In the aftermath of the death of singer Whitney Houston on the eve of the Grammy Awards, her talents have been fittingly celebrated. Her early death, like that of too many other stars, presents a cautionary tale of the pressures of fame. What has annoyed me in the past few days, though, has been the endless series of short clips showing her singing just a few bars of this or that.
Here, then, is the complete video of her glorious rendition of the American National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 1991, in honor of those who served in the first Gulf War. Speaking of the troops, taking care of each other is one of the hallmarks of military training and bonding. The lesson to take from Houston's untimely death is not only to take care of yourself, but to look out for each other. Addiction is not something one can overcome alone.
In watching her performance again, the long-held final note is the most glorious thing of all. She had good teachers, including her mother. This was a young woman who knew the mechanics of singing and put it all together to make the absolute most of her gifts.
20-year-old Brandon White, victim of a brutal anti-gay attack, bravely comes forward and speaks out against hate violence. Metro Weekly reports. As Keith Boykin notes in the video below, this makes a fine contrast with Roland Martin's homophobic Super Bowl tweet joking about violence.
The National Black Justice Coalition writes about the recent spate of attacks here.
In my column this week I call out the right's relentless campaign of disrespect toward America's first African American president:
"Get your goddamn finger out of the President's face."That was my first thought upon seeing the photo of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer with President Obama at the Phoenix airport on Jan. 25. My second thought was that she was treating him like an errant servant: "Don't you sass me, boy!"
Despite the President's cool response as shown in the photo, Brewer later said that she "felt a little bit threatened" by Obama. Really? What did she think he would do? Joy-Ann Reid at The Grio wrote, "Not surprisingly, for African-Americans, [Brewer's faux pas is] an unpleasant reminder of a stereotype that has dogged particularly black men for ages: that no matter how accomplished, or calm…they are, black men are 'intimidating.'" ...
The incident on the tarmac is but the latest in a series of public displays of disrespect for our nation's first African-American president. As Lauren Victoria Burke of Politic 365 catalogs in "The 10 Worst Moments of Disrespect Towards President Obama," previous examples include Birtherism, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) crying "You lie!" during Obama's address to Congress in September 2009, Tea Party signs, and Newt Gingrich in 2010 accusing Obama of having a "Kenyan, anti-colonial" worldview. On Jan. 13, Atlanta Jewish Times publisher Andrew Adler even suggested that Israeli Mossad agents resolve differences over Iran by assassinating Obama.
(via Washington Blade)
BTW... Madonna's new single comes out this Friday, February 3rd... and make sure to watch her at this Sunday's Superbowl.
Lady ga... who?
Newark Mayor Cory Booker responds to NJ Gov. Chris Christie's proposal to put marriage equality on the ballot. Thank you, Mayor Booker.
Could Newt Gingrich have gotten his plan for a new space race from this old bit by Dave Chappelle?)
(Hat tip: Daily Kos)
This year's election is an excellent opportunity for all of us to say to the likes of Jan Brewer, in the unmistakable language of an electoral landslide, "Lady, get your goddamn finger out of my brother's face." Yes, he has the Secret Service, but in this matter millions of us need to have his back.
Arizona's disgraceful anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, which Brewer so enthusiastically pushed, and which the President challenged in court, has harmed the state's economy, and rightfully so. The bigotry and injured sense of entitlement of Brewer and her nativist and racist allies, embodied in their cry, "We want our country back," targets blacks, Latinos, Muslims, and gays — not to mention women. So let's keep our eyes on the prize and not take this election for granted just because of the GOP's current circular firing squad. Then at noon next Jan. 20, Obama can hand Chief Justice Roberts a printed copy of the presidential oath of office to help him out.
The State of Maryland has issued this video with the following description:
Governor O'Malley joined by advocates from a broad coalition of supporters discusses the Civil Marriage Protection Act of 2012. Marylanders of all walks of life want their children to live in a loving, stable, committed home -- protected under the law. The marriage equality bill balances equal protection of the law for every individual with free exercise of religion without government interference.
Metro Weekly reports here. the Blade reports here.
Chauncey DeVega has a smart take on Rep. Ron Paul and race. Here's a small sampling:
Ron Paul's desire to frame the Civil War as a tragedy for the South at the hands of a villainous North, a federal force that only wanted to take away the liberties of white people, is an ideal-typical example of libertarianism's failings on matters of race and justice. Ron Paul does not seem to identify slavery--the owning of black people by white people in perpetuity--as a de facto state of war and tyranny. If libertarians were to find a historic freedom struggle to claim as their own, one would think that abolition, accomplished by any means necessary, would be at the top of their list.
