Exclusive Pics: Lt. Dan Choi back in service? | The Bilerico Project

In case you haven't heard, Dan Choi got called back to his unit after Adml. Mullen's statement on DADT. Not sure if his Commander has actually had a change of heart or if the Government is just trying to silence the biggest voice against DADT we have. Either way, read the post bellow at Bilerico.com and be the judge.

Exclusive Pics: Lt. Dan Choi back in service? | The Bilerico Project

PS, I need a favor from you, dear reader. Please share this widely: in email, facebook, twitter and so forth. We need to make people aware of what's going on. This is an important move here, and we all need to be very aware ahead of time if Dan Choi is suddenly forced to go quiet. Dan's answer to Jeff's questions are powerful, however. "Actions speak louder than words." By joining his unit he hopes to be a powerful force from the inside. This is the man who on CSPAN, MSNBC, CNN in October ripped the tape from his mouth on the National Equality March's stage in a grand gesture. If he's been called back in, why can't they end all discharges and call back ALL the soldiers who have been discharged? Please draw attention to this and make everyone aware.

TBP--Openly gay Senate candidate Meister quits; backs Giannoulias

Well, I was supposed to break this story altogether, but then someone from the Giannoulias campaign leaked it to the Sun Times at 3am--while I was fast asleep--and then an hour before this post went live, the Meister campaign mistakenly sent out the press release... so it really wasn't "breaking" anymore by the time it went live. But I decided NOT to change the title, because, well why bother at that point!

Now that Jacob's not in the race anymore, who are you voting for? Giannoulias is adopting his 20/20 plan whole-cloth. That's pretty cool, since I really liked Jacob not just because he was gay, but because he knows what the hell he's talking about and his 20/20 plan is brilliant.

But, Alexi hasn't won me over--Jacob did that. And event though Jacob supports Giannoulias, I'm not sure I do yet. We'll see when the press conference is over what was said by who.

As for me, like Richard Gere said to Renee Zelwegger at the end of the musical: "That's Chicago, baby!"

"BREAKING: Openly gay Senate candidate Meister quits; backs Giannoulias" on The Bilerico Project:

"Today at 10am Jacob Meister announced that he is backing his opponent, banking scion and front-runner Alexi Giannoulias, for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator from Illinois, effectively ending his historic run as the first visible openly gay Senate candidate from the state.

In front of union members and elected officials gathered at Teamsters 705 in Chicago, Jacob thanked his supporters and endorsed his one-time foe. According to Meister, Giannoulias has pledged to adopt Jacob's well-received 20/20 legislative policy agenda whole-cloth; which includes micro-grants as part of educational reform, high-speed rail investment as part of a green industry jobs plan and a regulatory overhaul that Jacob had hoped would take power away from big banking conglomerates and place it into the hands of small businesses.

'Alexi is adopting the 20/20 vision,' Meister said to the crowd before announcing that he was 'putting political ambitions aside and do what's right for the party....'"

To see what Jacob says Alexi is going to do with his LGBT agenda, finish the story at "BREAKING: Openly gay Senate candidate Meister quits; backs Giannoulias" on The Bilerico Project.

TBP--Profile: Openly lesbian Illinois lawmaker Deb Mell

Two weeks ago, I was very fortunate to interview that amazing Representative Deb Mell, Illinois' only openly lesbian lawmaker. I am only now getting the interview up--thanks so much start of the semester--but its awesome. There's a lot of good stuff there. This is just tip of the iceberg. I really think you should finish this piece over at Bilerico. Near the end we talked about the plan for relationship recognition and how Illinois is going to help the nation pass ENDA. Its really worth checking out.

Here's my Bilerico piece "Profile: Openly lesbian Illinois lawmaker Deb Mell"

Over the past few months I've told you a lot about the folks who are
aspiring to be out LGBT elected leaders in Illinois, but two people I would love
to tell you a lot more about are our two openly gay lawmakers Deb Mell and Greg Harris. Both serve the state
in the Illinois Assembly. I got a chance to interview Chicago resident,
political family scion and freshman lawmaker Deb Mell and talk about her first
year in the Illinois Assembly.

Deb Mell may be new to writing the law, but she's no newbie to
activism. Mell was arrested at the Cook County Clerk office in the earlier part
of the last decade while demonstrating for marriage equality.

"Actually, I got arrested for storming into the street." said
Representative Mell with a laugh when I asked her about it, "It was a marriage
protest--we did a sit-in a couple weeks later--I don't want you to think I got
arrested for getting a marriage license; I wasn't even dating anyone at the
time. Now I would definitely. Now I have a partner..."

