Monday, December 22, 2008

Dear Santa -

I've been very good this year, so for Christmas I'd really like:
























Thank you. Oh and PS, I'll be in Brooklyn on Christmas Eve, but likely you already know that.


















oh, and just in case you forgot, she worked for you...so that's got to count for something ;)

Friday, December 19, 2008

This am out the window at a work meeting...

Thursday, December 18, 2008

That's my grad school...

Friday, December 12, 2008

Latest.

Rest in Peace Spoof

I love you.

Bush v. Gore was decided 8 years ago today.


What a BAD decision that was.
Bush v. Gore was decided 8 years ago today.


what a bad decision that was.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

below are lyrics from so long ago, i still love them just the same...


"Asking Too Much"


I want somebody who sees the pointlessness
and still keeps their purpose in mind
I want somebody who has a tortured soul
some of the time
I want somebody who will either put out for me
or put me out of misery
or maybe just put it all to words
and make me say, you know
I never heard it put that way
make me say, what did you just say?
I want somebody who can hold my interest
hold it and never let it fall
someone who can flatten me with a kiss
that hits like a fist
or a sentence, that stops me like a brick wall
because if you hear me talking
listen to what I'm not saying
if you hear me playing guitar
listen to what I'm not playing
and don't ask me to put words
to all the spaces between notes
in fact if you have to ask, forget it
do and you'll regret it
I'm tired of being the interesting one
I'm tired of heving fun for two
just lay yourself on the line
and I might lay myself down by you
but don't sit behind your eyes
and wait for me to surprise you
I want somebody who can make me
scream until it's funny
give me a run for my money
I want someone who can
twist me up in knots
tell me, for the woman who has everything
what have you got?
I want someone who's not afraid of me
or anyone else
in other words I want someone
who's not afraid of themself

do you think I'm asking too much?

~Ani D.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

"I envisioned you in smudged coveralls literally building a fence around you and stomping your feet saying…yeah, just try it, I dare you!

Monday, December 8, 2008

i missed the opportunity to comment on a number of really good days, primarily nov. 20 - 30. the days leading up to and following 29.

Friday, December 5, 2008

my friend from work tells me this is why gays cant marry ;)

Gay penguins steal eggs from straight couples

A couple of gay penguins are attempting to steal eggs from straight birds in an effort to become "fathers", it has been reported.

Last Updated: 2:06PM GMT 27 Nov 2008

There are known to be several gay penguin couples in zoos across the world Photo:

The two penguins have started placing stones at the feet of parents before waddling away with their eggs, in a bid to hide their theft.

But the deception has been noticed by other penguins at the zoo, who have ostracised the gay couple from their group. Now keepers have decided to segregate the pair of three-year-old male birds to avoid disrupting the rest of the community during the hatching season.

A keeper at Polar Land in Harbin, north east China explained that the gay couple had the natural urge to become fathers, despite their sexuality.

"One of the responsibilities of being a male adult is looking after the eggs. Despite this being a biological impossibility for this couple, the natural desire is still there," a keeper told the Austrian Times newspaper.

"It's not discrimination. We have to fence them separately, otherwise the whole group will be disturbed during hatching time," he added.

There are numerous examples of homosexuality in the animal kingdom, but gay penguins have captured the public's attention more than any other species.

A German zoo provoked outrage from gay lobby groups after attempting to mate a group of gay male penguins with Swedish female birds who were flown in especially to seduce them. But the project was abandoned after the males refused to be "turned", showing no interest in their would-be mates.

In 2002 a couple of penguins at a New York zoo who had been together for eight years were "outed" when keepers noticed that they were both males.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

I have a feeling that it's going to be a long winter.
Would you like to come spend it with me?

Monday, December 1, 2008

Today Brooklyn feels like Pittsburgh.
Maybe it's the weather
Maybe it's the Elliot Smith
Maybe it's just my head.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Sunday, November 16, 2008




my, clearly homemade, shirt from yesterday's rally at city hall...
to make me smile on a sunday...

Saturday, November 15, 2008

prop 8 rally outside of city hall







"what's love got to do with it?"
EVERYTHING
stop
H8





I took the pics above yesterday at the rally in NYC...below is an article from today's times.

November 16, 2008
Across U.S., Big Rallies for Same-Sex Marriage

By JESSE McKINLEY
SAN FRANCISCO — In one of the nation’s largest displays of support for gay rights, tens of thousands of people in cities across the country turned out in support of same-sex marriage on Saturday, lending their voices to an issue that many gay men and lesbians consider a critical step to full equality.

The demonstrations — from a sun-splashed throng in San Francisco to a chilly crowd in Minneapolis — came 11 days after California voters narrowly passed a ballot measure, Proposition 8, that outlawed previously legal same-sex ceremonies in the state. The measure’s passage has spurred protests in California and across the country, including at several Mormon temples, a reflection of that church’s ardent backing of the proposition.

