International LGBT Radio Program In Dire Financial Need

This Way Out is an international LGBT radio newsmagazine which has been in continuous production since 1988(!). In fact, while in college yours truly co-founded an LGBT radio show called "Homo Radio" on WRPI 91.5FM in 1992 which used the weekly 30-minute This Way Out program as the core around which an entire community-based radio program was based.

I also serve on the Overnight Productions board of directors, the 501(c)(3) entity which produces This Way Out.

Recently, This Way Out producer (and founder) Greg Gordon put out this dire fundraising appeal:

We're often asked, "How many listeners do you have?" For several reasons, typical radio ratings services just don’t help us answer that question. 

We do know that at least 200 local broadcast outlets across the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe and New Zealand now air our program every week, in addition to global short wave station RFPI. We’re also heard through satellite distribution to cable outlets and homes across the Asia-Pacific and Africa-Middle East regions, and hundreds download our podcasts each week.

•     “Just wanted to pass on my deepest thanks and gratitude for your show. I love the international coverage, the humor, the music -- I love it all!”
-H.C.
New York City

•    "Thank God I found you! Thanks very much for your wonderful programmes."
-Sampson
Owerri, Nigeria

Messages like these tell us something about the depth of our impact. One of the ways we can measure the breadth of our reach is by the support we receive during our holiday season/year-end fund-raising campaign. It's the generosity of our listener-sponsors at this time of year in particular that has literally meant the difference between life and death several times during our more than 22 years on the air. We need your help now to keep this one-of-kind internationally distributed nonprofit weekly public/community radio show going.

•     “I'm not gay, but have gay friends; I'll tell them about this program. Keep up the good work.”
-K.L.
State College, Pennsylvania

•    “I was amazed to listen today to This Way Out and liked it very much."
-E.A.
Holguin, Cuba

"This Way Out" doesn't operate out of a state-of-the-art studio. We don’t have an office or a large paid staff. Our overhead is low, but we still need to raise $5,000 for our production and distribution costs through April 2011, when we hope to receive an annual grant from a longtime supportive foundation.

Each and every contribution, no matter how large or small, will make a difference! One of the easiest ways you can support "This Way Out" is to sign up for automatic monthly donations, at whatever level you can afford, from $10 to $100.

We could stay healthy until that grant arrives with:

  > 34 "Angels" donating $25 per month for the next six months.
  > 17 "Major Angels" donating $50 per month for the next six months, or ...
  > 9 "Supreme Angels" donating $100 per month for the next six months, or ...

You can easily choose your preferred DONOR LEVEL in the "Is Anybody Out There?" text at:

http://www.thiswayout.org

Of course your automatic contributions at any level or your one-time donation before year's end will certainly make you a special kind of Holiday Angel in our eyes as well!  Find the one-time "DONATE" button in the text at:

http://www.thiswayout.org

You can also postal-mail a check to us at P.O. Box 38327, Los Angeles, CA 90038. And if you’re in the U.S., your contribution (online or postal-mailed) is tax-deductible as a charitable donation to the extent allowed by law. We acknowledge every donation with a "thank you" email or letter.

(In case you're wondering why we don't ask for listener donations to our program during the program, it's because U.S. federal regulations governing public/community radio forbid it.)

•    "I hear your program on headphones behind my closed bedroom door so that no one will know I'm listening."
- Email from an anonymous teen

Several heart-breaking suicides of teens who were gay, or who were perceived to be gay, have been in the headlines lately. Much of our programming reminds LGBTQ young people that life really does get better! (By the way, the links to several youth support groups are posted on our website.)

We know from the mail we get that we do what can sometimes be genuinely life-saving work. "This Way Out" is often the only supportive voice LGBTQ young people hear. Please help us continue to share that voice with those teens, and with others around the world struggling to break out of their closets in a safe and supported way.

•     “I'm a 44 y.o. married male just confronting my homosexuality. I can't tell you what a morale boost your program is for me. I look forward to it every week. It's better than church.”
-Neal
Los Angeles, California

A core group of volunteer journalists and feature producers make our informative, entertaining and educational weekly programs possible. Will you volunteer now to help bring "This Way Out" to all the listeners who need us? Please don’t assume that enough other people will support our efforts -- we can’t go on without you, too!

