The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
(My laptop situation is currently 'up-in-the-air'; my apologies for any errors or incomplete listings. Please add any other vigils you know of in "comments"- thanks! ~Louise~)
PLEASE NOTE- THE ONE IN PHILLY IS TONIGHT- all others at this time are on Sunday.
========================================
PHILADELPHIA When: Friday, November 20th
Time: 6:30 - 7 p.m.
Where: Church of St. Luke & The Epiphany
330 South 13th St., Philadelphia
Speakers: Cynthia Vasquez, Youth Activist, GALAEI
Gloria Casarez, LGBT Liaison to the Mayor
Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director, Equality Forum
Music: Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus
For more information: Call Chip Alfred, Communications Director, Equality Forum, 215-732-3378 x 116, or email chip@equalityforum.com.
=========================================
IN MEMORIAM - Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado & Jason Mattison Jr. (LA)
LOS ANGELES Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009
Time: 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Location: Corner of Santa Monica and San Vicente in West Hollywood
============================================
BOSTON Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: In front of Trinity Church, Copley Plaza, Boston
======================================
NEW YORK CITY Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009
Time: 5:00pm - 8:30pm
Location: CHRISTOPHER ST PIERS 45
Street: Christopher Street & West Side Highway
New York, NY
LOCATION: HUDSON ST PIER 45 AT CHRISTOPHER ST - 5PM WITH OPTIONAL MOMENT OF SILENCE AND MASS AFTERWARD
BRING: CANDLES FOR YOU AND OTHERS
***IF YOU DO NOT LIVE IN NYC AND WANT TO DO YOUR PART, SEE END OF MESSAGE***
Chicago, IL - A candlelight vigil is being planned in Humboldt Park this Sunday, Nov. 22, from 4-6 p.m. in memory of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, a gay teenager who was murdered, decapitated and burned in Cayey, Puerto Rico.
The vigil is planned to begin at California & Division.
====================================
DALLAS
Date: November 22
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Corner of Cedar Springs and Throckmorton (heart of the Gayborhood).
===============================================
From Facebook.
Please, PLEASE invite all of your friends to a vigil honoring Mercado as well as anyone else who has been murdered, beaten, and otherwise terrorized for their sexuality or gender identity, either real or perceived.
The LGBT population in Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican LGBT community here in the United States need to know we support them.
WE MUST FUNNEL OUR SADNESS INTO AN OUTPOURING OF RIGHTEOUS OUTRAGE.
We must show the government, the media, and the oppressors that to systemically target one group for its appearance or mannerisms--and then subject them to violence explicitly for those criteria--is INTOLERABLE.
We also must demand that the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, recently signed into law by President Obama, is used effectively to bring Jorge's killer to justice.
Chaz was on Good Morning America describing his life's progression and how he came to be a public advocate for the LGB and now the T. A few days ago Blend reader Hector sent me a link to this wonderful New York Times article about the pianist Sara Davis Buechner. Both of these stories, not to mention the story of our own barista Autumn, remind me how much is at stake in terms of privacy and profession for people who transition as adults. I thank Chaz, Sara, Autumn and so many Blend readers for allowing me to walk a moment in their shoes.
The murder of a gay teenager in Baltimore has left a family grieving and a community questioning why he was killed. The suspect is a family friend and ex-con who had served only 10 years of an original 30-year sentence for an earlier crime.
Dante Parrish, 35, has been charged with first-degree murder, The Baltimore Sun reports. Parrish was sentenced to 30 years in connection with a 1999 killing but was released after the nonprofit legal group the Innocence Project "found that Parrish had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder based on a faulty statement of facts read into the court record," according to the Sun. A judge overturned Parrish's conviction.
An overflow crowd spilled out of the sanctuary and into the vestibule of a West Baltimore church Wednesday morning for the funeral of Jason Mattison Jr., a 15-year-old killed last week in a brutal attack.
The principal at Jason's school announced a scholarship fund set up in his name. Friends and family recalled stories involving the rambunctious teenager, who had dreams of becoming a pediatrician. And the reverend of the church told hundreds of mourners that the boy's death should serve as a warning to the downtrodden neighborhood where it happened to closely watch all kids.
Several students from Jason's school, Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, attended the 90-minute service held at Unity United Methodist Church on Edmondson Avenue, some of the teens becoming so overcome with emotion that they stepped outside.
On the 20th of November each year, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice with the International Transgender Day Of Remembrance (TDOR).
