Cartoon: Screw Blue

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Yes, I'm playing cartoon catchup again--this one ran over a week ago in print. I must admit I've been a bit busy preparing for the arrival of the Cartoonist SuperBaby (as in, Masheka and I are both artists and packrats, and we have to get rid of over 1/3 of our earthly posessions and furniture to make room)...

Cartoons on Haiti coming this week of course.

By the way, you may remember this nameless couple--they've appeared a few times over the last year or so, starting with the election. Maybe at some point they'll get actual names.

Cartoon: Leave Caster Semenya Alone!

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Seriously, screw gender testing, and screw those IAAF jerks telling this world champion runner she's not a real woman. The only reason she was tested was because she didn't match some visual standard of European femininity. I'm not sure how much to trust the media on any of this, but I read reports today that she is "shattered" by the humiliation of the gender testing and possibly on suicide watch.

More reading and background on this:

• "An Intersex Perspective on Caster Semenya"
  
• Feministe: "Caster Semenya Case Opening Old Wounds"
  
• Feministe: Essentialism, gender and Caster Semenya
  
• The Root: "Caster Semenya's Race and Sex Struggle
  
• Feministing: South African Runner's Makeover
  

(Thanks to the Transadvocate feed for many of these links).

Senator Kennedy, Hero of LGBT Rights!

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I did this front-cover tribute illustration for Bay Windows' special Kennedy tribute issue. The idea was Kennedy as an LGBT rights hero, so I looked to vintage superhero comic book covers for inspiration:

The editors tell me the reaction to the cover was so positive they're framing it and sending it to the Kennedy family.

And here's the final cover with logo on top:

Mark Fiore: "Obama vs. Obama"

Great Flash animation by Mark Fiore, "Obama vs. Obama."

Toon: Barack Obama, Fierce Advocate of LGBT Rights!

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Disappointed, yes. Surprised? Not really.

For more angry venting, you must watch and/or read the bad-ass speech my pal Jaclyn Friedman gave at the Boston Dyke March on this topic. A sampling:

That Presidential Proclamation? It would sure sound sweeter if it were backed up by actual action to end discrimination against gay, lesbian, bi and trans Americans willing to DIE in service of our country's military whims. And it would be more than a little helpful if Obama would stop caving to the religious right and start condemning marriage discrimination, instead of defending it like he did today.

Of course, marriage rights themselves would be a lot less important if quality, competent health care was available to every person in this country regardless of marital status, income, age, race, sexual orientation or gender identity. But who needs universal health care when you've got a shiny proclamation that proves the president knows we exist? He likes us! He really likes us.

Even the HRC is getting feisty about Obama's odd—Clintonian, even!—interpretation of "fierce advocacy."

P.S. Rachel Maddow is so rocking this topic:

Maybes: APE in San Francisco this year; new LGBT cartoon collection

Masheka and I may go to APE (Alternative Press Expo) on October 17-18 in San Francisco this year. If we do, I plan to put together a collection of my LGBT-themed political cartoons (which I've been meaning to do anyway).

"Free speech" doesn't equal "free from criticism and consequence"

Great post by Barry (which he calls "horribly earnest") about the bigoted radio DJs who called for violence against transgender kids.

My only small quibble is that I don't see why we have to support the pencil manufacturer if we don't like his/her views (why couldn't we buy pencils from someone we like better?) See my cartoon "Victims of Gay Rage" for more on this.

Toon: The HETEROmance Wedding Package

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A Tasteful New Tradition for Old-Fashioned Couples!

Inspired by this ridiculous photograph of a couple getting married as part of an anti-gay protest. Can you imagine this couple showing their grandkids the wedding album thirty or forty years from now? "Grandpa, how come you were against equality?"

Some questions about this photo:

• Why are these bigots so damn happy? Does it really give them that much joy to be joined together in matrimony as part of a "screw you" to same-sex couples?
• Why did the NYTimes caption this picture "A protest on Wednesday over the Washington City Council’s vote to recognize same-sex marriages from other states included a traditional wedding ceremony" (emphasis mine)? What part of any traditional wedding ceremony involves gay-bashing signage? That totally wasn't in the wedding planning manual I used...

New Hampshire! (almost)

New England's still on a winning streak for marriage equality. Rhode Island might be a while yet, though.

The National Organization for Marriage’s “Rainbow Coalition”!

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Drew this after those ridiculous NOM ads first popped up on YouTube.

The actual quote I'm referencing from NOM's ridiculous gay-bashing "Storm is Coming" ad: "But we have hope...a rainbow coalition of people of every creed and color are coming together in love to protect marriage."

Marriage Equality in Maine!

New England keeps getting more awesome!

Angie Zapata's killer found guilty

Justice won't bring her back, but it's better than nothing. Thanks to reader Brenda Ann for the link.

