Friday Gay Blogging, Sunday Edition

There, see? I told you I was working on it.

Obama's Strategy:

Steve Hildebrand was Obama's deputy campaign manager and is still an adviser to the president. Maybe that explains some of the inaction on Obama's campaign promises to the gay community. This is highly instructive:

There are three critically important pieces of legislation that should pass Congress and move to the president's desk immediately. You were elected on a promise to help people -- to make a difference in people's lives. Because discrimination is unacceptable, you should move forward now to pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act, the National Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Sounds good, doesn't it? Read the article and ask yourself, "What missing here?"

Perhaps this story will help clear away the confusion:

A possible hate crime killing of a gay US sailor on Obama's watch. Navy Seaman August Provost III was gagged, bound by the hands and feet, shot in the head three times, and then his body burned. His relatives say he was repeatedly harassed for being gay, but couldn't seek help from the Defense Department because of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Now he's dead.

Obama administration investigators say it was just a random act of violence.

"Random act of violence" -- bound and gagged, and the body burned? Something smells here. And the family has some ideas about what's to blame:

Rose Roy of Beaumont said her nephew, Navy Seaman August Provost III, had complained a year before about being harassed for being gay.

Roy said she advised Provost to report and document the incidents, but she said the military did little to help.

“He went to the Navy to serve and protect,” she said in an interview with Beaumont’s KFDM News, “he didn’t get protected at all.”

Roy told The Associated Press that the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy discouraged her nephew from asking for help.

“That phrase is just stupid because it tells them they have no one to speak to,” she said.

Repeal of DADT should be a no-brainer at this point. Even Republicans, even Republicans who go to church regularly, favor repeal. So what's the problem?

Maybe it has something to do with reports on The Democrats' "gay strategy":

Q: What is the mood or tone within the DNC regarding gay rights issues?

The only thing I hear about LGBT action is in reference to not rocking the boat until after the next election.

Q: Is that 2010 or 2012?

Both.

Q: So the DNC's official stance is to keep LGBT causes under wraps?

Not the official position, but it is clear to me that that is the unofficial position.

TPM has a more detailed analysis that comes to the same conclusion that I've come to:

Through the Clinton years and since the Democrats have taken over in 2007, it has been made painstakingly clear to gay and lesbian Americans that they are not going to be entitled to anything politically, no matter what the constitution says.

I did run across a report while surfing last week that there is actually an agreement between Obama, Reid and Pelosi to back-burner DADT, ENDA, and DOMA -- they are "avoiding divisive social issues," which is just another way of saying that they're still running scared of the Republicans.

In light of that, a story like this, while reassuring, leaves me ambivalent:

At the July 1st commission meeting, the Oakland Park City Commission, working with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), Fight OUT Loud, and many other organizations, brought forward a city resolution calling for the President and the United States Congress to adopt the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 (House Resolution 1283), which eliminates the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' (DADT) policy, which bans brave and dedicated Gay and Lesbian Servicemembers from serving openly in the Military.

The resolution passed unanimously.

I'm afraid my reaction at this point is "Do you honestly think they're listening?"

As usual, action is going to come from the courts:

The plaintiffs, represented by Olson and Boies were seeking an injunction on Proposition 8– which would, in effect, allow same-sex marriages to begin again immediately in California– but Judge Walker instead ordered that all parties move forward as quickly as possible toward primary resolution, rather than proceeding with arguments on injunction. “Given that serious questions are raised in these proceedings…” the Judge said, “the court is inclined to proceed directly and expeditiously to the merits of plaintiffs’ claims.”

While it is encouraging that Judge Walker intends to move quickly on this issue, it is important to remember that even a positive verdict from the District Court is not the final say on the issue. Any decision could, and likely would, be appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

That last assumption is dubious, to be quite honest: Neither Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger nor AG Jerry Brown support Prop 8, and Brown's office has already filed a brief in another case calling it a violation of civil rights. So, assuming a favorable verdict for the plaintiffs, appeal to the Ninth Circuit is up in the air.

"Unnatural Acts":

I thought this was a fitting finish, given the assumptions of not only the anti-gay right, but the DNC and the Obama administration. Mark Morford pulls together current research:

Are you thinking, why sure, everyone knows about those sex-crazed dolphins and those superslut bonobo monkeys and the few other godless creatures like them, the sea turtles and the weird sheep and such, creatures who obviously haven't read Leviticus. But that's about it, right? Most animals are devoutly hetero and straight and damn happy about it, right?

Wrong.

New research is revealing so many creatures and species that exhibit homosexual/bisexual behavior of some kind, scientists are now saying there are actually very few, if any, species in existence that don't exhibit it in some way. It's everywhere: Bison. Giraffes. Ducks. Hyenas. Lions and lambs, lizards and dragonflies, polecats and elephants. Hetero sex. Anal sex. Partner swapping. The works.

Once again, can someone explain the doctrine of "Natural Law" to me? In terms that have something to do with nature?

And for today's dessert, something a little different: