David Mixner gives 8 Reasons NOT to boycott the Sochi Winter Games.

Gay Right Activist David Mixner doesn't think we should boycott the Winter Games. In fact, he gives us 8 reasons:

1. Young Athletes, including our own, have prepared all their lives at great sacrifice for this moment. To deny them the opportunity to achieve their life dreams were be wrong and in the end not change a great deal.

2. In reality, the period between now and the end of the games is the prime organizing opportunity to draw international attention the plight of our Russian brothers and sisters. By withdrawing, we lose that opportunity and the story shifts to the relationships between nations instead of the suppression in Russia.

3. The Winter Games provide us a six month window to mobilize the athletes of the world including some of the most famous individuals in their nations to support LGBT rights, fight Putin and his policies and be visible.

4. Over the decades of our epic battle for LGBT equality, the community has learned that coming 'out' and being visible is one of our most powerful weapons. By mobilizing the athletes, the media and average citizens, we can bring light to these dark policies.

5. Entities like NBC Sports and sponsors of the games must take a stand against the horror that is taking place in Sochi and if the Games are boycotted we lose that ability to really affect powerful change.

6. By having, in the most defiant way, the Rainbow flag be everywhere where there is a camera including on the athletes, in the village and among spectators will be a powerful message to the world and a huge story that won't happen if we boycott the games.

7. Remember in the 1936 games the big story in "Hitler's Olympics" was that a black runner named Jessie Owens is the most remembered athlete and hero from those games. Our LGBT athletes will be competing for all of us and they deserve our support.

8. Not showing up never works but showing up in force, visible and well organized will be Putin's humiliation and all the world will know of the plight of LGBT in Russia.

What do you think?

Interesting Quote: David Mixner

Reflecting on the positive accomplishments and so many more that limited space makes it impossible for me to list, I deeply believe the re-election of President Barack Obama is essential - no critical - to continue to have the opportunity of creating a just and fair nation. Everything I cherish about this country, my personal principles and values and hope for the empowering those without a voice could disappear with the election of a Republican.

I know we say this every election year, but that's because every election year it is true: there has never been a more important election and each and everyone of us should treat it that way.

David is basically saying it's important to re-elect President Obama.

Gays Bloggers and Activists played a part in the DEMS election fallout

I'll say it and put it on the carpet... Some of our gay bloggers and activists played a decent role in the Republican win last week.

They can't deny it. After all they did in order to hold Obama and Dems accountable, their actions took on a powerful negative effect. I will highlight a few of these actions from the past 2 years:

• Showtime! Ever since Obama was elected, several folks were all over CNN, MSNBC and the internet, dooming Obama's actions on the LGBT community. Dan Savage and Dan Choi, could be found any news outlet, pushing a lot of their anger, but never offering many solutions.
• Blog, Rant, Blog- Pam Spaudling, John Aravosis, David Mixner and journalist Kerry Eleveld spent the majority of their blogs or posts about Obama/Dems failing at everything Gay. In fact, they blogged more negative posts on Obama/Dems than positive. After a while, a faithful reader of their work would be convinced that Obama hated Gay people. I'm not saying they should be all roses and unicorns about Obama, but they could have at least threw a dog a bone.
• Boycotts- There were at least 3 DNC boycotts, trying to make gays close the gAyTM. It didn't really work, but it did send the message to everyone that was watching.
• Attacking within. There were so much infighting within our activists. Without strong leadership, everyone with after everyone. The usual target was HRC. In fact, the online Town Hall meeting of LGBT bloggers spent most of their time attacking HRC and yet, STILL not putting out many solutions.
• getEQUAL- They could have been great, but their breakout performance left many confused and bitter. I hope they will get better in time.
• Confusion/Half-truths/partial stories - John Aravosis was a puppetmaster. He basically spat out a lot of foolishness, that critical thinking person could easily see through. However, his popularity allowed him to manipulate many folks into believing in his crap. Only a few LGBT activists and writers called him out, only a few.
• No accountability on the quality of the info spewed out by some LGBT bloggers/activists. And if you challenged them, you were attacked by many of their drones.
• Presenting the LGBT Civil Rights movement as a quick fix. If anything, the Civil Rights movement in the 60s should have taught us that this will take time.
• Not educating ourselves. I believe some us took a lot info for granted and not challenge the validity of the content or the credibility of the writer.

Okay, I'll stop there, because there are more issues. Yes, there are things Obama/Dems can improve on, but we really need to do the same. Looking back at everything over the past 2 years, made me really sad. The lack of leadership and clarity cause many of our fam to vote Republican or not vote at all. Instead of educating our peeps, some of our "activists" used them to their own advantage, trying to build up their readership by causing chaos and confusion.

We really did a number on ourselves, we really did. And instead of claiming that it didn't happen, we need to own it, so we can move forward and not go down this path again.

Next on Obama's Smackdown Tour: Progressive LGBT Bloggers

After watching Obama address the GOP, I think he should address another group, the LGBT progressive bloggers.

This would be perfect because they have been the most critical of Obama for things that were understandable and for things that made no sense.