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester's murder - like most anti-transgender murder cases - has yet to be solved.
Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender - that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant - each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.
We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence, especially since the events of September 11th. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn't perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who've died by anti-transgender violence.
As of yesterday morning, there are 119 documented deaths internationally that meet the criteria for inclusion for reading the list of the dead. That's just shy of an average of 10 known deaths a month.
For those who are interested in U.S. deaths, I count 13 U.S. deaths on the list. For another year, that still averages to about one death a month in the U.S. due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.
For me, after covering the Angie Zapata Hate Crime Murder Trial last April, TDOR has been made all too personal. Angie was Latina; many lost lives on the list this year are from Latin America. And, I still see the image I saw in court of Angie lying on the floor in a pool of blood, hear the painful voices of her family members, and realize there are dozens of real people who died in anti-transgender hatred or prejudice this past year -- just like Angie.
Hate and violence are all too real and personal for me; I don't just see 119 disconnected names of victims of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice, but instead painfully see 119 human lives lost in anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.
Select here for a list of those who will be remembered.
Select here for memorial event locations, dates, and times.
I don't know whether to fall out laugh or cry at the prospect of another major election cycle with this blowhard on the campaign trail followed by his Teabaggers, Birthers, and Brown MenaceTM-fearing fans. (Reuters):
A week after abruptly quitting his longtime job as a CNN television news host and commentator, Lou Dobbs said on Thursday he is considering career options including possible runs for the White House or U.S. Senate.
"Right now I feel exhilaration at the wide range of choices before me as to what I do next," Dobbs, whose outspoken views on immigration and other topics often angered liberals, told Reuters in a telephone interview from New York on Thursday.
...A Texas native, Dobbs has drawn fire from Latino leaders and civil rights groups for frequent on-air remarks about U.S. border control and immigration that critics saw as demonizing illegal immigrants.
He was also seen as lending credence to the "birther" conspiracy theory, whose adherents believe President Barack Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate was faked to hide a Kenyan birthplace that would make the first black U.S. president ineligible for his office.
Dobbs goes on to say that he will "seek to represent and champion the middle class in this country and those who aspire to it."
Watch Dobbs's appearance on The Daily Show (via C&L):
(My favorite quote from Scalia: "Did any provision in the Constitution guarantee a right to homosexual sodomy?" Gee, Tony, was there a provision for heterosexual sodomy? Want a cookie for that? - promoted by Pam Spaulding)
On the concept of interpreting the Constitution, Scalia said he embraces the school of thought that the document should be interpreted as its authors intended.
Its authors? You mean the people who added the following as that Constitution's Ninth Amendment?
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
[T]he Constitution's refusal to "deny or disparage" other rights is far removed from affirming any one of them...
Really?
...and even farther removed from authorizing judges to identify what they might be
Really?
Yup - when you're lookng for a conservative judicial activist to make up interpretations of the Constitution that will prevent any non-conservative from rationally interpreting - or in any way interpretng - the Constitution, you can always turn to your favorite Reagan appointee who saw no ethical problem with deciding a case involving one of his huntin' buddies.
Adam Lambert is on the cover of the OUT 100 magazine this year. Adam Lambert, who makes no bones about being gay, has PR reps who, I guess, feel it's not in their client's best interest to be "too gay" and told the editors at OUT just that.
They also demanded that he appear on the cover with at least one heterosexual, and forbade the interviewer from asking Lambert about the gay rights march in Washington several weeks ago. Out's Editor in Chief Aaron Hicklin was moved by these events to write an open letter to Adam Lambert, in which he expressed the disappointment the LGBT community feels when a gay celebrity appears ashamed of his/her identity.
As this already odd drama went on, it just over to Twitter, with Lambert telling Hicklin to "chill." Hicklin decided to take to the airwaves on Air America to discuss the dust up with Jack Rice. Many thanks to Air America -- here's the audio of the interview.
The President nominated Marine General Clifford Stanley (Ret.), to serve as Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, a position that would be responsible for implementing a reversal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the Pentagon.
There were high hopes that Dr. Stanley's testimony would shed light on how he would handle the change in policy, but it's clear that the following was not what Servicemembers Legal Defense Network expecting.
