The gig is on, Steele!

I have no beef with Mike Duncan; he has in my opinion led the Republican National Committee (RNC) in dignity and with passion. His term is due to expire in January.

But time has come for change. We need new faces and a more visible face for our party. I believe the right person to lead our party is Michael S. Steele and am giving him an official themostsearched endorsement.

Michael is a new face in the GOP; he's a "rising star" and is just plain cool. He was the first African-American to hold state-wide position in Maryland and as Lt. Governor became the highest-ranking elected AA Repbulican (Wikipedia).

Michael has been a visible face appearing on a multifarious range of news media including Foxnews, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, Newsbusted, The Washington Times, and Real Time with Bill Maher. He also was one of the speakers during the Repbulican National Convention in August.

themostsearched is asking you to join the cause by spreading the word and signing the petition at: www.draftmichaelsteele.com/. At this site you can also watch/listen to videos of some of his speeches. Another speech given at the Voter's Values Summit is available at Youtube.

Has Obama Committed Fraud?

If there is one thing that upsets me most about a politician, it is when he or she is involved in an illegal activity.

I mean, it's one thing for Clinton to have sex with Lewinsky, but another for him to lie under oath about it. Clinton should have been impeached then and would have if it hadn't been for his Democratic buddies in the Senate; that deeply angers me because I view the Presidency as a noble office for noble citizens NOT liars and cheats. I am not purporting to be self-righteous: we are all sinners and make mistakes, but we are also accountable for the wrongs we do.

I have been watching the likes of Jeremiah Wright and self-proclaimed bomber Bill Ayers come out of the woodwork now that their good friend Barack Obama is president-elect; hey, I rather expected that. It is frankly repulsive--for example to listen to Ayers' continued rhetoric that he was "demonized" for doing the right thing at a time when "thousands of our people were being murdered by our government every month." He then applied his "militant" philosophy to our day: "...just as today, I don't think we've done enough to stop these wars." So, would he bomb again today? Or, being older now, would he encourage others to do so? Yet in the end analysis there's no crime committed in Obama having radicals as friends and Obama has condemned Ayers' actions and left Wright.

Obama has committed a crime in the distant past: he admits he did illegal drugs including marijuana and cocaine. Pretty despicable, but at least he was honest about it and appears to have left those days long behind. For that I can forgive him.

There is a update on a very low-simmering story that has finally come to head concerning whether or not Obama registered for the draft as he was legally required to do so. Debbie Schlussel's recent blog on this subject highlights several extreme irregularities.

I am by nature cautious and skeptical of stories from new sources to me personally. I didn't and don't bite the hook on Obama's so-called forged birth certificate. But being an amateur genealogist I have general familiarity with US government documents and am very concerned that this document may likely be forged.

Schluessel's points are well-documented and easy to follow, but I also enjoyed the Breitbart video interview with Schluessel as well.

Briefly, some of the concerns supporting the forgery of the document are that:
(1) Document Locater Number appears to have been number issued this year rather that 1980
(2) The postmark seal appears to have been forged
(3) The document form (either Feb 1990) issue date is ten years after Obama signed it or altered (Feb 1980) in which case no such form exists

Here's the bottom line: if the document is a forgery, then who signed the form, housed in Obama's hometown of Chicago? Did Barack or a surrogate sign it? If so, then Obama is a fraud. If so, Obama has no noble choice but to resign. Nixon did the noble thing and resigned when he committed a crime.

I agree with Schlussel that an independent investigator be appointed. I am tired of electing government officials and either want my faith renewed in my president-elect that my suspicions are wrong and he is not a crook or I want him out of office.

No Crooks For President!

Spotlight on Clear Channel’s PrideRadio.com

Pop and Dance Hits with a Gay Sensibility
Over the past few years, we've had a variety of satellite and online radio stations appear with some incredible content ranging from dance music to talk radio. We've also recently had real world, terrestrial radio stations bring their music online including 92.7 Energy out of San Francisco and 103.9 Pride FM out of Toronto. Now, we have PrideRadio, brought to us by Clear Channel, with content ranging from online music streaming to Internet on-demand music videos and podcasts.

What sets this new station apart is not only its corporate support by one of the largest radio media companies in the world, but rather its focus on reaching gays & lesbians wherever they may be, whether that's online, in the car, in their homes or on their iTouch and iPhones. By having these multiple "touch points" to the gay & lesbian consumer, PrideRadio.com can better command a marketer's dream of remaining "top of mind" in this cluttered media world, which is worth its weight in gold!


It's not just this multimedia approach, however, which sets PrideRadio.com apart. By being able to tap into the company's vast experience in music programming, PrideRadio.com is able to bring gays & lesbians music they love best, along with fun and edgy personalities such as Ryan & Caroline, radio's "Will and Grace" and program director Harry Legg.

