Tuesday, December 23, 2008
little superstar
hope you all have an amazing holiday and that you are all looking forward to 2009 as much as i am!
love beams and dirty beats,
chauncey d!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
bush gets some sole!
Friday, December 12, 2008
the beat certainly goes on
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6a3g6_mind-your-business-2_creation
Sunday, December 7, 2008
last christmas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JRDvvMBgeg
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
homo no mo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrvcYTvPZIQ
'at least it was a fruit pie' (oh lord)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmJUdLUo8HQ
a church apologizes?
"Mission Gathering Christian Church is sorry for the narrow-minded, judgmental, deceptive, manipulative actions of those who took away the rights and equality of so many in the name of God."
The church was founded by a group of young adults who say they wanted "to embody God's grace to the emerging/postmodern culture they were a part of." It's affiliated with The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) which has approximately 723,000 members throughout North America and is the denomination Ronald Reagan was baptized in. So, despite having a facebook page and a podcast that includes titles like "Sexuality & Spirituality: Sex, Lies and Craigslist", the apologetic Christians sit squarely within the mainline Protestant tradition.
San Diego has been arguably the epicenter of the Prop 8. protest movement, with over 25,000 people marching in the streets in last week's "Day of Impact Protest"– the largest group anywhere.
sara the walrus!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tkxLNO8Gmw&eurl=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/04/saxophone-playing-walrus_n_148455.html&feature=player_embedded
prohibit divorce
i saw MILK last night...look for my review soon...i wanted to let the emotions settle before i gave a proper editorial
Thursday, December 4, 2008
madonna + louis vuitton = genius!
MADONNA AND MARC: When Marc Jacobs found himself in a meeting on a recent Monday morning to brainstorm about Louis Vuitton’s next fashion advertising campaign, inspiration struck. “I just blurted out, ‘I think we should do Madonna,’” said the designer, Vuitton’s creative director, mentioning he’d attended a concert by the pop icon the night before in Paris. “I was totally just blown away by it, and moved by her performance, by what she had to say, and her energy.”
As the meeting went on, Jacobs tapped out a message to Madonna on his BlackBerry, and within about five minutes came the reply: “I’d love to.”
The result is six atmospheric pictures of a smoldering Madonna by Steven Meisel that will break in a range of fashion magazines in February. “It’s a big change from what we were doing. It tells a story,” said Antoine Arnault, Vuitton’s director of communications. “This I think is an amazing coup, but more than that, there’s real logic behind it. It’s very linked to Marc’s fashion show.”
Although Arnault declined to give figures, he said media budgets for the fashion campaign would be on par with a year ago. And he dismissed as “absurd” reports pegging Madonna’s fees at $10 million. “It’s very far away from that,” he assured.
The campaign marks the end of Vuitton’s six-year collaboration with photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, with the parting characterized as amicable, and another reunion for long-time collaborators Madonna and Meisel. Jacobs last worked with Meisel in his Perry Ellis days. (Arnault noted it’s “very probable” Vuitton’s association with Meisel will continue.)
The campaign takes the very Parisian theme of Jacobs’ hit spring Vuitton collection, with a smoky French bistro the setting, and the sepia-toned images evoking a Brassai atmosphere. “As cliché as they are, I love all these French references,” the designer said. (Although the restaurant, Figaro, is on North Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles).
“I still feel it looks like beautiful, gorgeous Madonna,” Jacobs said about the images. “Excepting the references and excepting the clichés, this still feels very today. And it didn’t feel so much like a fashion shoot, it feels like portraits.”
The shoot wrapped up in less than a day and without incident, although Jacobs said hordes of paparazzi literally “appeared out of the bushes” the moment Madonna arrived. “It went from a quiet street to complete chaos,” he said.
The designer also marveled at the singer’s incredible fitness that allowed her to recline, her back arched, on bentwood chairs, or shoot a leg straight up in the air, no sweat. “She’s so sure of herself as an icon and as a woman. It was her idea to do the fishnets,” Jacobs said. “What fascinates me the most about her is her never-ending energy, and the idea of becoming and changing. She’s an artist who’s unafraid to use her voice.”