From Stanley's testimony:
Homosexual Conduct Policy
The current Homosexual Conduct Policy, commonly referred to as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," went into effect in February 1994 after months of congressional hearings and debate resulting in the enactment of a Federal statute. Although there have been some changes in how this policy has been implemented, the basic policy has not changed. President Obama has made it clear that he intends to work with the military and with Congress to repeal the policy.
What is your view on repealing or changing this policy?
If confirmed, I would work closely with the service Secretaries and Chiefs to provide the Secretary of Defense the best advice possible on the way forward regarding this issue.
In your view, would changing this policy have an adverse impact on unit cohesion and good order and discipline in the military? If Congress revises the Homosexual Conduct Policy statute and if confirmed, I would work closely with the services to ensure the revising of this policy is done in a way that maintains our highest state of military readiness.
If confirmed, what role would you play in efforts to repeal or change this policy?
If Congress changes the law and if confirmed, I, as the Under Secretary for Personnel & Readiness, would be responsible for leading the implementation of the change in the policy within DoD.
If the policy is changed by Congress, would you recommend a phase-in period for implementation of the new policy?
If the statute is changed and if confirmed, I would consult with the service Secretaries and Chiefs to ensure the implementation of the new policy is done in a way that maintains our highest state of military readiness.
If confirmed, what role will you play in implementing a new policy?
If the statute is changed and if confirmed, I would lead the effort to implement a new policy while carefully considering the advice of and working closely with the service Secretaries, the service Chiefs, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I would ensure that this change is done in a way that maintains our highest state of military readiness.
SLDN's reaction:
Statement by SLDN Executive Director on Dr. Stanley Confirmation Hearing
SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis responded to the confirmation hearing for Marine General Clifford Stanley (Ret.), nominated by President Obama to be Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. This office historically handles "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" within the Pentagon.
SLDN is disappointed Dr. Clifford Stanley punted on several questions regarding "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" this morning. When given the opportunity by Senator Mark Udall (D-Colo.) to support his commander in chief's position to overturn the ban, Dr. Stanley did not do so. However, as is the case with most nominees, Dr. Stanley did not delve into any of the policy issues in his portfolio. We look forward to Dr. Stanley becoming fully aligned with President Obama on repeal. The President has said the right words but some of his chief lieutenants may not have heard those words. The fact remains that a 2010 repeal has never been more promising.
Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) opening statement today on repeal was troubling. The Senator said he believes the law is "working successfully." The facts and record show DADT is not working. More than 13,500 service members have been discharged under DADT and thousands more leave the services every year because of the ban. Nearly a quarter of service members, according to a recent report by the RAND Corp., know a member of their unit is gay. Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to make the case to the Senator that the law is not working and that 58 percent of conservatives support allowing gays to serve openly.
You can also read Dr. Stanley's interesting written responses to DADT questions (pgs. 6-7) here: http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2009/November/Stanley%2011-19-09.pdf
don't know why the Family Research Council continues to keep me on its email list. I received one today about ENDA.
Like so many things put out by the Family Research Council, the email is full of distortions and doublespeak. I want to highlight two of the most egregious:
President Obama wants to punish Christians by . . . November 19, 2009 | Share with Friends
Dear Alvin,
A grave threat to your traditional values and religious freedom is resurfacing.
Deceptively, it's called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Truthfully, it should be called the "Discrimination Against Christians in the Workplace Act."
I know that sounds far-fetched, but this is what ENDA will do . . .
ENDA will redefine your faith as illegal workplace bigotry . . . make the government a full partner in the homosexual rights movement . . . and force churches, small businesses run by Christians, and faith-based charities to hire nonbelievers or face federal investigation.
Apparently FRC hasn't learned anything from the unsuccessful attempt to make it seem that hate crimes legislation is an attack on Christianity. Now its making the same inaccurate case about ENDA.
In 2005, the state of Texas overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state Constitution that was added as Article I, Section 32. That section now reads:
Sec. 32. MARRIAGE.
(a) Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.
(b) This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.
Note subsection 2. The question has arisen: does this forbid recognition of all legal statuses "identical or similar to marriage," including actual marriage itself?
Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state.
...Radnofsky, who was a member of the powerhouse Vinson & Elkins law firm in Houston for 27 years until retiring in 2006, says the wording of Subsection B effectively "eliminates marriage in Texas," including common-law marriages.
She calls it a "massive mistake" and blames the current attorney general, Republican Greg Abbott, for allowing the language to become part of the Texas Constitution. Radnofsky called on Abbott to acknowledge the wording as an error and consider an apology. She also said that another constitutional amendment may be necessary to reverse the problem.
