This will only take a few minutes of your time so please continue reading. You won’t regret it, I promise.

I’ve been involved in the political world for most of my life now, but that wasn’t always the case. It wasn’t until I joined the California YMCA Youth & Government program as a high school sophomore that my passion for politics and government really took hold.

And so, each year I raise money to help students participate in the program who may not have the funds to do so otherwise. Can I count on your help to reach my $1500 fundraising goal with a tax-deductible donation of $25, $50, $100 or whatever you can afford?

Click here to donate: http://bit.ly/YMCA-Karl-Frisch (Under “Solicitor” be sure to select my name.)

Not only did the program make me aware of the problems facing my home state of California and the nation as a whole, but it also taught me different techniques for making changes within the system. Perhaps most rewarding, I made so many friends as a participant in the program – friends that have lasted long into my adult life – from such geographically, racially, and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds that I would have otherwise never met growing up.

Each year more than 2,000 high school students from throughout California come together to discuss, debate and legislate issues of great importance not only to themselves but to their communities as well. They run for statewide offices like Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State, serve on the State Supreme Court and work as Senators and Assemblymembers in the actual State Capitol legislative chambers.

Participants spend September to mid-February at local weekly meetings learning how laws are made, how they are enforced and how to draft and pass their own legislation. They attend two weekend training conferences in central California, learning ethics, parliamentary procedure, the functions of government and, most of all, how to perform the real-life roles of the elected officials they will model at the final five-day conference where they take over the state Capitol in Sacramento.

However, the program is expensive. Even though it is largely run by hundreds of adult volunteers (most of whom pay their own way to conferences), with only a handful of full-time paid staff, the costs are still formidable. That’s where YOU come in. While many economically disadvantaged teens have scholarships available to help defray costs, even middle-income teens sometimes have trouble raising the necessary funds.

This year I have the privilege of helping to support this important program – a program that changed my life forever – as a volunteer for the Annual Support Campaign. Nearly 200 volunteers (mostly adults) are trying to raise more than $300,000 to help underwrite the program and provide scholarships for those who cannot otherwise afford this amazing experience.

My personal goal is to raise $1500 and although my fund raising experience consists mostly of helping political campaigns, I feel confident that with your modest tax-deductible contribution of $25, $50, $100 or whatever you can afford, I will be successful.

Click here to donate: http://bit.ly/YMCA-Karl-Frisch (Under “Solicitor” be sure to select my name.)

I hope that you will consider making a donation to California YMCA Youth & Government by Friday’s noon fundraising deadline (on February 15th). You can make a one-time or recurring tax-deductible donation using the links in this blog post.

Like me, you probably receive many appeals each year. This is a program, however, where every contribution, whatever its size, truly does make a difference. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this important request for help.

The program’s motto is “Democracy Must Be Learned by Each Generation,” and with your financial support today, California YMCA Youth & Government can make that motto a reality for years to come.

Click here to donate: http://bit.ly/YMCA-Karl-Frisch (Under “Solicitor” be sure to select my name.)

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly.

Sincerely,

Karl Frisch

Former California YMCA Youth & Government Governor’s Cabinet Member (1994), State Senator (1995), Lieutenant Governor (1996), CONA Delegate (1994-1996), CONA Presiding Officer (1997).

If someone from the program has already contacted you seeking support, please disregard this message and help them out.

I’ve posted some of the videos I took after the jump.

So, does President Obama have a mandate? He did much better in the Electoral College and currently has a slightly larger popular vote lead than George W. Bush enjoyed over John Kerry in 2004. One easy way to determine if Obama has a mandate is to go back in time and see what media said about a potential Bush mandate in 2004.

As Media Matters for America noted in 2008:

Among the many media outlets that declared Bush’s victory a “mandate” (identified by affiliations and titles from 2004):

Paula Zahn, CNN host: “A president with a mandate, a 10-seat majority in the Senate, at least 25 seats in the House. So everything should be smooth sailing for Republicans, right? Well, maybe not.” [CNN'sPaula Zahn Now, 11/8/04]

Chicago Tribune editorial board: ”In trying to advance an ambitious second-term agenda, President Bush has made it clear he intends to make every use he can of the assets at his disposal, starting with the electoral mandate he got last week.” [Chicago Tribune, "Memo to Bush: Just say 'no,' " 11/8/04]