Arnault said the fashion campaign would appear “very strongly” in February and March issues and with few changes in media placements. “We’re staying on target,” he stressed.
The first visuals will spotlight slouchy bags in monogram canvas and monogram-embossed leather, along with ethnic-inspired sandals, bangles and sexy ready-to-wear. In tandem, Vuitton will continue to run its “core values” campaign, with spots featuring Sean Connery, the latest celebrity spokesman, continuing into next year. Analysts have estimated Vuitton spends more than $250 million annually on advertising, most of it print-driven.
— Miles Socha
WWD
original poetry - "yes we can?" + "questions"
this first piece i wrote shortly after the election pertaining to the joy of the obama win and the sadness of the passing of prop 8. the picture above was taken at the anti mormon rally shortly after...my interaction with this little girl was absolutely priceless and i will never forget it as long as i live. i went up to her with a crackling voice and the beginnings of tears in my eyes and said, "thank you so much...we really appreciate you." and she simply replied, "you're welcome!". i walked away quickly so she wouldn't see me choke...it made my experience so much more powerful.
yes we can?
it's a completely new world
a fresh new notebook
a brand new fine tip pen
that glides across the smooth sheets
a gorgeous victoy
redefining history
an extreme makeover
of the phantasmagorical kind
justice needs no longer be blind
yet as the world bathes in the afterglow
shining warm with promise and hope
an anxious future waiting to be written
there are still many angry voices
choking and threatening to destroy
these beautiful roses that have come to bloom
what was once oppressed
has now conquered the throne
but as one formidable wall has fallen
another one grows higher and stronger
this is the way of the universe
the ebb and flow of the ocean
like the cliched waxing and waning of the moon
the birth and death of a star
the furious beating and the cantankerous silence of a heart
if all good things must come to an end
then all bad things must cease as well
but patience has never been my strong point
and i know few people who have a knack for complacency
so let us raise up in a thundercloud
voices strained but still strong
hands bloody and aching
from being fists for far too long
let us take this power
this ignition
and fight down the fear with action
shatter the ignorance with the highest pitch
reach the tallest branch
and relish in the taste of that forbidden fruit
learn that it is not forbidden after all
let us unite in our individuality
and agree to disagree
but agree to respect
and promise to each other
to listen
to study
to teach
to discover
to believe
to question
to love
to change
to live
all these things have gotten us
where we are today
and it is these things
that will take us to tomorrow
yes we can?
is it really such a terrible thing
to be so self destructive
when you learn so many lessons
while you're putting yourself back together again?
is it really so bad to spend
almost all of your allowance so fast
when you are so really good at
making that final dollar stretch out until the end?
is happiness always a temporary thing
because it is a gateway to craving more?
is a success simply a catapult
to begin the adventure of yet another quest?
do i procrastinate until the end of a deadline
because i think i work well under pressure
or am i not inspired anymore to give my all
and could honestly really not care less?
why do i fight to reclaim something
once i find i've already lost it
instead of reaching and grabbing
for what i want when i have the chance?
miles away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpcUbeJ855U&eurl=http://forums.madonnanation.com/index.php?showtopic=23839&st=0&gopid=648339&&feature=player_embedded
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
prop 8 the musical
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c0cf508ff8/prop-8-the-musical-starring-jack-black-john-c-reilly-and-many-more-from-fod-team-jack-black-craig-robinson-john-c-reilly-and-rashida-jones
Thursday, November 27, 2008
happy thanksgiving everyone!
love beams,
chauncey d
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
man tries to pay bill with drawing of a spider
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account
Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account
Dear Jane,
I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead. I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account
Dear David,
Thankyou for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.32am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account
Dear Jane,
Can I have my drawing of a spider back then please.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.42am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Overdue account
Dear David,
You emailed the drawing to me. Do you want me to email it back to you?
