BOSTON — Despite a gray chill and spits of rain that gave way to a downpour and later snow, hundreds of thousands of people celebrated a new chapter in this city’s history on Sunday as the storied South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade opened its ranks for the first time to gays and lesbians.
“To be included in this parade and be part of this parade is just really special for us,” said David Story, 65, a finance manager and a veteran of the Air Force. A member of OutVets, which honors lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender veterans, he and other members wore navy blue jackets branded with the group’s logo and a rainbow.
“We’re marching not just for us, but for all the closeted L.G.B.T. people who have been in the Air Force, are in the military, for years past, and the ones that may be in now,” he said.
The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, a private group that organizes the 114-year-old parade, had banned gay groups from participating for decades, saying it was no place for people who were vocal about their sexual orientation. In 1995, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld what it said was the group’s First Amendment right to exclude whomever it wanted.
But that stance turned the parade into an annual battleground for the gay-rights movement, and it forced many Massachusetts politicians, including Boston’s mayor, to skip the parade, which is an essential part of Boston history and culture. Not only does it celebrate the city’s important Irish heritage, but the parade also honors a Revolutionary War holiday unique to Boston and its environs called Evacuation Day. On March 17, 1776, the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, forced the British to retreat.
You can read more about the history of this conflict at the CSM and NYT links.
Politicians party at St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast 2015
Another long-time Boston tradition is the annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast at which local politicians get together to tell lame jokes and try to get Irish votes at the same time. This year’s version included a reportedly embarrassing appearance by Vice President Joe Biden, who might have been downing a wee bit of green beer early in the day.
From The Boston Globe: Groans outpace guffaws at St. Patrick’s Day breakfast.
Vice President Joe Biden’s phoned-in appearance at the annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in South Boston Sunday was a bit long. It was not terribly funny. And his ode to Irish heritage was more maudlin than moving.
After one attempted — but failed — interruption by the host, state Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, and some awkward silences, the vice president finally yielded to US Representative Stephen F. Lynch….
Sunday’s notable first came not at the breakfast, but at the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade that followed, with organizers allowing two organizations representing gay men and lesbians to take part after years of court battles and recriminations.
US Senator Edward J. Markey, echoing a line from Irish poet Seamus Heaney, sought to link the two events in a paean to inclusivity. “On a day in South Boston, when Linda is to host and the LGBT community can march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade,” he said, “hope and history are rhyming.”
Amid the often flat attempts at humor, a few of the speakers, riffing on Boston’s Olympic bid and the failures of the storm-ravaged MBTA, managed to elicit guffaws from the hundreds dining on sausage and eggs at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who got more laughs than most, took a shot at an erstwhile political rival.
“Since the last time I was here, I’ve really focused on the economy. There are a lot of people out there who have entirely given up on looking for work,” Warren said, pausing for a moment. “But enough about Scott Brown.”
Boston isn’t the only city with weird traditions around this day. I just noticed that in Chicago, they dye the river green!
What does your city, state or country do on St. Patrick’s Day?
Today’s News
I found quite a bit of interesting news this morning, so I’m just going to throw out a bunch of links and you can take what you want and leave the rest.
It’s election day in Israel, and it will be interesting to see whether Benjamin Netanyahu can pull out a win (I hope not).
New York Times: Israel Elections: Live Coverage of the Vote and Results.
Associated Press, Via Newsday: Netanyahu’s future on the line in Israel parliament election.
Reuters, via HuffPo: Millions Of Israelis Head To The Polls To Cast Votes In Tightly-Fought Election.
Salon, Endangered Netanyahu warns supporters that Arabs are voting “in droves.”
ABC News: Israel Election: What You Need to Know, From Candidates to Coalitions.
Raw Story: Paul Krugman exposes how Netanyahu used Iran to conceal Israel’s economic disaster
And just for laffs, from TPM: Chuck Norris Cuts Last-Minute Campaign Video For Netanyahu (VIDEO).
The controversy over Tom Cotton’s letter to Iran’s “leaders” continues.