On Saturday, speakers painted the fight over Proposition 8 as another test of a movement that began with the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York in 1969, survived the emergence of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and has since made enormous strides in societal acceptance, whether in television shows or in antidiscrimination laws.

“It’s not ‘Yes we can,’ ” said Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco city supervisor, referring to President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign mantra. “It’s ‘Yes we will.’ ”

Carrying handmade signs with slogans like “No More Mr. Nice Gay” and “Straights Against Hate,” big crowds filled civic centers and streets in many cities. In New York, some 4,000 people gathered at City Hall, where speakers repeatedly called same-sex marriage “the greatest civil rights battle of our generation.”

“We are not going to rest at night until every citizen in every state in this country can say, ‘This is the person I love,’ and take their hand in marriage,” said Representative Anthony D. Weiner of Brooklyn.

In Los Angeles, where wildfires had temporarily grabbed headlines from continuing protests over Proposition 8, Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa addressed a crowd of about 9,000 people in Spanish and English, and seemed to express confidence that the measure, which is being challenged in California courts, would be overturned.

“I’ve come here from the fires because I feel the wind at my back as well,” said the mayor, who arrived at a downtown rally from the fire zone on a helicopter. “It’s the wind of change that has swept the nation. It is the wind of optimism and hope.”

About 900 protesters braved a tornado watch and menacing rain clouds in Washington to rally in front of the Capitol and on to the White House. “Gay, straight, black, white; marriage is a civil right,” the marchers chanted.

In Las Vegas, the comedian Wanda Sykes surprised a crowd of more than 1,000 rallying outside a gay community center by announcing that she is gay and had wed her wife in California on Oct. 25. Ms. Sykes, who divorced her husband of seven years in 1998, had never publicly discussed her sexual orientation but said the passage of Proposition 8 had propelled her to be open about it.

“I felt like I was being attacked, personally attacked — our community was attacked,” she told the crowd.

And while some speakers were obviously eager to tap crowds’ current outrage, others took pains to cast the demonstrations as a peaceful, long-term, campaign over an issue that has proved remarkably and consistently divisive.

“We need to be our best selves,” said the Rev. G. Penny Nixon, a gay pastor from San Mateo, Calif., who warned the San Francisco crowd against blaming “certain communities” for the election loss. “This is a movement based on love.”

The protests were organized largely over the Internet, and featured few representatives of major gay rights groups that campaigned against Proposition 8, which passed with 52 percent of the vote after trailing for months in the polls. The online aspect seemed to draw a broad cross-section of people, like Nicole Toussaint, a kindergarten teacher who joined a crowd of more than 1,000 people in Minneapolis.

“I’m here to support my friends who are gay,” said Ms. Toussaint, 23. “I think my generation will play a big role.”

The big crowds notwithstanding, it has been a tough month for gay rights. Proposition 8 was just one of three measures on same-sex marriage passed on Nov. 4, with constitutional bans also being approved in Arizona and Florida. In Arkansas, voters passed a measure aimed at barring gay men and lesbians from adopting children.

That vote was on the minds of many of the 200 people who protested Saturday in front of the State Capitol in Little Rock. One of those, Barb L’Eplattenier, 39, a university professor, said some of her gay friends with adopted children were fearful of state action if they appeared in public. “They think their families are in danger,” said Ms. L’Eplattenier, who married her partner, Sarah Scanlon, in California in July.

The protests over Proposition 8 also come even as same-sex marriages began Wednesday in Connecticut, which joined Massachusetts as the only states allowing such ceremonies. By contrast, 30 states have constitutional bans on such unions.

At a Boston rally on Saturday, Kate Leslie, an organizer, said the loss in California had certainly caught the attention of local gay men and lesbians who have had the right to marry since 2004.

“You’re watching people who could be you and are part of your community being stripped of their rights,” Ms. Leslie said. “And in some ways that’s why so many people are infuriated in Massachusetts and willing to stand up for a rally.”

In California, a State Supreme Court decision legalized same-sex marriage in May. As many as 18,000 couples married, some traveling from other states to tie the knot. Such marriages may be challenged in court.

David McMullin, a garden designer from Atlanta, was one of those who made the trip, marrying his partner in Oakland, Calif., in September, in part to let their two adoptive children feel part of a married family.

“We just want our kids to know we’re O.K.,” said Mr. McMullin, who had come to a protest in front of the Georgia State Capitol. “We have rights as people even if we don’t have rights as citizens.”

Supporters of the proposition have repeatedly argued that Proposition 8 was not antigay, but merely pro-marriage.

“The marriage is between a man and women,” said Frank Schubert, the campaign manager for Protect Marriage, the leading group behind passing Proposition 8. “If they want to legalize same-sex marriage, they are gong to have to bring a proposal before the people of California. That’s how democracy works.”

