Perry and Sanford are asking people not to gather in attention-grabbing crowds, but rather to "phone it in".
From what I saw awhile ago of Mark Sanford's stammering and pause-ridden conversation with Chris Matthews, this is gonna be a snore-fest at best. Sanford, tonight's GOP spokesperson and salesman, just couldn't sell the product at all!
But not surprisingly, FoxNews was promoting this lil sequel creation of theirs and Palin family pet reporter Greta Van Susteren, back from her last weekend gig as escort, continues to shill for Rupert in this nice little GOP commercial advertisement, er, interview:
During the May 13 edition of her Fox News' program, Greta Van Susteren hosted Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) to promote the forthcoming "Tea Party 2.0," a May 14 public tele-conference hosted by the Republican Governors Association (RGA).Van Susteren stated, "If you wanted to go to a tea party on April 15 but could not make it or there was none in your hometown, tomorrow's your big chance."
She later asked Sanford, "What do they do, do they log on a particular place? And will they be able to interact with you? I mean, how's this gonna work?" and later, "[W]hen is this tea party? When does it begin? Is there a Web address or a phone number?"
Fox News aggressively promoted and covered the April 15 tea party protests, in some cases calling them "FNC Tax Day Tea Parties," and Van Susteren reported from a tea party in Washington, D.C.
And I always thought used up teabags were for the trash bin- who knew they could be recycled, as much as a month afterwards?
But according to Sanford, they may be used time and me and time again- but they DO get "weaker":
Sanford: Let me give a disclaimer up front, which is it won't be as good as the first round of tea parties, but I suspect there will be a Tea Party 2.0, and 3.0, and 4.0, and 5.0, and go down the list because what I saw at the original tea party was a level of political energy that I've not seen in the last 15 years that I've been involved in the political process."
No new ideas, just reusing leftovers- oh, yummy!
Make mine a double shot espresso...
Breaking news from the Philadelphia Gay News:
Pennsylvania state employees in same-sex relationships will now be able to obtain the same medical benefits for their partners as heterosexual married employees.
The Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund, a non-governmental agency that oversees the state benefits programs, will offer medical, prescription drug, dental, vision and hearing-aid benefits to the same- and opposite-sex domestic partners of all PEBTF-eligible employees, which amounts to about 81,000 individuals.
The approximately 60,000 retired state employees eligible for the Retired Employees Health Program will also be able to extend their benefits to domestic partners.
The policy change additionally allows children of domestic partners to be included on benefits plans.
This is great news! I'm also reading that New Hampshire is set to pass a marriage equality bill making that 6 states (CT, IA, ME, MA, VT are the others).
We are in the midst of interesting times here in Pennsylvania. Allegheny County is set to pass the anti-discrimination ordinance making domestic partner benefits for County employees the next pressing issue on that level. The State Legislature is considering anti-discrimination language to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, as well as hate crimes protections.
Some nice news as we gear up for Pride month.
“It was a matter of costing things out and making sure it was affordable but, putting that aside, this is something we should have done a while ago, and we’re glad we’re doing it now,” said Dave Fillman, chair of the PEBTF board of trustees. “It’s just the right thing to do.”
Fillman noted that the domestic-partner policy will help the state recruit new workers interested in an employer that offers such benefits and assist Pennsylvania in retaining qualified employees.
“As with any benefit enhancement, we’re hoping that this will provide a benefit for someone who was co was considering state service that wasn’t provided before,” he said. “It’s pretty much a win-win for everyone.”
It is the right thing to do, both for the employee and their families as well as for the economic vitality of the Commonwealth. Keep in mind, though, that it is not a complete win-win. Employees must still pay income taxes on the benefits, unlike married employees. This is still a barrier for many a family and the reason that the "separate but equal" approach to marriage equality is not acceptable.
The criteria are worth a look, too.
To apply for the program, employees must submit three documents proving the relationship with their partner, which could include a domestic-partner certificate from a government agency, a property deed or lease or motor-vehicle title with both individuals’ names, drivers’ licenses with a common address, a joint bank account statement or documents proving that one individual has power-of-attorney rights or is the other’s life-insurance beneficiary.
This is more expansive that the City of Pittsburgh which requires shared utility bills and would not accept the drivers' licenses with a common address. The economic barrier is troubling to me so I am glad that the Commonwealth takes a more reasonable approach to this evidentiary requirement.
Please note that this only applies to state employees. Pennsylvania is not requiring every employer to provide domestic partner benefits, but this certainly strengthens the case for individual employers to elect to do so.
I was reading today in a private Google Group about how the US Census next year will count same-sex couples, but what it the US Census won't recognize are same-sex marriages, no will the or US Census count the children of same gender couples as being the children of a same gender couples' family units.