John Roberts, CBS News chief White House correspondent (now with CNN): “With the majority of the popular vote behind him [Bush], with the Electoral College win, with a mandate that perhaps many people didn’t allow him to have in the first term, can he afford to be more magnanimous with the press?” [CNN'sReliable Sources, 11/7/04]

Andy Serwer, CNN host and Fortune magazine editor-at-large: “Interesting time for the president, obviously, he [Bush] seems to have a mandate from the people to go ahead and do what he wants to, his bidding. Where do you think this is going to take him?” [CNN's In the Money, 11/7/04]

Christine Romans, CNN anchor: “When I talk to Democrats and people who watch the Democratic machine, they’re furious that this was so close again and that now the president has a mandate.” [In the Money, 11/6/04]

Michele Kelemen, National Public Radio diplomatic correspondent: “Others doubt President Bush will change much given his election mandate and his strong convictions in foreign policy.” [NPR's Weekend All Things Considered, 11/6/04]

Carol Costello, CNN anchor and reporter: “To American politics now and the mandate. President Bush is promising to use his election mandate to push his agenda forward.” [CNN Daybreak, 11/5/04]

Ceci Connolly, Washington Post staff writer: “Well, I certainly think that there is a mandate [for Bush]. I think we have to go a little bit careful in terms of what specifically it is a mandate for. I mean as we’ve all agreed, a lot was discussed in this campaign. Interestingly, what you heard President Bush focus on was tax reform, Social Security changes, partial privatization. And continuing what he calls the war on terrorism.” [Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, 11/5/04]

David Sanger, New York Times White House correspondent: “But Mr. Bush no longer has to pretend that he possesses a clear electoral mandate. Because for the first time in his presidency, he can argue that he has the real thing.” [The New York Times, "Relaxed, Certainly, but Keeping One Eye on the Clock," 11/5/04]

Dan Chapman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution global economics and business reporter: “Bush, buoyed by a popular mandate and a more Republican Congress, will probably receive the financial and military wherewithal to fight the insurgency and rebuild Iraq.” [The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Bush gets voters' nod on Iraq, but outlook risky," 11/4/04]

Keith Miller, NBC News correspondent: “Bush, who won by more than three and a half million votes, has a solid mandate that will force the attention of America’s enemies and allies.” [NBC's Nightly News, 11/3/04]

Rafael Lorente, Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Washington bureau: “Americans not only gave President Bush a mandate, they also gave him the necessary tools in the form of more Republican House and Senate colleagues to push through his conservative agenda.” [Sun-Sentinel, "Bush now has the tools to energize his priority programs," 11/4/04, syndicated by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services]

Doyle McManus and Janet Hook, Los Angeles Times staff writers: “Four years ago, George W. Bush won his first term with fewer votes than his opponent, but governed as if the nation had granted him a clear mandate to pursue conservative policies. This time, Bush can claim a solid mandate of 51% of the vote, which made him the first presidential candidate to win a clear majority since 1988 — a point Bush aides made repeatedly Wednesday.” [Los Angeles Times, "Majority Win Could Make Second Term More Partisan," 11/4/04]

Tony Karon, Time magazine columnist and senior editor: “George W. Bush took the reins of power with the confidence and certainty of one who had carried a landslide mandate to implement his own agenda. This time, of course, his claim of a popular mandate is incontrovertible. His party has strengthened its grip on both branches of the legislature, and freed of any first-term restraints that might be thrown up by reelection concerns, President George W. Bush is well positioned to even more vigorously pursue his agenda.” [Time, "Victorious Bush Reaches Out," 11/3/04]

Wolf Blitzer, CNN anchor: “My sense is that the president will see this as a mandate on his policies, because the Republicans also did very well in the House of Representatives, did very well in the U.S. Senate, picking up seats in both. He gets over 50 percent, 51 percent. And he’s going to see this as a mandate in the next four years to try and move the country in the direction he wants it to move. He will try to bring the country together in the short term, but he’s going to say, he’s got a mandate from the American people, and by all accounts he does.” [CNN election coverage, 11/3/04]

Renee Montagne, NPR host: “Well, as you say, the president’s people are calling this a mandate. By any definition I think you could call this a mandate. How will he govern?” [Morning Edition, 11/3/04]

Chris Matthews, MSNBC host: “Good evening. I’m Chris Matthews. And welcome to MSNBC’s post-election coverage live from Democracy Plaza in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza. Yesterday voters went to the polls and reelected President George Bush, giving him a mandate in his second term.” [MSNBC'sHardball with Chris Matthews, 11/3/04]

