"Today is a Good Day."

“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
~Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)



Today is a good day. Vice President Biden said so as he readied to introduce President Obama. President Obama also said it is a good day. As our President said, it has taken nearly two decades, and actually 200 years, to reach this good day.

And I say it is a good day. A day that has been long-time coming, long over due, but then again many important things in our United States history have been long-time coming such as freedom from slavery, women’s right to own property, to have the right to vote, the civil rights finally afforded to Black Americans, women’s abortion rights, women’s rights to equal pay, and gay and lesbian rights unfolding, with still more to come. But even despite the delay in reaching this goal, we did it, and it is an historic day of celebration for many. Very soon, those gays and lesbians serving our country should be treated with respect and equality. Finally.

Here are excerpts from President Obama’s speech today before his signing of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“Finally, I want to speak directly to the gay men and women currently serving in our military. For a long time your service has demanded a particular kind of sacrifice. You’ve been asked to carry the added burden of secrecy and isolation. And all the while, you’ve put your lives on the line for the freedoms and privileges of citizenship that are not fully granted to you.

“You’re not the first to have carried this burden, for while today marks the end of a particular struggle that has lasted almost two decades, this is a moment more than two centuries in the making.

“There will never be a full accounting of the heroism demonstrated by gay Americans in service to this country; their service has been obscured in history. It’s been lost to prejudices that have waned in our own lifetimes. But at every turn, every crossroads in our past, we know gay Americans fought just as hard, gave just as much to protect this nation and the ideals for which it stands.

“There can be little doubt there were gay soldiers who fought for American independence, who consecrated the ground at Gettysburg, who manned the trenches along the Western Front, who stormed the beaches of Iwo Jima. Their names are etched into the walls of our memorials. Their headstones dot the grounds at Arlington.”

“...For we are not a nation that says, “don’t ask, don’t tell.” We are a nation that says, “Out of many, we are one.” (Applause.) We are a nation that welcomes the service of every patriot. We are a nation that believes that all men and women are created equal. (Applause.) Those are the ideals that generations have fought for. Those are the ideals that we uphold today. And now, it is my honor to sign this bill into law. (Applause.)

[see full video and transcript of President Obama's Speech]

This video is LeAnn Rimes singing “The Rose,” with the Los Angeles Gay Men’s Chorus backing her up. Several years ago Don and I saw the L.A. Gay Men’s Chorus perform and they were excellent. Enjoy ...





~Linda

Gay rights and Patient Rights

SUBJECT: Respecting the Rights of Hospital Patients to Receive Visitors and to Designate Surrogate Decision Makers for Medical Emergencies

Today President Obama issued an important memorandum concerning hospital visitation rights and medical directives. In some ways, it could be considered historic, giving not only patients the respect and honor to their decisions, but to give gays and lesbian couples and unmarried heterosexual couples visitation rights that have either been denied, or could be denied. It's all about equality....

“Every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindness and caring of a loved one at their sides,” Mr. Obama said in the memorandum to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, adding that the rules could also help widows and widowers who rely on friends and members of religious orders who care for one another. But he says gay men and lesbians are “uniquely affected” because they are often barred from visiting partners with whom they have spent decades.

Hopefully our President’s memorandum will make the necessary changes to the law concerning hospital care and it appears it will have to be honored by any hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid. And it should be that that participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

This could affect thousands of people so hopefully it will move forward quickly.

Have any of you ever had a problem with visitation of love one or fear of being denied visitation or the acceptance of a directive?

Read the President’s memorandum here.

Sean Penn in "Milk"

Tonight I watched the movie, Milk. Wow, what an acting job Sean Penn did!

Within minutes into the film, you see beyond Sean Penn and see Harvey Milk. I told a friend not long ago I could not recall when I became a gay activist, or at least began to lean that way. Now I remember. It was Anita Bryant that did it! I wonder how many of us non-gays pulled away from Florida orange juice for while in the late 1970s because of her attitude. Did we replace fresh Florida orange juice with Tang about that time? Many all over this country were outraged about her attitude and bias against homosexuals. And the more she was outspoken with the bias the more irritated people became.

