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Advance Indiana, Carson’s Challenger, and Ted Fleischaker

Julia Carson is facing a democratic challenger to her office — a gay man, Kris Kiser, with very little political experience. Much of the GLBT community supports Carson, who has been a friend of ours politically and gone to bat on gay issues with no hesitancy whatsoever. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) both support Carson over a challenger with little experience.

However, local sleazeball gay “newpaper” publisher Ted Fleischaker endorsed Kiser over Carson in an editorial in his “newspaper” (the only part of that term that is accurate is that the trash he publishes gets printed on paper), generating some controversy in the gay community and a great deal of discussion over the issue on the Advance Indiana website, which has done a decent reporting on the details.

I can’t say much about Kiser or whether he’d be a good candidate, although I think he can’t have very good judgement, since he’s trying to create a schism in the community by running against one of the best elected officials Democrats have, rather than running against a Republican incumbent. And if I were him, I wouldn’t count an endorsement from Fleischaker as a positive thing. I’d be running as far away from that as I possible could.

After a heated discussion of the issues on the Advance Indiana site, along with commentary on the validity of Ted’s paper, someone hacked the Advance Indiana site and deleted the related posts. Gee, that’s an awful striking coincidence. I remember back in the day when I was libeled on the gayindy mailing list by an “anonymous” source for expressing opinions Mr. Fleischaker disagreed with.

Continue ReadingAdvance Indiana, Carson’s Challenger, and Ted Fleischaker

IndyStar’s “In Touch” Blog

Read this blog entry from Jocelyn-Tandy Torkwase Adande:

An individual’s sexual preference should be a private matter. Recently, the Democratic caucus of the City-County Council attached an ordinance relating to sexual orientation to a human rights bill that also allows 15 percent of all business contracts with the city of Indianapolis to be awarded to minority-owned businesses.
To gain acceptance, a faction within the party, Stonewall Democrats, agreed to support this ordinance. The majority of African-American council members voted in favor of it and against the opinion of the religious community and its constituents. These council members wrongly allowed homosexuals and their supporters to identify their struggle with the plight of African Americans during the civil rights era.
Federal and state laws address acts of discrimination in employment and housing. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a type of employment discrimination. Such acts are prohibited by the 1964 Civil Rights Act and commonly by state statutes.
Passage of the ordinance was a mistake. To compare the plight of homosexuals to that of African Americans is an insult to my race.

I take issue with the very first line — my sexual orientation isn’t a matter for the bedroom, any more than any heterosexual couple’s is. When take your spouse to the company Christmas party and introduce them to people, you say “this is my wife, Christine” or “this is my husband, John.” You’re pointing out your sexual orientation and making it a part of your relationships with your co-workers and friends.
I do the same with mine. My girlfriend, someday wife, isn’t only that in my bedroom but in every aspect of my life. Our relationship may include sex, but it’s not solely about that — it’s also about love, loyalty, companionship, support, friendship, family, compassion, commitment and faith. Our relationship not a “sexual act.” It’s a beautiful, gracious gift from the universe, and I celebrate it every day.

Continue ReadingIndyStar’s “In Touch” Blog