News and Views

I wrote previously at Transcending Gender about the pro se lawsuit brought by Aaron Brett Charney, who was a fourth-year associate at New York City law firm Sullivan & Cromwell (S & C), a law firm in New York City. On page 50 of the March edition of the Lesbian/Gay Law Notes, Professor Arthur Leonard [...]

Coming soon! Be sure to check out our new website look! It launches tonight at midnight! Look for expanded capabilities and more interactive features. Be sure to join right away!

The Dems Fear Black Disillusionment -- Now?! In a New York Times article on the election, the headline Democrats Fear Disillusionment in Black Voters (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/27/us/politics/27race.html) left me cold. They reported that, of course, politicians who don’t normally darken the doorsteps of Black churches are flocking in (Virginia Dem, Jim Webb’s visited no less than 12 in his efforts to best George “I didn’t really say “Macaca” I meant “I’d like a taco” Allen). Still, they’re worried that Black voters won’t show up. So, the Season of Democratic Promises has begun. Just like the inattentive boyfriend who promises that things will be better next time, they promise more work...

Perhaps none more blatant As election day nears, the partisan desperation grows, and so smear campaigns have kicked into high gear. There are plenty of examples, but perhaps none more blatant (http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/NEWS01/610180374) than the attack and destroy mentality on display in the Ohio race for governor . Republican candidate Ken Blackwell has been consistently lagging in the polls and apparently has decided the best way to raise his sinking ship is to fire all cannons at once and hope it lightens the boat enough to keep it afloat. Blackwell, however, is simply throwing garbage; his campaign has now sunk to new lows. Blackwell first...

That tired old chesnut For years, we’ve heard both major political parties accuse their opponents of wanting to raid the Social Security Trust Fund. How many times are they going to inflict us with this tired old chestnut? According to FactCheck.org (http://www.factcheck.org/article459.html), this has been going on since at least 1999. It’s always the same: a campaign lists a series of budget resolutions on which an incumbent voted and claims those votes supported using money from the Social Security Trust Funds. And, every time, these charges are proven to be false. Unfortunately, the parties wouldn’t keep dragging out this old favorite if they didn’t think it...

Tempting faith David Kuo’s new book, Tempting Faith, alleges that the White House cynically used its faith-based initiatives (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15228489)to win points with white conservative evangelicals and with black church leaders whose flocks usually vote Democratic. The faith-based initiatives sought to lower the church-state bar so congregations and small, religiously oriented service programs could receive federal funding. Kuo claims this strategy was riddled with political manipulation and he ought to know--he was special assistant to the President from 2001-2003 and the number two man in the Office of Faith-based Initiatives. Two quick confessions. First, I have not read the book yet, though I plan to soon....

AVA's first discussion forum Yesterday AVA ventured out into the daylight to host a public, face-to-face, conversation rather than an online one. (As in radio, there’s always that slight fear of people finding out what you really look like.) About 30 people came to the Sagamore Institute to discuss the difficulties involved in holding a civil, evidence-based political dialogue about such controversial topics as the recent detainee bill, immigration policy, and election reform. The conversation included several local opinion-makers. There were two city council members and two Indianapolis Star columnists, although in fairness I should add that one of those council members and one of those columnists...

The best (looking) candidate I think most people would agree that the attractive people among us have an easier time getting through life than those of us who are, shall we say, less well-put-together. Attractive people seem to have an advantage when it comes to gaining love partners, being treated well by salespeople, and advancing their careers. How influential is physical attractiveness when it comes to getting elected to public office? I came across an article on MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15256923/) the other day that suggests that a candidate’s perceived physical attractiveness has an impact upon his/her chances of winning. The article says: “The beauty gap between the parties,...

The art of going negative The Indianapolis Star's Dan Carpenter has an opinion piece (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/COLUMNISTS06/610180385/1002/OPINION) in today's paper that deals with negative ads and their effect on voters. He focuses on the Wisconsin 3rd district race between incumbent Rep Ron Kind and Republican challenger Paul Nelson. It would seem that Nelson has been taking a page from Vernon Robinson's book (http://www.valuesalliance.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=903&Itemid=86) of The Best Negative Ads Money Can Buy. In fact, the ad Carpenter mentions lists the same not-quite-truthful charges that Robinson brought against his opponent in North Carolina. Carpenter has a point too in that these negative ads that play to everyone's worst fears...

Tired of the sleazy campaign This article from the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/20/opinion/20fri2.html?ex=1162008000&en=819d608be898af83&ei=5070&emc=eta1) reiterates a common theme one hears over the cubical wall, in the coffee shop, and at the dinner table. More and more, Americans are tired of the sleazy campaign tactics being used in contemporary politics. In California, a letter has surfaced telling immigrants that if they vote they will be committing “a crime that can result in incarceration.” An ad misrepresenting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s politics is running in six states. A website, MuchasGraciasDebbie.com is also an offender. Too many people have too little time to sift through the muddled facts, innuendo, and flat-out lies...

Religion is a matter of personal conscience David Kuo, the former deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives under Pres. George W. Bush, has created a stir (http://www.valuesalliance.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=914&Itemid=96) with the release of his new expose’, “Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction”. E. J. Dionne, Jr., argues in a recent column appearing in the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/16/AR2006101601017.html?referrer=emailarticle) that Kuo’s stunning revelations of the rampant hypocrisy within the Bush Administration in using faith-based initiatives primarily to score political points with evangelical Christians, all the while privately disparaging them and their leaders, should cause a “quiet reappraisal by rank-and-file evangelicals of their approach to politics”....