When the crisis hit Haitai, it was non-stop news. I know that they are our neighbors. I know thay are very poor. I know we screwed them over many times. But heck, the axis of the earth changed in Chile. People are strarving there. Yes they are a wealthy country, but man they need help. So tell me, what’s happening in the city that we can all do our thing and help them out? Do you want me to put something together. I could be ingnorant, point me that way!
Archive for the ‘Take Action’ category
So, what’s up with Chile?
March 3rd, 2010I couldn’t sleep last night: Chile Concerns
February 28th, 2010
from the San Francisco Sentinel
I was glued to Chilean television while the news came in about the horrible devastation experienced in the central part of that nation. Thankfully, Chile is a highly developed nation and well-prepared for earthquakes with modern standards of construction in the major cities. Still more than 200 are thought to be dead and that number is likely to go up.
My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile. I will update you with some options on how you can give and help in this disaster.
I will work mostly to find those support groups that are not affiliated with religious organizations.
One of the truly amazing things about talking to people around the world on the Chile TVN site was the outpouring of concern and unity from around the world. Most people were speaking in Spanish, but there were many Americans there also. It was deeply touching.
Animo, Chile. Estamos con Ustedes.
Miré televisión chilena con obsesión mientras las noticias entraron acerca de la devastación horrible experimentada en la parte central de esa nación. Agradecidamente, Chile es una nación sumamente desarrollada y bien-preparado para terremotos, con estándares modernos de construcción en las ciudades mayores. Todavía más de 200 estan considerados muertos y ese número es probable de subir. Mis pensamientos y las oraciones están con las personas de Chile. Yo le actualizaré con algunas opciones en cómo se puede dar y poder ayudar en este desastre. Trabajaré para encontrar en su mayor parte esos grupos de apoyo que no son afiliados con organizaciones religiosas. Uno de las cosas sinceramente asombrosas acerca de hablar con personas en todo partes del mundo en el sitio de Chile TVN fue la efusión de preocupación y unidad de alrededor del mundo. La mayoría de las personas hablaban en español, pero había muchos norteamericanos allí también. Tocaba profundamente.
Why give money to charity?
January 17th, 2010
As many of you know, a large part of what I do for a living is raise money for causes, campaigns, and charities. (By the way, if you would like to know, I’m currently working for a great cause, www.newleafservices.org). I actually enjoy the process. And it is as much a science now-a-days as it is an art. There are things that work and things that don’t work. And the crux of the matter is why do people give at all. You really don’t get anything in return in a tangible way; perhaps some tax breaks, a feeling of wellness and community, and a fulfillment of community responsibility.
We really don’t need to guess why people give. There is a lot of science that exists. Today I read a fascinating article from smart money about some of the newest science. There is a lot of good stuff to read there, but here is a good list of why people give money:
We give when it can help us directly. Some giving is quite self-centered. Alumni giving, to take one example, has been found to correlate in size and frequency to a less-than-shocking variable: the age of one’s child and the likelihood of his or her applying to the school in question.
We give when it can help us indirectly, by raising our social status — helping us appear wealthy or generous. In another study on alumni giving, Yale economist Dan Karlan found (in a paper delightfully titled, “Hey Look at Me”) that individuals were more likely to give when offered public recognition in a newsletter and that they were more likely to donate at a higher level if informed that donors would be separated into giving “circles” based on the amount given. While we may not want to believe that we donate to charity for recognition and social status, empirical research has found that anonymous donations are exceedingly rare (perhaps as low as 1% of all donations) — even though they’re eligible for the same tax treatment as other donations.
We give to alleviate guilt and repair our self-image. In a recent column I discussed how when people focused on good things about themselves, they felt less need to engage in good deeds, such as donating to charity. Well, the flip side of that same experiment — where people wrote positive or negative essays about themselves and then were asked to donate up to $10 to a charity of their choice — is that the people who focused on the bad things about themselves donated five times more than those who wrote about their positive traits. As the study’s authors put it, “when moral identity is threatened, moral behavior is a means to regain some lost self-worth.”
We give when it can increase our odds with the opposite sex. (my note here: it can also work when LGBT people are involved) In another experiment, by University of Chicago economist John List, a team tested the effectiveness of various door-to-door fundraising techniques. One technique that had tremendous success: turning up the hotness of the woman who asked for money (“a one-standard deviation increase in physical attractiveness,” in scientific lingo). This increased average donations by 50% to 135%. As the paper delicately puts it: “This result is largely driven by increased participation rates among households where a male answered the door.”
