OBAMA
On Tuesday, President Obama dropped by a meeting of DADT repeal advocates who had wandered into the White House to chat about moving on the repeal by the end of the year. Seriously, he did this.
“The President stopped by to directly convey to the participants his personal commitment on this issue,” said one anonymous aide.
According to a leaked email sent to attendees, the conversation was expected to focus on moving forward with the lame duck session, off the record. Attendees were told that if there was any discussion of current court cases or legal strategy by anyone present involved in active litigation against the government regarding DADT, then the session would end immediately.
At a Tuesday briefing, press secretary Robert Gibbs said that the White House was still focused on the DADT repeal, but that executive action was not out of the question. He also noted that the study of the potential impacts of a repeal will be complete by the beginning of December, which is only a month away, and that “the President believes, continues to believe, that […] time for the ending of this law has come.”
In the interests of point/counterpoint, here is GETEqual’s new video “telegram” addressed to Obama and the current Democratic administration. It expresses a certain level of dissatisfaction despite Obama’s demonstration of “personal commitment,” and it features a few new faces that we haven’t yet seen openly criticizing the President — namely, Constance McMillen, Ceara Sturgis, and Will Phillips. The idea is that in the trickle-down model of “change” the White House is marketing, these kids are the real test of whether it’s working — and they’re saying it’s not.
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RACHEL MADDOW/JOE MILLER
Rachel Maddow hunted down Joe Miller in Alaska and was finally able to ask him a few questions about gay rights and abortion while chasing him, West Wing-style, down a series of hallways. She also sneaks in a Bridge to Nowhere joke.
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DEPORTATION
Despite having married his partner last August in Connecticut, where gay marriage is legal, Henry Valendia could face deportation to his native Venezuela later this year. Valendia is due before an immigration judge on November 17th; under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which federally defines marriage as between one woman and one man, Valendia’s husband John Vandiver is unable to sponsor him. The couple is hoping the case will be delayed until the Supreme Court makes a decision on DOMA, which was ruled unconstitutional in July. They also have a Facebook page.
RIGHTS
Yesterday, the Omaha City Council voted down a proposed measure that would have given gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people protections that Nebraska doesn’t otherwise provide. Also, someone called Pastor Cedric Perkins would like you to know the following:
“I find it offensive that we would equate this with civil rights,” Pastor Cedric Perkins, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church said. “Those rights were based upon a person’s color of their skin, which they could not change.”
I have no words. An abstaining councilman, Franklin Thompson, would like the issue put to a public vote, and whether or not that happens will be decided next week. In the meantime, the Council is completely on board with workplace discrimination and refusing to serve gay people in restaurants, hotels, or other public places. Direct your angry letters here.
PRESIDENT PALIN
Want to watch a cute girl from the future in a tank top tell you to vote? Watch this video: