By Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, October 10, 2008

In a 4 - 3 decision today, the Connecticut Supreme Court granted gay couples the right to marry.

The long-awaited decision had been crafted over many months and stretches to 85 pages.

The majority decision, written by Justice Richard Palmer, states, "Accordingly, we reject the trial court's decision that marriage and civil unions are 'separate' but 'equal' entities.''

Palmer was joined in the majority by Justices Joette Katz, Flemming L. Norcott, and Lubbie Harper, Jr.

The majority specifically rejected the reasoning of longtime Justice David M. Borden, a friend of Palmer's who has often been seen having lunch with his colleague at the state Capitol complex's cafeteria.

"In his dissenting opinion, Justice Borden concludes that gay persons are not entitled to protected status because they have too much political power to warrant such protection,'' the majority said. The four justices added that "this conclusion is flawed because, at the time women were accorded protected status under the federal constitution, they possessed more political power than gays in this state currently possess.''

The big question now is how the ruling will affect a question on the November 4 ballot in Connecticut that asks if the state should hold a constitutional convention. Those in favor of the convention want direct initiative, which would allow for a statewide referendum on gay marriage by all voters.

For further information, see www.courant.com.

Health Care Destruction
By PAUL KRUGMAN, Op Ed, New York Times, October 6, 2008

Sarah Palin ended her debate performance last Thursday with a slightly garbled quote from Ronald Reagan about how, if we aren’t vigilant, we’ll end up “telling our children and our children’s children” about the days when America was free. It was a revealing choice.

You see, when Reagan said this he wasn’t warning about Soviet aggression. He was warning against legislation that would guarantee health care for older Americans — the program now known as Medicare.

Conservative Republicans still hate Medicare, and would kill it if they could — in fact, they tried to gut it during the Clinton years (that’s what the 1995 shutdown of the government was all about). But so far they haven’t been able to pull that off.

So John McCain wants to destroy the health insurance of nonelderly Americans instead.

Most Americans under 65 currently get health insurance through their employers. That’s largely because the tax code favors such insurance: your employer’s contribution to insurance premiums isn’t considered taxable income, as long as the employer’s health plan follows certain rules. In particular, the same plan has to be available to all employees, regardless of the size of their paycheck or the state of their health.

This system does a fairly effective job of protecting those it reaches, but it leaves many Americans out in the cold. Workers whose employers don’t offer coverage are forced to seek individual health insurance, often in vain. For one thing, insurance companies offering “nongroup” coverage generally refuse to cover anyone with a pre-existing medical condition. And individual insurance is very expensive, because insurers spend large sums weeding out “high-risk” applicants — that is, anyone who seems likely to actually need the insurance.

So what should be done? Barack Obama offers incremental reform: regulation of insurers to prevent discrimination against the less healthy, subsidies to help lower-income families buy insurance, and public insurance plans that compete with the private sector. His plan falls short of universal coverage, but it would sharply reduce the number of uninsured.

Mr. McCain, on the other hand, wants to blow up the current system, by eliminating the tax break for employer-provided insurance. And he doesn’t offer a workable alternative.

Without the tax break, many employers would drop their current health plans. Several recent nonpartisan studies estimate that under the McCain plan around 20 million Americans currently covered by their employers would lose their health insurance.

As compensation, the McCain plan would give people a tax credit — $2,500 for an individual, $5,000 for a family — that could be used to buy health insurance in the individual market. At the same time, Mr. McCain would deregulate insurance, leaving insurance companies free to deny coverage to those with health problems — and his proposal for a “high-risk pool” for hard cases would provide little help.
So what would happen?

The good news, such as it is, is that more people would buy individual insurance. Indeed, the total number of uninsured Americans might decline marginally under the McCain plan — although many more Americans would be without insurance than under the Obama plan.

But the people gaining insurance would be those who need it least: relatively healthy Americans with high incomes. Why? Because insurance companies want to cover only healthy people, and even among the healthy only those able to pay a lot in addition to their tax credit would be able to afford coverage (remember, it’s a $5,000 credit, but the average family policy actually costs more than $12,000).
Meanwhile, the people losing insurance would be those who need it most: lower-income workers who wouldn’t be able to afford individual insurance even with the tax credit, and Americans with health problems whom insurance companies won’t cover.

And in the process of comforting the comfortable while afflicting the afflicted, the McCain plan would also lead to a huge, expensive increase in bureaucracy: insurers selling individual health plans spend 29 percent of the premiums they receive on administration, largely because they employ so many people to screen applicants. This compares with costs of 12 percent for group plans and just 3 percent for Medicare.

In short, the McCain plan makes no sense at all, unless you have faith that the magic of the marketplace can solve all problems. And Mr. McCain does: a much-quoted article published under his name declares that “Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.”

I agree: the McCain plan would do for health care what deregulation has done for banking. And I’m terrified.

YAY! We (the Amputee Coalition of America) got the federal prosthetic parity bill introduced in the US Senate. Check it out: http://www.amputee-coalition.org/advocacy/take-action.html.


“Individuals with employer-paid health insurance deserve meaningful coverage for prosthetic care. Our Senators and Representatives are increasingly aware of the extent to which health insurers deny their enrollees meaningful coverage for prosthetic care, thus denying them the artificial limbs they need to live full lives,” said Kendra Calhoun, President and CEO of the Amputee Coalition of America.

