Let Arnold Know You Support Equal Protection Under The Law!

Hi, everyone. The California Supreme court decision on same-sex marriage was historic, a long time coming, hard fought and about time.

As I have said a thousand times over, however, this was not specifically about same-sex marriage, nor was it specifically about homosexuality. It was, specifically, about equal protection under the law.

Not surprisingly Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is receiving large numbers of phone calls from opponents of equal protection under the law about his comment to a group of Log Cabin Republicans that he wouldn't support a constitutional amendment to ban equal protection under the law.

We don't want him to go back on his word.

He must hear from us too.

The aide I spoke to yesterday was so glad I called as most of his calls were from the "other side." Call, email or write him and THANK him for his support, and to support the Supreme Court's decision.

It is automated and you will not talk to anyone, just push the number for pro Supreme Court decision.

To vote in support of the Supreme Court's decision on equal protection under the law:
call 1-916-445-2841
press 1, 5, 1, 1


It couldn't be easier to vote... please take 15 seconds right now to do it!


To email go to http://gov.ca.gov/interact , hit email tab and select Supreme Court decision on Same Sex Marriage. On the next screen you must click PRO. Then just a couple of words of thanks are all you need. No long letter which no one will read anyway.

State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160 (new number)

Anything you do will be most appreciated!

Oh, and while you're at it, go to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/34769 to purchase advance tickets for my hot new comedy showcase, Just One of the Girls!

Just One of the Girls Premieres Saturday Night, June 7!

On Saturday night, June 7, join Kenny Altman and four - or five - perhaps even six - of the Bay Area's hottest female comics at this brand-new comedy showcase, Just One of the Girls!

Just One of the Girls!
Saturday night, June 7, 8 pm
MetroSpace, 379 Highland (at Andover), San Francisco
$10 tix online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/34769

Your host - Kenny Altman
Starring - Dana LoVecchio
Featuring - Beth Schumann
With - Candy Churilla, Loren Kraut, and Morgan

Kenny Altman holds the distinction of being San Francisco's only Stand-up Comic and Torah Trope instructor. He recently co-hosted the popular "Gays and Dolls" series at the Clubhouse in San Francisco, has played at clubs all over the U.S. and has shared the stage with such luminaries as Marga Gomez, Karen Ripley, Jeff Applebaum, Kid Dave Miller, and more. As a young child coming of age in the 1960s, his mother and grandmother used to tell him that he was "funnier than Alan King" but Kenny always knew there was more to him that just that - he also knew that he was "prettier than Julie Andrews." Kenny has always had a special place in his heart for female comics and he is especially excited to be bringing this new comedy showcase to San Francisco, especially with this smokin' hot lineup for the show's debut:

Dana LoVecchio started performing comedy shows at the age of 7 in Michelle Meade's backyard. She continued performing throughout elementary school, where she would shove peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in her face to make the kids at the lunch table laugh. Upon her graduation from John F. Kennedy High School, Dana was awarded the high honor of Most Likely To Appear On Def Comedy Jam. Not being black, Dana was perplexed, but then she remembered her southern Italian roots and silently thanked her ancestors for getting it on with the Moors. She has performed all over the San Francisco Bay Area including The San Jose Improv, Rooster T Feather's, The Purple Onion, The Clubhouse, and Cobb's Comedy Club.

Beth Schumann is one of the founding members of the Mixed Nuts: Comics on Meds stand up comedy troupe, which features comedians on medication for a wide variety of mental health disorders, raising awareness and laughter at the same time. Beth is also a regular with Grace White's Women Who Kick Comedy Butt. Beth has shared the stage with Rob Cantrell, James P. Connolly, Jimmy Dore, Will Durst, Al Madrigal, Phil Palisoul, Tom Pecora, Tom Rhodes, Dwight Slade, Bobby Slayton, Harland Williams, and more.

Candy Churilla was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she learned to drink. This proud bachelorette's life is one misunderstanding, man, and cocktail after another. What this lovably twisted comic lacks in self-control she makes up for in self-involvement. If her life were an HBO series, it would be called Sex & the Ghetto

Loren Kraut can be seen far and wide touching or counting anything that needs touching or counting. At the recent San Francisco Comedy College Awards, Loren won "Most Inspirational Comedian" for 2008.

Morgan is a former ironworker from Island Heights, New Jersey. Really, do you need to know more than that?!

I must be dreaming - please, pinch me! (No, really, pinch me, I like it!)

