Everywhere I turn I find evidence that we have no real leader. Tammy Lynn Michaels is our voice? Jasmyne Cannick is our civil rights spokesmodel? The HRC has, as Andrew Sullivan pointed out, has been almost entirely absent these past few weeks:

You will notice that the website of the biggest gay rights group in the country has one single mention - it's a blog about a celebrity, of course - of the massive protests that occurred for marriage equality across the country yesterday. (A letter from Joe Solmonese tells us to be nice.) You will also notice that a handful of young non-professionals were able to organize in a few days what HRC has been incapable of doing in months or years. You will know from brutal experience that in the two decades of serious struggle for marriage equality, the Human Rights Campaign has been mostly absent, and when present, often passive or reactive. Here's a simple statistic that might help shake us out of complacency: HRC claims to have spent $3.4 million on No On 8. The Mormon church was able to spend over $20 million, by appealing to its members. Why are non-gay Mormons more capable of organizing and fund-raising on a gay rights measure than the biggest national gay rights group? I mean: they claim (absurdly, but bear with me) 725,000 supporters and members. In the summer, the major problem for No On 8 was insufficient early funding. If HRC had led, they could have thrown their money weight behind it. If every supporter had given $20 - chump change for the biggest ever battle yet for civil rights - they could have delivered $14 million overnight. So why didn't they?

The two people who have been our best voices are Michelangelo Signorile and Wanda Sykes. All of our spokespeople are leading us by default. Where is our Harvey Milk? Where is our generation's Larry Kramer?

I don't always, or even often, agree with Andrew Sullivan. But, as a married gay man, he has written an aching call for equality that is, well, inspirational. And soothing.

Yes, it is heart-breaking: it is always hard to be in a tiny minority whose rights and dignity are removed by a majority. It's a brutal rebuke to the state supreme court, and enshrinement in California's constitution that gay couples are now second-class citizens and second class human beings. Massively funded by the Mormon church, a religious majority finally managed to put gay people in the back of the bus in the biggest state of the union. The refusal of Schwarzenegger to really oppose the measure and Obama's luke-warm opposition didn't help. And cruelly, a very hefty black turnout, as feared, was one of the factors that defeated us, according to the exit poll. Today this is one of the solaces to a hard right and a Republican party that sees gay people as the least real of Americans.

. . . If we had won this, this civil rights battle would be all but over. Now, it isn't. So we get back to work, arguing, talking. speaking, debating, writing, blogging, and struggling to change more minds. The hope for equality can never be extinguished, however hard our opponents try. And in the unlikely history of America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Read it in its entirety. It's worth it.

The Week has a collection of links to articles from Frank Rich and Andrew Sullivan asking if America is post-racist.

Is America post-racist? No, it's not. No. As a person of Mexican ancestry who looks white in the winter months, I can't tell you how many times I've heard nasty comments from white people (who assume I'm white) about Mexicans. The last time was a few weeks ago when I went to the wedding reception of a friend and his new husband. They had just returned from California, and their families had thrown them something of a surprise celebration.

My friend, who is Filipino, married a wonderful man who happens to be white. When I chatted with my friend's new lawyer sister-in-law, who appeared thrilled that her gay brother had gotten married, she told me she was from San Antonio. I know nothing of San Antonio, except that it's in conservative Texas. She seemed like such a lovely and open-minded person, so I asked her what her city was like, if it was liberal like Austin or conservative like the rest of the state. She rolled her eyes and said, "Well, it could be more liberal, but those Mexicans are overrunning the entire city! You know how they breed."

Continued after the jump.

I looked at her and smiled and said, "Well, I say the browner the better! I'm Mexican, so I think it sounds just perfect!"

She froze in place and then cleared her throat, "Oh, you're, uh, Mexican? Well, um, good for you! Good for you!"

Here was a woman, educated, sophisticated, and, yes, she had been drinking, whose was in Manhattan to celebrate her gay brother's wedding to a Filipino man. And even there, even in the middle of the most liberal experience imaginable, racism slipped in. And then out.

That's the thing with racism these days. Since it's incredibly uncool to be racist, whether you're on the left or the right, the racism beats a retreat into the basement. But it rarely gets thrown out.

A one-off experience? No. This kind of thing has happened to me a dozen times in the past few years. I don't know how much basement racism will factor in to the voting next Tuesday, but it will be a factor.

Via Andrew Sullivan:

As expected, one reason Proposition 8, stripping gay couples of marriage equality, is still viable in California is because of strong African-American support. Black Californians back the anti-gay measure by a margin of 20 points, 58 - 38, in the SUSA poll. No other ethnic group comes close to the level of opposition and black turnout is likely to be very high next month.

All this makes it vital, in my opinion, that Barack Obama strongly and unequivocally oppose Proposition 8 in California, rather than keeping mainly quiet as he has done so far.We need him to make an ad opposing it. This is a core test of whether gay Americans should back Obama as enthusiastically as they have in the last month. If he does not stand up for gay couples now, why should we believe he will when he is in office? And if black Americans are the critical bloc that helps kill civil rights for gays, that will not help deepen Obama's governing coalition. It could tear it apart.

Memo to Obama: make an ad. Speak loudly. Defend equality. Defend it when it might actually lose you some votes. Show us you are not another Clinton.

This is exactly what Obama needs to hear. The past few weeks (and today as well) I have been saying that we need Obama to stand up and tell the world that we are equal. Now he has been given a perfect opportunity. Step in to the ring, step up to the plate, step it up. Whatever analogy it takes, just do it.

Click below to jump the the full size players, or click here to launch them in a new window. Or just pull up a chair, hang out, and watch them in The Media Bar.

Today's Buffet:


Daily Song:
Start your week off nice and easy with Acoustic Monday. Amy Winehouse sings an acoustic version "Valerie" live.






Television:
Colin Powell Endorses Obama (7:25)




Movies:
Rachel Getting Married (2:25)




Politics:
Andrew Sullivan on The Chris Matthews Show (00:24). Sullivan briefly talks about ACORN.






Music Video:
Frankmusik "3 Little Words"


The players after the jump. Or click here to launch them in a new window or just pull up a chair and hang out in The Media Bar right next door.

Daily Song

Television (7:25)

Colin Powell Endorses Obama

Movies

Rachel Getting Married (2:25)

Politics

Andrew Sullivan on The Chris Matthews Show (00:24)

Music Video:

Frankmusik "3 Little Words"

From Slate:

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it would not hear the case of a 13-year-old Oregon boy whose parents disagree over whether he should be circumcised. The father claims the boy wants to have the operation, but the mother contends that he is merely bending to his father's will. Now a trial judge will attempt to ascertain the boy's wishes. How can the court determine what the boy really wants?

The case is complicated by the teenager's recent conversion to Judaism. I'm betting Andrew Sullivan is going to step in if he needs to.