“Parity legislation would save the federal government and taxpayers money by preventing cost shifting for prosthetic care from the health insurance companies to government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid,” said Ms. Calhoun.

“This bill will return people to work and help them reclaim their lives at no cost to taxpayers,” she added.

“This proposed legislation ‘The Prosthetic Parity Act of 2008’ will put prosthetic devices where they belong – on par with other essential medical care covered by health insurance. It is parity, it is equity, and it is the right thing to do for amputees. We enthusiastically commend Senator Snowe and Senator Harkin for their leadership on this important issue,” Calhoun said.

“The impact of severely-restricted prosthetic coverage can be devastating,” said Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

“This is even more so for the estimated 70,000 amputees under the age of 18. Sadly, we see those children particularly affected as their growth increases the frequency with which a prosthetic requires replacement. That can quickly exceed a parent’s ability to meet co-payment requirements – a coverage cap may deny access to a replacement prosthetic,” added the Senator.

If you care at all about equal rights for gay and lesbians, you must not give your vote to McCain/Palin. Sure they are against gay marriage but they are also against allowing gay and lesbians to adopt. Come on! No matter what your feelings are about the so called sanctity of marriage it is atrocious to claim that gays and lesbians are not capable of being loving, competent parents. Give me a break!! Are we in the 1800s?

_________________

Palin has stated that she "has gay friends", but she can't be very close to them. Both her votes, her statements and her ties are a huge slap in the face to her "friends" and to every gay or lesbian individual, their family, their friends and their children!

She is linked to the ultra, crazy conservative anti-gay group Family Research Council. FRC is one of the worst offenders in not only opposing equality, but really ratcheting up the hate speech and misinformation out there about gay and lesbian people.

McCain and Palin will not support pro-gay legislation, but are we willing to take a chance on any possible future attempts to strip us of the rights we already have?

Palin's links to "Feminists" For Life, a deceptive anti-abortion group

Among other things, Palin explicitly promoted "teach the controversy" by calling for the misnamed "creation science" to be taught in public schools (as now well documented in Kitzmiller vs. Dover School District, it's known that "creation science" is nothing more and nothing less than a method of putting young-earth creationism in public schools).

It also appears that Sarah Palin is a member of a misnamed group called Feminists for Life. FFL in fact engages in "cultural appropriation" of women's suffrage icons to promote a very woman-unfriendly agenda that--despite attempts to sound "not like those crazies in Operation Rescue"--would not only criminalise abortion but the IUD and hormonal birth control methods, and potentially everything outside the rhythm method (the term "abortifacient birth control" is a codephrase in the dominionist "pro-life" community for hormonal birth control--partly due to a unique urban legend claiming "the pill" and other hormonal birth control causes abortion and partly because of a unique definition of pregnancy beginning at conception rather than at implantation (the latter is what most mainstream OB/GYNs use) and thus making anything preventing implantation potentially "abortifacient").

FFL promotes such fun bogosities as "post-abortion syndrome" (the idea that having an abortion will inevitably lead to PTSD and insanity), and promotes mandatory waiting periods and misinformation guidelines that can be insurmountable for poor or rural women--even those forced to make the most heartbreaking choice because of a nonviable pregnancy. In fact, one of their biggest causes isn't feminist at all--they actively promote the idea that the best choice for women is to stay home as fulltime mothers, and it can be well argued that the only traditionally feminist viewpoint they really support is women's suffrage!

One of the big things FFL promotes is deceptive "pregnancy counseling centers"--where pregnant teens are forced to essentially listen to an altar call on how "abortionists want to murder their children" whilst a pee-stick test clears--and if she tests "yes", she gets a hard-sell to keep the child or to check herself into a dominionist-run "halfway house for teenage moms" where she will ultimately be forced to sign her kid over. (Yes, there is an entire private adoption industry in the dominionist community--mostly focusing on adopting out the infants of poor teenage mothers who have been forced to give their kids up and who have been either scared into it or checked into such facilities by their parents.)

Ironically, FFL itself is rather a "stealth" organisation in and of itself--yes, even the dominionists admit this. Interestingly, despite their claims of being more "moderate" than most anti-abortion groups, very few real solutions are offered on how they intend to fund such things (which can be boiled down to "CHOOSE TO BREED").

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following about Sarah Palin:

Drill, Drill, Drill


I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.


I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.


But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving yo ung girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.


I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.


Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."


Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will s hould have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.


She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.


Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the li brary, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next presiden t of the United States . She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.


Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.


Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.


I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S. , but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for hu mans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healt hcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.


If the20Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.


Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?


Eve Ensler, September 5, 2008

Now very evil people do tend to also be brilliant. Scary, but true. So they may say something that could be construed as intelligent once in awhile. However if you are looking for people to utilize to express yourself and therefore show the country who you respect, it is probably not a great idea to choose a facist who also happens to be an extreme racist and who basically threatened Robert Kennedy's life. But that is who Sarah Palin did choose to help portray her values. I use the word "values" with a large dose of sarcasm!

