The Soloist Project: How to Sing to Sports Fans?

I posted the following on SportsFags.com but I'm publishing it here as well so that I get as much feedback as possible.

---

Focus on the Family is spending $2.5 million on a Super Bowl ad.

I will use my blog to raise opposing voices. My idea is to make this part of "The Soloist Project", a grassroots letter-writing campaign.

Since I don't know sports, I'd like your advice on how to do this in an effective way. What sort of message would sports people respond to? Here's my first-draft idea for a sample letter to the editor. Please comment and make whatever alternative suggestions come to mind. I need help from sports people to communicate effectively.

To the Editor:

While watching the Super Bowl on February 7 you may notice an advertisement that promotes family values. At least that's what "Focus on the Family" wants you to believe. They want it badly enough to spend two and a half million dollars on it.

If you think for a moment it will become clear to you that "Focus on the Family" does not focus on anything of the sort, and that the advertisement does not promote anything. Their focus is on gay people, and their intent is to make sure that gay people remain second-class citizens.

If "Focus on the Family" truly cared about families they would focus on reducing the divorce rate. But they are not interested in telling people to be responsible for their own actions. Instead, they want to convince you that a minority group is the problem. They want you to believe that a minority group is a threat to you.

As you watch the advertisement, please think for a moment. Think about the fact that "Focus on the Family" spent two and a half million dollars in order to prevent people from having the same rights that you and I enjoy. And think about the fact that, if gay people were to gain more rights, it would not hurt your rights or mine in the least. If you don't believe that, then go to the internet and look up the current Proposition 8 trial. Not one of the Proposition 8 supporters has been able to name a single way in which same-sex marriage would hurt conventional marriage.

"Focus on the Family" does not focus on the family. They focus on bitterness, anger, fear and hate. That's a heavy burden. Don't let them hand it to you. And if you are already carrying that burden, then please consider looking a gay person in the eye and seeing that person as a human being just like you. Please consider laying your burden down.

The Soloist Project

Thanks for joining The Soloist Project in its fledgling stage! If you're ready to write a letter to the editor of a Central New York newspaper, you will swoon at the convenience of the handy-dandy contact links on my Newspaper List. So far that's all I've had time for, so if you live outside Central New York, please find your hometown newspaper on abyznewslinks.com and get writing those letters! And please come back and post them here so we can all applaud your solo!

---

It was around 1994 when I sang my first voice solo: a few bars from "Oklahoma" in a show tune medley. I was so scared that I entered a fugue state. It was as close as I've come to an out-of-body experience.

Solos are scary. The intertwining threads of harmony fall away, leaving your voice alone and exposed. Anyone with half an ear can hear the slightest flaw.

But you have a chance to shine, with no other lights to eclipse you. You have a chance to carry that room. God, what a thrill.

Lately there have been a lot of voices like this. They are embarrassingly desperate to affect logic but their lies and distortions are just variations on the theme of hatred. They can't disguise this any more than a man with an abscessed ulcer can hide the smell rising from the core of him.

And yet together these singers form a rough harmony of sorts. After all, if one gathers enough recta with complementary acoustic qualities, even a chorus of farts can attain a kind of sonorousness.

If you live in a small town and you're reading this, maybe you also hear a chorus of farts from your local newspaper. If you're like me, you've had it with people comparing gay folks to dogs. If you're like me, you're ready to scream at the hateful chorus.

But instead of screaming, how'd you like to sing?

Don't let the chorus be the only thing the audience hears. Take the stage, even if it's only for a few bars. Sure, the timpani and tuba and kazoos will thunder and blat in cacophonous disapproval the moment you're done, but what of it? You may not carry that room, but by god for a moment every ear will hear your joyful noise.

So make your voice heard. And don't let it be a fart - a fart alone on the stage sounds silly. Your solitude obligates you to sing well. Sing with abandon. Sing of love and grace and dignity.

Sing a solo.

The Soloist Project - Central New York Kickoff

If you got here from Twitter, you've taken the first step toward showing Central New York that you support LGBT equality! Now you're just seconds away from sending a letter to your local newspaper. Please click the link below and raise your loving voice above the chorus of hate, anger and misunderstanding.


