McCain Defends "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

PageOneQ reports that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is defending the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding the service of gays and lesbians in the U.S. military. McCain is quoted as saying:

"All the senior members of the military say that it's working." When asked directly if he would vote for Massachusetts Congressman Marty Meehan's bill (H.R. 1059) to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, McCain said, "No."

PageOneQ notes a February Washington Post story which reported that the military spent $363 million enforcing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. According to the Government Accountability Office, 9,500 service members have been dismissed from the military since 1993 because of their homosexuality.

Peterson's Gubernatorial Ambitions Bad For Indy

The Star's Matt Tully discusses in his column today the prospects of Mayor Bart Peterson (D) seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2008. Peterson tells Tully:

I'm consciously trying not to focus on that -- not even think about that -- so I can focus on the things we need to work on," he said.

"There will come a day when it's time to think about" whether to run for governor.

While Democrats no doubt consider a Peterson gubernatorial bid a good thing, it is probably the worst thing that can happen to the people of Indianapolis. Back in the 90s Peterson's predecessor, Steve Goldsmith, was similarly situated. The Indiana GOP was anxious to see Goldsmith take on then Lt. Governor Frank O'Bannon for governor. Goldsmith also had to decide whether to seek re-election as mayor in 1995, which he chose to do. His mayoral re-election turned out okay, though his winning percentage, less than 55% of the vote, was less than impressive in a 3-way race where the Democrats did not seriously contest the race. He went on to lose to Lt. Gov. Frank O'Bannon by more than 100,000 votes, losing badly in his own Marion County.

Pre-occupied with running for governor, Goldsmith ignored finding solutions for long-term problems such as under-funded police and fire pensions, jail over-crowding, an inadequate public transportation system and poorly performing public schools. Guess what? Indianapolis has still not found a solution to any of these same problems more than 7 years after Peterson first took office. And you can bet Mayor Peterson won't be looking for solutions to these problems as he focuses on becoming governor. Another politically amibitious mayor is the last thing Indianapolis needs right now.

Shaming Indy's GLBT Community

Two well-known gay-owned businesses in Indianapolis proudly participated in the filming of what has to be one of the raunchiest and least professionally-produced pornographic videos of all time. The title, which I shall omit for fear of promoting an otherwise straight to the trash can video, is descriptive of the number of local gay men the featured "actor" performs oral sex on to the point of orgasm while cruising a local video store and a popular leather bar. The number is 40 if you're keeping count.

The two businesses promoted the release of this truly sad creation by blanketing car windshields this weekend outside local gay establishments. Fortunately for the poor souls who participated in the making of this film, the producer was kind enough not to reveal most of your faces. Unfortunately for others, the lighting was the only aspect of the video the producer did half-way right, and you may be surprised to see your face in an orgy-fest which is sure to send any reasonably sane viewer straight to the bathroom to vomit. Fast-forward is a must for this video. The pause or slo-mo feature you can do without. As for the featured actor, he's lucky if he got out of town without earning a death sentence for practicing such recklessly unsafe sex.

The video store is offering the video, which is completely devoid of any artistic value, for $35, or you can rent it for a few bucks. Rather than trying to make a buck off of it, these two businesses would be wise to lock this one away in the vaults so that it never sees the light of day again. They would be doing everyone a big favor. I personally spoke to the owner of the video store about my concerns. He respectfully listened to my concerns, and he had anticipated criticism from some corners over the video. Both businesses have been very supportive of the GLBT community, but I must respectfully disagree with their actions on this particular project.

And for those wondering if a certain someone's partner participated in the video as earlier reported in the blogosphere, the answer is no according to the video store owner.

MSM Finally Reports on Realtors Protection Law

A draconian new law which is putting discount realtors out of business in Indiana to protect the traditional, self-serving real estate brokerage market, is finally getting some coverage from the main stream media. The Indiana Law Blog and Advance Indiana both reported extensively on this new law months ago, but the MSM refused to cover it, perhaps because real estate brokers advertise extensively in their publications. Kudos to Lesley Stedman Weidenbener for being the first member of the MSM to report on the new law, although she's pretty late to the game. Weidenbrener writes today in the Courier-Journal:

A new state law will require Indiana real estate agents to provide a list of services that may seem like the basics to those who've bought and sold a home:

Answering questions, handling offers and counter-offers, and assisting with the transaction paperwork.

