Dear Joss Stone,

Joss, I feel we never talk. True, the burden of that lies squarely on my shoulders because you don't know me and I am the one with your CDs, a television and a subscription to People, so I know all about you. I admit the main thing keeping me from introducing myself to you is that I am totally nervous because you are this amazing soul singer and though I do have a soul, I doubt it translates into melodic crooning in any capacity.

Even if we were best friends acquaintances, I realize that you probably wouldn't have much time to talk to me because you are a busy singer-songwriter. These days you are even busier because you are the new face of Coco Mademoiselle; you just wrapped the movie Snappers, where you play a lesbian (I have already reserved my ticket on Fandango, so in case you were thinking about it, I cannot attend the premiere with you); and now I hear that Barack Obama has asked you to sing his campaign song for the presidential election. Wow, that is an honor.

Are you nervous? I mean, that is a huge. You would be joining a prestigious list of such great artists who have lent their voices to presidential campaigns, like Fleetwood Mac who let Bill Clinton use their song "Don't Stop" for the 1992 election. John Fogerty voiced the song for George W. Bush's campaign with "Fortunate Son." (Were truer words ever sung, Joss? I suppose only if a song titled "Nepotism Is Awesome" existed.) And more recently, John McCain has been using ABBA's hit song "Take a Chance on Me" (although between me and you, I'd rather not). … continue reading

Happy (belated) Women’s History Month or — as I like to call it — Ladies’ Month. I have no good excuse for being two weeks late to the party other than, well, it’s 2008 and us hard-working career gals are busy. But that doesn’t mean slowing down for a second and paying our past its due isn’t important. Sometimes, I think it’s more important than ever.

Of course, at this point someone will ask, “Why even have a Women’s History Month”? Aren’t we past the superficial need to celebrate one’s gender as a part of our cultural identity? In theory, gosh, wouldn’t that be nice. In actuality, so very much no. Go ahead and Google feminism. Among the top results, you’ll find “Ladies Against Feminism,” “Feminism is evil!” and “How feminism destroyed real men.”

Yes, because the plague of fake men roaming the countryside threatening to paint your toenails and wash the dishes has truly reached epidemic levels. It’s at moments like these that I dig down and seek the guidance of my spiritual gurus, the Muppets. … continue reading

I want several things from our next president. A coherent foreign policy. An economic plan that helps the poor and middle class instead of corporations and the rich. An extension of full equal rights to all LGBT Americans. And last, but not least, an ability to laugh at her/himself. However you feel about Sen. Hillary Clinton, she proved she could deliver the latter this past weekend, with a surprise stop by Saturday Night Live.

Hillary appeared in an “Editorial Response” to the show's opening skit, which spoofed the most recent Democratic presidential debate. Her on-screen doppelganger Amy Poehler joined her, and the resemblance was pretty uncanny.

With the next, and possibly deciding, primaries just a day away, it remains to be seen whether Hillary's appearance swayed any votes. But it should go a long way to dispelling that old sexist chestnut about women and their senses of humor. I mean, how good of a sport do you have to be to go on right after it's implied that your plan to take down special interests is to be “so annoying, so pushy, so grating, so bossy and shrill, with a personality so unpleasant, that at the end of the day the special interests will have to go, 'Enough! We give up! Life is too short to deal with this awful woman!'”? According to TMZ, Hillary was given the skit in advance for approval and told them not to change a thing. … continue reading

I'm not going to pretend to understand the legalities here. I suspect that like most of us educated in the U.S., my knowledge of Canadian politics and history is sorely lacking, but I have that nostalgic liberal (and that's not a four-letter word, Fox News!) American tendency to view Canada as a little more sane than the land of my birth. You know, health care, gun control, laws that occasionally recognize LGBT citizens as human beings.

But it looks like more than my delusions of utopia could be at risk. Working its way through the Canadian government right now is a bill that would give the Canadian Heritage minister the right to ax promised funding for any film project it deems “offensive.” This apparently includes “gratuitous violence, significant sexual content that lacks an educational purpose, or denigration of an identifiable group.” That would seem to include films like these:

When Night Is Falling

Exotica

  … continue reading

Over the past year, as Hillary Clinton has emerged as the first serious female contender for President of the United States, a lot of us in Texas have said the same thing: "I wish Ann were here."

Ann Richards would be riding high right about now. Because whatever happens in the next few days and weeks, this is a historic time for women. And Ann had a lot to do with getting us here.

Most everybody in Texas has an Ann Richards story. I got to be a part of her gubernatorial inauguration, when she led a parade down Congress Avenue to the capitol building — her way of showing the Bubbas that a new sheriff was in town. For those of us who were young adults when she was elected governor, she was a symbol of hope in a state where good ol' boys had always been in charge. Since she carried the women's vote by 60 percent, seems that a lot of those good ol' boys' wives voted for Ann.

Ann had already made an impression on the rest of the country. At the 1988 Democratic National Convention, her opening remarks included a sound bite that is Ann at her best.

"Twelve years ago Barbara Jordan, another Texas woman, Barbara made the keynote address to this convention, and two women in a hundred and sixty years is about par for the course.

But if you give us a chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels." … continue reading

Have you recovered from all the Super Tuesday excitement? I haven't — I have a feeling I won't until, oh, Nov. 4 or thereabouts.

Nor have I recovered from the giggle fits induced by this graphic, which appeared on 236.com last week. Liz Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney — the other daughter — declared her support for Republican candidate Mitt Romney, so the Romney campaign issued a press release. The satirists at 236.com took their red pens to the press release, and lo, hilarity:

(Click the graphic to see the larger version on 236.com)

The post also included this picture of the Cheney daughters, with the caption "On the left, on the left!"

