This just in from my pal Bobby Lilly.

Bobby's trying to get the word out about the Million for Marriage.org website and petition in favor of same sex marriages.

It's all from the Human Rights Campaign.

From Bobby: Got this request and am passing it on to friends I think might support the issue. So, if you haven't signed the petition yet, please use the link they offer in the body of the message below and maybe pass it on to a friend.

Click the following link to sign a petition that will be delivered to Congress in favor of same sex marriage:

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/3daiyNY1FBPx/

****************************
Human Rights Campaign/MillionForMarriage.org
Let's get to a half-million by May 17

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/37aiyNY1FBP3/

****************************

Dear Bobby,

In just 10 days, same-sex couples will be issued marriage licenses for the first time in Massachusetts. As the newlyweds celebrate their marriages, we know that our ultra-conservative opponents will use this historic moment to viciously attack them and all GLBT families.

We - all of us who support marriage equality - must demonstrate our strength and unity at this critical time. Here's one important way you can help: Right now, almost 450,000 people have signed the Million for Marriage petition. By May 17th, we'd like to get to 500,000 - a half-million people.

Please, take a minute to think of one more person that you could persuade to stand up for equality. Click here to send them a message right now:

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/37aiyNY1FBP3/

Or forward this e-mail to your friends and ask them to click the following link to sign the petition:

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/3daiyNY1FBPx/

Our voices - 500,000 loud and strong -- will help counter the right-wing extremists' wave of fear and lies, and will give hope and support to the couples about to marry in Massachusetts. Thank you, as always, for your actions today.

Many thanks,

Cheryl A. Jacques President

**************************** (c)2004, Human Rights Campaign, 1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-3278 Phone: 202/628-4160 TTY: 202/216-1572 Fax: 202/347-5323, membership@hrc.org

Thanks again, Bobby, for being so on top of things!

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE IN THE BAY AREA TO SAY NO TO THE RECALL

I know it sounds like the Courts are going to push the recall back a few months, but there is still a week before the Supreme Court will finally decide and it is important to keep the anti-recall momentum going forward.

SO.........Why don't YOU show up at Sproul Plaza (Bancroft/Telegraph in Berkeley on the UC Campus) at noon or stop by the Third Baptist Church in SF at 2pm. (The church is at 1399 McAllister Street, at Pierce, in the Western Edition in San Francisco.)

If you want more info, the message MoveOn sent me is below.

Just wanted to let you guys know that I will be going to this protest in Berkeley tomorrow.

I have just enough time between my morning and afternoon class at SFSU to take BART out to Berkeley and record the speeches and head back. So you'll get to see the event either way. But it's really important for there to be a huge turnout at these events, so that the Supreme Court will know how we feel and take that into account while it's making its decision.

Jesse Jackson will be there. It ought to be really cool.

Footage will go up promptly tomorrow night. (After I get home from class at 5 and have a chance to upload it.)

Hope to see you there!

Here's the message that MoveOn sent Bobby:

Dear MoveOn member,

This Tuesday, Sept. 16, Rev. Jesse Jackson will be speaking in two locations,
urging voters to vote No on the Recall and No on Prop. 54. In SF, he will be
joined by Governor Davis.

Please join him and show your support for the message.

Wes Boyd, President
MoveOn.org

---------

Rev. Jackson with Governor Davis in San Francisco
KEEP HOPE ALIVE - STOP THE RECALL TOUR

WHERE: Third Baptist Church - 1399 McAllister St. @ Pierce Street

WHEN: 2pm

Contact: Third Baptist Church at 415-346-4426
Hosted by Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Rev. Amos Brown, Third Baptist Church

http://www.rainbowpush.org

* or *

Rev. Jackson at UC Berkeley:
KEEP HOPE ALIVE - CAMPUS TOUR 2003

WHERE: Sproul Plaza (off Bancroft and Telegraph)

WHEN: Tuesday, September 16, noon - 1pm

Contact for more info: Peter Gee 510-207-9058
Hosted by: Associated Students, California Faculty Association, Stay in
School Program, Coalition for an African American Community Agenda,
Rainbow/Push Coalition, PowerPAC, Justice Matters Institute, Stop
Prop 54 Coalition, Campus Coalition Against 54, & more.

