Personal=Political=Polemical

Has Rick Warren Got a Prayer? Frank Rich Nails It.

2008-12-28T13:14:00.000-05:00

Here's the link to the full piece today in the NY Times, but the best quote is this:

"Fighting AIDS is not a get-out-of-homophobia-free card. "

This pretty much sums up my feeling that I would have been impressed 20 years ago had Warren been out there talking sensibly about AIDS. But now? In 2008? Working on AIDS is just sensible and mainstream and it does not deserve a Nobel Prize just for doing what should be expected of a renown faith leader in the US. C'mon people. Let's set our expectations where they belong.

What Does A Jew Share At Christmas?

2008-12-25T11:41:00.002-05:00

This fabulous video comes courtesy of Bil Browning of The Bilerico Project. We keep hearing that straight folks need to see lesbian and gay couples living our lives in order to understand the need for equal rights. So here's a wonderful example of the first Christmas these two gay men are spending together. Enjoy!

A Bucket of Tarnish: Rachel on Obama & Warren

2008-12-19T13:08:00.001-05:00

Rachel at her very best on the Rick Warren controversy with special guest, SF Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

New York Mayor Agrees: Caroline's Outstanding

2008-12-08T17:41:00.003-05:00

The man who built a vast financial empire and who has put NYC back on track, agrees that New York and the US Senate need Caroline Kennedy.

Bloomberg: Caroline Kennedy "Can Do Anything"

via The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Editors on 12/8/08

WASHINGTON — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave a boost to Caroline Kennedy as a possible Senate candidate, saying she is experienced and "can do anything."

"Caroline Kennedy is a very experienced woman, she's worked very hard for the city. I can just tell you she's made an enormous difference in New York City," said Bloomberg after meeting on Capitol Hill with other U.S. mayors to seek stimulus spending from Congress.

Her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said recently that she is interested in the Senate seat that would become open if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is confirmed as President-elect Barack Obama's next secretary of state.

If that happens, New York Gov. David Paterson would appoint someone to the seat for a two-year period, after which they would have to run for election, and then for a full term in 2012.

Kennedy has already spoken to Paterson about the Senate job.

While she is easily the most famous contender for Clinton's Senate seat, there are plenty of others. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is widely known in the state. Paterson could also pick Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown or Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.

There are also a number of House members in the running, including Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Kirsten Gillibrand, Steve Israel, Brian Higgins, Nydia Velazquez and Jerrold Nadler.

The governor has weeks to decide, and Bloomberg said he wasn't going to try to insert himself into the governor's selection process.

"Caroline is very competent. The governor has obviously a lot of good candidates to pick from and I won't be presumptuous enough to try to insert myself into what's obviously a very difficult situation for him," the mayor said.

"Caroline Kennedy can do anything," he added, calling her hardworking, honest and smart.

Kennedy has worked with the Bloomberg administration raising tens of millions of dollars a year in private money to help New York City's public schools.

On Sunday, New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer, said he liked all the candidates and would not take sides before the governor announces his decision. Clinton has yet to weigh in on who she would like to see get her seat.

Kennedy has strong connections to incoming Obama administration officials _ though Obama himself said he is not going to get involved in New York politics.

As a prominent booster of Obama's presidential bid, Kennedy spent much of 2008 taking bigger steps onto the public stage.

As famous as she is, she always has been viewed as almost painfully shy.

She met her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, while working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They married in 1986 and have three children.

She made a splash in early 2008 by writing an op-ed column for The New York Times declaring her support for Obama, saying he had the potential to be as inspirational to Americans as her father was in the 1960s. She also spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

She then hit the campaign trail with Obama, and worked on the vice-presidential search that eventually settled on Joe Biden.

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The US Senate Needs Caroline Kennedy

2008-12-08T14:53:00.003-05:00

New York State has an incredible opportunity to replace Hillary Clinton with an outstanding, highly intelligent and effective new senator - Caroline Kennedy. There's no one who could do more for both the state and the Senate.

Caroline Kennedy: "No Drama" Before "No Drama" Was Cool

via The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com by Al Giordano on 12/8/08

The reports that Caroline Kennedy is interested in New York Governor David Paterson's appointment to replace Senator Hillary Clinton in the US Senate have created a fascinating set of reactions that in some cases have resonated inversely with the dynamics of the Democratic presidential primaries of 2008.

