Former President Bill Clinton spoke tonight (Autumn, Kate and I skipped it to grab a bite to eat with Joe Sudbay of Americablog and Jed Lewison of Daily Kos) and there was some news made and a bit of chaos. We went to the Warhol Museum; it is a must-see if you come to Pittsburgh. There were a ton of people there. Mike Rogers helped organize the event. I managed to touch base with fellow North Carolinian, friend of the Netroots and recent town hall teabagger "victim" Rep. Brad Miller to see how well he faired the crazies who made it hard for people who really care about health care without being distracted by these concerned plants citizens.
But the real news occurred back at the convention center; Autumn, Kate and I were dog tired after a long day with little sleep, so we were leaving the Warhol just as Mike Signorile, Lane Hudson and Donald Hitchcock were arriving. Apparently Lane caused a scene at the Clinton speech by standing up and asking him whether he supported repeal of DADT and DOMA. Surprisingly he was frank and said he did, only after he mistakenly thought Lane was a rabble rousing teabagger type (WTF -- they aren't on our side, lol). Ah, Lane just sent me the link, so you can take a look (he's still waiting to see if the part about DOMA will turn up on video):
At times fiery with his familiar finger-pointing repeatedly jabbing the air, former President Bill Clinton implored an audience of bloggers and activists tonight not to lose out on a moment that he said he had worked all his life for.***It was as ths as though this was his time, too, not just that of President Obama. The former president revisited several pieces of his legacy, drawing comparisons between his battle for health care overhaul to the fight occurring now and even angrily defending the compromise that became "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" for the military when a protester in the audience shouted at him. He even drew on Americorps and student loans to bridge the time between his administration and that of Mr. Obama.
But backing up a bit, before Clinton spoke there was a cocktail party in the convention center in what can only be described as a noise-intensive "radio row." That's where Ron Reagan was broadcasting his Air America show. Megan Carpentier, one of the behind-the-scenes people at Air America came up to me during an earlier panel and asked if I do a segment with Ron Reagan about LGBT issues later in the day. Of course I was surprised that I was a first pick for this, considering the many great peeps in attendance. Anyway, I said sure, and showed up early since it was hard to find the radio row.
So I'm standing around chatting and all of a sudden his producer comes up and says that I was going to go on right now because the slotted guest was late. YIPES. So before I knew it, I was in the hot seat with the headphones on and doing the interview with Ron, who is a really nice guy who works well in this challenging environment with a wide variety of guests who are here at Netroots Nation.
It was a fun interview (radio is infinitely easier than doing TV) we talked about Prop 8 repeal, the Maine ballot initiative, allly support, and minority outreach.
We fit a lot into about 10 minutes. His folks said they'd get me the audio soon, so I'll be able to share it with you.
Love it! This is going to be on Monday. Just received this e-blast from Equality NC.
Dear Pam,
Our friends at PFLAG Triangle and NC Against H8 tipped us off to an upcoming Durham City Council vote in support of civil marriage for same-sex couples. Usually alerts about these votes aren't so positive, because they're in support of the Marriage Discrimination Amendment--and we've sent out quite a few of those in the past few months. Please let your council members know that you support this resolution, and be there to tell them in person on Monday night! And, of course, spread the word.
What? The Durham City Council is voting to adopt the Resolution in Support of Civi l Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
When? Monday, August 17, 2009 at 7:00pm
Where? 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC 27701
Council members are getting pressure from conservatives to vote against this resolution. Make sure they know where you stand by contacting them directly:
- William V. "Bill" Bell Mayor Phone: (919) 560-4333 ext. 10269 Bill.Bell@durhamnc.gov
- Cora Cole-McFadden City Council Member (Ward 1) Phone: (919) 560-4396 ext. 10277 Cora.Cole-McFadden@durhamnc.gov
- Farad Ali City Council Member (At-Large) Phone: 560-4396, ext. 10273 farad.ali@durhamnc.gov
- Eugene A. Brown City Council meil member (At-Large) Phone: (919) 688-9314 Eugene.Brown@durhamnc.gov
- Diane Catotti City Council member (At-Large) Phone: (919) 560-4396 ext. 10278 diane.catotti@durhamnc.gov
- Howard Clement, III City Council member (Ward 2) Phone: (919) 560-4396, ext. 10272 Howard.Clement@durhamnc.gov
- Mike Woodard City Council Member (Ward 3) Phone: (919) 560-4396 ext. 10276 mike.woodard@durhamnc.gov
Because the daily updated signature validation numbers are of ongoing and intense interest for some of us, I will bump this updated diary to the top of the page each afternoon (Pacific time) after the daily results have been released. All the action will remain below the fold so as to keep the diary profile slender. Last updated: 5:00 pm on August 13, 2009. Data are provisional. It's clear that we need to make the most of time between now and the November election. Repeat this to everyone you know until they can say it by heart: If the referendum qualifies, Washington state voters supporting the new domestic partnership law will need to vote APPROVED on the November ballot. Sign up with Washington Families Standing Together to help get the word out. Here's why:
Totals as of 5:00 pm Wednesday, August 13, 2009:
| Signatures in Volumes | Accepted | Rejected | % Rejected | Registration Not Found& lt;/td> | Signature Image Pending | No Match | Duplicate |
| 50,493 | 45,099 | 5,394 | 10.68% | 4,692 | 19 | 420 | 263 |
Click here for the breakdown of signatures by bound volume. The percent rejected increased minutely from yesterday's value, but is still significantly below the rate of 12.43% needed for the referendum to fail to qualify. About 37% of the raw signatures submitted have been examined so far.