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.56am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account
Dear Jane,
Yes please.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 12.14pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account
Attached
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 09.22am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Whose spider is that?
Dear Jane, Are you sure this drawing of a spider is the one I sent you? This spider only has seven legs and I do not feel I would have made such an elementary mistake when I drew it.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.03am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Whose spider is that?
Dear David, Yes it is the same drawing. I copied and pasted it from the email you sent me on the 8th. David your account is still overdue by the amount of $233.95. Please make this payment as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.05am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Automated Out of Office Response
Thankyou for contacting me. I am currently away on leave, traveling through time and will be returning last week.
Regards, David.
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.08am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?
Hello, I am back and have read through your emails and accept that despite missing a leg, that drawing of a spider may indeed be the one I sent you. I realise with hindsight that it is possible you rejected the drawing of a spider due to this obvious limb ommission but did not point it out in an effort to avoid hurting my feelings. As such, I am sending you a revised drawing with the correct number of legs as full payment for any amount outstanding. I trust this will bring the matter to a conclusion.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 2.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?
Dear David, As I have stated, we do not accept drawings in lei of money for accounts outstanding. We accept cheque, bank cheque, money order or cash. Please make a payment this week to avoid incurring any additional fees.
Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 3.17pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?
I understand and will definately make a payment this week if I remember. As you have not accepted my second drawing as payment, please return the drawing to me as soon as possible. It was silly of me to assume I could provide you with something of completely no value whatsoever, waste your time and then attach such a large amount to it.
Regards, David.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2008 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?
Attached
Monday, November 24, 2008
so tired of being an unintentional cupid
ok...i realized..i spend a lot of time making blog posts about politics, current events, and weird anomalies of nature...i spend time posting hot dance tracks and freaky videos but i think it's time to start posting more about how i feel personally and here it goes....
'i'm so sick and fucking tired of playing the unintentional cupid"
there i said it...
time and time again, i, for some scientifically unexplained reason, am always the damned catalyst for other people finding love and i'm always left befuddled and alone. i have this magic penchant for connecting two people that have never met before and then they go off and have a sordid love affair or become soul fucking mates...or at least they date for a year or so. unfortunately, it seems that this is my calling in life and the only way i can possibly do this according to the rules is stay single and alone for the rest of my life. i know...cue violins...but seriously...it has happened so many times i can't even count anymore! and yes...you guessed it...it happened again.
just the other night i went to a show with a new friend that i definitely had a little fancy for but was using the night to get to know him to see if i wanted to pursue him for more than a friendship. i did my best to not have any expectations and i think i was kind of successful and the most exciting part of it all is that it may have been the start of a new and exciting friendship. alas, as the night progressed i was feeling those special sparks and since it has been so, so long since anyone affected me in that way i wasn't sure how to go about letting that person know. yes...i was out of practice you could say. i also was faced with the conflict of possibly ruining the possible new friendship by throwing in the dilemma of me saying that i was interested and then them not be interested and that pushing him away as a possible friend. since i have little to no major former relationships to fall back on or if i do start dating someone it always lasts a few weeks, i tend to want to feel the other person out and see if they are interested first so i know whether it would be worthwhile to progress onward with my testimony. again i was trying not to throw a stick into the spokes and look for hints or figure out any kind of signs...i just wanted to have a relaxing fun time getting to know the guy. i felt like we hit it off pretty famously. we are both djs and we both have similar taste in music. it's actually how we met. i was djing and he came to find out who the dj was because he was enjoying the music so much. i was certainly attracted to him but because of my towering self esteem (sarcasm of course) i always guess that the other person must fall for me because of my wit and sense of humour and startling intellect and humbleness (haha) because i guess in my head my looks are for getting simply laid not a boyfriend. although it sounds ridiculous...i don't necessarily think it is. sex is so easy to get in nyc if you know where to go and how to play the game, but meeting someone you can have sex with and talk for hours on the phone, share a good film, dinner, art installation, song and most of all silence with is the hardest thing to come across. that's the way it seems for me at least. i've grown into a 'type'...shaved head, goatee, hairy and stocky...it's all the rage in nyc to be a chubby, manly bear so i'm definitely not on a lot of people's short list but behind this bear is a lot more.
