My New York: A Saturday outing

I haven't done one of these as of late so let me share what yesterday was like.

Dog, hm, Dogg, er, no, Doug suggested we hit the Metropolitan Museum of Art yesterday since their "Superheros: Fashion or Fantasy" exhibit was closing this month (tomorrow, actually, is the last day). Let's say that it was a bit underwhelming and that I can't really show you much of what we saw (mostly because they forbid any picture taking). Here is the only photo I took.
It had been a while since I'd been at the Met so having exhausted the limited possibilities of the 3-room Superhero exhibit, we were free to check out the museum's other wings. Doug foolishly let me lead the way. Here is what we saw.
1. Butt: Yes. Lotsa rock-hard booty. And it didn't seem to matter if you were from ancient Greece, Egypt or Asia. It seemed everyone throughout history was entranced by butt. You know those headphones they give you at museum exhibits to listen to guided museum tours? Someone should make one that explains "Booty throughout history."

2. Pipi Longstockings: I could be wrong here. Still, Doug and I were pretty certain it was Pipi Longstockings for realz! But it might also have been that girl in the Wendy's ads? In any case, I was thrilled. And so was Doug.

3. My next hair-do: I think it looks pretty hot! I'm certain that it will make me look better as well. PLUS, it's art! So I can certainly show his pee-pee, even if it's been chopped.

4. Butt-sniffing: OK, if I seem fixated on a single topic today, that is not my intention. I'm just reporting what we saw.

5. Inexplicable Smurfs, Smurfettes, cows, elephants and critters: You know? I have to admit that I am a Creationist (just like VP candidate Sarah Palin!). Why? It's simple! How can evolution explain the images above at the same time that it says that television did not exist in these cultures? Obviously there HAD to be some Sunday funnies on TV back then. And humans stood next to dinosaurs. Right?

6. One drag queen. Yes, just one.

7. Personal highlight of the day: Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the biggest thrill of the day was found - surprisingly - in the most boring wing of the museum - The American Wing. Shockingly this painting provides evidence that a) Matthew Broderick was alive and well in the 1,800's which is creepy in itself and b) HE LOOKED EXACTLY THE SAME AS HE DOES TODAY which is far creepier (no wonder the kid looks horrified). Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller...

8. Fun Slide! So having did the museum, we headed into Central Park. We checked out the rides at the park's small amusement park: Someone certainly seemed to be having an "extra fun-fun" fun time at the Fun Slide...

9. Not so "extra fun-fun" fun time beef jerky: We also ran into blogger Joe.My.God who was having little success ripping open a pack of delicious beef jerky for doggies... to much salivating concern from all doggies in the vicinity.

10. Dog, hm, Dogg, er, no, Doug. And kitty.

11. Mission accomplished, Brownie! And the rest, as they say, is history (fake smile and all). Much, MUCH more here.

UPDATE: To the person who left the - ehem - "anonymous" comment - Coolest guy I know? Hm, I wouldn't go that far. He certainly is the most punk rock, though.

Mexico: What not to do if you get gored in the butt by a bull's horn

In 2007 one of the many who were wounded was a man who was gored a few centimeters from the anus. When the medical personnel began to evaluate his injury, the individual pulled out his IV-tubes, the serum bag, and took an aggressive stand, demanding - in an advanced state of intoxication - that those procedures be undertaken by a female doctor because he was not maricón [fag] - From an August 22nd article in Mexico's @-Consulta newspaper asking individuals not to participate in an annual bull-run if they have had too many drinks or are too out of shape to escape the bulls' path.

Lucha Libre: A Maximo sighting!