Check it out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/governor-palins-reading-l_b_126478.html

Regarding Governor Palin's Reading List

"Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech for the moral superiority of small town values, expressed his fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy, as he contemplated his own run for the presidency in 1965, that "some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in public premises before the snow flies." It might be worth asking Governor Palin for a tally of the other favorites from her reading list." ~Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

MARYLAND HIGH COURT THROWS OUT REFERENDUM PETITION THAT ATTEMPTED TO OVERTURN A TRANSGENDER ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW

(Annapolis, September 9, 2008) - Today, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that an inadequate referendum petition to block a unanimously enacted transgender protection law may not go on the ballot for the November general election, and the law must be allowed to go into effect. The high court reversed the decision of a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge, who had previously ruled that the referendum effort to overturn the law should be allowed on the November ballot, despite the acknowledgement that the petition did not carry the legally required number of signatures. Today's ruling by the high court is the final word on the fate of the referendum.

"The bottom line is that the court said a petition sponsor shouldn't be allowed to cut corners and circumvent legal requirements to get a referendum attacking minority protections on the ballot," said Natalie Chin, Staff Attorney at Lambda Legal. "We are very happy that this duly enacted law can take effect and protect a vulnerable group of Montgomery County residents."

On November 13, 2007, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed an act adding gender identity to the county's civil rights law in order to address discrimination against transgender individuals. A group calling itself Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG) sought to collect enough signatures on a referendum petition to block the law from going into effect. Lambda Legal, together with counsel retained by Equality Maryland, represented concerned Montgomery County registered voters who opposed CRG's flawed referendum effort to set back the clock on civil rights in Montgomery County. Lambda Legal and Equality Maryland argued that the number of signatures needed to put the referendum petition on the November general election ballot was insufficient and that the Montgomery County Board of Elections over-counted purported signature entries in violation of detailed statutes that safeguard the referendum process.

"This long overdue, crucial law is all about assuring that unchecked bias is not allowed to inhibit our neighbors' abilities to make a living or rent a home, and as a Montgomery County resident, I breathe a sigh of relief that this campaign to roll back anti-discrimination protections is now over," said Dan Furmansky, Executive Director of Equality Maryland. "While we were ready to make our case to the voters of Montgomery County, it is far better that our transgender brothers and sisters be spared the rhetoric that the referendum proponents have subjected them to over the past year. Equality Maryland thanks Lambda Legal, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the law firm of Arnold and Porter, and the many volunteers who came together to assure that our laws in Montgomery County are on par with the 100 other jurisdictions nationally that protect residents from discrimination on the basis of gender identity."

Susan Sommer, Senior Counsel, and Natalie Chin, Staff Attorney, are on the case for Lambda Legal. Jonathan Shurberg, lead attorney for Equality Maryland, argued the case. The case is Doe et al. v. Montgomery County Board of Elections.

###

Equality Maryland: Dan Furmansky 301-461-4900 cell; dan@equalitymaryland.org
Lambda Legal: Tika Milan 212-809-8585 ext. 223; tmilan@lambdalegal.org

I knew it. I knew this was going to happen. McCain chose a woman as his VP. This is trouble for the Dems. McCain is already running ads of supposed Hillary supporters who are going to vote for McCain. One of Hillary's strong suits was that she could attract moderate or Republican women who were committed to have a woman in the WhiteHouse and believe in her experience. With a McCain/Palin ticket you get both --- experience and woman.

This is TERRIFYING to me. I always thought that the Republicans would probably advance a woman in the Executive branch before the Dems. My fear is coming true. They are willing to do whatever it takes. They do not pull any shots. They play dirty. They are incredibly savvy and strategic. They picked the old, tough guy with the powerful POW story and lots of experience. So now they are off setting it with the young, attractive woman.

AND to add insult to injury, she is anti-choice. While she has not been as staunchly anti-gay as some, she is opposed to gay marriage. She is anti-gun control. She is pro-capital punishment. She will appeal to the evangelicals.

While she says she is concerned about climate change, she wants drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. What a wonderful, truly Republican contradiction.

They are covering all of their bases. I am seriously nauseated by this. Any lack of enthusiasm I might have had for Obama/Biden is irrelevant. I cannot sit by while McCain, possibly scarier version of Bush since he has pretty much the same world views but is actually smart and powerful enough to make more evil things happen is voted into office along with the first woman VP who is anti-choice.

NO WAY! This should be what it takes for any Hillary supporter, any pro-choice woman (Dem, Rep, Independent), anyone who does not want to see 4-8 more years of Bush policies to get active. I am making a donation. I am volunteering. I am taking the days off before the election to help get out the vote somewhere. This is unacceptable!!

_____________________________

McCain chooses Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for V.P.
By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago

DENVER - John McCain tapped little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential running mate on Friday in a startling selection on the eve of the Republican National Convention

Two senior campaign officials disclosed Mccain's decision a few hours before the Republican presidential nominee-to-be and his newly-minted running mate appeared at a rally in swing-state Ohio.

Palin is a self-styled hockey mom and political reformer who has been governor of her state less than two years.

Palin's selection shocked numerous Republican officials.

In making his pick, Mccain passed over several more prominent prospects who had figured in speculation for months — Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge among them.

At 44, Palin is a generation younger that Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, who is Barack Obama's running mate on the Democratic ticket.

She is three years Obama's junior, as well — and McCain has made much in recent weeks of Obama's relative lack of experience in foreign policy and defense matters.