Ah, it's pathetically ignorant, perpetually re-elected NC U.S. Congresscritter Virginia Foxx opening her trap again to contribute batsh*ttery to the public discourse and historical record with the ludicrous claim on the House floor that the Republican party had a progressive record on civil rights and Congress passed legislation in the 1960s without much help from Dems. (Think Progress):
During a debate on the House floor today over designating 21 miles of the Molalla River as "wild and scenic," Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who opposes the legislation, tried to claim a progressive environmental record for her party. "Actually, the GOP has been the leader in starting good environmental programs in this country," said Foxx.
Foxx then extended her claims of the GOP's progressive history to the issue of civil rights. "Just as we were the people who passed the civil rights bills back in the '60s without very much help from our colleagues across the aisle," said Foxx. "They love to engage in revisionist history."
Since she's making the claim that Republicans are the party of civil rights, then she and her party should be ready to promote civil equality for LGBTs, no? Someone should challenge her on that point. Anyway, she was slapped down by Dennis Cardoza (D-CA):
CARDOZA: Today, what I'm hearing on the floor really takes the cake. The gentlelady from North Carolina, in her statement just now, indicated that the Republican GOP had passed the Civil Rights Act legislation with almost no help from the Democrats. I can't believe my ears. It was the Kennedy and Johnson administration where we passed that Great Society legislation. It was over the objections of people like Jesse Helms from the gentlewoman's state that we passed that civil rights legislation. John Lewis...
FOXX: Would, would the gentleman yield?
CARDOZA: No, I will not yield. John Lewis, a member of this House, was beaten on the Edmund Pettus bridge to get that civil rights legislation passed. Tell John Lewis that he wasn't part of getting that legislation passed.
The fact of the matter is that, again, hat tip to Think Progress, this claim by wingnuts that the GOP was the real prime mover in civil rights legislation is a highly subjective reading of the numbers.
To support the claim that Republicans were actually the architects of civil rights, conservatives often point out that a "higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats supported the civil-rights bill." But this ignores the "distinct split between Northern and Southern politicians" on the issue. When this is taken into account, the facts show that "in both the North and the South, Democrats supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act at a higher rate than the Republicans."
It's the end of an era, as one of the most powerful women on the planet (Forbes noted Winfrey's net worth at $2.7 billion) Oprah pulls the plug on her talk show -- and plans to launch another - on her own channel.
"The Oprah Winfrey Show,'' an iconic broadcast that grew from a local Chicago talk show into the foundation of a multibillion dollar media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air, Winfrey's production company said Thursday night.
Winfrey, who became one of the most powerful women in entertainment from a seat on the couch of her set in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, plans to announce the final date for her show during a live broadcast on Friday, Harpo Productions Inc. said.
Winfrey is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is expected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 70 million homes.
CBS distributes The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the execs there probably have their hankies out right about now, as the show was sold in 200 markets -- kiss all those licensing fees goodbye.
Julia Boseman did fabulous, difficult work on the School Violence Protection Act in our state Senate, earning her Equality NC's Legislative Award this past weekend. I'm sorry to hear that she's not running again (she'd most certainly win), but being the only out member of our General Assembly has to be tough with all those good-old-boys in there. Family always comes first. (Q-Notes):
State Sen. Julia Boseman (D-New Hanover), the only openly gay or lesbian member of the General Assembly, announced Thursday she will not seek re-election when her term ends in 2010.
In a statement, Boseman cited family responsibilities for her decision to leave the General Assembly, according to Wilmington's WTKR News Channel 3. Boseman's domestic partner is expecting a child in January.
Elected in 2004, Boseman was the first openly gay or lesbian North Carolinian elected to the state legislature. Prior to her service in the Senate, Boseman served on the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.
In her acceptance speech, she hinted that it was time to move along, and called for others LGBT North Carolinians to take the baton.
When I won this seat it didn't become my seat, it became our seat, and we've been able to accomplish a lot with our seat. And as Ian said, having a seat at the table has made a world of difference.
When I'm in that back room of the caucus and we're talking about the marriage amendment, it makes a difference that we're there. When we're talking about the bullying bill, it made a difference that we're there. When we have Republicans saying that comprehensive health education, sexual education means that you're going to teach all our kids how to be gay, it makes a big difference that we have a seat at the table.
