Year: 2007

Iconic Gay Novelist, Activist Patricia Nell Warren Running for West Hollywood City Council

Jon Ponder

Given the stereotypes about gay people, you might think the gay-dominated politics in the city of West Hollywood would be colorful and. well, interesting. You would be wrong. It turns out that keeping a liberal utopia clean, productive and affordable is rather mundane work. Wehoians tend to elect officials who get the job done and (usually) keep the drama offstage.

So it’s a bit surprising that internationally known author and activist Patricia Nell Warren has announced that she is running for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council. Warren is best known as the author of “The Frontrunner,” a groundbreaking novel published in 1974 about a college track coach, a conservative ex-Marine, who finds himself falling in love with a long-distance runner on his team. She also has published six other novels, including “Harlan’s Race,” a 1994 sequel to “The Frontrunner” — and is an activist and speaker on gay sports issues and a regular contributor to Outsports.com.

So why is an iconic author running for city council in one of California’s smallest cities? Here is what she told Outsports:

WeHo’s 25th anniversary is ahead in 2009, and the city faces some big decisions. It calls itself an “urban village,” yet it’s now the sixth most densely populated city in the U.S. Meaning 37,000 residents crammed into 1.9 square miles. And the population spikes to maybe 80,000 on weekends. Growing density has caused growing pains — scarcity of parking, traffic snarls, and need for affordable housing, especially for seniors and young workforce people. There are challenges around development and culture. So the people of West Hollywood, and its government, will be deciding how “urban” we want our city to be.

Nine other candidates are running with Warren for three seats on the council.Candidates include three incumbents, John Heilman, who currently serves as mayor, and who has served on the council since West Hollywood’s incorporation in 1984; Sal Gaurriello, who has served on the council for 16 years; and Abbe Land, who has served 15 years non-consecutively.

Other candidates include:

Former City Council member Steve Martin (eight years service), attorney heads a West Hollywood Neighborhood Alliance (WEHONA) slate including artist/historic preservationist Heavenly Wilson and community ethics activist and retired businessman Ed Buck…

Contractor Jim Sorkin, a 13-year resident, actor Steve Koller (18 months) and Medical Administrator Shawn Hoffman (one year) all fulfilled the requirements necessary to gain a spot on the ballot.

West Hollywood municipal elections will be held on March 6, 2007.

Libby’s Refusal to Testify Makes It a Cinch He’s Guilty

Jon Ponder

Now all his lawyers have to do is kick Libby’s appeal down the road to sometime after January 2009, so that Bush can pardon him as he he is leaving office — just like his father pardoned Cap Weinberger on his way out the door:

Think about it. Your whole life is at stake in the outcome of a criminal trial. You’re innocent. And you don’t testify in your own defense?

Libby is guilty. And he’s going to be found guilty. The jury might not convict him on all counts, but he has no chance of surviving the perjury count that was proved beyond a reasonable doubt with Tim Russert’s testimony.

The multi-million dollar defense, which provided no defense at all, did not call Libby to the witness stand for one very simple reason: Libby is very very guilty. Publicly, defense lawyers cling to the text book theory that the defendant has no burden of proof and that no negative inference should ever be taken when a defendant doesn’t defend himself on the witness stand. Practically, every defense lawyer knows that the jury desperately wants to hear from the defendant and that the only reason not to put him on the stand is that he is soooo guilty that every answer he gives after his name will eradicate any shred of reasonable doubt. Think about it. Your whole life is at stake in the outcome of a criminal trial. You’re innocent. And you don’t testify in your own defense? …

Libby’s defense gave up before the opening statements in the trial. They always knew Libby was too guilty to put on the witness stand. And they were never going to call the Vice President. Telling the judge that they were going to call Libby and Cheney was just a mirage they were trying to create to misdirect Patrick Fitzgerald’s focus. I’d be shocked if Fitzgerald was fooled for even a second.

Katrina II: Bush Fails to Respond to Tornado’s Aftermath in New Orleans

Jon Ponder

As of 6:30 AM Pacific, Pres. Bush has still not responded to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s request to declare a state of emergency in New Orleans in the wake of devastation caused by a tornado that ripped through area at around 3:00 AM Central Time Wednesday morning:

The F-2 tornado skipped across the region, hitting homes in Westwego, Carrollton and Gentilly. It produced winds well over one hundred miles per hour and was responsible for significant damage to an area that is still reeling from Katrina. A few dozen people were injured and one elderly lady was killed when her trailer was overturned.

The New Orleans area is now in shock once again, as over 200 homes and dozens of trailers were damaged by this violent tornado. Many people are asking why Mother Nature dealt another blow to the area. Local residents in the path of the deadly tornado, who did not finish rebuilding from Katrina or just finished renovating their homes, need to start over.

Unlike the delayed reaction to Katrina, yesterday, political leaders jumped into action quickly. [Gov.] Blanco and [New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin] toured the damaged areas and offered support to victims. A state of emergency was called locally, and Governor Blanco asked President Bush to declare a federal state of emergency which will qualify local victims to receive government assistance.

On This Date – February 15

Jon Ponder
  • 2003 – Millions of people around the world protested the threat of a U.S. war in Iraq. The war began on March 20, 2003.
  • 1959 – My uncle and aunt celebrated the birth of a baby girl who would grow up to be Pensito Review editor Trish. Happy Birthday Trish!
  • 1954 – Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons was born.
  • 1935 – Susan Brownmiller, author of Against Our Will and Femininity was born.
  • 1898 – Remember the Maine? The USS Maine exploded on this day in the port of Havana, killing 266 of its crew and igniting the Spanish-American war. The cause of the explosion is still unresolved.
  • 1820 – Women’s rights pioneer Susan B. Anthony was born.

Judge Says Libby Can’t Have It Both Ways

Trish

Isn’t it a bummer when you have to keep your agreements? Just ask ol’ Scooter, whose case closed today with a pissed-off judge.

The judge in the case became upset Wednesday when defense attorneys sought to follow an agreement with prosecutors that was based on Libby’s taking the stand.

Because Libby and his attorneys decided he would not testify, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton blocked them from using some classified evidence in the case.

The defense announced Tuesday that neither Libby nor Vice President Dick Cheney, who was expected to support him, would testify.

“It’s too much of a game now,” Walton said. “It’s supposed to be about finding the truth, and then we play games with the process.”

The agreed-to material was intended to be a partial substitute for Libby’s testimony, said the judge and Fitzgerald.

Because of that, the defense will not be allowed to get that evidence before the jury, which will deny the government a chance to question Libby about how it may have affected his state of mind.

After the defense and the prosecution each pressed their view on the matter, Walton said, “I won’t permit it,” adding, “If I get reversed on that one, maybe I need to hang up my spurs.”

Oh, you’ll probably just get fired a few months down the road for “performance issues” instead, judge.

Closing arguments will be presented Tuesday.

Fla. Gov. Says GOP Wasting $$ on Gay-Marriage Ban

Buck Banks

Duh: I suppose if I were a Republican, this story might mean more to me, but as far as I’m concerned, as long as the Florida GOP wants to piss its money away, who cares? Charlie Crist has turned out to be a pleasant surprise as governor of our state, especially following Jeb Bush’s lock-step Repug tribalism approach to running Florida’s political machine.

So Crist tells his party to stop spending money trying to pass legislation banning gay marriage in Florida (actually, it just defines marriage as between a man a woman, so it’s a positive, not a negative, piece of law — or so the GOP would have us believe).

The Florida GOP spent $300,000 touting the proposed state constitutional amendment narrowly defining marriage between a man and woman.

Under Crist’s predecessor, Jeb Bush, the Florida GOP spent $300,000 touting the proposed state constitutional amendment narrowly defining marriage between a man and woman. The GOP money was 54 percent of the total raised by the amendment’s backers, Florida4Marriage.org, which is still shy 28,000 voter-signed petitions to get the measure on the 2008 ballot.