Palin flew overnight to an airport in Ohio near Dayton, and even as she awaited her formal introduction, some aides said they had believed she was at home in Alaska.

She is a former mayor of Wasilla who became governor of her state in December, 2006 after ousting a governor of her own party in a primary and then dispatching a former governor in the general election.

More recently, she has come under the scrutiny of an investigation by the Republican-controlled legislature into the possibility that she ordered the dismissal of Alaska's public safety commissioner because he would not fire her former brother-in-law as a state trooper.

I am so sad to read of the passing of Del Martin. I can't imagine what her partner of over 55 years, Phyllis Lyon is feeling right now. This is a huge loss to the LGBT community and the country in general.



Del Martin, 87; longtime leader in gay rights movement
By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 28, 2008
Del Martin, a pioneer lesbian rights activist who, with her partner of more than 50 years, Phyllis Lyon, became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in San Francisco in June, died Wednesday. She was 87.

Martin died in the hospice unit of UC San Francisco Medical Center, two weeks after a broken arm worsened her existing health problems, said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco.

"We would not have marriage equality in California if it weren't for Del and Phyllis," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday.

"They fought and triumphed in many battles. . . . Through it all, their love and commitment to each other was an inspiration to all who knew them."

Kendell, a longtime friend of Martin's, told The Times on Wednesday that "if one were to name those who have made the most difference to various civil rights movements, whether it's civil rights, farmworkers' rights, women's rights, we all know whose those names would be.


"When it comes to the person who moved lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues forward, that figure would be Del Martin. We all stand on her shoulders, and the gains made by the LGBT movement are owed in large part to Del Martin's legacy."

The highly publicized marriage of Martin and Lyon on June 16, the day the California Supreme Court's ruling overturning laws banning gay marriage went into effect, was officiated by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in a private ceremony in his City Hall office.

But it wasn't the first time the two women, who have been activist icons in the gay community for five decades, made history in San Francisco.

Martin and Lyon, whose relationship began in the early 1950s, also were the first couple married in San Francisco on Feb. 12, 2004, after Newsom challenged California's marriage laws by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Some 4,000 gay and lesbian couples were married in the city before a court order halted the ceremonies a month later.

Although the state Supreme Court later invalidated the marriages, Martin and Lyon were among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the state that led the court to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriages.

And so on June 16, the 83-year-old Lyon and the 87-year-old Martin were in Newsom's office, where their wedding ceremony began at 5 p.m., the time when the Supreme Court ruling went into effect.

Holding hands during the six-minute ceremony, the two women recited their vows with tears welling in their eyes. Ceremony over, the room erupted in cheers.

Moments later, The Times reported, a crowd outside the mayor's office burst into applause as Lyon slowly pushed Martin in a wheelchair toward a wedding cake.

"These are two extraordinary people who have lived extraordinary lives," said Newsom. "They have spent a half-century fighting for equality."

In 1956, Martin and Lyon joined six other women to found Daughters of Bilitis, the nation's first lesbian rights organization.

It began as a support and social club for lesbians in San Francisco at a time when police raids on lesbian bars and other gathering places were not unusual. But Martin and Lyon soon felt it should be more than a social club, and by the early '60s, there were nearly 200 chapters around the country.

"Nothing was ever accomplished by hiding in a dark corner," Martin, the group's first president, wrote early on. "Why not discard the hermitage for the heritage that awaits any red-blooded American woman who dares to claim it?"

Martin became the second editor of the organization's monthly magazine, the Ladder. Launched as a newsletter in 1956, it became an influential publication in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights movement.

In 1964, Martin was part of a group that founded the Council on Religion and the Homosexual to lobby city lawmakers to reduce police harassment and modify the sex laws that criminalized homosexual behavior.

Martin later helped lead a successful campaign to get the American Psychiatric Assn. to take homosexuality off its list of mental disorders.

She also was a founding member of the Lesbian Mother's Union and the Bay Area Women's Coalition, among other organizations, and she was an early member of the National Organization for Women.

Martin and Lyon co-wrote the book "Lesbian/Woman," published in 1972, the same year they co-founded the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, the first gay political club in the nation.

The author of the 1976 book "Battered Wives," Martin became a nationally known advocate for battered women. She co-founded the Coalition for Justice for Battered Women in 1975; two years later she co-founded the California Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Martin was born Dorothy L. Taliaferro in San Francisco on May 5, 1921. She studied journalism at UC Berkeley and then transferred to what is now San Francisco State University. At 19, she married James Martin and gave birth to her daughter, Kendra, two years later. The marriage ended in divorce.

Martin met Lyon in Seattle in 1950 when they both worked for the same trade publication.


They were having drinks with another woman one night when the conversation turned to the topic of homosexuality. Martin was asked how she knew so much about it. "Because, well, I am one," she replied.

The friendship between Martin and Lyon, who reportedly did not think of herself as a lesbian at the time, turned into a love affair in 1952. After moving to San Francisco, they moved in together on Valentine's Day 1953.

"They were completely devoted to each other," said Kendell, "and their political and personal and emotional lives were so intertwined, not only did they share a rich political history but they did that classic thing couples do where they could finish each other's sentences and read each other's thoughts."

In addition to Lyon, Martin is survived by her daughter, Kendra Mon; and two grandchildren.