The bottom line is that what does work are stories, not numbers. Making impact possible and not overwhelming, adding a bit of guilt at times, and making sure that the donors feel connected, appreciated, informed, special, and have opportunities to advance their own interests. We all want to help our fellow human beings, but some things help us choose where our limited sources go.
Holidays are over, and hope begins
January 4th, 2010I have spent the last two or three years as a cynic. I’ve always been a bit of a cynic, but what I am referring to here is in the classical greek sense of the word, as in pulling one apart from politics or the believe in the ability to change a system as large as the political system of the US and indeed the world. So it’s a glorious ability to throw bombs and share a hopeless sense. But it is not a something you can live with forever. My disappointment in the loss of Constitutional control of the American government under Bush, and Obama’s willingness to not prosecute and in fact set up protections for the war criminals hurt. I left the country for a year and wanted to experience a different set of values. Values I treasure. Individual rights, regulated capatalism and a robust welfare system.
Yet, I am hopeful. I think with all the disappointment I have with the political structure in the United States and its inability to sustain real change and recognize true human rights, Obama has been a vast improvement. I do believe time will help us overcome.
I saw a concert this weekend with my personal diva, Bette, in Vegas. There’s her most signature song, The Rose. It is a song of the hope of a better spring time after a difficult winter. Our winter has gone on for so long, ten years. No job growth, war crimes, cowardize around LGBT rights. Eight years of war. But the seed, with the sun’s love, comes the rose.
I’m committed to fighting and not letting politicians off the hook. But I am also committed to hope. To holding ourselves to a higher standard. I am committed to global connection and universal citizenship. I am committed to be one of many suns that will bring light and bring the spring. In my current job, I’m committed to finding ways that every LGBT person in this city can find help when they need it. Substance abuse, mental health, poverty, HIV and AIDS, and building a sense of community have been my life for the last 25 years. I am recommitted.
What can you do to bring that light. To end the winter of our discontent, to borrow a phrase. To make this city and this country what it can be.
A perspective on debt and corporatism. Change the Banks and Health Insurance Companies Can Believe In
December 15th, 2009- Wins with no facts, principles, or reasons. Just bitter, old, Not better and bold
Taken from the always wonderful CrooksandLiars.com, this wonderful perspective:
This is about to put me in the mind of a stroke. This is how FDR left you know. This from the great Crooksandliars.com
How much is $140 billion?
The U.S. economy grew at a $89 billion annualized rate in the third quarter. That was the first growth since the second quarter of 2008 and came to $22 billion in actual growth in the third quarter.
The bankers, after causing the greatest economic calamity since the Great Depression, are rewarded with six times the growth accomplished so far in the much heralded “economic recovery.”
Meanwhile, seven million families face foreclosure and 25 million Americans can’t find full time work.
Add on top of this piece of job is that final version of the HCR plan that will go forward in the end will not have public health obtion or Medicare expansion. We are going to force all Americans to buy insurance and pay big Health and big Farma with no way to control costs. They get millions of new clients forced to pay whatever they want to charge. And they will still be elegible for anti-trust protection. You can’t stop them Our guys in Washington are so brave. Such heroes.
This is change that Corporations can believe in! Can you?
Good job on first pro-gay marriage commercial in Maine
August 28th, 2009I lived in Portland, ME for nearly 8 years. Loved the city and the people. Incredibly progressive. The outlying areas will be interesting on this issue. But the reality is Maine has always been proud of a “live and let live” philosophy.
What do you think?
Please send the love to my friend
August 25th, 2009Very sad news today. The ex-boyfriend of one of my very best friends is in the hospital with what appears to be the H1N1 virus. He is quite ill, on a respirator and in very bad shape. Please send all your positive energy and love his way. This is just terrible news.
From Obama Letter February 2008 to LGBT Community
June 17th, 2009
Apparently the president is putting together a rush job of a presidential memorandum (note: not and executive order) to extend benefits to partners of federal employees. There will be a speech made live at a time that the networks will not cover. The White House admits that this is a rush job to quell the PINK FIRE that is spreading as a result of his Justice Department´s DOMA brief. He will certainly try to talk his way out of the anger being expressed broadly by the community.
A few things to remember and take note of:
- this order expires when Obama´s term expires
- the benefits do not include health care because of the DOMA law he just supp0rted
- he has been gradually reducing his his level of support as demonstrated by changes on his policies as listed on his websites
- This is done on the rush to combat something they were unprepared for.
This just isn´t going to satisfy anyone. Where is our fierce advocate?
I’m running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding
promise of equality for all – a promise that extends to our gay brothers
and sisters. It’s wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class
citizens in this nation. And I ask for your support in this election so that
together we can bring about real change for all LGBT Americans.
Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate
discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that
prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending
protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate,
I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide
benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of
my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and
a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full
equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best
way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not
stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and
lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage.
Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
– a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal
only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not
discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I
have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting
American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as
married couples in our immigration system.
The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When it comes to prevention,
we do not have to choose between values and science. While abstinence education should be
part of any strategy, we also need to use common sense. We should have age-appropriate sex
education that includes information about contraception. We should pass the JUSTICE Act to
combat infection within our prison population. And we should lift the federal ban on needle
exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. In addition, local
governments can protect public health by distributing contraceptives.We also need a president who’s willing to confront the stigma – too often tied to homophobia
– that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to
evangelicals at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, and will continue to speak out as president.
That is where I stand on the major issues of the day. But having the right positions on the issues
is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning
broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and implement fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and discrimination
in the workplace, we need to bring the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well
as friendly ones – and that’s what I’ve done throughout my career. I brought this message of
inclusiveness to all of America in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention. I talked
about the need to fight homophobia when I announced my candidacy for President, and I have
been talking about LGBT equality to a number of groups during this campaign – from local LGBT
activists to rural farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin
Luther King once preached.
Just as important, I have been listening to what all Americans have to say. I will never compromise
on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans. But neither will I close my ears to
the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward
together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary.
Americans are yearning for leadership that can empower us to reach for what we know is possible.
I believe that we can achieve the goal of full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this
country. To do that, we need leadership that can appeal to the best parts of the human spirit.
Join with me, and I will provide that leadership. Together, we will achieve real equality for all
Americans, gay and straight alike.
Emphasis added by the Queen.
Barack Obama
Thom, just shut up for awhile and be patient!
June 16th, 2009I’ve been getting several emails from well-connected people, for whom I have respect, that are sharing with me their feelings that people are getting a bit out of control with their anger with the Obama Administration. It’s just not the way things are done. We need to work within the system. And I understand their feelings. I have been getting much broader feedback about how angry people are. They are sharing stories of betrayal and shock. It is not just that nothing has moved forward on LGBT issues yet. It’s the lack of coordination, the insulting official responses, and the “just wait, we’ll get to it,” replies that have every one in a dither. I’ve been told that the key groups really know what they are doing. This in particular I find hard to believe. It is not a secret that their are many primary national and local organizations for whom I have little respect. I just don’t know what is happening with all that money or what we have to show for it. I’ve run an LGBT organization in a major city, and we were hard pressed for cash all the time. And we had other problems. The truth is that the general public doesn’t understand their non-profits or how their accounting works or how program dollars are used. I’ll write about this when I’m a bit more rested up. 
But let me clear, I don’t want to call for groups to be ignored. I’ve been attacking the Democratic Party. Why do LGBT Democrats feel such a responsibility to protect the Democrats that are hurting us? We criticize the far right for blind loyalty to the Republican party no matter what they do or say. Are we the same? We do have options. One option I’ve suggested is give your money to LGBT orgs or to candidates who have actually done something. Make them earn your money. Just don’t go to a DNC LGBT fundraiser the week after you’ve been called incestial. Jesus, why don’t we just say we bumped into the door instead of tell the truth about the beating we just took before we went to the party. Some of us may lose our invites to those VIP parties with the Democratic Party big wigs, but you know, all I ever go was a picture anyway. And I’ve met most of the big national, state, and city big cats. Hold on to your bucks one time. It’ll feel good. I don’t want to wait anymore to change how Washington works. We’ve been doing that since before Clinton, and look how that turned out. What I know now, is Washington doesn’t work for me.
Major Gay DNC Fundraiser, Why Would You Go?
June 16th, 2009
I would ask of every major Democratic Party donor not to attend this event. I’m not asking you to quit the Democratic Party. I’m not asking you to never give money again. Just send one message, one time. You know, a couple of people have asked me why I write about this when I’m living in Spain and not even in the US. Well, I am still a Democrat (Democrats Abroad), still registered to vote in SF, District 8, and I’m still and American.
I will not attend a fundraiser for the National Democratic Party in Washington next week when the current administration is responsible for these kind of actions. How will they ever take us seriously if we keep forking out money while they harm us. For now on, my money is going to battles within the community such as the fight in Maine or the March on Washington! I am so tired of being told by Democratic operatives to ’suck it up’ because so many other profound issues are at stake. It is as if our fight for our freedom is single handedly responsible for the fate of all other issues. Bullshit. Maybe, just maybe, it is time for others to ’suck it up’ for us and finally, without conditions, join our fight for our freedom!