Living in California in those years, I knew a lot about what was going on over gay rights, especially in San Francisco, I remember John Briggs and the Briggs Initiative, and I do recall the tragic deaths of San Francisco Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk. When I first saw the trailer for the movie, I recalled seeing the news clip of our now Senator Dianne Feinstein making the announcement of the shootings and death of her San Francisco colleagues.

Even though Harvey Milk died, his passion and dedication to the gay rights cause did bring the gay rights issues into the forefront, and hopefully we are making strides to bring about equality.

Isn’t it interesting that the Briggs Initiative was based on fear, just as Prop 8 was again in November here in CA. Politicians are so good at using fear to manipulate, and damn, it too often seems to work. You’d think people would wise up to that game.

The late Randy Shilts (1951-1994), openly gay journalist, reporter, and best-selling author, in a biography of Milk, wrote that Harvey Milk's life was a “metaphor for the homosexual experience in America.”

Shilts also wrote the best seller, “And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic,” an excellent non-fiction book. It was made into an award winning HBO movie.

Sadly, Randy Shilts died of AIDS at the age of 42. Cleve Jones, gay activist and friend of Harvey Milk, and cofounder of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and who conceived the AIDS Memorial Quilt, described Shilts as a hero and characterized his books as the most important works of literature affecting gay people. Having only read one of Randy’s books, “And the Band Played On,” I would agree the book is of significant importance to understanding AIDS in America.

If you’ve not seen Milk, I highly recommend it for a well-written screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, fantastic acting by Sean Penn, and for a look back at history, and acknowledgement of the on-going fight for equality and tolerance. We’re getting closer but not there yet. When people can set prejudices and judgment aside, and keep fear out of the way, someone like Harvey Milk or Matthew Wayne Shepard (1976-1998) will not have died in vain.


Read more on my previous Blog Oscar Winning Screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, and Milk Movie



~Linda

Oscar Winning Screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, and Milk Movie

Sunday night at the Academy Award show a most moving and powerful acceptance speech was given by thirty-four year old screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, who won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay Milk, based on the life of openly gay San Francisco politician, Harvey Milk. On November 27, 1978, Supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated at City Hall by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned and wanted his job back.

At the time, California Senator, Dianne Feinstein was President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and was in City Hall as the shootings occurred. A short while later, at a press conference originally scheduled by Mayor Moscone to announce White's successor, Feinstein announced the assassinations to a stunned public, stating: "As president of the board of supervisors, it's my duty to make this announcement. Both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed…and the suspect is Supervisor Dan White.”

Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, I just discovered, has co-produced and written several episodes of my favorite TV program, HBO’s Big Love. Tom Hanks is one of the Executive Producers of Big Love.

Director Gus Van Sant directed Milk., starring Sean Penn., who won the Oscar last night for Best Actor. A couple of Van Sant's other works include Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester, both excellent films. He happens to be openly gay.

Here is a video of Dustin Lance Black’s powerful acceptance speech.

The second and third videos below is an interview with Cleve Jones, AIDS activist, and co-founder of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and in 1987 created the AIDS Memorial Quilt. He worked as a student intern in Milk’s office while attending college.

Part One of Cleve Jones Interview



Part Two of Cleve Jones Interview

I want to see this movie. I remember the Milk, Moscone shootings of thirty years ago, I know the HIV-AIDS work of Cleve Jones, and I’ve seen the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and my husband, Don Pendleton and I, watched a candle-light San Francisco Gay Parade in about 1985 from a San Francisco hotel window. Now in 2009, 25 to 30 years later, it is time for tolerance, equality for all, including marriage if so desired, not only in California but everywhere in this country. We need to make up for wasted time—it is a time for change. We should insist on it. As Oscar winner Sean Penn said in his acceptance speech, "We've got to have equal rights for everyone."

