links for 2008-11-15

A federal magistrate is postponing the trial of a student charged with breaking into the e-mail account of former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
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The wheels of justice move slowly….But, Flap smells probation anyway….

The Los Angeles restaurant that came under fire this week after a manager gave $100 to the campaign to ban same-sex marriage in California said that it had donated $500 to the advocacy group that is raising money to challenge Proposition 8.

The Thursday online donation to Equality California, an advocacy group for the gay and lesbian community, came at precisely 7:22:03 p.m., about 22 minutes into a planned demonstration outside the restaurant's doors for the second night in a row.
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Want to bet the owners sell this restaurant?

Has Sen. Barack Obama ask Hillary Clinton to serve as his Secretary of State?

The Huffington Post, citing two sources, says yes, as does CNN's Gloria Borger.

I confess I cannot get sources to tell me this, which means that (a) they've got better sources than I do, which is quite possible, (b) or it isn't true, which is also possible. I know, very helpful. Sorry.
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Maybe so or maybe not. But, a fool if she accepts the job.

In a dramatic, closed door lunch meeting, the owner of a renowned Mexican eatery in Hollywood expressed regret in her decision to donate $100 to the “Yes on Prop 8″ campaign, but her remarks before a group of about 60 members of Los Angeles’ LGBT community fell short of an outright personal apology.
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More homosexual intolerance and harassment

The mainstream media have so far failed to get across the intensity of the ordeal that supporters of Prop 8 may now be subject to–something I realized on coming across this extraordinary blog account of a meeting at the legendary restaurant El Coyote in Hollywood, not far from where I grew up in Laurel Canyon. The meeting was between the elderly Mormon owner, who donated $100 to support Prop 8, and Prop 8 opponents, who are threatening a boycott, and it is as soul- grinding as something out of Soviet show trial history. Peacelovelunges.com–billed as "the blog of ex-Mormon, reformed porn star and Hollywood fitness trainer Sam Page"–reports:

In a dramatic, closed door meeting, the owner of a renowned Mexican eatery in Hollywood expressed regret in her decision to donate $100 to the “Yes on Prop 8″ campaign, but her remarks before a group of about 60 members of Los Angeles’ LGBT community fell short of an outright personal apology.
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Homosexual intolerance.

Speaking with Vermont Public Radio, the Senator calls for his fellow Democrats to oust Lieberman from his post as Homeland Security chairman.

Says Lieberman's attacks against Obama were “way beyond the pale” in pushing “horrible myths” about the candidate.
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Please please oust him. The GOP needs his filibuster vote.

Strickland holds a razor-thin lead over Jackson, 1,560 votes, a margin of only 0.6 of a percentage point.

The updated tally posted by Secretary of State Debra Bowen confirms unofficial reports by monitors who had kept close tabs on absentee and provisional ballots counted since Election Day.

Strickland and Jackson, former Assembly colleagues, are vying for the seat of termed-out Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, in a district representing portions of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

If Strickland holds on, Republicans will retain 15 seats in the upper house and majority Democrats will remain at 25, two seats shy of a two-thirds supermajority.
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More updating to come Friday afternoon

I wrote yesterday about how the CEO of Cinemark, a huge international chain of cinemas, donated $9,999 (anyone else find that number a bit fishy) to the hateful bigots running Yes on 8 in California. Well, today we learn from the Los Angeles Times that the Sundance Film Festival, taking place in Utah this coming January, will be using the hateful bigot movie chain's theaters to show its movie.

There has also been talk of a boycott of the Cinemark movie chain, whose CEO gave money to "Yes on 8." This could have a major effect on the Sundance Film Festival, which uses the chain's theaters to show movies.

That means that if you pay to attend Sundance, your money is going into the pockets of people who will then use your money to take away your civil rights. Unless Sundance is getting the cinemas for free, you are quite literally funneling money to anti-gay bigots.

And therein lies the problem: Here is a restaurant, seeped in Los Angeles history with a huge gay clientele, that employs 89 staff many of whom are gay, all of whom (except Marjorie) are gay friendly–and that has a manager who is part of the owner's family, who tithes to an anti-gay church and donated, at her church's behest, to eliminate a civil right from the very people who she says she loves–people who help provide her with an income.

If Marjorie loves El Coyote as much as she says, she needs bid farewell to her job. And maybe the condescending idea of how you can "love" someone and be their "friend" yet feel they are not worthy of equal rights needs be tossed off the back of the bus.

At the end of the meeting, no one felt like eating, despite the offer of a free meal–Marjorie's views had left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

A protest will be held this evening, Thursday, outside the restaurant.
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The intolerance continues by the homosexual community.

