Maman Poulet

Michael D Higgins – National Treasure!

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Ian, a veteran from various campaigns this side of the pond goes to Virgina, joins up with the teamsters and goes knocking on doors to get out the vote. He’s blogging about it, including news on dirty tricks and going to an Obama rally.

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Forever to be known as the Obamercial. It was risky but it turned out very smooth, very calm, very presidential.

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Did you ever get the feeling that Ryan Tubridy has not got over Hillary Clinton not winning the Democratic Nomination for the US Presidential Election?

On Saturday night’s TV show during a cooking piece with St. Nevin Maguire of all people, Ryan picked up two bags of icing, one white and one brown and laddishly squeezed them going ‘Barack Obama – John McCain wahay….’ Wtf was that all about?

Yes Ryan we know that Obama is black and McCain is white – do you need to make a joke (and a really crass one at that!) about it?

You can watch it all here - (Click on the Saturday 25th October piece featuring Nevin Maguire) the piece starts about 8:10 in if you don’t want to hear all about Nevin’s marriage proposal and his fawning over Mary McAleese.

Add to this a completely pointless piece on Today with Pat Kenny yesterday morning regarding what would happen if a presidential nominee died before the inauguration. I kid you not… RTE seem to be on death threat execution watch.

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A. When it’s an ‘expenditure control measure’. Read the full text here.

Deirdre de Burca spent time telling Vincent Browne last night on TV3 that the Greens would have huge input into the amendment to the Labour Party’s private members motion on the Education Cuts/ Class size increases etc. tonight. They spent a lot of time yesterday wringing their hands and looking all concerned and talking about their great input into government.

Was that their effort – trying not to state the bleedin’ obvious?

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But we knew Sarah Palin wasn’t one anyway…

Watch the flip flop and you’ll know what I’m talking about!

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While I was away I saw that GLEN had it’s 2007 annual report launched by Sean Aylward, Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on behalf of the Minister Dermot Ahern who was not able to attend due to urgent government business.

On the same day the Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, released her annual report and made note of the difficulties and unfairness facing cohabiting couples. Later that week there was an editorial in the Irish Times on the need for legislation in both the area of cohabitation and registration of same sex relationships. At the end of all that we are no closer to knowing when the legislation will be debated.

However the Irish Times mention money and the cost in their editorial.

The fact that consequential tax and welfare changes will involve a cost to the exchequer should not be used to justify delay. As things stand, the terms of the Cohabiting Bill and its legal protections are unlikely to become law until late next year, at the earliest. Only then will Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern be in a position to advise other relevant agencies of the need for fiscal change. Extra costs may not be incurred until 2010 or later. Whatever about concerns regarding these financial aspects, it is vital that the Government should live up to its commitment to formally recognise, at the earliest possible date, the many forms of relationships that exist in modern Ireland.

Are there finally reliable statistics on the costs that would be incurred by the state in the introduction of protections for co-habiting couples and a scheme of recognition of same-sex partnerships? Or maybe it would be more interesting to note estimations of the losses incurred by couples over the years due to the lack of the legislation?

I’ve said it before that I think we shouldn’t be talking up money at all regarding this set of human rights issues. It’s a cop out clause. But human rights, equality and diversity seem to be viewed by this government only in terms of economics – and that was before the credit crunch. Even the ngo’s speak in the lingo of assets and economic cases for diversity. GLEN made mention of the talented gays during the boom times when Bertie Ahern opened their office two years ago and now again seemingly during the gloom will bring shiny happy gays to the table to deliver our talents to save the world. So if and when we next hear about the legislation from the Minister will he say he’d love to bring it in but he can’t afford it? And the message from the lobby groups is that Ireland will be better off financially if we do it?

Segregation comparisons in one hand and recession busting in the other. I can hardly wait for the next move – partnered gays good for climate change? Has the basics of fighting for our rights to live with and love who we want on the principles of human rights completely failed? The stories of immigration concerns facing couples, partners losing housing after death, ex’s being treated unfairly in dissolutions, and others being banned from funerals etc when their partner died have been abandoned.

Meanwhile Britain has seen it’s first celebrity divorce. It was all a bit too straight and uninspiring for Barbara Ellen in today’s Observer.

What is it with the gay community that their vision of equality so frequently ends up resembling an ersatz version of heterosexuality, even to the point where, in some gay quarters, the response to this – the first high-profile gay divorce – would be one of celebration, of feeling that gay marriage has somehow come of age? It’s as if being gay and having the right to get married was all very well, but getting divorced is even better, almost akin to an official blooding.

All of which is understandable on some levels (after all they’ve been through, who could begrudge the gay community their hard-won badges of normality and acceptance?), bizarre and sad on others. The rationale seemingly is: ‘You see, it’s not all about confetti and costumes and parties with us; we do lawyers and heartbreak, too, just like you straights.’

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Keith is in Virginia, Gavin is in Washington DC and the Hag of Beara returns to blog as she hits Ohio. Have I missed anyone else?

Me? I’m back from sunny Spain to a horribly cold Dublin, back to work and I’m going to hole up for a few weeks and read about the elections at home. And I’ll take November 5th off

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Apologies that something seems to have eaten this post… I did say something in praise of Obama and feeling nervous for the next 11 days or something. Meanwhile I´m off in search of the last supper in Andalucia. Back to Dublin tomorrow.

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It’s not the first time I have heard this. And it’s probably futile to think that this might be the last time. However it is a discussion worth having.

THE GOVERNMENT’S Civil Partnership Bill was compared to past segregationist policies in South Africa at the annual Turas na mBan gathering held in Westport, Co Mayo at the weekend.

Addressing the conference on the subject of Love and Social Change, Dr Anne Louise Gilligan said institutions creating separation and segregation never worked.

I disagree that the introduction of civil partnerships as opposed to marriage in Ireland could bring about the situation that was segregation in South Africa. Whilst Desmond Tutu has said that “homophobia is as unjust as apartheid” he did not say that they were the same and neither did he say that civil partnerships (as opposed to marriage) were as unjust as apartheid. I understand that Archbishop Tutu has written the foreword to the recently published book written by Dr. Gilligan and her spouse Dr. Katherine Zappone. Maybe Tutu has expanded this train of thought further and I look forward to reading it upon my return.

Critiques of the Civil Partnership Heads of Bill are needed – there is no mention of tax or social welfare in the proposed legislation. Others have pointed to the lack of acknowledgement of parental rights or the rights of children in the plans of the government.

However taking the now well worn path to simply point to the fact that it’s not marriage won’t help lesbians and gay men and our relationships receive recognition or indeed respect the fact that many do not want marriage.  I wonder when someone else is going to recognise the class divide in the campaign for marriage equality. What? Classism in lesbian and gay politics in Ireland? Oops there I go I mentioned it.

Dr. Gilligan is also quoted in the article calling for a respect for difference which I could not agree more with.

“One of our greatest challenges – a core challenge – in Ireland today is to accept and respect diversity. In order to have real equality, not only do we have to accept our sameness, equally importantly we must accept our differences,” she said.

One hopes that this respect would extend to me for expressing my discomfort with this departure in the the fight for equality for lesbians and gay men.

I would be interested in debating the ease with which white lesbians and gay men attempt to adopt the politics of race in their campaigns for equality. Any takers?

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