I'm agreeing with, and appreciating, something Arnold Schwarzenegger is saying?! Are there no limits to the miracles this world has to offer?!

Governor Backs Same-sex Marriage Ruling

Matthew Yi, Chronicle Staff Writer

San Francisco Chronicle, May 17, 2008

A day after the state Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples should have the right to marry in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that he supports the court's decision even though his personal view is that "marriage is between a man and a woman."

Advocates of same-sex marriage have praised Schwarzenegger for embracing Thursday's decision, which overturned a voter-approved law allowing only opposite-sex marriage. They also expect him to make good on his promise last month to help fight a new initiative, aimed for the November ballot, that would overturn the court's ruling.

But the Republican governor's stance on same-sex marriage has been curious and confusing to many people. Since his election in 2003, Schwarzenegger has twice vetoed bills to legalize marriage for homosexual couples.

Last month, he appeared to make an about-face, placing himself in the spotlight when he told a group of gay Republicans that he would campaign against the Limit on Marriage initiative. Backers of the measure have submitted more than 1 million signatures to the secretary of state's office, which will decide next month whether the initiative qualifies.

In a meeting with The Chronicle's editorial board on Friday, Schwarzenegger was asked to clarify his position.

"First, I have always said that for me, marriage is between a man and a woman," he said.

Then he added: "But I don't want to make everyone else go in that direction."

Schwarzenegger said he vetoed same-sex marriage legislation because he felt the Legislature shouldn't override voter-approved Proposition 22, which had defined marriage as between a man and a woman and was nullified by the high court on Thursday.

However, the governor said he doesn't necessarily feel the same when it comes to the Supreme Court overturning a statute enacted by a voter initiative.

"When the people vote, people are not legal experts, constitutional experts or any of that," he said. "I think that's why we have the courts. People may vote with good intentions, but then the court says, 'This is not constitutional.'

"It's not that the court interferes with the will of the people," he added. "But the court says, 'You voted for something, but it's not constitutionally right, so let's rework this.' That's really the idea."

While he supports the notion that same-sex couples should enjoy the same protections as heterosexual couples, the governor said same-sex marriage is not something that he has felt strongly about. He added that he has attended ceremonies for domestic partnerships.

Schwarzenegger's outspoken rejection of the proposed Limit on Marriage initiative gives the opposition campaign a huge lift, said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at Sacramento State University.

John J. Pitney Jr., a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, said the biggest boost that the governor can have in that campaign would be in fundraising.

Meanwhile, Republican campaign consultant Kevin Spillane said he believes that the proposed measure, if it qualifies for the fall ballot, could lift the Republican Party's "dispirited conservative base."

But just how that might play out in the presidential or other local elections will be complicated to figure out, he said.

"Gay marriage is a tough issue for both parties," he said. "You'll have socially moderate and younger Republican voters who may be more supportive of gay marriage, but then you also have African American and Latino Democratic voters who are more socially conservative."

Schwarzenegger said he doesn't think same-sex marriages in the coming months will stir up Californians much.

"I think life will go on as usual," he said.

On the Radio with John Rothmann this Saturday night/Sunday morning!

Friends - It's a beautiful day here in the United States of America; thanks to yesterday's groundbreaking decision by the California Supreme Court, which will make same-sex marriage legal in this state in 30 days, I feel, for the first time in a long time, as if this battle we are fighting for equal protection under the law might actually have a good ending, and perhaps even sooner than I’d hoped or dreamed. I only wish Ennis and Jack could be here to share this moment with us!

My friend Morgan (that's her in the pic up top) and I will be on the John Rothmann show this weekend on KGO radio – Saturday night/Sunday morning, from 2:00 – 3:00 a.m. to discuss our reactions to this monumentally momentous moment in history, and to take calls from listeners. We’ll probably even get to tell some jokes and plug the June 7 premiere of Just One of the Girls, the hottest comedy showcase to hit San Francisco since Gays and Dolls!

You can listen to KGO radio at 810 on your AM dial, or on the internet at www.kgoam810.com/listenlive.asp

More info on JOOTG at www.kennyaltman.blogspot.com/2008/05/just-one-of-girls-premieres-saturday.html .

Peace, love, and shabbat shalom to all,

Kenny A.

Just One of the Girls Premieres Saturday Night, June 7!

On Saturday night, June 7, join Kenny Altman and four - or five - perhaps even six - of the Bay Area's hottest female comics at this brand-new comedy showcase, Just One of the Girls!