Which of course, got me thinking: When I fill out my US Census form next year, will the census ask me what my sex is, or will they ask me what my gender is?
I have male genitalia, but I'm not a man; I have female gender identity and breasts that are sizable enough without enhancement to need annual mammograms, but even though my California Driver License says "F, "my Medicare Card says "MALE," and my VA healthcare record indicates I'm "MALE."
In other words, I'm clear as to my gender, and I'm aware that when I go into sex segregated places, if nudity is involved I need to contemplate if my genitalia will be visible to other women as to whether I enter a space. I don't think twice about which restroom to use, but I do think twice about locker rooms.
But nudity isn't involved in filling out forms, and most forms don't allow me to identify as "transgender" or "other" when I fill these forms out -- and frankly, I'm not sure I'd actually want to select "transgender" or "other" if these were options because I see myself as female.
So, the US Census not only won't count marriages between same sex partners -- won't count the children of same sex couples as belonging to a family unit -- the census also won't gather any information about transgender or transsexual data because the form doesn't collect that kind of data.
Before being elected as President, candidate Barack Obama was quoted in Political Affairs Magazine:
So will I be technically breaking the law if I identify myself as female on my census form? Will the federal government see my community and me as needing to have our gender identity protected in how we answer the form, or will the federal government be intolerant of my peers are I marking a gender that doesn't stereotypically align with our genitalia?
I don't know. I haven't asked any of my trans or trans ally activist or attorney friends what the answer is to my questions, and I guess I'm thinking about this a little early for marking the form as is -- or perhaps a little late for changing the form to reflect a choice for my trans status.
However, since someone else mentioned another issue regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) US Census information today that I read, and since my genitalia won't likely be changed before next year's census, I ended up today thinking about which gender marker box I'm going to be checking next year.
And, of course this all matters more than we might think, as everything from amount of state representation one has in congress to federal funding of programs for 10 years after this census will be tied to the US Census results.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a President who stopped publicly ignoring LGBT issues? Wouldn't it be nice if DOMA was repealed this year so the data collected for the US Census next year will reflect the realities of LGBT families in the data collected? Wouldn't it be nice to collect any federal data on transgender people?
Yeah, the way the Obama Administration has become less clear about what it's going to do about Don't Ask, Don't Tell, let alone when the administration is going to do whatever it's going to do about Don't Ask, Don't Tell, thinking that the administration is going to do anything about DOMA, T issues not tied directly tied to LGB issues, and what data is collected about LGBT people in the 2010 US Census is likely pipe dream thinking on my part.
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Sen. Barack Obama co-sponsored the Matthew Shepard Act (federal anti-hate crimes law) and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. When asked if he supports transgender inclusion, Obama said, "Absolutely. The transgendered community has to be protected. I just don't have any tolerance for that sort of intolerance. And I think we need to legislate aggressively to protect them."
Further reading:
* Task Force: Stand Up And Be Counted
Related:
* Sully: A 'sickening ly familiar feeling' Obama's team wants LGBTs and our issues to go away
The resolution condemns a recent hate crime in Seaside (note: article includes images that may be distressing). Two young men, visiting the Oregon coast on vacation from Washington state, were assaulted simply because of their sexual orientation. Thanks to the leadership of Seaside police, the case was immediately classified as a hate crime.
Although Oregon law prohibits hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, it is imperative to stand toget it is imperative to stand together as a community and denounce hate crimes whenever and wherever they occur.
It also calls upon Congress and the President to pass the Matthew Shepard Act, which would ban anti-LGBT hate crimes nationwide. Although Oregon is fortunate to have a strong hate crimes law, many states aren't so lucky. The Matthew Shepard Act would make it clear that hate crimes against anyone, anywhere, at any time, are always unacceptable in the United States.
HJM 22 now heads to the House floor for a full vote by all 60 representatives. It will need lots of grassroots support to pass. Help us condemn hate crimes and pass the Matthew Shepard Act. Write your Representative TODAY!
Want more information? Read the full text of HJM 22 here.
Nearly every state that has wong marriage equality--or even in the midst of campaigning for it--those states have already begun to defend it.
Nearly every state that has won marriage equality this year has already produced and begun to air TV, radio and web ads to defend their victories. Here's a sampling of what's been produced:
Vermont Freedom to Marry: "We Are Your Neighbors" and "Editorials"
Equality Maine: "Marriage for All Maine Families"
One Iowa: "This Place"
Empire State Pride Agenda: "Barb and Don"
Which is your favorite? And which do you think will be most likely to change hearts and minds in the fight to secure marriage equality?
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