Ah, sexuality-of-the-daughter-of-the-vice-president humor. It never gets old. I wonder if Mary Cheney's son is a Romney supporter? I'll bet he's for Hillary all the way.

For those of us in 24 American states, it’s Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Tuesday (hey, that’s nearly half the country; I think it deserves an upgrade from just “super”). Whichever way you pull the lever, today will be a historic vote. Well, unless you’re voting for that other party. In which case, have fun choosing an old white guy.

In the first presidential election of the YouTube era, the campaigns have gone viral from the start. Who can forget the Obama Girl or Hot4Hill? But in the past week, two of arguably the best videos for each candidate have emerged. One is sincere and inspirational (not to mention packed with star power), and the other is lighthearted and fun (not to mention Hill-arious). Both are, interestingly, music-based. And both are a reminder that, as difficult as the decision between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama may be for Democratic primary voters, it’s also an embarrassment of riches to have two strong, smart and special candidates on the ballot.

  … continue reading

Election Day in 1992 was possibly my favorite political day ever. I voted in the morning, watched election returns all evening and celebrated in the streets of West Hollywood until late that night. California made history that day by electing two women to the Senate, and I had the satisfaction of having been part of the process. Two years later, lots of folks with politics different from mine had the satisfaction of shifting things in a different direction. (I was less happy about that.) What we had in common, however, was a belief that voting was important.

This Tuesday, February 5, is Super Tuesday — a big voting day in the United States. Despite the early primaries and caucuses, Tuesday is the official start of the presidential primary season. The 23 Democratic primaries and caucuses and 21 Republican primaries and caucuses will likely determine both parties' candidates. The right to vote is cool and important — arguably the single most important element of civic responsibility and participation. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Logo (AfterEllen.com's parent company) launched VisibleVote08.com in anticipation of this year's U.S. presidential election. And lots of celebrities are always yammering about the importance of voting or the candidate they want you to vote for. Let's take a look at how some celebrity women have gotten into the act.

Celebrity Endorsements

The most obvious way celebrities participate in the political process is by endorsing specific candidates. Oprah is arguably the highest profile endorser of a candidate in the 2008 race.

She endorsed Barack Obama last spring, and pundits are questioning whether she can apply the “Oprah Effect” to political candidates.

Susan Sarandon is a perennial activist who is dismissed by many (not by me) as a wacko liberal and humorless soapbox orator. (I believe this makes her an honorary lesbian!)

She tolerates this wearily, and argues that if she has to deal with the burdens of celebrity, she might as well also try to use it to do some good. And she acknowledges that even her kids laugh at her activism:

“When we have friends over, the kids always bet on how long it will take before we turn to politics. We always forget, and then they say, 'That was fast — only one minute and two seconds.'”

And, of course, there's Barbara Streisand, whom I love even though I think she takes herself too seriously. … continue reading

VisibleVote08.com vloggers Jennifer Vanasco and James Withers discuss how Hillary and Obama aren't friends, how they're tired of the race and gender cards being played all the time, and why they want the fight to continue to the convention.

The Gay Agenda: Jan. 24, 2008

In the second episode of her vlog, political comedian Kate Clinton comes to you from the shadow of the Transamerica building in San Francisco. She notes that she "doesn't do brocade," covers the New Hampshire primary and the media response to it, and reminds us it's all right to cry.

Plus, she offers a theory on what's wrong with Maureen Dowd. And there's more football!

If you ask me, watching this vlog is like enjoying a quality office hour with your favorite women's studies professor. Only with more guffaws and less Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Look for new episodes of Hilarity Clinton every Tuesday and Friday on AfterEllen.com. … continue reading

My girlfriend has been filling up our DVR with movies that she feels she should watch and kind of wants to watch, but is never in the mood to watch. It's hard to get excited about Boys Don't Cry and Hotel Rwanda because, even though she knows they're good, they're so incredibly depressing. I just stumbled across a book that triggered a similar conflict for me. It sounds fascinating and well-written, but convincing myself to read it is going to take a little effort. The book in question is My Life as a Traitor, by Zarah Ghahramani (with Robert Hillman).

My Life as a Traitor is the story of Ghahramani's 29 days in Iran's Evin Prison, which is notorious for its political prisoner wing. (This place is no Larkhall.) When she was 20 years old (in 2001), the relatively privileged Ghahramani was arrested after taking part in a student protest about the strict dress code and the general rigidity of the mullahs. (She had been protesting dress codes since she was six years old and drawn to forbidden pink shoes.) … continue reading

Back in 2004, Barack Obama was engaged in a heated battle in Illinios for a seat in the U.S. Senate. His opponent? A Rebuplican named Jack Ryan. The outcome of that race will never be known. Why? Because a certain Borg popped up and forever altered the political landscape.

OK, I might be overstating her actual influence. Jeri Ryan hasn't joined the list of celebrities endorsing the various candidates, but she is a factor in the three-ring circus we call politics. See, Jack Ryan, Obama's senate opponent in 2004, is her ex-husband. The same ex-husband she claimed had taken her to Paris sex clubs and tried to persuade her to perform various sex acts while others watched. The allegations were part of divorce papers unsealed by court order during the course of that 2004 campaign. The sex scandal resulted in Ryan withdrawing from the race. Obama went on to win in a landslide over Ryan's replacement, Alan Keyes. … continue reading