~Linda

Choosing A Presidential Cabinet

Should a candidate for President, once he is nominated, tell the voters who will become members of his Cabinet, if he is elected? There has been quite some discussion over this subject. Does the general opinion seem to be that as a Cabinet has so much to do with the shaping of an Administration that advance information should be given? But apparently it is not done, although there have been some elections which cast tell-tale Cabinet selection shadows before them. All in all, it seems likely that the plan of the future will be one we have always followed, but in all cases to bend our energies to the selection of candidates whose judgment is to be relied upon in the making of wise Cabinet choices. It cannot be otherwise than true that a splendid Cabinet might make a success of a weak executive’s Administration. Such things have been witnessed by men and women still living.

When the Convention nominated the young man, he had not been well known, almost an unknown outside the Midwest and had not enjoyed a wide reputation among political activities. His term in Illinois politics—the Illinois legislature, an attorney—had been rather a short time. In going over very carefully the events of his career up to that time we can find no task which called forth the skill, the patience, tact and diplomacy which he has displayed in his picking of his Cabinet at a time when the country is as divided with such internal strife as we now face.

If some writers are to be believed, he picked his Cabinet members on Election night. But the Cabinet was not selected then, nor was the task so easily disposed of as some would have us believe. It actually took several weeks to pick his team, and for those persons to accept the positions offered them.

His reasons for picking his Cabinet seemed to be to combine experience, integrity, popularity, regional, and bipartisan.

If there is ever a time when this country of ours was on tip-toes over Cabinet-making, it was when the choice for Secretary of State was an outspoken opponent and a New Yorker, but was not Hillary Clinton, as you might think. Then, in 1860, it was William H. Seward, and the President choosing his Cabinet was Abraham Lincoln.

The above had been written about Abraham Lincoln’s selection of his first Cabinet of seven men, at a time when the country was being devastated by Civil War.

Sounds familiar, though, doesn’t it? I could have added Barack Obama, our President-elect, herein, but I was writing about our 16th President. Of course, I personally see such similarity between the two men, both going into the Presidency at a time of turmoil in the country, a time of needed change and excellent leadership. With Lincoln we had a man of vision, a man of compassion, honesty, and humor, and a man dedicated to his role as President. I believe we have those same qualities in Obama, and although he faces great challenges in getting our country back on track, and respected in the world, I feel confident that he can do so, and I feel confident with his Vice President Joe Biden and with the Cabinet choices.

I am optimistically looking forward to a swinging of the pendulum which has already began its movement with the historic election of Obama.

I do hope my grandchildren appreciate the historic event that has taken place. I look forward to the day when women’s rights, gay rights, and other issues of equality are no longer a political issue used by the Republican party. We’ve come a long way, but we still have a ways to go to achieve what every citizen deserves. And let’s hope years upon years do not have to go by before diversity and equality for all is accepted by all citizens of this country.

~Linda

“I happen temporarily to occupy this big White House. I am living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father's child has." ~Abraham Lincoln

Freedoms, Amy Goodman, RNC, Abuse of Power and Accountability

The arrests last week during the Republican National Convention of several journalists, including award winning broadcast journalist, author and syndicated columnist, Amy Goodman gave my good friend, artist, musician, and songwriter, Ricky Kendall cause to speak out. I invited him to be my guest blogger.

His comments:

I am outraged. Amy Goodman is kind, gentle, intelligent and soft spoken. She is one of the best voices for Democracy I know. I have not seen anything so outrageous since the 60's.

The Democrats had best get their asses off their couches and vote. They need to make sure that the Republicans are booted out of office. It should have been done four years ago. What's next? If the Republicans are left in office our rights will be in shambles. This case with Amy Goodman is a very good example of what we may all face if the executive branch is left unchecked.

This country has got to be taken back from these far right zealots or we will find ourselves hiding, just as many Germans did during that reign of terror. Anyone who thinks that something so horrendous would never happen in the "Wonderful United States" had better stop and take a look around them. I can give some examples from how I have been feeling lately as a gay man.