Let's tug at the threads of some debates regarding the possible Kennedy appointment to demonstrate that there is an ongoing battle over the heart, soul and future of the Democratic party that did not end or disappear with Obama's November 4 victory, and that is part of what is at play with the coming appointment in New York.

On a purely political level, if it is true that Attorney Kennedy would like to serve in her uncle Bobby's old senate seat, we can probably consider her appointment - whether one loves it or hates it - a lead-pipe cinch. For Governor Paterson - thrust into the job of Governor after Elliot Spitzer crashed and burned from personal and legal scandal - his first political priority is to get himself elected to continue as Governor in 2010. By appointing Kennedy, New York Democrats would get a junior US Senator that would coast to reelection without diverting significant resources from the governor's contest. And Paterson would curry goodwill from many New Yorkers, downstate, upstate and suburban, that would be thrilled with the choice of the Irish-American daughter of President John F. Kennedy.

The truth is, no matter who Paterson picks - be it Andrew Cuomo or any number of members of Congress - there will be grumbling from the camps of those that didn't get it, with many legitimate arguments about why one deserved it or would have been better than the other. (This is why the tea leaves suggest that over in Illinois, Governor Rod Blagojevich may appoint a "caretaker" in 73-year-old Emil Jones to fill Obama's Senate seat, so as not to raise the ire of various powerful pols and factions with their eyes on it, allowing them to fight it out in the 2010 primary and him to duck the blowback from the also-rans.) Paterson won't have that problem if he chooses Kennedy. She is in a league of her own. And, at least in public, all the other clans and factions in Empire State politics will have to recognize it and live with it.

On a policy level, it would be an even more brilliant move from the perspective of liberalism and progressivism: Attorney Kennedy is underestimated by some only because she's lived by the "no drama" approach to politics long before Obama made it popular. Most people have little idea of her accomplishments because her style has been to seek results not credit for them. I know, because in the 1990s, as political reporter for the Boston Phoenix, I covered the Kennedy family and all its doings - including Ted Kennedys 1994 reelection battle against Mitt Romney - very closely. Caroline, at the helm of the Kennedy library, has served as the true executive director of the family and all its political and policy interests. She has also been the family's ambassador nationwide and around the world: the one that attended funerals and other matters of statesmanship on the family's behalf. That she generally avoided the spotlight in doing so, and always avoided personal scandal - a particularly difficult challenge for anybody named Kennedy - is testimony to her skill and finesse at the political game.

The Kennedy policy machine is nothing to shake a stick at: Senator Ted Kennedy has, during 46 years in the Senate, installed a generation of policy wonks as lead staffers on almost all the key committees in the upper house of the Capitol dome, and no small number in the lower one. When Teddy nods his head subtly in a given policy direction that network marches as an army and has steamrolled over Republican and business interests time and time again. When progressive legislation has been passed - when reactionary legislation has been killed - on civil rights and liberties, health care, jobs and wages, education, and on other issues, the fingerprints of current and former Kennedy staffers have been on each and every one, even as Teddy shined the spotlight on other legislators who took the public lead. Joe Biden and John Kerry are among the Senate veterans that have benefited from Kennedy's generosity when it comes to sharing or assigning credit.

Paterson and New York, thus, would not just be getting a Senator. They would get, with Caroline, the driver with the keys to the most finely tuned and influential progressive national political network in American politics, reaching (in many cases invisibly) into levers of power in all branches of government and in many states far from Massachusetts, including among the networks planted by the Southern Civil Rights movement and among Hispanic-American political leaders and organizations from Texas to California for whom "Tio Ted" has been mentor and unflinching ally. (The Kennedys have long been central to the push for multi-racial movements in US politics, one that just became realized with Obama's election as never before: that will also serve Attorney Kennedy and so many of her constituents well in New York.)

Here's what I find so interesting about some of the early reactions: Some Clinton loyalists and others are not happy at all with this development. The arguments they deploy, in the Daily Kos comment threads and elsewhere, to disparage the possible appointment are identical in many cases to those they defended against during the presidential primaries (and even more so in 2000 during Clinton's first campaign for Senate): They say: Why should a member of a political dynasty get the job? She's never held elected office (some of us, on the other hand, see that as a plus, just as we saw Obama's lack of "beltway boiling and seasoning" as positive). Attorney Kennedy, some say, hasn't enough "experience."

