Openly Gay Fort Worth City Councilmember Headlines Queer Democrats' Freedom Awards (tags)
As a boy, openly Gay Fort Worth City Councilmember Joel Burns was bullied by schoolmates and driven to thoughts of suicide. One of his friends, a boy from Oklahoma, actually did kill himself. As an elected official, Burns spoke October 12 in the Fort Worth City Council chambers and talked about his past in a speech that was heard 'round the world through YouTube and the power of the Internet. On November 13 Burns came to San Diego as the keynote speaker for the 35th Annual Freedom Awards of the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club and talked about teen suicide and the need for renewed commitment on the part of Queer Democrats and progressives to elect officials whose actions will make Queer teens safer.
Veteran Activist Tom Hayden Speaks in San Diego (tags)
Veteran activist and former California State Senator Tom Hayden came to the First Unitarian-Universalist Church in Hillcrest November 4 to talk about the "Long War," a doctrine used by America's military that suggests the U.S. will be at war against militant Islam for 60 to 80 years and Afghanistan and Iraq are merely "theatres" in this war. He also talked about the recent midterm elections and the frustration of white voters, especially white men, at the failure of either the Republicans or the Democrats to improve their lives.
Craig Becker Nomination Defeated As Cloture Vote Fails Thanks to Ben Nelson & B. Lincoln (tags)
Today I Have Lost My Faith in The Congress, Senate, Democrats & The Political System Thanks to Senators Ben Nelson & Blanche Lincoln Who Have Sold-Out The American Middle-Class Worker!
Former Obama Adviser Attacks Him at Freedom Awards (tags)
Steve Hildebrand has been described as Barack Obama's closest Gay friend and the person he listens to on Gay issues, but at the August 22 Freedom Awards, the main fundraiser for the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club, he bluntly said, “The problem is Obama isn’t listening enough.” At the event, Hildebrand delivered a slashing attack on Obama and the Democrats in Congress -- both the so-called “Blue Dogs” in the House and the “moderates” in the Senate, as well as leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid who are letting them get away with hijacking Obama’s agenda and pushing him to the Right. Hildebrand predicted that the Democrats will lose their Congressional majority if they continue to tack Rightward and fail to do the things they were elected to do.
Alhambra Health Care Town Hall (tags)
A summary of what I saw in Alhambra. Little political content, fyi.