Please go to Bilerico.com to find out more about where Illinois is heading in "Profile: Openly lesbian Illinois lawmaker Deb Mell"

Thoughts on the Jacob Meister townhall

I promise to write at least a few posts where I do not mention Jacob Meister, but I feel its important to note that Jacob held a townhall here in Champaign yesterday that went absolutely amazing. The after-party at Clark Bar was also pretty sweet. Before Jacob got up to speak, he asked me to say a few words about the Uniting Pride Center of Champaign County--our new initiative to open an LGBT community center here in Champaign-Urbana.

If you haven't head yet, we're moving very aggressively to open an LGBT community center here in Champaign county, and we need your voice to help us make it happen. Please join up as a member, and email us your ideas.

While at the townhall, Jacob spent quite a bit of time talking about his strongest suit, jobs and the economy; at the Clark Bar event, Jacob began talking very frankly about what I think mesmerizes people about him most--his historic run as the first openly gay Illinoian to run for state-wide office. The crowd ate it up. With good reason. Jacob has had an amazing journey to where he is now.

That said, the most amazing thing about Jacob is that being such a historic candidate is not the most amazing thing about him. When I hear him speak, its obvious this is the guy who deserves this post the most. Jacob isn't running for glory or money or power. The story of Jacob is the story they've made into a million movies, but--for some strange reason--have never made into a reality: an average American guy who sees problems that need to be fixed, who just decides why wait any longer, he's going to run and see if he can't just help make the nation a better place.

Jacob could have very well stayed a lawyer and continued making millions of dollars. This race is not making him any more money--not in the least. Jacob, if anything, is most likely blowing a huge amount of his own money on this race. He was the only candidate to open up offices outside of Chicagoland--and tried to go as far south as Carbondale until they guy opening the offices ran out of steam. How do you think those offices were getting paid for?

Jacob didn't have to run at all. Jacob wanted to run. Jacob is a really bright guy, with a lot of passion and zeal. He used to work for some of America's most beloved lawmakers a quarter of a century ago, and has this crazy belief that good things can still come out of Washington, that lawmakers can still work for the people.

Jacob wants to see America turn green--starting with Illinois. He wants to take the lead to help incentivize advancement in green industry and to help out upstart entrepreneurs when they have a good idea. He's got some pretty cool things in his 20/20 plan.

I really dig Jacob, if you can't already tell, and believe he's the best person for the job. I know a lot of you reading this are not planning to vote in the Illinois primary, and that if you are, quite a few of you are from Chicago and either voting for Cheryle Jackson or David Hoffman just because that's who your family's voting for. I seriously challenge you to check out Jacob's website, and if you have a chance to talk to him before you vote, you need to do so. Jacob does know what he's talking about. When you ask him about his policy ideas, he doesn't give you a vague answer about bills he supports in Congress, he gives you a detailed breakdown of the problem as he's studied it, and the solution that he plans to bring to Washington.

Please check him out, vote for him on February 2nd and tell all of your friends to vote for him February 2nd too.

Not a registered Democrat? Illinois has open primaries. Go on February 2nd and ask for a Democrat ballot, and vote for Jacob Meister--number 3. No matter what county you're in, you gotta please vote for him.

Not an Illinois resident? This is a historic opportunity. Contact his campaign and ask how you can help with phone banking and helping spread the word.

Registered Democrat in Illinois? What are you waiting for? Early voting has already started. I suggest you go now and do the right thing. Go on. Don't miss out. There are going to be extremely low turn-out numbers this primary day, so every vote counts. Make Jacob the nominee for the Illinois Democratic party, and let's put someone up against Kirk that's going to school him in policy.

TBP--Is openly gay Dave Schroeder heading for a sure Illinois Assembly win?

Please check out my newest Bilerico post about openly gay progressive Democrat, David Schroeder: Is openly gay Dave Schroeder heading for a sure Illinois Assembly win?:

"David Schroeder has been dealing with a lot of good news lately. Of all of the LGBT Democratic candidates going up against the machine in Illinois, Schroeder is faring best--with a Chicago Tribune endorsement on the morning of the 21st, and several other high profile endorsements. His poll numbers are also soaring, and unlike many of the other LGBT candidates I interviewed, Schroeder is seeing a lot of support from the Illinois Democratic establishment. With good reason, too. Schroeder is a solid progressive that is looking to clean up in a economically diverse district that's just become too accustomed to being ignored by its current State Assembly Representative, Ken Dunkin.