Thank you! We wish you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons, and a healthy, productive, and pleasure-filled New Year.

P.S. - Read our informative blog at http://www.twopodcast.blogspot.com/

Become our Facebook fan at http://www.facebook.com/ThisWayOutRadio 

And follow Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle's
timely tweets at http://twitter.com/TWOradio

Please give generously to support this worthy LGBT program.

Celebrity (Black) Friday: Tyler Perry Donates $1M to NAACP

Tyler Perry has donated one million dollars to the NAACP, the largest individual donation the venerable African American civil rights organization (which celebrated the 100th anniversary of its creation this year) has ever received.

It's pretty shocking that with so many Black multimillionaires and billionaires in this country (hello, Oprah and Mr. and Mrs. Johnson?) this is the first 7 figure gift the NAACP has ever received.

If it weren't for the work of the NAACP it is exceedingly doubtful that they could have had the opportunities for extraordinary financial success that they have achieved.

NAACP leaders say Perry's donation will be used to support its Second Century campaign, which targets equality in education, health care and criminal justice heading into the next 100 years. The money will be distributed over four years, according to the NAACP.

Perry said in a statement that he credits the work of past NAACP leaders as helping pave the way for his success in the entertainment industry. He made his film debut in 2005 with "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," which he wrote, directed and starred in.

I wonder if this is his mea culpa (Latin for "my bad") for Big Mama!

Support MadProfessah Advertiser ALAN GRAYSON's MONEY BOMB

Florida Congressman Alan Grayson scares the %$*^!! out of Republicans because he is an outspoken progressive who says out loud exactly what most of you are thinking.

Some choice quotes from Rep. Grayson:

"The Republican health care plan is this: 'Don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly.'"



"I have trouble listening to what [Dick Cheney] says sometimes because of the blood that drips from his teeth when he's talking."

Because of this, Republicans have recruited a Latino Republican named Armando Gutierrez to run against Grayson and targeted him wth a website mycongressmanisnuts.com, which is a response to Grayson's congressmanwithguts.com.
Grayson says his re-election race in 2010 will probably cost $2 million dollars thanks to the national profile and the targeting that he will receive from the Republican National Committee.

Today Monday November 2nd Grayson is doing a money bomb where he is trying to raise four hundred thousand dollars online from progressives nationally. I am hoping that a significant number of MadProfessah readers will click on the Alan Grayson Money Bomb ad in the top right corner of this blog, and kick in $10 via Actblue. I'm hoping that we can raise $100 to support his moneybomb. Please click on the ad and donate now!

New Maine Poll (51 Yes, 47 No): Marriage Equality Could Lose Tuesday

The new Maine poll from Public Policy Poll has supporters of marriage equality peeing in our pants since, for the first time, polling shows a majority deciding NOT to allow same-sex marriages.

At 51-47 it’s within the margin of error but there has been slight movement in support of the question since a PPP poll two weeks ago showed it knotted up at 48.

The measure’s fate could be determined by the age composition of the electorate on Tuesday. Senior citizens support it by a 59-40 margin while voters under 30 oppose it 51-48. Last year exit polls showed more voters under 30 turning out for the Presidential election than ones over 65 but we expect seniors to turn out at a much higher rate than younger voters this year, as is often the case in off year elections. If the electorate ends up being younger than we anticipate the fight could be even closer.

Independents support the measure 52-46. There are slightly more Democrats (27%) in favor of it than there are Republicans (22%) opposed to it. Men support it by a 56-42 margin, women are opposed 52-46. It’s just going to come down to which side does the better job of getting its people out.

Protect Maine Equality / No On 1 has sent out a RED ALERT to try and raise $50,000 to counter this hateful new radio ad the heterosexual supremacists have backed with $25,000. Please click on the thermometer on this page and kick in at least $31 since this will be the 31st statewide vote on marriage equality and could be the first one that the good guys will win!

NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality Raised $2.7M from 12,000+

The fundraising numbers are out from NO on 1 /Protect Maine Equality: $2.7 million dollars raised from just about 12,000 donors. From the press release:

NO on 1 Announces 12,000 Donors, $2.7 Million Raised
2,000 Mainers volunteer to protect Maine equality

Portland, Maine (Tuesday, October 13, 2009)---NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality announced today that nearly 12,000 donors have contributed nearly $2.7 million to its campaign to defeat Question 1 and allow all committed Maine couples to marry and be treated equally under the law. NO on 1 also announced that since July 1, nearly 2,000 Mainers have actively volunteered on the campaign, engaging in activities ranging from phone banking, to leaflet drops, to door-to-door canvassing.

In addition, more than 8,000 Mainers have signed up to volunteer with the campaign. An additional 120 people from out of state, or less than one percent of the total volunteer base, have committed to come to Maine for the final days of the campaign. To date, NO on 1 volunteers have made more than 270,000 phone calls and knocked on more than 13,500 doors throughout the state. And in the last 10 days, over 1,600 Mainers signed up for more than 2,100 volunteer shifts on the campaign.

In terms of financial contributions, nearly half of the money raised came from supporters in Maine, with most donors, both in state and out of state, contributing during the Third Quarter (Q3) which began July 6th and ended September 30th.

“This level of support is gratifying and it’s from every corner of Maine and from people across the country who care deeply about treating all families equally,” said Jesse Connolly, NO on 1 campaign manager. “Although ours is primarily a grassroots campaign, with Mainers talking to Mainers about equality, it costs money to run a field program and it’s costly to rebut the distortions in the Question 1 campaign’s ads.

“What we've seen is that as more and more people have focused on Maine, more and more people have wanted to participate, whether that’s writing a check or staffing a phone bank,” added Connolly.

The NO on 1 campaign, which released its campaign revenues and expenditures in accordance with Maine campaign finance laws, offered these highlights from Q3, the latest reporting period:

-- Nearly 50 percent of the money raised in the Q3 came from Maine donors and, in fact, 80 percent of the contributions raised off line, through fundraising events and individual contributions, came directly from Mainers.

-- 97 percent of the individual donors made their contributions in the third quarter. (11,723 donors contributed in Q3, with 11,976 total donors since the campaign began). In fact, 94 percent of the nearly $2.7 million YTD was raised during Q3.

-- 29 donors gave more than $10,000 for $875,000 in Q3. Of those 29 individuals, 18 donors -- or 62 percent -- are Maine residents who collectively contributed $515,000 of that total.

-- While the NO on 1 average online donation is $95.45, the campaign's volunteer field team has collected more than 1,200 contributions with an average donation of $17.25.

-- The NO on 1 Finance Committee, a group of 38 Maine residents, is responsible for raising more than $470,000 of the total.

-- There were 29 NO on 1 fundraising events in the Q3, with only three of those conducted out-of-state in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Miami.

-- The NO on 1 campaign only solicited funds during the last two months of the Second Quarter, raising $143,290 from 373 donors.

-- $537,393 in both in-kind and cash donations was contributed by 13 state and national organizations which support marriage equality.

The heterosexual supremacists have until 11:59pm EDT to release their fundraising numbers, and have so far sent out a panicked email claiming they have only raised $1.1 million and begging for a "white knight" (of Columbus?) to save them.

STAY TUNED.

Protect Maine Equality Needs $$ Before 9/30 Filing Deadline

A new poll from Democracy Corps has Maine's Question 1 leading 50% No, 41% Yes but the good guys and gals at Protect Maine Equality are not resting on their laurels. After all, one year ago Proposition 8 was behind in public polls as well, and it came from behind and eventually passed 53%-47% on November 5, 2008.

Tomorrow is the end of the financial reporting deadline and the campaign has a goal of raising 112,000$ by tomorrow on ActBlue. YOU can do your part by helping MadProfessah.com raise money to defeat Question 1. Please, please PLEASE click on the thermometer at the top of this post or at the right navigation bar and make a donation, no matter how small.