And you can also feel the bile rise up their throats as they cut to the real thing they're upset about: That such an appointment would supposedly constitute a political payback for her (and the Kennedy family's) support for Obama, or a matter of "patronage" or nepotism, or "aristocracy," or that she represents, to some, the same politics of "celebrity" that some (wishfully) want to believe explains Obama's primary victories. (And, yes, it is very funny to listen to complaints from some of the same mouths about Attorney Kennedy not being "charismatic" enough. They're really scraping the barrel to come up with a legitimate reason for what is evidently more of an emotional revulsion.)

The possible Kennedy appointment also opens up some wounds from some (including some former Edwards enthusiasts) that see all things Obama through the lens of "Dear Leader-ism," one writer's never-ending suggestion that Obama's base is somehow made up of dupes more into cult of personality than policy (an attempted insult that is so obviously born of sour grapes that its not worthy of response other than perhaps by quoting Alex Haley: "History is written by the winners.")

I'm not saying that these superficial contradictions make for anything hypocritical: to the contrary, the critics of a possible appointment of Attorney Kennedy to the US Senate are essentially correct in perceiving that something much bigger than symbolism would occur through it. The Kennedy and Clinton tendencies in the Democratic Party have embodied two distinct magnetic poles each trying to pull the party in different directions for the past 16 years, and before that between Kennedy and Carter tendencies.

This was very much at play with Senator and Attorney Kennedy's endorsement of Obama early in the primaries, and intentionally signaled as such. The Kennedy organization was not happy - many of us were not - with the change in direction that the Clinton administration brought to the party, toward a blatant acquiescence to corporate interests, away from the New Deal and the Great Society. And while both families have had their share of public personal scandal, for the Kennedys that hasn't bled much at all into the political or policy realms: we just have never seen Ted Kennedy, for example, go to Malaysia and collect $200,000 for a speech from a corporate power broker, lavishing his benefactor's company with praise, as occurred on Friday with Bill Clinton, now getting a few last international paydays in before his ethics agreement with the Obama administration kicks in to prevent future such embarrassments.

The problem isn't really - on either side of the debate - one of "dynasty" per se but, rather, of which one. There are dramatic policy and ideological differences between the Kennedy organization's vision of the Democratic Party and the Clinton organization's. In the end, one side or another's pleasure or distaste is more for what a particular dynasty has done, than merely that it happens to be one. So it's natural that people that prefer the Clinton over the Kennedy formula for doing politics would object to an appointment to a member the latter organization whereas those more ideologically in harmony with the Kennedys (and particularly Ted Kennedy, giving his final months or years his all for the same causes for which he has lived) tend to be excited by the suggestion of Caroline as Senator.

An appointment of Caroline Kennedy to the US Senate from New York is qualitatively different than it would be, say, for Robert Kennedy Jr. or another member of the family: She, more than any other of her generation, brings the reins and detailed knowledge of the family organization for which she has been (I'll use a phrase that's provocative but not to be scoffed at once you've given it a minute's thought) the "community organizer" among the Kennedys, the administrator and attachÃ© that has been most responsible, among them, for complying with the details once Ted Kennedy has exercised the broad stroke leadership.

Finally: Anybody who underestimates Attorney Caroline Kennedy, who wants to view her as somehow lightweight or just a celebrity name inside a business suit, does so at the risk to his and her sense of reality. Her skill sets are not merely adequate, but, rather exceptional and extraordinary. She was "no drama" before "no drama" was cool. And her appointment, if it comes, will be a gift that keeps on giving before and after Ted Kennedy moves on to the great battleground beyond.

Update: Here's another reason I'm fond of this idea. Attorney Kennedy, at 51, would be younger than 90 out of 100 US senators. That the upper house is stale and stodgy is an understatement.

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A Real Thanks - Giving

2008-11-25T11:09:00.002-05:00

Some really good news. Of course, it'll be appealed, but it's nice to start out this way than the reverse.

Florida Ban on Gay Adoption Ruled Unconstitutional

via Towleroad by Andy on 11/25/08

The Miami Herald reports that Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman has declared Florida's gay adoption ban unconstiutional:

"In a 53-page ruling, Judge Lederman said, 'It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person's ability to parent.' Two lawyers from the Florida Attorney General's Office said they would file an appeal Tuesday. 'We respect the court's decision,' said Assistant Attorney General Valerie Martin. 'Based upon the wishes of our client, the Department of Children & Families, we will file an appeal.' Gill, who is raising the half-brothers, ages 4 and 8, said he was ''elated'' by the ruling and 'I cried tears of joy for the first time in my life.'"