A public memorial and tribute to Martin in San Francisco is pending.

dennis.mclellan@latimes.com

Del Martin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Martin_and_Phyllis_Lyon
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/16/samesex.couple/index.html

'...Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.' ~Michelle Obama

There have been many times when a politican I supported or was working on behalf of had a wife who was so bright, so articulate...who I would have rather voted for. I know political speeches are written, but the sentiments they shared, the passion, the true 'I get it' about women's lives, their grit as working women in a tough world trying to balance career and family, all it takes to survive and thrive. I really liked Michelle Obama's speech at last night's convention. It was a little 'Barack is so great, stand by my man', but overall it was moving.

I think it is important to look at the spouse of a candidate. They might not go to the floor to cast the vote or sign the bill in the Oval Office, but we all know we talk to our partners about important decisions. If we are troubled or challenged, we turn to the one person who has been with us through it all. So the values and background of the wife (or husband) of a lawmaker should at least be considered.

If indeed the types of policies and values she described will be at the core of Obama's presidency, then I am a little more excited. I can't deny I am still a bit sad that yet again I like the wife a little more than they guy I am actually voting for, but I do think that they as a team will do us proud in the White House.

AND let's be real, a damn site better than McCain's wife who sort of looks and acts like a Barbie doll. I always questioned Barbies...too perfect and a little creepy.

_______________________

Text of Michelle Obama's speech at the convention ..

..
By The Associated Press, Mon Aug 25, 11:04 PM ET

Prepared remarks of Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, for her address to the Democratic National Convention on Monday night in Denver, as released by the Obama campaign:

OBAMA: As you might imagine, for Barack, running for president is nothing compared to that first game of basketball with my brother Craig.

I can't tell you how much it means to have Craig and my mom here tonight. Like Craig, I can feel my dad looking down on us, just as I've felt his presence in every grace-filled moment of my life.

At six-foot-six, I've often felt like Craig was looking down on me too — literally. But the truth is, both when we were kids and today, he wasn't looking down on me — he was watching over me.

And he's been there for me every step of the way since that clear February day 19 months ago, when — with little more than our faith in each other and a hunger for change — we joined my husband, Barack Obama, on the improbable journey that's brought us to this moment.

But each of us also comes here tonight by way of our own improbable journey.

I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend.

I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president.

I come here as a Mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world — they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future — and all our children's future — is my stake in this election.

And I come here as a daughter — raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue collar city worker, and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me. My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, and her intelligence reflected in my own daughters.

My dad was our rock. Although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early thirties, he was our provider, our champion, our hero. As he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, it took him longer to get dressed in the morning. But if he was in pain, he never let on. He never stopped smiling and laughing — even while struggling to button his shirt, even while using two canes to get himself across the room to give my Mom a kiss. He just woke up a little earlier, and worked a little harder.

He and my mom poured everything they had into me and Craig. It was the greatest gift a child can receive: never doubting for a single minute that you're loved, and cherished, and have a place in this world. And thanks to their faith and hard work, we both were able to go on to college. So I know firsthand from their lives — and mine — that the American dream endures.

And you know, what struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine. He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did. Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves. And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.

And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.

And as our friendship grew, and I learned more about Barack, he introduced me to the work he'd done when he first moved to Chicago after college. Instead of heading to Wall Street, Barack had gone to work in neighborhoods devastated when steel plants shut down, and jobs dried up. And he'd been invited back to speak to people from those neighborhoods about how to rebuild their community.

The people gathered together that day were ordinary folks doing the best they could to build a good life. They were parents living paycheck to paycheck; grandparents trying to get by on a fixed income; men frustrated that they couldn't support their families after their jobs disappeared. Those folks weren't asking for a handout or a shortcut. They were ready to work — they wanted to contribute. They believed — like you and I believe — that America should be a place where you can make it if you try.

Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about 'The world as it is' and 'The world as it should be.' And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and settle for the world as it is — even when it doesn't reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves — to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn't that the great American story?

It's the story of men and women gathered in churches and union halls, in town squares and high school gyms — people who stood up and marched and risked everything they had — refusing to settle, determined to mold our future into the shape of our ideals.

It is because of their will and determination that this week, we celebrate two anniversaries: the 88th anniversary of women winning the right to vote, and the 45th anniversary of that hot summer day when Dr. King lifted our sights and our hearts with his dream for our nation.

I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history — knowing that my piece of the American dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me. All of them driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work. The same conviction that drives the men and women I've met all across this country:

People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift — without disappointment, without regret — that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they're working for.

The military families who say grace each night with an empty seat at the table. The servicemen and women who love this country so much, they leave those they love most to defend it.

The young people across America serving our communities — teaching children, cleaning up neighborhoods, caring for the least among us each and every day.

People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.

People like Joe Biden, who's never forgotten where he came from, and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again.

All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do — that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.

That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.

That is why I love this country.

And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us — no matter what our age or background or walk of life — each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.

It's a belief Barack shares — a belief at the heart of his life's work.

It's what he did all those years ago, on the streets of Chicago, setting up job training to get people back to work and afterschool programs to keep kids safe — working block by block to help people lift up their families.

It's what he did in the Illinois Senate, moving people from welfare to jobs, passing tax cuts for hard working families, and making sure women get equal pay for equal work.

