Video Update

No vlog this week, I’m afraid. Helen’s business trip to Japan got extended, and I thought that one solo vlog in a row from me was enough. (I’m also fighting some bronchial malady that causes me to have coughing fits at random intervals, which would be really unpleasant on camera.)

Instead, I’ll offer you this clip from No On Prop 8. It’s a great take-off of the “Mac vs. PC” ads.

If you want more serious fare, here’s the California Superintendent of Schools explaining why Prop 8 will not require schools to teach about same-sex marriage. (It might, however, result in a stream of little Janes and Johnnies bringing in photos of themselves at their moms’ or dads’ weddings. How’s the Right going to stop that? Hint: Enacting Prop 8 won’t do it. Couples will still have ceremonies or fly elsewhere to do it legally. Then their kids would come back not only with photos but also with cool souvenirs. I have to think that arriving in a California classroom with a Red Sox hat on would be highly disruptive. Tolerance only goes so far.)

Halloween Poll

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a poll, so as a change from politics:

[Update: I had a nice little poll up, but my polling plugin seems to have taken the day off. I've put in the question and answers below, though, so feel free to share your choice in the comments.]

As regards my child(ren)’s Halloween costumes:

• I bought or made them weeks ago
• I just bought or finished them in the last few days
• I have them on my to-do list for this week
• I will be browsing the Internet for “last-minute costume ideas” on 10/30
• Holes in a sheet work every time

Lipstick on a Guinea Pig

Sometimes the headlines write themselves.

Conservative writer and DC resident Margaret Hemenway is appalled that her child’s female first-grade teacher read Uncle Bobby’s Wedding to the class as a way to help the class understand that she (the teacher) was marrying another woman.

Not only that, but Hemenway then goes on to tie 60’s radical William Ayers, who the McCain campaign is trying to tie to Barack Obama, to the subversive agenda of “early childhood pro-homosexual indoctrination in schools.” She then states, “Sen. Obama should be asked whether he agrees with Bill Ayers on introducing these controversial issues in the capital’s elementary schools, starting in the first grade.” Read the rest of this post »

Palin vs. Maddow

Compare and contrast:

The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August. (Politico)

On one side of [Rachel Maddow's] still-bare office hang about a dozen suits in varying shades of black and gray, her on-air uniform.

“It is a rainbow of monochrome,” acknowledged Maddow, who dresses off-air like a gangly teenager in baggy jeans and sneakers. “I just want to meet a basic threshold of what you’re supposed to look like on television so it’s not a topic of concern or discussion.” (LA Times)

Clearly this means the American people would save money if Maddow was in the White House.

Saving Marriage Has Universal Appeal, Massachusetts Roots

(Originally published with slight variation in Bay Windows, October 16, 2008. Photo: Marilyn Humphries.)

Saving Marriage, a documentary about the fight for marriage equality in Massachusetts, will have its Boston theatrical premiere Oct. 17 at the Landmark Kendall Square. The film’s Boston-based editor, Paula Gauthier, couldn’t be happier. “It’s a gift back for the people who participated and gave us their time and shared their stories,” she says.

Saving Marriage opened at the Provincetown Film Festival in 2006, winning the audience award for best documentary. It had its first theatrical release last week in San Francisco.

Massachusetts native Gauthier is glad, however, to be bringing the film back to its roots. “It was shot here, the people who were involved in it are based here, and I think there will be a lot of excitement,” she says. Read the rest of this post »

10 Things You Can Do to Stop the Props

Florida’s Prop 2, California’s Prop 8, Arizona’s Prop 102: You know what they are. You’ve given money to fight them. (If you haven’t, stop right now and click one of the links above, donate, then continue reading.)

There are exactly two weeks to go now, folks. What else can you do, especially if you are a busy parent or don’t live in one of these states, to stop any or all of these measures from passing? How can you keep informed and help spread the word? Here are some ideas, in no particular order. Please feel free to add more in the comments.

1. Remind your friends and family to vote. More importantly, if they have transportation or childcare issues, help connect them with someone who can give them a ride or watch the kids while they vote.
2. Friend the No organizations on Facebook: 2, 8, 102 or My Space: 2, 8, 102.
3. Friend them on YouTube, and pass along their videos: 2, 8. No On 102 does not seem to have its own YouTube page, but lists supportive videos here.
4. Follow them on Twitter: 2, 8. (No On 102 doesn’t seem to be on Twitter.)
5. Post about the Props on your own blog and social networking pages, or comment on someone else’s.
6. E-mail everyone you know, and post to listservs you’re on.
7. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Even if you don’t live in Arizona, California, or Florida, you can explain why these are crucial matters for citizens everywhere.
8. E-mail or phone your members of Congress and local officials. Works best in the states with the props.
9. Buy bumper stickers, yard signs, and other items: 2, 8, 102. Alternatively, print your own: 2, 8, 102. (Every parent should have a pack of full-page blank sticker sheets anyway, for fun with the kids, IMHO.)
10. Talk with everyone you know. Don’t let a conversation go by without mentioning why defeating these props matters to you and your family. Even if you don’t live in Arizona, California, or Florida, you never know who might have other friends or relatives there.