I'm worried that, having come out of the closet so many years ago, there is too much evidence of who I am and what I am. The gays who had revealed themselves in Germany were comfortable being who they were and living their lives "out". They were eventually rounded up and used a kindling.

I fear that If I lean too far left in my daily conversations, I could be attacked by the government for being too outspoken.

I'm afraid to state my beliefs at work for fear of being fired.

I'm afraid to put a bumper sticker on my car for fear it will be vandalized.

I fear for our children who are being taught to hate and taking that hate with them to adulthood.

I fear that President Bush and Vice President Chaney will get away with what they have done and set the stage for a Presidium as in the USSR decades ago. They have set a very disturbing precedence.

Most of all, I fear for the future of our country.

We can stand by and let this happen just like the Germans did or, through political change, make sure that those who abuse their power are punished. From the Civil Servant protecting our streets to the President of the United States, there must be accountability. When they abuse their power they must pay a very high price which should include life in prison when lives are taken through their eagerness to raise their power and suppress those they are supposed to protect.

I will not let fear rule my world because that is what this administration wants of me. I feel it but I don't have to curl up in a corner and hide. I will remain who I am and I will do everything that I can to protect this nation from this anvil of greed and power that is weighing this country down.

~ Ricky

Note: Ricky Kendall’s music CD Crayon can be listened to at:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/rickykendall

~Linda

Hillary at Democratic Convention Was Great

Hillary Clinton's speech tonight at the Democratic Convention was excellent. It was also a reminder of how close she may have come to leading this country. Her speech brought up some of the issues I have with what could happen with the outcome of this important election. And some of that has to do with women's rights and how there is a possibility if McCain was to be elected that we would continue to have the Religious Right with their noses right in the middle of our politics and decisions in areas such as the abortion issues and gay rights issues. I do not want to see this country take a giant step backward regarding those issues. When I hear women, maybe younger than myself, not wanting to vote for a Democrat I shudder and wonder what they are thinking with the huge possibility of losing their right to make decisions for themselves in regards to their bodies, or to allow the government to rule over sexuality and choice of marriage partner. Blacks got the right to vote long before women did. Divorce, which is common today, was very difficult to obtain just a very few years ago. Women have been discriminated against since the beginning of time on this planet--culturally, religiously, socially and economically. Our grandmothers and great grandmothers had no rights to even own property. If their husband's died they had to auction everything and buy back their own cows. (Do some genealogy and see how common that was). I clearly recall the alleyway abortions, the trips to Mexico, the clothes hanger abortions, that women in my generation were undergoing at risk of life. And many died from hemorrhage or infections. Whether a woman chooses to have an abortion is between her and her God and not to be judged and interfered with by government, or somebody pounding a pulpit. In those days there were a bunch of men, some very old, that held in their hands legislations controlling those issues, and some of those 'good old boys' wanted the women "barefoot and pregnant." I sometimes wonder if we've gotten very far beyond that attitude.

And then there is the war. Women....come on, how can you stand still while young men and women are giving up their lives for OIL and POWER and GREED, at the whim of our present administration....and strategies and military "strength" that McCain apparently wants to continue with his "heroic" military thinking. Many of us are asking what will happen if we need military here on our own soil? ....we are stretched too thin....bring them home.

And corruption....there has been so much corruption and often it is swept under the carpet--and Congress is to blame for that also.

What does it matter that our gay neighbors decide to marry? I believe the Republicans RR use this issue often as nothing more than diversion from important issues facing this country.

This week is also the anniversary of Katrina. Has that been fixed? No. If it wasn't for CNN and someone reporting like Anderson Cooper (who was there in the middle of it), we'd probably not hear anything about the problems that still exist there in New Orleans and elsewhere.

Our rights have been eroded, and at times almost behind our backs. Those executive orders, the Patriot Act. Why have we put up with it? And our standing in the world. We're hated, and our administration is laughed at. How many years will it take to regain our world position?