Equality California, a major gay rights group here, indicated this week that it would work to repeal Proposition 8 if legal challenges fail.

Such dry approaches seemed a million miles away, however, from the boisterous scene in front of San Francisco City Hall on Saturday, where as many as 10,000 people gathered, carrying signs, American flags and even copies of their marriage licenses.

One of those was Lawrence Dean, 57, who had married his partner, Steven Lyle, in San Francisco in July. It was the fifth time that the couple of 19 years had held a ceremony to announce their commitment, and, of course, accept wedding gifts.

“If we keep this up, maybe I won’t have to again,” Mr. Dean said, looking out at the protest. “I have enough pots and pans.”

Reporting was contributed by Robbie Brown from Atlanta; Steve Barnes from Little Rock; Christina Capecchi from Minneapolis; Francesca Segrè from Los Angeles; Katie Zezima from Boston; Ashley Southall from Washington; Steve Friess from Las Vegas; and C. J. Hughes from New York.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

See more funny videos at Funny or Die


glad i've got friends who post things like this...it is, brilliant.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I've been thinking alot about this rally tonight to protest the
passage of prop 8 in CA. I find myself disagreeing with the
organizers of the event in regards to strategy and messaging.

This morning on my way to catch my train I passed an ad for the Anti-
Violence Project
here in NYC. The ad, as so many of their ads are,
was unassumingly simple in it's message: "I'm antiviolence and pro-
respect."

I too live this mantra and as such am unable to join my LGBT community
as they come together this evening as they protest in front of the
Mormon Church.

Let it be clear: I in no way endorse the recent actions of the Mormon
Church and their monetary influence in the prop 8 debate. That said I
do not feel that an appropriate response by our community is a protest
in front of the Church.

More to come when not mobile - I have links and text to add...

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Buck 65 - back from show in Sept.

this is one of my favorite songs...

"...so I be written in the book of love, I do not care about that book above, erase my name or write it as you will, so I be written in the book of love." ~Clarence Darrow



There is so much I have to say on this particular topic, however at the moment there are some pressing things that need to be attended to, yes, i know, some may say its late, however, sh*t needs to get done, so...it's early.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Hope is not a four letter word... (part 1)

Now that I am somewhat caught up on sleep, have eaten things other than luke warm pizza, have adjusted to the nonsmoking status of most office places and have consumed less bourbon and more water, it's time to reflect on the past couple of weeks...

I can assure you that this attempt will likely be followed by edits and perhaps entirely new entries, but this, this is a start.

It seems like so long ago that I made my decision, my decision to support the "underdog", the candidate that, especially in NY was considered a long-shot. But nonetheless, I made my decision, and in true fashion I put my entire self into that decision.

The full magnitude of what was accomplished on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 hits me in waves. I am overcome with disbelief, awe, and gratitude. The feeling of hope that situated itself deep within my being persists and I know that this is real and WE did this. Yet, at the same time I am overcome with sadness and a disheartening feeling that, in fact, we are not all created equal in the eyes of Americans. It is hard to separate the gains made in electing the first African-American president and the fact that when the country woke up on the 5th a segment of the population had been stripped of many fundamental civil rights.

My time spent engaged with the Obama campaign will forever remain in my grey matter as some of the best experiences of my life. I met people whose passion and dedication were astounding. I heard stories that I replay daily in my head. I lived experiences that I thought were only possible in movies or books. I laughed, I cried, I lost sleep and ate terribly. I learned. I accepted. I fought. I held true to my beliefs. I experienced love and respect and in some cases I saw the fear that certain segments of the American population felt. I saw hope. I saw excitement. I saw a nation come together. I belonged to a nation that I was proud of.

I've already posted about some of my experiences in Lancaster, PA and Germantown, PA. Read here about my experiences in Germantown, the bus I co-organized. What a wonderful and rewarding experience to have so many first time volunteers get involved.

Throughout this post, I may reference back to prior posts, so...follow the links and keep up with my sometimes erratic train of thought. :)

On Sunday, October 26, 2008 I arrived in Pittsburgh. Ne and the boy picked me up and we had just enough time to head to Mad Mex for some chickpea chili and a burrito (too big to eat in one sitting, but so worth it) before we headed to Holly's for the Steelers game. Here is a mobile blog post on the topic.

On Monday I reported to the Pittsburgh headquarters, office # 5 on my journey through PA for Obama. Things were busy because in a few short hours Obama would be greeting the City of Steel. The phones were ringing off the hook and everyone wanted to know how they could see the Democratic nominee for the President of the United States. It was a free event, open to the public, on a first come, first served basis - the stadium was full.

