Saturday, August 1, 2009

57 Progressive Congressional Votes Covenant Health Reform Public Option

Fifty-seven members of the Progressive Congressional Caucus have signed a pact to vote against ANY health care reform proposal that does not contain a robust public option. Take that Blue Dogs.

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Friday, July 31, 2009

Chanson d'Amour quotidien

Lyrics to Ta P'tite Flamme :

Y'a quelque chose de la vie
Dans tes yeux qui rient
Y'a cette petite flamme qui crie
Qui brûle et qui brille
Juste un regard pour comprendre
Que c'est dans tes yeux
Que j'me sens le mieux
Juste un sourire pour te dire
Que j'ai besoin de toi
Reste et regarde moi

Y'a quelque chose du bonheur
Dans ta voix qui vibre
La réponse de mon coeur
C'est qu'il se sent libre

Libre d'être moi quand
Tu m'serre dans tes bras
Libre de vivre un amour qui m'apprend tous les jours
Quand j'suis loin de toi, J'pense à toi
A ta p'tite flamme, à tes yeux
Et je me sens mieux

...et je me sens deux

Y'a quelque chose d'universelle
Dans notre histoire
Une petite étincelle
Pour bien plus qu'un soir

Est-ce que tu veux me donner ta main ?
Pour tout l'temps qu'on s'ra bien ?
Est-ce que tu veux partager mon chemin ?
Moi j'dis oui pour le tien.




English Translation:

There is something of life
That laughs in your eyes,
There is this small flame that cries out
That burns and that shines
It just takes a look to understand
That it is in your eyes
That I feel the better
Just a smile to tell you
Than I need you
Stay with me and be with me

There is something of happiness
That resonates in your voice
My heart response is
To feel free

I feel Free when
You hold me in your arms
Free to live a love that teaches me everyday
When I am far from you, I think of you,
Of your little flame, of your eyes
And I feel better

...and I feel that we are together

There is something universal
In our story
A small spark
But for well more than an evening

Do you want to give me your hand?
So that all the time we have will be grand?
Do you want to share my life with me?
I tell you yes that I want to share mine with you.

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Today in Gay History

Happy Birthday
Barbara Gittings 1932-2007

Gay Civil Rights Pioneer


Founder of the New York chapter of the early Lesbian rights group, The Daughters of Bilitis Barbara had attended her first meeting in California in 1956 where she had made the acquaintance of the society's founders, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin.

Two years later Lyon and Martin asked Gittings to form the first New York chapter of DOB. Although the travel from her home in Philadelphia was a challenge, Gittings embraced the project.

It was at a Daughters of Bilitis picnic in 1961 that Gittings met Kay Lahusen, herself an activist. The two fell in love and soon became partners for life. The bottom photo at the top of this post is of Barbara (l) and Kay(r) still cutting the activism rug in later years.

Barbara became editor of the DOB newsletter The Ladder for several years and studied widely in the just-a-bornin' homosexual rights movement of the late 1950s through 1960s.

In the mid 1960s, Barbara met and befriended Frank Kameny, the leading gay rights activist of the past 60 years, and signed on to his embracing of peaceful non-violent demonstrations to call the public's attention to the injustices faced by gay people. This diverged from the approved tactics of the DOB, and she left that group, which later sort of became less relevant as the gay rights movement matured. The top photo above is of Barbara picketing at an early "demonstration" for "homosexual" rights in 1965 in Washington DC.

In addition to being instrumental in having homosexuality removed from the American Psychiatric Association's list of mental disorders, she also worked tirelessly within the American Library Association to make materials with glbtq content more accessible to the reading public.

Following a brave battle with breast cancer, Gittings died on February 18, 2007. She was survived by Lahusen.

Together with Lahusen, Gittings was active in glbtq organizations until the very end of her life. Fittingly, the couple planned eventually to donate their extensive collection of books, documents, and photographs to libraries and archives, where they will undoubtedly be a boon to scholars and other readers as well as a fitting tribute to the couple's life of commitment to activism for gay rights.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Crapaud is still on Jury Duty for a few more days--



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Monday, July 27, 2009

Keep Busy, I'm on Jury Duty this Week

A wonderful South African Chorus--but a little too Apartheid-y is my only critique.



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Sunday, July 26, 2009

Stand Out Story of the Week



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