For more on this project, see below.

---

Last week Senator David Valesky voted "Yes" on S4401, the gay marriage bill. As the Syracuse Post Standard noted, he was the only Central New York senator to do so.

I think this deserves a big "Thank you!". That's why I wrote this letter, which was published in the Post Standard and will supposedly be printed tomorrow in the Madison County Courier.

To the Editor:

Wednesday the New York Senate voted 38-24 against S4401, “An act to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to the ability to marry.” I’m disappointed, but not surprised. Neither am I particularly discouraged.

A New York Times article said that “The vote means that the bill, pushed by Gov. David A. Paterson, is effectively dead for the year and destroys the optimism of gay rights advocates.”

The Times is dead wrong. My optimism is not destroyed. Far from it. I’m delighted with those numbers: 38-24. That means that 39 percent of New York state senators voted for marriage equality. Just 10 or 20 years ago, that would have been unimaginable. That is breathtaking progress.

Of the six senators from Central New York, only Sen. David J. Valesky voted “yes” on S4401. Sen. Valesky: Thank you. You bolster my faith that I will live to see gay people attain the same legal rights that I take for granted.

Hugh Yeman
Larchmont

But I think it deserves a bigger "Thank you!" than that. As a matter of fact, I think it deserves a "Thank you!" from every LGBT individual and ally in the Central New York area.

I've been meaning to start a nationwide grassroots letter-to-the-editor campaign ever since I had the thrilling experience of seeing my letter about the Link Trail published in the Oneida Daily Dispatch. This represents the perfect first step.

It will take a long time to develop a database of all U.S. newspapers along with their editorial contact information and/or their online letter submission URL. But, by limiting myself to Senator Valesky's district, I was able to put together just such a list in a fairly short amount of time.

So now that I have my list, all I need to do is start Twittering, like so.

#LGBT and allies near Lenox, NY! Would you please write a letter to Madison Eagle? [link to this page]

Let's see what happens.

