BOSTON — This song was dedicated to President Bush by Boston Women’s Rainbow Chorus at a “dump Bush” tea party on Sunday, sponsored by leading homosexual Democratic groups:
“We’re fired up, ain’t gonna take it no more.
“We’re tied up, ain’t gonna take it no more.
“You say cool down, we say step down.
“You’re breaking my mother’s heart. Shame, shame.”
Gay group says Kerryweak on ’marriage’
BOSTON — Homosexual-rights activists are rallying their troops to support the Kerry-Edwards ticket, but at least one group is balking because of Democrats’ lack of support for homosexual “marriage.”
“It’s a classic case of spinelessness,” said Andy Thayer, spokesman for DontAmend.com, a group dedicated to blocking amendments that define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry’s support for civil unions instead of same-sex “marriage” is “a two-faced game,” Mr. Thayer said from a train yesterday that was taking him to Boston to picket the homosexual-rights activists’ big “Unity 2004” party last night.
“Civil unions are basically a separate-but-equal institution, … and I find it personally offensive to say that this is a good thing for any community,” he said.
If activists are to be successful, they have to keep demanding what they want, he said.
“We’re not going to give [Mr. Kerry] a free pass like other gay organizations.”
Democratic leaders already were in the doghouse over the Human Rights Campaign’s decision last week to “disinvite” comedian Margaret Cho from the Unity 2004 party. Press accounts indicated that Democratic leaders were worried that Miss Cho might be a little too outrageous, as Whoopi Goldberg was recently.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force then withdrew as a sponsor of the event.
Miss Cho has been a staunch supporter of equal rights and “is, indeed, one of us,” said Matt Foreman, executive director of the task force.
If she’s not coming, “we must regretfully withdraw our support for this event.”
Traffic snarlsless than feared
BOSTON — Months of dire warnings about nightmarish traffic and transit hassles during the Democratic National Convention this week apparently led many commuters to stay home yesterday morning, resulting in a smoother-than-expected ride on most roads and railways.
Some routes, including Interstate 93 southbound, experienced the predicted traffic snarls. But commuters on other highways were surprised at a relatively stress-free ride.
“I thought it was going to be awful,” said Lesley Peters, 42, an accountant from Danvers riding in a bus amid lighter-than-normal traffic on Route 1A. “It’s brilliant, great. Everything’s been really easy.”
Al Jazeera askedto remove sign
BOSTON — The Democrats are trying to keep Al Jazeera out of the American public’s sight.
The 24-hour Qatar-based satellite channel was asked to remove a colorful $30,000 banner from near the convention podium that would have been seen by millions of television viewers alongside logos for media outlets such as CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS.
The Arabic-language station, which sent 16 staff members to cover the convention, was ordered to remove the sign by convention organizers, who said the decision was made for aesthetic reasons. In its place is a “JohnKerry.com” banner.
“We’ve taken down other signs, like Comcast’s,” convention spokeswoman Peggy Wilhide said.
Al Jazeera frequently has shown exclusive videotapes and audiotapes of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, and a recent documentary showed its staff lamenting the fall of Baghdad last year.
18-year-old haspolitics in blood
BOSTON — Jonathan R. Siegel wears a blue pinstriped suit with his name embossed on a John Kerry Florida Leadership Team name tag. He walks along a line of fellow delegates, pumping hands, saying hello and meeting politicians more than twice his age.
In a month, the 18-year-old will haul his belongings into a dorm at Columbia University. But before hitting campus, Mr. Siegel hopes to glimpse his future in the hotel ballrooms and receptions teeming with energy this week at the Democratic National Convention.
“I’ve always been interested in politics. I think it’s such a hugely important thing — it affects every single person in the country,” Mr. Siegel says. Asked about running for office, he says: “Someday I’d like to. I think it’s a little early now — I just became eligible a couple of months ago.”
For Mr. Siegel, politics runs deep. His father, Mark Alan Siegel, served as a state assemblyman in New York before the family moved to Boca Raton, Fla., in the early 1990s.
The teenager’s earliest political memory is from first grade, when he explained to a fellow student “why Democrats are better than Republicans.”
From wire dispatches and staff reports
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