It's what he's done in the United States Senate, fighting to ensure the men and women who serve this country are welcomed home not just with medals and parades, but with good jobs and benefits and health care — including mental health care.

That's why he's running — to end the war in Iraq responsibly, to build an economy that lifts every family, to make health care available for every American, and to make sure every child in this nation gets a world class education all the way from preschool to college. That's what Barack Obama will do as President of the United States of America.

He'll achieve these goals the same way he always has — by bringing us together and reminding us how much we share and how alike we really are. You see, Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party — if any — you belong to. That's not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us — our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future — is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree.

It was strong enough to bring hope to those neighborhoods in Chicago.

It was strong enough to bring hope to the mother he met worried about her child in Iraq; hope to the man who's unemployed, but can't afford gas to find a job; hope to the student working nights to pay for her sister's health care, sleeping just a few hours a day.

And it was strong enough to bring hope to people who came out on a cold Iowa night and became the first voices in this chorus for change that's been echoed by millions of Americans from every corner of this nation.

Millions of Americans who know that Barack understands their dreams; that Barack will fight for people like them; and that Barack will finally bring the change we need.

And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love.

And as I tuck that little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they — and your sons and daughters — will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming. How this time, in this great country — where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House — we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.

So tonight, in honor of my father's memory and my daughters' future — out of gratitude to those whose triumphs we mark this week, and those whose everyday sacrifices have brought us to this moment — let us devote ourselves to finishing their work; let us work together to fulfill their hopes; and let us stand together to elect Barack Obama President of the United States of America.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER – 7 hours ago

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — At the request of a lesbian couple, the Coquille Indian Tribe on the southern Oregon coast has adopted a law recognizing same-sex marriage.

Tribal law specialists say the Coquille appear to be the first tribe to sanction such marriages. Most tribal law doesn't address the issue. The Navajo and Cherokee tribes prohibit same-sex marriages.

The couple planning their wedding at the tribal plankhouse say they seek only tribal recognition and are unconcerned about Oregon and federal prohibitions against gay marriage.

"For me, the important thing wasn't about rights or the benefits," 25-year-old Kitzen Branting told the Eugene Register-Guard. "I just wanted the tribe to say 'Yes, we recognize that you are just as important as any other tribe member, and we will treat you and your spouse as we treat all tribal members.' "

Legal scholars said that tribes do have authority over domestic relations among tribal members, but Congress may have the ultimate say-so.

"It can do anything good or anything bad to the tribes and the Indian people as citizen Indians," said Robert Miller, who teaches Indian law at the Lewis & Clark College School of Law in Portland.

He said the tribes have all the rights they have historically held unless Congress takes them away or the tribes give them up by treaty.

"Congress is the 900-pound gorilla in the corner," Miller said.

Bill Funk, who teaches constitutional law at Lewis & Clark, compared the Coquille action to that of states that recognize same-sex marriages even though the federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 does not.

"Under federal law, these are not marriages," said Funk, adding that other tribes and states need not recognize a Coquille same-sex marriage.

He said the lack of federal recognition could make the couple ineligible for marriage-related Social Security and other federal benefits.

Oregon voters amended the state constitution in 2004 to prohibit gay marriage. But with its sovereignty recognized by the federal government, the tribe is not bound by the state constitution. Oregon does recognize civil unions.

"For our tribe, we want people to walk in the shoes of other people and learn to respect differences," the tribal chief, Ken Tanner, told The Oregonian newspaper. "Through that, we think we build a stronger community."

Kitzen Branting, whose maiden name is Doyle, is a tribal member, but her partner is not. Kitzen Branting legally adopted Jeni Branting's last name three years ago. They plan to be married in May and to live on the reservation.

Often times it takes a horrific crime or event to get people to sit up and pay attention. The death of Matthew Shepard almost ten years ago and that terrible image of a young man tied to a wooden fence post and left to die alone in Wyoming made people think hard about hate crimes and instigated a huge push behind hate crimes protection legislation. Though we are still waiting for the passage of the the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the department with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The death of Lawrence King, an eight grader who was shot in the head while sitting in his computer lab classroom because he was gay. In recent weeks, he had begun accessorizing his school uniform with feminine items and was often teased by other students, several of his classmates said. His death has resulted in an increase in attention to bullying and the important obligation schools and parents have to not only teach tolerance and foster acceptance, but also to prevent violence like this by creating stricter anti-bullying policies and ensuring a culture in which being gay is not seen as something a young man should be punished for.

But these are not the only horrific stories that are out there. Not enough people know that these types of crimes happen every year. It seems to take death to get press attention. And often times it needs to be a poster child type individual. It seems we as a society care less or are less outraged about things like the death of a young trans woman like 17-year-old Gwen Araujo who was beaten, bound, strangled, and left in a shallow grave after three men she met at a party discovered she was biologically male or a gay man of little means in small-town Alabama like Billy Jack Gaither who was beaten to death with an ax handle and burned like rubbish on a pile of old tires.

A story might be written. A few TV pieces. But they don't get the same public outcry. It may be the same in the case of Steven Parrish, 18 who was stabbed and stomped to death after his fellow Bloods gang members found messages on his phone that suggested he was gay.

