CA-31: Becerra Tells Obama "No, Gracias"

Xavier Becerra has dashed the hopes of the next generation of Los Angeles Latino politicians by reportedly turning down an offer to join the Obama cabinet as U.S. Trade Representative. The prospect of the 31st Congressional district (in which MadProfessah has lived for over a decade) becoming open caused almost every big-name politician in Los Angeles to consider their future: Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina quickly said no, Los Angeles City Council Oresident Eric Garcetti was touted by progressives, potential 2010 primary rivals State Senator Gil Cedillo and openly gay Assemblymember John Perez were said to be considering throwing their hats into the ring.

But Becerra eventually said, "No, gracias" to the Obama job offer:

Becerra said he felt elated when first approached about the job, but that ultimately "I wasn't sure if at the end I only wanted to be focused on trade."

Becerra, who was just elected to his ninth term representing Los Angeles, faced competing pressures in considering whether to accept the Cabinet post.

He is moving up the ladder on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee that writes taxes and oversees health care and trade, and was just chosen vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

It could be difficult for another Latino to immediately replace Becerra in the House Democratic leadership. Becerra said he heard from members of the Latino community who wanted to ensure he was involved as Congress grapples with immigration, health care, tax code reform and other issues.

Becerra clearly wants to be the first non-white Speaker of the U.S. House and is on track to make that happen. He's relatively young (51 on January 26 2009) and could see his ambition come to fruition within the next decade.

A Forum on LGBT People of Color and Prop 8

There's another public forum on Proposition 8, but this one is specifically geared to people of color. It's from 7-9pm at Lucy Florence Cultural Center in Leimert Park on Wednesday.

Scrabble™ turns 60 today!

Accordng to National Public Radio, the word game Scrabble™ was granted a copyright on December 16, 1948. Scrabble™ was created by Alfred E. Butts in 1938 as Lexiko. It is the most popular board game in the United Kingdom. It has gained popularity with free online versions (like at the International Scrabble Club and Scrabulous Lexulous).

MadProfessah is a big fan of board games like Chess and Scrabble™. Congratulations on your 60th birthday, Scrabble™! My favorite Scrabble™ memory was playing AST(E)RNAL through two triple letter word scores for 98 points as my last word to end (and win) the game!

United Nations Petition on Homosexuality

Hat-tip to TowleRoad about the petition being introduced in the United Nations this week (sponsored by France) to decriminalize homosexuality throughout the world. The original idea is by French Professor Louis-Georges Tin who created the International Day Against Homophobia a few years ago.

The full text of the resolution is:

TO THE UNITED NATIONS :

Petition “For a universal decriminalization of homosexuality”

Considering

The Universal declaration of Human Rights

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 12.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Considering

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966, entry into force 23 March 1976)

Article 17

1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.

2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Considering

The Human Rights Committee’s decision in Toonen v. Australia (04 April 1994)

We ask the United Nations to request a universal abolition of the so-called “crime of homosexuality”, of all “sodomy laws”, and laws against so-called “unnatural acts” in all the countries where they still exist.

Of course the United States is not in this list of almost 55 countries that have endorsed the resolution:

Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chile, Ecuador, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Uruguay, and Venezuela. All 27 member states of the European Union are also signatories.

IGLHRC is asking people to write Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urging her to sign on to the Joint Statement.

Separate But Unequal?

Lawrence King's Killer Will Stand Trial

Rod 2.0 reported last week while I was in the middle of preparing for finals and not reading the paper that the teenaged killer of gay teen Lawrence King has been ruled competent for trial. 14-year-old Brandon McInerney (pictured here) fatally shot 15-year-old King at point blank range in the head during an 8am class at a middle school in Oxnard in February 2008.

