Gay sailor found dead on military base in a
suspected homicide.

post from Think Progress on 02 July 2009 11:35:00 AM. © Think Progress

Yesterday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the body of openly gay Seaman August Provost was discovered in a guard shack at Camp Pendelton. A ?person of interest? in connection to the suspected homicide is now being held in the Navy brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. According to Provost’s sister, he had recently complained to his family that “someone was harassing and bothering him.” According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Provost likely didn’t report the harassment because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”:

The Navy would not comment on whether Provost’s orientation had anything to do with the death.
?While ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ is in place, anybody in the military who is a homosexual has no place to go to get assistance or counseling,? said Ben Gomez of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group for gays in the military.

(HT: Raw Story)

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Don't Look Good

post from Talking Points Memo on 02 July 2009 11:33:00 AM. © Talking Points Memo

We're just digging into this story the Politico broke this morning about the Post offering lobbyists access for cash payments. But I'd say the Post has a real problem on its hands. Here's the lede ...For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post has[...]

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Energy and Food Independence

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 02 July 2009 11:27:37 AM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Jill Richardson of Commonweal Institute

It seems fitting that the same week we celebrate the independence of our Nation, the House passed historic climate change legislation. In theory, this bill should bring us closer to the goals of oil independence and freedom from the disastrous future of a warming, melting planet. If America is to prosper in the 21st century, then we must take immediate action to reduce our role in causing the climate crisis. And yet, the bill left those of us who care about our shared environment shaking our heads. Is the Waxman-Markey bill is even slightly better for the planet than the status quo, or will it pave the way to increased, legalized pollution? Perhaps the most tragic part of the bill was the compromise with agribusiness interests that was required to secure its passage through the Agriculture committee.

Agribusiness likes to claim that "farmers are the first environmentalists" - a statement that should be true. Sadly, the large corporate interests that drive the agribusiness lobby like to hide behind the image of the American family farmer. And while the American family farmer may in fact be an environmentalist, the new climate change bill further entrenches the status quo of an agricultural system based on unsustainable usage of oil, water, and soil.

Commonweal Institute: Energy and Food
Independence

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 02 July 2009 11:27:37 AM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Jill Richardson of Commonweal Institute

It seems fitting that the same week we celebrate the independence of our Nation, the House passed historic climate change legislation. In theory, this bill should bring us closer to the goals of oil independence and freedom from the disastrous future of a warming, melting planet. If America is to prosper in the 21st century, then we must take immediate action to reduce our role in causing the climate crisis. And yet, the bill left those of us who care about our shared environment shaking our heads. Is the Waxman-Markey bill is even slightly better for the planet than the status quo, or will it pave the way to increased, legalized pollution? Perhaps the most tragic part of the bill was the compromise with agribusiness interests that was required to secure its passage through the Agriculture committee.

Agribusiness likes to claim that "farmers are the first environmentalists" - a statement that should be true. Sadly, the large corporate interests that drive the agribusiness lobby like to hide behind the image of the American family farmer. And while the American family farmer may in fact be an environmentalist, the new climate change bill further entrenches the status quo of an agricultural system based on unsustainable usage of oil, water, and soil.

HELP Committee Draft & CBO Score

post from Firedoglake on 02 July 2009 11:24:26 AM. © Firedoglake

Read along in the comments: Bill Text Public Insurance Option, Employer ResponsibilityCBO Score[...]

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http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/07/02/help-committee-draft-cbo-score/

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Nikolas Kozloff: U.S. Intervention in Honduras
From John Negroponte to Luis Posada Carriles

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 02 July 2009 11:21:42 AM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Nikolas Kozloff

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who was overthrown in a military coup on Sunday, is irate about U.S. interventionism in his country. That's not too surprising in light of the history. For years, successive U.S. diplomats in Tegucigalpa have cultivated close ties with right-wing elements in Honduras while seeking to head off progressive change. If Zelaya is ever reinstated as President, the U.S. will have to work hard to erase Hondurans' bitter memory of belligerent American ambassadors.

Consider for a moment the case of John Negroponte, U.S. Ambassador to Honduras from 1981-1985. Negroponte worked in his post at the height of the U.S.-funded Contra war against the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. At the time, Honduras served as a vital base for the Contra rebel army. Negroponte played a significant role in assisting the Contras, though human rights groups criticized him for ignoring human rights abuses committed by Honduran death squads that were funded and partially trained by the Central Intelligence Agency. Indeed, when Negroponte served as ambassador, his building in Tegucigalpa became one of the largest nerve centers of the CIA in Latin America with a tenfold increase in personnel.

The authorities built an airbase at El Aguacate for the Contras, which was reportedly used as a detention facility where torture occurred. The area also served as a burial ground for 185 dissidents whose remains were only uncovered in 2001. Jack Binns, Negroponte's predecessor in Tegucigalpa and a Carter appointee, maintains that when he handed over power to Negroponte, he gave the newcomer a full briefing about human rights abuses committed by the military. Negroponte denies having any knowledge about such occurrences.