Jesse Jackson will be visiting four college campuses throughout
California this week, and will be kicking it off in the Bay Area
with a visit to UC Berkeley on Tuesday, September 16th, from 12-1pm.
The rally hosted by the UC Berkeley student government will be in
the midst of one of the largest voter registration drives in school
history to register students for the Recall Election. Jesse Jackson
will be speaking to the importance of the upcoming election and the
power that youth have to mobilize and shift the direction of the
election. He will also be speaking to the disastrous impacts
proposition 54 will have on our state, public health, education
and civil rights.

Students from the NO on Proposition 54 coalition have been working
on the campaign for over 10 months and are enthusiastic to have the
Reverend come to campus in the midst of the campaign to speak out
against the proposition.

This just in from
Bobby Lilly:

A friend of mine sent this message to me today 9/11/03. It a poignant reminder of a history too many of us would rather forget or at least refuse to accept the lessons that it should teach us. His message is something we NEED to think about and hopefully remember the in years to come. I asked him if it was ok to post it for everyone on Lisa's Blog and if he wanted it attributed to him

He wrote back saying, "you have my full permission to make whatever use you deem appropriate. the e-mail address should work well then people would not only know who to blame but how to respond." -- Neil.

So, here's how to reach him, if you want: choiceno2@aol.com

Remembering September 11

One minute a beautiful building was there and the next it was destroyed by terrorists. The building was the symbol of an entire nation and the act of terrorism led to the death of more than 3,000 people. It all started on September 11th.

I'm talking, of course, about the bombing of Chile's White House (La Moneda) on 9/11/73 which marked the start of a bloody coup led by General Pinochet and backed by Nixon's CIA. Eager to get rid of a popularly elected socialist (Allende) our government assisted in the planning of the coup and looked the other way while a military dictatorship killed many of its own people.

While we bask in the righteous indignation that allows us to invade and conquer other countries based on suspicion that they might have helped terrorists strike at us let's not forget our own place in the history of this date.

And each time some politician repeats the words 'may we never forget' with reference to this date let's hope that there are a few people who manage to remember 9/11/73 as well.

neil (choiceno2@aol.com)

Dear Reader,

I was pleased to hear from Moveon.org that there were a lot of people who read Lisa's blog who oppose the recall the way I do. Thanks to all of you who took the time to sign their petition against it.

If you haven't already done so, why not take one minute to go to the following link and sign up NOW.

click here

http://Moveon.org is also involved in some very creative organizing around this issue as well as others.

Click on the link below to go to their website and print out a request for an absentee ballot form for YOUR county. Fill it out and send it in to your county registrar - they will provide the address to send it to right on the form.

http://moveon.org/pac/recall/register/

They had the brilliant idea of using the idea of Flash Mobs for organizing activities like handing out these registrations. If you want to spend a couple of hours this Saturday working on this issue, check out the link below.

click here

Well, that's all I have time for today but, I promise I'll be back with things YOU can do to make change happen.

Regards,
Bobby Lilly

In case you want to read the message they sent me today, here it is:

Dear MoveOn member, The outcome of the California recall will come down to this: the side that gets more people out to vote wins. Those behind the recall are counting on poor turnout. That's why we need to make sure that every friend, family member and colleague votes.

There is one fantastically simple way to do that: give them mail ballot request forms and make sure they complete and send them in. If everyone receiving this email did that with 10 like-minded friends, family members and colleagues, we could increase voter turnout against the recall by one million votes. Click below to print out your mail ballot request forms:

http://moveon.org/pac/recall/register/

Mail voting is critical to beating the recall. More than half of normal polling places will be closed in this election due to time constraints, making many voters much less likely to get to a voting booth on October 7. Voting by mail is the answer.