Their website brings this all home, integrating all aspects of the programming into one easy-to-use interface, including an up-to-date "Gayly" blog, photos and current gay & lesbian news clips from local content partners and from around the world. What's unique is that each market that PrideRadio is in features a customized version of the website, so geo-targeting to specific markets can now be activated.

From a marketer's point of view, this is a top-choice company to work with. Their experience in real world events has allowed them to do such promotions as their current "Win A Wedding in LA" contest, capitalizing on the excitement of gay marriage in California, and teaming up with the musical "Wicked" to offer winning couples the chance to be married on the Wicked stage, along with some of the Wicked cast members singing them the song "For Good" from Wicked. Incredible stuff!

PrideRadio just finished a major promotion with Swiss Toursim, giving away a trip to Switzerland on air. Personality Harrison travelled to Switzerland and created daily travelogue features that highlighted travel partner's destinations, and painted a picture in listener's minds that made them visit the site to register for the trip. Banner ads ran across Clear Channel radio stations nationally to help drive traffic to the site.

Of course, they also work with their clients in more traditional marketing opportunities in the world of radio, but offering cross-platform reach in HD radio, terrestrial radio and online radio. That's been enhanced by the release of the "iheartradio" application for the iPhone and iTouch. This puts PrideRadio and all of Clear Channel ahead of competitors in new distribution methods for its content.

In the first two weeks, hundreds of thousands of consumers downloaded the application and now have access to PrideRadio. Director Brad Fuhr sees a bright future for the brand: "We can now offer marketers an environment to get their message to the LBGT consumer via a variety of platforms and see the iPhone as a huge driver of online listening in the coming months."

---

Gay and Lesbian Social Networking
Advertising - Marketing - Community

For the full-color PDF version of this story, go here:
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Consulting Position Available - Hospitality Industry Individual Needed for Training

One of our clients, The Clubs, is looking for an individual with hospitality training experience who can travel to their various locations throughout the country to provide ongoing customer service training to their staff and management.

They are looking for someone with both hospitality industry experience (hotel experience preferred) and the ability and some experience at having done this kind of training in the past.

If interested, please e-mail Dennis Holding at dennis648@aol.com.

Hail to the new Commander-in-Chief!

What a marvelous thing we have done, partisanship aside here, that an African-American can be elected President of the United States of America! I was impressed with the dignity in which the leaders of the Republican Party gave respect and homage to Obama's victory and in turn Obama's gracious acceptance speech. These words of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. seem to have been completely fulfilled: '"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."'

Yet it seems to me Rev. King had a bigger vision for our country: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." To me, the vindication of this latter part of the dream comes not on the excitement we share today that an African-American is elected president or tomorrow's dream of an Asian- Indian- or Hispanic-American being elected, but that we see past the color of the skin and it matters not to us what color they are.

Tears of joy are fine for today. It is good to release the pent-up emotion of our forefathers. But today let us begin to further Rev. King's dream by being the first day of beginning to be "color-blind". It is a task that I expect to take many years, perhaps a generation or two, but it ours to take.

November 2008 Gay Business Report

Monthly Gay Business Report
November 2008 Edition

A monthly companion piece to the annual Gay Market Report, this monthly publication features select new articles from the Gay Market Report, as well as Current GLBT Business News relevant to companies targeting the GLBT community. In addition, we're featuring a variety of company spotlights on unique companies in the GLBT space, as well as successful companies reaching the GLBT community.

In This Issue 5 Steps for Successful Social Media Marketing Let's say you've gotten the approval to get your company involved in social media marketing and are ready to launch your efforts. How will you define success? Spotlight on Clear Channel’s PrideRadio.com Over the past few years, we've had a variety of satellite and online radio stations appear with some incredible content ranging from dance music to talk radio. We've also recently had real world, terrestrial radio stations bring their music online including 92.7 Energy out of San Francisco and 103.9 Pride FM out of Toronto. Now, we have PrideRadio, brought to us by Clear Channel, with content ranging from online music streaming to Internet on-demand music videos and podcasts.... Seniors: Invisible and Overlooked RainbowVision's early motto was (and is) "Envisioning Our Future, Ourselves". The LGBT population has always been aware that if they did not look after themselves, no one else would. After hearing so many LGBT friends talk about buying a house together, and starting a community, Joy Silver took the lead and made the dream come true.... Other Highlights GLAM Magazine Hits Hampton Roads GayFranchise.com Launches New Web Site Germany’s First Gay TV Channel Hits The Airwaves The New Rules of Viral Marketing - eBook Download The Biz Q&A: Leading PR Executives Talk About LGBT Marketing, Part 1 of 3 Download PDF Subscribe: Click Here Advertise in future issues: Click Here Past Issues: October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 April 2008

Obama and New Party

When I first saw this video about Barack Obama belonging the radical "New Party" I thought Jody Miller was joking: after all, she's pretty hilarious. And, I naively thought to myself 'Haven't I done all my research and found all the radical associations Obama has been a part of?' Apparently I was wrong.