Several conservative media figures and outlets also quickly declared Bush’s narrow victory a “mandate”:

Wall Street Journal editorial board: “The voters did [decide the election] — including millions of conservative first-timers whom the exit polls and media missed — emerging from the pews and exurban driveways to give President Bush what by any measure is a decisive mandate for a second term. … Just because an election is close doesn’t mean it isn’t decisive. … … that Mr. Bush has been given the kind of mandate that few politicians are ever fortunate enough to receive.” [Wall Street Journal editorial, "The Bush Mandate," 11/4/04]

Bill Bennett, conservative author and nationally syndicated radio host: “Having restored decency to the White House, President Bush now has a mandate to affect policy that will promote a more decent society, through both politics and law. His supporters want that, and have given him a mandate in their popular and electoral votes to see to it.” [National Review Online, "The Great Relearning," 11/3/04]

Then-CNN host Tucker Carlson: “[N]obody has done it since 1988. The president wins reelection with a majority of the vote. It is a mandate. What will he do with it now? [CNN's Crossfire, 11/3/04]

Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal contributing editor: “He [Bush] has, I would argue, a mandate now. You can bet he’s going forward boldly. He announced it today in his victory speech. He said, ‘Honey, I’m not just going to lower your taxes. I am transforming the tax system.’ ” [Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, 11/3/04]

Pat Buchanan, MSNBC political analyst: “There’s no doubt about it, this was a vote against, by the red-state folks who gave the victory to George Bush, it was a rejection of blue-state America. It was a rejection of their values, their attacks on the president. … And the idea, it seems to me, that somehow the folks who won should now surrender part of whatever mandate they have to the folks who lost — I can tell you, what we’re hearing on this panel, people out there in red-state America are finding it very offensive.” [Hardball with Chris Matthews, 11/3/04]

William Kristol, Weekly Standard executive editor: “The hair-pullers and teeth-gnashers won’t like it, of course, but we’re nevertheless inclined to call this a Mandate. Indeed, in one sense, we think it an even larger and clearer mandate than those won in the landslide reelection campaigns of Nixon in 1972, Reagan in 1984, and Clinton in 1996.” [The Weekly Standard, "Misunderestimated," 11/15/04 issue]

I guess that settles it. Obama has a mandate.

Bill LuMaye: I’m gonna ask something I know a lot of people want to know, or at least I do. What it is like for you to hear the President of the United States call your dad a liar. How do you react to that?

Tagg Romney: Uh, you know, uh, well, jump out of your seat, and you want to rush down there to the debate stage and take a swing at him. But you know you can’t do that, because um, well first because there’s a lot of Secret Service between you and him…”

I’m surprised he’d want to punch the President. After all, it would have been way more “Romney” just to hold Obama down and cut his hair.

If you’re new to my website, be sure to “follow” me on Twitter and “like” me on Facebook for my thoughts on news of the day and updates about my work. You can also sign-up for my email list.

Today is “National Coming Out Day” — a day when gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people let their truth be known. On this day, we gay folk are supposed to tell heterosexual people like you that we are of the LGBT variety.

For a decade now, my friends and family have known that I am gay and each year it becomes harder and harder to think of someone who might not know that I play for the other team. So, instead I use “National Coming Out Day” as an opportunity to spread awareness about some alarming facts even our fiercest gay allies may not know about.

I grew up in California and I’m gay. It took years to find the courage to come out and tell people that simple fact. Unless you’ve been there yourself it may be hard to imagine the intense fear the prospect of telling people who you really are can represent.

What if my family disowns me? What if I lose my job? What if my friends abandon me? What if someone attacks me simply because of who I am? These aren’t fleeting thoughts for gay men and women living in the closet. They are persistent, pervasive and powerful.

I’ve been completely open about who I am for more than a decade now. My parents still love me. My friends have stuck with me. The jobs I’ve had in these years since coming out treat their gay employees with equality and respect. I’m lucky in that regard, for many people that is not the case. The freedom I now feel is amazing but that freedom is also limited.