i'm going off on a soap box tangent....sorry
so after we see a show we go to my favourite bar to wait for his friend to meet us and then go a couple blocks east to go hear a friend of mine spin at one of the newest bars in the east village. i introduce him to my friends and he stays for one more drink and then leaves. i'm on a lovely high, having just spent a wonderful night with someone i'm just getting to know and wondering the rest of the night whether he's thinking of me in that special way or not...my favourite kind of torture. my biggest mistake was not peeing on him to mark my territory or at least (haha) letting any and all of my single friends that i was interested in him because i find out two days later that somehow one of my friends exchanged numbers with him without me knowing and they end up spending the next two nights together hanging out and basically falling in some form of "intense"ness.
naturally, anger and jealousy pump through my veins and i'm completely furious at another one of my unintentional stupid cupid moments. should i have been more upfront with the guy i hung out with? should i have run ahead and warned everyone that i was going to meet up with that the guy i'm with is someone that i'm interested in when i was still in the midst of sharing the night with him? should i have grabbed him and kissed him before he left? should i have expected my 'friend' to pull me aside or text me the next day and ask me whether i was on a date with the guy or at least interested? i don't know. all i know is that another one got away possibly because they weren't interested in me anyway, i hesitated too much or simply thought too much of my friends...i don't know. all that remains is my frustrating questions that will probably never be answered. i'm trying to make peace with the situation but the most annoying thing about it is i haven't heard from the new friend since saturday night when the past two days and nights were filled with a back and forth text assault that got me excited about this possible journey in the first place. and initially, he is the one who gave me his number first on myspace. i know, as usual, i'm making a huge ordeal out of this entire situation but honestly, i haven't felt that giddy in a long time about someone i just met and before i could even find out whether something might have happened...the opportunity gets ripped out from under me like a sloppy magician..leaving all my glasses and dishes broken on the linoleum (how's that for a metaphor haha). as you can see i can do nothing but keep my sense of humour alive in the situation because this ain't my first time at the rodeo. i'm trying my best to not be bitter but that's the only flavour in my mouth at the time....i guess i could try a little harder.
i'm just so completely over somehow getting left out of the magic...i'm sick of it...i'm tired of it...it's making my blood boil as we speak...that's why i had to write this here...to excorcise it out of me even just a little bit. when is it proverbially my turn?
ok back to your regularly programmed show...
Saturday, November 22, 2008
i have given in to the single ladies mayhem!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGemjUvafBw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCYc9zM6R3Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eidpOdDX8Qg
Friday, November 21, 2008
meteor in alberta!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSL3b6bCR7s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcAGHkEvkDU
fuerza bruta : boys night!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRCnBFC9Jo4
Thursday, November 20, 2008
can someone shoot mike huckabee please?
seriously...this is the kind of stuff that really makes every inch of my skin crawl...how could anyone be so fucked up and wrong and still stay alive and have a job in the government? it doesn't make any sense to me!
Huckabee: Gays Haven't Crossed Civil Rights "Violence" Threshold Yet
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was on The View talking about same-sex marriage and declaring that gay rights are not civil rights because gays have not had violence inflicted upon them like Blacks have.
Said Huckabee: "People who are homosexuals should have every right in terms of their civil rights, to be employed, to do anything they want. But that’s not really the issue. I know you talked about it and I think you got into it a little bit early on. But when we’re talking about a redefinition of an institution, that’s different than individual civil rights. We’re never going to convince each other...But here is the difference. Bull Connor was hosing people down in the streets of Alabama. John Lewis got his skull cracked on the Selma bridge."
No doubt Harvey Milk, Matthew Shepard, Teish Cannon and the thousands of other victims of anti-gay hate crimes would beg to differ, if they could. As Think Progress notes, "Huckabee’s lame violence threshold is nothing more than a shoddy attempt to conceal his deep and fundamental homophobia."
Watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UkXo9tCv48
go to Think Progress here for more of the story
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
betty white is a frisky lady!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxL7MKsGoPo
vintage madonna commercials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90aKro2QNjc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MJcIyZQw2o
slash and his wife for equal rights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bun4J3OhwQc
mgmt - kids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgtAYctYSVA
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
i hearby call upon a prince boycott!!!
Prince Says God Against Homosexuality
It's been known for more than five years that Prince is a Jehovah's Witness who goes door-to-door trying to win converts to the austere faith, as mentioned in this week's New Yorker. Less appreciated: the musician's growing distance from the liberal artistic values that pervade show business, despite his move to Los Angeles seven years ago. As Claire Hoffman writes, Prince has a budding relationship with Christian conservative media mogul Philip Anschutz, of Denver, and seems to be opposed to gay marriage and adoption. These can' be popular views among Prince's fellow California-based rockers:
When asked about his perspective on social issues—gay marriage, abortion—Prince tapped his Bible and said, “God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’ ”
If Prince wants to get attention for his views, airing them amid nationwide demonstrations against the passage of a California anti-gay-marriage initiative will probably do the trick. What that does for the "celibate" musician's sales and popularity is another matter.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
i love judge judy!
thank you judge judy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7hStSRMAgQ
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
olberman on prop 8 - tear jerker
this man is a true soldier! the quiver in his voice really got me all choked up. i love this man and i love that one of the first thing's he speaks about is that he has no personal stake in this issue....check it out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4xfMisqab8
Monday, November 10, 2008
protest in nyc on wednesday!!!
mormon temple protest this wednesday, november 12th on the upper west side at 6:30pm! please come and help make a difference and scare a mormon while you're at it!
Date: | Wednesday, November 12, 2008 |
Time: | 6:30pm - 8:00pm |
Location: | New York Manhattan Mormon Temple |
Street: | 125 Columbus Ave at 65th Street |
City/Town: | New York, NY |
Phone: | 6462464848 |
Email: |
Description
Join them! Make your voices heard right here in New York City.
We will tell the Mormon Church how we feel about its relentless campaign to condemn and control our lives. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
was, by far, the biggest financer of California's heinous and hateful
Proposition 8. The Mormon Church begged their members to donate money to Prop 8, pouring 20 million dollars into the campaign. And their attacks on us didn't start there and aren't about to end. They're plotting right now to bring their money and influence to bear against the LGBT community everywhere in this country, including trying to prevent marriage equality in New York.
Join us in speaking out against hate and discrimination! Stop them taking away your rights!
PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION - BRING SIGNS -- ALERT THE MEDIA
Media Contact: Corey Johnson - (646) 246-4848
dirty chauncey treat - the white flash
it's time for another dirty chauncey treat...this one is by a group called modeselektor featuring guest vocals by thom yorke of radiohead. the song is remixed by chauncey favourite trentemoller and is gorgeously grimey. it starts off with a fidgetty beat and then slowly transforms into a voilent stomper! i'll definitely be playing it this friday at the eagle for the gruff party!
modeselektor featuring thom yorke - the white flash (trentemoller remix)
Sunday, November 9, 2008
people have the power
i don't know why obama didn't pick this as his campaign song...it's absolutely perfect for today! here's a live version of patti smith's "people have the power" and i posted the lyrics below so you can sing along as you listen and really get the song at first listen! enjoy! power to the people!