Here are the details of the latest poll results, being released on Wednesday:

Q.6 Now let me ask something else. One of the questions on the ballot this November will read as follows: "Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?" - If the election were held today, would you vote YES or NO on this question?
Total
Yes strongly.........................................................................37
Yes not strongly....................................................................4
No not strongly.....................................................................7
No strongly..........................................................................43
(Don't know/refused)............................................................9

Total yes.............................................................................41
Total no..............................................................................50

Yes On 1 Ads Start Airing; LA Maine Event TONITE

The heterosexual supremacists who think that it is reasonable to have a majority vote on whether other consenting adults should be able to get married have begun their television advertising campaign to repeal Maine's marriage equality law (see above). The Yes on 1 ad should look familiar to people in California. They are using the same color scheme as the Yes on 8 folks, as well as the same kind of talking head (white male law professor) warning of "the consequences of gay marriage whether you like it or not."

To me, this one does not seem as effective as their devastating ad featuring Gavin Newsom, but we'll see what DailyKos's poll on Question 1 says later this week.

Jeremy Hooper from Good As You has already developed a response video.

If you live in Los Angeles, you can attend a Los Angeles for Maine event at East/West Lounge (8851 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA) tonight at 7pm. All money raised will be going to No on 1/Protect Maine Equality. MadProfessah is a co-host.

Liberty Hill Says Today's Oral Argument on Prop 8 "Doesn't Matter"

Progressive foundation Liberty Hill sent an email blast with the provocative title "Why The Ruling On Prop 8 Doesn't Matter" with the following video:

In some ways, it's more effective than Equality California's much maligned video that was released earlier this week. Liberty HIll's is 60 seconds long (twice as expensive to air) and although it has no narrator, it packs an emotional wallop by seeing real live LGBT couples who are impacted by Proposition 8. It is similar to Courage Campaign's "Fidelity: Don't Divorce Us" video which is nearly 4 minutes long but features a heartbreaking musical accompaniment).

Obama Raised $104M From 10/15-11/24

Barack Obama raised $104 million dollars in the homestretch of the 2008 presidential election season, bringing his overall total to over $750 million for his 22-month presidential campaign. In 2004 Senatir John Kerry and President George W. Bush raised a combined total of $693 million.

Obama Raised $500 million online

According to the Washington Post Barack Obama raised more than half a billion dollars online in his campaign for the presidency. Over 3 million people gave 6.5 million donations, with the average donation about $80 and the average Obama donor giving more than once. Other tidbits:

Obama's e-mail list contains upwards of 13 million addresses. Over the course of the campaign, aides sent more than 7,000 different messages, many of them targeted to specific donation levels (people who gave less than $200, for example, or those who gave more than $1,000). In total, more than 1 billion e-mails landed in inboxes. (Four years ago, Sen. John F. Kerry had 3 million e-addresses on his list; former Vermont governor Howard Dean had 600,000.)

A million people signed up for Obama's text-messaging program. On the night Obama accepted the Democratic nomination at Invesco Field in Denver, more than 30,000 phones among the crowd of 75,000 were used to text in to join the program. On Election Day, every voter who'd signed up for alerts in battleground states got at least three text messages. Supporters on average received five to 20 text messages per month, depending on where they lived -- the program was divided by states, regions, zip codes and colleges -- and what kind of messages they had opted to receive.

On MyBarackObama.com, or MyBO, Obama's own socnet, 2 million profiles were created. In addition, 200,000 offline events were planned, about 400,000 blog posts were written and more than 35,000 volunteer groups were created -- at least 1,000 of them on Feb. 10, 2007, the day Obama announced his candidacy. Some 3 million calls were made in the final four days of the campaign using MyBO's virtual phone-banking platform. On their own MyBO fundraising pages, 70,000 people raised $30 million. The campaign even set up a grassroots finance committee that was inspired by the national finance committee's high-dollar bundlers. In the grassroots committee, though, supporters were trained to collect small-dollar donations from their friends, relatives and co-workers.

