Chico — April 14, 2008, 6:28 am

What does she mean by San Francisco?

While watching Senator Clinton she referred to comments made by Senator Obama several times referring to the speech as a closed door San Francisco fundraiser.
We all know that when the right wing wants to attack they often use the code words San Francisco liberals. Which we in the LGBT community know is also code for referring to what the wingers call the radical gay agenda. I was appalled and offended watching Senator Clinton at the compassion forum last night on CNN. She kept referring to the comments by Senator Obama’s speech in her typical nuanced fashion. It was disturbing to see her use right wing talking points by referring to the San Francisco group he was speaking to. It is just as homophobic coming from her as it is from a wingnut, and actually more disturbing because she claims to be on our side and we expect this from the fundies.

She claims he is an elitist. That is funny coming from a person who earned over 100 million dollars over that last 7 years and has spent the last 7 years as a Senator and the 8 years before that in White House. Talk about elite.

In an earlier post I said that she would be my second choice but the more I hear from her the less I feel this is true. She will say anything and will tailor her message to suit her needs. Since she was speaking to a large group of religious leaders she used a nuanced version of the San Francisco liberals reference that is so popular among the right wing punditry. Although she did not expressly use the word liberal it was clear to me listening to her. Talk like that would be right at home on Fox Noise. Maybe she is auditioning to be on the O’Reilly show. Apparently nothing is off limits and she is willing to parrot the right wing if it will help her win at all costs approach.

No longer my second choice. She is not an option. She wants to win and will do what ever it takes. She will never have my vote. If she manages to steal the nomination from Obama she will not get my vote, I will either write in the name of Senator Obama or I will not vote at all.

Filed under: Current Events — Comments (0)

Rich — April 13, 2008, 12:05 pm

Obama or Clinton?

In the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary on April 22, 2008 we are supporting and urging others to support Barack Obama. The democrats had many fine candidates this year and the either of the final two would be a vast improvement over the current president.
We feel that Obama offers the most hope and has the strongest commitment to the change that we need in this country. Although neither of the remaining democrats is strong enough on the issues that face the LGBT community, Obama is the choice that resonates the strongest with us.

It took us awhile to decide that Obama would be our choice. Although Clinton talks a good game on our issues I am not sure she can be trusted to follow through. She has shown a disturbing tendency to put political expediency and a desire to win at all costs ahead of the greater good. She likes to take credit for the things that happened during President Clinton’s time as president. Well I remember that in the beginning he talked a good game on LGBT issues but President Clinton brought us Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and signed the Defense of Marriage Act. He was willing to abandon our issues in the name of political expediency and how can we be sure that Senator Clinton will not do the same?

I also find it interesting to look at the endorsements from the two leading Pennsylvania Democrats. Governor Rendell is for Clinton and Senator Casey for Obama. Rendell has put his considerable political machine behind Clinton which I find to be amusing since the areas of the state where he is least popular are the areas that Clinton will most likely do the best in while Obama is more likely to do better in the urban strong holds of Rendell.

As the primary season continues she has shown a win at all costs mentality as if she does not care that she is damaging Senator Obama and giving the opposition more tools to attack him. Both are less than perfect but we have seen the Clinton game before and we need a fresh face and outlook. Another thing that Obama seems to have is an ability to have a greater effect on down ticket races. Wouldn’t it be nice to give a Democratic President a stronger majority in the congress to help accomplish a progressive agenda?
Barack Obama would be an asset to our country. His is an inspiring story and I would like to have a candidate that I am actually voting for. I am tired of voting for a candidate because I am voting against the other candidate. We need a leader that can inspire us to want him more than we do not want the other guy. We know we do not want the other guy as he represents four more years of the current failed ideas.

In the end, on policy, Clinton and Obama are not that different. The difference is that Obama represents the future and Clinton is a return to the past. Although I would like to say that I will support whomever the Democratic candidate is if the nomination goes to Clinton in some shady looking backroom deal I would have to think long and hard about voting for her. I do think that she has every right to stay in the fight till the last vote is cast but I have to wonder if her name were not Clinton would the party leaders not have pushed her out of the race already? I am not saying that I would ever vote for McCain but I might not vote for Clinton.

The choice is clear to me. Vote for Barack Obama on April 22, 2008. Lets move towards the future and not look back to the past.

Filed under: Politics, Current Events — Comments (0)

Rich — January 20, 2008, 6:26 pm

Was it Comcast?

Some time ago I wrote about problems I was having with accessing my web site and my email, which is hosted on Netfirms and not affiliated with Comcast. They tried to convince me it was an internal problem. There was no way they were responsible for the issue. Then I read the following and I knew I was right, they were blocking my access.