Alex Nicholson writes:
A great set of video cuts from our day today. This is not stock footage... Jonathan [Smith] actually shot this footage while I dragged him around trying not to draw too much attention to the [only] two blue-eyed white guys around.
Speaker Boehner for once has a good reason to cry. Get better quick, Gabby.
Here is the description accompanying this YouTube video from New Jersey Democrats:
In this video, New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, and Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, the prime sponsors of S-1, legislation to guarantee marriage equality for all couples, respond to Governor Chris Christie's suggestion that marriage equality should be decided at the ballot box, not by the Legislature.
Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality comments, "Wow. The Obama Administration speaking up for us again."
President Obama, on his way to the podium of the House Chamber to deliver the 2012 State of the Union address, hugs Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Giffords steps down this week to continue her recovery from the brain injury she suffered when a crazed gunman shot her on January 8, 2011.
(Photo courtesy Progress Florida via Beth Corbin)
I guess NJ Gov. Chris Christie just couldn't nominate an openly gay man to the state supreme court without balancing it out with something anti-gay. Now he's calling for a referendum on whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, and says he'll veto a marriage equality bill if it reaches his desk.
Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution guarantees a republican (representative) form of government. It says nothing about the right to hold a plebiscite whenever people don't like what their elected legislators do. Marriage is a fundamental human right. Rights are not proper subjects for referenda. Shame on you, Governor.
As Chef on South Park would say, check out these wonderful crackers.
(Hat tip: Joe Jervis)
NYT reports:
Gov. Chris Christie moved to diversify the state's all-white Supreme Court on Monday with two firsts: the nominations of an openly gay black man and a Korean-born prosecutor to fill two vacancies.If confirmed, Bruce A. Harris would become New Jersey's first openly gay justice, and Phillip H. Kwon would become its first Asian representative and the first justice born outside the United States.
Christie, a Republican, said he had "extreme confidence" in the records and intellects of his nominees, neither of whom has been a judge.
In related news, Maryland Delegate Heather Mizeur, with her wife in the gallery, tells opponents of the bill, "You can't stop us."
Over in the other Washington, anti-gay pastor Ken Hutcherson rants rather incoherently against marriage equality. Basically, he expects the civil government to act as an extension of his church. Other than introducing him to the First Amendment, I want to tell him: Dear Ken, please get over it. There's a spot waiting for you over at Silver Daddies.
Agence France-Presse reports:
British author Salman Rushdie on Sunday accused Indian police of making up an underworld plot to assassinate him that forced him to pull out of a literary festival this weekend.Rushdie withdrew from the event in Jaipur, the state capital of Rajasthan, after being warned by Indian officials that paid gunmen were heading to the city to kill him for his writing that is alleged to insult Muslims.
But Rushdie said that he now believed the supposed plot — apparently undertaken by Mumbai criminal gangs — had been invented to keep him away from the festival and to avoid controversy.
“I’ve investigated, & believe that I was indeed lied to. I am outraged and very angry,” Rushdie said on Twitter after newspaper reports that Rajasthan police had concocted the death threat.
Rushdie’s 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses”, which remains banned in India, is seen by many Muslims worldwide as a blasphemous work that insults their religion....
Writers Hari Kunzru and Amitava Kumar read out passages of “The Satanic Verses” from the stage in protest on Friday, angering some local Muslim groups who had welcomed Rushdie’s withdrawal from the programme.
The festival in Jaipur is a high-profile event, with the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Richard Dawkins in attendance. Bravo to those who protested the threats against Rushdie, and to the authors who read from his work there.
As disturbing as those who respond to disagreeable literature by threatening to kill the author are those who sympathize with them or say things like, "You don't have the right to offend other people's religion." Yes we damn well do. And I am not just talking about the United States, whose First Amendment protects freedom of speech and of the press in addition to the free exercise of religion. One of Europe's most renowned writers is Günter Grass, whose most famous novel, The Tin Drum has some astonishing blasphemous passages (which I, who was raised a Catholic, loved). In that case, the blasphemy related to Christianity. In 1989, during the furor over The Satanic Verses (which I have read and enjoyed, btw), I heard Islamic scholars insist that the West would never tolerate anti-Christian blasphemy. That claim was demonstrably, laughably false. Grass, incidentally, was one of the authors who guaranteed publication of the German translation of Rushdie's book.