The incident became a cause celebre and there was a controversial Newsweek magazine cover story on Lawrence King which portrayed the murdered boy as "confused" and even called him a bully for wearing make-up and high-heels to class. Clearly, both teens were troubled(Lawrence had been living at home for abused kids and Brandon's parents had multiple run-ins with the police and documented substance abuse problems) but the reason why the case became so famous (and why bloggers like MadProfessah, Joe.my.god and Rod 2.0 arefollowing it so closely) is the visuals of one fourteen-year-old boy shooting another boy in the head because one boy was ashamed that the murdered boy had said he had a crush on the other boy.

SD-26: Who will replace Ridley-Thomas in California Senate?

Curren Price	Mike Davis

Now that Mark Ridley-Thomas has been sworn in as a Los Angeles County Supervisor, his State Senate seat, representing the 26th District will need to have a special election to pick a replacement. The two most likely contenders are fellow Assemblymembers, Mike Davis (AD-48) and Curren Price (AD-51). They were both elected to the Assembly in 2006 and must leave office in 2012.

Ridley-Thomas is a supporter of civil marriage rights for everyone, while Davis voted against the bill to end marriage discrimination last summer while Price voted in favor of AB 43.

Senate seats are more desirable than Assembly seat because in California, the term is 2 four-year terms (so only one re-election race). Whoever wins the 26th District seat would basically be guaranteed to hold office until 2016. According to Wikipedia, the district is 37% Latino, 28% Black, 11% Asian and 21% White as well as being 68% Democratic. It will be interesting to see if a string Latino contender emerges for this seat which is widely considered a "Black" position.

Eye Candy: Winter, Anyone?

Winter sports?

UPDATE: Prop 8 Margin Less Than Reported in L.A.

MadProfessah has been following the final tallies of the 2008 election results very carefully. In Los Angeles County according to the Secretary of State, Proposition 8 is leading 50.046%-49.954%, a margin of 2,904 votes out of 3,185,172 votes (0.09%).

However, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder the Proposition 8 margin is even smaller, 2,385 votes out of 3,246,959 (0.07%) which is a lead of 50.04% to 49.96%. In Los Angeles there are 4,111,642 registered voters, so voter turnout was an astonishing 79%, although this is less than the turnout in the presidential race which nearly reached 81%!

In San Francisco, according to the City and County Department of Elections Proposition 8 was defeated 280,491 to 92,536 (75.2% to 24.8%). With 477,651 registered voters that corresponds to a turnout of 78%, just slightly below the turnout in Los Angeles County, but less than one-ninth as many total votes. Interestingly, in San Francisco Obama-Biden defeated McCain-Palin 84%-14% with a turnout of 80% in the presidential election. In Los Angeles, the Democratic ticket won 69%-29%.

Of course the statewide numbers currently show Proposition 8 winning by 591,644 votes, 52.27% to 47.74% (a margin of 4.52%) but the Secretary of State is still using old numbers from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

On December 13th, the Secretary of State released the official statement of the vote (pdf), which has the certified totals as 7,001,084 YES and 6,401,482 NO, an increased margin of 599,602 votes for passage of Proposition 8 a percentage of 52.24% to 47.76% (decreased margin to 4.47%).

Statewide turnout was 79.4% among all registered voters, which falls to 59% if you consider all eligible voters. That's 13,743,177 actual voters out of 17,304,091 registered voters (and 23,208,710 eligible voters). Interestingly, statewide 41% of all votes were cast by mail, with Los Angeles County being one of the lowest vote-by-mail counties (despite being the most populous county) with a 24% vote-by-mail rate in L.A.

There are some bizarre mathematical errors in the Secretary of State's report, mostly involving calculation of percentages. They have the percentages for Proposition 8 as 52.30% to 47.70% which is imply wrong using their own numbers (given above). In fact, I think the given percentages for all the Propositions are incorrect.

What this update shows is that people should avoid making snap judgments and conclusions about the election results (and posing the reasons for the "results") the day after the election and wait for the full returns to come in.

Serena Williams Spotted at JFK

Women's Tennis Blog sent this picture of Serena Williams arriving in New York City's JFK airport on Friday December 12.

