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Rather than sitting down with the Washington Blade, McCain responded in writing to questions penned by publisher William Kapfer, which explains how McCain could so readily recall his words at the funeral of Mark Bingham, a gay man who helped thwart the Flight 95 attack on September 11th. |
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The DNC Chief of Staff last week addressed the National Black Justice Coalition and promised to gives gays more say in the party's politics. And you can be sure she used to opportunity to praise the party's chairman, the woefully forgetful Howard Dean: We made a commitment under Gov. Dean’s leadership that we wanted to do something different. We wanted to make sure, make a way so that people from various communities, and particularly the GLBT community, would have a seat at the table, would have a voice, would have a vote when we nominate our president of the United States. Daughtry went on to say that she and her peers are going to fight tooth and nail for diversity. Unfortunately Daughtry keeps her gay inclusion on her terms. |
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Tensions have been building for months, ever since the Blade began writing unflattering pieces regarding Donald Hitchcock's discrimination suit against the Democratic National Committee. Things only got worse last week when a testifying Howard Dean took some swipes at the paper and compared its reporting to that of Fox News. Ouch. Blade editor Kevin Naff says he didn't want to get personal, but Dean's left him no option: It is irresponsible of Dean to question the paper’s credibility without offering any specific claims of inaccurate reporting. I challenge him to produce examples of how the paper was “incorrect” in its reporting… Why are party officials, including Dean, so dismissive and critical of the gay press? It’s unfortunate that Dean and his staff have avoided responding to questions that are so important to such a loyal party constituency. Oh, please, what else are we homos going to do? Vote Republican? Some would rather die - and the Demmies know it. |
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Democratic National Committee Chief of Staff Leah Daughtry may not have been entirely honest with Washington DC. The New York-born Pentecostal minister turned politico allegedly exploited DC's property tax exemptions. That's not a scandal, of course. Countless citizens use the Homestead Deduction to cut their tax rates nearly in half. The district's law states, however, that to take advantage of the deduction, you must vote in DC. Some say Daughtry didn't get the memo, because she's been registered to vote in New York City since February 21, 1996. The original deduction law said nothing about voting in DC, but lawmakers changed the rule back in 2002. If this story sounds familiar, it should: Bush henchman Karl Rove played the same game back in 2005 until the Washington Post exposed his illegal exploitation. One would think that an insider such as Daughtry would have noted Rove's outing, but the DNC staffer must have been distracted - she's voted in New York four times since the new law went into effect. Daughtry's property is currently valued at $239,250. That price doesn't include the land, which boosts the total to $341,780. Daughtry isn't alone, either. As The Washington Blade reported, Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council chair Claire Lucas also stands accused of manipulating DC's laws to her financial advantage. Ms. Daughtry did not reply to our comment inquiries by press time. We'll definitely let you know if and when she offers a statement. In the meantime, you can pour over all the evidence, which we've included below. Update: The DNC just sent over this statement. They claim Daughtry had no knowledge of the deduction: Rev. Daughtry has made clear that her legal residence is in New York, that she did not believe she was entitled to the Homestead Deduction, and that her accountant is correcting the error. Once again, while the DNC has consistently refused to comment on this case out of respect for the legal process and to protect the interests of everyone involved, the plaintiffs continue to use dishonest and increasingly desperate smear tactics to try their case outside the courtroom. We wonder if she'll be paying DC the money she owes… |
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Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff and his staff better watch their backs. The National Stonewall Democrats are, like, totally pissed the weekly paper published emails between DNC's Brian Bond and an anonymous Stonewaller. Those emails, which we also published, accused DNC Chief of Staff Leah Daughtry, as well as other prominent black leaders, of homophobia and a racialized bunker mentality. Read the Wallers' wails, after the jump. |
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Also, Gay Activist Calls For Julie Tagen's Head
Today we hear that gay activist and former National Stonewall Democrats executive committee member Lee Bolin wants to see deputy finance director Julie Tagen fired. Tagen, of course, derided the Blade and other gay publications thus, "I tend to use the Blade and other gay papers in the bottom of the birdcage." Tagen's candid response led Bolin to write to some pink peers, "If a DNC staffer disparaged black, Latino, or Jewish media the way Deputy Finance Director Julie Tagen did LGBT media, that person would already be out of a job." We're not convinced that Tagen deserves to be fired, for she didn't really insult gay people, just gay press. We do that all the time! We called the DNC for a statement regarding Bolin's burning desire. Though staffers can't comment, DNC Chief Counsel Joe Sandler sent over this statement: The DNC has consistently refrained from commenting about ongoing litigation out of respect for the legal process and to protect the interests of everyone involved. It is therefore unfortunate that Donald Hitchcock has chosen to abuse the discovery process by selectively leaking documents. We can't say where we got the documents, but we can say we don't find anything "unfortunate" about it… |
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"I’ll take the high road — someone has to..."
Naff, however, insists he's above such shenanigans: I’ll take the high road — someone has to — and ignore the personal attacks. It’s astounding, though, that the DNC’s communications director has time in her day to plot revenge against the Blade. And there you have it… |
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What Will Become of Ed Koch?
NY Times reports that the company's sole "straight" publication, New York Press, will be sold to Manhattan Media. Peter Palomino, president of Denver-based Avalon Equity Partners, which owns Window Media, tells The Times: Manhattan Media is based here in the city, and they have a long history with community weeklies. It just seems like a natural fit for them to acquire The New York Press. No word on whether there will be any staff changes, so "proud" gay columnist Ed Koch job seems to be safe. For now. |
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Speaking to NYDN, Waters defended Travolta's appearance in the musical movie based on his non-musical movie: If [Travolta] was homophobic dancing in that fat suit with as many gay people as are working on this film, he would have had a heart attack and been dead. No, Mr. Waters, we shouldn't boycott Kidman because she's a Catholic! That's ridiculous! We should boycott her because she's a bad actress. And funny looking. |
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