If I could, I would have John Aravosis, Pam Spauding, Dan Savage and David Mixner sitting across from him and let the 'speech' roll. Obama could thank them for their concerns, but call them out on their foolishness.

As y'all know I'm not a huge fan of these folks. Mostly because they were stirring up nothing but trouble, and had no solutions or real plans to strengthen the LGBT community. They were doing more harm than good sometimes, and when we needed inspiration, they provide bitterness and discord.

Obama can take some their issues, and address them truthfully and directly. They need to know the real impact of their claims and hear from the man himself.

I believe this event could:

• Remind us why we voted for him
• Reminds us that we need new voices in our community
• Hold them accountable for their actions
• Keep him on task about our issues
• Keep us on the real, we need to remember that change is tough

I would give up Long John Silvers famous fish for this meeting. Their actions and words are not doing a thing for us. If he addressed them, maybe we would see that new leadership in the LGBT community is in order.

Interesting Quotes: David Kaufman

The bitterness and vitriol filling LGBT attacks on the Dems must come to an end, replaced by a respectful and actionable solutions-based agenda. Most crucially, major LGBT institutions must learn from their previous mistakes and work to rectify them, rather than settling for sloppy repeats.

AND...

This includes reckless LGBT leaders concerned more for their own bloated public images than the greater public good. Leaders like Mixner and AMERICAblog who would seem to truly want this White House to fail -- yet fail themselves to offer any sort of realistic back-up plan. Or even explain why.

Interesting article, please check it out. Love to hear your opinions.

5 Rules of LGBT Contributions In The Political Game by David Mixner

David Mixner has provided 5 guidelines to political giving:

1. Do not contribute to Democratic party committees like the DNC, DSCC and DCCC. They will use the funds to not only elect our allies but also Blue Dog Democrats. Even if they set up a 'special committee' for us that will enable them to loosen funds for candidates who are opposed to our freedom.

2. Contribute directly to only those candidates who have proven by either by vote or sponsorships of legislation their commitment to our issues.

3. Contribute to LGBT candidates who most often know how to fight like hell for us. The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund is one of the most effective groups in Washington,DC.

4. Contribute to our own community and its battles for freedom especially as our young resort to more traditional civil rights tactics.

5. Contribute to defeating our enemies at the local level which is a very powerful message to send those that oppose us.

I agree with some of these, however, I do not think boycotting the DNC and other organizations are wise ideas. Like it or not, they are our allies. We need to get over ourselves and work within this political madness.

Where will our LGBT dollars go? Who would be in charge of it? Are we going to put in some LGBT mattress somewhere?

And is the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund that powerful? Not everyone knows that, perhaps it's time to tell everybody else.

Okay, I'll stop, but I would love to hear your views on this.

David Mixner will play "It's yor Fault, Obama" on the jukebox today

In David's blog, he spent some time blaming Obama for not telling folks to vote against the anti-gay agenda.

He said:

You have to be totally operating on blind faith if you believe that President Obama and his team cannot make a difference. Tragically if we lose closely, that defeat almost can be laid at the steps of the White House for their refusal to stand by our side in the battle for freedom. The Holder remark basically gave those Obama supporters and non-white voters permission to vote against our freedom. The Attorney General let them know that Obama didn't care one way or another so why should those voters change their votes? He gave their votes respectability which was devastating for our side.

The failure of our national organizations to obtain a clear cut endorsement for the LGBT community is something that needs to be discussed. This one isn't rocket science. What happened?

We certainly know by the president's repeated visits to Virginia, New York and New Jersey that he at least had time to issue a tough statement against this form of ballot box bigotry. What they did and failed to do these past weeks, whether we win or lose tonight, is just tragic, sad and unconscionable.

David, while I respect you, I think this is a bit much. Most folks don't want the President getting involved in any state initiatives. We didn't want Bush doing it, why would we want Obama doing it. Oh, because it benefits us.

But let's play with that notion. What if Obama did get involved and we still lost? Would it be his fault then? It would have been worse if he got involved because it would've opened a barrel of worms. Imagine other groups asking for Obama to get involved---
"Hey Obama, support weed!" or " Obama get behind the three strike rule against teenage gang members!" Regardless if it's right or wrong, I think it's best for him to stay out of ballot initiatives. That's the job of our Congresspeople and other state elected officials. If Obama got involved and failed, it would be used against him, giving us far worse consequences. Hell, if he succeeded, it still would've haunted him.

Plus, Obama doesn't have a mystical hold on people of color, so that piece about us taking away freedoms is poppycock.

David, consistently blaming only others destroys any opportunity to change.

I would love to hear your opinions

Today at the March...

Question of the Day: Prop 8 style

Y'all, I feel a mess coming on in Cali.

• There's some huge disagreements about when to repeal Prop 8 and if we should wait another year or two.

• Then there's in-fighting between Prepare to Prevail, Equality Calfornia, the Courage Campaign, and Love Honor Cherish about the next steps.

• The non-support and then wanting to support the federal case to repeal Prop 8.

