Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Lipstick LobbyList 12.13.2011

No excuses, but I've simply slipped from posting for the last several months.  And no promises that this is a sign of future posts to come.  But my browser window was full of several on point articles that seemed to scream for a LobbyList post.

Without further ado...

An amazing photo (left) of women firefighters at Pearl Harbor, and the call for help in identifying these brave women. Updated: they've been found!

I loved the MoveOn.org-made-famous YouTube video of Iowan Zach Wahls testifying about his (ordinary) life with two moms.  But the teen really got me with his Daily Beast column, which concludes:
...And while I’m trying to reserve most of my story for a setting in which I can tell it on my own terms, I’d like to address the two questions most frequently aimed my way over the last couple of days.
First: “Are you gay?”
I’ve answered this question in other places and at other times. I’ve recently decided, however, to stop answering it. If the only question you have after listening to me defend my family is about my sexuality, I’m afraid you’ve missed my point. Whether I’m gay, straight, or bisexual, tall or short, male or female, white or black, successful go-getter or slacker, is entirely immaterial. I happen to be a go-getter student-turned-activist speaking out in defense of his moms, but this isn’t—and shouldn’t be—the norm. Nobody wants to spend all of his or her time defending his family, and I’m looking forward to mine no longer needing defending.
And as to that second question …
Yes, I am single.
We're going to be seeing more of Zach, and for that we're all so lucky.

In other "I have hope for the future" news, I have to give it to this brave Vietnam vet calling Mitt Romney out on his position on equal marriage.  But what I love just as much is the way the NYT Caucus's Ashley Parker covered it.  Just the way it felt to be Mitt, having no idea which direction this was going to go, and being asked tough, prodding questions about his own inconsistencies.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's late husband has a published cookbook, "Chef Supreme".  What an incredible couple. 

Finally, Rebecca Traister (love!) on Obama's "woman problems" in light of his administration's decision to over rule the FDA recommendation Plan B contraception to be available on drugstore shelves.