patti smith - people have the power (live)
I was dreaming in my dreaming
of an aspect bright and fair
and my sleeping it was broken
but my dream it lingered near
in the form of shining valleys
where the pure air recognized
and my senses newly opened
I awakened to the cry
that the people / have the power
to redeem / the work of fools
upon the meek / the graces shower
it's decreed / the people rule
The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power
Vengeful aspects became suspect
and bending low as if to hear
and the armies ceased advancing
because the people had their ear
and the shepherds and the soldiers
lay beneath the stars
exchanging visions
and laying arms
to waste / in the dust
in the form of / shining valleys
where the pure air / recognized
and my senses / newly opened
I awakened / to the cry
Refrain
Where there were deserts
I saw fountains
like cream the waters rise
and we strolled there together
with none to laugh or criticize
and the leopard
and the lamb
lay together truly bound
I was hoping in my hoping
to recall what I had found
I was dreaming in my dreaming
god knows / a purer view
as I surrender to my sleeping
I commit my dream to you
Refrain
The power to dream / to rule
to wrestle the world from fools
it's decreed the people rule
it's decreed the people rule
LISTEN
I believe everything we dream
can come to pass through our union
we can turn the world around
we can turn the earth's revolution
we have the power
People have the power ...
Friday, November 7, 2008
got milk? harvey milk that is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvfexvihri8
and here's a lot more to think about!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vknHKTy1MLY
britney joins madonna on stage!
and watch how madonna has the power to make young kids dance and strip naked! gotta love the future fag behind the camera (he sounds like me when i was a little kid haha)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3noQGQHWAzc
comic relief - private banana plus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gKS2YV62Sg
and here's another really funny yet strangely sexy clip that i know you'll hate to admit you enjoy haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s651jrL6fh8
thanks to my similarly dirty-minded pal jason for leading me to the way of these delightful vids
Thursday, November 6, 2008
mormons stole our rights!
go to www.mormonsstoleourrights.com and sign the petition and learn more about what they are capable of and what they have done to glbt rights so far!
melissa etheridge is my hero!
Etheridge : No Marriage? No Taxes!
Understandably upset over her fellow Californian's decision to prohibit gay marriage, aurally-inclined lesbian Melissa Etheridge has vowed to withhold the buckets of money the state would have reaped from her taxes. Writes Etheridge at the Daily Beast:
"Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now.…
Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.
Okay, cool I don't mean to get too personal here but there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We're gay!"
why gay marriage was defeated in california
By JOHN CLOUD John Cloud – Thu Nov 6, 2:30 am ET
TIME Magazine
Nov. 4 may have been a joyous day for liberals, but it wasn't a great day for lesbians and gays. Three big states - Arizona, California and Florida - voted to change their constitutions to define marriage as a heterosexuals-only institution. The losses cut deep on the gay side. Arizona had rejected just such a constitutional amendment only two years ago. It had been the first and only state to have rebuffed a constitutional ban on marriage equality. In Florida, where the law requires constitutional amendments to win by 60%, a marriage amendment passed with disturbing ease, 62.1% to 37.9%.
And then there was California. Gay strategists working for marriage equality in this election cycle had focused most of their attention on that state. Losing there dims hopes that shimmered brightly just a few weeks ago - hopes that in an Obama America, straight people would be willing to let gay people have the basic right to equality in their personal relationships. It appears not.
The California vote was close but not razor-thin: as of 10 a.m. P.T., with 96.4% of precincts reporting, gays had lost 52.2% to 47.8%. Obama did not suffer the much-discussed "Bradley effect" this year, but it appears that gay people were afflicted by some version of it. As of late October, a Field Poll found that the pro-gay side was winning 49% to 44%, with 7% undecided. But gays could not quite make it to 49% on Election Day, meaning a few people may have been unwilling to tell pollsters that they intended to vote against equal marriage rights.
Gays are used to losing these constitutional amendment battles - as I said, Arizona was the only exception - but gay activists cannot claim they didn't have the money to wage the California fight. According to an analysis of the most recent reports from the California secretary of state, the pro-equality side raised an astonishing $43.6 million, compared with just $29.8 million for those who succeeded in keeping gays from marrying. The money the gay side raised is surprising for two reasons: first, the cash-Hoover known as the Obama campaign was sucking down millions of dollars a day from the nation's liberals. Many gays expected it to be difficult to raise money to fight Proposition 8 and its plan to outlaw same-sex marriage from Democrats eager to give to Obama and to the outside 527 groups supporting him. As recently as August, one of the nation's top gay political givers told me that he expected the gay side to raise no more than $25 million.
