Bigot Harry Jackson Gets Pimp Slapped By Supreme Court

Instigator of Intolerance Bishop Harry Jackson was dealt a fatal blow to his efforts to force a repeal referendum on the question of same gender marriage in Washington DC today when the Supreme Court refused to hear his case.

The District of Columbia back on December 15, 2009 passed same gender marriage legislation on an 11-2 vote and it was signed into law by then DC mayor Adrian Fenty.

Bigot Harry Jackson and his right wing friends have been anxiously trying to kill it ever since, especially in light of the fact the state of Maryland is prepared to take up the issue in this year's legislative session in Annapolis. 

Jackson filed a lawsuit against the District's Board of Elections and Ethics after it refused to put an initiative on the ballot that would repeal the DC marriage law.   The board cited the 1977 DC Human Rights Law in ruling that the ballot question would in effect authorize discrimination.

The D.C. Appeals Court, the federal court that rules on District of Columbia matters, issued a 5-4 decision in July allowing the board of elections' action to stand.  But the Supreme Court, without comment, declined to take up the Jackson v. D.C. Board of Elections case.

It requires four justices to agree to hear a case before it is placed on the docket.

Now that the Supreme Court has legally pimp slapped him again, he can scurry back to his Lanham, MD megachurch and prepare to put more miles on his car running back and forth to Annapolis trying to fulfill his role as a drum major for injustice.

Christopimpin' ain't easy is it Harry?

Alan Grayson For DNC Chair!

When the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee comes open again, I would love to nominate Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) for the job.

Due to an avalanche of special interest money he was unfortunately defeated in his reelection bid,  but in no way should he step off the public stage.   He needs to be kept around in some capacity to teach inside the Beltway e GOP political abuse victim Democrats how to fracking fight for working class Americans and call the Republifools out on a regular basis..

Take notes I-495 Democrats.   Class is in session again.  This is how you politically pimp slap the GOP and win the soundbite and messaging wars.




If y'all had done more of that since 2007, you'd still have the House.

IFGE 2010 Capital Conference Starts Today

It's too bad I'm not there, but the 2010 IFGE Capital Conference is kicking off today across the Potomac from our nation's capital in Alexandria, VA. and will run through the 25th.

This year's conference theme is Education For Action, and we in this community can always use that in the fight to have our constitutional rights respected and codified into federal law.

If you're in the Washington DC metro area, you may want to check out the IFGE Capital Conference. It will have some great presenters and our allies are always welcome.

If you're interested in attending some of the seminars or seeing my fave part of it, the Trinity Awards luncheon, it will take place at the Alexandria Hilton at Mark Center in Alexandria, VA.

Hmm, come to think of it, the last IFGE Conference I attended was in 2006. Will have to rectify that next year.

Why I Can't Stand The NRA-Part II

I don't call the National Rifle Association the 'Neocon Racist Assciation' or other less flattering names for nothing. But at the same time, I admire their ability to 'scurr' congresscritters into backing off on or efficiently killing any gun legislation they don't like

While I don't have a problem with people exercising their Second Amendment rights to own guns, I draw the line at assault rifles that only have the purpose of killing mass quantities of human beings in a short amount of time.

I also don't see the harm in requiring background checks and short waiting periods for people that wish to purchase guns o ensure they are mentally stable enough to do so or aren't convicted felons.

But you can count on the NRA gun fetishists to do something extremist and racist in their zeal to pimp for the firearms industry, scare 'real Americans' and put more guns in their hands.

Another exhibit of their racism just happened the other day in relation to the District of Columbia's long time efforts to get a voting representative in Congress.

The District of Columbia has not had representation in Congress since it was established in 1801. At the time of its creation, leaders were concerned that the nation's capital not be located in any one state.

DC residents can vote in presidential elections, serve in the military, and pay taxes but don't get the opportunity to vote for a congressional representative to help determine how those dollars are spent.


In 1978 a constitutional amendment was passed by Congress that would have granted the city a House vote, but it died because was not ratified by a sufficient number of states in the allotted time.

If the District of Columbia were majority white, the Republican Party, the conservative movement and Fox News long ago would have been championing the cause of DC voting rights and screaming bloody murder about the 'unfair and unconstitutional' disenfranchisement of large numbers of 'Real Americans.' But since it's majority African-American, they don't care.

To add insult to injury, the NRA and their GOP acolytes couldn't resist whipping out their white privilege card and using this an an opportunity to jack with DC's strict gun laws.