Just One of the Girls!
Saturday night, June 7, 8 pm
MetroSpace, 379 Highland (at Andover), San Francisco.
$10 tix online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/34769
Your host - Kenny Altman
Starring - Dana LoVecchio
Featuring - Beth Schumann
With - Candy Churilla, Loren Kraut, and Morgan


Kenny Altman holds the distinction of being San Francisco's only Stand-up Comic and Torah Trope instructor. He recently co-hosted the popular "Gays and Dolls" series at the Clubhouse in San Francisco, has played at clubs all over the U.S. and has shared the stage with such luminaries as Marga Gomez, Karen Ripley, Jeff Applebaum, Kid Dave Miller, and more. As a young child coming of age in the 1960s, his mother and grandmother used to tell him that he was "funnier than Alan King" but Kenny always knew there was more to him that just that - he also knew that he was "prettier than Phyllis Diller." Kenny has always had a special place in his heart for female comics and he is especially excited to be bringing this new comedy showcase to San Francisco, especially with this smokin' hot lineup for the show's debut:

Dana LoVecchio started performing comedy shows at the age of 7 in Michelle Meade's backyard. She continued performing throughout elementary school where she would shove peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in her face to make the kids at the lunch table laugh. Upon her graduation from John F. Kennedy High School, Dana was awarded the high honor of Most Likely To Appear On Def Comedy Jam. Not being black, Dana was perplexed, but then she remembered her southern Italian roots and silently thanked her ancestors for getting it on with the Moors. She has performed all over the San Francisco Bay Area including The San Jose Improv, Rooster T Feather's, The Purple Onion, The Clubhouse, and Cobb's Comedy Club.


Beth Schumann is one of the founding members of the Mixed Nuts: Comics on Meds stand up comedy troupe, which features comedians on medication for a wide variety of mental health disorders, raising awareness and laughter at the same time. Beth is also a regular with Grace White's Women Who Kick Comedy Butt. Beth has shared the stage with Rob Cantrell, James P. Connolly, Jimmy Dore, Will Durst, Al Madrigal, Phil Palisoul, Tom Pecora, Tom Rhodes, Dwight Slade, Bobby Slayton, Harland Williams, and more.


Candy Churilla was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she learned to drink. This proud bachelorette's life is one misunderstanding, man, and cocktail after another. What this lovably twisted comic lacks in self-control she makes up for in self-involvement. If her life were an HBO series, it would be called Sex & the Ghetto.

Loren Kraut can be seen far and wide touching or counting anything that needs touching or counting. At the recent San Francisco Comedy College Awards, Loren won "Most Inspirational Comedian" for 2008.

Morgan is a former ironworker from Toms River, New Jersey. Really, do you need to know more than that?!

Mother's Day 2008 - Remembering "Mommy"

An oldie, but a goodie - this was the first piece I published to my blog, back in the olden days of 2005, in observance of Mother's Day and in tribute to my dear, darling mother, who I miss each and every day with an ache that is hard to define. Thank you for taking the time to read it, and for your comments.

My Cousin Vinny/My Mother Marion
Mother’s Day, for obvious reasons, has a different flavor for me these days than it once did. No more phone calls, no good-natured “gut yontiff” which I always began my calls with on secular or national holidays, no more of that sweet voice on the other end of the line. No more recipe sharing, no more cat stories, no more laughs at the expense of public figures, no more of her rich stories about growing up on New York's Lower East Side, no more plans for my next trip to New Jersey. Now, it’s all just memories.

Still, however, even with someone no longer physically here, there is always the opportunity to continue to learn from that person, and in the most unexpected ways.

For the last few years of my mother’s life, her three favorite movies were “Legally Blonde,” “Miss Congeniality” and “My Cousin Vinny.” Along with her other favorite new show, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” she watched these movies often, sometimes just a scene or two at a time, thanks to HBO On Demand. I love "Enthusiasm" and I will never forget how my mother and I screamed with laughter, a week before she died, at the restaurant scene featuring the Tourette Syndrome-afflicted head chef.* As for the movies, I tried to watch them with her a few times, but for some reason I didn’t get what the fuss was all about. Unfortunately, I never asked. Save for Marisa Tomei’s Academy Award-winning scene on the courtroom stand in “Vinny,” I just couldn’t see what she saw in those films.