Can Obama and Biden change that? All of it? I hope so. At least it can be a start. The pendulum needs to swing and the only way it will swing is a vote for Obama and Biden. McCain, not the man he used to be, especially when he was my Senator a few years back, will keep the pendulum stuck and not moving, or it will continue to be swinging BACKWORD. We can't have that for this great country. We have to get our country back and make things good again. And we have to do it NOW before it is too late.

~ Linda

Excerpt from Hillary Clinton’s Democratic Convention Speech, August 26, 2008.

You know, America is still around after 232 years because we have risen to every challenge in every new time, changing to be faithful to our values of equal opportunity for all and the common good.

And I know what that can mean for every man, woman and child in America. I'm a United States senator because in 1848 a group of courageous women and a few brave men gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, many traveling for days and nights -- (Cheers, applause) -- to participate in the first convention on women's rights in our history.

And so dawned a struggle for the right to vote that would last 72 years, handed down by mother to daughter to granddaughter -- and a few sons and grandsons along the way.

These women and men looked into their daughters' eyes and imagined a fairer and freer world, and found the strength to fight. To rally. To picket. To endure ridicule and harassment, and brave violence and jail.

And after so many decades, 88 years ago on this very day, the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote became enshrined in our Constitution. (Cheers, applause.)

My mother was born before women could vote. My daughter got to vote for her mother for president. This is the story of America, of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.

So how do we give this country back to them? By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her lives to bring slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

On that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of advice. If you hear the dogs, keep going; if you see the torches in the woods, keep going; if they're shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop; keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going. (Cheers, applause.)

And even in the darkest moments, that is what Americans have done. We have found the faith to keep going. (Cheers, applause.) I have seen it. I have seen it in our teachers and our firefighters, our police officers, our nurses, our small-business owners and our union workers. I've seen it in the men and women of our military.

In America, you always keep going. We're Americans. We're not big on quitting. (Laughter.) And remember, before we can keep going, we've got to get going by electing Barack Obama the next president of the United States. (Cheers, applause.) We don't have a moment to lose or a vote to spare. Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hangs in the balance.

I want you to think about your children and grandchildren come Election Day. Think about the choices your parents and grandparents made that had such a big impact on your lives and on the life of our nation. We've got to ensure that the choice we make in this election honors the sacrifices of all who came before us and will fill the lives of our children with possibility and hope. That is our duty: to build that bright future, to teach our children that in America there is no chasm too deep, no barrier too great, no ceiling too high for all who work hard, who keep going, have faith in God and our country and each other. That is our mission, Democrats.

Let's elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden for that future worthy of our great country. (Cheers, applause.)

Instead of "That is our mission, Democrats" she should have said, "That is our mission, Americans.

Military Measure of Morality!?

You have probably heard on the news this week that Marine General Peter Pace, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated in an interview with the Chicago Times in response to a question about his views on the "Don’t ask, Don’t Tell" policy that allows gays to serve their country:
"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is okay to be immoral in any way."

I find it appalling that the Pentagon’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon who oversees an estimated 65,000 gay men and women who today are serving our country as dedicated soldiers would say about our soldiers. That figure, 65,000, is about three times the number of military in Bush’s recent "Surge" deployment. Ironically, the first American wounded in Iraq was Marine Staff Sergeant (Ret.) Eric Alva, who had served his country for 13 years, lost his leg in Iraq, received the Purple Heart, and is gay.

What about the immorality of our administration and the Pentagon: the deceptions and out-right lies that made it "seem" acceptable to invade Iraq; twisted facts that implied they needed to be invaded because they were involved in 9-11; the lack of quality military supplies and weapons to fight a war, putting our soldiers at higher risk; lack of proper medical care and conditions for our wounded military; a waste of millions (or billions?) of dollars of aid to Iraq that have mysteriously disappeared; the play-up of fear in an attempt to keep the war going long after we lost it; the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, the legitimizing of torture; illegal use of the Patriot Act; Halliburton; and other things that could be labeled immoral?

