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The Blend received a notice about the White House signing ceremony in the inbox; there hasn’t been an official release yet…
You are cordially invited for remarks by President Barack Obama to commemorate the enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act on Wednesday, October 28th, at 4:45 pm in the White House.The commemoration will include a reception in partnership with the David Bohnett Foundation.
Please RSVP today, Monday, October 26th, no later than 8:00 pm Eastern. RSVP by completing the attached security clearance spreadsheet and return it to {deleted – Pam.}.
Once we have your confirmation, further instructions for the event will be emailed to you on Tuesday.This invitation is non-transferable.
Thank you, and we look forward to your response and attendance.
Brian K. Bond
Deputy Director
White House Office of Public Engagement Office
The email invitations were sent out to 250-300 people, most in the LGBT community, to attend the White House reception, according to our source; the event co-sponsor, David Bohnett is a Los Angeles-based philanthropist.
16 Comments
Well?Are you going?
So are you going?It’s only about five hours drive to DC from your house. If you get to meet the Pres you can ask him why he is not taking the lead and pressuring Congress on ENDA.
no invite in my inbox…Unfortunately I cannot do a five-hour drive these days because of my fibromyalgia and the heinous neuropathy in my feet. I just got back from the endo today and was told that I need to get a permanent handicapped placard. I’m still in shock and feeling quite down that my condition is going downhill fast (but that’s for another diary and thread).
I would need an official Blend driver . I cannot even contemplate what the air fare would be if I was invited.
If I leave now. . .from Connecticut, I could be in Durham by tomorrow morning which leaves me enough time to get you to DC by Wednesday morning.
No Invite In My E-Mail boxSo why am I not surprised about it?
Pam, are you serious?I used all my U.S. Airways miles to get people to Maine, but I have some American Airlines miles left. I just checked flying out tomorrow from RDU and returning Wednesday from DCA would only cost 12,500 miles each way.
You have my email and you can check with Louise I’m not a nut case. I can cover the airline tickets if you’re interested. Just make sure you aren’t really a RWG.
I will rent a car and drive down from NYC to be your driver! It would be an honor!
I can’t get there from CA to drive……but I can chip in $35 for gas money or other expenses if it will help. My profile email works great, just let me know and I can paypal, mail a check, whatever.
Me too. . .If funds will help get you to DC I can pitch in also.
Pam, you have worked so tirelessly for the rights of the oppressed for so long – YOU DESERVE TO BE THERE!
Joe Solmonese I’m sure will be there and he does not represent me – You on other hand do and i want you there and I’m not taking no for an answer.
“nvitations were sent out to 250-300 people”Otherwise known as Obama’s gay unconventional conventionists.
I’m genuinely sorry to hear about your continuing health problems, Pam..
…and that it’s unlikely he will use the occasion to explain why he let his DOJ try to quash another legal challenge to DADT.
DCPam, you always have a place to stay here in DC.
DADTMichael,
Did you see this?
http://www.knightsout.org/arti…
Yes, I did, but…
…thank you for mentioning it, as I could have easily missed it.
Assume Pam will post a separate thread about it…a statement by the new Secretary of the Army that is a MAJOR step forward, but, just in case her health problems today prevent that, here’s my comment [not "off topic" of this thread which is fundamentally Obama and his relationship with the LGBT community]:
First, Secretary Hughes silly stumble about some possible kind of segregation of out gays aside [which was both briefly toyed with in 1993 and in between the lines of statements by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates earlier this year], his saying that the military can handle gay integration is a remarkable development…and one that just might get him in a little bit of hot water.
For, in the vernacular of the peasantry, he just called “Bullshit!” on the “the sky will fall” mumbling of not just National Homohatred Advisor James Jones, not just the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on which he serves, Mike Mullen, and on his fellow Chiefs that have resisted, but also on his bosses, Gates, and the Commander-in-Chief/POTUS…as well as those members of Congress who have excused their own inaction by saying “it’s up to the military to decide.” He’s passed back the hot potato and there are lots of burned fingers across Washington today.
Nevertheless, we must never speak of repeal without also insisting the CIC invoke the powers Congress gave him to freeze discharges in the name of national security. Nearly five hundred gay servicemembers have “bled to death” since January 20th while the White House has been waiting for Dr. Congress to arrive.
Or as David Mixner put it so well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
Correction…
Mea culpa. Secretary Hughes is not on the Joint Chiefs of Staff which are all active duty military.