In 2008, then Sen. Barack Obama beat Sen. John McCain by 14 percentage points among female voters, despite the presence of Gov. Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket. In his 2012 re-election, President Obama did arguably better, besting Gov. Mitt Romney by 12 points among women while losing men by eight points (Obama tied McCain…
Three names that were mentioned early at the 2015 Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast. Three transgender youth who were taken from our San Diego community far too soon. Three drops in a tragically growing pool that fed an undercurrent of sadness permeating the usually uplifting event. Sage. Taylor. Kyler. One Lifetime achievement award celebrated our progress…
A recent Quinnipiac poll showed 54 percent of registered voters believing that former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is not honest or trustworthy. Despite Clinton beating the entire Republican field, pundits have pounced on the data as a harbinger of doom for the nascent Clinton campaign. Conservative columnists and panelists argue that…
Tuesday, Thomas Miguel Guerra was sentenced to six months in jail. If that doesn’t concern you, it should. The developing narrative is that Guerra hid his status from a partner as a step toward intentionally, and with disturbing delight, infecting his partner with HIV. According to NBC 7 San Diego, Judge Katherine Lewis, who delivered…
Democratic discussions of the 2016 San Diego mayoral race were long focused on one question: “Todd or Toni?” Some thought Assembly Speaker Atkins fundraising and connections gave her the best chance to defeat Mayor Faulconer. Others thought “iMayor” Gloria, who skipped the special election to put the city first, was the better option. Most were…
Last week, I ranked the Supreme Court Justices by their likelihood of supporting marriage equality. In light of Tuesday’s oral arguments, I want to update some of those predictions. Justice Thomas, to the surprise of no one, said nothing. Still a “No” vote on marriage equality. Justice Scalia seemed convinced that a Federal right to…
1971, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision to deny a marriage license to a couple because they were the same sex. The couple’s appeal, known as Baker v. Nelson, was the last time the U.S. Supreme Court considered a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. To say they considered it is an overstatement,…
The real reporting on the shooting of Walter Scott is disturbing, but nowhere near as disturbing as the counterfactual reports written as though there had been no video. With what we know now, the Huffington Post story written from only the police statement and local accounts is chilling, particularly given the echoes of other shootings…
Politicians, pundits and preachers arguing in favor of Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs) have coalesced behind a metaphor: Tolerance is a two way street. All they want is the same respect for religion that the LGBT community is requesting for sexual orientation and gender identity. In their view, LGBT activists are on the march, aggressively…
When the calls for a boycott began last week after Gov. Mike Pence signed Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), I held my fire. Numerous other states and the federal government have RFRAs, so why should we suddenly hold Indiana to a different standard? After reading analyses and watching an interview with Gov. Pence himself,…