P.S. Much more coverage from Autumn Sandeen of Pam's House Blend.

Colbert's Big Gay Storm Ad

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

If you haven't already seen it...

Amazon reclassifies LGBT & other books as "adult"

WTF is up with Amazon hiding/unranking LGBT and feminist books as "adult" today? I learned about it via Twitter #amazonfail while in the midst of framing the BattleStar Galactica propaganda poster ("Mechanics! ... Those Vipers Won't Fix Themselves!") I got for Chanukah/Christmas last year.

According to one tweet I saw, affected books included such titles as The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk.

Now I am just going to sit here and be embarrassed at how often I have shopped on Amazon.

Toon: The Friend of My Friend is... (On Transphobia)

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This cartoon has been brewing in my head for a while--it really depresses/irks me that in 2009, there are still numerous people in feminist and queer circles who actually think it is acceptable--even REASONABLE or RIGHTEOUS or FEMINIST--to be transphobic or to "debate" the inclusion of transgender and other gender non-conforming folks in LGBT and women's spaces.

Equality is SO not up for debate, sorry! It's one thing if someone genuinely is a bit confused on proper respectful gender terminology or genuinely doesn't know much about gender identity or transgender issues--it's another if someone has had ample opportunity over a long period of time to ditch their bigotry and emphatically chooses not to.

Anyway, the actual final cartoon came together after a fantastic panel at the WAM 2009 conference, "In/Out of Focus: Gender, Non-conformity and the Media," featuring Jack (Angry Brown Butch), Julia Serano (Whipping Girl), Miriam (Feministing) and Kate Bovitch. I asked the panelists what their opinion was on non-transphobic feminists/activists who continued to be close with transphobic feminists/activists, etc.

Julia Serano's take (and I apologize if I misquote, since this is based on scribbled notes) was that while some people are willing to listen, at this point it's clear that some people just aren't--which is just ridiculous in this day and age. "In 2009 there are very few feminists and LGB folks who haven't been exposed to trans people." Still, "a lot of times there's a lack of calling out. They want to give feminist friends the benefit of the doubt."

But "there needs to a shift from 10 years ago. People should know better."

Jack commented that this has all happened before, and gave the history of the exclusion of queer women from the feminist movement as an example.

And then my handwriting degenerated into illegible scribbles. Still, you get the idea. I'm reading Whipping Girl now and it's fantastic.

Toon: Apocalypse Iowa!

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Even the happiest heterosexual homes will not survive the unstoppable juggernaut of... LEGAL GAY MARRIAGE!

Obviously I drew this before Vermont joined the equality party--they'll get their own cartoon next week. (Maybe something about how it's a short slippery slope to the evils of man/maple-syrup marriage!? But seriously...)

Hurrah for Vermont!

The good news just keeps rolling in!

Hurrah for Iowa!

So Massachusetts, Connecticut—and, now, Iowa!—are officially the three coolest states in the union. I'm totally embarrassed for New York. Aren't we supposed to be, like, trendsetters or something? Lucky for me I'm really from Massachusetts. From Bay Windows:

The state supreme courts in New York, Maryland, and Washington State have ruled that laws banning gay marriage are rational even though the states’ reasons wouldn’t pass many people’s laugh test. New York, for instance, said banning gay marriage provided an inducement for straight people to marry. Washington said it "furthers procreation" among straights.

So banning gay marriage puts straight people in the mood? Like a fancy over-priced homophobic perfume?

Toon: The Florists' Rights Movement!

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"Back off lesbos—you're getting gay germs on my gardenias!"

Seriously, this story is FOR REAL. There was a more in-depth piece in the Hartford Courant online, but it seems to be unavailable now, all I can still find is this editorial response.

Toon: Hard Times for Haters

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This is a local Massachusetts cartoon about how the hate group MassResistance is struggling to find bill sponsors.

Of course, LGBT organizations are also struggling to find funding in this economic mess. But still, it's hard not to smile when the haters fall on hard times!

Toon: Victims of Gay Rage!

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I am SO sick of those stupid stories. Where's my tiny, tiny violin?

Tearjerker "Don't Divorce Us" Video

I saw this video from the Courage Campaign (petition here) over on Pam's House Blend and had to share. It's mostly just simple family photos sent in by same-sex couples in California (and/or their friends and kids and parents) holding up signs reading "Don't Divorce Us." Sniff... Best have tissues to hand for this one.

Toon: Historic Day

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You get the idea.

Toon: Rick Warren is a CUTER Kind of HATER!

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Aw, don't you just want to pinch his bigoted cheeks?!