Obama has 5 million supporters in other socnets. He maintained a profile in more than 15 online communities, including BlackPlanet, a MySpace for African Americans, and Eons, a Facebook for baby boomers. On Facebook, where about 3.2 million signed up as his supporters, a group called Students for Barack Obama was created in July 2007. It was so effective at energizing college-age voters that senior aides made it an official part of the campaign the following spring. And Facebook users did vote: On Facebook's Election 2008 page, which listed an 800 number to call for voting problems, more than 5.4 million users clicked on an "I Voted" button to let their Facebook friends know that they made it to the polls. (Talk about online peer pressure.)

Fight For Equality In California Surpasses $73 Million!

The cost of the campaign to eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples in California has now exceeded 73,692,704 dollars. This is more than twice the amount of money that was spent on the first twenty-seven anti-gay ballot measures combined. It should be noted that the forces of equality have previously won only one those 27 races (Arizona's Proposition 107 in 2006). The two other anti-gay ballot measures this year are in Arizona (again!) and Florida. The total amount of money spent in both of those races is less than $10 million.

The Proposition 8 ballot measure fight is now the most expensive electoral ballot in the history of social issue initiative campaigns.

I want to thank MadProfessah.com readers for donating more than our $1,000 dollar goal to NO ON PROP 8. But we need you to do more.

I am posting the amount for people to realize exactly how serious this battle is. The polls have consistently shown this race within the margin of error and it will be won or lost in the turnout
of who shows up to vote. Regardless of what happens in the Presidential election, we must encourage everyone who is registered to vote to come out to vote and vote NO ON PROP 8. It's unfair and wrong for the Mormon church to impose their religious view on marriage on all Californians by amending our state Constitution.

Please tell all your friends, families and neighbors to vote No on Proposition 8, and if you can, please volunteer to get the word out to voters on Election Day.

NO ON PROP 8 Needs $3m in 3 Days--Or Else!

Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California and member of the NO ON PROP 8 Executive Committee sent out an urgent email Wednesday reporting that on Tuesday the heterosexual supremacists reported a surge in fundraising. His response is to appeal for $3 million in 3 days (by Friday Midnight).

Yesterday, the other side reported donations of $2.2 million, dwarfing the $255,650 we reported, and called on their donors to contribute another $3 million. With this enormous sum of money they are buying every available ad space on TV in California to blast even more of their hateful lies and prevent our messages from being seen.

Unless we raise $3 million in the next three days we will likely lose.

An EQCA member recently told me that their gift was five times more than they had ever given and suggested that everyone do the same. So today, I am increasing my donation to NO on 8 to $50,000. I’m doing this because I know I must if we hope to win.And I’m asking you to increase your gift too – at whatever amount you can, so that we can match the other side on the air. Please increase your gift today.

Last night the brilliant movie “Milk” premiered at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. The film is a poignant reminder of the ultimate sacrifice Harvey Milk made to advance our rights and how much Harvey, and so many others, gave to stop the Anita Bryant-led anti-gay movement that was sweeping the country and the Briggs Initiative – exactly 30 years ago. It’s now up to us to shape the next 30 years.

Thanks to each of you who have sacrificed in this critical fight for our equality. Please join me in making another gift and asking everyone you know to do the same.

It is that important.

With respect, admiration and appreciation,

Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California

UPDATE: As of 11:30pm on Wednesday October 29th the NO ON PROP 8 and SAY NO ON AMENDMENT 2 websites fighting the California and Florida constitutional amendments to eliminate marriage rights (and domestic partnerships in Florida) for same-sex couples have been under an internet "Denial Of Service" attack which has crippled the sites and clearly limited their ability to raise money online.

However, you can still give money to defeat Proposition 8 via the ACTBLUE website that MadProfessah.com has been using. We are currently at two-thirds of our goals with only 40 hours remaining until November 1! Please click on the thermometer in the top right and consider giving some amount ($5, $10, $25 or more!) online to preserve equality, particularly to spite the people who deliberately are attempting to sabotage our efforts to raise money online.

REMEMBER: all donations made before November 1 will be matched by MadProfessah!

Apple Donates $100k to NO ON PROP 8

Apple, Inc. announced that they are donating $100, 000 to defeat Proposition 8.

Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.