Late last year, the Associated Press caught Comcast secretly blocking users ability to use peer-to-peer software to share information with one another. Comcast was using Web filtering technologies similar to those used in China to censor the Internet. AP called the violation “the most drastic example yet of data discrimination.”
Free Press and other Internet rights groups filed a petition with the FCC calling for urgent action to stop Comcast’s Internet blocking. Tens of thousands of activists sent letters to the agency in support of our petition. Public pressure is now forcing the FCC to act.
Comcast blocking of online content is the canary in the coal mine for corporate efforts to gate-keep the Internet. The FCC must send a stern message to stop other phone and cable companies that want to follow Comcast’s lead and control our Internet experience.
Comcast claims it doesn’t block access to any Web sites or online applications. It claims its just trying to “manage the network” to provide a “good Internet experience” for its customers. Sounds innocuous enough. But the devil, as always, is in the details.
Detail #1: Comcast’s technology doesn’t target individual users — it targets an entire technological protocol. Comcast isn’t just cracking down on “bandwidth hogs.” Regardless of an individual user’s actual bandwidth consumption, she may be blocked simply for choosing to upload through a targeted application (Bit Torrent, etc.). I would like to hear anyone argue this is a fair adoption of “network management” techniques. Such methods directly contradict the core principles of the open Internet.
Detail #2: Comcast’s technology falsely impersonates its customers. Even if Comcast has the right to manage its networks, does it have the right to impersonate its customers to achieve network control? Clearly Comcast engaged in such a deceitful practice to avoid customers noticing and complaining. Such behavior may very well fall within the type of unfair or deceptive trade practices regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. Lawsuits are likely to follow.
What’s Comcast Doing?
Such secretive and misleading practices — at least when they’re exposed — are likely to be bad for business. So why did Comcast interfere in such an unsavory manner? The first answer is simple: They thought they could get away with it. After all Comcast’s filtering technology is highly complex and not always noticeable to end-users.
And what can you do if you find out that Comcast has blocked you? Switch to AT&T or Verizon and suffer with slow DSL speeds and their own draconian terms of service.
But I think there is a second, more insidious but logical explanation: Comcast is paving the way to stifle competition in video delivery services. The world’s largest cable television company, Comcast has a natural incentive to keep customers watching movies and television shows through their system, not the Internet.

Thanks to our friends at http://www.savetheinternet.com We need groups like this to help us to keep an eye on the efforts of large corporations to block our access to information. Keep up the good work.

Filed under: Civil Rights, Comcast — Comments (0)

Chico — August 13, 2007, 9:38 am

Duane Martin Comes Out..

Ends Eleven-Year Marriage With Tisha Campbell

Duane Martin2.bmp Duane Martin and Tisha Campbell thought their love was a match made in heaven. By Hollywood ’s standards, it was. Married August 17, 1996, the couple transcended the norm for celebrity marriages, most lasting on average about three years. But not theirs. Their nuptials are coming to an end. The 37-year-old Martin announced to his wife a love affair with another male actor. This news devastated Tisha, 38. “It was the biggest shock of my life,” Campbell says. “I’ve heard women say they didn’t know their man was gay or bi and I wondered how they didn’t know. But I really didn’t have a clue.” Tisha expressed outrage but she was no saint either. She also had reviously acknowledged engaging in an alternative lifestyle during their marriage. The couple has a six year old son, Zen. and Tisha Campbell thought their love was a match made in heaven. By Hollywood ’s standards, it was. Married August 17, 1996, the couple transcended the norm for celebrity marriages, most lasting on average about three years. But not theirs. Their nuptials are coming to
an end.
The 37-year-old Martin announced to his wife a love affair with another male actor. This news devastated Tisha, 38. “It was the biggest shock of my life,” Campbell says. “I’ve heard women say they didn’t know their man was gay or bi and I wondered how they didn’t know. But I really didn’t have a clue.” Tisha expressed outrage but she was no saint
either. She also had previously acknowledged engaging in an alternative lifestyle during their marriage. The couple has a six year old son, Zen.

Posted Jul 17th 2007 2:01PM by TMZ Staff

Filed under: Welcome — Comments (0)

Chico — August 6, 2007, 9:43 am

Lee hopes to unseat Micozzie in the 163rd

By Solomon D. Leach, Of The Times Staff

Kevin Lee of Lansdowne hopes by declaring his candidacy early he can get his message out to voters. Eric Hartline photo

LANSDOWNE — With 17 months before the next election, Borough Council Member Kevin Lee announced his candidacy for the 163rd legislative district Friday in front of Ardmore Avenue Elementary School.

Kevin Lee Lee, a Democrat, hopes to unseat 15-term Republican state Rep. Nicholas Micozzie, of Upper Darby.

Joined by a small group of family, co-workers and officials from the county Democratic Party, Lee threw his hat into the race, pledging to push for reform in education funding and health care.

“One of the changes I would like to see is an elimination of the property tax for education and a change to a state source of funding for education,” said the Lansdowne resident to a round of applause.

Lee was appointed to borough council in 2004 and then elected to council in 2005. A Delaware County native, he graduated from Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Memphis, Tenn., and has worked as a registered nurse for more than 10 years.

Lee, 36, said by making the announcement now he has time to get his message out to constituents.

“There’s a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of people that need to be reached,” he said.

County Democratic Party Chairman Cliff Wilson and vice chair Tony Campisi were in attendance Friday to support Lee. Paul Scoles, treasurer and vice chair of the county party, said Lee’s timing is on the money.

“Good political wisdom is that the earlier you announce and start working on it, the better off you’re going to be,” Scoles said.

He said Lee’s experience in municipal government sets him apart from other Democratic candidates who have waged unsuccessful bids against Micozzie.

Micozzie did not return a call seeking comment Friday. In November, he defeated Democratic candidate Marie DeYoung in a year where several Republican favorites fell in the first election after the infamous pay-raise, which legislators later repealed.

Micozzie is chairman of the House Insurance Committee and a member of the Consumer Affairs Committee.

Lee described Micozzie as a “career politician” who has lost touch with “the people back home.” He said the momentum Democrats picked up last election is evidence that residents are ready for more change.

“I think people have to be shown there is a viable option to what’s currently there. I think people understand that things have changed,” he said.

Lee is a member of several organizations, including the Greater Lansdowne Civic Association, Lansdowne Equality Action Project and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

Despite only serving as a public official for three years, Lee said he has gained enough experience to make the transition to state government.

“I think I’ve gained the experience needed to go the state, not just in public service as a government elected official, but in my life as a registered nurse for more than a decade,” he said.

Filed under: Politics — Comments (0)

What does she mean by San Francisco?

Obama or Clinton?

Was it Comcast?

Duane Martin Comes Out..

Lee hopes to unseat Micozzie in the 163rd

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