Though Crist signed the petition and says he backs the measure, hardliners have expressed suspicion about his self-described “live-and-let-live-Republican” stance.

”I just think [the Republican Party’s] money can be better spent on other things that may be more pressing, like elections, for example,” Crist said. “I think that the people care about issues like insurance premiums. They care about property taxes. They care about public safety. And I think it’s important that not only those of us in government, but the party, focus on those issues, too.”

It’s interesting to see who is actually pushing the legislation. A clue can be gleaned from the identity of the guy who argued the case before the Florida Supreme Court:

Matthew Staver, an Orlando attorney who argued for the amendment before the Florida Supreme Court, said Crist’s statement was not a retreat from his pledge of support for the amendment. But he thinks Crist is wrong about whether the amendment is a priority.

”Charlie Crist has his priorities misplaced if he thinks it’s not money well spent,” said Staver, the law school dean of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. “It’s one of the most important issues government can face. It deals with marriage and the family.’

Why, you may ask, is the dean of the law school of Liberty U. fighting the good fight before the state o’ Florida? Because Liberty University is Jerry Falwell’s institution of higher indoctrination and the source of much of the Christian evil spread throughout the land. I’m sure Staver is being farmed out to argue similar cases in states all across the country, and probably on Falwell’s dime. Hopefully, with similar results.

There were whispered suspicions about Charlie Crist’s alleged heterosexuality during the campaign, and I suppose some will make the argument that Crist is actually pursuing a double-top-secret agenda of supporting gay rights issues while “passing” as straight.

Anyway, I like Charlie for calling ’em like he sees ’em and doing and saying what he — not the Repug Party — thinks is right.

Sen. Mel Martinez Still Claiming Iraq is About 9/11

Trish

Looks like someone missed the memo. In his floor statement last week, as Republicans in the Senate filibustered their way out of the debate on Iraq that the country has been clamoring for, Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) did it again. He repeated that old chestnut about how we’re fighting in Iraq because these are the people who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001.

I’m quoting the entire passage from his very own web site, so as not to be accused of taking what he said out of context or making this shit up.

Jeez, Mel, where you been? Don’t you know we’ve shifted away from that whole “al Qaeda is the root of all evil in Iraq” bit to “Iran is the root of all evil in Iraq?”

But, getting beyond the procedural debate and the tit for tat that so often signifies what Washington is about, what is it that, fundamentally, this debate is about? It’s about the Global War on Terror. It is about the events that unfolded in our country on the morning of September the 11th, 2001, and the aftermath of all of that, the things that have occurred as our nation has responded to the attacks that were brought upon our shores. And, as we have sought to carry out this difficult war, but one in which we must not waiver, which is this War on Terror. And as a result of this War on Terror, our troops are in Iraq today where they have removed a dictator from power, and where they have confronted the enemy, which regardless of how someone might have felt about the original decision to go into Iraq, today we are there and we are engaging an enemy that is the very enemy that attacked us here on 9/11.

It is known that in al-Anbar province, it is fundamentally an al-Qaeda operation. So to send additional reinforcements to al-Anbar province to defeat al-Qaeda in Iraq is in the best interest of this nation; it is in our national interest. To pacify, to bring some peace to Baghdad, which is the capital city of Iraq, which is essential to the peace and security of that nation—of that budding democracy—that is attempting to put itself on its feet and to bring some stability to that capital city, by additional reinforcements of American troops in a new plan, I think is reasonable.

Jeez, Mel, where you been? That is just so, like, last month!

Don’t you know we’ve shifted away from that whole “al Qaeda is the root of all evil in Iraq” bit to “Iran is the root of all evil in Iraq?” Come on, get with the party line already.

For those of you don’t know, Martinez has been tapped to lead the GOP in the next election cycle. I hope for their sake he’s better at fund-raising than making speeches.