• Also we have folks like David Mixner sounding off about different strategies.

With all of this malarkey, I can't help but to think we are our own worst enemy, but here is my question.

As this mess continues to steal the fight from our cause... Are we in danger of losing it all?

Interesting Quote: David Mixner

They don't want us to venture from a proscribed game plan that mostly originates out of a Washington-based political strategy to gain our freedom. They live in fear that we will move too quickly, make someone uncomfortable and put our political friends in a tough spot. Afraid to risk defeat, they believe we have to make everyone like us and be on our side. Most amazingly they seek the approval of others instead of insisting that others have to liberate themselves from their own long held myths in order to receive this marvelous gift that our community brings.

David's Mixner’s response to Prepare to Prevail, a coalition of LGBT groups who believes 2010 is too soon to battle for marriage equality in Cali-Cal.

But is he right?

Source

Interesting Quote: David Mixner

Let's call it what it is - Gay Apartheid.

Now some of you might think that is a loaded and unfair word. I have chosen the word very carefully and deliberately. Apartheid is when a group of citizens of a nation is by law separated from all other citizens and the rights, benefits and protections all others are granted.

Having DOMA and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as laws of the land are apartheid laws. They set us apart from all other American citizens. State after state has singled us out in their Constitutions to create a separate body of law for LGBT citizens. States have created laws to forbid us from adopting or participating in the foster care system. Those of us who have foreign national partners are refused to right to co-habitate in America.

Creating civil unions and domestic partnership laws to avoid marriage is a failed attempt to sustain a system of 'separate but equal' that didn't work in the segregationist South and won't work for us. So lets be honest about this as we see an enormous number of laws on the books specially denying LGBT Americans the rights, benefits, privileges and protections granted to all other Americans: we have created and are continuing to expand on a system of Gay Apartheid. There is no other way to look at it.

Interesting read...I don't agree with certain parts, like the comparison of marriage and DADT to the South Africa's 46 years of mess.

Sorry, but SA's issues were far worst than our right to marry. Maybe I read this wrong, but still it's a great piece.

Please check it out, here

Is a National LGBT March on the way?

I just read from several blogs about the National LGBT March. David Mixner and Cleve Jones are on board and ready to go.

From David's blog, he states:

Our freedom can't be negotiated in the political offices of the White House and in the halls of Congress. Our goal is not to make their path easier but to ensure that young LGBT citizens will not be beaten, denied the right to serve, have their love demeaned in some sort of separate but equal system or excluded from giving their gifts and talents freely to this nation. At this moment, there is very little movement on any of these issues in the White House and it appears that some even believe we should be happy with just hate crimes legislation being passed this year.

I adore President Obama but not enough to allow his team to delay my freedom for political convenience or comfort. It is unacceptable.

My plea is for our LGBT leaders to call a March on Washington for Marriage Equality this November and if they won't do it, I appeal to our young to come together and provide the leadership.

Cleve had this to say (via Towleroad):

I applaud and endorse David Mixner's call for a national march with the following four suggestions:

— Schedule the march for the weekend of October 10 - 11, 2009. This is National Coming Out Day and the 30th anniversary of the first national march. Several subsequent marches and AIDS Memorial Quilt displays have also occurred on those dates. The Columbus Day holiday provides a three-day weekend for many and the weather is generally favorable.

— Have one demand only: “Full Equality Now - full and equal protection under the law for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.” Let's stop settling for fractions of equality. Every compromise undermines our humanity. We must declare our equality.

— Organize the march from the grassroots with a decentralized internet-based campaign. Keep it simple; avoid bloated budgets and cumbersome structures. The primary objective must be to turn out the largest possible crowd. We don't need elaborate and expensive staging or fabulous dinner parties and concerts - we need a million or more people in the street demanding equality now.

— Encourage and enlist our allies in the broader progressive movement to build the march. Involve the labor movement, racial, ethnic and immigrant communities, progressive faith leaders, peace and social justice advocates and other supporters. LGBT people of all ages and races recognize the challenges facing our nation and our planet. We are eager to stand, as equals, with our fellow citizens in meeting these challenges.

We are on the verge of a new chapter in the history of our country and our movement. There is a bold new spirit and a powerful new resolve within our communities. Now is the time. We are equal.

Okay, good stuff. Now comes the questions.

Are we really ready for this? This ain't a pride event or Folsom, this our reality. People have to be ready to roll with this.

What are the plans? Yes, Cleve laid out some things... but how would we put those suggestions into action?

Will folks show up? I know they will, but will it be effective? Will we have the visibility needed to make an impact?

And is this the right time?

I'm curious to know what y'all think. A march sounds good, but I also believe we need to think things through. We should feel ready and be ready for this. If we are not solid on the reasons and purpose, this can fail.

Interesting Quote: David Mixner

We have a long valuable historical and powerful coalition with the African-American community and I would hate to see us do damage to it in our passion. This is no small political matter and should be treated by the LGBT community with the utmost of care. Our leaders must lead on this one, do some self-examination and approach our long time friends with a smile and a handshake.

Source