Several weeks ago, I decided to sit down for once and for all and watch these movies and try to see what it was my mother saw in them. So I watched them, at home, by myself, on three successive evenings. All of a sudden I got it, and all of a sudden I knew my mother all over again.

It’s so simple that I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I missed it while my mother was alive. You see, “Blonde,” “Congeniality” and “Vinny” are essentially the same movie. In each movie, a smart, good-looking woman (Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock and Tomei respectively) is told that she is neither smart nor competent enough to make it in a so-called man’s world, or she is told she is either too good-looking to be taken seriously (Witherspoon as a law student, Tomei as an expert witness on the differences between the 1964 Buick Skylark and the 1963 Pontiac Tempest) or not good-looking enough to be taken seriously (Bullock as a beauty pageant contestant). In each film, they prove everyone wrong and, of course, as the underdog does so often in the movies, they save the day. (As an aside, if you think that “Vinny” was all about Joe Pesci, it wasn’t; rather, it was about Tomei, and you owe it to yourself to watch "Vinny" again from this perspective.)


This was something my mother talked about from time to time, during some of our more serious conversations, that she knew she was smart and competent but that she felt she had never been given what she thought were ample opportunities to prove it. My mother graduated high school at age 16 and went straight to work, full-time, as a legal secretary. This is what she did, but it wasn’t exactly what she wanted to do. What my mother wanted was to go to college; in my humble opinion, and with all due respect to the honorable profession of the legal secretary, she should have gone not only to college, but to law school as well. But this was 1943. Of course, women were going to college and to law school in 1943, but many at that time, my mother included, were still taking the more widely accepted route of the secretary-in-waiting-to-meet-her-man.

My mother met her man, my father Saul, when she was 20. She married him two years later, on March 19, 1949, and two and a half years after that my brother Howard was born. I followed in December of 1954, and our brother Allan came along six years and change after that. At the time Howard was born, my mother left her secretarial career behind to devote herself to raising her family. I'm not sure if she regretted not going back to work outside the home, however I do suspect that there was a part of her that secretly wished she could have gone back at some point in time, perhaps when my younger brother and I were approaching our teens, but she never did. When she was widowed in 1982, at age 55, my mother had the opportunity to go back to work. But she didn’t. “I just spent 30 years raising three children,” was her response. “I’m retired.”

And retire she did. But not exactly. My mother read constantly, and she used the radio and the television not only to entertain, but to learn from as well. She was continually expanding her already vast knowledge of all things great and small. For someone who hadn’t worked outside the home since her early 20’s, she knew more about what was wrong with the world than most world leaders could ever dream of knowing. She was smart, she was competent, and of course, she was beautiful, and each day of her life she was a little bit more of each of those things than she had been the day before.

What I learned from my mother about rooting for the underdog, about speaking up when you know that something isn't right, was immeasurable and irreplaceable, and I carry it with me every day of my life. I should not be surprised at all that today, 18 months after her passing, she is still teaching me things.

In the three months preceding my mother’s passing, I danced with her at two weddings and a Bat Mitzvah. On Sunday, November 16, 2003, a week after our last dance together, my mother fell and broke her hip. Two days later, during surgery, she suffered a massive brain-stem stroke and she never came back. I was with her when her medical team disconnected her life support, and I was with her for the next eight and a half hours. I was in the room when she stopped breathing, at which point I took the nurse’s stethoscope and listened to my mother's heartbeat for the last few minutes of her life. It was the most powerfully intimate moment I ever shared with another human being, and I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything in this world. Except, of course, for the opportunity to sit down with my mother and watch one of those three movies, the most recent additions to her ongoing gifts and her ongoing legacy to me.

Helen Keller once said that she was not afraid of dying, that “...death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.” Funny, now that my mother is gone, I no longer fear death the way I once did. To paraphrase Keller, I also know that in that next room I will continue to see and hear, and in that next room I will find my mother, and my father, and so many others who have gone but have never really left me, and who still have the power and the ability to teach me new things.

If you are a mother, I wish you health and happiness today and every day of your life. If you have a mother, please give her an extra hug today, and tell her it is from me.

Kenneth Altman
San Francisco, California
May 8, 2005

*no Tourette Syndrome patients were harmed in the writing of this piece.

I probably don't have the time to go out and prove this, but...

Deborah Jeane Palfrey (3/18/56-5/1/08)

I highly doubt the DC Madam killed herself.

Shabbat shalom, have a great weekend!

Kenny