This Saturday we're kicking off our vote by mail campaign with something fun. We're going to gather in groups of 30 to 50 volunteers across the state to hand out ballot request forms and information in our communities. In one day we will help tens of thousands to vote. We could change the outcome of the recall election on Saturday. Click here to learn more and to pick a place for a gathering in your area:

http://action.moveon.org/

Some of you have asked for help in those important conversations with your friends and family about the recall. Unfortunately, some of the most sensible and powerful arguments against the recall have been lost in the media circus. That's exactly why it is so important to talk about the recall with those who respect your opinion. Below are some points to help.

10 Reasons Why the Recall is Wrong:
A single congressman brought us the recall with $1.7 million of his own money -- while simultaneously putting himself forward as the man to replace the governor.
The recall threatens to give California a governor elected by a tiny percentage of the electorate -- and gives wealthy individuals an unprecedented opportunity to attempt to buy the governorship.
It threatens to invalidate a fair election just months after it took place.
It sets a dangerous precedent -- if it succeeds why wouldn't opponents attempt to recall every future governor?
It's expensive: The recall election itself will cost over $60 million.
It prevents our elected leaders from working to solve the state budget crisis and other important issues by forcing them to campaign to defend the results of a fair election.
The cost to the economy is too great: a successful recall would cause enormous economic instability and loss of confidence.
This won't stop in California: 18 states have recall provisions. Unless the California recall is decisively rejected, sore losers in others states will continue to use this tactic.
The recall threatens California’s environment. Governor Davis has made important improvements to environmental law. Polluters see the recall as a chance for roll-back.
Gray Davis has made important gains in education, health care, the environment and public safety. The recall is an attempt to reverse those advances.

Please help your friends and family to vote by printing out a mail ballot request form here:

http://moveon.org/pac/recall/register/

And please join us this Saturday at events across the state to help us distribute tens of thousands of mail ballot request forms:

http://action.moveon.org/

Thank you,

--Carrie, Eli, Joan, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack
The MoveOn Team
September 10th, 2003

PS: Nearly 100,000 Californian MoveOn members have taken our pledge to talk to friends and family about the recall. If you haven't signed the pledge, please help us reach our goal of 100,000 signers by Friday by clicking here:

http://moveon.org/pac/recall/

Also: Thanks to the participation of MoveOn members in our Defend Democracy campaign, the mainstream media is beginning to connect the dots between impeachment, Florida, Texas and the California recall. This New York Times editorial is just one example:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/09/opinion/09TUE4.html

"The more the G.O.P. persists in this, the more it hands the Democrats traction for their charge that Republicans are mischievously specializing -- as in the California recall -- in undoing normal elective processes."

Dear People,

For a long time, I've wanted to find some way to spread the word about issues I care about and let people know that there are simple ways to get involved and make a difference. So, as long as Lisa is willing to let me be a guest blogger, I see my mission as, not only to alert you to issues I care about but to provided ways you can DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

So here's todays concern:

I'm on the Moveon.org mailing list http://Moveon.org. They just sent a letter letting me know that their campaign to roll back the FCC's recent rules changes needs everyone's help and I thought I'd pass on their concerns to those of you not already on their mailing list. They need to put more pressure on the Senate in the next few days to get them to vote to roll back the recent FCC's changes that would allow a few big companies to control our country's airways.

So far their campaign efforts have been able to make our legislators rethink an issue big media thought they had in their pocket. Even if you've signed something before, now is a critical time to stand up and oppose their attempts to grab the public airways for their own. So, if you care about the issue too, please join me and other Moveon members in letting Congress know now by signing their petition at:

http://www.moveon.org/stopthefcc/

The letter they asked me to send to all my friends reads as follows (with slight modification by me ;-):

Later this week or early next week, the Senate will likely take up its last major vote on media reform, and it'll be very close. After a grassroots groundswell tipped the balance toward rolling back the FCC rule change that would allow greater media concentration, lobbyists from big media conglomerates have been working around the clock to tip it back.

On Wednesday, MoveOn.org will be holding a crucial press conference with Senator Dorgan (D-ND) and Senator Snowe (R-ME) and groups across the political spectrum to highlight the broad opposition to the FCC rule change. MoveOn needs to show that over 100,000 people have voiced their demand that the Senate vote to roll back the rule change. Please help us reach 100,000 signers by this Wednesday -- you can join us in signing at:

http://www.moveon.org/stopthefcc/

Together, we can make sure that America's media is diverse, competitive, and balanced.