But critics of the law, which will take effect Saturday, say it will squeeze out an emerging choice for home sellers in some areas — one that lets clients choose and pay only for the real estate services they want.

The so-called "a la carte brokers," more common in larger cities than in smaller towns or rural areas, offer a menu of services for sellers who want to handle part but not all of the transaction themselves.

For example, a broker might charge $500 to put a home on the privately run Multiple Listing Service, which makes it readily available to thousands of real estate agents across the state and country. But the homeowner would handle showings, offers and financial details by themselves or with the help of an attorney.

The new law has already had its intended effect. As AI exclusively reported, a local real estate discount broker, Home Yeah, anticipated losing 62% of its business as a result of the new law's enactment. That was a little too much for the company's new owners. Weidenbener writes about Home Yeah's decision to close up shop in Indiana:

In Central Indiana, though, discount broker HomeYeah is closing up shop because its California-based owners don't want to work in the state's new anti-competitive atmosphere, said the company's local agent, John Slimak.

HomeYeah offered a $499 Multiple Listing Service listing to sellers in addition to more expensive packages that provided additional services.

Slimak has now started a new Indianapolis business — HomeChoice — that will offer complete real estate services. He plans to charge a 1 percent commission but provide full services. He said that's unfortunate for many of his customers, who he said have saved thousands of dollars with the multiple-listing package, for which Slimak also went to the closing and handled the title work.

"It's a shame," he said. "People who were savvy home buyers and sellers could get their deals done faster and quicker without buying full services."

Home Yeah represented a glowing local Internet success story when entrepreneur Gerry Hays launched it back in the 1990s. It's now on the ash heap of history thanks to the self-serving real estate brokerage industry which didn't like the much-needed competition. Our sentiments are shared by Angie Hicks, founder of locally-owned Angie's List. She tells Weidenbener:

But Angie Hicks, founder of Angie's List, an information service for homeowner services that expanded last week into the Louisville metro area, said the law removes competition from the real estate services market and means some sellers will have to pay for services they don't want.

In a traditional transaction, sellers pay commissions that total 6 to 7 percent of the selling price — half to their own agents and half to the buyer's agent. By using discounted services, those sellers can save thousands of dollars.

"It's really a law that's reducing consumer choice," Hicks said. "The majority of people still use traditional real estate agents. But for people who have bought and sold houses often and are equipped to handle parts of the sale, this law would be eliminating choices."

Weidenbener notes that the Justice department has had concern in other states about the anti-trust ramifications of such laws. The article doesn't say whether the Justice Department is considering any action against the new law.

The Indiana Law Blog gives its reaction to Weidenbener's story.

Extremist Fundies Seek Constitutional Convention On Gay Marriage

Columnist Robert Novak says a coalition of anti-gay marriage groups wants to call a constitutional convention for the purpose of drafting an amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting gay marriages. The groups are upset over their second failed attempt at getting the U.S. Senate to recommend a constitutional amendment. Novak writes:

Supporters of a constitutional amendment to keep the courts from legalizing homosexual marriage, stunned by poor support in the recent Senate vote, are beginning a campaign for a constitutional convention.

The provision of the Constitution's Article V requiring such a convention if called by two-thirds of the state legislatures has never been used. Fear of throwing the Constitution open to general amendment has overridden support for specific issues. However, key advocates of barring gay marriages believe the constitutional convention strategy will keep the issue alive.

A recent memo circulated within the anti-gay marriage coalition lists Princeton Professor Robby George, Tony Perkins and Chuck Donovan of the Family Research
Council, and conservative financial consultant Frank Cannon as favoring the strategy.