Homosexuals have always served in our military and wars. For the most part, covertly, and who can blame them for that? They wanted to serve our country, even at risk of their sexual orientation being discovered and facing jail and dishonorable discharge. My late husband, Don Pendleton served in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War, and he said there was an awareness of some shipmates being homosexual. As long as there was not any overt expression of that sexual orientation, it was left alone.

During the Civil War, a surprising number of women concealed their identity as women and fought alongside the men without their sex ever being discovered. Some of the women where married to soldiers, others were single women. Were any of these women gay? Maybe? But it does not matter. And it does not matter in today’s military, nearly 150 years later.

The Pentagon has lowered the recruitment standards during recent time and "moral waivers" granted to recruits with misdemeanor and felony convictions nearly doubled since 2003. Yet, the Defense Department purged 11,000 troops, including several hundred much needed linguists, between 1994 and 2005 because they were gay. Doesn’t make much sense does it? Would you rather be serving with a convicted felon or someone who happens to have a different sexual orientation than you do?

It appears homophobia still lingers with the macho military attitude, but it is time to "grow up" and accept diversity in all areas of life. It is said that 24 countries accept gays in the military and they serve their country without any fear of prosecution or judgment, and neither morale or military performance have been affected. Why is this country so behind the rest of the free-thinking people of the world?

The Pentagon wants these men and women added to their recruitment figures, wants to send them to war and have them lay their lives on the line for our country, yet, if in some way, it is revealed they are gay then they are shoved out of the military on their butts. And many of those men and women have had long careers as dedicated and courageous soldiers. Amazingly ?? the number of homosexuals discharged had dropped significantly in 2006. How hypocritical is that? They retain gays when needed and dismiss them when they believe they are expendable.

One of several reasons I voted for Bill Clinton was his campaigning to remove military bans on homosexuals, but after his election he faced overwhelming opposition. At that time I wrote to General Colin Powell to encourage him to give gays the right to openly serve their country in the same manner that any other man or woman. What resulted from the controversy and opposition was the compromise, "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy in 1993. It was disappointing that we had to settle for that, but at least it was a beginning. Now is time to rid this country of this policy and let gays serve openly instead of serving under the threat of dismissal for their sexual orientation.

Staff Sergeant Alva stated he was appalled at General Pace’s remarks, telling Anderson Cooper on CNN’s 360, "I think his personal beliefs, his values, his own opinions were very insensitive and disrespectful to the thousands of men and women who...who actually serve in the military under the policy of don’t ask/don’t tell. And it was offensive to quite a bit of people. You’re talking thousands."

That’s right, Sergeant. Sixty-five thousand, plus their families, and thousands and thousands like me who consider ourselves to be Gay Rights Advocates.

It is nice to know there are some military leaders such as General David Grange (RET.) US Army, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division, and who stated to Lou Dobbs yesterday that he had never had to discharge anyone for homosexuality in 30 years of his career, the don’t ask, don’t tell policy, as he recalled, worked well and never had a problem. In response to Dobbs question about Pace seeming to make a moral equivalence in terms of adultery and homosexuality in the military, General Grange did reply he had a few incidents where he was a reviewing authority for adultery charges and they did discharge those people.

Has it occurred to you, as it has to me, that the real reason that this administration does not want gay marriage or civil unions may be because then those couples could file Federal Income Tax as married filing jointly taxpayers instead of single taxpayers, and have greater deduction and tax advantage? Could this be the real administration issue and have nothing to do with "moral" issues? I don’t know how many millions (or billions) of tax dollars we’re talking about here, but obviously it would be a huge figure. Money and greed seems to always be the motivation of our government rather than a greater concern for human dignity and civil rights.

One thing I do agree with General Pace on, is his comment that the United States is not well served by policies that say it is okay to be immoral in any way. I would suggest the General take a closer look at immoral practices implemented by this administration.

~Linda