---

LIST OF CENTRAL NEW YORK NEWSPAPERS BY TOWN

Baldwinsville	Baldwinsville Messenger	Editor: Erin Smith Email: messenger@cnylink.com
Bridgeport	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Camillus	Eagle Observer	Editor: Ami Olson Email: aolson@cnylink.com
Canastota	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Cazenovia	Cazenovia Pilot	http://www.cazpilot.com/wordpress/index.php/forum/
Cazenovia	Cazenovia Republican	Editor: Doug Campbell Email: republican@cnylink.com
Chittenango	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Cicero	Star Review	Editor: Farah Jadran Pike Email: fpike@cnylink.com
Clay	Star Review	Editor: Farah Jadran Pike Email: fpike@cnylink.com
DeWitt	DeWitt Times	Editor: Tami Zimmerman Email: bulletin@cnylink.com
DeWitt	Eagle Bulletin	Editor: Tami Zimmerman Email: bulletin@cnylink.com
Eaton	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Elbridge	Eagle Observer	Editor: Ami Olson Email: aolson@cnylink.com
Erieville	Cazenovia Republican	Editor: Doug Campbell Email: republican@cnylink.com
Fairmount	Eagle Observer	Editor: Ami Olson Email: aolson@cnylink.com
Fayetteville	Eagle Bulletin	Editor: Tami Zimmerman Email: bulletin@cnylink.com
Fenner	Cazenovia Republican	Editor: Doug Campbell Email: republican@cnylink.com
Hamilton	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Hamilton	Maroon News	http://www.maroon-news.com/options/send-a-letter-to-the-editor
Hamilton	Mid York Weekly	http://media.uticaod.com/editorial/tools/share/submit_letter.php
Jack's Reef	Eagle Observer	Editor: Ami Olson Email: aolson@cnylink.com
Jordan	Eagle Observer	Editor: Ami Olson Email: aolson@cnylink.com
Kirkville	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Lakeport	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Lenox	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Lincoln	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Liverpool	Star Review	Editor: Farah Jadran Pike Email: fpike@cnylink.com
Lysander	Baldwinsville Messenger	Editor: Erin Smith Email: messenger@cnylink.com
Madison	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Manlius	Eagle Bulletin	Editor: Tami Zimmerman Email: bulletin@cnylink.com
Marcellus	Eagle Observer	Editor: Ami Olson Email: aolson@cnylink.com
Memphis	Eagle Observer	Editor: Ami Olson Email: aolson@cnylink.com
Minoa	Eagle Bulletin	Editor: Tami Zimmerman Email: bulletin@cnylink.com
Morrisville	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Nelson	Cazenovia Republican	Editor: Doug Campbell Email: republican@cnylink.com
New Woodstock	Cazenovia Republican	Editor: Doug Campbell Email: republican@cnylink.com
North Syracuse	Star Review	Editor: Farah Jadran Pike Email: fpike@cnylink.com
Oneida	Madison County Courier	Martha Conway, Editor/Reporter 315-813-0124 or martha@m3ppublications.com
Oneida	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Oneida	Oneida Daily Dispatch	315-363-5100 Kurt Wanfried, Managing Editor, ext. 137 kwanfried@oneidadispatch.com
Perryville	Madison Eagle	Editor: Beth Pantzer Email: bpantzer@cnylink.com
Rome	Rome Observer	130 Broad St. Oneida, New York 13421 Phone: 315-363-5100 Fax: (315) 363-9832 editorial@mohawkvalleymedia.com
Rome	Rome Sentinel	editor@rny.com 337-4000
Salina	Star Review	Editor: Farah Jadran Pike Email: fpike@cnylink.com
Skaneateles	Skaneateles Press	Editor: Miranda Pennock Email: mpennock@cnylink.com
Syracuse	Catholic Sun	http://www.thecatholicsun.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=71 420 Montgomery St. New York 13201 315-422-8153 (phone) 315-422-7549 (fax)
Syracuse	Central New York Business Journal	Adam Rombel Editor-in-Chief Phone: (315) 579-3902 E-mail: arombel@cnybj.com
Syracuse	Daily Orange	Stephanie Musat, Editor in Chief Meredith Galante, Managing Editor (315) 443-9798 editor@dailyorange.com
Syracuse	Family Times	1415 West Genesee Street Syracuse, NY 13204 315.472.4669 (F) 315.422.1721
Syracuse	Post Standard	http://www.syracuse.com/contactus/
Syracuse	Syracuse City Eagle	Editor: Ellen Leahy Email: city@cnylink.com
Syracuse	Syracuse New Times	http://www.syracusenewtimes.com/index.php?option=com_contact&Itemid=3
Syracuse	Syracuse Parent	http://www.syracuseparent.net/contact/ Syracuse Parent 5910 Firestone Drive, Syracuse, NY 13206 email: editor@syracuseparent.net Editor Brittney F. Jerred 315.434.8889 ext 322
Syracuse	Urban CNY	http://urbancny.com/contact/index.php Kenneth Jackson, Editor and Publisher PHONE: (315) 422-7778 FAX: (315) 434-8883 EMAIL: kjackson@urbancny.com
Syracuse	WSTM	http://www.cnycentral.com/news/News_bloggers.aspx Matt Mulcahy Anchor mmulcahy@CNYcentral.com
Syracuse	WSYR	http://www.9wsyr.com/content/contact/default.aspx
Syracuse	WSYR	http://www.570wsyr.com/pages/contact.html?feed=120907&article=366507
Syracuse	WTVH	http://www.cnycentral.com/about/contact_us_form.aspx
Van Buren	Baldwinsville Messenger	Editor: Erin Smith Email: messenger@cnylink.com

We Few, We Happy Few...

UPDATE: The vote was postponed but it's still important to call your senator and make your voice heard!

---

If you want to bring yourself up to speed on the state of the gay marriage battle, CNN Political Ticker has a very concise summary. The New York Daily News has a somewhat expanded overview, and NJ.com has an article about the supporters and opponents of the bill who showed up in Trenton yesterday. All of them remind us that the battle moves to Washington, D.C. next month.