The Baltimore Sun covered it, but will we see the same call for justice? And should it take the death of another gay, lesbian or transgender person to get this country to wake up and do something about the hate and inequality that has so permeated our society that LGBT people are literally dying!!!

We have to do something about this. We as a society cannot allow another child to grow up believing that a gay person is lesser or that violence is acceptable.

It certainly does not help that war is in every newspaper, on every television station, that it is the video games our kids play. It makes it worse that hate and ignorance are spewed from the highest office in the land pushing for anti-gay marriage amendments or John McCain campaigning for office and saying that he does not support gays being able to adopt children.

THIS HAS TO STOP!! It is not just hurting people like Matthew Shepard, Lawrence King, Gwen Araujo, Billy Jack Gaither, Steven Parrish, Brandon Teena, Charles Howard, Fred Martinez Jr, Marcell Eads, Willie Houston, Loni Okaruru, Irving Sicherer, Jerry Stamper, Terrianne Summers, Juana Vega or the many other victims of hate crimes....this is also hurting everyone around them and our communities as a whole. We cannot call ourselves the land of the free if people are hurt and killed for being who they are!

In response to the Steven Parrish's death, Carrie Evans the Policy Director for Equality Maryland writes,"I do know that we do this work in hopes that we can create a world that embraces Steven and all of the young, old and in between people who are gay or don't fit into the rigid gender roles that society imposes. We must move out of our isolating silos, whether they are lesbian, black, Muslim, Lakota, or disabled. These silos protect us from nothing but living fully. We sit in our silos reading or watching stories about the murder de jour, the problems with our schools, the lack of affordable housing, the HIV/AIDS crisis and domestic violence, being thankful that our silo is "safe." Once in a while we may even feel a pang of empathy for someone in another silo but don't quite know where to go with that feeling. There is no doubt the societal conditions leading to Steven's death are not easily remedied. There also is no doubt the remedies are not cleverly hidden in our silos and only emerge when we leave the silo.

Commit to step out of your silo, start with small jaunts - tutor at your local public school, stop someone when they are telling a homophobic "joke," don't look away when you walk past a homeless person. Stepping out of the silo may be scary and intimidating, but I know when I step out of mine, I will think of Steven."

We must all do what we can. Live openly and honestly to demonstrate that we are here. Allowing ourselves to be pushed back into the closet is agreeing to let things stay the way they are. Challenge the people in your life who make a homophobic remark or say things like,"No offense, but I don't support gay marriage" or "That's so gay". Don't vote for people who think that gay people should be be given equal rights. Call your lawmakers out if they vote against important legislation ensuring equal protections. Do something because do nothing allows these terrible actions to continue.

'Insurance Card': Coming Soon to A Theatre Near You?
by Brigette Courtot, Senior Policy Analyst
National Women’s Law Center

This post is part of a weekly series on Women and Health Reform.

Do you remember that awful movie a few years back called Green Card? The one where Andie MacDowell and Gerard Depardieu have a marriage of convenience so that he can get a green card and remain in the states? Well, an article in yesterday’s New York Times suggests a sequel in the making: "Insurance Card.” The article highlights several couples who have been forced to make major decisions about marriage or divorce for the sake of health insurance. Is it long before we see people getting into marriages of convenience just to get the health coverage they need?

A couple of months ago I posted a blog entry about my best friend’s decision to get married in a clandestine civil ceremony months before her wedding date, all to avoid becoming uninsured. It’s great to see that this issue is getting more publicity, because if anything demonstrates the extent of our health system’s problems, it is stories like these. When getting health insurance is a primary factor in choices about whether and when to commit to a lifelong partner (or whether and when to leave a marriage that is not working), then we clearly have a problem with the availability of health insurance. Women in particular may face these types of unfortunate choices, because they are more likely than men to be covered under their partner’s job-based health insurance.

One of the women featured in the NYT article is a recent kidney-transplant recipient facing an unaffordable annual premium of over $10,000 for the policy that supplements her Medicare coverage — that’s right, this is the cost of a supplemental policy, for services that Medicare doesn’t reimburse. Imagine the policy she might face if her health condition wasn’t primarily covered through Medicare (most conditions aren’t for people under 65). She sums up her ordeal by stating, “I felt the only way I could get around this was to marry him.” How can we, as a nation, get around these major gaps in access to health insurance? Health reform that will guarantee quality affordable coverage for all women is the only solution.

When I went to the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival a few years ago, we really did not want to make any decisions. It was a complete tune out to the world. When should we go to the showers? Should we check out the basket weaving against the patriarchy workshop? We asked the magic eight ball. It was hilarious and really did sort of get us through the week. This ad paid for by Health Care for America Now plays on the ridiculous notion of making very important decisions with the same method.

Rae is really into the Olympics, so we have been watching A LOT of coverage. It is fun. I find myself getting caught up in it.

Our kitchen/lunch room at work has a TV that is always playing CNN or MSNBC. Yesterday while I was getting some tea, I found myself transfixed by an Olympic body building competition. That is when I knew I had a problem. :)

The Democratic Party is considering new language in their party platform concering reproductive rights. Some are saying this is a "softening" of the party's position. I would disagree. It is a strong statement of support for choice while also promoting the prevention of unintended pregnancies. This is in fact the message many groups, including NARAL Pro-Choice American have been promoting for quite some time.