But a series of high-profile Hollywood donations, as well as a frantic, nationwide push for gays to get out their checkbooks, turned out to be quite successful in the short term. East Coast gays had been lulled into inaction by the Oct. 10 Connecticut Supreme Court decision granting gay couples the right to marry - a decision that hadn't required gays to write a single check. But gay people in Los Angeles and San Francisco cajoled and shamed their Eastern friends into opening their wallets. Thousands of California gay couples got married in the past few weeks, and I didn't see a single invitation to a gay ceremony that didn't include a plea to donate to the pro-equality campaign in lieu of buying wedding gifts.
Still, even though gays were fighting to preserve a basic right, it was the anti-equality side in California that seemed to have the most fervor. A symbolic low point for the gay side came on Oct. 13, when the Sacramento Bee ran a remarkable story about Rick and Pam Patterson, a Mormon couple of modest means - he drives a 10-year-old Honda Civic, she raises their five boys - who had withdrawn $50,000 from their savings account and given it to the pro-8 campaign. "It was a decision we made very prayerfully," Pam Patterson, 48, told the Bee's Jennifer Garza. "Was it an easy decision? No. But it was a clear decision, one that had so much potential to benefit our children and their children."
You could argue that marriage equality has little to do with children, but Patterson seemed to speak to Californians' inchoate phobias about gays and kids. On the Friday before the Bee story appeared, a group of San Francisco first-graders was taken to city hall to see their lesbian teacher marry her partner. Apparently the field trip was a parent's idea - not the teacher's - but the optics of the event were terrible for the gay side. It seemed like so much indoctrination.
That news came around the same time the pro-amendment forces were running a devastating ad showing a self-satisfied San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom shouting wild-eyed at a rally that same-sex marriage was inevitable "whether you like it or not." The announcer then said darkly, "It's no longer about tolerance. Acceptance of gay marriage is now mandatory." Many fence sitters were turned off by Newsom's arrogance; blogger Andrew Sullivan attributed mid-October polls against the gay side to the "Newsom effect."
Gays came back in some polls, but they couldn't pull out a win. Part of the reason is that Obama inspired unprecedented numbers of African Americans to vote. Polls show that black voters are more likely to attend church than whites and less likely to be comfortable with equality for gay people. According to CNN, African Americans voted against marriage equality by a wide margin, 69% to 31%. High turnout of African Americans in Florida probably help explain that state's lopsided vote to ban same-sex weddings.
Gays did win some victories yesterday. A new openly gay member of Congress, Jared Polis of Colorado, will go to the House in January. And thanks in part to the Cabinet, the group of elite gay political donors I wrote about recently, Democrats took the New York senate. The entire New York legislature is now in Democratic hands, and New York's governor, David Paterson, is one of the nation's most eloquent pro-marriage-equality representatives. He is also, by the way, African American. Perhaps he can help bridge the gap between gays and blacks that widened on Nov. 4.
africa is a continent?
Failure may be an orphan, but McCain campaign veterans seem to be doing their best to pin blame for defeat on their MAVERICK VP choice Sarah Palin. Fox News Channel political correspondent Carl Cameron today disclosed the first of what he predicts will be an "avalanche" of unflattering stories about the Republican vice presidential nominee: Off-the-record tips from McCain aides that Palin did not know Africa was a continent or the constituent countries in the NAFTA treaty. He later told Bill O'Reilly that Palin didn't know the constituent nations of North America, either. More damning, from a campaign perspective?
Far worse for the campaign was that Palin did not allow aides to prep her for her disastrous interview with Katie Couric, thus exposing her ignorance — or "lack... of knowledgeability" as Cameron diplomatically puts it — to the general public. This intractability was supposedly followed by Palin temper tantrums when things, inevitably, went poorly.
If bitter ex-McCain people are trying, as it seems, to torpedo Palin's chances of running in 2012 or 2016, it's hard to see how these leaks will accomplish that. If repeated on-camera stupidity by Palin wasn't enough to destroy those hopes, unverified and anonymously-sourced tales from the campaign trail are hardly going to do the trick.