Important update on NY marriage fight

2008-11-18T14:23:00.002-05:00

Pressure Rises Against NY Sen. Ruben Diaz Over Marriage Equality

via Joe. My. God. by Joe on 11/18/08

The NY Daily News reports today that the Spanish-language newspaper El Diario/La Prensa has called out NY Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) for blocking progress on marriage equality. El Diario:

"Rev. Diaz and others are supposedly not for denying rights to gays and lesbians but believe that marriage should be between a man and woman. Yet, it's this very discriminatory position that serves to exclude lesbian and gay couples from obtaining the rights, benefits and standing that heterosexuals take for granted.

"This use of religious beliefs to block basic civil rights undermines the separation of church and state in this nation. The basis of that separation lies in the experience of early American colonists who had fled religious persecution elsewhere to pursue tolerance, acceptance and freedom in the "new" world. Latinos, as well as other groups, should have an honest conversation about homophobia. Discrimination, whether within or outside of our communities, on the basis of color, immigration status, gender or sexuality is just not acceptable."

The News also takes notes the anti-Diaz campaign on Facebook.

Diaz is also the target of another kind of (probably unwelcome) attention from a new (and rather exhaustively-titled) Facebook page called "Stop a Marriage Referendum in New York: Malcolm Smith for Majority Leader." Officers of the group include a number of well-known LGBT activists like Ethan Geto, Stonewall Democrats Matthew Carlin, Corey Johnson, and the page's creator, Jeff Campagna, a producer and activist, who wrote:
"I am furious that the obstacle standing between us and marriage equality is a Democratic state senator named Ruben Diaz Sr., from the Bronx, who with his two friends Senators Carl Kruger and Pedro Espada Jr., also Democrats, is threatening to stand with the Republicans to block Malcolm Smith from becoming Senate Majority Leader in January. Why would Ruben Diaz Sr. do this? Because he says he refuses to back a Senate Majority Leader like Malcolm Smith, who supports marriage equality and who will finally put the issue to a vote. But Ruben Diaz Sr. isn't just threatening to block Malcolm Smith from being majority leader. He's so obsessed with gay marriage that he's trying to figure out how to bring Proposition 8 to the ballot in New York. Maybe Senator Diaz thinks that we're all going to let this pass and walk on eggshells as he plays power games with his Senate colleagues. We have before. Remember when we cheered the passage of a sexual orientation non-discrimination act that was stripped of protections for gender expression because we didn't want to rock the boat?"

Both on Facebook and at an anti-Prop 8 rally outside City Hall last week, Campagna urged gay marriage supporters to contact Diaz Sr. and urge him to support Smith. At the rally, he called on everyone present to pull out their cell phones and program in the senator's office number, which he yelled out from the podium.

Gov. David Paterson has met with Diaz to discuss his recalcitrance on marriage equality.

Join the Impact: Oakland, CA

2008-11-16T19:31:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of a friend of a friend.

Joining Our Fight: Civil Rights Groups Support Prop 8 Lawsuit

2008-11-15T11:38:00.003-05:00

Rainbow of civil rights groups petition CA court to halt enactment of Prop 8

via Pam's House Blend - Front Page by Pam Spaulding on 11/15/08

The idea that minority groups are monolithic about this issue needs to die a quick death now. This coalition of groups is taking action.

Civil rights groups today a petition with the California Supreme Court to stop the enactment of Proposition 8 because it would mandate discrimination against a minority group and did not follow the process required for fundamental revisions to the California Constitution.
In the petition, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Equal Justice Society, California NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. argue that in order to protect the fundamental rights of all Californians, a higher standard is required to overturn the right to marry. Minority communities cannot be stripped of their fundamental rights by a simple majority vote.
"We would be making a grave mistake to view Proposition 8 as just affecting the LGBT community," said Eva Paterson, president of the Equal Justice Society. "If the Supreme Court allows Proposition 8 to take effect, it would represent a threat to the rights of people of color and all minorities."

More below the fold.

