Achy Obejas

Senator Kirk may break from party on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

By: Achy Obejas | Dec. 8, 2010

Dec. 8, 2010

UPDATED Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 5:45pm.  A vote on Don't Ask Don't Tell is unlikely to happen tonight.

 

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has called for a vote on the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell after 6 o'clock tonight, meaning it's do or die for the legislation. Though this is a procedural vote, if DADT doesn't get past this hurdle, the legislation is likely dead in the water for years.

For Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk, this isa chance to show his true colors. As a congressman, Kirk said no to DADT. It was, perhaps, a nod at the conservatives he had to win over in his own party in order to be taken seriously as a primary candidate. That vote was considered both cowardly and opportunistic by many because it seemed contrary to Kirk’s more moderate stances.

But from the moment he became the GOP standard bearer, Kirk has been signaling openness. As late as a week ago, he was saying he was going to read “every page” of the Pentagon’s DADT study in order to make up his mind.

…Read Full Entry

DREAM Act supporters scrambling to get last minute votes

By: Achy Obejas | Dec. 8, 2010

Dec. 8, 2010

…Read Full Entry

Video: My appearance on Chicago Newsroom - 12/2/10

By: Achy Obejas | Dec. 3, 2010

Dec. 3, 2010

This week, I was a panelist on Ken Davis' Chicago Newsroom:

…Read Full Entry

For Hanukkah: My Menora

By: Achy Obejas | Dec. 1, 2010

Dec. 1, 2010

…Read Full Entry

Civil unions: Some kinda legal

By: Achy Obejas | Nov. 30, 2010

Nov. 30, 2010

Sometime this week – possibly even today -- Illinois may make history by passing a civil unions law that will grant same sex couples all the rights of marriage except one: the ability to call their union what it really is.

Governor Pat Quinn favors same sex marriage but backs civil unions as what’s possible.

And that seems to be the bottom line: in the year 2010, in the land of Lincoln, civil unions are all same sex couples are going to get: some kinda legal.

“Right now, it looks very good,” says Greg Harris, 13th district state representative and the law’s principal and most dogged sponsor. “Would I like to see same sex marriage? Yes, of course, but as you look through the struggles of every movement, you’ll see that everything is done in steps. Civil unions is a step.”

The law will entitle same sex couples to “the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections, and benefits afforded or recognized by the law of Illinois to spouses.”

…Read Full Entry

The Cedar Rapids Piano Lounge

By: Achy Obejas | Nov. 29, 2010

Nov. 29, 2010

…Read Full Entry

Photos: Sleeping with Cuba

By: Achy Obejas | Nov. 18, 2010

Nov. 18, 2010

Orlando Luis Pardo, a writer and photographer based in Havana, is one of the handful of friends who stepped up to guestblog last summer while I was off getting married and honeymooning. His written work is quirky and smart and I enjoy following it but his photo blog, Boring Home Utopics, is pretty permanently bookmarked because it always takes me back to Cuba in very real ways. Recently, Orlando gave up his space, in a way, for a curious project currently on exhbit at the Fototeca in Old Havana which was produced by Cuban photographers Carlos Otero and Enrique Rottenberg.

Called "Dormir con ..." (Sleeping with ..."), it chronicles beds and bedrooms throughout the island, those ultimately intimate spaces where we embrace our deepest dreams. The photos need little comment, though I found Orlando's presentation of Carlos and Enrique's work almost as haunting as what the images themselves show. Instead of simply loading up digital versions of the photographs, Orlando took his own photos of the exhibition. So these are photos of photos, the shadowy reflections of the gallery visitors creating a whole other layer of meaning.

…Read Full Entry

Plouffe's return great for Chicago (and Axelrod)

By: Achy Obejas | Nov. 16, 2010

Nov. 16, 2010

It may seem like an even exchange: weary David Axelrod comes home to Chicago, sees the fam, and starts gearing for 2012, while David Plouffe, the Obama campaign’s brainy strategist, finally takes a public White House post.

But part of makes these two work so well is that they complement rather than mirror each other. And right now Axelrod needs a break while Plouffe comes in relatively rested. Frankly, this may be the best move the White House has made in a while.

Senior adviser to the president was never the job Axelrod wanted – he initially said he wouldn’t take it, then said he wouldn’t stay more than a year and, now, two years on and a devastating midterm election later, we all wish he’d listened to his gut. Gaffe-prone of late, Axelrod needs to come home to Chicago to rest and re-charge.

It’s important to remember that, long before he became the founder of one of he most successful political consulting firms ever, he was a journalist. And the singular quality that good reporters share – and have no doubt that Axelrod was a very good reporter – is the ability to listen. Second to that is the ability to distill.

…Read Full Entry

Pages