See Part One.

There's a literary reference that comes to mind when I consider "Drop Dead" conservatism. (My English Lit. degree occasionally comes in handy.) It's a Shakespearean reference, actually, to a character from one of his lesser known plays.

"Drop Dead." That's the best answer that some conservatives have been able to offer to a country in teeth of the worst financial crisis we've faced in a generation. When the Wall Street crisis loomed and the bailout was being debated:

Wow. It's kind of unbelievable, really. You take something away from people, and they get angry. Take away hard won rights, and equal protection for those they love, and people get really angry.

In the week since, California has seen an outpouring of demonstrations ranging from quiet vigils...

It has been a strange couple of weeks. Just last week, I saw something that I never thought I'd see in my lifetime, and felt like I was witnessing it for all my ancestors who didn't live to see a hope fulfilled. But -- with a "twoness of being"...

Ed. Note: I plan on writing something about black voters, the passage of proposition 8 in California, and the discussion that has ensued about whether the former failed in part because of the latter. In the meantime, I thought I'd republish some old content that might be relevant to the...

Ed. Note: I plan on writing something about black voters, the passage of proposition 8 in California, and the discussion that has ensued about whether the former failed in part because of the latter. In the meantime, I thought I'd republish some old content that might be relevant to the...

Ed. Note: I plan on writing something about black voters, the passage of proposition 8 in California, and the discussion that has ensued about whether the former failed in part because of the latter. In the meantime, I thought I'd republish some old content that might be relevant to the...

It's been a long, long time coming
But I know, a change is gonna come.
Oh, yes it will.
-Sam Cooke, "A Change is Gonna Come"

At 11:01 p.m. last night, after the polls closed in California, I just had to call someone. I'd spent the night at the National...

Last week I ventured into the "spreading the wealth" discussion with a post attempting to unpack one aspect of why even some people who might be helped by the kind of economic policies Obama is proposing are against them anyway. It was a rather long post, so I...

In my work-related news reading this morning, I came across an interesting take on Obama's exchange with "Joe the Plumber."

The truth is that Obama in Ohio spoke the language of American democracy, which has always included a perception that wealth is a form of power, and that...

Before I launch into this post, let me just be clear about one thing. I'm not sure of much anymore. But I am fairly certain that I shouldn't be writing this, or much of anything having to do with politics these days. For starters, I'm not that relevant as a...

Part One: Yours, Mine...

One of the things I hoped for when Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic convention, was that she would introduce people to the America that she came from, and that was the setting of her story. One of the biggest shames in the campaign — aside...

I don't remember how old I was the first time it happened. I couldn't have been more than ten years old. We were in Philadelphia -- my mother, my younger sister, and I -- visiting my great grandfather on my mother's side of the family. For my sister and me,...

As you're reading this, I'm either on my way to, in, or on my way back from New Jersey. There reason for the trip is incredibly happy one. Today is the day we're finalizing Dylan's adoption. Last week we got a letter from the adoption agency's lawyer, confirming the court...

I knew as soon as the California Supreme Court marriage ruling was posted, that I would read the whole thing. I started reading it at my desk, after it was posted, but stopped once got to the "bottom line" of the ruling —...

Ed. Note: The images below may disturb you. They should. They disturb me too. But that doesn't necessarily mean we shouldn't look at them.

Sometimes you have to take people by the scruff of their necks and stick their noses in something for them to finally see it.

Forget green cards. A growing number of Americans are, according to the Los Angeles Times, getting hitched to get health insurance.

Some people marry for love, some for companionship, and others for status or money. Now comes another reason to get hitched: health insurance.

In a...

This weekend, we attended a local conference for LGBT parents and families, and I spoke on a panel about interracial couples and intercultural families. At some point, I found myself speaking less as a gay dad and more as a black man raising two black sons, and wondering aloud just...

It's a question posed to some parents, and especially — in one form or another — gay parents. I was asked this question during an interview with Slovenian television (of all things). The question got cut from our segment of the interview,...

Well, you won't find it among the characteristics listed on the Scout Law. But, yeah, in my case a scout is queer.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from the National Eagle Scout Association. (Yes, I'm an Eagle Scout.) I either ignored it or forgot...