When I got to the stadium it was already filling up, the excitment and buzz in the crowd was overwhelming. Here are some photos from a prior post. (It seems that it was much easier to mobile blog pictures through all of this :))

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

"he's gonna win tomorrow, right?"

"if i have anything to do with it, you bet."

Monday, November 3, 2008

Field office #6 on my journey through PA.

Welcome to Greensburg PA

A good purchase on a Monday morning for later today...

The national anthem of the US, the star spangled banner, was written
to the tune of a drinking song.

Friday, October 31, 2008



October 31, 2008
NYC Lesbians Hit Philly for Obama
A group of New York City lesbians took to the streets of Philadelphia to turn out the vote for Barack Obama. The Illinois U.S. senator holds a comfortable lead there, but John McCain has fixated on Pennsylvania as the only sizable blue state he hopes to turn red.
By Kerry Eleveld
It was around 8 a.m. last Saturday when a troupe of about 35 New York City lesbians and several men piled into a bus bound for Philadelphia, where they had signed up to knock on doors in an effort to get people to the polls for Barack Obama next Tuesday.

“It’s one of those elections where 20 years from now people will ask me where I was, and I want to have an answer,” said Katie Kelly, 24. The proclamation immediately inspired a protest from her 26-year-old girlfriend, Elspeth Greene. “Hey, that’s my line,” Greene said, as they stood next to each other in matching “Obama for President” T-shirts, one purple and the other green.

Pennsylvania has become increasingly important as John McCain pulled resources out of other states such as Michigan and Wisconsin that voted Democratic in 2004 to concentrate his efforts on winning the Keystone State’s 21 electoral votes. Most recent polls there show Senator Obama with anywhere from a 7- to 14-point advantage, but McCain’s advisers have argued that voting trends in the state are sometimes unpredictable and that it’s their last, best chance to steal a “blue state” from Obama, even as the U.S. senator from Illinois threatens to flip a handful of key red states such as Ohio and Florida.

Bus organizers Erin Drinkwater, 28, and Tanene Allison, 27, said the road trip was the second stage of a grassroots effort to get more LGBT women involved in the campaign. “The strategy was, How do you get new people engaged in the campaign and destigmatize canvassing -- make it fun, make it accessible?” Allison said, as the cult classic But I’m a Cheerleader played in the background on the bus’s video system. The three-step plan had started with a canvassing sign-up party held at a local lesbian bar called Henrietta Hudson the previous week, and the daylong commitment to walking Philadelphia was actually a baby step on the way to a bigger request -– who might be willing to spend the three or four days leading up to November 4 walking neighborhoods in a swing state like Ohio, where Allison planned to be.

When the movie ended, Drinkwater and Allison offered a mini training session. People would pair up and be provided with a “walk kit” that included a map of the area they were to canvass, the exact addresses of the doors they should approach, and the names, ages, and party affiliations of the people who lived there. At this point the campaign had enough intel about each area to know where Obama supporters were and who might still be a fence-sitter, but McCain backers would be skipped altogether. The main priority was motivating the right people –- Obama folks, in this case -- to the polls, especially since Pennsylvania has no early-voting option.

“The campaign tries to make four contacts with voters before Election Day -– the constant contact is what gets people to vote,” explained Allison. Volunteers were to mark down whom they spoke with, confirm whom that person planned on voting for, and urge them to vote. “The campaign will know who to target on Election Day based on what we do,” said Allison.

And if people seemed particularly enthusiastic, they should be given the opportunity to work with the campaign. “If people are interested in volunteering, there’s plenty of ways to engage them in their comfort zone,” said Drinkwater. “They can make phone calls without ever leaving their home.”

New York, a reliably blue state, has provided a rich well of volunteers to Pennsylvania throughout the primaries –- when many New Yorkers canvassed for Hillary Clinton –- and now into the general election for Obama. According to campaign aides, one or two LGBT-specific buses have been shuttling back and forth from New York to Philly ever since September 27 -– about eight in total (though the Henrietta Hudson bus, sponsored by local activist Yetta Kurland, was not officially coordinated by the campaign.)

It’s all part of a massive volunteer effort in Pennsylvania, but campaign officials aren’t divulging any numbers. When the group of women arrived at the Germantown field office, spilling out of the bus and onto the sidewalk, passersby knew exactly who they were and from whence they had come. “Thank you, New York!” one man offered spontaneously.

The Obama field office, one of 81 across the state that total about 700 staffers, was a bustle of activity –- from the “check-in” station up front, to an intensely focused crew of phone bankers with eyes glued to their call sheets, to a coordinator who was tracking their get-out-the-vote efforts for the day. The women were quickly given their marching orders and dispatched. Drinkwater paired up with one of the group’s 15 first-time canvassers, Melissa Hooper. “This is so exciting,” she enthused as the two approached their first door on Queens Street. “This is my first time to do this…ever!”