Masheka and I went to the Light Up the Night for Equality March/Rally this weekend in Manhattan--it was supposed to be a silent candle-lit vigil for the couples in California who lost marriage equality rights, but it ended up being a much more lively and angry chanting type of thing, with lots of "Hey hey! Ho ho! Rick Warren has go to go!" and "2! 4! 6! 8! Separation of Church and State!" and so forth. Very cold but our anger kept us warm.

For more on Warren, see the Rachel Maddow video I linked to earlier, and this excellent piece in the LA Times by Katha Pollitt.

Also, this cartoon and this issue relate closely to my "The Milk Effect" cartoon, particularly to the line "Fuck tolerance for the intolerant."

Update: Laura Kiritsy, my editor at Bay Windows also alerted me to Derrick Jackson's "Obama's Bad Judgment on Warren". Here's a great quote that relates to my cartoon:

Warren waxed, "Now here's an interesting thing. There are about 2 percent of Americans, are homosexual or gay, lesbian people. We should not let 2 percent of the population determine, to change a definition of marriage that has been supported by every single culture and every single religion for 5,000 years. This is not even just a Christian issue, it's a humanitarian, a human issue."

A humanitarian issue! Like what? The corruption catastrophe in Zimbabwe? An earthquake in China? Hurricane Katrina? You have to be kidding. Invoking such imagery sunk Warren down into the pits with the late Jerry Falwell, who claimed that divesting from apartheid South Africa was inhumane. "Disinvestment will bring unemployment, unrest, anger and bloodshed," Falwell said.

Rachel Maddow on Obama Throwing Gays Under the Bus...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I'm really glad I'm not going to the inauguration anymore (though it might have been nice to do some protesting). I'm saddened and enraged and I'm not listening to one more word of that lying fake's goddamn audiobook.

Obama had the GALL to defend his choice of a hateful fundamentalist bigot who compares being gay to pedophilia and bestiality by talking about "diversity", "inclusivity" and "the magic of this country" or some nonsense. Really? REALLY? It's MAGICAL and INCLUSIVE to give a prominent role in your inaugural ceremony to a hatemongering misogynist bigot? This quote is priceless--and scary, as he indicates that the makeup of his inaugural is a foreshadowing of how he plans to govern:

That's part of the magic of this country, is that we are diverse and noisy and opinionated,” he added. “That's the spirit in which, you know, we have put together what I think will be a terrific inauguration. And that's, hopefully, going to be a spirit that carries over into my administration.”

Rick Warren doesn't just have nice little opinions he shares in a nice respectful way. Rick Warren was a MAJOR force in a successful campaign to discriminate against millions of Americans (Prop 8, obviously).

Also, Obama has the gall to claim he's still a "fierce" advocate of gay equality--apparently extending to allowing a gay marching band to participate in the festivities.

Where was his inclusivity and magic and diversity and fierce advocacy when he decided NOT to appoint any openly LGBT people to a cabinet or staff post in his administration?

Are any of you still full of Obama hopes and dreams? Hell, he hasn't even STARTED yet and I'm already sick to my stomach with Clinton deja vu.

Hate is not magical. Much much more analysis, links and so forth on this topic on Pam's House Blend.

Hope and change, my ass.

Toon: The Milk Effect

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I told you I liked that movie. Seriously, go see it. And in case you're confused by the Anita Bryant pie reference, here's the YouTube:

Prop 8, the musical

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... by Jack Black

In case you haven't seen this yet. With Margaret Cho, Maya Rudolph, Neal Patrick Harris, and more!

Of course, the silly idea that LGBT rights should be fought for because they're good for the economy is pretty F-ed up (justice is justice and rights are rights), but I don't think it's meant seriously here.

_ is not the new black and other thoughts from Holly at Feministe

My carpal tunnel problems keep my blogosphere browsing time to a minimum, but I wanted to highlight two recentish posts by Holly over at Feministe: What's in a Name?" (regarding some good news for transgender folks seeking name changes in New York State) and Really? The last? Really? (about the Advocate's awful "Gay is the New Black" cover).

By the way, the good news about name changes is due to the hard work of the excellent Sylvia Rivera Law Project, in case you're looking for worthy causes for year-end donations.

Milk!

Run, do not stroll or amble, to your local MILK-showing theatre. It'll give you a serious urge to march in the streets. SO good. Then go rent the equally awesome Oscar-winning 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk.

To those of you who've already seen either or both films, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Florida gay adoption ban ruled unconstitutional!

FINALLY. Of course, that doesn't help kids or prospective adoptive or foster parents suffering under Arkansas' newly-approved ban, but still. I hope Anita Bryant is crying.

If you haven't seen them before, you might want to check out a few of my adoption-related cartoons, including one specifically about the Florida ban: "Operation Heterosexual Freedom", "Stop Republican Adoption" and "The Saved Children" (a reference to Ms. Bryant's bigoted so-called "Save the Children" campaign).