As a condition for DC getting what it wanted in terms of federal representation, Republican lawmakers attached amendments to Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's bill designed to weaken those gun laws.

"We just had nine kids shot by an assault rifle in our city," said D.C. councilmember at large Phil Mendelson, speaking about a recent drive-by shooting in Southeast D.C. that left four dead and several wounded. "Under the gun amendment, weapons like the AK-47 would be legal… That's unacceptable."

Several members of the DC City council in addition to Del. Norton were not happy about the games played with the DC Voting rights bill

"We should not trade a piece of democracy for a piece of democracy," said council member Michael A. Brown, who chairs DC's committee on statehood and self-determination. "It was a bad deal for the residents of the District of Columbia," he said of the bill's gun control provisions.

As always, the struggle continues.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) suggested that unrelated issues such as gun rights — are once again holding up an agreement to bring the D.C. voting bill to the floor. Hoyer had originally hoped to bring the bill to the floor this week, but now believes the legislation may be done for the year.

Hoyer said he's "profoundly disappointed" that the legislation will not be brought up, but said the bill should be about voting rights, not local D.C. crime issues or adding a House seat for Utah. Both these issues have held up D.C. voting rights in the past.

Delegate Norton said, "We have begun to develop new strategies to get a voting rights bill through Congress that can pass. "I am full of promising ideas about how to move forward not only on voting rights but on every right D.C. residents are entitled to as American citizens."

This despicable political drama adds another layer to the negativity that many African Americans feel towards the NRA and ossifies the impression in our community that they are a racist organization.

And it's another reason why I can't stand the NRA.

'Jumping The Broom' In DC!

Monday was the first day that same gender couples could legally get married in DC despite the efforts of go to sellout Bigot Harry Jackson to stop it.

Well, well, looks like it was two sistahs, Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend who were the first couple to legally 'jump the broom' in th District of Columbia.



HT to Womanist Musings for the video.

I'm happy for you SGL peeps and I co sign who what my Canadian sis said in her post.

DC Set To Vote For Marriage Equality Bill

Despite the best efforts of Bigot Harry Jackson, Jr., the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the District of Columbia City Council is set to give the city's gay residents an early Christmas present and become the first jurisdiction south of the Mason-Dixon line to approve marriage equality.

The bill cleared its final hurdle on November 10 when it passed out of committee on a 4-1 vote. The committee also stripped language out of the bill that would have eliminated domestic partnerships and broadened the religious exemption.

While there are few roadblocks left for opponents to prevent its passage, it's not like they haven't been busy trying. The Washington DC Ethics Board quashed two attempts by Bigot Harry Jackson's Stand4MarrageDC group to stop it citing the city's 1977 Human Rights Act and its prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The Ethics Board also cited the same sexual orientation discrimination prohibition when it denied a request by Jackson's group to place a referendum on gay marriage on the ballot.

Meanwhile, at the NOM ranch, they were trying to work the Capitol Hill angle in terms of suppressing the soon to be passed law. Congress has 60 days to review laws passed by the District Council, but even NOM Executive Director Brian Brown, commented in the Washington Post, "It's a difficult thing for Congress to actually overturn a law in the District."

And of course, in the public commentary on the bill, the haters were in full effect.



While Councilmember David Catania's bill would not require religious organizations to perform gay weddings, the Catholic Church has reacted in a thuggish manner.

The Catholic Church has threatened to shut off programs serving Washington's poor and homeless if the city does not include an exclusion that would allow individuals, including private business owners, to refuse to provide goods and services related to the nuptials of gay couples.

That threat was decried by the Democratic governors of Maryland and Virginia, who both happen to be Catholic. It also had the opposite effect of hardening the DC Council's resolve to pass the measure.

The bill is supported by ten of DC's thirteen council members, so its chances for passage look excellent barring some Twilight Zone level shenanigans. Mayor Fenty has already stated he would sign it, and the Democratically controlled Congress is not inclined to interfere with it either.

We'll see in a few hours if the District of Columbia City council says 'I do' to same gender marriage.

Can We Get More Democrats With Cojones Please?

Thank you Rep. Alan Grayson for speaking the truth. Finally, somebody wih a D behind their name that has some cojones.

I was beginning to wonder if all trans people who were getting rid of our gonads needed to pack them up in jars and donate them to the Democratic Party.



And when the Repugnicans demanded he apologize: