I volunteered. Organized. Phone banked. Walked. Managed data. When it was over, I was very glad we had won, sad that Prop 8 had passed, and legally married in California to my partner of 11 years. We live in Missouri this election year — among those Gay Friends in the Red States — without the respect, dignity, and equality that local legal recognition of our love would bring.

Today, caving to serious public pressure, my president finally spoke from his heart on same-sex marriage. Sure, he could have been clearer, more direct. States like Missouri are the reason he wasn’t. In my new home, full federal equality will first be ignored.

This presidential endorsement may be overdue, but the timing makes the work before us even harder. Don’t let the spin get you down. Hold on tight, and you will last.

Brighter days will soon be here,  –dmn

You don’t have to thug, demonstrate, or get arrested to understand everybody’s anger. You don’t have to work for justice to know that injustice exists. Just listen to Bob.

Most people think, great God will come from the sky
Take away everything and make everybody feel high
But if you know what life is worth
You would look for yours on earth
And now you see the light, you stand up for your right

Get Up off your knees. It’s time to Stand Up. Start with a tweet or a Facebook post. Say something, do something about your anxiety and frustration. Just tell someone, anyone, exactly how you feel. Together we will move. Forward. Against austerity and hate.

I believe that God is the source of the power that shines when we take action.

I’m thinking of you as I write, and tweet, and organize. You’re smarter than they give you credit for. We’re mightier than they know. You will see me beside you, on the trail.

Don’t give up the fight,  –dmn

The opposition likes to imagine they can stop thinking about gay sexuality by denying us the dignity that is automatic when the couple getting married is “straight.” And we defy their imagination, simply by being ourselves. And they keep on losing all that money.

Conservatives want us to be someone else. Someone willing to settle for America, Cause there’s no where else to go. This election year, let’s make it clear: We’re not settling.

Not settling,  –dmn

I got a big boost of love from a gender outlaw. Not a man, not a woman, Kate Bornstein is fucking awesome. Baring her freak soul, she Welcomed us — Radically. If Kate can find ways to feel better about the haters in our world, I know I can keep moving forward.

Take comfort in your friends. Make art. Express your anger. Let them have it. Stop giving politics your attention. Vote when it’s time. Organize. If you live in Missouri, as I do, give yourself a break, because we will outlast our oppressors and their insanity. #WeWillWin.

Show Me is often Fuck You, especially when said by Far-Right Christians who believe they never got theirs. Republicans drove them to the revival tent, then took their money.

I believe we should fight against them in public. I also know how much work direct action can require. I know exactly how tired and alone you feel. Now it’s time to sing along…

Hold On.  –dmn

Home…is where I want to be, but I guess I’m already there. Like David Byrne sings, you make Home out of where you are, out of familiar people and places. CoMo is home enough for me. Certainly fertile organizing ground, and tomorrow is Earth Day, CoMo’s unofficial Dem convention. You can catch me at the PROMO booth, Noon to 2pm.

And you’re standing here beside me, I love the passing of time
Never for money, Always for love, Cover up and say goodnight.

Goodnight.  –dmn

The Evangelical Christian base that helped push George W. Bush into the White House is now adrift, without a clear, popular white male candidate to rally behind. Conservatives are more diverse, and far more liberal in their personal lives than ever before.

North Carolina is where Faith In America began. Founders include Mitchell Gold. On the board of directors: Mitchell’s ex-partner Bob Williams and out Country music star Chely Wright. And right next door to Charlotte Convention Center? NASCAR Hall of Fame.

I shit you not. Now meet the African American Mayor of Charlotte. Now, imagine if every woman in the Queen City(!) rallied for the greater good. Now, picture Democrats politely calling out Republican “leaders” for hating on members of their own families, as we show the economic consequences of Conservative restrictions on every last one of your rights.

In Baptist Charlotte, NC. It’s going to be Awesome. Do Not Miss This. Trust.

North Carolina warms up May 8th with a vote on this Prop 8-style intiative:

Tell every NC voter you know: Vote Against. Donate. And watch our world Change.

One Love,  –dmn

This news directly results from a petition by Evan Wolfson and Freedom to Marry to get a Marriage Equality plank into the platform for the Charlotte convention. It’s not a small thing, and it is far more than preaching to the choir.

Political organizing is always a slower process than we prefer. The older members of the party resist all kinds of movements, because they simply don’t understand the urgency. Now that I’m older, I know that even the slightest progress is a blessing from above.

Our president is listening, watching, and reading your tweets. The NAACP is aware and trying to make it clear they are with us, that they don’t all buy the divisive tactics they hear in church. With Dem leaders pushing to include one of our biggest issues in the 2012 platform, LGBT voters are top of mind in this election cycle. Exactly where we belong.

Our love’s in need of love today, more than ever. Send yours in Right Away. The Dems are showing us love. And it’s right on time in DNC’s glacial concept of time. I say God Bless Evan Wolfson, and All of Us.

One Love  –dale

Another stated aim is to manipulate Hispanic voters by making the exclusion of gay people from marriage “a key badge of Latino identity.”

Maggie, I wish I’d…Never seen your face. So while you bash away in your crusade against LGBT Americans, you might want to Hear How My Rhythm Goes. #WeWillWin in case you were wondering.

One Love  –dale

And you don’t have to take my word for it. Freedom to Marry director Evan Wolfson and The Courage Campaign have tweeted and blogged today about the NOM revelations. One of my favorite journalists, @CapehartJ blogged about it just now in the Washington Post:

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is a virulently anti-gay group fighting same-sex marriage with lies and distortions all over the country. In 2009, it succeeded in banning gays from legally marrying in Maine through a ballot initiative. But NOM is suing to overturn a Maine law that would require it to disclose its donors to that effort. Yesterday, a federal judge unsealed a slew of documents. Nestled among them was NOM’s blueprint for driving a wedge between blacks and gays.

Maggie Gallagher has been a prominent voice for the proponents of California’s Prop 8.

So, organizing as I am from the Heartland — Missouri, y’all — I’ve really got to use…my imagination. I’ve got to stay focused and wide open at the same time, to think of good reasons to keep on pushin on. Let me know if you can lend a hand. Even though they’ve already lost, NOM and the GOP are cookin up a long hot Summer of Oppression.

Though #WeWillWin in the end, this year we need to be Strong.

One Love  –dale

Closer to my current home, we have much work to do on healthcare benefits and economic justice for LGBT people. In the Heartland, so many hearts need healing, it’s overwhelming. Still, we have strong advocates working hard for us, including PROMO Executive Director A.J. Bockelman. He shared this deep wisdom in an email newsletter today:

We in the LGBT community have long known that once you get to know us, the demonizing of the community will go away; that once your son, your cousin, your electrician, your neighbor or your clergyman comes out, the myths and lies die a quiet death.

The usual spewers of hate are busy these days, targeting women, African Americans, immigrants of many faiths and cultures, the very poor. LGBT people overlap with those groups, and I know that for anybody, telling your story of self is an act of healing. This is true for both your oppressor and your self.

The opposition may try to avoid hearing you out, because they are uncomfortably close to the people they presume to hate. Keep the pressure on, and if necessary, Sing it out loud. Sing it in your name. Sing it like you’re proud. Sing a Healing Game.

One Love,  –dale