Toon: The Blame Game

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I'll have more thoughts on Proposition 8 and all of this divide-and-conquer bullshit later.

In the meantime, Barry has three excellent roundups of links/posts/articles about the awful "blame black folks" meme and the nasty "black people are all homophobes" meme or the ridiculous "there's a black vs. gay war" meme: "If you call me a faggot, I will call you a...", "Two more posts on blaming the brown," and "Prop 8: The Rush To Blame The Brown People."

Toon: The Dream and the Nightmare

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Yes, I cried during Obama's speech. I actually also got up and danced around the room at 11 when CNN called the election. I'm sure I'll be jaded and cynical about the whole thing in no time, but I was definitely pinching myself in thrilled disbelief that night, and I even wore a sparkly sequined blue skirt and red sweater the next day (for real).

By the way, this is of course the same couple I drew reacting to Obama's likely nomination back in June. They were pretty psyched at the time about the possibility of marriage equality in California, but that dream is now deferred (hell, STOLEN), thanks to the efforts of some well-funded bigots.

P.S. No, Obama's election does NOT prove that racism is dead. And I'm kinda annoyed with the editorial cartoonists who never draw anyone of color in their cartoons EVER unless the cartoon is about race who are suddenly drawing touchy-feely multicultural cartoons where black parents tell their kids that they too can grow up to be president, etc. Seriously--if you only ever draw white people as the "everyday" Americans reacting to the news, you're just part of the freakin' problem. Also, I just don't want to see a single other editorial cartoon involving the goddamn Lincoln memorial.

Toon: Defenders of 1913!

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This cartoon probably seems a bit obscure if you don't live in Massachusetts (or possibly New York). Basically, although same-sex marriage has been legal for Massachusetts residents since 2004, out-of-state couples have been out of luck—until now.

An archaic 1913 law still on the books prohibited couples whose marriages were not legal in their home states from marrying in Massachusetts. The law (which ex-Governor and wouldbe Vice President Mitt Romney was a big fan of!) was likely designed to prevent out-of-state interracial marriages.

I drew this cartoon when a repeal was being considered. Since then the Senate has repealed it and now it's up to the House. It's believed that thousands of New York residents would get married (and spend their wedding dollars) in Massachusetts. Good riddance to bad legal rubbish!

Toon: Political Dads with Lesbian Daughters: A Field Guide

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Oh my goodness, Deval Patrick is just too awesome—and apparently the awesomeness doesn't fall far from the tree. The newish governor of Massachusetts has been fighting for LGBT rights since long before his brave teenage daughter came out to him as a lesbian, too, which makes this story even cooler. Also, the Bay Windows interview with Patrick and his daughter ("With love and pride, Governor Deval Patrick’s daughter comes out publicly") in which Gov. Patrick tears up made me tear up like the sentimental woman I'm usually not.

And yes, this was a Father's Day- + Pride Month-themed cartoon, I'm just posting it late.

Toon: And now for a brief moment of sunshine...

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Longtime readers may find this hard to believe, but when I heard Obama would be the nominee, I TOTALLY had a brief moment of optimism... which was only compounded when I heard California had gone for marriage equality and that New York Governor David Paterson had decreed that California/Canada/Massachusetts marriages would be legal in New York.

Seriously, I was upbeat and smiling and dancing around my apartment for nearly a MINUTE before I remembered that the economy is collapsing, the planet is warming and we're all DOOMED.

Also, I like drawing (and wearing) stripes and spirals. That is all.

Marriage Equality Victory in Caliornia!

The California Supreme Court has ruled that prohibiting same-sex marriage is unconstitutional!

R.I.P., Mildred Loving

You've probably all heard about this already, but Mildred Loving (of the famous Loving vs. Virginia Supreme Court case that legalized interracial marriage) died last Friday. Here's a snippet from a much-quoted recent statement by Ms. Loving, "Loving for All", made on the 40th anniversary of her landmark case:

Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.

I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.

Toon: A Few Reasons Why (We Need a Transgender Rights Bill)

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We need it NOW. Or yesterday, preferably.

Toon: The Joys of Tax Time!

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As you may recall, Masheka and I got married last year. So, as a married male/female couple, we had the experience of filing our taxes jointly this year, which made it much easier to account for our cartooning deductions and calculate everything and definitely saved us a heap of change.

But of course our bigoted laws don't allow same-sex couples (or domestic partners of any gender) to file joint returns or get all the benefits and protections that come with that legal status--even for couples married in Masschuestts who get those protections and benefits at the state level.

As a side note, I just felt like randomly drawing a really tiny kitten into this cartoon because kittens are fun to draw, much more fun to draw than politicians.