But they'll sure be entertaining!
and here she actually sounds almost human and unscripted...god, allah and mohammed forbid she even considers running in 2012!
nobody wants bush's memoirs
You know what's next for any lame duck president: the inevitable post-presidency memoir. Only problem, other than the fact that he struggles with basic grammar and syntax: Bush is a hugely unpopular outgoing president, and most of the country hates him. Publishers are wondering what the market for a potential Bush memoir would be, and the consensus is: um, awkward! No publisher is clambering to give him $15 million like they did Clinton; certainly "the foreign rights interest will be considerably less," says the SF Chronicle. How have other unpopular presidents handled their memoirs?
The current wait-time from moving out of the White House to publishing a book appears to be about two years. Taking into consideration the time it takes to write (or ghostwrite) a book and put it through the slow publishing process suggests that most presidents have gotten their book deals right after leaving office. Here's what past unpopular presidents did with their memoirs:
left at the altar
Left at the Altar
What happens now to gay marriage, in California and elsewhere?
By Kenji YoshinoAlso in Slate, Farhad Manjoo asked whether Barack Obama helped push California's gay-marriage ban over the top.
On Tuesday, California voters passed Proposition 8, the amendment to the state constitution that eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry, scuttling a California Supreme Court ruling in May that granted that right. The amendment's passage represents a serious setback to the right of gays and lesbians to marry.
But how serious? Prop 8's consequence can be best understood by examining its effects on three different groups: gay couples who seek to marry in California in the future, gay couples who entered into legal marriages in California before the amendment passed, and gay couples in other states who are wondering when same-sex marriage will be legalized where they live.
The effects of Prop 8 on gay couples who seek to marry in California in the future are clear. California will have a moratorium on same-sex marriage for the foreseeable future. Although a state Constitutional challenge was filed today, the only plausible legal challenge to Prop 8 is a federal constitutional one. But gay-rights groups will be loath to bring such a challenge, as it could be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is not viewed as a friendly audience. A more likely response would be another proposition to reverse this one, offered through California's relatively flexible referendum process. But that political remedy will likely be some years away, given the political and financial capital expended on this last fight.
The effects of Prop 8 on the more than 16,000 gay couples in California who got married after the state high court authorized them to do so is much less clear. California Attorney General Jerry Brown has opined that he believes those marriages will not get washed out by Prop 8. His position comports with the general intuition that retroactive legislation should not deprive people of vested rights like marriage.
However, that intuition will not necessarily be vindicated. As I have pointed out elsewhere, there is a surprising dearth of federal constitutional authority that would protect existing same-sex marriages from retroactive attempts to undo them. It may well be, as California constitutional-law professor Grace Blumberg of UCLA has argued, that the California Constitution would preclude the retroactive application of Prop 8. But as most experts agree, the outcome here is uncertain.
This is in part because a court might find that Prop 8 does not even constitute retroactive legislation. The amendment states that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." A court could find that the pre-election marriages remain in existence but that California cannot recognize their validity going forward. Under that interpretation, a California same-sex marriage that was valid before today could be recognized by another state but not in the Golden State itself. Indeed, a state like New York that recognizes out-of-state same-sex marriages—even though it doesn't yet grant same-sex marriages—might be required to recognize a pre-election California marriage because of a state court decision that ordered the recognition of same-sex and cross-sex marriages.
Finally, the effects of Prop 8 on the national movement for same-sex marriage are significant but not devastating. Before Tuesday, court opinions legalizing same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut suggested that the right was gaining traction. The passage today of constitutional bans on same-sex marriage not just in California but also in Arizona and Florida provides a counterpoint.
Nonetheless, generational and global trends both ultimately favor full marriage equality in this country. The situation here is similar to the two-steps-forward, one-step-back trajectory that led to the legalization of interracial marriage. To be sure, Prop 8 represents a large step back. But the nation's march toward marriage equality won't stop.