Every day it looks more and more as if Dave Schroeder will be joining openly gay Representatives Deb Mell and Greg Harris in the Illinois Assembly. This is good news for gays everywhere, as its looking more than ever as if Illinois is ready to tackle relationship recognition in the law, which would make it one of less than a dozen states that do recognize same-sex couples legally.

More than just relationship recognition, though, Schroeder is a real progressive who is ready to tackle the incredibly daunting issues that will plague the Illinois legislature this year--and he'll do so with a clear head and a goal of reform..."

If you want to learn more about why the normally conservative Chicago Tribune endorsed openly-gay solid-progressive Schroeder over the incumbent, finish the piece at Is openly gay Dave Schroeder heading for a sure Illinois Assembly win? at The Bilerico Project.

Do you think that we could be adding yet another LGBT candidate to our numbers in the Illinois legislature? Dave told me he is getting endorsed by every Democratic organization in his district, while his opponent has only gotten one Alderman endorsement. With the Tribune endorsement--and maybe even a Sun-Times endorsement on the horizon as well--Schroeder is definitely storming towards something good this Primary day!

If you haven't voted already, early voting has already started in Illinois. Make sure you get your vote in for Dave Schroeder before February 2, if you live in the 5th District. Statewide, Illinoians, I hope you've ALREADY cast your vote for Jacob Meister in the Senate Primaries! Hmm?

LC--Was Jesus black and other mysteries solved..

My Lundon Calling blog for this week, "Was Jesus black and other mysteries solved (or not solved)…", started out with:

"This week’s Lundon Calling was a DOOZY! Maybe its because Lance and I were so BOOZY! Ha! Only kidding, Lance only had a jug of wine, and I merely had a case of beer before the show. That is all.

Do you know the ‘Colon Lady?’ Ace explains his connection to her and the ‘Tooth Fairy.’ Hopefully not in the same sentence because that would not be sanitary."

SURPRISE! Here's my full, titilating blog! Make sure you listen to the podcast, though, by clicking one of the links!

This week’s Lundon Calling was a DOOZY! Maybe its because Lance and I were so BOOZY! Ha! Only kidding, Lance only had a jug of wine, and I merely had a case of beer before the show. That is all.

Do you know the ‘Colon Lady?’ Ace explains his connection to her and the ‘Tooth Fairy.’ Hopefully not in the same sentence because that would not be sanitary.

Have you paid your taxes to James Cameron… I mean seen Avatar yet? If you haven’t yet seen Avatar, check out what Ace and Phil have to say about it.

This week we talked about the mess our kids will inherit–from health care to a huge national debt to climate change. What are we doing today to help make this a better world, not worse, than when we came?

Lance thinks he’d be happy hanging out with children all day. As a former middle school teacher, i gotta say… think about that a little more, Lance. It may seem fun at first, but after a few hours, you’ll be wishing you were on Ace’s desert island with the endangered species. You know, the journalists.

What if you were surrounded by tweeters? Yikes! Speaking of which, what’s happening to print? Lance believes print is becoming the medium of the elite. What do you think. I definitely have to agree with the Twitter echo chamber comment. Are you on twitter? Do you follow people who think just like you, or do you diversify?

We talked a little about the terrible humanitarian disaster in Haiti. Lance introduced us to Wyclef Jean’s Haiti charity Yele. Though its come under some fire lately–check out this Washington Post piece–its getting a lot of attention for the good its doing. I talked about how I gave $10 through text messaging to the Red Cross. All I did was text “HAITI” to 90999, and the Red Cross adds $10 to my phone bill which goes directly to Haitian relief.

We talked about poetry. Ace read us a poem of his that ended up on some hippie posters in the Free Love era. I always knew Ace was a big hippie. I tried to give it some musical accompaniment in the background, but I was shot down. Next time Ace reads a poem, I’m banging bongos to spite him!

Glamour is in the eye of the beholder. Do you believe that?

Prop 8 trial on Youtube? Nope. The United States Supreme Court said that we will not be able to see Prop 8 trial footage on YouTube anytime soon. However, we don’t need it. Tweeters in the trial have been giving us a really reliable play-by-play. We’re getting a virtual transcript as it happens. The Courage Campaign’s Prop8trialtracker.com has been an invaluable resource for me!

Of course by now you’ve heard the the incredibly ineffective government in Uganda is trying to scapegoat gays and want to pass a law that allows them to put us to death, or at least imprison us for life. The outrageous situation can all be traced back to one very evil man named Scott Lively, who–knowing about harsh anti-gay attitudes in Uganda–thought that a conference there about how evil and dangerous gays are would be perfect. Of course, he’s shocked about the whole putting gays to death thing. Really? Shocked. When someone has a gun pointed at someone’s head, you don’t give them bullets, Scott.