Last week the New York State Senate voted 38-24 against S4401, the gay marriage bill. As I wrote here, I don't consider this vote a loss. I do consider it a call to action. And action is just what we're getting in New Jersey right now.

Over the weekend gay marriage supporters reacted to the news from New York with a fresh surge of activity and opponents realized that they had to take the battle a little more seriously.

Yesterday the bill cleared the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee. The full Senate vote is set for this Thursday.

I have a modest proposal.

Let's make those marriage equality opponents take it really seriously.

Let's win.

And.

Even if we don't win, that's not the point. We're progressives, so let's make progress. Let's make every call, every letter, every conversation count. The vote last week in New York was 38-24. 39% of the senators voted for the bill. How about we push those numbers as far as we can? And push. And keep pushing. And push some more. And after we've pushed as much as we possibly can, we put our hands on our knees and wheeze for a bit and then we stand up again and we push.

Here's one way folks in New Jersey can do that right now.

1. Show up in person at your senator's office.

2. Call your senator.

3. Write a letter to your senator.

4. Send an e-mail to your senator.

Most people don't have time for #1, so that leaves 2-4.  You may be surprised to hear me recommend #2 next: phone calls. I know I was surprised when I heard that senators pay more attention to phone calls than to letters. Don't buy that? Read this article about why New York Senator Joseph Addabbo, who was funded by LGBT groups, decided to vote "No" on gay marriage last week.

So get on the phone, New Jersey and Washington D.C.! Hate tends to get people off their asses and yelling into the receiver more easily than compassion, so you'd better believe that monsters like this are burning up the lines. Don't let them speak for you. Make yourselves heard.

List of links from this article:

CNN Political Ticker: concise summary of the state of gay marriage

Daily News article providing good overview, mentions D.C.

NJ.com article about supporters and opponents who showed up in Trenton, also mentions D.C.

"Loss", My Ass! (My article about why the NY vote was not a loss)

NJ Senator Lookup

NY Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Who Was Funded By LGBT Groups, Explains His "No" Vote on Marriage

NJ.com anti-gay-marriage screed 

"Loss" My Ass!

OK, first of all: we did not lose anything yesterday. We failed to gain something. There's a sodding great difference, isn't there?

New York State has never allowed same-sex marriage. Yesterday the New York State Senate voted on a bill intended to change that aspect of the law. The bill did not pass, so the law did not change.

Everyone focuses on the supposedly devastating 38-24 vote. The New York Times, just minutes after the results came through, published an article saying that "the vote... destroys the optimism of gay rights advocates". BULLSHIT! My optimism was not destroyed. Those numbers simply prompted me to grab a calculator and quickly figure out that 39% of New York State Senators voted for the bill. 39%! Forget for a moment that, in the current political environment, we were guaranteed an upper ceiling of 51%, the percentage of Democratic senators. Even without taking that into consideration, the enormity of those numbers is staggering. Just ten or twenty years ago the very notion of same-sex marriage was unthinkable. Yesterday 39% of New York State senators voted for it. My god, people, if that's not progress then I'm... one of those hyperbolic animals.

How the hell can progressives see that kind of progress and not wake up with a smile on their faces, feeling invigorated and ready to push that 39% to 40% and to keep pushing until we get the progress that we want? I'll tell you how. It's easy if you have an overweening sense of entitlement.

People have worked and bled and died for the progress of the last few decades. Unfortunately that progress seems to have given this generation a pathological teleology. The world should be the way we want it to be, so if the requisite changes don't happen it… breaks us. We can't accept that the world hasn't already conspired to be the way we think it should be.

Yesterday I "listened" to people on Twitter and Facebook begin the predictable chorus of "Fuck New York". Even more disheartening were the self-satisfied microscreeds against all the "stupid hicks" who live "north of the Bronx". Never mind that, of the eight Democrats who voted "No" on the bill, only two were from upstate. That's right. Of those Democrats who had the temerity not to give us what we wanted, only 25% were dumb hicks.