Some facts you may find surprising:

• Gay people like me can enter into a loving, legally and equally recognized relationship in only 6 states and DC though none of them enjoy federal benefits or recognition.
• Gay people like me can be fired in 29 states based simply on who they love and not the quality of their work. On that score, the number of states sanctioning discrimination is even worse for transgender people.
• Stable, law abiding same-sex couples in 32 states are forbidden from jointly adopting children and denied the right to adopt the sons and daughters of their partner in an equally unfortunate number of states.
• Students who identify as, or are perceived to be LGBT remain vulnerable to state-sanctioned discrimination by their teachers and public schools in 36 states while 33 members of our “more perfect union” have no statewide programs protecting them from bullying.
• When it comes to renting a home, people like me can be denied a lease simply for being gay in 29 states and again, the numbers are even worse for the transgender community.
• While hospitals accepting Medicare and Medicaid are currently barred from denying visitation to same-sex partners as a result of a mandate issued by President Obama, 26 states have no laws guaranteeing such simple human dignity should the edict be rescinded by a future President.

One day I’d like to return home to California with the person I love to officially tie the knot and have that union recognized in every state so that we can enjoy the same rights and responsibilities as our married friends, family and co-workers.

There’s growing recognition that – like freedom of religion and freedom of speech — the freedom to marry is fundamental to our society. No one can tell you which church to attend, or what you can and cannot say. And no one should be able to tell you whom you can love and marry. Marriage allows couples to express a lifetime commitment to each other, and gives spouses the responsibility for crucial medical decisions in an emergency. Why should we deny same-sex couples that same security, dignity and respect? Marriage equality does not force churches to change their beliefs – it doesn’t even require them to believe in equality for gay men and women. It simply says the government will treat all people with equality and respect.

In 2012 at least eight states — Delaware, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, South Dakota, and West Virginia — are poised for removal from the list of states without openly LGBT state legislators. A significant step when you consider the fact that no state has passed protections for LGBT residents without having an openly LGBT state lawmaker.

The same holds true for Congress. In November, we could elect the nation’s first openly LGBT U.S. Senator in Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin and could see the delegation of openly LGBT Congresspersons increase from its current membership of four to seven including a lone Republican and two firsts: a bisexual and a person of color.

At the ballot box November, voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington will have an opportunity to approve marriage equality initiatives becoming the first states to do so at the polls while Minnesota could very well defeat efforts to add a ban on same-sex unions to the state constitution.

None of this will be possible without the support of people like you — straight people who love their LGBT friends and family. So, on this “National Coming Out Day” won’t you considering “coming out” for the rights and dignity of your LGBT friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, email, and at the water cooler?

As a demonstation of that support will you contribute $20.12 or more if you can afford it on “National Coming Out Day” to an LGBT candidate for Congress? Don’t just sit there. LGBT people like me will never have equality if LGBT people like me aren’t elected to the halls of power in this country. Click Here to make your investment in that future.

It has been 15 years since Ellen Degeneres came out on national television and while our culture has moved miles towards LGBT acceptance and inclusion, our laws have moved mere inches. With your help we can cross the finish line.

So, no, I’m not getting married, but one day I’d like to – and I’d like you to be there. Now get out there an earn your invitation.

Love,

Karl

P.S. You can watch my “It Gets Better” video below or read my old-school “coming out story” as printed in The Advocate years ago. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and “like” me on Facebook.

If you’ll be in Washington, DC on the evening of Thursday, October 4, be sure to RSVP for a reception to Grow the Congressional LGBT Caucus being thrown by Karl at the home of Eric and Maria Burns. Can’t make it? Contribute what you can to make the event a success!

Be sure to “like” Karl on Facebook and “follow” him on Twitter. While you are at it, join his email list for updates about his work and upcoming media appearances.

I happened to be in Providence, Rhode Island for Netroots Nation when they asked me to come to Boston and open the show with a few minutes of material. Aside from only having tried stand-up comedy once before in my early 20s with my friend Tina Dupuy, I ended up having a blast even if I was glued to my notes!

After the jump, check out some photos and videos from the Scissor Sisters performing at Priorities USA‘s “Super-O-Rama” Democratic National Convention after-party at NC Music Factory following President Obama’s speech.

Now we need you to help us cross the finish line by voting today. You can cast your vote using each of your email addresses DAILY through Wednesday, September 5th. 

• Karl Frisch for “Best LGBT television personality”
• Christopher Massicotte for “Most committed activist”
• Salon DeZEN for “Best spa/salon”
• Lane Hudson or Adam Ebbin for “Our local hero”

Once you’ve voted, be sure to encourage your friends to do the same on Facebook and Twitter. The more people we have standing with us, the more likely we are to succeed. And no, you don’t have to be LGBT to cast your vote — allies are quite welcome.