The final steps: Volunteer: We need your help. If you have some time to give, press here.

Donate: If you can't give time, can you make a financial contribution to support this campaign?

Thanks for the support,
Bobby Lilly

This just in from my pal
Bobby Lilly.

Dear Lisa,

I got a notice from http://MoveOn.org asking me to sign a petition opposing the California Recall. You and I both know it's a power grab by the Republicans blaming a relatively unpopular governor for stuff HE didn't do and inflaming the political process just because some of them couldn't stand to LOSE the last election.

I signed to show my opposition to this misuse of the Recall process which I believe should be used against serious malfeasance by an elected official not just because someone had the money it took and thought they could get away with it.

I hope there are a lot more people out there besides the two of us willing to take the time to oppose this Recall which has become a media circus and just another reason for the rest of the country to dismiss Californians as kooks. People need to be educating themselves about the unreality of the charges against Davis and realize that changing leadership at this point is NOT going to make the economic woes of this state (which are very similar to the problems states all across the country are facing) any better and all of us who believe it is WRONG need to be sure we are registered and get to the polls and VOTE it down.

In the meantime, I'm writing to ask you to join me in signing a "Recall No! Democracy Yes!" pledge to defeat the California recall AND pass it on. Click here to sign:
http://moveon.org/pac/recall?id=-1744928-coYdH6bxsqDEmbLGkTJDog

This is the message Moveon sent to me:

If the recall succeeds, it will set a dangerous precedent for the whole country. A far-right businessman spent 1.7 million dollars to bring us the recall campaign, and has thrown California into chaos. GOP leaders who should have condemned the recall instead cheered it on, hoping they could gain from the unraveling of our democracy. We can't stand by and let this happen. These attacks on democracy are not a California issue or a Texas issue or a Florida issue -- we all must step forward together and make it clear that elections will be honored in this country. This pledge is a national effort to mobilize one million California voters in the recall election. Please sign the pledge no matter where you live and please ask friends and family in California to sign the pledge and to remember to vote October 7.
http://moveon.org/pac/recall?id=-1744928-coYdH6bxsqDEmbLGkTJDog

Thank you.

Ed Note: I'm going to start including a few guest entries in my blog from a couple of friends of mine in an attempt to expand my blog's content a bit to cover other important issues without my having to do too much extra work! I hope you will find them interesting. The first is an entry from Bobby Lilly about a frightening situation where teens are actually being prosecuted for raping each other while engaging in consensual sex.--lr

Thanks Lisa,

I've always wanted a forum like this but haven't had the time to set up my own blog so I'm thrilled to be here. I do want to warn your readers though that, while the provided link to the FFE speakers network gives them a lot of information about who I am and my concerns, it still shows me as the chairperson of Californians Against Censorhip Together even though Cal-Act no longer exists. It was an interesting ride for more than a decade though ;-) and for all too many years my life revolved around my political work

Now days, things are different. I've got an internet job working on-line from my office at home and I finally have the time to try to master the world of digital photography and be the artist I've always dreamed of becoming. These days I have to confess to being a Photoshop-aholic and I am just another activist working with a variety of groups on a variety of issues but not the political junky I once was.

For years, I focused on the importance of sexual speech and still consider myself a sex positive feminist even though those terms may be out of fashion these days. But both sexual speech AND sex itself still need someone defend it from prudery and speak the truth about it. There is still a crying need for sexual sanity in the US today.

A friend passed on the following story which I think deserves much more publicity and, hopefully, a demonstration of outrage from all of us to the paper which had this article, if not in larger venues as well:

Take a look at: Teens have right to have sex, lawyer argues
By Jamaal Abdul-Alim for the Journal Sentinel.

While it may seem ridiculous for any prosecutor to charge teens with rape for engaging in consensual sexuality, it is both a travesty of justice and a tragedy of the first order that this nation's legal system has been so co-opted (or should I say corrupted) by an anti-sexual mentality/morality that children were charged with RAPE for innocent sexual exploration.