As it happens, Rushdie is one of my favorite authors. I have had countless hours of enjoyment reading his imaginative, perceptive, vivid and witty work. My favorites among his books include The Moor's Last Sigh, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Shalimar the Clown, and The Enchantress of Florence — all of which, incidentally, were written after Ayatollah Khoumeini issued the fatwa against him. Possibly his greatest work is Midnight's Children, which won Britain's Booker Prize and the Booker of Bookers. I do think that having read his work makes me more qualified to speak about it than people who condemn him without having bothered to read him. But those who oppose him, whether they are informed or not, are free to avoid reading him. They are also free to write books or articles or blogs criticizing him. They are not free, or should not be free, to suppress his work or to call for his death.
Incidentally, while it is not pertinent to the issue of defending his freedom as an author, Mr. Rushdie is a longtime pro-gay liberal. Besides the Ayatollah, one of the other real-life characters whom he lampooned in The Satanic Verses was Margaret Thatcher, whom he dubbed Maggie Torture. In contrast to the Ayatollah's reaction to the book, Mrs. Thatcher's government placed Rushdie, a British subject, under her government's protection. That nicely illustrates the difference between a free country and a theocracy.
Bravo to these American servicemembers deployed in Bagram, Afghanistan for making this video. They are: SSGT Steven Procter, SSGT Shelise Harmon, AT2 Erin Jones, SPC James Velazquez, SPC Curtis Robinson.
Jane Lincoln writes, "This exhibit and these short films are still at the National Portrait Gallery at Gallery Place. MUST GO SEE. It was awesome."
Chris Rock's comments are highly insightful. The following is from the description accompanying the YouTube video.
As a new chapter begins in this country, The Black List offers a dynamic and never-before-heard perspective from achievers of color. This series of inspired—and inspiring—observations on African-American life in the 21st century forms a roll call of some of the most compelling politicians, writers, thinkers and performers ever to tackle their fields of endeavor. Watch the interview-portraits and get a sharper snapshot of where this country has been and where its headed. Directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Interviews by Elvis Mitchell. Stars Collin Powell, Toni Morrison, Sean P Diddy Combs, Slash, Chris Rock, Susan Rice, Lou Gossett Jr., Russell Simmons and many more.
If I really have to assure you of my lack of sympathy for Rick Santorum at this point, then you're an ignoramus so go ahead and believe what you like. But really, that is not the point here. Glitter-bombing homophobic politicians or ministers, or hitting them with cream pies or what have you, is NOT helpful to our cause. It is a self-indulgence. It makes us look like children or thugs. Even if you are not (and would never dream of) mixing something harmful or corrosive in with the glitter or cream, what you are doing is still an assault. It has no place in our political discourse.
Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann and Maggie Gallagher are extreme. They are hateful — even when, as with Maggie, she is overtly polite in her delivery of her poisonous words. Of course we have to fight back. But we must not do so physically. When protesters resort to throwing things at those who defame and demonize us, we play into their hands. They love to pose as victims; why on earth would we want to help them get away with it?
Stop the goddamn glittering. It is juvenile and harmful to our cause. I am well aware that there is approximately zero chance that the fools in question will heed my words, which they're unlikely to read anyway. But we need to be clear that people who engage in such boorish tactics are not our allies, any more than the person who threw a Communion wafer on the floor in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral a couple of decades ago during an ACT UP protest. They are not our allies when they do such things, and they do not speak for us.
Neither should we let our opponents get away with portraying our movement as a bunch of thugs based upon a handful of kids acting up. The reality is grotesquely asymmetric, with our opponents not merely tossing glitter at us but relentlessly seeking to exclude us from the protections of the Constitution and leave our families with no legal recourse. We are far more sinned against than sinning, as King Lear would say. But the "queers" who persist in this idiotic behavior deserve our loud rebuke.
Jenna Marbles offers advice, in the form of a rant, to her fellow white girls who go to the club. Someone hold me back — she makes these girls sound so attractive! Of course, the fallacy in this is that if you hang out at clubs, you are going to be spending time with an unrepresentative population sample consisting of other people who hang out at clubs. This brings with it a higher likelihood of drunkenness. Chivalry compels me to note that my own lovely nieces, most of whom are white, do not behave as Ms. Marbles describes. As far as I know.
(Hat tip: Mark Lee)
Don't say you weren't warned.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords release this video today. Here's a transcript:
Arizona is my home, always will be. A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for we can change things for the better. Jobs, border security, veterans. We can do so much more by working together. I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week. I'm getting better. Every day, my spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country. Thank you very much.
Gabby's courage and determination in the year since the assassination attempt have been an inspiration to the nation. Alas, the pace of recovery from a brain injury, even in the best of circumstances, does not conform to a biennial election schedule. Today's announcement was one that we knew would likely come but nonetheless dreaded to hear. This is not the way elections are supposed to be decided. I am sure countless others are sharing my emotion right now. Here's wishing Gabby and her family all the best. But this is a sad day for America.
