AddieStan

From our friend Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council comes this loving invitation: Dear Adele, On Tuesday, April 28, Washington, D.C.-area pastors and pro-family leaders are gathering in the nation's capital to rally for man-woman marriage. The rally will take place from 10:00 a.m. to Noon on Freedom Plaza, which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, NW. Come take part and express your support for traditional marriage! Homosexual marriage advocates in Washington, D.C. are pushing the District of Columbia City Council to replace man-woman marriage with a law that will allow two men or two women to "marry." Just a few weeks ago the Council voted to recognize such "marriages" when they occur overseas or in the handful of other U.S. jurisdictions that allow them - most of them compelled to do so by activist judges who have ignored the will of the people. Let's remind our elected officials just what that will is: to protect marri...

Why, President Obama's economic program, according to himself (per his recently concluded speech at Georgetown University ). They are: * new rules for Wall Street that will reward drive and innovation * new investments in education that will make our workforce more skilled and competitive * new investments in renewable energy and technology that will create new jobs and industries * new investments in health care that will cut costs for families and businesses * new savings in our federal budget that will bring down the debt for future generations What else has five pillars ? Islam. They are: * Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad; * Establishment of the daily prayers; * Concern for and almsgiving to the needy; * Self-purification through fasting; and * The pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able. Get ready, mes amis , for the right-wing conspiracy theorists to revive the "Obama as crypto-Muslim" t...

Well, not quite -- the "gay nation" part, that is. But you gotta admit, for advocates of same-sex marriage, last week was stellar, especially in the melancholy aftermath of Proposition 8. Iowa's Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriage in that heartland state. That had Newt Gingrich railing yesterday, on "This Week With George Stephanopoulos", about the dangers of having the judiciary settle social issues: "[I]t's very dangerous for the country to have the judiciary become the chief agent of social change," said the former House speaker. I mean, look where that got us: having to go to school with black people and nixing the sexual harassment of women in the workplace. Bummer, man. And Newt's philosophical opposition to Iowa's new marriage scheme left him defenseless against the Green Mountain state's newfound barrier-free approach to same-sex marriage. That's right, in Vermont last week, the legislat...

cross-posted from The Huffington Post One would think that with four women co-hosts, Bill O'Reilly would have been put to the test in today's appearance on " The View " (ABC), given his producer's stalking of blogger Amanda Terkel and the uproar that has followed. But not one question was asked about the Terkel stalking, or subsequent efforts by Terkel's supporters to hold O'Reilly's advertising sponsors to account for their support of this outrageous bully. Which leads one to wonder: Are the producers of The View so unaware of what is happening in media that they somehow missed the uproar (which was featured prominently on The Huffington Post, and to which O'Reilly rival Keith Olbermann devoted two segments)? Or was there a pre-interview agreement between O'Reilly and "The View" that he would not be called to account for these actions ? Quick review: two weekends ago Amanda Terkel went away for a weekend to an off-the-beaten-t...

I have confirmed with blogger Amanda Terkel (see last post) that no one at "The O'Reilly Factor" ever tried to book her for a proper, in-studio interview prior to sending out Bill-O's stalker squad to trail her on a two-hour drive for the purpose of ambushing her on a weekend with a video camera. This leads one to ask, just what is Bill O'Reilly afraid of? He clearly didn't want to have a conversation with Terkel; he just wanted a videotaped reaction from her while she was being confronted by her stalker with false accusations.

Cross-posted from The Huffington Post Abusive people often accuse others -- especially those who would challenge their behavior -- of the very act they themselves commit. And so we find Bill O'Reilly , host of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor", accusing Think Progress blogger Amanda Terkel of bringing pain and suffering to a rape victim and her family. Terkel's crime? Weeks before O'Reilly's scheduled appearance at a fundraising event for a rape-victim advocacy group, she reminded her readers that, on his radio show, O'Reilly had once blamed Jennifer Moore , a rape victim, and Moore's parents (segment starts at around 36) for the young woman's own rape and murder . But it wasn't enough for O'Reilly to call out Terkel on his prime-time cable TV show. No, he apparently sent his male producer to stalk Terkel on a weekend day trip to a Virginia town two hours away from Terkel's Washington, DC, home, leading Terkel to assume tha...