It feels nice to have both Google and Apple supporting Equality for All, not only in words but in deeds. I'll definitely continue to use my IPhone and gmail!

Obama Raised $36m Oct 1-15, McCain has $24m COH

Late Thursday night the presidential campaigns released their financial statements on activity for the first two weeks of October.

After raising a ridiculously large $153 million in September, Barack Obama fundraising rate slowed down by half as he only raised about a quarter of that amount in half the time ($36 million in 2 weeks), ending with $64 million of cash on hand for the final 3 weeks of the campaign.

John McCain had $24 million of his federal election financing check of $84 million left on October 15, but the Republican National Committee had $60 million dollars in cash on hand for a combined total of $84 million, to spend on electing McCain and other Republicans around the country.

The Democratic National Committee had $31 million of cash on hand for a total of $95 million dollars for the Democrats to spend.

This is the first time in over a decade that Democrats have had more cash on hand to spend at the end of a Presidential election.

NO ON 8 TAKES LEAD IN MONEY RACE!

The Los Angeles Times has a front page article in today's California section by reporters Jessica Garrison and Dan Morain which shows that, for the first time, opponents of Proposition 8 have now reported raising more money than the proposition's heterosexual supremacist proponents. According to public records at the Secretary of State's office, The NO ON PROP 8 campaign has reported $31,232,729 while the proponents have reported $27,564,351. This is a remarkable turn-around. Just a few weeks ago, on October 7th the No on Prop 8 campaign was more than $5 million dollars behind ($15 million to over $20 million).

The analysis by The Los Angeles Times shows that NO ON PROP 8 has actually raised less money from inside California ($20.63 million to $22.19 million) than our opponents. In addition, the NO ON PROP 8 side has 36 donors who have given $100,000 or more (including George Lucas, Ellen Degeneres, T.R. Knight, Brad Pitt, Stephen Spielberg, David Geffen etc) compared to just 17 for our opponents. There's a searchable database available on the newspaper's website which allows one to check for what donations have been made to both sides of Propsotion 8.

Some of that money has been contributed by MadProfessah.com readers like you! We are currently at 41% of our goal of $1000 by November 1. I'm hoping that MY READERS can take us to 50% by donating $90 by Monday. Please remember no donation is too small, $10, $25, $50 are very typical. All donations on Madprofessah.com willbe matched on November 1, up to $1000. So, please give TODAY.

21 Days Left: How Much Is Equality Worth To You?

Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California sent out this e-mail blast today:

The latest tracking polls show that if the election were held today among voters who have seen both our ads and the other side’s ads that we would WIN!

Unfortunately, we don’t have sufficient funds to get our ads seen by all
the voters who’ve seen the other side’s ads. So it’s that simple…without more
funds we’ll lose.

But we will win if we have enough money to reach
voters. So DONATE NOW!

A powerful array of motivated groups have organized against us. Yesterday’s Sacramento Bee reported that:

“Mormons…have emerged as the leading financial contributors to the controversial Nov. 4 ballot measure. Church members have donated about 40 percent of the $22.8 million raised to pass the initiative since July.”

What is also unfortunate is that only 30,000 people have donated to the
No on 8 campaign compared to the 60,000 who have donated to the other side.

In a state with about two million LGBT people, in a country with
millions more and tens of millions of straight allies, we have to get everyone
to support this fight. If every LGBT person donates we can win!

Yesterday’s Sacramento Bee also reported on the sacrifices being made by
members of the Yes on 8 campaign:

"That's why Auburn resident David Nielson, 55, is giving…He and his wife, Susan, live on a budget. The couple donated $35,000, he said, "because some things are worth fighting for." The couple will forgo a vacation for the next two years and make other sacrifices to pay for their donation, he said.”

So, what is your equality worth to you? What is your equality worth to your friends and family? How much will you sacrifice for your own freedom?

I donated yesterday (again) and I will match all donations (up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS) made by MadProfessah.com readers at the MadProfessah.com Equality For All page.

Spielberg Matches Brad Pitt's $100k Donation to NO ON 8

Director Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw on Monday donated $100,000 to assist in the fight to defeat the anti-gay marriage amendment called Proposition 8 on the November 4th ballot.