Germantown is a predominately African-American area, with a mix of Indian-Americans and lesbians and socioeconomic strata varying from blue-collar to middle-class. Drinkwater, a congressional aide by day, said she had worked a similar neighborhood the week before in Pittsburgh –- highly Democratic but with traditionally low turnout on elections. “The people there were so pumped,” she said, adding that it was sort of a nervous excitement. “You got the sense that the community wasn't really sure -– Can this really happen? Is this really going to happen?”

As the two white women weaved their way through the streets, they met with a similar dynamic. Most people had already encountered campaign workers and had quick answers for them. “We’re ready,” Beverly Banks offered immediately, while she and her family unloaded groceries from their car. “I’ve voted in every election since I was 18, whether I knew who was running or not,” she jested.

Banks patiently listened as Drinkwater ticked off the list of folks living at the address, confirming who was registered and who was voting, including her own three daughters. Then Banks proudly added that her youngest daughter, Alicia, was 33 and would be voting for the very first time in this election.

Another 33-year-old who planned to vote for the first time was Beatrice Harris. With tattoos ranging from paw prints to names and geometric symbols lacing her body from head to toe, Harris, donning a bright red “Obama for President” hat, declared her love for the candidate.

“I have this huge poster of him over my bed,” she said, approximating how big it is as her hands drew an imaginary square against the wall. “I think my boyfriend's a little jealous of him, actually.” Harris had been volunteering for the campaign, the first time she had been involved in the electoral process in any way. “This is something I will never ever forget,” she said.

Oliver, a white 20-something who declined to give his last name, was the closest Drinkwater and Hooper came to encountering an undecided voter in their 12-block radius. He answered the door chatting on his cell but got off the phone to engage. He said he wasn’t sure whom he was voting for but quickly followed with “I'm not voting for McCain.” As Drinkwater prodded him a bit about his hesitations with Obama, Oliver didn’t name anything specific. “I might just vote for Ron Paul because he's independent,” he concluded.

Back at the field office several hours later, the volunteers checked in their walk kits so the new data they had gathered could be entered into the computer system that night. As the band of women assembled to get back on the bus, field office volunteers broke into an “I love New York” chant.

During the 2 1/2-hour bus ride home, Drinkwater and Allison facilitated a group debriefing. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. “It’s really moving to connect with people about something so important,” said Miranda Massie, a 41-year-old straight ally who was on the bus.

Athena Reich, 32, told the group how she had managed to get the phone numbers of 11 new volunteers for the campaign in one day -- a record, according to field office workers. “I just asked people if they wanted to volunteer, and if they said no, I would say, ‘But you can change the world.’ ”

Claudia, a 29-year-old Romanian who participated even though she is not eligible to vote on Tuesday, remarked at what an unusual opportunity it was to engage at random with other people in this country. “Americans in general are so private,” she said. “Being so close to their premises and reaching out to them -- it’s something that doesn’t happen so often; it’s very rare.”

Based on the number of walkers that day and the average number of doors and contacts that people typically make, Allison estimated that they had knocked on roughly 3,200 doors altogether and made about 1,600 contacts (though Drinkwater and Hooper’s route yielded less than a 50% contact rate).

But more importantly, Allison asked for a show of hands as to who planned on canvassing in a swing state and who else might be ready to sign up. Of the 35 volunteers, nine had already committed to going and 12 more said they would be interested in doing so.

Allison took her seat and reflected on their experiment in attracting new Obama recruits. “It worked,” she beamed.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We are all meant to shine, as children do.... It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

~Nelson Mandela

We take a nature break, love.

Still kickin it in Ithaca, and stumbled upon this..

Love.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

"The people who make a difference in history are those who fight for freedom - not because they're guaranteed to succeed - but because it's the right thing to do."

~ Leslie Feinberg

Ithaca is gorges ;)

We're up. We're recruiting. We're cold, it's snowing.

Why is it that amy has the know in all of the towns we head to? Oh
right, bc she's just rockin it that hard for Obama.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

a friend recently posted this and it is necessary to listen to in these last couple of days...

Patti Smith provides some inspiration while organizing

or...below is a video






Reststop # 2
Mayville NY

On the road to Ithaca, up early before the sunrise, bus to the office
to wait for jamie so we can hit the road. Goal: recruit college
volunteers to come to Pittsburgh for Monday and Tuesday's GOTV. The
call is for snow the entire time we are gone, here's to staying warm.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Obama at rally in Pittsburgh, Monday October 27, 2008 - As I was shaking his hand I thanked him for always remembering the lesbians and gays, he said "Of course, and thank you." Being at this rally was absolutely amazing.

