News: Florida Dems, Mark Foley, Aretha Franklin, Michael Sandy

· Democratic National Committee votes unanimously "to refuse to seat any Florida Democrat at the Democratic presidential convention in 2008 if the state party did not delay the date of its [January 29] 2008 primary." The Michigan Democratic Party could be affected next.

· Mark Foley, the disgraced Florida Republican who resigned his congressional seat after sending sexually explicit e-mail messages to teenage pages, is unlikely to face criminal charges.

· Health concerns force the iconic Aretha Franklin to cancel her much-anticipated, Sept. 1 scheduled performance at Atlanta Black Gay Pride. SoVo reports the 65-year-old Queen of Soul cited the "hot summer temperatures" and recently cancelled an outdoor Detroit performance for the same reason.

· Arkansas: Proposed referendum that would bar gays and lesbians from adopting children is submitted to the state attorney general. Last week a federal court stuck down an Olahoma law that effectively invalidated adoptions by same-sex coupl

· Wikipedia on the vicious robbery and assault of Michael Sandy, who ran into Brooklyn traffic to escape his assailants: "Sandy’s death also brought back to public attention the death of Michael Griffith, an African American man who was killed after being hit by a car in Howard Beach, Queens, New York, while trying to escape a group of attackers."

· Terrance Heath on that comparison to Michael Griffith: "Sandy’s case didn’t get the kind of response from black civil rights leaders and organizations that the Howard Beach case did. For that matter, Sandy’s death didn’t get the same level of attention as Matthew Shepard’s. Neither, for that matter, did Arthur Warren or Sakiah Gunn."

Comments

[Luther]

Poor Mr Sandy's death was just another black man who died in vain far too early, the so called black main stream civil rights groups wouldn't touch it as not to offend their base because he was gay. And the white mainstream gay groups just didn't care since it was a black man and to them they can only get donations and outraged with blond, gay white folks.

Get well Ree Ree, and some weight loss would help you and I mean that in all sincerity as her weight is too much.

[Mel Smith]

Great point!

[phil_in_ny]

This entire new process is turning into a disaster.

[Brokeassnigga]

I'm really getting annoyed by this issue. Why are young black gay lives that are extinguished too soon not as valuable as others? Is it the lack of a traditional family? Better taste in furniture? Because it certainly can not be our earning potential otherwise the government would've taken action to secure the loss of taxes. I'm wondering, would it be a hate crime if I went out there shooting str8 white folks indescriminately?