Toon: When Good Dates Go Bad

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This was my Valentine's Day offering.

Toon: Our Sexy President

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Obama's great on LGBT rights in general (and even speaks out specifically about gender identity and discrimination against transgender people), but he really sucks when it comes to marriage equality. Same with Hillary. Yes, I'm catching up and posting my cartoons from the last month or so.

Toon: Why It's Called the "Straight" Talk Express

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I don't get it. Why do so many liberals still love John McCain? He's anti-choice and anti-gay and a true conservative Republican in many other ways as well. Boo to John McCain!

Oh, and this robocall thing is real. Via Politico, here's the actual wording of those robocalls:

We care deeply about traditional values and protecting families. And we need someone who will not waver in the White House: Ending abortion, preserving the sanctity of marriage, stopping the trash on the airwaves and attempts to ban God from every corner of society. These issues are core to our being.

"Mitt Romney thinks he can fool us. He supported abortion on demand, even allowed a law mandating taxpayer-funding for abortion. He says he changed his mind, but he still hasn’t changed the law. He told gay organizers in Massachusetts he would be a stronger advocate for special rights than even Ted Kennedy. Now, it’s something different.

"Unfortunately, on issue after issue Mitt Romney has treated social issues voters as fools, thinking we won’t catch on. Sorry, Mitt, we know you aren’t trustworthy on the most important issue and you aren’t a conservative

"Paid for by John McCain 2008.

Warm & Fuzzy Holiday Moment #153

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Feel the ex-gay love. This was from December, of course.

New Toon: Mitt vs. Mike in Extreme Godmania Smackdown!

Mitt vs. Mike in Extreme Godmania Smackdown!
Originally uploaded by M1khaela

It's "Rowdy" Mitt Romney vs. Mike "The Minister" Huckabee!

This is a cartoon from December I hadn't gotten around to posting. Are you as scared of these dudes as I am?

Cover Girl: The Wedding (Equality) Party

Here's a year-end cover illustration I did for Bay Windows. The cover celebrates the people who furthered LGBT rights in Massachusetts in 2007, such as new governor Deval Patrick. Massachusetts is so much awesomer without Mitt Romney around--lets hope he totally fails in his presidential ambitions, too!

And here was my initial rough sketch:

Calendar Girl: Get Your 2008 Lambda Legal calendar featuring my cartoons!

June: the perfect time to learn about sodomy laws!

The awesome LGBT rights organization Lambda Legal has put together a beautiful 2008 calendar featuring the cartoons from the Life Without Fair Courts Series (most drawn by me, but also some by Greg Fox, Ted Rall, Matt Bors and others!). Learn about a different crucial Supreme Court victory each month--and what might have happened had it gone the wrong way. The money raised goes to Lambda Legal's vital work, of course.

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2007

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2007 Cartoon

November 20 is an annual day for remembering those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. See http://www.gender.org/remember for more information.

Toon: Barney Frank and the Slippery Split-ENDA Slope

Barney Frank and the Slippery Split-ENDA Slope

Regarding Rep. Barney Frank's divisive and disgusting decision to kick transgender people out of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Pelosi and Frank sell out transgender workers

What Ampersand said.

New Toon: When Opposites Attract

When Opposites Attract
Originally uploaded by M1khaela.

Honestly, this wasn't really about fundamentalists or Reaganites, I just wanted to draw a cartoon with a freegan in it. And despite a recent violent and prolonged personal bout with food poisoning, I support freeganism--there's a lot of good, edible food that gets wasted--just not for myself and my delicate digestive system!

Regrettable Wedding Trends

Regrettable Wedding Trends
Originally uploaded by M1khaela.

I'm only half mocking. If I thought our cats could have handled ring bearing duties, I might have considered it. We didn't have any candles, but we did break a glass and get picked up in chairs, and it was super, super fun.

marriage equality victory

I've of course been silent here because Masheka and I are getting married in a few days myself, so I was SOOOOO excited to hear about Lambda Legal's successful case in Iowa. The Supreme Court in Iowa has ruled that a same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.

Aside from that, have I mentioned I have FOOD POISONING? (my advice: stay AWAY from salad bars). But nothing's going to stop me from having some of the delicious wedding cake my mom is making.

You'll hear more from me in a few weeks!

Correction: It wasn't the Supreme Court--and I think it's been overruled somehow now. Sigh.

Mikhaela in the news: "Hitting the funny bone"

Ethan Jacobs has a cool piece in Bay Windows this week about the Life Without Fair Courts contest, with a good dabble of quotes from me. Here's one segment:

Reid said the five finalists took very different approaches to tackling the subject of fair courts. Rall, Fox and Bors all painted nightmarish visions of a world without a fair judicial system, with gay couples exiled to Antarctica and people thrown in jail for either engaging in or facilitating sodomy. By contrast, Johannsen and Cruté used a more personal perspective, showing how a lack of legal protections would impact their own lives as an M-to-F lesbian transwoman and a bisexual woman respectively. Reid said the contest is a great way to acquaint people with cartoonists like Johannsen and Cruté who do not yet have a large following.