From Midwestener in Mexico: The Life and Times of a Gringa in Mexico City:

The [lucha libre] matches themselves were great/hilarious. Very acrobatic with lots of aerial moves. Brilliant masks and outfits. Even jumps off of the ropes onto the ground outside the ring. A few of the animal-themed highlights were el Tigre Blanco (the White Tiger) with tiger stripes on all his clothes & fur on his mask, and the Blue Panther, whose blue-paw-print speckled tights were vaguely reminiscent of my junior high school mascot (go Barr Bulldogs!!), except for the fact that he seemed to be wearing an adult diaper over them. The other two I found most amusing were Alex Koslov (”The Russian”), who elicited swoons from all the ladies in the crowd because he was the first fighter who looked ripped (i.e. no backfat/beer belly), and Maximo, the “gay luchador”, who came out wearing some sort of one-shouldered leotard number with a fringey skirt. Maximo shrieked whenever he was hit & added the constant threat of kissing/inappropriately touching his opponents. He had the entire crowd chanting “beso, beso” (kiss, kiss). Check out an entertaining video of his antics courtesy blog Blabbeando here or a photo here.

OMG! I know we really shouldn't. But we LOVE Maximo. Let's see if I ever get to see him live (thanks for linking up to Blabbeando, Julie!).

Ben Smith: Daddy Yankee tried to endorse Obama before endorsing McCain

And, regarding the endorsement of John McCain by reggaeton star Daddy Yankee, how could things not get even funnier?

If you missed it: On Monday Republican presidential candidate John McCain made a special appearance at Central High School in Phoenix, AZ - where his wife Cindy graduated in 1972 - and brought out Daddy Yankee for a public endorsement in front of 120 cheering students.

That afternoon I translated an excerpt from "Latigazo" - just one of Daddy Yankee's many raunchy songs (in it, he describes being with a woman who enjoys being hit, slapped, whipped and punched in and out of bed and sings about asking her to kiss a good buddy of his) - and wondered about the stupidity of staging an endorsement by such a misogynist recording artist at a high-school!

For Daddy Yankee the endorsement was supposedly all about McCain's track record on immigration issues (never mind that in moving to the right he has dropped most of his pro-immigration stands) and a Latina.com article says this of Daddy Yankee: "When we asked if he had plans to meet with Democratic candidate Barack Obama, Yankee responded with a curt, 'No.'"

Curtness indeed! Today Ben Smith at Politico says this:

A Democratic Party source tells me a representative for Daddy Yankee approached Obama's Latino outreach staffers earlier this year about possibly endorsing Obama. But he didn't pass the vetting, and Obama's aides said they weren't interested in his support. So, apparently, he moved over to McCain.

So here is John McCain, cluelessly walking into what seems to be an attempt by Daddy Yankee to use the presidential race to get publicity for his sputtering career. Damn! Just who is vetting who at the McCain camp?

If this had been an Obama endorsement event Fox News and the right-wing radio chatterers would be going crazy with this. And, as silly as it may be, you do have to wonder just how seriously clueless the McCain campaign is.

UPDATES: Fox News pipes up! If only to say that Daddy Yankee is denying he ever approached the Obama camp (no mention of his songs' lyrics though).

Also, there is a Hispanic Ledareship Fund press release out saying that Daddy Yankee will be headlining a Fiesta Latina concert on the opening night of the Republican National Convention (Sept. 1).

In the meantime, recording artist Fat Joe tells MTV that Daddy Yankee is a sell-out.

FACEBOOK GROUP: By the way, there is now a Latinos who reject Daddy Yankee's endorsement of McCain Facebook Group.

SIDE-NOTE: Ben Smith's original post on Politico was titled "Obama rebuffed by Yankee Daddy" which he quickly changed to Daddy Yankee when someone pointed out his mistake which shows how little about Latino pop culture some of of the most read bloggers know out there. Then there's Wonkette who says: "It was confusing when Hispanic rapper guy Daddy Yankee endorsed John McCain in person the other day, because who is Daddy Yankee?" which is actually a common sentiment out there as well. If you haven't heard about Daddy Yankee, then he must be a nobody, right?

RELATED:

• Barack Obama didn't want Daddy Yankee's endorsement anyway (Guanabee)
• Not all Latinos support Abuelo Yankee (Reggaetronica)
  

Peru: Gay students pulled out of school after being caught in compromising situation

Another update: In April I wrote about a decision by a local court in Colombia ordering a large all-girls' school to welcome back two students who were kicked out because they were a lesbian couple (the school's principal argued that they were kicked out due to behavior problems but the court ruled that they had been rejected for showing affection towards each other).