Houston Fourth Of July EventsWill Texas
Republicans Who Say Texas Should Leave Union Observe The Holiday

post from Texas Liberal on 02 July 2009 11:20:17 AM. © Texas Liberal

What will be going on in Houston and around Houston this Fourth of July?Will the near-majority of Texas Republicans who say that Texas would do well to leave the union observe the holiday? ( Above–John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence from 1819. Please click here for a key as to who is who in the painting.)Will parents talk to kids [...]

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exas-republicans-who-say-texas-should-leave-union-observe-the-holiday/

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NH-Sen: Sununu Won't Run

post from Daily Kos on 02 July 2009 11:20:06 AM. © Daily Kos

The AP is reporting that former Senator John E. Sununu (R) won't run for the seat being vacated by Judd Gregg. Although Sununu was soundly defeated by Jeanne Shaheen in 2008, with statewide name recognition and proven fundraising ability, he would have been one of the most -- if not the most -- formidable candidates New Hampshire Republicans could field.

The other potential Republican candidates getting the most mention have been Attorney General Kelly Ayotte and former NH-02 Rep. Charlie Bass. Ayotte's position is appointed, so she's never faced voters (and she's widely reputed to be a rather poor public speaker); Bass was defeated by Democratic candidate Paul Hodes in 2006. Today's news therefore improves Hodes' already strong position.

One sad note to Sununu not running: We won't be able to resurrect one of the all-time most humorously lame campaign videos.

video details and more

With material like that, we clearly had nothing to fear from a 2010 Bununu run.

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un

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Obama deputy campaign manager abandons DOMA &
DADT as priorities

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 02 July 2009 11:20:00 AM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

The new Obama talking points don't even include DOMA and Don't Ask Don't Tell as priorities any longer.

President Obama's deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, who is himself openly gay, penned a piece for the Huffington Post yesterday that delineates the three "gay" priorities that Congress should focus on: safe schools; hate crimes; and ENDA.

After two weeks of the Obama White House reeling over the gay backlash caused by the anti-gay DOMA brief, which compared gay marriage to incest and pedophilia, we now have the number two guy on the Obama campaign suddenly writing about what our legislative priorities should be. Don't think for a minute that this essay wasn't either written by the White House, written at their behest, or at the very least cleared with them. This essay is the White House's thinking on gay issues.

And what is that thinking? First, that the burden for doing anything pro-gay in the remaining three and a half years of the Obama administration is now shifted to Congress. Obama has no role whatsoever, and no power to influence anything, even though he's still the leader of the free world. The essay makes clear that the onus is on Congress and no one else.

Second, the three big gay rights priorities that Congress should be focusing on do not even include what have organically become the community's top two priorities: repealing DOMA and Don't Ask Don't Tell. They're not even mentioned in the Obama deputy's essay.

Politics is, in many ways, the art of reading tea leaves. I think Joe and I have both proven our worth in terms of our ability to read what's going on in Washington behind the scenes, particularly as it concerns issues of importance to the gay community. Never have we received a clearer signal that the Obama administration does not share our priorities than this essay.

Yes, safe schools are great. And the hate crimes bill is important too (even though, oddly, it was able to pass a filibuster in the last congress but can't even get a vote in this one). But Joe and I predicted that Obama and the Democratic Congress would use hate crimes as some be-all and end-all issue, after which they would wash their hands with us - never focusing on the more important issues of marriage and the military. And that appears to be exactly what is happening.

It's not clear if some gay group is giving Obama the behind the scenes permission to abandon his promises to our community on the military ban and on DOMA, but it's increasingly looking that way. And if that's the case, the community's ire will no longer be focused solely on Democrats. It will turn towards any apologist organization that is more interested in attending next-to-meaningless White House ceremonies and cocktail parties instead of defending its own community.

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Rep. Frankel says Eichelberger is a reason we
need non-discrimination law

Frankel applauds passage of Allegheny County Human Relations Act

HARRISBURG, July 2 - State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, issued the following statement on Wednesday evening's passage of the Allegheny County Human Relations Act:

"I applaud the members of the Allegheny County Council who voted in favor of the non-discrimination ordinance. This ordinance will make the law more fair and just in Allegheny County and make us more competitive for attracting and retaining jobs. This vote -- in Pennsylvania's second most populated county -- will also help advance similar statewide legislation in Harrisburg.

"Recent comments by state Senator John Eichelberger highlight why this ordinance is necessary. The senator said, in a public debate, that we 'allow [same-sex couples] to exist,' as if that were all our fellow citizens should expect.

"This kind of basic lack of respect for hundreds of thousands of his fellow citizens also jeopardizes economic development for our state. I'm reminded of the Oklahoma state legislator who cost her state 1,000 jobs when she made anti-gay comments last year.

"I'm delighted that residents of Allegheny County will now be protected from discrimination but am still concerned that many Pennsylvanians lack this basic protection, even while most residents believe it should be the law. Look at the 71 percent support statewide - including 63 percent support in the central/'T' region -- for House Bill 300, which would protect people who live or work in Pennsylvania from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression."

###bt/2009/mjh l:\print\releases\AllegCoNonDiscrim.023

MEDIA CONTACT: Ben Turner
House Democratic Communications Office
Phone: 717-787-7895
Email: bturner@pahouse.net

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http://keystoneprogress.blogspot.com/2009/07/rep-frankel-says-eichelberger-is-rea
son.html