I can only hope that situations like this will raise an alarm that finally wakens the American people from their passive acquiescence to the nightmare of our legal system being hijacked by extremists on both the left and the right for their own political agendas. This should outrage us all.

The prosecutor deserves to be booted out of her position for her callous treatment of two 'troubled' (i.e., rebellious) teens. I can't believe she dared to tell the press, "The reason I charged this case was because of their attitude," Kornblum says. "I believe they had to be brought before an authority." "Not to punish the children," she said, "but to help them through various court-ordered services."

Yah, sure that's WHY she charged them with RAPE!!!...she should be ashamed of herself. Prudery, whether on behalf of the sex-negative left or the anti-sex religious right, runs rampant in this country these days and has harmed too many of us in too many ways to list here. It has to end.

So, why don't you take the five minutes it will take to write a letter to the on-line edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel right now at: http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/submit.asp and DO something about it.

Here is the full text of the article in case the link goes bad:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/aug03/163688.asp

Teens have right to have sex, lawyer argues
By JAMAAL ABDUL-ALIM
jabdul-alim@journalsentinel.com
Last Updated: Aug. 20, 2003

When an Oak Creek woman found her 14-year-old daughter nude in the woman's bed with a 14-year-old boy, the teens didn't strike her as being overly concerned.

"They both freely admitted that their intention was to 'have sex,' " records quote the woman as saying. They "were confrontational and remorseless."

The teens even "challenged" the woman to call police. So she did.

Now, the couple's would-be sexual encounter in October has both of them facing serious criminal charges.

Their case takes a course through the intersection of morals and law, a bustling crossroads at a time when sexuality has become a greater focus of youth culture. While authorities say their prosecution is meant to help, not punish, the teens, a lawyer for one of them contends 14-year-olds have a right to privacy that allows them to consent to sex with each other, and has challenged the constitutionality of the law.

The boy is being held in secure detention on a charge of attempted second-degree sexual assault, a felony that carries a possible juvenile prison term.

The girl pleaded guilty to fourth degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, but is charged with violating her probation; a warrant has been issued for her arrest.

Neither is being named because of their ages.

Don Linke, the boy's attorney, argues that children's privacy rights include the right to make "important decisions."

"One of those types of decisions is whether to engage in sexual relations," says Linke, who will argue his position today at Milwaukee County Children's Court. If Circuit Judge Tom Donegan rules against Linke, the case could go to trial.

But prosecutors say children have no right to have sex.

"Sex between kids is not legal," said Assistant District Attorney Lori Kornblum, who is prosecuting the case.

According to the law, "Whoever has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a person who has not attained the age of 16 is guilty of a Class C felony." There is no mention of consent.

Linke suggests the statute is intended to prevent older teenagers or adults from abusing or exploiting younger, more vulnerable children, not to prohibit consensual sex among teenagers.

Kornblum said that while many instances of consensual sex among minors get handled informally, she felt compelled to bring charges in this case.

"The reason I charged this case was because of their attitude," Kornblum says. "I believe they had to be brought before an authority."

Not to punish the children, she said, but to help them through various court-ordered services.

Linke says there are other ways for the court to intervene without the children having to be found delinquent, such as filing a petition for protection or services.

Beyond the teenagers' sexual activity lurk a host of other problems.

Court records reveal that both come from troubled backgrounds and struggle with the same issues, such as attention deficit disorder and parental abandonment.

Prosecutors did try to cut the teens some slack.

The boy - originally charged in October - secured a "deferred prosecution agreement" in March. All he had to do was stay out of trouble until Aug. 6 and the charge would have been dismissed. But not long after the agreement, his father reported that the boy "refuses to follow rules." That prompted prosecutors to reissue the charge.

The girl - who was not given deferred prosecution because all parties involved agreed she needed services - was placed on probation, and ordered into Wraparound, a monitoring and treatment program designed to help emotionally disturbed youths at home instead of at costlier institutions.

But after she repeatedly spent the night out without permission, a warrant was issued for her arrest Aug. 5.

It could not be determined Wednesday if she had yet been arrested.