Twenty years ago, few would have dared dream we'd make it this far. But here we are, and we're celebrating by... treating this as a loss? Having made massive progress, can it be that all progressives can think of to do is throw a hissy fit because we didn't get everything we wanted right now?

Progress takes time and effort. A 38-24 loss is not a defeat. It is the blowing of a horn. All who hear it should take heart, and throw themselves into the battle with renewed vigor. Else we don't deserve to call ourselves progressives.

Say it with me: "We did not lose anything. We failed to gain something."

Yesterday.

But what about tomorrow?

Times Square Rally

It's too late for me to start writing about today's disappointing but unsurprising New York State Senate defeat of the marriage equality bill, so for now I'll just post pictures from the rally that occurred in Times Square tonight in response to the decision.

Keep the Pressure on for Marriage Equality

As a media contact for the office of Christine Quinn, I got the following e-mail a little while ago. Then I clicked the link and got the phone numbers of two Senators: David J. Valesky, D-District 049 (for Oneida, where I grew up and still own property); and Suzi Oppenheimer, D-District 037 (for Larchmont, where I live). I just called each office. I was thrilled to hear that Senator Valesky is supporting the bill, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will get back to me about having him on this blog. I don't know yet whether Senator Oppenheimer is supporting it, but anyway I made the call and it felt great. I will be awaiting the outcome of the vote.

December 2, 2009

Dear New Yorker,

This is it.  The Marriage Equality Act is being debated on the floor of the New York State Senate today.  (You can watch it live at http://www.nysenate.gov/blogs/2009/dec/02/watch-senate-debate-marriage-equality.) 

We've been waiting for this day for a long time, and it's my hope that a majority of our senators in Albany will make the right decision and cast their votes for marriage equality.

Right now, I'm in Albany after having met with senators on both sides of the fence - and I can report that our leaders in the Senate are working very hard to get the votes.  Governor David Paterson, Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymember Danny O'Donnell and every one of our allies in Albany deserve our appreciation for getting us this far.

We need to keep pushing, though.  Please call or write your state senator now and urge them to vote for this bill.  You can find contact info. for your state senator at http://www.nysenate.gov/senators.  

It's my hope that marriage equality will soon be looked back upon as a great accomplishment that all New Yorkers achieved together.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn

Speaker

New York City Council 

From the Office of Speaker Quinn: National Equality March

As a media representative of the office of NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, I received two notices during the last few days about this weekend's National Equality March in Washington, D.C.

Speaker Christine C. Quinn urged New Yorkers in her weekly podcast to sign up and get on a bus to DC on October 11th for the National Equality March. Speaker Quinn has sponsored several buses for Sunday's trip - to see a list of her and other NYC to DC buses for the 11th visit www.nycgomarch-cq.eventbrite.com. The Speaker will travel from NYC to DC on the 11th on one of her buses and march. She will also be speaking during the ceremonies immediately following the National Equality March.

See the video below of Speaker Quinn promoting the march.


The media advisory below came yesterday. You can also view it as a Google document here.

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

CITY HALL

NEW YORK, NY 10007

(212) 788-7116
http://council.nyc.gov

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY

Contact: Eunic Ortiz 646-279-1659

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn Addresses the ‘National Equality March’ in Washington D.C.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2009

New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn will travel to Washington D.C. Sunday to march with thousands of New Yorkers and tens of thousands of Americans in support of full equality for LGBT people.

5:30 AM Greets New Yorkers and embarks on a bus to D.C.

MANHATTAN - 16 W. 22nd Street between 5th & 6th Avenues

Buses depart at 6 AM

10:30 AM Arrives in D.C. along with thousands of New Yorkers

WASHINGTON D.C. - Union Station

12:00 PM Marches in the National Equality March

WASHINGTON D.C. - Corner of K Street and 15^th Street

Route: http://bit.ly/45vsUl

2:45 PM Addresses the National Equality March in front of The Capitol

WASHINGTON D.C. - Corner of 1^st Street and Maryland Avenue (Capitol, West Lawn)

**All media requests please contact Eunic Ortiz at 646-279-1659 or email her at eortiz@council.nyc.gov