Action Item

Regarding Obama's asinine decision to invite anti-choice homobigot Rev. Rick Warren to do the invocation at the inaugural, some of you were asking for contact information to register your disapproval. You can send a message to the transition team here, and you can contact the executive director/CEO of the Inaugural Committee, Emmett Beliveau, by calling 202-203-1715 or emailing him at emmett@pic2009.org.

Also, care of Pam, below are the official talking points from Team Obama on the selection of Rick Warren, which, as Arkades said in comments, "sound pretty self-satisfied, which leads me to believe Obama's team has already anticipated criticism on this. (Yet went ahead with this anyway. Grrrr.)"

• This will be the most open, accessible, and inclusive Inauguration in American history.

• In keeping with the spirit of unity and common purpose this Inauguration will reflect, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have chosen some of the world's most gifted artists and people with broad appeal to participate in the inaugural ceremonies.

• Pastor Rick Warren has a long history of activism on behalf of the disadvantaged and the downtrodden. He's devoted his life to performing good works for the poor and leads the evangelical movement in addressing the global HIV/AIDS crisis. In fact, the President-elect recently addressed Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health to salute Warren's leadership in the struggle against HIV/AIDS and pledge his support to the effort in the years ahead.

• The President-elect disagrees with Pastor Warren on issues that affect the LGBT community. They disagree on other issues as well. But what's important is that they agree on many issues vital to the pursuit of social justice, including poverty relief and moving toward a sustainable planet; and they share a commitment to renewing America's promise by expanding opportunity at home and restoring our moral leadership abroad.

• As he's said again and again, the President-elect is committed to bringing together all sides of the faith discussion in search of common ground. That's the only way we'll be able to unite this country with the resolve and common purpose necessary to solve the challenges we face.

• The Inauguration will also involve Reverend Joseph Lowery, who will be delivering the official benediction at the Inauguration. Reverend Lowery is a giant of the civil rights movement who boasts a proudly progressive record on LGBT issues. He has been a leader in the struggle for civil rights for all Americans, gay or straight.

• And for the very first time, there will be a group representing the interests of LGBT Americans participating in the Inaugural Parade.

Totally infuriating. I'm so tired of "addressing the global HIV/AIDS crisis" being offered up as some get-out-of-jail-free card for homobigotry. Aside from reinforcing the idea that HIV/AIDS is a "gay disease" (at the expense of other communities it also disproportionately affects, while simultaneously reinforcing a long-held bias against gay men), it conveniently ignores that the political needs of the LGBTQI community exist beyond HIV/AIDS.

And I just adore that Warren's virulently anti-choice views are boiled down to sufficiently encapsulated in "They disagree on other issues as well." Got that, girls? If you're concerned about a misogynist who doesn't acknowledge your bodily autonomy being invited to play a prominent role in the inaugural, don't worry: They disagree on other issues as well.

And you know why they think they don't need to address progressive women? Because they assume that leading progressive men will do the job of telling us to STFU for them. So I damn well hope that the Shaker men will make their voices heard as feminist/womanist allies and explicitly say in your letters that you object to an anti-choice reverend being given this opportunity and feel like it's a stick in the eye to feminists/womanists and their allies.