The ruling drew national attention when reporters captured images of the angry mobs that greeted the two students when they went to register for the new semester. Their first day of class did not bring as much hostility but few schoolmates expressed any support. In a brave interview given to a national television news show one of the girls said that few of their former friends would even approach them now but, with support of their parents, both had decided to stick it through and finish their high-school degree at the institution.

In July I wrote about a similar case in Peru at an all-boys' school where an internal investigation had been launched into reports that two high-school seniors had been caught in a compromising situation. The sketchy details about the case came from a Destapa newspaper article which referred to an unspecified "homosexual act" between the students which took place inside what was supposed to be an empty classroom. I was personally struck by the fact one of the students seemed to question the reasoning behind the investigation. He was qoted as asking "What's with the uproar if in the class there are 5 more students who are homosexual and everyone knows them?"

On August 14th, in a small follow-up article, Destapa revisited the case and said that the parents of both students had decided to pull the boys out of the San José de Chiclayo National School "out of their own volition" although it's not clear whether this information comes from the school itself or the boy's parents.

The article, which reveals that the "homosexual act" in question was oral sex, says that it was a substitute art teacher who first reported the students to the school rectory based on what he said were complaints by other students (the original article said that the students had taken advantage of a class cancellation to get together at what they thought would be an empty classroom but that more than twenty students had caught them in the act).

Organizations such as the Homosexual Movement of Lima (MOhL) had offered legal support and opposed any move to throw the students out of the institution.

Panama: President Martino Torrijos Espino repeals sodomy statute

An update: Last year after I stated that Nicaragua had become the last Spanish-speaking country in Latin America to remove a sodomy statute from its books, journalist Rex Wockner unearthed a 1949 law in Panama which penalized "clandestine prostitution, procurement (proxenetismo), sodomy and all vices of sexual degeneration not specified under this Decree will be sanctioned with penalties imposed by the Director of the Department of Public Health" with up to one year in prison or a $500 follar fine.

Good news! In his syndicated International News column dated August 14th, Rex says that on July 29th Panamanian president Martino Torrijos Espino signed a decree repealing the law.

"According to Amnesty International," Rex says, "11 nations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean continue to ban gay sex -- Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. All of the countries are former British colonies."

Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee endorses John McCain

Castígala! [Punish her!]
Dale un latigazo! [Hit her with the whip!]
Ella se está buscando el fuetazo! [She's looking for a lashing!]
Castígala! [Punish her!]
Dale un latigazo! [Hit her with the whip!]
En la pista te voy a dar... [On the dance floor I will give you...]
Yo pal' de azotazos y palmetazos! [...a couple of beatings and slap her with the palm of my hand]

Just the opening salvo from reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee's hit "Latigazo" (video above). And that's as a prelude to singing about sharing the submissive girl with a friend and describing how she asks to be beaten-up again while having sex with him!

Yeah, I know. Pretty par-for-the-course when it comes to reggaeton. Thing is earlier today Mr. Daddy 'Let's-beat-up-that-girl-on-the-dance-floor" Yankee endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain in front of dozens of adoring, giggling and screaming teenage girls at a hush-hush event closed to the general public.

And guess what! A beaming McCain fully accepted the endorsement (see video below).

Not that we expect McCain to be a reaggaton fan or to even know Daddy Yankee (or what he sings about) but this is up there with McCain inardevertedly offering his wife Cindy McCain as a contestant for a topless beauty pageant at a biker's rally. Yikes!

By the way, Marisol has a different take on this endorsement even as we both agree that it might backfire on McCain:

Rather than addressing the social realties that reggaeton speaks to and represents, it remains easier for certain segments of the Latino/a community to dismiss reggaeton and the culture around it as an aberration of Latinidad. It's crazy because in a way this whole Daddy Yankee - McCain thing made me think about the way's in which Latinos/as are climbing over each other for a piece of that Americano Dream. At whose cost are Latinos/as representing themselves as idealized American citizens? (Excerpt from "Los Republicanos, pt. Deux" - Post Pomo Nuyorican Homo, August 25, 2008)

Update:

• Ben Smith: Daddy Yankee tried to endorse Obama before endorsing McCain (Aug. 27, 2008)

Related:

• Daddy Yankee Comes Out... As a Young Republican and for McCain (Rod2.0)
• McCain endorser blends reggaeton with 'gangsta rap' (Raw Story)
  
• Is a John McCain - Daddy Yankee ticket forthcoming? (Los Angeles Times)
  

LGBT bloggers for Obama

Seems as if that summer bumble-bee is not pretty enough for some of you to tide you over until my next blog posts (see post below and hit 'Comments'). Damn it!

Well, here's some news: Long time activist and philanthropist Terry Bean has launched a blog to encourage LGBT community members to contribute to the Barack Obama campaign in these presidential elections.

The site, which provides fundraising tools to help the campaign, information on how Obama compares to John McCain on LGBT issues (and, truly, McCain is simply no match), links to local "Obama for President" meet-ups and events and tools to encourage your friends to support Obama, can be found by clicking on the above image or here:

LGBTforOBAMA.COM

The effort is also notable for something else: Featuring a bevvy of well-known bloggers and activists for content and comentary.

They include:

• John Aravosis and Joe Sudbay at AMERICAblog
• Bil Browning, Jerame Davis and the crew at Bilerico Project (and associated blogs Bilerico Project - Florida and Bilerico Project - Indiana)
• Yours truly at Blabbeando
• Michael Crawford at Bloggernista
• David Mixner at, well, David Mixner
• Waymon Hudson at Fight Out Loud
• From the Left
• Jeremy Hooper at Good As You
• HRCbackstory, the Human Rights Campaign official blog
• Hillary Rosen at The Huffington Post
• Obama Pride and Obama Pride - Metro DC
• Michael Rogers at Page One Q
• Pam Spaulding at Pam’s House Blend
• Cathy Renna and the team at Renna Communications
• Rod McCullum at Rod 2.0 Beta
• Keith Boykin and the team at The Daily Voice
• Michelangelo Signorile at The Gist
• Terrance Heath at The Republic of T
• Daniel DiRitio at Thought Theater
• Andy Towle at Towleroad
• Marti Abernathey at TransAdvocate

...also included is Barack Obama’s Blog

Others in the LGBT for Obama team include television actor Chad Allen, former HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch, Reverend Gene Robinson and community activists Phil Attey, Vic Basile, Jeff Hickey, Corey Johnson, Robin Kane and Jake Kaskey.

At the moment, the two top posts explain the purpose of the blog and showcases a comparisson table between Obama and McCain.

Fresh daily content can be found right below those two posts.

My New York: Summertime bumble-bee

Just that, a summertime bumble-bee from this morning's walk to the subway station...

Brazil: Deep in the Amazons, Ticuna tribe members come out as gay

Unless I see it in Spanish-language media, I often miss out on news items from Brazil. Portuguese is close enough to Spanish so that I can grab the general sense of an article and Babel Fish always comes in handy for those words that I don't get, but it takes time to go through an article and sometimes I don't have too much time on my hands.

One recent alternative has been Gay News Watch. Having made Brazil his home for a couple of years (and having a Brazilian partner as well), Chris Crain - who runs GNW - probably understands more Portuguese than I do and keeps a more vigilant eye on stories from the country.

In any case, if it wasn't for this AG Magazine translation of this article* from Folha Online, I would have missed the following:

Deep in the Amazon jungle, in the Brazilian border with Peru and Colombia, a few young men from the country's most populous indigenous tribe - the Ticunas - have begun to defy cultural norms requiring they behave in a masculine manner or that they marry a member of the opposite gender already designated for them during their childhood.

Three Ticuna tribe members from the Umariaçu village, including 22 year-old Natalicio Ramos Guedes (above) say that at least twenty of the 3,600 village members - including them - are gay.

