The Advocate has a story today that claims that "70% of LGBT people surveyed favor passing a non-inclusive ENDA over passing nothing at all."

The poll specifically asked "This proposal would make it illegal to fire gay, lesbian, and bisexual workers because of their sexual orientation. This proposal does not include people who are transgender. Would you favor or oppose this proposal moving forward?"

There's a lot more going on there than HRC is admitting, and the question is incredibly misleading.

Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, a national group that advocates for marriage equality, has an entry at Huffington Post talking about the Let California Ring "campaign" for marriage equality in California.

Wolfson claims that LCR will be successful because "talking about change makes it."  

....really? Really?

On Thursday, LGBT people got a huge victory when the Senate passed the Matthew Shephard Act, which added sexual orientaiton and gender identity and expression to existing hate crimes statutes.

Also on Thursday, the LGBT community received word that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is to be stripped of language that protects people based on gender identity/expression, and will instead only include protections based on sexual orientation.

Sign up to show your support for the trans-inclusive ENDA: www.NoSubstitutes.org.

Jon Hoadley, a 2005 YP4 fellow and a 2006 FLLA fellow, has been named the executive director of National Stonewall Democrats, a national LGBT Democrats group.

Click below the fold for more info.

Congratulations, Jon!

CNN has a story today on the Real ID act of 2005, which is an effort to create a national database of drivers' license information.

Some states have passed symbolic measures condeming the centralization of what is meant to be in state control, with some going so far as to make compliance illegal.  Other states have passed legislation praising the system...and most states are still somewhere in between.

For citizens of states who do not comply with the program, they'll be required to use a passport for any federal purpose...entering a federal building, boarding a plane...or having a picnic in a national park.

A couple months ago, I talked a bit about how I wish cadidates (especially presidential candidates) who talk about progressive ideas would sound at least a little passionate about it.  I talked about how tired I am of choosing the lesser of two evils.

I don't know that I feel any differently about any of the current candidates, but the second convening of the 2007 Front Line Leaders Academy definately gave me hope for passionate candidates in the near future.

Yesterday, a fellow fellow passed this on to me.  I couldn't believe what I was reading...

Black students being threatened for sitting under the "white" tree?

Black students being told by the district attorney that he could "end [their] lives with the stroke of a pen"?

Black students being unfairly accused and convicted of murder by all-white juries, while their public "defenders" literally did nothing?

It's all too true.  Click below the fold for the text of the email I received.  Visit colorofchange.org to express your outrage to Louisana's governor and the racist district attorney, and to pass the story along to everyone you know.

Let California Ring is a proactive public education campaign that's working in CA to get a majority of people to support the freedom to marry.

Click below the fold to watch the video that's changing hearts and minds.

For the first time in a very long time, Congress has the opportunity to get rid of abstinence-only sex ed, and could instead choose to arm students with information about making responsible sexual choices.  Title V, which is millions in federal funding that goes to districts who "teach" abstinence, is up for renewal right now.

House Democrats could choose to let it expire, and to pass real reform.  Too bad they're caving to the right and are working instead to not only fully fund it, but to give it a $27 million increase.

With the presidential campaign gearing up, I feel awkward that I haven't gotten behind a candidate yet.  I'm not really even leaning one way or another.

I think part of the reason is that they all sound sound pretty much the same when they speak, and frankly, it's boring.