Robocall - Tim Wildmon Your blogstress's friends at the American Family Association have been buying airtime from whomever will sell them a bit of that public trust to spread their customary message of hatred of queer folk. Here's a robocall that went out yesterday, presumably to any and all who ever contributed a dime to AFA. Note that the call comes from AFA founder Don Wildmon 's son, Tim . (Ever notice how some of these hate-mongering groups become a sort of full-employment plan for the founder's family?) AFA's special, "Speechless: Silencing the Christians", may soon be coming to a cable channel -- or even broadcast channel -- near you, delivered as "paid programming". If you see it scheduled in your 'hood, you may wish to mobilize against the media outlet that sold the air time to AFA. Here's the text of Brother Tim's message: Hello, this is Tim Wildmon on behalf of your American Family Association, calling to sincerely than...

Today's announcement of President Obama's nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to lead the Department of Health and Human Services; and Nancy-Ann DeParle , former director of the Health Care Finance Administration, as the White House point person on health care reform. For several months now, right-wing groups have been using a potential Sebelius nomination as fundraising fodder. The pro-choice Catholic governor is particularly reviled by the right for her role in helping to defeat former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline , who subpoenaed the medical records of some 90 women who had gotten abortions at the clinic of Dr. George Tiller , whom Kline dogged with allegations of performing illegal abortions. Firedoglake has that story. Here's a snip: Kline was challenged for the Attorney General spot in 2006 by Paul Morrison. Sebelius helped recruit Morrison from the GOP to run against Kline, and Morrison received financial support from Tiller's PAC, which acco...

Felled by the flu, your blogstress found herself unable to subject herself -- in person, at least -- to the hatefest that was the Conservative Political Action Conference, which took place this weekend in Our Nation's Capital. C-SPAN, however, denied her the pleasure of a blissful recovery, as she could not responsibly look away as more than 8,000 people assembled to declare their hatred of the new president. And so she found herself tweeting the closing speech by none other than the sociopathic Rush Limbaugh who, one must marvel, has convinced a certain segment of the regular white guy cohort that the cause of all his ills are liberals decrying the granting of millions in TARP money to the inheritors of Merrill Lynch, whose then-executive, John Thain , spent $1.2 million for the renovation his office (including a $1,400 wastebasket). While CPAC usually features elements of a freak show of hostile wing-nuttery (remember Ann Coulter calling John Edwards a "faggot"?), t...

Follow your blogstress on Twitter for bon mots on President Obama's first address to a joint session of Congress: http://twitter.com/addiestan

The most astonishing thing about last night's Academy Awards was not the public cry for equal rights for queer folk -- though that was certainly welcome, and a breakthrough of major proportions. No, the most stunning thing to happen at the Oscars was the appearance of the very God to Whom your blogstress prays: the God that accepts her with all her blogstress ways, the God who made her has she is and likes her that way. The moment came in the elegant acceptance remarks of Dustin Lance Black, who won Best Original Screenplay for his script for the movie, "Milk," based on the life of the assassinated gay rights activist, Harvey Milk. I've got a preachy little post up on Religion Dispatches, complete with video of Black's acceptance speech. CLICK HERE TO READ "GOD DOES LOVE YOU"

However unfortunate it is for President Obama to be caught flatfooted by the sudden withdrawal of Commerce secretary nominee Judd Gregg , it is a boon to women. As stated here previously, Gregg has an anti-woman, anti-civil rights record , and had no business leading an agency ostensibly dedicated to fairness in commerce. Further, Gregg's withdrawal relieves Obama of any need he felt before to sacrifice our priorities in the name bi-partisanship, as Gregg has claimed ideological differences -- including over the stimulus package -- as his reason for pulling out. And best, it opens the position to be filled by a woman. I nominate Laura Tyson , a trade whiz who chaired President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers. So far, Obama's Commerce secretary nominees are like the drummer in Spinal Tap -- they just explode. Maybe the nomination of a woman -- one far more qualified for the post than either of the president's two male nominees -- will alter that dynamic.