The Indian National Foundation of Brazil confirms that different tribes have recently reported members coming out.

"This is something new for us," says Darcy Bibiano Murati, a Ticuna tribe member who is the director of the Foundation, "We never saw indians such as these, now there has been rapid growth in all communities, young men from 10 to 15 years of age."

Ramos Guedes, whose brother Marcenio is also gay, participates in a local folk dance group. Both dress up like women and perform traditional dances at different social events throughout the region.

Both brothers say that it hasn't been easy to be so open. Marcenio says he left home when he was fifteen because he could not stand the constant fights with his father and moved to neighboring Tabatinga where he worked as a domestic servant. Now 24, he is back home and says that his family now supports him and backed him in launching the dance troop (both brothers are pictured left with their father and other members of their family).

"I do not suffer discrimination for dancing," says Marcenio, "Everyone sees it with respect. I suffer the prejudice of other young people in the village. If I say something they want to beat me up or throw stones."

Natalicio tells Folha Online that he is afraid to walk on his own and always makes sure he has company when he goes out.

Among the first of the Ticunas to ever come out publicly is 32 year-old Claricio Manoel Batista who studies pedagogy at the State University of the Amazon and also is a primary school teacher. He came out to his parents in 1992 when he was sixteen years of age when he lived in the Umariacu village.

Batista says that his father never mistreated him because he liked to stufy and took care of the chores at home but even to this day, while they have stopped asking him about it, it is clear to him that they would rather not have a gay son. "They say that no one accepts it," says Batista.

In published studies, the late anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro (1922-1997) stated that there were registered cases of gays among the different Amazon tribes as far back as the 19th century but sociologist and historian Raimundo Leopardo Ferreira says that it's the first he has heard of it.

Ferreira says that his concern is that as more tribe members come out as being gay, the prejudice and homophobia that currently exists among tribe members will make it so difficult for gay Ticunas that they will be driven to substance abuse or have other social problems stemming from societal rejection.

* Original article and images by Katia Brasil for Folha Online.

Rest in peace, Playgirl

A confession (and you better appreciate it 'cause I don't do confessions on this blog that often).

Back when I was 15 or so and living upstate New York and struggling to understand my attraction to men, I used to rob convenience stores. Yes! I was a drive-by-store gang banger!!!

Except I was a big-nosed and pimple-proned geek (hawt!). And I didn't use a gun. Just stealth. And, hm, I also got caught. Which is probably why my life of crime was cut short.

In my hands when I got caught? The latest issues of Inches, Playgirl and Blueboy! Yes! Blueboy (remember?).

Of course I was embarrassed and scared and all that but when I was asked the all-important question of "Why?" by the store manager I sincerely thought I had a winner when I said "Well, sir, you have to know, sir, that I'm an art major and... hm, we are taking a look at human anatomy, and... well..."

That didn't fly too well - dammit! - and I had to return all of the magazines anyway but at least he let me go.

Which is why today's news that Playgirl magazine will no longer be in the newsstands is such a sad and historic moment.

I guess I'm to blame 'cause I never actually bought a single issue and it is sales revenues that keeps our institutions alive. Then again, maybe it was the magazine's insistence it was just for women when it clearly (and mostly) wasn't.

In any case, rest in peace, Playgirl, I am certainly a little bit gayer because of you and that can't be a bad thing. It certainly is the end of an era.

Related:

• Goodnight, sweet hunks (Radar)
• The rumors are true (Gawker)

Colombia: In a conservative small town, gay soccer team draws hundreds of fans

Viterbo, Caldas, a small conservative town in central-western Colombia, has an estimated population of 15,000. As with many rural communities, it has not escaped some of the violence that has plagued the country and the Black Eagles, a right-wing paramilitary group, is still active in surrounding areas.

Viterbo is also home to Stargays, a soccer team made up of gay and transgender players which enjoys official backing from the town's mayor and seems to have been embraced my most Viterbans except by the town's Catholic priest.

