Dear Senator McCain

It saddens me to say this, especially since there once was a day that I actually admired you and thought you were a principled, honorable man, but unfortunately that is no longer the case. You are now a bitter, tired, cranky old man who is more than willing to abandon all your principles if it will buy you even one vote among the most vile among your base.

Well sir, I have news for you: I TOO AM ONE OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS and you now offend and sicken me. You have forever lost my vote. Your cynical, very transparent willingness to betray the very men who have followed in your footsteps and put their lives on the line to defend this country is nothing short of breathtaking and disgusting. Using homophobia and divisive, ugly lies may have won you a few points with those in your base who thrive on hate and bigotry, but you sold your soul by saying this:

In his State of the Union address, President Obama asked Congress to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. I am immensely proud of, and thankful for, every American who wears the uniform of our country, especially at a time of war, and I believe it would be a mistake to repeal the policy.

This successful policy has been in effect for over 15 years, and it is well understood and predominantly supported by our military at all levels. We have the best trained, best equipped, and most professional force in the history of our country, and the men and women in uniform are performing heroically in two wars. At a time when our armed forces are fighting and sacrificing on the battlefield, now is not the time to abandon the policy.

Spare yourself any more embarrassment. Retire and go down in history with maybe a small shred of decency left. And then have a long talk with your daughter, Meghan, and your wife, Cindy. They get it. Homophobia and descrimination are so 2000.

Andrew Sullivan's take:

We have learned so much about McCain these past few years: a man whose cynicism allowed him to acquiesce to the CIA using the exact same torture methods once used on him; whose recklessness goaded him to foist an unbalanced ignoramus as a potential president in a time of great crisis at home and abroad; whose bitterness is exceeded only by Joe Lieberman's; and who sickeningly exploited his own years as a POW to gin up votes. He's as hollow a man as you're likely to find in Washington - and that's a very high bar.

Dear Maggie, Brian, and Robert (and others too numerous to name here)

Testimony has now concluded in the federal trial of Prop 8, the ban on same-sex marriage approved by California voters (something you three NOM-ers know all too well since you played a huge role and pulled out all the stops in getting it passed). And after 12 days of testimony, I now understand why you were so worried about this trial being televised and your primary reason was NOT because of fear for the safety of your witnesses (although I'd be afraid if my sole goal in life was to enshrine my hatred, homophobia, and bigotry into state constitutions across the country.)

NO, the reason you guys didn't want to let this trial reach the internet or air on any other public venue is because you really didn't have any defense for pushing this ugly proposition onto the ballot and into our laws other than pure unadulterated bigotry and hate:

What stands out the most after having seen all the witnesses on both sides is how overwhelmingly one-sided the evidence in this case turned out to be. The plaintiffs, represented by some of the most skilled attorneys in the country, laid out a well-crafted, meticulous case, backed by the testimony of half a dozen of the most respected historians, psychologists, economists, and political scientists who study marriage, sexual orientation, and child development.

Using the Prop 8 proponents' own outrageous and inflammatory words, ads, and emails, the plaintiffs powerfully demonstrated that Prop 8 was a direct product of hostility, fear-mongering, and demonization of lesbians and gay men. And through the deeply moving testimony of the plaintiffs and other members of our community, they proved beyond question that denying same-sex couples the right to marry causes great harm to LGBT people and their children.

Stacked up against this mountain of facts, scholarship, and science, the Prop 8 proponents - though represented by fine attorneys - were not able to come forward with a case of their own. Before trial, they dropped nearly every witness they had planned to present and relied entirely on two poorly qualified, ill-prepared expert witnesses, neither of whom was able to establish that banning same-sex couples from getting married has any rational or legitimate purpose relating to procreation, child rearing, tradition, or any of the other justifications that have been offered in the past in support of anti-gay discrimination. In fact, nearly all of the defendants' experts agreed with the plaintiffs that marriage equality would benefit same-sex couples and their families in many real, tangible ways.

And as for all you hateful Christian right-wing pastors who have used your bully pulpits to demonize and dehumanize our glbt children in the name of Christian Values and Family Values, you have been exposed too. You not only cheapened both sets of values, but you confirmed for those of us who truly do know what Family Values and Christian Values are that you are nothing but sanctimonious, blowhard frauds.

Shame on you, may God forgive you your sins because this seething mom never will. The agony and hurt you have caused by singling out and hurting so many people solely because they do not meet your standards for normal cannot be quantified.

Cindy McCain’s decision to pose for NOH8 campaign offends, disappoints, and outrages Cathy Herrod

Poor Cathi Herrod. It’s such a lonely and thankless job being Arizona’s chief hatemonger and bigot. And risky too. Looks as though little Miss Chief of Morality Police has developed herself a bad case of thin skin, with a big dose of paranoia thrown in for good measure.

It also seems that Cathi Herrod, Arizona’s number one paragon of virtue and gatekeeper of everyone else’s morality is very upset with Cindy McCain’s decision to show her support for marriage equality by posing for the NOH8 Campaign. And Cathi is taking Cindy’s actions very, very personally:

"It's one thing to disagree on the issue of same-sex marriage. It's quite a different matter to label those of us -- really the millions not only in California and Arizona, but throughout this country -- who stand for marriage between one man and one woman as 'haters,'" Herrod comments. "Mrs. McCain has effectively called all of us 'haters.' That surprises me. For those of us in Arizona who worked very hard to pass Prop. 102 in 2008, we're offended, we're disappointed and we're outraged."

So let me get this straight. Cathi Herrod, the woman who “worked very hard to pass Prop. 102”, a proposition that forever enshrined my gay son’s second-class citizenship into the Arizona state constitution, is offended because there are some in this state who believe that stripping others of rights is hateful? Well Cathi, I’m not so sure Cindy McCain was even thinking about little ole you when she made the decision to support the NOH8 Campaign, but I can certainly understand your paranoia. Enshrining your bigotry and homophobia into our state constitution isn’t exactly an act of love or compassion.

But don’t worry Cathi. Your paranoia is not completely ungrounded. I know of at least one happily married (28 years), mother (of 3 great children) who believes you are indeed a hater … and a bigot… and a homophobe.

But for whatever it is worth, this seething momma does have some advice for you: It is at tough times like this that our friends and supporters can be there for us. Might I suggest that you turn to one of your biggest supporters and believers in the "Sanctity of Marriage": Karen Johnson, the 5-time-married, former AZ State legislator who cast the final vote making it possible to put the rights of others up for a vote? If ever there was a person that can soothe your hurt and offended feelings and bolster your resolve to protect marriage, it is good ole Karen.

Thank you Cindy McCain

Cindy McCain poses for NOH8 Campaign joining her daughter, Meghan, in support of marriage equality.

From one Arizona mom to another, thank you Cindy.

Tell me again why the repeal of DADT is on the back burner

Still out of town and still caring for a sick relative and still have no time for blogging, but thankfully this editorial cartoon speaks for itself.

Making the case for gay marriage: Rachael interviews attorneys David Boies and Ted Olson

I am out of town caring for a sick relative and blogging is not something I have much time to do right now, but I thought I'd post this video clip of Rachael interviewing the attorneys, David Boies and Ted Olson, who are leading the fight to declare California's Prop 8 unconstitutional:

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So sanctimonious GOP family values fraud wants the world to respect his family's privacy when he made a career of invading ours?