The California Constitution requires that any measure attempting to revise the underlying principles of the constitution must first be approved by a two-thirds vote of the legislature before being submitted to the voters. Proposition 8 was not approved through that constitutionally required process.
"Proposition 8 contradicts the most basic protection guaranteed by the California Constitution, which is the right to equal protection of the laws," said John Trasviña, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. "We can not allow the Constitution to sanction discrimination against one group of people."
"Direct democracy cannot override the California Constitution, which requires more than a majority vote to deprive a minority group of their fundamental rights," said John A. Payton, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
"We cannot become a society that picks and chooses who is entitled to equal rights," said Alice A. Huffman, president of the California State NAACP. "We should include all people from all walks of life in the entitlement to all freedoms now enjoyed by the majority of our population As a civil rights advocate, we will continue the fight of eliminating roadblocks to freedom."
"Consistent with core equal protection principles, minority communities must not be stripped of their fundamental rights by bare majority rule," said Karin Wang, Vice-President of Programs for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. "California went down this path before when the majority population chose to bar interracial marriages involving an unpopular minority: Asian immigrants. The state Constitution exists exactly for this reason - to protect the fundamental rights of minority communities."
"Let's not forget the landmark 1967 case of Loving v. Virginia, which allowed two people of different races to marry," said Paterson of the Equal Justice Society. "People then believed it was acceptable to keep Mildred Loving from marrying a white man because of their ideas of who should marry whom. We must not return to those times."
The court has precedent for invalidating an improper voter initiative. In 1990, the court overruled an initiative that would have added a provision to the California Constitution stating that the "Constitution shall not be construed by the courts to afford greater rights to criminal defendants than those afforded by the Constitution of the United States." That measure was invalid because it improperly attempted to strip California's courts of their role as independent interpreters of the state's constitution.
A copy of the writ petition filed today is available at http://equaljusticesociety.org/prop8 and http://www.apalc.org./
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (naacpldf.org) was founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall. Although LDF's primary purpose was to provide legal assistance to poor African Americans, its work over the years has brought greater justice to all Americans.
Founded in 1968, MALDEF (maldef.org), the nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization, promotes and protects the rights of Latinos through litigation, advocacy, community education and outreach, leadership development, and higher education scholarships.
The Asian Pacific American Legal Center (apalc.org) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for civil rights, providing legal services and education, and building coalitions to positively influence and impact Asian Pacific Americans and to create a more equitable and harmonious society. APALC is affiliated with the Asian American Justice Center, the Asian American Institute in Chicago, and the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco.
The Equal Justice Society (equaljusticesociety.org) is a national strategy group heightening conscious on race in the law and popular discourse. Using a three-pronged strategy of law and public policy advocacy, cross-disciplinary convenings and strategic public communications, EJS seeks to restore race equity issues to the national consciousness, build effective progressive alliances, and advance the discourse on the positive role of government.

This is why outreach is not a futile exercise; these groups are stepping up and doing something.

Obama To End Abstinence-Based AIDS Education And Family Planning

2008-11-10T18:31:00.002-05:00

Finally, this ineffective madness will be stopped.

via Joe. My. God. by Joe on 11/10/08

Some excellent early news on the Obama administration comes via Wonk Room:

Advisers to President-elect Barack Obama are indicating that "Obama will reverse U.S. family planning and AIDS prevention strategies that have long linked global funding to anti-abortion and abstinence education." The Obama reversal is a return to an approach that is based on solid evidence and public health rather than ideology, and a recognition of needs on the ground rather than the need to please domestic political constituencies.
On January 21 2001, President Bush reinstated the Mexico City Policy (the global gag rule), requiring NGOs receiving federal funding to refrain from using their own money to perform or promote abortion services in other countries. While the policy was "purportedly designed to reduce abortion by limiting a woman's access to abortion services, and to ensure that U.S. funding for family planning services overseas is completely separate from abortion activities," in actuality the rule has denied "many NGOs access to in-kind donations of the very contraceptives that can prevent recourse to abortions"

Countless lives will likely be saved by this move.

Join the Impact: Minneapolis

2008-11-15T23:02:00.002-05:00

1500 in
Minneapolis

Join the Impact: DC

2008-11-15T22:57:00.002-05:00

Join the Impact: Iowa City

2008-11-15T22:56:00.005-05:00

Iowa City

Join the Impact: Atlanta

2008-11-15T22:56:00.004-05:00

Atlanta

Join the Impact: Philadelphia

2008-11-15T22:55:00.002-05:00

Philadelphia

Join the Impact: Houston

2008-11-15T22:53:00.006-05:00

600 in
Houston

Join the Impact: Madison, Wisconsin

2008-11-15T22:52:00.006-05:00

Madison, Wisconsin

Join the Impact: Anchorage, Alaska

2008-11-15T22:53:00.005-05:00

I wonder if Sarah Palin can see gay people from her backyard?