At Rolling Stone, Jeb Lund writes about “a long history of right wing mayhem” in a piece with the same title (I assume deliberately) of a 1964 far right anti-communist screed, by John Stormer, None Dare Call It Treason.
Rolling Stone: None Dare Call It Treason: Tom Cotton, Iran and Old GOP Ideas.
Bobby Jindal injects his weird opinions on the letter even though he’s not a Senator. From Politico: Jindal to Biden: Apologize to Cotton over Iran letter.
Steve Benen at MSNBC: Being Tom Cotton means never having to say you’re sorry.
Did you know Tom Cotton just made his first Senate speech? And the GOP let this newbie lead them down the garden path?
Huffington Post: It Took Tom Cotton Less Than A Minute To Invoke Hitler In First Senate Speech.
Cotton also made a fool of himself on Sunday on Face the Nation.
Raw Story: Huh? Tom Cotton says Iran must be stopped because ‘they already control Tehran’.
Wonkette: Tom Cotton Regrets Nothing, Except Not Paying Attention In Geography Class.
Other Miscellaneous Links
A couple of interesting stories at AL.com.
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s son arrested, charged with drug possession in Troy.
Alumni won’t leave millions to University of Alabama because of state’s war on same-sex marriage.
Bobby Jindal has screwed up his state so badly that even Louisiana Republicans are getting mad.
Salt Lake Tribune: Rolly: Mitt Romney’s new opponent is Evander Holyfield.
Charles Pierce on Fox News’ fuss over a town in Massachusetts and its snow days: Here’s Some Stupid For Afternoon Tea. Andrea Tantaros and Congressman Sean Duffy’s intellectual discussion about academic Boston and ethnic Boston.
More from Raw Story: Fox News host Andrea Tantaros: Snow days are a liberal plot to strip schools of religious holidays.
Politico: GOP senators block Ted Cruz move to hold up Loretta Lynch vote
AP via the Star-Tribune: NC man accused of chaining boy to porch with a dead chicken around his neck rejects plea deal.
Raw Story: San Francisco prosecutors will investigate old police cases after discovery of racist texts.
CBC News: Russia’s Vladimir Putin waves the nuclear option.
Foreign Policy: Despite Plea Deal, Petraeus Still Consults for the National Security Council.
New York Times: US Oil Prices Fall to Six-Year Low.
What stories are you following today? Please share your suggestions in the comment thread and have a pleasant St. Patrick’s Day.
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Well, ban the heteros then!
Glad to hear the parade is now more inclusive. It’s more than about time.
Keep in mind that this isn’t a publicly-sponsored parade. It’s run by a private veteran group. One of the articles said that the old octogenarian who blocked LGBT participation for decades missed the meeting this year, and the others put the change through.
Happy St. Paddy’s Day!
Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton · 22h 22 hours ago
Congressional trifecta against women today: 1) Blocking great nominee, 1st African American woman AG, for longer than any AG in 30 years…
Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton · 22h 22 hours ago
…2) Playing politics with trafficking victims… 3) Threatening women’s health & rights.
okay, here’s your WTF is the matter with Kansas moment of the day:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/gov-sam-brownback-forcing-women-to-have-babies-is-part-of-pro-economic-growth-agenda-in-kansas/
The problem for Brownback is that Kansas’ economic growth is pathetic.
Kansas asked for it by voting him back in.
http://junkee.com/today-is-also-st-gertrudes-day-celebrate-the-patron-saint-of-cats/53228
Loved finding out this bit of info!
Happy St. Paddy’s Day Sky Dancers. About that the drug bust in Ala., Roy Moore’s son, I can’t help but say: Here comes the judge, here comes the judge, everybody get ready cause here comes the judge.
Someone sent a letter to the White House that tested positive for cyanide.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/letter-white-house-returns-presumptive-positive-cyanide/story?id=29711585
Dammit…WTF!
Love the little
midget
person
leprechaun.
Bebe has learned to say that line from Seinfeld that Elaine says how she hates men:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7swPQPmwSTQ