The Festival Director of FIND's LA Film Festival, Rich Raddon, came up on a “Yes On 8” donation list this morning. $1500.

Rich is a well-liked guy. He is not secretive about being a Mormon. And he could end up losing his job over this.

FIND's position is that no one can be fired from a job over their religious beliefs. So Rich is still employed.

And I must say, positions amongst FIND insiders are widely varied. The phrase "witch hunt" has been used… as has "I can't see ever sitting down at a meeting table with him again."

And so… the question is now one that a lot of people in the Los Angeles indie community must answer directly… how do we all – gay, straight, and otherwise – feel about seriously damaging careers of people just because we disagree with them politically? How far into people's beliefs will we go before we decide that we must respect the rights of everyone, not just those we agree with? And if you are a hard-liner on Prop 8, how can you forgive?

The boycott effort against businesses whose owners backed Proposition 8 appears to be picking up steam.

Dozens of groups have sprouted up on Facebook.com urging its members to boycott businesses — restaurants, jewelry stores, car-repair shops and more. Other activists have gone onto Yelp.com and other business rating sites, posting messages telling users which restaurants donated to the "Yes on 8" campaign.

There has also been talk of a boycott of the Cinemark movie chain, whose CEO gave money to "Yes on 8." This could have a major effect on the Sundance Film Festival, which uses the chain's theaters to show movies.
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There will be a reverse boycott and push back by pro-Proposition 8 supporters

Supporters of Proposition 8 won the election but now are frustrated because they are still fighting for their cause.

A week after a majority of voters passed the controversial measure to ban same-sex marriage, the conflict continues – in the courts, at protests and in personal attacks.

"I'm frustrated by what's going on," said Dave Leatherby, owner of the Leatherby Family Creamery in Sacramento, commenting on the protests and court battles.

"Let's move on. I always told my children that once a rule was made, you have to abide by it. I think it should be the same in this circumstance."

Leatherby and his family donated about $20,000 for the passage of Proposition 8. A devout Catholic and father of 10, Leatherby supported the measure for religious reasons. He said his business has been targeted by bloggers as a result, and that he is particularly confused because his business has participated in the annual gay pride Rainbow Festival.
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The harassment continues….

Letters containing a suspicious white powder were sent Thursday to Mormon temples in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City that were the sites of protests against the church's support of California's gay marriage ban.

The temple in the Westwood area of Los Angeles was evacuated before a hazardous materials crew determined the envelope's contents were not toxic, said FBI spokesman Jason Pack.

The temple in downtown Salt Lake City, where the church is based, received a similar envelope containing a white powder that spilled onto a clerk's hand.

The room was decontaminated and the envelope taken by the FBI for testing. The clerk showed no signs of illness, but the scare shut down a building at Temple Square for more than an hour, said Scott Freitag, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City Fire Department.
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There WILL be a backlash of intolerant harassment of chuches by Gay Marriage supporters.

County clerks across California are clamoring for legal advice to resolve confusion about when to begin the gay-marriage ban that voters passed last week in a ballot initiative.

At least three same-sex couples have obtained marriage licenses since the Nov. 4 passage of the measure overturning the state Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.

As California wrestled with the issue, a gay-rights activist on Thursday filed a complaint accusing the Mormon church of failing to report the full value of the work it did campaigning for the ban. And nationwide, gay marriage advocates planned dozens of rallies this weekend to speak out against the Election Day setback.

Despite California Attorney General Jerry Brown's declaration that the state wouldn't recognize any gay unions after Election Day, confused clerks kept handing out licenses for days.

Complicating matters further, some couples who signed their paperwork before Nov. 4 and have yet to say "I do" will be requesting civil

Whether You Like it or Not, right, Mayor?

A woman says she wants to press charges against protesters at a gay marriage rally last week in Palm Springs, California. 69-year-old Phyliss Burgess is a supporter of Proposition 8. She showed up at a same sex marriage rally, with a cross. That didn't go over well and the scuffle happened during a live report.

"It really peeled back a very thin vainer of a crowd that was calling me a Nazi."

Burgess remembers the names protesters called her Friday night as she marched with cross in hand in support of Proposition 8. One protester knocked the cross out of her hand. Others shouted at her while she left the scene. But, through it all, she never wanted to retaliate.
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The intolerance of pro gay marriage supporters is astounding

The California Supreme Court has asked state Attorney General Jerry Brown to reply by Monday to lawsuits challenging the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage – a sign that the justices are taking the cases seriously and will not dispose of them quickly.
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And, should the California Supreme Court enter a stay of Proposition 8, the recall of the court begins.