And

Reid said that Lambda Legal selected her in part because much of her own work focused on similar themes as the Life Without Fair Courts campaign.

“I have a somewhat dystopian view in a lot of my cartoons of what the future looks like when we have people in charge who do not care about equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people,” said Reid.

Don't forget to cast YOUR vote!

New Toon: New York vs. Boston, the other rivalry

Forget Yankees vs. Red Sox: let's fight over who's more pro-gay!

Whenever New Yorkers ask me where I'm from, and I say "Massachusetts," many say something like "Oh, so you're a RED SOX fan" in the tone reserved for statements like "Oh, SO YOU'VE GOT A TERMINAL ILLNESS." Thing is, I'm not an anything fan. The only sports news items that even tangentially impinged on my world in recent memory were the homophobic comments of basketball player Tim Hardaway, the awesome activisim of newly out gay basketball player John Amaechi, and the coming out story of openly transsexual sportswriter Christine Daniels.

Still, this cartoon has been rattling around in my head for a while and finally decided to rattle its way out.

Come on, New York, step up your pro-LGBT game! Don't let jerks like New York Republican State Senate leader Joe Bruno squash marriage equality! It is Pride month, after all.

Kissing gay teens getting kicked off busses, out of yearbooks

What is up with this bigoted nonsense and this bigoted nonsense? Leave the gay and bisexual teens to kiss in peace like their straight peers, people!

If I were a parent in Portland, I'd be horrified that two 14-year-olds girls were kicked off a bus and stranded in the street by a bigoted bus driver. Even more crazy, the girls were on their way to the LGBT youth center. MESSED UP.

Spotlight on Astrid Lydia Johannsen: Perfectionist Cartoonist Claims I Inspired Her to Start Graphic Novel

Panels from an episode of "Absolutely True Tales of Lesbian" Drama in which Aziza tries to defend Astrid from a transphobic woman... click to see full comic on Lydia's site.

Do I ever have the warm fuzzies! I first discovered the cartoons of Astrid Lydia Johannsen back in 2003, when she was drawing AstroGirlX2, a comic about her coffee-drinking transsexual lipstick lesbian drag king cartoon alter-ego, Astrid. I was sad when she took a hiatus from drawing (apparently she was busy studying Unix and religion in Oregon) and much cheered when she began posting her current strip, "Absolutely True Tales of Lesbian Drama."

Lydia is an amazingly talented illustrator and cartoonist whose lush color vector drawings inspire fits of jealous rage. But she has a problem common to many artists: insane perfectionism. I was getting really sick of her posting beautiful drawings and then commenting that they looked like crap, so I electronically browbeat her into entering Lambda Legal's Life Without Fair Courts Contest--in which she was named one of five finalists!

Well, now Lydia says being a finalist has given her a boot in the ass to start her graphic novel! But she says she's still worried about perfectionism, to which I say, hogwash! Go show Lydia some love by leaving nice comments in her blog. Tell her perfectionism is silly--you just have to draw your cartoons, and not worry if they're perfect, cause you can always draw another cartoon tomorrow.

New Toon: Alberto Gonzales's Civil Rights Lite: Taking the "Justice" Out of Justice Department!

Taste the new "Justice" Department's Civil Rights Division Lite! Now with 99% less: hate crimes prosecution, voting rights enforcement and police brutality investigations! Super-Action-Packed with Loyal Bushies, Wiretapping and Religious Extremists! It's a Yum-Tastic Justice Department makeover!

The Bush administration has laid waste to the Justice Department on a large scale, as the scandals over the replacement of high-performing federal prosecutors with "loyal Bushies" and that whole warrantless wiretapping nastiness have shown.

The Bush makeover of the Civil Rights Division is similarly extreme. The pre-Bush Justice Department Civil Rights Division was founded in 1957. The Division protected voting rights and enforced anti-discrimination laws, with a particular focus on discrimination based on race and national origin. From the Division website:

The Division enforces the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1968; the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended through 1992; the Equal Credit Opportunity Act; the Americans with Disabilities Act; the National Voter Registration Act; the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act; and additional civil rights provisions contained in other laws and regulations. These laws prohibit discrimination in education, employment, credit, housing, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and certain federally funded and conducted programs.