During the singing of the National Anthem I recalled how in high school at my basketball games my mom would harp on me about not putting my hand over my heart during the singing (I would instead stand respectfully with my hands behind my back); well, it was different this time. This time, I listened to that song and I stood in a room of 20,000 individuals and was more than proud of my country. I felt the hope that I've always wanted to know and I knew that this, electing Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States of America is, in fact possible. I even teared up. I was a proud, queer, female American. I know that we can truly become "angels of our better nature."

It is not the idealist in me - it is the realist in me. The part of me that knows and truly believes that we are better than these last eight years, that we, with Obama as President will be so much better off in 8 more years.

As I edit this and add text, we are almost 4 days out, there are people who I have met along this journey that I am so grateful for, there are many more, whom I have never met, but their stories are inspiring and it is these stories that keep me motivated in the late hours of the night, it is the thought of tomorrow that gets me up every morning before the sunrise to get out and organize, it is the students, the veterans, the moms, the dads, the disenfranchised, the poor, the women, the queers, the folks that just need a little help - - - it is the idea that America can become a place that I am truly proud of that keeps me going.

Here is to tomorrow.

Prepping for the man.
It's currently 39 degrees in Pittsburgh. I'm in troy hill waiting for
the bus to take me down to the Obama headquarters.

Steelers lost yesterday, what a let down. But the fact that Obama will
be here later today more than makes up for this.

I'll keep you posted...

One more thing, many thanks to ne and boy for picking me up and then
indulging in Mexican food :)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Packing for Obama.
so, my friend t wants to bring this back...so, FIRED UP! READY TO GO!

we're 10 days out - what are you doing to change America for the better?

FIRED UP!


READY TO GO!!!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

How I spent my Saturday :)

Vets for my man :)

Sights canvassing in germantown pa.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

We Are Not the Enemy

please check out this site - amazing. in the fight to defeat Prop. 8 and so many other referendums that will roll back equality, take a minute to look at some folks, who are not the enemy...


kim jackson was a counselor while i was growing up at summer camp, im glad to report that she is an out dyke working for our cause and this will not happen, she will not be that one voter who is too lazy to get to the polls, dont let this be someone you know.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Harvey Milk on HOPE



Isn't it amazing that this speech was given over 30 years ago - it's as relevant as ever...

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Governor Sarah Palin Vlog #13: MADDOW

a slow tuesday = passing things that are important on...



AMAZING! (just realized i never posted this...)
We can't lose this fight.


We as a people, as a city, as a country, we must protect the most vulnerable among us.

moms against prop 8

the anticipation for this is sometimes paralyzing...

My favorite Scorpio's Release, possibly Feb.

...in the meantime, read ideolect
Palin breaks with McCain on gay marriage amendment

NEW YORK – Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin says she supports a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a break with John McCain who has said he believes states should be left to define what marriage is. In an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network, the Alaska governor said she had voted in 1998 for a state amendment banning same sex marriage and hoped to see a federal ban on such unions.

"I have voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote to amend our Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish on a federal level that's where we would go. I don't support gay marriage," Palin said. She said she believed traditional marriage is the foundation for strong families.

McCain, an Arizona senator, is supporting a ballot initiative in his state this year that would ban gay marriage. But he has consistently and forcefully opposed a federal marriage amendment, saying it would usurp states' authority on such matters.

As governor, Palin vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to the partners of gay state employees. In a debate with Democratic rival Joe Biden, Palin said she was "tolerant" of gays and said she supported certain legal protections for same-sex couples, like hospital visitation rights.

In the CBN interview, Palin also said she would speak out if she heard a supporter at a rally yell violent or threatening comments about Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee.

"What we have heard through some mainstream media is that folks have hollered out some atrocious and unacceptable things like 'kill him,'" Palin said, referring to a Washington Post story two weeks ago about angry supporters at a Palin rally in Florida. "If I ever were to hear that standing up there at the podium with the mike, I would call them out on that, and I would tell these people, no, that's unacceptable."

CBN released excerpts of the interview Monday and planned to broadcast it in its entirety Tuesday.

Palin also claimed religion and God had been "mocked" during the campaign, although she offered no evidence to support that.

"Faith in God in general has been mocked through this campaign, and that breaks my heart and that is unfair for others who share a faith in God and choose to worship our Lord in whatever private manner that they deem fit," she said.

Palin is a conservative Christian who was baptized and grew up attending Pentecostal churches. In September, Obama defended Palin's religious beliefs and said it would be "offensive" to portray her faith as strange or wrong.

Palin also reaffirmed her view that Obama had been "palling around with terrorists" because of his association with Bill Ayers, a 1960s-era radical who helped found the violent Weather Underground group to protest the Vietnam war. The group was responsible for bombings of several government buildings.

"I would say it again," she said.

Ayers and Obama live in the same Chicago neighborhood and have served together on charity boards. Ayers also hosted a house party for Obama when he was first running for the Illinois state Senate.