Opposite-Sex Sodomites: A Response to Black Homophobia

Dr. Sylvia Rhue of the National Black Justice Coalition has written a response to an insanely homophobic screed that appeared in California's largest Black newspaper, the Los Angeles Sentinel, last week.

Cleverly, she uses the same form of the original piece. See below:

Opposite Sex Sodomites:
A Response to Dr. Firpo Carr
By Dr. Sylvia Rhue

I am writing in response to the Dec. 4 op-ed piece entitled, "God Pays Gays With AIDS?' by Dr. Firpo Carr. I have debated Dr. Carr in the past regarding homosexuality and I am turning the tables by using some of Dr. Carr's own words and "logic" to point out the utter absudity of his assertions.

Let me start by saying that if you don't want to hear Godly truth in all it's "gory" detail, you might want to read some other material. I'm about to take the gloves off to reveal the truth behind the heterosexual. A word of caution though: the material presented here is not for the weak-kneed or fainthearted. You are about to go "undercover," embarking upon an behind-the-scenes foray into the sinful, sordid world of the heterosexual lifestyle.

Again, enter at your own risk!

God specifically targeted the heterosexual and destroyed almost the entire lot of them because of their violence and debauchery.

Gen:5-6,12: "And God saw that the wickedness of (heterosexual) man was gre at in the earth , and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made (the heterosexual) man on earth, and it grieved him at his heart .And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt, and all (heterosexual) flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth."

God used purging waters to eradicate heterosexuals and their corruption
(Gen.7:21-23). What corruption you ask?

There is a laundry list of diseases and debauchery that are a daily part of the heterosexual lifestyle.

For your reading pleasure, here are a few: hepatitis, anorectal candidiasis, rectal and oral gonorrhea, lymphogranuloma venereum, trichomoniasis, syphilis, parasitic infections, Kaposi's sarcoma, liver infections, Bowen's disease, thrash (and thrush), toxoplasmosis, cryptococcal meningitis, swollen lymph nodes, night sweats, shingles, seborrheic dermatitis,prostatitis, urethritis,scabies, veneral warts and an unfortunate tendency to fake orgasms in the heterosexual female.

While the heterosexual couples I have known have usually struggled to maintain a loving and enduring relationship, most are doomed with an over 50% divorce rate. Heterosexuals are notoriously promiscuous and the sordid sexual activities they engage in are too morally degenerate to divulge here. Not for the faint of heart!

Heterosexuals play at marriage: Janice met Joe, who needed to get married so he wouldn't be deported. They pretended to love each other, had a "wedding" ceremony and he got his green card. Nine months later they had a baby and Joe left, never to be seen again. True story.

Another heterosexual couple went to Las Vegas, got drunk, got married and divorced 48 hours later. True again.

While there are 6 biblical texts that have been interpreted as being against homosexuality, there are 362 admonitions against heterosexuality and the heterosexual lifestyle. Lynn Lavner stated what any thinking person can see: "That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision."

Word for the Week: immutable: Not capable of changing. Usage: "Firpo Carr's pathetic and pathological obsession with homosexuality seems to be immutable."

The orginal piece has been supplemented by a sequel which is just as insanely homophobic as the first! Feel free to drop by the Sentinel website and leave some comments for the author, he tends to reply himself. (Hat/tip to Pam at PHB.)

Excerpt from Harvey Milk speech

Joys of Euro Pane

chocolate eclair

raspberry tart with custard filling

Here are two more reasons (besides the three reasons I had blogged about previously) to enjoy Euro Pane Bakery in Pasadena, California. Their chocolate eclair and the raspberry tart (with custard filling).

Appeal from NBJC Deputy Director Jason Bartlett

I recently received the following letter from the National Black Justice Coalition. I am a member of the NBJC, and so should you be. It is the only national LGBT organization devoted to organizing in the Black community.