Below is an update on the latest developments for Referendum 71 and Washington Families Standing Together. Many of you have been asking how you can help. Beginning today, WAFST will run weekly phone banks from the ERW and WAFST offices at 7th and Columbia in downtown Seattle.Please send an email to volunteer@wafst.org to participate in one or more phonebanking days or evenings. Hours for phone banks are Monday through Thursday, 10am until 8 pm, and Friday, from 10 am until 5 pm. Additional questions or immediate scheduling can be directed to Kate Fredenberg by phone at (206) 324-2570. We also ask those who are able to bring personal laptops or cell phones to use during your phonebank session.
As our coalition moves forward, we ask that you make a personal commitment through both financial support and volunteering your time. Join us for this important work.
Sincerely,
Connie Watts
Executive DirectorCONTRIBUTE CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Washington Families Standing Together (WAFST), the campaign to retain the Domestic Partnership law, has had teams of observers every day from 7:30am to 10:00pm in Olympia monitoring the signature vote count. Please contribute today so that WAFST can continue to vigorously work on behalf of Washington families.
Remember, there is a very low threshold in Washington State to qualify a referendum for the ballot. Even with that low number of signatures needed, because so few were turned in by those trying to repeal the Domestic Partnership law, the Secretary of State must review every signature. WAFST will have trained observers there every day, three shifts a day, until every signature has been checked.
CONTRIBUTE gt;The signature verification process has three steps to it, and the initial numbers reported in the press and on line were based only on the initial step. After signatures are initially checked, any that appear to be invalid are re-checked, and can be added back as valid, if additional information is found. The third step is that counties are consulted to see if they have voters on file who are not in the statewide database. If so, those are added back as well. That's why initial numbers change as the process continues. It will take until the week of August 17 or later before this multi-step review is completed.
That means, if the Secretary of State determines there are enough valid signatures, there will be fewer than 8 weeks before mail-in ballots for the November election will start going out to voters. We cannot sit back and wait. WAFST is moving forward with fund raising, voter contact, social networking, media and all of the other critical elements of a campaign. The WAFST coalition now includes more than 130 organizations and continues to grow daily.
CONTRIBUTE Today we ask you to make a meaningful contribution to the campaign so that we are all doing our part to keep the religious right from rolling back the Domestic Partnership Law. This law protects thousands of families all across Washington State. If Referendum 71 is on the ballot, voters will be asked whether they want to APPROVE or reject the law. To keep the law, we have to make sure voters know they vote to APPROVE it.
Key rights and obligations in the law include death benefits for the partners of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty, pension benefits for the partners of teachers and other public employees, victims' rights, including the right to receive notifications and benefits allowances, the right to use sick leave to care for a seriously ill partner, to have workers' compensation benefits if a partner is killed in the course of employment, to receive unemployment benefits if an employee must leave a job to care for a seriously ill partner and to adopt a partner's child without paying for a home study.
Phone Bank Volunteers Needed: We have already started phone banking out of our Seattle office. We are calling Monday-Thursday 10am-8pm, Friday, 10am-5pm. If you live outside Seattle we do have the ability to allow people to do phone banking from their homes and in the future will have other phone bank locations. If you would like to volunteer sign up by e-mailing - volunteer@wafst.org or calling 206-324-2570.
CONTRIBUTE Together we will win
Joshua Friedes
Campaign Manager Washington
Families Standing TogetherPS: Click here to download our approve Referendum 71 placard that you can hang in your window or post at your favorite coffee shop. Use this as your personal image on Facebook:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related:
* Referendum 71 signature validation update: Day 3 & 4
* Random Numbers
* The Skinny on DP Dissolution Rates in Washington State
REFERENDUM 71
Ballot Title
Statement of Subject: The legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5688 concerning rights and responsibilities of state-registered domestic partners [and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill].Concise Description: This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations accorded state-registered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage.
Should this bill be:
Approved ___
Rejected ___Ballot Measure Summary
Same-sex couples, or any couple that includes one person age sixty-two or older, may register as a domestic partnership with the state. Registered domestic partnerships are not marriages, and marriage is prohibited except between one man and one woman. This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of registered domestic partners and their families to include all rights, responsibilities, and obligations granted by or imposed by state law on married couples and their families.
PRINT AND DISTRIBUTE HANDOUTS AND PLACARDS !
Please join the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Basic Rights Oregon (BRO) For a weekend of intimate events in Portland,featuring Kate Kendell, Esq., NCLR Executive Director and Jeana Frazzini, BRO Executive Director
The State of Our Unions: LGBT Legal & Policy Briefing Saturday, September 12, 2009 3:00 pm â€" 5:00 pm
Flying Cat Coffee Company 3041 SE Division Portland, Oregon
The legal landscape for LGBT people is ever-changing, and this year, that has proved to be especially true! With new victories and defeats occurring at a faster pace than ever, it’s hard to keep track of where our struggle for justrack of where our struggle for justice stands, and how and where our relationships are protected. Join us for a presentation and discussion on the latest legal and policy issues affecting the LGBT community, including an update on moving forward with marriage equality in Oregon and other states and federal legislation and litigation. There is no cost to attend. No RSVP necessary.
A Social for Social Justice: Benefit Party with NCLR and BRO Sunday, September 13, 2009 3:00 pm â€" 5:00 pm
Nostrana Restaurant With award-winning Chef Cathy Whims 1401 SE Morrison Street Portland, Oregon So much has happened over this past year â€" we hope you can join us for a fun and intimate afternoon to catch up with NCLR and BRO and find out more about our current work and what lies ahead in the fight for our LGBT civil and human rights. Suggested Donation: $25, payable at the door. Please RSVP by September 4th to Dena Zaldúa-Hilkene at dzalduahilkene@nclrights.org with subject line “NCLR Portland Event†or call 415.365.1303. Reservations will be held at the door.
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