South Bend Equality Tells Tribune: It's Enforcible

In a guest opinion column in today's South Bend Tribune, South Bend Equality organizer Catherine Pittman and employment law attorney Jane Ann Himsel set the newspaper straight on the issue of the enforceability of a city ordinance barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Tribune recently editorialized in support of the proposed human rights ordinance but urged the council to make it voluntary only under the premise that the city is without legal authority to enact an enforcible gay rights ordinance. Pittman and Himsel write:

Adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the ordinance will not cause the ordinance to conflict with the Indiana Civil Rights Act. Indiana appellate courts have repeatedly ruled that a local ordinance and a state statute are in conflict when the ordinance forbids that which the statute expressly permits, but not when an ordinance merely supplements the protections that the statute already provides. Such supplemental burdens need only be logically consistent with the statutory purpose.

The stated purpose of the Indiana Civil Rights Act is "the promotion of equal opportunity without regard to race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin or ancestry through reasonable methods." The public policy underlying the Indiana Civil Rights Act is "to provide all citizens equal opportunity" in a variety of areas including employment and housing. The evidence presented to the Common Council shows that South Bend cannot promote equal opportunity for all of its citizens without adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the human rights ordinance. The proposed amendment does not conflict with state law: It is logically consistent with the statutory purpose and broad public policy underlying the Indiana Civil Rights Act. The current state of the law strongly favors enforceability.

The Tribune apparently based its original editorial position on a faulty legal memorandum written by a South Bend city attorney advising the council. That memorandum failed to even include an analysis of Indianapolis' mandatory non-discrimination ordinance. Instead, it selectively pointed only to ordinances adopted by other communities, like Fort Wayne, which provide for voluntary compliance only.

Negative Ad Wars Kick Off In 8th District

Election day is still months away, but Rep. John Hostettler (R) and and his opponent in the 8th congressional district race, Sheriff Brad Ellsworth, have already started airing negative television ads directed at each other. The Courier-Press reports that Hostettler, through the National Republican Congressional Committee, is airing an ad which features a mug shot of an accused child molester who was accidentally released from jail while Sheriff Ellsworth was in Washington, D.C. tending to his political campaign. "Can you imagine a suspected child rapist being captured in Vanderburgh County, but then mistakenly released by Brad Ellsworth's Sheriff's Department?" an announcer says.

Ellsworth is defending his department's actions. He says he could have been sitting in the next room and the suspected child molester would have still been released. He's hitting back against Hostettler with an ad accusing Hostettler of distorting his record and casting votes against public safety. "The Ellsworth ad calls Ellsworth a 'decorated hero' and points out that in 1996, the Sons of the American Revolution gave then-Chief Deputy Ellsworth its 'Officer of the Year' award. Hostettler's people are unimpressed. A spokesman says "Ellsworth is trying to change the subject from 'the incredible incompetence demonstrated by his office in the case of Matthew Long.'"

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

Awhile back I commented to someone about the tendency of politicians to surround themselves with a lot of young, pretty people. Demonstrating that there's no shortage of beautiful people working at the White House and on Capitol Hill, Wonkette is conducting an online contest to determine who the "Capitol Hill Hotties" and "White House Hotties" are. Going clockwise from the top left, White House staffers Jeb Mason and Taylor Hughes, and Capitol Hill interns, Will Anderson and McKee Taylor Flood, are among the favorites.

UPDATE: A more respectable photo of McKee Taylor Flood has been posted on the site, which you can view by clicking here. A disclaimer on the site reads as follows:

"Capitol Hill intern coordinators: None of these hotties nominated herself, so please don’t fire them or otherwise fault them for being in this contest. Don’t hate them because they’re beautiful!

One can only assume that the person who nominated someone for the list submitted the nominee's photo, which in Flood's case was more than likely not a photo she would have submitted herself.

Why Keeping Up On Current Events Is Important

Newspapers and television news reports were abuzz earlier this week with word of a sex sting operation conducted by the Hamilton Co. Sheriff's department in Cool Creek Park that netted nearly two dozen arrests. At least two men failed to read or listen to newspaper and television reports as they were arrested yesterday by undercover officers for lewd behavior. It pays to stay current on the news.