Dear Mad Professah,

I am writing to you because I need your help! My name is Jason Bartlett, Deputy Director of NBJC and I am responsible for growing our membership and building our community.

You have been an NBJC member or have been receiving our emails, but I have not had the opportunity to find out from you directly how NBJC can better serve your needs and interests!

Now is the time for us to communicate and I am hopeful that you will take a few minutes to correspond with me, so that NBJC can serve you better.

Barack Obama’s election on November 4th was a great day for our country and a historic milestone for all African Americans. It was also a sad day for the gay rights movement with the passing of so many anti-gay propositions around the country.

In it’s aftermath we have witnessed the media and commentators speak in a variety of formats about the intersection of race and sexual orientation. The topic highlights the National Black Justice Coalition’s primary mission; to bring social justice and equal rights to LGBT African Americans and work with all to bring these worthy goals about.

In fact, we are the only national organization who for the last five years has focused on this mission and that’s why we need your help. Now is the time for us to work together and build our organization. If we do not look out for one another, who will look out for us?

We need to better identify where you live, the best way to contact you, what your interests are, if you would like us to reach out to you for political activism, social activism, entertainment and social opportunities, networking opportunities or just another vehicle to express yourself.

I need your help in hosting house parties to raise money, contacting friends to join our organization and getting organized for political activism or launching a new program to serve our community. We could especially use help in planning our 2nd Annual Convention and 4th Religious Summit. Are you willing to step up for NBJC?

Please reach out to me and let me know what you think of NBJC. Let me know how I can best contact you and what kinds of topics or activities you would like NBJC to focus on in the future. Please let me know if you are willing to help NBJC.

There will be a survey with a number of questions coming to each member to help us better understand our membership and community. I encourage you to take the time to fill out the survey and complete it honestly and most importantly to send it to your friends to do the same.

Finally, the convention that I alluded to earlier is March 26, 27 and 28th 2009 at the Hotel Whitcomb in San Francisco. Please check out our website for registration information. I welcome the opportunity to meet each and every one of you in San Francisco.

The time is ours. Let me hear from you and let’s work together to bring NBJC to another level.

Sincerely,

Jason

Eye Candy: Wendell Lissimore (reprise)

Somehow I missed these new pictures of MadProfessah favorite hottie (and former Eye Candy) Wendell Lissimore posted by Rod 2.0 way back in September! (Damned Proposition 8) Apparently my big brother blog mentor Rod 2.0 has similar tastes because he has many more pictures of Wendell up on his blog and lists him among his fave models along with (another MadProfessah hottie) Ibrahim Baaith, Salieu Jalloh, Shawn Sutton and Marcus Llloyd.

Wanda Sykes Appears on NBC's Tonight Show

Newly out comedienne Wanda Sykes appeared on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night and discussed her coming out, opposition to Proposition 8 and the "Day Without A Gay" protest that was scheduled for yesterday. (Note the Join The Impact t-shirt Wanda is wearing. You go, girl!)

Iowa Supreme Court Hears Marriage Equality Case

Actually this was announced before Connecticut State Supreme Court announced its ruling ending discrimination in marriage laws on Friday October 10th, but didn't get very much attention. The Iowa State Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case challenging that state's marriage laws on December 9, 2008.

The court said that both sides will be given 30 minutes to make their arguments.

Last year, Polk County Judge Robert Hanson struck down a state law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. He ruled that a state law allowing marriage only between a man and woman violated the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection.

Less than two hours after the the ruling, two Des Moines men applied for a marriage license, found a judge to waive the waiting period, and were married.

Hanson then stayed his ruling until the state could appeal it to the Iowa Supreme Court. The marriage of Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan remains the only legal same-sex marriage in the state.

In a separate case, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in January that co-adoptions by same-sex parents were legal.

[...]

To amend the Iowa Constitution, simple majorities are needed in both the House and Senate in two consecutive general assemblies and then it must be approved by a simple majority of voters in the following general election.