In an eye-opening article by Juan Miguel Álvarez published yesterday in La Patria ("Soccer in Viterbo: Stargays vs. Hot Chicas"), the journalist says his own friends are incredulous when he tells them that there is a well-loved gay soccer team in the conservative heart of Caldas.

To date the team only has played a few public matches, but at a recent Monday night match drew approximately 500 people. That was a significant drop in attendance from their debut game seven months ago when a standing room only area had to be opened because the bleachers were so full.

Obviously there is an element of curiosity that has drawn such big crowds but Álvarez says that by the time he arrived in Viterbo on game day the whole town was in a festive mood and people were already making their way to the stadium early in the evening.

"These matches are events that draw people, everyone gets involved, only the parish priest, doesn't approve," says Nelson Sánchez who is in charge of the stadium and has kept the field grass trimmed for the last ten years, "I was asked if I'd rent out the field and I said yes because this is a public space that anyone who lives in town can enjoy."

When pressed on what the priest actually had said, Mr. Sánchez replied "In Sunday mass, the priest said he was not in agreement with the town becoming involved in such a manner with the matches, because when the church promoted activities to raise funds it did not have as much response as the Stargays games."

In other words, the priest is not necessarily opposed to a gay soccer team, he is just bothered that people seem to be willing to spend more to attend the games than what the church receives in donations.

The match itself was late to start. The opposing team, also a gay team from a neighboring community called Hot Chicas, was a few players short and spent some time recruiting team members on the spot. To keep the crowds entertained during the delay, three team members simply picked up pom poms and danced to music by Thalia, Gloria Trevi and, yes, Beyonce.

Two young men waiting for the game to begin tell the reporter that the last time Gaystars played, they beat a team of fat men. "Those maricas play a lot," says Julian, "Can you imagine a match with midgets? The bomb!"

The game, a mixture of soccer, glamour, beauty pageant drama and camera hogging (some players stop their game and pose if they notice someone is taking their picture), nevertheless impressed the reporter who made note of Stargays' dominance on the field. The team would go on to win 6-3 and extend its winning streak to five games.

Total ticket sales for the event were estimated at approximately $490 dollars which will be donated to a charity helping victims of a recent river flood that left some of Viterbo's citizens homeless.

Barack Obama on LGBT families

I have been struggling with returning to a more frequent blogging schedule. Most of it is work related stuff that keeps me from writing as much as I would like. But that's life.

It's been a while since I wrote about Barack Obama and the presidential race. I just checked past posts to see when I first mentioned the Democratic presidential candidate and I was surprised to see that it goes back to March of 2007 - loooong before his momentum-changing January caucus win in Iowa.

That all seems so long ago now and I still remember the general reaction from friends involved in politics in New York when I'd tell them I preferred Obama over Hillary Clinton. The general reaction seemed to be a mix of pity and concern for preferring someone who OBVIOUSLY had no chance in getting the Democratic nomination (I remember a friend telling me that he respected my political conviction but that sometimes in politics one had to be pragmatic and go with a winner).

Then came LGBT Latinos for Obama at a time when the argument was that few Latinos would vote for a black man and Sergio Bendixen, a pollster working then for the Clinton campaign, whispering to the New Yorker magazine that "...the Hispanic voter--and I want to say this very carefully--has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates."

Well, guess who Bendixen is working for now. Enough said.

Now, there's been a lot of blabbering about Obama becoming a centrist politician and of sacrificing his true political nature but, for some of us who have followed him even before Iowa, his recent positioning on issues have not been a surprise and actually reflect some consistency, except - perhaps - on FISA.

On LGBT rights some will still not forgive him for the Donnie McClurkin drama from last year despite the fact that McCain has lurched way right on LGBT issues flip-flippity-flopping on DOMA and adoption rights for same sex couples - trying to appease those on the extreme homophobic right who would love to see the gays stoned and tarred. And despite that Obama has been close to stellar on his support for the LGBT rights.

