Clippings for 28 June 2009

White House Drafts Indefinite Detention Order
Dafna Linzer and Peter Finn report for ProPublica and The Washington Post: "The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantanamo, is drafting an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate suspected terrorists indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.

Government Reports Stimulus Impact on Income
Amanda Michel reports for ProPublica: "'The income of Americans soared in May because of the government’s economic stimulus,' reports the Wall Street Journal. Calculated Risk points out that consumer spending remains weak. All of the raw data is available at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, a division of the U.S. Commerce Department.

Working America Rallies Behind Climate Bill
Bill Scher writes for the Campaign for America's Future: "It took a very long time to end the fallacy that you can't protect the environment and grow the economy at the same time. But that day has come. The nail in the coffin of the canard was delivered this week, as both the AFL-CIO and United Steelworkers formally endorsed the House clean energy and climate protection bill expected to be voted on this afternoon."

Kicking the Nuclear Habit
Lawrence S. Wittner writes for Truthout: "With President Barack Obama and other world leaders now talking about building a nuclear-free world, it is time to consider whether that would be a good idea. Six reasons for supporting nuclear abolition are particularly cogent."

Liberals Prod Obama on Their Health Bill
Charles Babington reports for The Associated Press: "Obama says he supports a government-run health insurance program to compete with private insurers, a proposal that is popular with many Americans, especially Democrats. But he is standing by as a watered-down, bipartisan version appears likely to be included in a Senate package."

Hate Crimes Bill: How Not to Remember Matthew Shepard
Alexandar Cockburn writes for Counter Punch: "We’ve got the Hate Crimes Bill, aka the Matthew Shepard Act, aka the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, before Congress and far advanced on its repellent journey towards the statute book. On Thursday the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the bill, which passed the House of Representatives by a 249-175 vote in April. If passed, President Obama is expected to sign it."

Recommended Audio: The Start of the Gay Rights Movement Franklin Kameny Remembers Stonewall June 28, 1969
American Association of Retired Persons for their "Prime Time Radio" program has produce a remarkable piece of LGBT history. Frank Kameny comes across as a disarmingly modest man. But he's not shy about claiming his rightful place as a pioneer in the fight for gay rights in the United States. In this illuminating and sometimes funny interview, Kameny says he had always dreamed of being the first gay astronaut, an ambition thwarted by the discriminatory civil service laws in place through the mid-1970s. And he describes the gay rights movement, and his own "agenda" - total, non-negotiable equality for all people, regardless of sexual orientation.



Download the conversation with Frank Kameny in mp3 format.

Obama's Stonewall
Richard Kim writes for The Nation: "Obama's slide hit what one hopes will be a nadir on June 12 when his administration filed a brief defending the legality of DOMA by comparing same-sex marriage to incest and pedophilia. It is impossible to accept that a president who owes so much to movements for civil rights and social justice, never mind the Obama of 1996, believes in such right-wing bigotry; the only plausible explanation can be one of political calculation.

On Stonewall Anniversary Ft. Worth Police Raid Gay Nightclub
Domingo Ramirez reports for the Ft. Worth Star-Telegraph: "A crowd of more than 100 protesters chanted 'No more!' from the steps of the Tarrant County Courthouse Sunday evening as they demanded an investigation into a police raid earlier in the day at a gay night club. One patron was seriously injured in the raid, several protesters said, as police used excessive force in making seven arrests. Police defended their actions. Speaker after speaker demanded an inquiry into the late-night raid at the Rainbow Lounge on South Jennings Street."