Anchorage, Alaska

Join the Impact: Boston

2008-11-15T22:52:00.005-05:00

My home for over 25 years.
Boston

Join the Impact: Toronto

2008-11-15T22:51:00.005-05:00

100+ in
Toronto

Join the Impact: Nashville

2008-11-15T22:51:00.004-05:00

300 in
Nashville

Join the Impact: Greenville, South Carolina

2008-11-15T22:46:00.011-05:00

Today's posts consist of text and photos from many of the marches and rallies held across the country to protest the Prop 8 vote in California and to show support for marriage equality. Many of the photos come from Andrew Sullivan's blog, from Bilerico Project and elsewhere.

Greenville, South Carolina
With less than 24 hours notice that a rally was being held in Greenville, SC about 40 of us gathered in front of City Hall to let others know we support equal marriage for all persons. As this is the center of the Bible Belt, we were unsure of what reaction we would receive from passing motorists and pedestrians. What a pleasant surprise, the only fingers displayed to us were in the shape of a V. Horns honked, people shouted support and a few folks even joined us to lend their support. The crowd itself ranged from those in their 20's through to a couple in their late 50's. A huge surprise and confidence booster is the fact that 10-15 of those in attendance were heterosexual... they came to show their support.

Join the Impact: Salt Lake City

2008-11-15T22:50:00.007-05:00

Visibility in the place where the Mormons live:

Salt Lake City

Join the Impact: Detroit

2008-11-15T22:50:00.005-05:00

Hundreds Rally in Detroit

Waymon Hudson writing on Bilerico:

What do we want? EQUALITY! When do we want it? NOW!

That was the chant that rang out through downtown Detroit, Michigan today as over 300 hundred dedicated protesters rallied in the freezing rain and sleet as part of the National Day of Protest. That was also the chant coming from my husband and me, who are in town for family matters. It was hundreds of cold, wet Michiganders (and two very cold Floridians), marching in unity and solidarity with the hundreds of thousands across the country demanding equal rights and bringing visibility to our communities issues.

Join the Impact: Austin, TX

2008-11-15T22:49:00.007-05:00

Austin

Paige Schilt writing on Bilerico:

An estimated 3,000 Austinites turned out to protest anti-gay ballot measures across the country today. A grassroots coalition of social networkers, gay bars, activists, journalists, and churches helped spread the word about the rally at City Hall, which featured speakers from Atticus Circle, Soulforce, and Equality Texas, as well as individual Texans sharing personal stories about the impact of discrimination.

The highpoint of the rally lineup was 10-year-old Mason Marriott-Voss, who told the crowd about the day his moms, Sue and Tanya, were married in California. Mason spoke eloquently about how Prop 8 hurts ordinary kids and families, and he reminded us of the diversity of families in America, where only 23% of families fit the so-called "traditional" model.

"According to my math teacher," Mason quipped, "that's a minority."

Personal=Political=Polemical

Has Rick Warren Got a Prayer? Frank Rich Nails It.

What Does A Jew Share At Christmas?

A Bucket of Tarnish: Rachel on Obama & Warren

New York Mayor Agrees: Caroline's Outstanding

The man who built a vast financial empire and who has put NYC back on track, agrees that New York and the US Senate need Caroline Kennedy.Bloomberg: Caroline Kennedy "Can Do Anything"

Things you can do from here:

The US Senate Needs Caroline Kennedy

Things you can do from here:

A Real Thanks - Giving

Florida Ban on Gay Adoption Ruled Unconstitutional

Important update on NY marriage fight

Pressure Rises Against NY Sen. Ruben Diaz Over Marriage Equality

Join the Impact: Oakland, CA

Joining Our Fight: Civil Rights Groups Support Prop 8 Lawsuit

Obama To End Abstinence-Based AIDS Education And Family Planning

Join the Impact: Minneapolis

Join the Impact: DC

Join the Impact: Iowa City

Join the Impact: Atlanta

Join the Impact: Philadelphia

Join the Impact: Houston

Join the Impact: Madison, Wisconsin

Join the Impact: Anchorage, Alaska

Join the Impact: Boston

Join the Impact: Toronto

Join the Impact: Nashville

Join the Impact: Greenville, South Carolina

Join the Impact: Salt Lake City

Join the Impact: Detroit

Join the Impact: Austin, TX

The man who built a vast financial empire and who has put NYC back on track, agrees that New York and the US Senate need Caroline Kennedy.

Bloomberg: Caroline Kennedy "Can Do Anything"