they weren’t able to confirm. My job today: a search through the newspaper’s archives. It is a painstaking task; something I’m not looking forward to. But duty calls.

What is truly amazing, though, is that Sutkowski is also the youngest candidate for city election ever. At only 26, he’s embarking on a run to defeat a Democratic incumbent and win a seat on council for the largest city in the Carolinas.

Get the whole story »

Apr 17 1 comments
Politics, United States

Definition of ‘right-wing extremism’ dangerously broad

Much has been made of a new report from the Department of Homeland Security concerning the rise of right-wing extremism.

I have no doubt that right-wing hate groups are on the rise. Recent reports from the Southern Poverty Law Center tracking the creation and spread of these groups give credence to DHS’ worry over right-wing extremism and its recruitment and growth.

But, the new DHS report contains this curiously and dangerously broad definition of right-wing extremism:

Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.

Under this new definition, groups and associations of people who are proud American patriots will no doubt come under scrutiny and observation.

I take particular issue with the latter portions of it; there are legitimate organizations and associations committed to restoring state and local authority where and when it exists as outlined by the U.S. Constitution, and legitimate, non-hate groups that are committed to addressing abortion or immigration.

The John Locke Foundation in North Carolina, while a group with whom I’d certainly have my disagreements, is also a group that is full of American patriots. Their association could easily fit into this overly broad DHS definition.

Maybe, one day, a third or fourth political party could even become suspect under this new “extremism” definition.

This definition and report from DHS is, perhaps, precisely the reason why there are groups of people who seek to limit the powers of the federal government and respect constitutionally-governed state and local powers.

The one thing I despised most about the Bush Administration was its continual disrespect and disregard for the U.S. Constitution and the principles contained within it. The Department of Homeland Security, under the Obama Administration, is now engaging in similar constitutional disrespect and disregard. The only difference between then and now is where the disrespect is happening, who is doing it and who is being targeted.

It is dangerous for government to issue these types of broad definitions. Just as some LGBT groups were targeted for surveillance under the Bush Administration, have no doubt that continued encroachment into our Constitutional rights and civil liberties will mean continued rises in abuses to American citizens and the continued destruction of the Constitution.

We would all do well to remember and to often reflect on the following: “I do not agree with a word you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.”

(h/t MeckDeck)

Apr 15 4 comments
Politics, United States

Conservative ‘Tax Day Tea Party’ is disingenuous

bostonteapartyAmericans across the country today will organize locally to produce “Tax Day Tea Parties” in cities large and small.

On organizing website after website, conservative grassroots activists cry and gnash their teeth over the stimilus bill and other Congressional actions to get us out of our economic mess. They throw out words like “socialism” and scarey historical figures like Karl Marx.

The tea parties and their organizers are disingenuous. I find it hard to believe they really care about this country. How can they throw up the Declaration of Independence and Constitution to defend their position? Where were these people when the Bush Administration slowly but surely eroded our civil liberties and freedoms?

If the tea party organizers truly cared about our nation and the ideals and principles upon which it was founded, they would have not only been speaking out today, but also years ago when our nation and its people were under attack by its own elected officials.

Apr 07 0 comments
LGBT, Media, United States

New Media: Moving small and regional LGBT news-media outlets forward

qnoteshomepageIt has been a year, this month, since my day job, Q-Notes newspaper, upgraded its website from a mis-matched collection of simple, static HTML pages to a fully automated content management system (CMS). In the year since, I’ve learned a lot about new media and how it complements and improves traditional news-media, including the gay news publishing business.

In Q-Notes‘ case, we chose to use Wordpress as a CMS. Really, the “software” is a blogging platform. Its uses, though, are almost limitless. Tweak your site design/template and the way in which you post your information and it makes a great CMS for a small newspaper or magazine; student newspapers across the country, I hear, are using Wordpress and other similar blogging platforms as CMS solutions.

The choice was easy for us. Wordpress is an open source project. It is free to use and the worldwide community it has spawned provides plenty of technical support and information. It’s amazing, really, that so many people around the world would seem to have a vested interest in something like a blogging platform.

Our online news publishing process before our CMS was cumbersome, slow and horribly out-of-date and behind the times. Prior to our use of a CMS we’d have to wait two weeks before the website was updated. In the most urgent of cases, we’d call up our out-of-office web designer and have him add a small notation regarding a breaking event or news on the front page. Wordpress immediately changed the way Q-Notes utilized online mechanisms to publish news. Updating breaking news stories or publishing recent headlines on a daily basis became a reality, improving our connection to readers and keeping our content fresh, exciting and new.

Get the whole story »

Apr 03 0 comments
Anti-LGBT, LGBT, United States

Creating change through film

LGBT filmmaker Debra Chasnoff speaks with The Windy City Times:

We asked who they most admire, and a lot are saying they admire the transgender student at the end of the film. I was in North Carolina at a screening and I sat behind three male, teenage students. The film started and they were giggling making fun of it a little. The film went on and one of them started doing it again and the other turned to the him and said, “Shut up, I want to hear this.” They were absolutely quiet for the rest of the film, and they were applauding wildly at the end. I think we are in a era in this country where there is potential for people to look at things and each other differently. I hope this film can bust wide open the very entrenched expectations that we have for males and females in this culture by helping teenagers rethink the assumptions about how they have to be just because they are male or female.