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Their running mate, Sarah Palin, has proven effective in electrifying crowds across the country. So much so, in fact, that she's been outshining McCain, the Republican presidential candidate. That alone's enough to be worrisome - voters vote for the president, not the vice-president, and McCain's lackluster public persona could become a handicap come November. But there's further indication that the McCain camp may want to pull in Palin. |
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As the decades wore on and the Communist government found its internal popularity sagging, officials had no choice but to make certain concessions and open their doors to less desirable elements. Not only would the move ensure political survival, says Cuba-born AIDS activist Leonard Chacon, but also had a decidedly diplomatic purpose: Now because the government has not so many followers, they have to get people from other areas of society, like gay, like Catholic, people from other religions. Because in the past, if you belong to the Communist Party, you cannot be a gay… Now it's different. They want to bring a better image to the other people, to the international community. And these international public relations efforts put Cuba in a sticky situation. |
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While reporters insists they were simply reporting on a group of Floridian preacher's looking to ban gay marriage, Madrak reads it as a homophobic "How To:" …The article is all about how to rally the 'Jesus' troops against gay marriage, oh and anyone else living in a domestic partnership, gay or straight. There is detailed information about how, specifically, a group of pastors (dubbed "The Pastor's Briefing") who met this week in the state are going to try their darnedest to get their congregations to vote on hate and make it legal to treat gay people as second class citizens. We read the article and definitely didn't get the impression the authors - Sherri Day and Alex Leary - were pushing any such agenda. The headline, however, definitely deserves some scrutiny. We've included text below. |
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» "Unconstitutional."
Meanwhile, in other Florida news: "A Monroe Circuit Court judge has ruled Florida's 31-year-old gay adoption ban "unconstitutional" in an order that allows an openly gay Key West foster parent to adopt a teenage boy he has raised since 2001." [Miami Herald] |
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Florida's governor said yesterday that while he'll vote for Proposition 2, which would amend the state's constitution and ban gay marriage, he won't actively campaign on the issue. Instead, he's looking to help out Republican presidential hopeful John McCain. "I'll support it, I'll vote for it, move on," the governor said of the Amendment 2 gay-marriage ban in an interview during a trip to tour flood-damaged areas in Central Florida. "It's not top-tier for me, put it that way." And, yes, Crist's still engaged, despite Chuck Todd's prediction that the Governor would break up with Carole Rome if McCain didn't pick him as his running mate. |
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» Gearing Up.
Opponents to Florida's Amendment 2, which would ban gay marriage, have raised over $2 million and plan on a "television blitz," as well as a grass roots move against socially conservative churches. [Sun-Sentinel] |
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» Extension.
As voters prepare to vote on a gay marriage ban in Florida this November, Sarasota officials took a great leap toward equality yesterday by voting unanimously to draft legislation expanding health benefits for domestic partners of city employees. [Herald Tribune] |
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And, financially speaking, things are looking good for the pro-gay parties: …The money has been streaming in. Lots of it. As of last week, Florida Red & Blue, which is against the amendment, had raised more than $2 million in cash. That's more than four times what the competition, Florida4Marriage, has earned. In a surprising turn of events, one of Florida Red & Blue's biggest contributors is Jon Kislack, a straight Republican who's fighting Amendment 2 for his daughter, who's a lesbian. Said Kislack, "It's just not right that our laws, public policy, and social climate in Florida are so unwelcoming." |
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The ACLU and the student, Heather Gillman, have since successfully sued Davis. The educator found himself demoted, Ponce de Leon High School faculty must now take sensitivity training and the school must pay Gillman's $325,000 legal bills. While one would think all this would teach the town a lesson, it has not… |
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Floridian politician Darryl Rouson may need to do some same-sex damage control. Recently uncovered video shows Rouson, a Democrat who's running for a seat on the state legislature, telling a talk show host that he considers queerness "morally wrong:" I think it is wrong to allow adoptions of children by gay and lesbian couples. It sends a wrong message early to a child during formative years that’s hard to overcome just by sitting down and talking to them. When confronted with the tapes, Rouson told a Florida blog Creative Loafing that he had "evolved" since the show's taping, which was two years ago. |
» Drinking In Privates.
"Claims that homophobia incited police to raid an erotic art gallery are being dismissed by some neighbors in the Grand Central District who opined that the owner was in clear violation of a city ordinance that bans places that serve alcohol from allowing the public display of genitals." [St. Petersburg Times] |
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» Busy Bullies.
"Vandals spray-painted anti-gay slurs on three [Wilton Manors, Florida] homes and a car early this morning, police say. The incidents, which occurred in 2800 block of Northwest Seventh Avenue, are being investigated as a hate crime, police spokesman David Jones said. He said this is the first time this kind of vandalism has happened in the area and it appears to be random. The words words "gay" and "fag" were painted on the adjacent houses and a car. Three other cars were streaked with spray paint." That's wack.[Sun-Sentinel] |
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An Exclusive Interview With Mark LaFontaine
While surely part of a larger political strategy, the patriotic adjective definitely fits the politico's past. And that past, in many ways, can be read as a distinctly American story: born in Chicago, handed over to a Catholic foster home, taken in by a loving couple with three other children, adopted by said family, summers spent as a Boy Scout, a stint in the Coast Guard before becoming an accountant. Yes, there's a certain mythology in all of that. Of course there's there's more to the story. Military dreams dashed by harassment, anti-gay witch hunting, discrimination, HIV/AIDS. These aren't your typical American tales, but, as some know all too well, these elements are equally ingrained in the American fabric. Well, not equally, but you know what we mean… Fiercely in love with his country, LaFontaine's currently running for a spot in Florida's state House, an area that includes Wilton Manors, Pompano Beach and North Lauderdale. Always intrigued by the homo-politicos, our editor recently chatted with LaFontaine about fighting for equally rights in the Boy Scouts, his less-than-ideal outing and why the hell he's running in the first place. Oh, and LaFontaine's communications director makes a few cameos. Why? Two words: Charlie Crist. Read all about it - after the jump… |
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The rollercoaster started on Saturday, when DNC leaders and lawyers converged in Florida, where they hashed out a deal on whether to seat that state and Michigan's delegates. Both states held their primaries early, thus breaking Democratic party rules. The Democratic National Committee, of course, was not pleased and threatened not to seat any delegates from those states. But, as could be predicted, they didn't want two irate states on the loose and agreed to seat delegates, but with some penalties:
Despite the compromise and satisfaction on Florida, Clinton's campaign remains defiant on Michigan. |
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