There is a substantial amount of documentation linking Obama to New Party including these two documents from New Party's old website achived by non-partisan Internet Archive:

http://web.archive.org/web/19990202063635/www.newparty.org/up9603.html
“We're also backing Danny Davis in a Congressional race, Barack Obama for state representative, and judicial candidate Patricia Martin.”
http://web.archive.org/web/19980203213956/http:/www.newparty.org/up9610.html
"Illinois: Three NP-members won Democratic primaries last Spring and face off against Republican opponents on election day: Danny Davis (U.S. House), Barack Obama (State Senate) and Patricia Martin (Cook County Judiciary)"

...and this article from the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America demonstrating that Barack's New Party relationship was more than a simple organization that endorsed him, but rather a reciprocal contract:

http://www.chicagodsa.org/ngarchive/ng42.html
About 50 activists attended the Chicago New Party membership meeting in July. The purpose of the meeting was to update members on local activities and to hear appeals for NP support from four potential political candidates. The NP is being very active in organization building and politics. There are 300 members in Chicago. In order to build an organizational and financial base the NP is sponsoring house parties. Locally it has been successful both fiscally and in building a grassroots base. Nationwide it has resulted in 1000 people committed to monthly contributions. The NP's political strategy is to support progressive candidates in elections only if they have a concrete chance to "win". This has resulted in a winning ratio of 77 of 110 elections. Candidates must be approved via a NP political committee. Once approved, candidates must sign a contract with the NP. The contract mandates that they must have a visible and active relationship with the NP.
The political entourage included Alderman Michael Chandler, William Delgado, chief of staff for State Rep Miguel del Valle, and spokespersons for State Sen. Alice Palmer, Sonya Sanchez, chief of staff for State Sen. Jesse Garcia, who is running for State Rep in Garcia's District; and Barack Obama, chief of staff for State Sen. Alice Palmer. Obama is running for Palmer's vacant seat.

...or how about this from the Progressive Populist?

http://www.populist.com/11.96.Edit.html

"New Party member Barack Obama was uncontested for a State Senate seat from Chicago."

Notice how all these sources are solidly left-wing media, not right-wingers trying to substantiate some false association. So why haven't we heard more about this? Well Barack sure hasn't been forthcoming about his past, but the distancing started early on:

http://web.archive.org/web/19991115093609/members.aol.com/NewPartyIL/natnews1.html

"NP member and State Senate candidate Barack Obama won uncontested. Interestingly, it appears that the local Democratic machine is trying to distance itself from our folks. At a "Democratic Unity" march on Chicago's West Side, a flyer invited community members to join with a host of local democratic candidates. The only two west-side Democrats not listed: NP members Danny Davis (U.S. House candidate) and Michael Chandler (Alderman and Ward Committeeman)."

So what did this radical New Party stand for? Well, I encourage you to sample some of their own words. Like most parties, they generalize with statements that seem incontrovertible that all would agree with and some "reading between the lines" is needed but I thought these highlights taken from the links below were worth reading:

http://web.archive.org/web/19990222062425/http://www.newparty.org/about_the_np.html and http://web.archive.org/web/19990128005940/www.newparty.org/npprogram.html

• A reduction of national military spending to that necessary to the defense of the United States, and an end to unilateral military interventions [read: reduce military might; we don't defend our country unless we have UN support]
• In all aspects of our economy and social life, an absolute bar to discrimination based on race, gender, age, country of origin, and sexual orientation, and absolute security in reproductive rights, fundamental liberties, and privacy. [read: pro-gay marriage; pro-late term abortion; perhaps pro-infanticide in the case of botched abortions?]
• A progressive tax system based on the ability to pay. [read: increase taxes on the weathly; income redistribution]
• Rebuilding our cities and metropolitan regions -- the cornerstones of a high-wage and ecologically sustainable economy -- through community-led programs of comprehensive, democratic, high-wage, and low-waste economic development. [read: We love groups like ACORN and AFL-CIO!]
• Full public financing of elections, universal voter registration, proportional representation, free party competition. [read: pro-voter fusion; fund and require everyone to be registered to vote even if they don't want to vote; create "affirmative action" laws for the government representation by race, gender, etc.]
• Full employment, a shorter work week, and a guaranteed minimum income for all adults; a universal "social wage" to include such basic benefits as health care, child care, vacation time, and lifelong access to education and training; a systematic phase-in of comparable worth and like programs to ensure gender equity. [read: SOCIALISM OR COMMUNISM; WE DONT CARE WHAT YOU CALL IT JUST BRING IT ON!!!!]

I am serious about this folks, this is the Barack Obama hidden agenda. Look at how it matches exactly with what we've already learned about Obama. I know I am being a bit of a johnny-come-lately but I am trying my best to let you know too before we get "Change" we will regret.