2008 Cybil Nominees Include LGBT Books

The 2008 Cybil nominees are here! Never heard of them? They bill themselves as “the premier Web awards for children’s literature,” and since they’ve been around for three years now, they have some claim to the title. The books are nominated by the public, and a panel of literary bloggers chooses the finalists.

Several LGBT-themed books are among this year’s nominees. Finalists will be announce January 1, 2009, and the winners on February 14.

Among the nominees in the Fiction Picture Book category this year is Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Sarah Brannen, about which I’ve written many times before.

In the Young Adult Novels category is Down to the Bone, by Mayra Lazara Dole, about a Cuban-American teen struggling to come out. I haven’t read it myself yet, but it’s gotten good reviews from gay arts editors and librarians alike.

In Graphic Novels (Young Adult) is Skim, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki, the tale of a Goth girl at an all-girls school in Toronto, observing her classmates with a cynical eye yet searching for acceptance. She develops a crush on her female English teacher, which qualifies the book as having LGBT content, but the theme is really much broader.

I may have missed some other LGBT-inclusive books on the lists. If I have, and you spot them, please leave a comment. (There are also a bunch of non-LGBT books that I would have loved in my tomboy youth, like Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World and Amelia Earhart: The Legend of the Lost Aviator.)

If you have any interest in children’s/YA books, however, don’t click over to the site unless you have a lot of free time. It’s a real treasure trove to explore.

Bloggers Against Props 8, 2, and 102

As Election Day nears, bloggers are ramping up their efforts to raise money and awareness for the three state ballot measures that would make it unconstitutional for same-sex couples to marry. California’s measure, Proposition 8, is arguably the most important, since it would take away a right already held by citizens of the state, but we should not forget about the similar measures in Arizona and Florida.

I’ve tried to do my own small part by writing about the issues and linking to sites where people can donate and take action. I’ve put up free BlogAds in the sidebar over to the right.

Elsewhere, Polly of Lesbian Dad has set up her own fundraising page through the No on 8, Equality for All partnership and raised over $7,000 so far, which I believe makes it the lead individual page that is part of that effort. She has a goal of reaching $10,000, and I’m betting she can make it—with a little help from her friends.

In the spirit of fairness, however, here’s the full list of people who have set up fundraising pages through that partnership. If you see a friend, family member, or neighbor, you might want to contribute through them.

Finally, a group of eight lesbian bloggers has launched the 8 Against 8 campaign in partnership with Equality California. They hope to raise $8,000 in eight days. I’m sure they can do it; the group includes high-traffic blogs Dorothy Surrenders, Grace The Spot, Hahn At Home, The Lesbian Lifestyle, Lesbiatopia, Pam’s House Blend , Sugarbutch Chronicles, and This Girl Called Automatic Win.

However you choose to donate, and to whichever state, it’s all going to a good cause. I know times are tough right now, financially, but wouldn’t you rather give up one meal out rather than sit around depressed on November 5 knowing there was more you could have done?

Who’s Indoctrinating Whom?

The right-wing often claims that LGBT advocates are trying to “indoctrinate” children about “homosexuality.” One look at this, however, will tell you who’s really indoctrinating their children with lies:

This is exactly why we need to give money to these folks. Hear what Ellen DeGeneres has to say on the subject after the jump. Read the rest of this post »

Weekly Political Roundup

• The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from “ex-lesbian” mom Lisa Miller, who is trying to deny visitation to her former partner, Janet Jenkins. SCOTUS rejected the appeal based on a ruling from the Vermont Supreme Court, where the case was first heard. It must still decide whether to hear a petition in the case based on the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling that stated Vermont had jurisdiction.
• The Arkansas Family Council has accused the state Department of Human Services of having a “gay agenda,” after the agency repealed a rule banning lesbians, gay men, and unmarried people from fostering children.
• Ellen DeGeneres is giving the No On 8 coalition $100,000 to run the PSA that she recorded against California’s Prop 8. Sen. Joe Biden also appeared on her show, speaking against Prop 8. Read the rest of this post »