i took some photos at this morning's pride parade (with loads of dykes on bikes) and at yesterday's dyke march.

happy san francisco pride! happy pride!

today is also the 40th anniversary of stonewall... how far we've come. how much further we have to go...

my photos from the day of decision are all up. they are all labeled and tagged.

all 128 of them.

very quick. i am exhausted.

i spent the entire day at the repeal proposition 8 decision day protests. sadly, the court did not rule in our favor if you don't know the rest of the story by now, then google it.

the day started with a 930am gathering at the california supreme court building right here in san francisco. at 10am the ruling was read. this was followed by a protest and a sit-in in the middle of van ness avenue where over 100 people were arrested. after this, i headed to the castro where organizers were trying to get people out into the streets. i ran over to joey's to recharge my phone and rest for a second before heading back downtown to city hall for a 5pm rally. that rally was followed by a march past the supreme court building and down market street.

i am exhausted and am a mess of mixed emotions. i am sore because i managed to fuck up my ankle. it didn't help that after i fucked up my ankle, i continued to walk on it for miles. i am praying i'll be ok to ride my bike tomorrow. (it's in a bike locker at a bart station at the moment and i want need to go get it.) i am uploading photos, and there are a LOT of them. i am hoping my 128 photos from today will be something i look back at when i am much older and scoff at the days of inequality.

i will post a flickr link much later tonight or tomorrow.

and... right now i am feeling way too incoherent to write much more, but i may post a more personal note about all of this to my friends-list. we shall see... (and, if you happen to be my friend on facebook, i updated my status and added a few photos throughout the day. check it out (read from the bottom up). i never update facebook that much! but i do like that i have a running inner dialogue of my day archived online. so go facebook... ;)

today is shaping up to be quite the supreme court day. in two hours, the california supreme court will read its decision regarding proposition 8. i hope hope hope it is overturned, but i don't have the greatest feeling. still, the california supreme court has known to surprise with many of its past rulings. there is hope. i'm just not feeling it. of course if this bullshit of a proposition is not overturned, the fight will continue on - this is not the end. put gay marriage back on the ballot in 2010. i bel;ieve that 2008 is the last election that the homophobes religious right will get their way on this.

in other supreme court news (this time national), i am pleased with president obama's nomination of sonia sotomayor to replace justice souter on the supreme court. at this point, the single most important issue (to me) is that the supreme court upholds roe v wade and that choice is protected on a national level. i have faith that sotomayor will deliver just rulings.

i'm off to the civic center area (san francisco) to hear the ruling live. this is history it's happening in my city. i want to be there. and i will.

while this is a humorous piece, it is very intelligent and thought provoking. and i wholeheartedly agree, when desperation and paranoia kick in, and special interest groups are clinging to the something very small and grasping at straws, you know that change is coming.

Fear the rainbow!
A storm is gathering. Are you afraid, Christian? Are you afraid *enough*?
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Friday, April 10, 2009

My favorite part has got to be the lightning.

The fake lightning, that is, flashing just off to the side, a cheap 'n' cheesy special effect that momentarily lights up the actors' faces in the most sweetly melodramatic way as they stand there against the dark 'n' stormy backdrop like devout Christian zombies, delivering delightfully weird and wooden lines about being openly terrified of those openly terrifying gay married people.

Yes, it's merely another series of strange, alarmist, deeply homophobic ads from yet another seething anti-gay group you've never heard of (the National Organization for Marriage, or NOM), ads which are running right now in five states in response to two stunning, watershed gay marriage upheavals in Iowa and Vermont, AKA two more states now shamelessly roaring down the highway to hell. ( continued under the cut )

for those of you who don't know, the indigo girls played their first show in asia (in singapore) yesterday. here is an interview from a gay asian (from hong kong) online magazine. there are some misspellings and editing mistakes, but it's still a fresher interview than most american news sources churn out.

( looong, so behind a cut )

i have been listening (online) to the arguments for and against the constitutionality of proposition 8. it's being argued in front of the california supreme court (here in san francisco) right now.

i am holding out hope that the justices see that 8 is unconstitutional on the basis that the majority can not vote to take away rights from a (often discriminated against) minority.

and you know what? i wholeheartidly believe that if such an issue ever ends up on a ballot in california again, it would be voted down. there have been so many strides in the gay rights movement even since november.

but i hope it doesn't come down to that. proposition 8 is a revision to the constitution, not an amendment. and 52% simply can not revise the constitution.

