Gay couple receive wedding congratulations from Barack Obama

 

PinkNews: A New York gay couple have spoken of their surprise after receiving a letter of congratulation from President Barack Obama following their wedding.

The president reportedly wrote to the couple four months after their July marriage ceremony.

While it is possible to request letters of congratulation from the White House after weddings, births, adoptions, as well as notable anniversaries and birthdays, it is believed to be the first case of a US president writing to congratulate a gay couple on their marriage.

The letter, dated 8 December, says: “Congratulations to you on this special occasion. Michelle and I hope it is blessed with love, laughter and happiness.

“Your union marks the beginning of a lifelong partnership as you share in the joys of your life together.

“I wish you the very best as you embark on your journey together and hope that your bond grows stronger with each passing year.”

Matt Katz and husband Aaron Lafrenz were among the first gay couples to wed on the day same-sex marriage was legalised in New York this summer.

Viva la Feminista: Hillary Clinton Could Easily Win 2012 Election, If She Were Actually Running

 

Jezebel: In 2012 the Democrats can secure a landslide victory against any of the Republican frontrunners — they just have to nominate Hillary Clinton instead of Barack Obama. According to a poll conducted by Time, if Clinton were the Democratic nominee, she’d beat Mitt Romney 55% to 38%, Rick Perry 58% to 32%, and Herman Cain 56% to 34% among likely voters. The poll projects President Obama would win too, but he’s only trounce Romney 46% to 43%, Perry 50% to 38% and Cain 49% to 37%. Not to downplay Clinton’s success as secretary of state, but we doubt she’d be quite as popular if she had guided us through various economic crises, health care reform, and the tail end of two wars. Nevertheless, Clinton is more popular than she’s ever been and it’s still entirely possible that at the last minute she’ll break away from the Democrats, form her own party (Hillarians? Rodocrats? Bull Moose Party?), and challenge Obama for the presidency … or just retire from public service like she keeps saying she will.

Vegas Odds: 2012 Presidential Election (It’s never too early)

I think more Democrats and Independents than Republicans want Sarah Palin to run for president right now, but it’s never too early to start putting your money down for the upcoming race. Here are the latest betting odds from SportsBook.com. Yes, you can gamble on everything…

Proof that gay childhood nannys will turn your child into leader of the free world

Advocate: The New York Times revisits the four years President Obama spent as a child in Jakarta in advance of his Tuesday trip to Indonesia, making mention of the fact that Barack — known then as Barry — grew up with a gay man as his nanny.

Reads the article: “His nanny was an openly gay man who, in keeping with Indonesia’s relaxed attitudes toward homosexuality, carried on an affair with a local butcher, longtime residents said. The nanny later joined a group of transvestites called Fantastic Dolls, who, like the many transvestites who remain fixtures of Jakarta’s streetscape, entertained people by dancing and playing volleyball.”

Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey

HuffingtonPost: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom became the latest Democratic official to take a noticeably public swipe at President Barack Obama for inaction on gay rights.

The California Democrat — who told the New York Times‘s Maureen Dowd that his political future was so fuzzy he could, in a couple years, end up “as the clerk of a wine store” — called Obama’s slow walking on support for gay marriage “fundamentally inexcusable.”

“Oh, I can’t get in trouble here,” Newsom said with a playful wince. “I want him to succeed. But I am very upset by what he’s not done in terms of rights of gays and lesbians. I understand it tactically in a campaign, but at this point I don’t know. There is some belief that he actually doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage. But it’s fundamentally inexcusable for a member of the Democratic party to stand on the principle that separate is now equal, but only on the basis of sexual orientation. We’ve always fought for the rights of minorities and against the whims of majorities.”

The swipes didn’t end there. Newsom, who dropped plans to run for California governor in late October, told Dowd that the promise of the 2008 election — the “organic movement” — no longer held true. In its void, Democrats find themselves vulnerable.

“[T]here’s a growing discontent and lack of enthusiasm that I worry about,” said Newsom. “He should just stand on principle, put this behind him and move on.”

Among sympathizers with Newsom’s push to advance the gay rights agenda, such criticisms seem almost quaint. Among areas of political inertia that have plagued the White House, LGBT issues stand out quite prominently. The San Francisco mayor isn’t the only one who thinks so. David Boies, Al Gore’s 2000 recount lawyer and a lead attorney on the challenge to California’s Proposition 8, told Dowd last week that his hope going forward was that “my Democratic president will catch up to my conservative Republican co-counsel [Ted Olsen, George W. Bush's recount lawyer].”