CROSS-POSTED FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST "THIS IS WHAT A FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE," shouts the tee shirt worn by an illustrated Barack Obama on the cover of the current issue of Ms . magazine. Gosh, I sure hope so. But signals from the White House are coming a bit mixed in these first two weeks of the Obama presidency, and I find myself looking for reassurance. Naming Rosa DeLauro to the cabinet, as the Secretary of Health and Human Services, would provide just the reassurance that I, and other of my sisters, are looking for. Two days before the inauguration, I found myself seated at a table of feminist superstars at the Women's Ball sponsored by the National Council of Women's Organizations . Eleanor Smeal , president of the Feminist Majority Foundation ; Katherine Spillar , executive editor of Ms. magazine (which is published by Feminist Majority); Vicki Saporta , president of the National Abortion Federation and Martha Burk , director of NCWO's Corporate Acco...

It was bad enough that President Barack Obama failed to use the opportunity of Bill Richardson's exit from the nominee stage to appoint a woman to his woefully gender-unbalanced cabinet, but then he appointed a guy who appears to have utter disregard for the financial well-being of women: Judd Gregg. Gregg has a 20% approval rating from the ACLU, making him an anti-civil rights candidate. And he has consistently voted against making affirmative action measures apply to the federal government in contracting, including his vote "to disallow any funds in the [1995]Legislative Appropriations bill from being used to award, require, or encourage any Federal contract, if the contract is being awarded on the basis of the race, color, national origin, or gender of the contractor," according to On the Issues . Reference: Bill HR 1854 ; vote number 1995-317 on Jul 20, 1995 All right, Mr. President. No more Ms. Nice Guy here.

It's Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland. Hope he sends Barack Obama a thank-you note.

This morning, the Romenesko blog, famous among journalists for its coverage of da biz, featured a link to Tom Shales' Washington Post piece about Katie Couric: Another tongue-bath for Couric This time from Shales. When your blogstress returned from her lunchtime stroll, the hed was a bit more demure: More love for Couric This time from Shales. Apparently, when a male writer expresses appreciation for the work of a woman in a man's job, it's almost like he's licking her -- until some editor comes to his senses. Alas, your Webwench did not perform a screen-save of the original hed. You'll just have to take her word for it. UPDATE: The "tongue bath" phrase comes from a blog post by Bill Wyman that appeared earlier this week on Hitsville, a post played big by Romenesko.

The most astounding exchange just took place on MSNBC's "Hardball" between former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and Salon editor Joan Walsh . Host Chris Matthews had engaged the two to discuss the recent outrageous comments by Rush Limbaugh about President Barack Obama . Matthews played this clip of Limbaugh, in which the radio host says of Obama: LIMBAUGH: We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black, because this is the first black president. When Walsh asked why Republicans failed to apologize for Limbaugh's comments, Armey interrupted her: with remarks to the effect of (paraphrase; transcript to come): I'm lucky you're not my wife, so I don't have to listen to this kind of prattle all day long. UPDATE: Sam Stein has the transcript at HuffPo "I'm so damn glad you can never be my wife because I surely wouldn't ha...

"...interpretive skills generally gain in the course of a life well abused." --Bono Bono often annoys the crap out of me, but the man can write. Here's his first column for the New York Times op-ed section.

He may not have offered the most profound prayer we ever heard, but Rick Warren, the right-wing preacher from California, offered a prayer at yesterday's presidential inauguration that was designed to bring people together. For this, he will surely take some heat from among the more political preachers of the right. Your blogstress is thankful for favors, small and less so...

It's been a busy week for your blogstress. Her adopted city hums with the excitement of the impending inauguration of Barack Obama, and given the prime location of her Oppo Factory on Capitol Hill, she has become suddenly popular. That aside, there have been no small measure of serious matters to which she must attend. First up: the promised repeal of the ban on queer folk in the military, which Barack Obama's spokesperson, Robert Gibbs, affirmed again last week, only to say a few days later that what he really meant to say is that they would get to it eventually. At The Guardian's Comment Is Free site, your cybertrix makes the case for proceeding sooner rather than later: CLICK HERE TO READ 'I'M BARACK OBAMA AND I'M HERE TO RECRUIT YOU' The Rick Warren controversy, it seems, continues to roil. Tomorrow your écrivaine will discuss, with Mary Glenney on WMNF in Tampa, her own process for coping with the presence of bigotry on the inaugural platform, eve...