Scott Lively wrote a book called The Pink Swastika, blaming gays for the holocaust. So, I’m sure that this guy is real sincere when he says he didn’t mean for this to happen!

Was Jesus black? Learn why he probably was.

Health care? Schmelthcare!

Blago? Yeah, so he’s blacker than the President, apparently.

Are our cell phones making our memory obsolete? I know mine is!

Was President Monroe gay? Maybe it was Madison. I know it was an “M.” Maybe Professor POTUS would know!

All this and more in this week’s Lundon Calling!

Make sure you tune in this Wednesday the 20th for Penn State Senior Steve Lucas to talk about his summer interning for the Victory Fund and on the 27th with Dr. Peter Goldblum Director of the LGBTQ Program at the Pacific Graduate School of psychology! I really can’t wait for these awesome guests–can you?

TBP--Stay closeted to win Idol for yourself, lose equality for all

My recent Bilerico Project post is one I'm very proud of. Go to the post on the site to read what OPRAH says about having gay friends... Yikes.

Stay closeted to win Idol for yourself, lose equality for all | The Bilerico Project:

"Former American Idol contestant Kat McPhee thinks gays and lesbians on Idol should stay in the closet so they can get farther on the show--and she's right. Gays and lesbians aren't likely to go as far as someone who looks like someone you can bring home to mama--you know like Clay Aiken. Kat McPhee's advice to Idol contestants is pretty good for a career.

But it sucks for the rest of us.

Idol contestants who hide their lives in the closet are perpetuating the problem, not solving it. In fact, all of us who live our lives in the closet are allowing the system that forces into that situation to perpetuate a little longer. That doesn't mean that if we're in dire straits we ought to come out to our shift manager. Don't set yourself up to lose it all.

But losing Idol is not the same. Someone who loses Idol because they came out isn't going to be unemployable after the show (unless, of course, they're impossible to work with and have a horrific work ethic). In fact, they're likely going to be very employable in the entertainment industry as a recognizable face, and someone who made it to one of the most elite stages in the world."

Read the rest of "Stay closeted to win Idol for yourself, lose equality for all" at The Bilerico Project:

Twitter sms stopped

Twitter sms stopped coming to my phone yesterday.. grumble!

Why did twitter stop

Why did twitter stop sending sms updates to my phone yesterday? Was I following too many?

TBP: Meet The Independent--my intervidiew with Jim Madigan

Last week I co-interviewed Jim Madigan with Tom Mannis of the Chicago News Bench, and the video of that interview has gone up throughout the week. With 4 out of the 5 video posted of our interview, I posted the lot of it at Bilerico.com. Jim Madigan--if you're new to my blog--is running for the State Senate seat that covers the neighborhood that Rod Blagojevich lives in. His opponent? The State Senator--and former Blagojevich fundraiser--who introduced the Illinois marriage equality bill in the Illinois Senate this spring (despite being expected to introduce the Civil Unions bill instead) and then promptly forgot about it. Heather Steans--whose drunk husband crashed a Madigan fundraiser last month!

Why is Jim Madigan's election important to anyone outside of his district? Illinois has a shot at becoming one of the next marriage equality states IF we play our cards right, and we play them before Democrats lose their power in Springfield. A constitutional amendment by ballot is impossible in Illinois, so a marriage equality win would be permanent. However, until we compel the Democratic political machine to move on their promises of securing us a relationship recognition bill, we'll go nowhere. By electing more qualified and progressive leaders to the chambers who just happen to also be gay, we'll not only assure things like improvements in healthcare and education, but we'll also have lawmakers that won't drop the marriage baton when passed to them. Consider giving to Jim.

Meet the Independent: Jim Madigan vs 'The Machine':

"Jim Madigan is taking a big risk. He's running against the infamous Chicago Democratic Machine to try to become Illinois's only openly gay state Senator.

Check this guy out, he knows his stuff. And he's got what it takes to go toe to toe with former Governor Rod Blagojevich fundraiser Heather Steans; whose husband grabbed headlines by showing up drunk and crashing a Madigan fundraiser last month.

Tom Mannis of the Chicago News Bench and I jointly interviewed Jim over Skype two weeks ago. Check out Jim and what he's offering the people of Illinois--especially marriage equality advocates nationwide, who would see a win in Illinois as a nearly irreversible victory because of the difficulty of amending the Illinois Constitution..."

To read the rest, and watch the video, please visit "Meet the Independent: Jim Madigan vs 'The Machine'" at The Bilerico Project.