this only takes a few seconds, and i think it is an awesome idea considering the impact that milk has had and will continue to have. finally, thanks to this fantastic film, the gay rights movement has gone beyond san francisco and other liberal pockets of the us. people in middle america, who have had very little exposure (or negative exposure) to queer rights are seeing this film and rethinking their stances on hatred such as proposition. 8 it is a shame that this movie wasn't released well before the november election, the premier in san francisco was only a few weeks before the election, and it wasn't released nationally until late november. but i already see progress, and thanks to milk i see the gay rights movement, in a POSITIVE LIGHT, going beyond the 415. i am also so proud of san francisco, so proud of this magnificent city, and so happy that the release of milk has brought tourists (and their dollars) back into the castro.

everyone involved in making milk deserves a round of applause. and a huge thanks. and now, we can all thank sean penn, dustin lance black, and the others.

from the courage campaign:

"Pay it forward: Send your thanks to Dustin Lance Black, Sean Penn and Cleve Jones for making "Milk" possible
Watch this inspiring speech, sign the thank you note and invite your friends to watch the video as well

Dustin Lance Black's Oscar acceptance speech, channeling the spirit of Harvey Milk
with a universal message of hope and determination in the aftermath of the passage of Prop 8, has the potential to change lives.

Please watch the speech and sign the thank you note to Black, who won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, Sean Penn who won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Milk, and Cleve Jones, who worked with Milk in the 1970's and pushed for many years
to get this beautiful film made. If you feel so inspired, please write a short note letting them know how "Milk" has touched your life.

Then help Dustin Lance Black "pay it forward" by inviting your friends and family -- especially the people who most need to watch his inspiring acceptance speech. "



show YOUR thanks!

*sigh*

so so so awesome. again, i would have bolded my favorite parts, but then i would be bolding the whole thing.

(for anyone who loves on another planet, this is sean penn's "thank you speech" for his award for best actor in milk)

"Thank you. Thank you. You commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns. I did not expect this, but I, and I want it to be very clear, that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often. But I am touched by the appreciation and I hoped for it enough that I did want to scribble down, so I had the names in case you were commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns, and so I want to thank my best friend, Sata Matsuzawa. My circle of long-time support, Mara, Brian, Barry and Bob. The great Cleve Jones. Our wonderful writer, Lance Black. Producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks.

And particularly, as all, as actors know, our director either has the patience, talent and restraint to grant us a voice or they don't, and it goes from the beginning of the meeting, through the cutting room. And there is no finer hands to be in than Gus Van Sant. And finally, for those, two last finallies, for those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone. And there are, and there are, these last two things. I'm very, very proud to live in a country that is willing to elect an elegant man president and a country who, for all its toughness, creates courageous artists. And this is in great due respect to all the nominees, but courageous artists, who despite a sensitivity that sometimes has brought enormous challenge, Mickey Rourke rises again and he is my brother. Thank you all very much. "

i love love love how he addressed the homophobic protesters and those who voted yes on proposition 8.

here is the text of dustin lance black's "thank you" speech. he won the award for best original screenplay for milk. i was trying to bold my favorite parts, but i realize i'd be bolding the entire speech...

"Oh my God. This was, um, this was not an easy film to make. First off, I have to thank Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg and all the real-life people who shared their stories with me. And, um, Gus Van Sant, Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco and our entire cast, my producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, everyone at Groundswell and Focus for taking on the challenge of telling this life-saving story. When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California, and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life. It gave me the hope one day I could live my life openly as who I am and then maybe even I could even fall in love and one day get married.

I wanna thank my mom, who has always loved me for who I am even when there was pressure not to. But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he'd want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, God, for giving us Harvey Milk."

i second that all of that. and yes, "THANK YOU HARVEY MILK!" and thank you, san francisco, for being so damn accepting and for always being on the forefront of the queer rights movement. i am so proud to live here and proud of the legacy of this great area!

i have been quite busy and not posting my thoughts on anything political lately. but i have to quickly weigh in about the choice of rick warren to give the prayer at the inauguration.

i am disappointed. very disappointed. but it could be worse. obama's record on lgbt rights speaks for itself. i don't think that the asking warren to do the invocation on 20 january is going to change that. i think (and hope) that obama will continue to support equal rights. yes, i know that he doesn't openly support marriage. but at the same time, he openly opposed proposition 8. i don't think that obama's stances and convictions all changed overnight.

but yes, i am very disappointed. and i do kind of feel like this was a smack in the face. and as much as i wanted to attend the inauguration on 20 january (i attended bush's first inauguration in protest), i am VERY ok with not attending it now. and i am glad that i decided not to spend the money to be in DC on inauguration day.

so while i am still thrilled about obama's election, i am also pleased to sit this inauguration out.

emirates is often voted the best airline in the world. and i have always wanted to havea stop over in dubai. so i was super excited when emirates announced non-stop service to san francisco. but this is kind of unsettling. i should have known, but then again, the uae always seems to be the most progressive of the middle eastern nations.