Anyway, as the presidential election enters the silly season (if these were the primaries and John McCain was a Democrat he'd long ago been asked to leave the race as desperate and insubstantial as his campaign is becoming), I wanted to bring your attention to a pretty amazing statement released by the Obama campaign earlier today.

Barack Obama on LGBT families:

In light of the recent and offensive statements by McCain on the right of same-sex couples to adopt, Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council, wrote the following to the Obama campaign:

As a lesbian mother and the executive director of Family Equality Council, the national organization working to ensure equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families by building community, changing hearts and minds and advancing social justice for all families, I know how hard parents work to raise happy, healthy children. Regardless of their sexual orientations and gender identities, regardless of how many parents or caregivers are present in a family, all parents begin each day with their children at the forefront of their thoughts. On behalf of diverse families, I ask for your plan to recognize, respect, protect and celebrate all of the loving families you seek to represent... These families want to know how your administration will address their needs. What policies and positions will you take to make sure that all loving families are recognized, respected, protected and celebrated? How will you lead all families to a brighter future?

This afternoon the Obama campaign posted excerpts from a response from Barack Obama himself which reads as follows:

While we live in a nation that is enriched by a vast array of diverse traditions, cultures and histories, it is our commonality that most defines us. The desire to build a life with a loved one, to provide for a family and to have children who will grow and thrive -- these are desires that all people share, regardless of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. My own experience has taught me this lesson well. I was born to a single mother, my devoted grandparents helped raise me, and then I married the woman of my dreams and had two beautiful daughters.

and

We know that the cost of the American dream must never come at the expense of the American family. For decades we’ve had politicians in Washington who talk about family values, but we haven’t had policies that value families. Instead, it’s harder for working parents to make a living while raising their kids. It's even harder to get a break.

That's why I'll double spending on quality after-school programs - so that you can know your kids are safe and secure. And that's why I'll expand the Family Medical Leave Act to include more businesses and millions more workers; to let parents participate in school activities with their kids; and to cover elderly care. And we'll finally put federal support behind state efforts to provide paid family and medical leave. We'll require employers to provide seven paid sick days each year. We'll enforce laws that prohibit caregiver discrimination. And we'll encourage flexible work schedules to better balance work and parenting for mothers and fathers. That's the change that working families need.

and

We have to do more to support and strengthen LGBT families. Because equality in relationship, family, and adoption rights is not some abstract principle; it's about whether millions of LGBT Americans can finally live lives marked by dignity and freedom. That’s why we have to repeal laws like the Defense of Marriage Act. That’s why we have to eliminate discrimination against LGBT families. And that’s why we have to extend equal treatment in our family and adoption laws.

I’ll be a president that stands up for American families – all of them.

My expressed support for Obama has nothing to do with a cult of personality or the so-called Obama-mania that opponents use to disqualify support for the man (as a matter iof fact, I avoided some recent 'Gays for Obama' gatherings in the city because they seemed to much about rah-rah which I wasn't interested in).

I loathe false hopes and I am always weary of predicting who will win, specially when it comes to political campaigns. But this presidential race offers such an opportunity to do the right thing. Vote for Obama!

BTW, today and a bit late to the game, the DC-based Human Rights Campaign announced that they will officially endorse Obama this week.

• Related: Sen. Obama responds to Jenifer Chrisler's questions on family policy (Family Equality Council blog, August 5th, 2008)

Third bloggaversary - Thanks Pablo!

On August 10th, this blog will turn three years old. Back then, I was trying the bald look which is, alas, no more.

I've always found it a little silly to celebrate 'bloggaversaries'. I mean, it's not as if a blog is a live, breathing thing. But this year I wanted to 'celebrate' by thanking someone.

You might have noticed that there have been a few changes to the blog layout in the past few days (it's the third major change in as many years).

Best of all has been a first-ever Blabbeando logo courtesy of my great bud Pablo Caro, who happens to be a graphic / web designer wiz (he works with some of the biggest media giants out there and it shows). Love it!

Like what you see? Pablo can be reached for your graphic design needs at Nuevo Studio. Thank you Pablo!