Del Martin, 1921-2008

Del Martin, a trailblazing lesbian rights activist, died yesterday at 87. She and Phyllis Lyon, her partner of fifty-five years, were the first same-sex couple to be married in California not once but twice - first in 2004, when San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom briefly legalized gay marriage, and then in 2008, after a California Supreme Court ruling affirmed the right to same-sex marriage. Del and Phyllis were and are a source of hope for those of us who have despaired, at one point or another, that things would never get better for LGBT people, and their commitment to each other serves as a powerful rebuke to those who would have us believe that same-sex love is in any way inferior. Some of her first published words offer a motto to live by: "Nothing was ever accomplished by hiding in a dark corner." So cheers to you, Del Martin, and may your memory continue to inspire us all to come out of our corners and carry on the fight you started.

Two things that pissed me off today

First, more comically: Predictably, the Federal Marriage Amendment is back, and David Vitter and Larry Craig are among the ten original sponsors in the Senate. Family values, kids! Hat tip to Ta-Nehisi Coates - and yeah, follow that link, because the Chris Rock clip is sweet.

Second, more angering: the brouhaha over something Wes Clark said yesterday. First, watch the actual video:

Or, if you're really pressed for time:

Clark: "Because in the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk. It's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable.

"John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he has traveled all over the world.

"But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded -- that wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle this publicly? He hasn't made that calls, Bob."

Bob Schieffer: "Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down."

Clark: "I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.”

Immediately, McCain and friends flipped a shit about how Clark was smearing McCain and disrespecting his military service and probably hates baseball and apple pies and motherhood. (Oh wait - that last one would be the GOP.) This in itself is ridiculous. For starters, the idea that Wes Clark, a decorated veteran with thirty-five years of military service, would in any way devalue military experience - John McCain's or anyone else's - is simply incredible. Add that to the fact that one of the loudest critics has been Colonel Bud Day, who was active in the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and you have a thoroughly bogus accusation. But most tellingly, Clark went out of his way to acknowledge McCain's service to the military, both in active duty and in his position in the Senate. Unless I've suddenly forgotten how to read, I'm pretty sure Clark said nothing that could be reasonably construed as an insult to McCain's military service.

But what frustrates me the most is that Clark is getting in trouble for something that is absolutely true. Factually, riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is not a qualification to be president, and I doubt that you can find a single person who's been through the experience who will make that claim. Maybe I've missed something, but John McCain doesn't make that claim; neither do the people who have jumped to his (imaginary) defense. Moreover, what Clark said was a response not to anything McCain has argued, but to what Bob Schieffer said might be an argument on McCain's behalf. In essence, the Republicans are grasping at straws, trying to find something that they can get offended about, and I'd say it's not working except that the media sure is all over this non-story. Diversions from actual issues, anyone?

A step forward in San Diego

Presented without comment.

(h/t TAPPED, via Feministing. Harvard's Quench has also covered this.)

Garden State Pride!

Today began the first day of hopefully many in New Jersey where gay couples gained legal recognition from the state.

It is days like these that help bolster my spirits against Jersey-haters.  My previously proudest day was when New Jersey became the first state in the nation to divest its state pension from companies with ties to the Sudanese government. 

Next proudest day: when New Jersey - now that its primary is on Super Saturday - plays a decisive role in choosing our next president. 

Sure we are known for malls, diners, highways, and petrochemical industry, but we are one of the most progressive states, and I love it.

Since I don't plan to procreate I have no business getting married

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