"The Democratic Party strongly supports access to affordable family planning services and comprehensive age-appropriate sex education ... which help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions."

Changes in the platform language would have to be ratified at the Democratic National Convention, which begins Aug. 25.

President Bush really has no conscience what so ever! He has no respect for equality....look at his push for the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. He is a racist...look no further than his immigration policies. He has no respect for the Bill of Rights or the Justice system....look at the DOJ firing of or refusal to hire people based on their politics --- something he completely turned a blind eye to. He is a liar (weapons of mass destruction) and a hypocrite (we should bomb Iraq in part to bring freedom but ignore the human rights atrocities in China, the Sudan and Darfur). He has pretty much ignored global warming and refused to do much of anything to address the fact that the U.S. is a huge contributor to the problems with climate change and environmental degradation. Could he get any worse? Of course. Now, he wants to gut the Endangered Species Act. Of course he does. Bush is truly EVIL! And he must be stopped. Imitations of him such as John McCain must also be stopped!

_______________________________________

Administration would gut the species act

Editorial, Pocono Record, August 13th, 2008

The Bush administration appears on the verge of removing yet another layer of protection for the environment by ignoring sound science. And we would be worse off for it.

The administration wants to reduce mandatory, independent government reviews of proposed highways, dams, mines and other construction projects, according to a draft copy of the change obtained by the Associated Press. Those officials also want to bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats.

If implemented — and the Bush White House wants to enact the changes by executive order that wouldn't be subject to Congressional approval — they would constitute the most extensive retreat in the 35-year history of the Endangered Species Act.

Under current law, federal agencies must consult with experts — biologists — at the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine whether a project is likely to jeopardize any endangered special or damage habitat. Those reviews rarely stop projects, but often do result in accommodations that better protect the 1,353 animals and plants listed as threatened or endangered.

The changes would remove these independent reviews from virtually any project a federal agency would authorize, fund or build. And they would be implemented through the back door — without a full Congressional review. Attorneys at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Interior Department largely drafted the changes prior to consulting with those agencies' own experts.

The Endangered Species Act has resulted in saving thousands of species from extinction. The act has enabled many threatened plants and animals to make a recovery and to thrive once again.

Once they are formally proposed, the changes will be subject to a 30- or 60-day public comment period before being finalized by the Interior Department. If implemented, it will likely take months, if not years, for a new administration or the Congress to reverse them.

The Endangered Species Act has helped save some of America's most imperiled birds and wildlife, including the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, gray wolf, grizzly bear and whooping crane.The public should oppose these changes at the earliest opportunity.

Think of it as 5 minutes to say that you support families like mine!

Rae and I are very excited for our wedding in the fall, but without legal recognition we have to go through extra hurdles to protect our family. I am excited that it looks like New York is ready to do the right thing!



Governor Patterson has said that NY will recognize legal same-sex marriages from other states and countries. He’s doing a poll on whether people support it. If you’re interested in taking 15 seconds to lodge your support, just call 1-518-474-8390 and say ‘I support the Governor’s directive on marriage,’ then give them your 5 digit ( New York ) zip code. Please, forward on and please, call!

So....over a year ago Rae and I were part of a photo shoot for HRC (thanks Elise & Hy). Well.....now we are on the "Million for Marriage" online petition. Not our favorite shot, but still VERY COOL!

Check us out: http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/millionformarriageac

Oh, and sign the petition too!

Right now, many amputees are being denied access to an artificial limb. They pay their premiums into private insurance companies, but then those same companies refuse to cover the cost of the prosthesis they need to be active and independent. This is just plain wrong!

The Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) is working to address this at the state and federal level. We launched an online petition in support of meaningful coverage for prosthetic care and less than one week later we already have almost 1,500 signatures. Our goal is to get to 5,000 signatures by the end of May. We need your help to get there!

Please, sign the online petition and send the link (www.amputee-coalition.org/advocacy/petition/) to your friends & family!

For more information, visit www.amputee-coalition.org/advocacy/index.html.

Cynthia Nixon just revealed that she is a breast cancer survivor and has become an ambassardor for Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

As part of her work, she has filmed a special message for gay women that is appearing on the Komen site.

Please, check it out: http://cms.komen.org/komen/AboutUs/OurPeople/SusanG.KomenfortheCureAmbassadors/014121

When Rae and I were first dating we would tease about being each other's distraction. She even sent me flowers after our first date with a card that said,"A little distraction for your Monday."

Well, I also find pop culture games to be very tempting in terms of distracting me from work. While reading one of my favorite Friday treat's "Best Lesbian Week Ever" ..ellen.com, I came across a story about Patricia Cornwell and her wife. That lead me to a website that could suck up a lot of my time.

It is an online "six degrees of separation" site where you can plug people in and it will come up with wacky ways of connecting them. I did manage to stump it a few times. It does not seem to know a lot about Patrick Swayze. LOL!

Try it: http://www.famoushookups.com/site/six_degrees.php

This may tie with the Pop Sugar game "Who's More Famous?" which I also love!

http://popsugar.com/games/faceoff

My mom and sister threw us a bridal shower on Sunday. It was held at Rae's parent's house. It was so beautiful. The food, the flowers and the outpouring of love and support were all amazing. I was truly overwhelmed.