I won't always have this seat; and it's time for other people to step up. I'm asking you and your friends to please get involved, run for office, be on boards and commissions; it makes such a difference us being there.
As it stands, this means that Republicans will have a chance to take this swing seat in 2010. Hopefully Dems can retain the seat; it will be difficult to fill Julia Boseman's shoes as "our" state senator.
Here's to you Julia -- thank you so much for sharing "your seat" with the LGBTs of NC.
Julia Boseman with your blogmistress at the 2009 Equality NC Gala
(NOTE FROM PAM: Karen Ocamb of LGBT POV gave permission to the Blend post this great and unsettling piece.}
(Karen: I first met Charles Stewart in the late 80s/early 1990s when his close friend Phill Wilson was running the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum. Those were the days when the late poet Essex Hemphill and filmmaker Marlon Riggs were hot and controversial with Rigg's artistic documentary "Tongues Untied: Black Men Loving Black Men." Charles went to work for Diane Watson, an elected official from the Los Angeles area who now represents her district in Congress. On Sunday, Nov. 8, the day after the healthcare bill passed the US House of Representatives, Charles wrote an email to his father about the experience of watching history being made. While many of us are still rankled over the inclusion of the anti-abortion provision and we await the Senate version of the bill, it is important to remember this night - and Charles, an openly gay congressional staffer, graciously gave me permission to share it with you. It is especially significant to note how Charles' email to his father concludes. Herewith the letter - Karen Ocamb)
Nov. 8, 2009
Dad,
I admit I had doubt. But last night I saw it with my own eyes from the gallery above the House of Representatives' floor. Friday, staff were told to report early Saturday morning, be prepared to work into the wee hours, and to work all day Sunday as well.
Because of the expected deluge of "tea baggers" to protest against healthcare reform, security was tight, the phones rang non-stop (mostly pro-healthcare), but the boss wanted our office door kept open to the public (only Representatives Judy Chu and John Conyers also kept their office doors open on our floor of the Rayburn House Building, although I know many of them were being staffed behind closed doors).
Diane said the President was inspiring and confident in his meeting yesterday morning with the Democratic Caucus, which we'd been told the night before was cancelled so he could spend the day in Texas with the families of the shooting victims at Ft. Hood. But he swung by the Capitol before boarding Air Force One.
We are a society bathed in sadism and brutality - and this is just one of many examples of parents behaving badly along with police again misusing a Taser to enforce compliance rather than a substitute for a gun. What mother would gladly give consent for her 65 lb, 4'6" daughter to receive a 50K shock!? (The Smoking Gun):
An Arkansas cop tasered an unruly 10-year-old girl after her mother called police to report that the child was crying, screaming, and refusing to go to bed. The tased girl, Kiara Medlock, is about 65 pounds and 4' 6", according to her father. Anthony Medlock, a truck driver who does not live with the fifth grader and her mother, provided TSG with a recent photo of his daughter, which can be seen at right. According to the below Ozark Police Department report, when Officer Dustin Bradshaw arrived at the residence last Thursday, he found the girl "screaming, kicking, and resisting every time her mother tried to touch her." Bradshaw added that, "Her mother told me to tase her if I needed to." After Kiara continued to refuse her mother's instructions, the cop concluded that "there was not going to be a peaceful resolution of the issue." Bradshaw warned the girl that she was "going to jail," but the child continued kicking and crying and resisted his attempt to handcuff her. During the tussle, Kiara "struck me with her legs and feet in the groin, reported Bradshaw, who countered with a brief "stun to her back" with his Taser.
Here is the police report. Her father said: "If you can't pick the kid up and take her to your car, handcuff her, then I don't think you need to be an officer."
A few days ago Blend reader Hector sent me a link to 
During a debate on the House floor today over designating 21 miles of the Molalla River as "wild and scenic," Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who opposes the legislation, tried to claim a progressive environmental record for her party. "Actually, the GOP has been the leader in starting good environmental programs in this country," said Foxx.
When I won this seat it didn't become my seat, it became our seat, and we've been able to accomplish a lot with our seat. And as Ian said, having a seat at the table has made a world of difference.
(Karen: I first met Charles Stewart in the late 80s/early 1990s when his close friend Phill Wilson was running the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum. Those were the days when the late poet Essex Hemphill and filmmaker Marlon Riggs were hot and controversial with Rigg's artistic documentary "