I doubt that it is coincidental that Sid Sheinberg, the former head of MCA/Universal who gave Spielberg his first job in Hollywood over 30 years ago, was honored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force the day before at the Los Angeles Leadership Awards at a brunch Beverly Hills Hotel (attended by MadProfessah and the Other Half.)

Also honored at the brunch were the openly-gay creative team behind the movie Milk: Oscar-winning producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and director Gus Van Sant. Bruce Cohen was married to his partner by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa earlier this summer and is the co-chair of the NO ON 8 finance committee. No less a luminary than L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lorri Jean credits him with getting the Spielberg donation.

Latest figures have the Yes on 8 campaign having raised nearly 18 million dollars, with the No On 8 campaign trailing by over 5 million dollars at about $12.5 million.

Obama Raised $66m in August; $77m on Hand Sep 1

The Obama for America campaign released some preliminary details of its fundraising totals for the month of August: a record $66 million. The Democratic presidential candidate ended the month with $77 million on hand.

From The New York Times:

David Plouffe, the Obama campaign manager, said a half-million new donors signed up to give money to Mr. Obama. He said the campaign’s bank account had $77 million at the end of last month.

“The 500,000 new donors to the Obama campaign demonstrate just how strongly the American people are looking to kick the special interests out and change Washington,” Mr. Plouffe said in a statement, adding that more than 2.5 million people have now made contributions to the campaign in the last 19 months.

Mad Professah is attempting to raise $1000 for Obama by October 1. Please donate now!

Obama Raises $51m to Mcain's $27m in July

The July fundraising numbers are out and Barack Obama continues to kick John McCain's pale white butt!

From Politico.com:

McCain revealed Friday that he raised $27 million last month, his best month of the campaign.

The summer surge pushed Obama over the $400 million mark for what he's raised over the entire campaign, to $401 million. McCain has raised about $171 million, less than half as much.

Obama finished July with $68.5 million cash on hand, versus $21 million for McCain.

And there's more good news for Democrats, for the first time in years, the DNC outraised the RNC, $27.7 million to $26 million. However, the bad news is that the RNC has $75 million in cash on hand, while the DNC only has $28.5 million.

The real money race is between the DNC+Obama and RNC+McCain, which, in cash on hand numbers is $97 million for the Democrats to $96 million for the Republicans.

In the congressional races, the DCCC and DSCC are criushing their Republican House and Senate counterparts in fundraising. On to November!

Celebrity Friday: Heroes in the Struggle 2008

Maxim Thorne, former COO of the Human Rights Campaign,
read a lengthy letter from presidential candidate Barack Obama on the occasion of
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and Heroes in the Struggle ceremony

Founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute, Phill Wilson, gace amoving speech where he talked to a future without AIDS: "And when that day comes, we want you to know, that not all of us were monsters. Some of us were brave and dared to love and care in the face of the epidemic, and it is in the loving and the caring and the fighting that we shall see a future without AIDS."
The divine Vanessa L. Williams (Soul Food) was the emcee of the evening's festivities.

Jurnee Smollett (The Great Debaters) was
named one of 2008's Heroes in the Struggle

Actor and author Hill Harper (Beloved), Harvard Law School classmate of Barack Obama,
was named a Hero in the Struggle and also donated atleast $2,000 of
his own money during the hilarious live auction. He was on his way to a red eye
flight to Louisiana to stump for Obama after the ceremony.
Black AIDS Institute Board President (2002-2007) and person living
with HIV (and never recieving an AIDS diagnosis!) for 26 years
Jesse L. Milan was named a Hero in the Struggle.

Reverend Al Sharpton spoke in place of Los Angeles County
Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who was not present to
receive her Hero in the Struggle award.

The 2008 edition of Heroes in the Struggle was a very inspiring and pleasant event, held Thursday night in downtown Los Angeles, at the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Other Heroes in the Struggle named were: Julian Bond (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAACP), Danny Bakewell of the Bakewell Group (publishers of the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper), Bishop T.D. Jakes, author and radio personality Tavis Smiley and influential African American journalist George E. Curry.