Polls show that most Iowans would support civil unions, but not marriage, for same-sex couples.

I believe there are currently no other pending marriage equality cases pending before State Supreme Courts.

The oral arguments happened yesterday in the case of Varnum v. Brien, with Lambda Legal arguing for the plaintiffs.

You can click here to listen or watch the entirety of the oral arguments. A ruling is not expected until summer 2009.

VIDEO: Jon Stewart Challenges Mike Huckabee on Marriage

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Lesbian Conductor Marin Alsop In Town Friday

Marin Alsop of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is the first female head of a major metropolitan orchestra. She is also an out lesbian. She is guest conducting with the Los Angeles Philharmonic this Friday, December 12 in a program that contains two "wickedly difficult" pieces composed by Brahms (with a violin solo by Nikolaj Znaider) as part of their Casual Friday concerts at the beautiful Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

Wanda Sykes Joins EQCA Board of Directors

The face of gay activism?

Equality California just sent out a press release naming the new people who have recently joined their board of directors and it is a notably diverse group. Newly out Black gay comedienne Wanda Sykes, United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, former Assemblymember Lloyd Levine are names people will recognize immediately.

The Equality California Board of Directors:

Cary Davidson (Los Angeles), President
Deb Kinney (San Francisco), Vice President
Xavier Barrera (San Francisco), Secretary
Tim Hohmeier (Palm Springs), Treasurer

Jim Abbott (San Diego)
Brandon Brawner (Los Angeles)
Betsy Butler (Los Angeles)
Larry Colton (San Francisco)
Joe Guardarrama* (Los Angeles)
Susan Guinn (San Diego)
Jeff Haber (Los Angeles)
Mariah Hansen (Palm Springs)
Dolores Huerta* (Bakersfield)
Rabbi Steven Jacobs* (Los Angeles)
Roslyn Jones (Riverside)
Lloyd Levine* (Los Angeles)
Rev. Abel Lopez* (Los Angeles)
Tom Maddox (San Diego)
Jimmy Nguyen (Los Angeles)
Jeff Orr (San Francisco)
Thom Rollerson* (Santa Barbara)
Sal Rosselli* (San Francisco)
Rick Saputo (Palm Springs)
Linda Scaparotti (San Francisco)
Kathy Spillar (Los Angeles)
Alan Uphold (Los Angeles)
Jacques Whitfield* (Sacramento)

The Equality California Institute Board of Directors:

Gary D. Soto (Palm Springs), President
Cathy Schwamberger (Sacramento), Vice President
Michael Martinez (Sacramento), Secretary
Randy Clark (San Diego), Treasurer

Gwyneth Borden (San Francisco)
Chris Carnes (San Francisco)
Jose Cisneros (San Francisco)
Jody Cole (Mendocino)
Troup Coronado (Los Angeles)
Ellen Evans* (Los Angeles)
Carrie Farrell (San Francisco)
Kelly Ferrero (Palm Springs)
Clarissa Filgioun* (Los Angeles)
Andrae Gonzalo* (Los Angeles)
Christopher Heritage* (Palm Springs)
Ben Patrick Johnson (Los Angeles)
Leslie Katz (San Francisco)
Martin Mendelson* (Orange County)
Shannon Minter (San Francisco)
Dennis Rasor (Orange County)
Stacy Smithers (Los Angeles)
Laura Spanjian (San Francisco)
Doug Spearman (Los Angeles)
Wanda Sykes* (Los Angeles)
Phil Ting (San Francisco)

*New Directors

MadProfessah was on the Board of Directors from 2002 to 2004 so I will explain that "Equality California Institute" is the 501(c)(3) non-profit "foundation" arm of the agency while "Equality California" is a 501(c)(4) organiztion to hwhom dibations are NOT tax-exempt. EQCA also has a PAC, which they can use to give politicians financial donations and endorse candidates running for elected office. EQCA does not endorse or donate any candidate who does believe in civil marriage rights for all people.