The Republican members of the House of Representatives convened their star chamber this morning and ousted the most conservative member of their caucus. GOP House conference chair Liz Cheney is under fire for breaking one of their sacred tenets—not embracing duplicity and hypocrisy. The vote was held in secret because...
Marriage Equality
Big news today out of Pennsylvania: x YouTube Video Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman formally announced Monday what has been evident since his unsuccessful first campaign for U.S. Senate: He’s taking another shot at it. Fetterman, who launched his campaign with a video for supporters, is the first officially declared...
Five years ago (was it only five years ago?) the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Obergefell v Hodges that same-sex couples were entitled to the same marriage rights as opposite-sex couples. Jim Obergefell was the named plaintiff, and Richard Hodges the defendant in his capacity as director of the Ohio...
Good: In a meeting with black Wilmington leaders Monday, Joe Biden said he will create a police oversight board in the first 100 days of his presidency. The former vice president and presumed Democratic presidential nominee met with about a dozen community leaders at Bethel AME Church in Wilmington,...
I know I touched upon this in a diary last week but I’m happy that Eleanor Clift at The Daily Beast brought this up today: Texas Senator John Cornyn voted 20 times to do away with Obamacare, but says that the “good news” for the millions of people who lost...
Received this e-mail from U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D. NY): Friends, I'm proud to share Off the Sidelines' next round of endorsements: A group of game-changing women who are leaders in their communities, in their states, and in the halls of Congress. I hope you’ll take the time to get...
As the 2020 election season heats up, voters’ priorities are coming into sharper focus. As in years past, there is a great divergence in what each party ranks as its top issues. Earlier this year, the Pew Research Center found that Republicans identify terrorism, the economy, Social Security, immigration, and...
photo: Stonewall Inn • Credit: Diana Davies© New York Public Library • CC-BY-SA-3.0 In solidarity, Mike Hersh for Alan, Debra, Mike F, Janis, Dan, Shayna, Dr Bill, Kimberly, and Bryan—your PDA National Team Support PDA Because Elections Matter This month is Pride Month! This year marks the 50th anniversary of...
Received this e-mail from the former U.S. Ambassador Dan Baer’s (D. CO) U.S. Senate campaign: We should all be furious — I am. When I was a US Ambassador under President Obama I fought for human rights and the rule of law. Now, I refuse to stand by and watch...
With U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) giving a speech wholeheartedly supporting Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, it is expected that Kavanaugh will become an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, handing President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a fifth fascist vote on our...
I do not like using the word “unqualified” to describe an appointee to a U.S. Supreme Court seat or other federal judgeship, in large part due to the fact that I am not an attorney, and I don’t feel that the word “unqualified” would correctly describe Brett Kavanaugh, who is...
Received this e-mail today from the LGBT Victory Fund in support of Rep. Kyrsten Sinema’s (D. AZ) U.S. Senate campaign: It’s our displeasure to (re)introduce you to Rep. Martha McSally – Mitch McConnell’s handpicked candidate, anti-LGBTQ conservative darling and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema’s official opponent. Oh – and she’s also one of Mike Pence’s...
On Dec. 12, Alabamans will go to the polls in a special election to determine the replacement for Sen. Jeff Sessions, who is now Donald Trump’s hatchet man at the Justice Department. Despite Republican control of every statewide office, there is a remote chance the “Heart of Dixie” may send a Democrat...
This will be short but bitter. Despite claims that he doesn't support the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (RFRA) for Michigan, this afternoon, Gov. Snyder signed a package of three bills into law that are accurately described as “RFRA for Adoptions”. By signing the legislation into law, Gov. Snyder is joining...
Originally posted at Eclectablog.com. There is a great deal of speculation on how the Supreme Court will decide the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that will likely decide once and for all whether or not same-sex marriage bans at the state level are constitutional or not. Yesterday, they...
Originally posted at Eclectablog. When the owner of Memories Pizza in Indiana recently told reporters that she would refuse to bake pies for wedding receptions if the couple were gay or lesbian, the story went viral. Lawrence Billy Jones III set up a GoFundMe page to “relieve the financial loss...
Originally posted at Eclectablog. Michigan's Bigot-in-Chief, Attorney General Bill Schuette, has put forth some pretty remarkable excuses for his crusade to ensure that same-sex couples cannot marry or adopt children together. For example, he suggested that marriage in our state is for regulating sexual relationships to make babies, news that...
One year ago today, my wife Anne and I spent an extraordinary day at the County Clerk's offices in Washtenaw and Oakland counties in Michigan, watching as some of the 300+ same-sex couples were legally married for the first time in our state's history. You can revisit that day with...
Pro athletes have been making their views on a wide range of social and political issues known since . . . well, since there have been pro athletes. They are high-profile public figures and alot of kids look up to them. Maybe not for all the right reasons, but the...
I’d never seen Lilly Ledbetter, the woman for whom the Fair Pay Act was named; but on Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to watch her on TV, speaking at the Democratic Convention. My first thought was, “Oh, she’s just like me.” The first piece of legislation Pres. Obama signed...