Or do they? Under Bush and Gonzales, Justice has shifting funding, focus and resources to more Dubyafied priorities. As the New York Times reported this week ("Justice Dept. Reshapes Its Civil Rights Mission"):

In recent years, the Bush administration has recast the federal government’s role in civil rights by aggressively pursuing religion-oriented cases while significantly diminishing its involvement in the traditional area of race.

Read the whole article, but here are some particular horrors:

DISCRIMINATION

The old Civil Rights Division (Civil Rights Clasic, if you will) fought discrimination in hiring. The Civil Rights Lite Division defends the right of religious groups like the Salvation Army to discriminate (see "Charity Cites Bush Help in Fight Against Hiring Gays" and "Court OKs Religious Hiring Bias by Federally Backed Charities").

HATE CRIMES

Civil Rights Classic lent federal enforcement weight to the prosecution of hate crimes cases: KKK attacks, lynchings, and more. Civil Rights Lite has diverted that funding to a pet cause of the Christian Right. Again from the NYT, the Civil Rites Lite Division is...

Taking on far fewer hate crimes and cases in which local law enforcement officers may have violated someone’s civil rights. The resources for these traditional cases have instead been used to investigate trafficking cases, typically involving foreign women used in the sex trade, a favored issue of the religious right.

Certainly trafficking cases deserve funding--but not at the expense of victims of racism, hate crimes and police brutality. Trafficking cases used to and should be handled elsewhere.

VOTING RIGHTS

Civil Rights Classic defended the voting rights of people of color. Civil Rites Lite suppresses the voting rights people of color through new voter ID requirements and baseless "voter fraud" case--and has even pursued its first claim of voter intimidation against white people. As John Nichols writes in The Nation ("Curing the Rot at Justice"):

The Brennan Center for Justice and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law have uncovered evidence of what they describe as "a much broader strategy on the part of the Administration to use federal agencies charged with protecting voting rights to promote voter suppression and influence election rules so as to gain partisan advantage in battleground states." There is now a compelling case that the White House used the Justice Department's Civil Rights and Criminal divisions and the Election Assistance Commission to create a false perception of widespread voter fraud to justify initiatives--stringent voter identification laws, crackdowns on voter registration drives and pre-election purges of eligible voters from the rolls--designed to disenfranchise the poor, minorities, students and seniors.

The New York Times reports on this as well. Civil Rights Lite is:

Sharply reducing the complex lawsuits that challenge voting plans that might dilute the strength of black voters. The department initiated only one such case through the early part of this year, compared with eight in a comparable period in the Clinton administration.

Trouble is, only the federal government has the resources to deal with these voting dilution cases. Oh well--it's not like black voters get disenfranchised anymore, right? Too bad, but they've got a new kind of case to focus on:

The civil rights division also brought the first case ever on behalf of white voters, alleging in 2005 that a black political leader in Noxubee County, Miss., was intimidating whites at the polls.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM TRUMPS ALL OTHER FREEDOMS

But back to the Salvation Army. If you visit the Justice Department website, you'll read very little about racist discrimination and the ongoing disenfranchisement of voters of color. Instead, you read about this exciting "special initiative" from Alberto "Geneva Conventions Are Quaint" Gonzales, "The First Freedom Project":

Religious liberty is often referred to as the "First Freedom" because the Framers placed it first in the Bill of Rights. Yet it is not merely first in order: it is a fundamental freedom on which so many of our other freedoms rest.

Forget freedom of speech, forget freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, and most especially freedom from unreasonable search and seizure: the first and most important freedom is the freedom of religious organizations to receive government funding for firing gay people.

Some of the other evidence of Civil Rights Lite cited by the New York Times:

Supporting groups that want to send home religious literature with schoolchildren; in one case, the government helped win the right of a group in Massachusetts to distribute candy canes as part of a religious message that the red stripes represented the blood of Christ.

Conservative religious groups who love the taste of Civil Rights Lite say that the weight of the federal government is no longer needed to combat racism and discrimination--silly stuff like that can be left up to local authorities. Of course, local authorities often lack the resources, will or perspective to fight racism. Historically, local authorities in the South often deliberately turned their backs on racist attacks and civil rights violations, and I'm not so sure those days are totally behind us. And that whole federal ignoring of civil rights and the issues of black people worked out great during Katrina, didn't it?

HIRING LOYAL BUSHIES

Oh, and then there's the hiring thing. We all remember sweet little Monica "I crossed the line" Goodling, trying so hard to make everything harmonious at Justice by hiring only "loyal Bushies". The NYT analyzed department statistics and found that Civil Rights Classic hired lawyers with impressive backgrounds and qualifications. Civil Rights Lite hires lawyers from religious law schools (like Pat Robertson's academically questionable Regent Law) who play up their conservative and religious credentials as much as possible.

Finally, while we're on the topic of Civil Rights, I figured I'd close with Bush channeling his role model Martin Luther King, Jr.:

Cross-posted at Search and Destroy.