___

Monday, October 20, 2008

i love Manhattan mini storage...

Saw this on subway home post off-sprung party.


ps, also, Its interesting the things perfect strangers will tell you: my lesson for the evening.

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NY State Governor, David A. Paterson, bringing marriage one step closer to New Yorkers.

Keynote Speaker at ESPA dinner.


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I am at the New York State Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) Fall Dinner. I am sitting at a table with a friend's parents and his partner, and you know what? I'm a little sad because I don't know that my parents would sit at this dinner and be fully supportive. I hope one day this can change. Its nice to be surrounded by people who are fully supportive in actions and words.


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If you're interested in getting on the bus, drop me a line. Don't risk waking up on Nov. 5th thinking there is something more that you could have done.


"brake chains, make change" ~buck65

Joan Garry on Pittsburgh

Joan Garry's take on Pittsburgh via Huffington Post

Joan's blog post: A Tree Grow's in Pittsburgh. Be sure to check out her video, she wanted "to show her kids what hope looked like." (these, her children that years ago were my campers at the camp I spent so many years of my life at...small world.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Welcome home.


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I traveled with these lovely ladies this weekend to Pittsburgh, for a whirlwind canvass and outreach. We left Sat. am at 7, this after approximately 2 hours of sleep - we left Pittsburgh this morning at 7 to head back to NYC for a Women's Event that T and I planned for Obama PRIDE - get on the bus next weekend, Sat. Oct. 25, 2008 Bagels and coffee at 7, depart Henrietta Hudson's @8. We will return Sat. evening to free admission at Henrietta's and plenty of drink specials. No sleep till Nov. 5


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Saturday, October 18, 2008

Canvassing the hill district in Pittsburgh.

Obama 2008





children's art at supporter housing.














place of sleep at supporter housing in pittsburgh...

Friday, October 17, 2008

Jury duty.

When I saw this piece of mail, I was just hoping that I would have to report post-Nov. 5...I have to report Nov. 6, someone was looking out :) I think I'll make a good juror...I might be a tired one on the 6th but we'll see.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

McCain and Women's Rights

McCain's record on Women's Rights

this is something that i am not willing to tolerate. it is an outrage!

Check this out.

hope or hate - the choice is clear



there is too much hate in the world, i hope that this is where things start to turn around...

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Sleepless...


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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The Rules of Fight Club

1st RULE: You do not talk about FIGHT CLUB.
2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about FIGHT CLUB.
3rd RULE: If someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out the fight is over.
4th RULE: Only two guys to a fight.
5th RULE: One fight at a time.
6th RULE: No shirts, no shoes.
7th RULE: Fights will go on as long as they have to.
8th RULE: If this is your first night at FIGHT CLUB, you HAVE to fight.


A friend passed this on - so simple. Messaging is so important in this discussion, it has been proven over and over again.

Say No to Proposition 8 Pass the word on to voters in CA. See previous post on this topic.

HYSTERICAL: Sarah Palin wigs come to Borough Park

http://www.frumsatire.net/2008/10/11/sarah-palin-wigs-come-to-borough-park/

Sarah Palin wigs come to Borough Park
October 11th, 2008

I always thought that Sarah Palins hair did resemble one of those sheitles worn by Hot Chani types strolling along Central Avenue in the five towns, but I never seriously thought about it. Mainly because I just don’t care for sheitels, I myself prefer my natural hair and until the Rabbis make a chumra that unmarried men have to cover their hair as well - to prevent the shidduch crisis of course - I will stick to my regular hair.

The Sarah Palin sheitel is available at Georgies in Brooklyn and its selling like crazy, although you can be assured that when some chumradikeh guy reads this they will be banned. I just coined that term by the way, because in frum-speak you can add the word “dikeh” to any word to make it into a active word. Someone who appreciates chumras may be called chumradikeh.

Don’t believe me- you can get the Sarah Palin Sheitel for $695 from Georgies.

Monday, October 13, 2008

My work here is done, headed to train station. Post later on full experience. For now I will tell you that there is a lot of sadness here, my goal, was to show them hope.


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NYTimes.com: Help for Haiti

October 13, 2008
EDITORIAL
Help for Haiti

This year has been especially cruel to Haiti, with four back-to-back storms that killed hundreds of people, uprooted tens of thousands more and obliterated houses, roads and crops. A far richer country would have been left reeling; Haiti is as poor as poor gets in this half of the globe. Those who have seen the damage say it is hard to convey the new depths of misery there.

The Bush administration promised Haiti $10 million in emergency aid and Congress has since authorized $100 million for relief and reconstruction. The United Nations has issued a global appeal for another $100 million. We have no doubt that Haiti will need much more.

There is something the United States can do immediately to help Haitians help themselves. It is to grant “temporary protected status” to undocumented Haitians in the United States, so they can live and work legally as their country struggles back from its latest catastrophe.

