Friday, September 23, 2011

Lady Gaga Obama Bullying


Lady Gaga Wants to Meet With Obama Over Bullying

From the Associated Press (via The New York Times) :

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lady Gaga wants to meet with President Barack Obama about her concerns over bullying.

Gaga expressed sadness over Twitter Wednesday about the suicide death of a 14-year-old New York boy who had complained in an online video about being bullied over his sexuality.

The pop singer tweeted to her 13.7 million followers: "I am meeting with our President. I will not stop fighting. This must end."

A Democratic official said Gaga plans to attend an Obama fundraiser next week on the West Coast but no private meeting has been scheduled. The official spoke on condition of anonymity and was not authorized to speak publicly about the fundraiser.

In videos, Jamey Rodemeyer described being taunted in his school hallways and receiving hateful messages online before his suicide death Sunday outside his home in Williamsville, N.Y. The video was part of the "It Gets Better Project," which is meant to give hope to gay teens.

In his blog, Rodemeyer referred to himself as gay and made frequent references to suicide and to his idol, Lady Gaga, who often sings about acceptance of gays and lesbians.

Rodemeyer's parents said the boy had been bullied for years but appeared to be doing better since beginning high school a few weeks ago.

Police are investigating whether criminal charges should be filed in the case. New York state doesn't have an anti-bullying law but authorities have said bullies could be charged with harassment or aggravated harassment.

The White House held a conference on bullying prevention in March to discuss bullying, estimating that it affects 13 million students, or about a third of those attending school. Obama said then he hoped to "dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up. It's not."

Kirsten Gillibrand Product Endorsement

Has Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand become a paid political spokesperson for Verizon Wireless ? One of her recent e-mails bore the Verizon Wireless Blackberry footer. Is this an example of regulatory capture ?

Kristen Gillibrand - Verizon Blackberry Advertising

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Oakland LGBT Civil Rights Proclamation

Oakland Proclamation for LGBT Civil Rights (American Equality Bill)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Covenant To End DOMA

Invitation to Wedding and Covenant to End DOMA at The Riverside Church (Fundraiser)

On Sunday, October 30, 2011, TJ Williams and Brad Hover are to be married at The Riverside Church in New York City in a ceremony, which will include a prayer -- calling on President Barak Obama to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) before the end of his second term in office.  TJ and Brad are calling this special prayer a Covenant to End DOMA

"My partner and I started planning our wedding before we even knew that marriage equality would be made legal in New York State. But we had faith that the laws would be changed in our endless effort towards achieving equality," said TJ Williams.

To raise money for the wedding and for the Covenant to End Doma, TJ has released the above YouTube fundraiser video. TJ and Brad need your help to gather leaders and speakers and others for a civil rights event, where President Obama will be asked to covenant with our nation's communities and its leaders to end DOMA before the end of his second term. All donations will be used for this service and for purposes of community-building around social justice.

Under the discrimination of DOMA, no state is required to acknowledge the legal same-sex marriages, even if they are legal in other states.  Participants in the Covenant to End DOMA are also hoping that this event will spur a conversation that would encourage unity between the African American community and the LGBT community, as we face the 2012 election year.