Emirates Airlines' flying to S.F. raises issues
Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross
Monday, December 15, 2008

San Francisco is rolling out the red carpet for Emirates Airlines, which starting today will be flying nonstop from SFO to Dubai and back three times a week - and the East-West link sure makes for some interesting politics.

The airline, which is run by the government of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, operates by rules far different from those San Francisco espouses.

Take Emirates' flight attendants, for instance. A recent Wall Street Journal piece on the airline says that "tough rules are enforced, including some that would be deemed discriminatory in the West, such as weight requirements and a no-pregnancy policy for unwed women."

Further, the paper says: "Openly gay male attendants need not apply. Premarital sex and homosexuality are both illegal in Dubai."

In San Francisco, however, it's illegal for contractors doing business with the city to discriminate in employment or in dealing with the public.

And Larry Brinkin, the compliance officer for the city Human Rights Commission, says airline reps, under penalty of perjury, checked off all the boxes on a city form saying they don't discriminate based on "race, sexual orientation or religion."

They also submitted documentation showing they comply with the city's decade-old ordinance guaranteeing benefits to both gays and unmarried couples who register as domestic partners.

"They say they don't discriminate, and we don't know otherwise," Brinkin said.

That might be because the San Francisco law applies only to how companies operate in the United States. In other words, while it affects employees on the ground here - ticket agents and the like - flight attendants who arrive from Dubai apparently are exempt.

"We don't like it - it's awful, but we have no jurisdiction outside the U.S.," Brinkin said.

"It's called following the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law," said Assemblyman and former San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano, author of the city's domestic partners ordinance.

And while he's not happy about it, Ammiano says, the "Muslim world won't change overnight."

source

i finally uploaded a few photos from the no on 8 rally on 15 november (saturday) to flickr...

don't forget.

proposition 8 protest nationwide tomorrow at 1030am PST/1130am MST/1230pm CST/130pm EST. most of these protests are in front of city hall, but check your locality for specific information.

i will be at the san francisco one.

this article might only be interesting to those of you who live in the bay area or are super familiar with the bay area (specifically san francisco neighborhoods). but i find this fascinating. i have been discussing where the "yes on 8" vote in san francisco county (SF is a city and a county) came from a lot recently. this article gives a good overview. i still think the overwhelming "yes on 8" votes from minorities comes from a very poorly run "no on 8" campaign that did NOT reach out to minority voters. it pisses me off when people blame african-american voters for the passage of this measure.

( article under the cut )


source.

watch this. you will be in tears.

i just sent the following email to many of my out of town friends and family. please help make an impact!

Hey y'all,

Sorry about all of the mass emails, but this is important.

On 4 Nov, we celebrated the win of President-elect Obama (damn that sounds amazing to say), but three states also passed anti-gay ballot measures. The passing of Prop 8 (California), Prop 2 (Florida), and Prop 102 (Arizona) were all devastating losses, funded by out of state "religious" groups (thank you Mormon Church and Knights of Columbus), and were campaigns based on lies, scare tacticts, bigotry, and deception. It saddens me that this country seemed so ready for real change, but then passes these three ballot measures (four, if you count Arkansas' anti-adoption one).

Here in San Francisco, we are not taking this loss as a total defeat. There have been numerous protests since election day, threats of lawsuits (is it really constitutional to discriminate?), and dialogue.

This Saturday (15 Nov), these protests are going NATIONWIDE! Join the Impact has organized simultaneous protests starting at 1030am Pacific Time/1130am MST/1230pm CST/130pm EST at city halls across the country. Here is a list of protests thus far - more will be added throughout the week. ( list of protests here. ).

It would mean a LOT to me and the 48% in California who voted against Prop 8 if you could fit it into your busy schedule to go out to your local protest on Saturday. The more people who show up, the more impact this cause will have. We ALL (gay, straight, bi, trans, etc) need to send a strong message to this nation, to the voters who voted "yes" on these ballot measures, and to the churches/religious organizations who funded this campaign for hate that homophobia, hate, and inequality no longer has a place here.

If this is the one protest you attend this year, I (almost) beg of y'all to do the right thing on Saturday and protest the hate that has won out last week (and celebrate the Obama victory, of course). I will be at the San Francisco one.

Thanks, y'all!

xoxo
Karen

PS- Please pass this on to your friends and relatives.

i will be attending this, and i hope to see many of my bay area friends there:



this coincides with join the impact's nationwide protests. here is a list of local protests by state.. they're all at the same time (1030am PST/1130am MST/1230pm CST/130pm EST) on saturday, 15 november (this coming saturday).

please come out to protest the hate, bigotry, and misinformation.

i will be attending the protest proposition 8 march from civic center to dolores park (san francisco) tonight. i will post photos tomorrow.

please sign this petition to re-open Prop 8, no one should be denied these fundamental rights!

SIGN THIS!