This is the same protection that has been given for years, in 18-month increments, to tens of thousands of Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Salvadorans and others whose countries have been afflicted by war, earthquakes and hurricanes.

While the Bush administration has temporarily stopped deporting Haitians since Hurricane Ike last month, it has not been willing to go the next step of officially granting temporary protected status to the undocumented Haitians living here.

Haiti’s president, René Préval, and members of Congress have urged the administration to change its mind. We urge the same.

There is very little that is consistent in the United States’ immigration policies toward its nearest neighbors, except that the rawest deal usually goes to the Haitians. Cubans who make it to dry land here are allowed to stay; those intercepted at sea are not. Hondurans and Nicaraguans who fled Hurricane Mitch 10 years ago have seen their temporary protected status renewed, as have Salvadorans uprooted by earthquakes in 2001.

Haiti, meanwhile, more than meets the conditions that immigration law requires for its citizens here to receive temporary protected status, including ongoing armed conflict and a dire natural or environmental disaster that leaves a country unable to handle the safe return of its migrants.

If Haiti is ever going to find the road to recovery after decades of dictatorship, upheaval and decay, it will take more than post-hurricane shipments of food and water. Haiti desperately needs money, trade, investment and infrastructure repairs.

It also needs the support of Haitians in the United States, who send home more than $1 billion a year. What it does not need, especially right now, is a forced influx of homeless, jobless deportees.

My morning will be spent with these lovelies. We've already gotten a haircut, now its breakfast, followed by some playing. Then its back to the Obama field office before getting on the 5PM train back to NYC.


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Do you see a bear? Reagan, do you? See a bear?

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Sunday, October 12, 2008


On the wall today at the campaign office there was a place for volunteers to write what brought them there...

I came to Lancaster PA for:

My niece and nephew
Micheal Curtain, killed in Iraq
Sarah Smalls, killed in Afghanistan
Because I believe in a better America


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I'm not sure exactly when this is from, but it is a visual breakdown of the two candidates tax proposals...notice a glaring difference? How can McCain justify that his biggest breaks are for the top 1% - we've seen in the past eight years that a trickle down approach to the economy DOES NOT WORK. When are people going to realize this - a dollar today gets us no where close to what it did a year ago. I used to laugh when I heard folks like my parents talk about the cost of things when they were growing up - - - well 10 years ago when I was in high school, I paid $0.89 for a gallon of gas. What happened to that? I don't drive now, so I don't feel the increased gas prices the way I might if I in fact drove, but geezus!


The Washington Post



Obama and McCain Tax Proposals
According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result in cuts for most American families. Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy. For the approximately 147,000 families that make up the top 0.1 percent of the income scale, the difference between the two plans is stark. While McCain offers a $269,364 tax cut, Obama would raise their taxes, on average, by $701,885 - a difference of nearly $1 million.

My second home in Lancaster.


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And so it happened...

24 days out, I get sick...

I'm in Lancaster still and woke up this am and well, sore throat, cough, and that raspy voice I tend to actually like ;) but nonetheless, sick.

Today I'll be at the Lancaster field office, phonebanking and then a round of canvassing.

My hope, that we can change some hearts and minds and that the fresh Lancaster air sets me on a road back to health :)

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Saturday, October 11, 2008

Its interesting being in a swing state and actually having a television and time to watch it. The reason I make note of this is to see the combination of political ads being shown, that along with the local news coverage. Both Obama and Palin were in Philly today. Both had great turn outs. It just so happened that one man had better things to say.
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Is sunoco on a ticket? Clearly there is some confusion in PA.


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Its about a house settling...
There's something about hearing crickets went you attempt sleep.
There's something about truth that you're not able to speak.
There's something about silence that you will search for till you're tired...
There's something about quiet.
She's my daughter, but I'm no longer responsible for her behavior...


Just blogging about what I'm hearing.

I wanted a dog my whole life...10 years ago this is the dog my parents got when I was 18, I named her oakley - after Annie Oakley...


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Friday, October 10, 2008

My mom just told me that while she was pregnant with me she thought dying would have been easier.

Hmmm

What does that mean?

Happy Friday.



If America is not ready for an African American president, then I'm not ready to be an American, I'll see you in London, followed by packing up and headed somewhere in the developing world.

And one more thing, forgetting the bourbon was more of a calculated choice. The woman who birthed me is already on my brother's case about his drinking, and well I've always managed to maintain a low profile with her, so no need to escalate her suspicions on a short train ride.


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Not in Manhattan anymore...

Taken from a moving train...on my way to Lancaster, PA.


Obama/Biden 2008


There's something great about being on a train, a pair of Levi's, a white, v-neck tee and my boots. I forgot the bourbon, but I'm not too far away from a dream.


smiling.

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