I regret to report that this delightful front page is photoshopped. The real front page of today's WaPo is here.
Right Wing Watch reports, "Matthew Hagee says the problem with society is that the church 'surrendered' itself to secularism and socialism."
The top comment on that YouTube page is by someone named jackofclubz: "Funny he is preaching an antigay speech with the GAYEST SHIRT IN THE WORLD!!!!"
Okay, jackofclubz, let's butch it up and drop the extra exclamation points. (Pardon me, folks, it's Sunday morning and I just put the coffee on.)
...Remember that you are encountering wild animals. Don't tease them with food, and don't turn your back on them. Seriously, this is a good Stupid Tourist cautionary video.
METRO WEEKLY: What will you be sharing with folks at Creating Change?WILSON CRUZ: I'm actually doing a bit of a cabaret for them. It's called Love Child because, growing up, I had an affinity for the song ''Love Child.'' Just because I think I was a bit of a love child growing up.
My idea of love was a bit skewed. It was always about, if there was no pain involved, then it wasn't really love – really messed up.
I'm going to take people on a journey about love, what I've learned about love in the past 10 years. I think it's a great thing to talk to the Creating Change folks about because I've done a lot of this work. I've been a field organizer for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, I've worked on the Obama campaign, I'm a pretty political person. What I've realized is that, in doing my work as an activist and an organizer and such, we lose sight of what it is that we're actually fighting for.
I'm in the process of picking music that is going to help me tell that story. It's the story of falling in love, and what we do to sabotage that, and how we find ourselves ready to be open to loving again.
Also, congrats to Chris for being nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for his four-part series last year on the history of DOMA.
Right Wing Watch shares this latest lunacy from Bryan Fischer of AFA.
Warning: It is not safe to take this man seriously.
I am proud to note that D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray is a signatory to this statement. (Of course, he also helped enact marriage equality in the nation's capital.) Thanks and congrats to our friends at Freedom to Marry.
Here's an inspiring video from NoMoreDownLow.TV. There's something distracting, though, about reporter Kendell Hogan. I can't quite put my finger on it.
Andrew Sullivan faces off against Bay Buchanan to defend his Newsweek cover story on President Obama's long game and how he is underestimated by his critics on both the left and the right. Sullivan is an old hand at debating. I would love to see a much longer set-to in which more issues can be argued; but the Obama team could learn something from him about defending the President's record.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Go to 3:40 in this clip from "Hardball" for evidence that Newt Gingrich's racial air raid sirens (we are long past dog whistles) have had their intended effect. And notice Newt's reaction.
My new racial code consultant, Chauncy DeVega of We Are Respectable Negroes, offers these insights:
A Google search limited to the last seven days yields the following results:282,000 returns for "Juan Williams" and "put in place."
23,400 returns for "Juan Williams" and "uppity."
It would seem that someone is getting the message about those negro rapscallions.
The video of a Gingrich supporter applauding his reinforcement of the colorline, and the "natural order of things" through a "moment of instruction" for Juan Williams, is priceless. How can you deny the obvious that all this "lazy negro mop carrier uppity negro talk" is precisely about race, when one of your own white racist supporters signals just such a thing, and you, the candidate, smile in acknowledgement of what is a not so inside joke?
Somebody please pinch me. Is this crap really happening? I keep reminding myself that Republican primary debate and rally audiences are not representative of the wider population. But then I remember the 2010 election. This is scary. Ironically enough, part of the problem is the media, but not in the way Newt suggests. The problem is that the media plays into Newt's opportunistic hands, so that he reaps rewards for appealing to the worst in people. Whether he will pull an upset in South Carolina remains to be seen. But watching him in action is about as far as you can get from America's Grant Park moment on election night in 2008.
That phrase is Latin for "the star shows the way." In this case it shows that the observer took this series of time-lapse photos from Australia. From my latitude you can never see Alpha Centauri, the Southern Cross, or the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Toward the end of the video an upside-down Orion appears; to see that here, you could stand on your head. As for the Milky Way, you could view a different stretch of it from these parts, assuming there were a massive regional power outage on a cloudless night.
This piece is called "Ocean Sky" and is by Alex Cherney at Terrastro.com.
Right Wing Watch reports: "Bryan Fischer says God will heal AIDS patients if they just stop having sex with men." This reminds me of the story of the man with a well who refused a drink to a man dying of thirst, admonishing him with the observation that water was dangerous and the man could drown.
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