P.S. Have you bought Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela! Cartoons by Mikhaela B. Reid (with foreword by Ted Rall) yet? Why not?

Morning gay-hate mail

From my inbox this morning, Lisa Labowski has this charming contribution:

Gays only have THREE rights: 1. the right to STAY IN THE CLOSET!!!, 2. the right to SHUT THE @#$$ UP, and 3. the right to BURN IN HELL!!!!

Show your bigot pride, sister!

Take That, Bigots! Massachusetts Defeats Anti-Gay Amendment 45-151!

My home state kicks ass! From Bay Windows:

In the June 14 constitutional convention, state lawmakers defeated the proposed amendment to the constitution that would have taken away the civil right to marry from same-sex couples. The final tally on the measure was 45 in favor and 151 against. The amendment needed just 50 votes to pass. The vote came just five months after the first vote by lawmakers on the amendment in which 62 lawmakers backed it.

The Democratic presidential candidates may be too wimpy to stand for marriage equality, but Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and House Speaker DiMasi aren't! I heart Patrick and DiMasi! From the Boston Globe:

The vote came without debate after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Senate President Therese Murray, and Governor Deval Patrick conferred this morning and concluded that they have the votes to kill the proposal.

"Today's vote was not just a victory for marriage equality, it was a victory for equality itself," Patrick told reporters as cheers echoed in the State House. "Whenever we affirm the equality of anyone, we affirm the equality of everyone."

The three leaders - along with gay rights activists - spent the last several days intensely lobbying a dozen or more state representatives and state senators who had previously supported the amendment but signaled that they were open to changing their positions.

Legacies, or Some Day, They're Really Going to Feel Like Fools

Cross-posted at Search and Destroy: The Rallblog

Marriage equality: yet another arena in which the Democrats are missing a spine.

40 years ago yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled in Loving vs. Virginia that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. The Loving decision invalidated the "Racial Integrity Act" that allowed Virginia cops to bust into the bedroom of Richard and Mildred Loving, arrest them for "illegal cohabitation" and sentence them to a year in jail.

Can you imagine the leading Democratic candidates getting up at a campaign stop today and hemming and hawing out the following nonsense?

I believe in full equality of benefits, nothing left out...From my perspective there is a greater likelihood of us getting to that point in interracial civil unions or domestic partnerships and that is my very considered assessment.

or

It's a jump for me to get to interracial marriage. I haven't yet got across that bridge.

or how about

I would not support the Defense of Racial Integrity Act today, if there were a vote today. But the part I agree with is the states should not be required to recognize interracial marriages from other states.

Those are all paraphrases of actual statements on gay marriage from Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. Obama has similar views. (found via Pam's House Blend, an excellent LGBT issues blog that regularly checks in on all the candidate's positions on marriage equality).

Some folks say the Democrats have no choice but to tone down their support of gay rights to appeal to religious voters or values voters. But is that the kind of visionary progressive leadership we want to promote?

Decades from now, the people who were too afraid to support full equality for gay Americans are going to look like spineless sheep, and rightly so. I can see the history books now "The Democrats bravely passed non-binding resolutions, courageously voted to fund an illicit war they claimed to oppose, did nothing of any note to remove an Attorney General with a serious torture fetish and tentatively supported domestic partnership benefits while opposing real marriage equality." Now that's a legacy we can all be proud of! As Susan Ryan-Vollmar wrote in her Bay Windows editorial last week (regarding a possible constitutional ban on gay marriage in Massachusetts):

Twenty years from now, when their time in office has long since ended, those lawmakers who back the anti-gay amendment June 14 will still be asked about their vote by their grandchildren, their neighbors and even reporters writing anniversary pieces. Trying to explain that they supported marriage equality but believed the civil marriage rights of same-sex couples should be decided by popular vote will sound even more disingenuous several decades from now than it does today.

Loving v. Virginia toon for Lambda Legal + Vote in Illustration Contest

OK, technically the 40th anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision on interracial marriage was yesterday, but still, happy Loving Day! Here's the Loving toon I did for Lambda Legal's Life Without Fair Courts cartoon series (click to enlarge and read more about the case): And here are some more of my latest cartoons from the series:
Life Without the Right to Counsel: Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 (1972)
Life Without Equal Educational Opportunities: United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515 (1996)
Life Without Peaceful Protests: Edwards v. South Carolina, 372 U.S. 229 (1963)
Life Without Access to Contraceptives: Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972)

Finally, there's a cool Life Without Fair Courts illustration contest going on that needs your vote! Check out the awesome entries by the five finalists (Greg Fox, Matt Bors, Jennifer Cruté, Ted Rall and Astrid Lydia Johanssen) and cast your vote today!