Arkansas Gay History

Upcoming Queer Events Arkansas

2008-12-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

Upcoming Queer Events
To members of Arkansas Gay Straight Alliance Network
Amanda Harris

November 19 at 10:16am
Reply Hey folks,

I'm just passing along some information. Hope you all can participate!

March for the Repeal of Act 1

Friday - November 21, 2008
4:00pm - Step off promptly!
Assemble at McArthur Park - 9th street side
Little Rock, AR

All participants are encouraged to wear black. The march will be silent. We will break the silence at the Capitol steps where we will have speakers and a candlelight vigil.

Signs and banners should reflect that:

ALL Families Matter in Arkansas!
Act 1 keeps kids from good homes
Act 1 takes away families rights on decisions for their children
Act 1 defines for ALL Arkansans who a family can be
Act 1 is a direct attack on the lives of LGBTQ Arkansans

This march has been called by:
Center for Artistic Revolution, CAR
Repeal Act 1
Unity GSA at Hendrix
The Alliance GSA at UALR
PRISM at UCA

More info at: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/event.php?eid=93620450607

A NATIONWIDE Student Protest for Students to Demand Equal Rights For All American Citizens!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008

"We have been asked by many people to come up with another protest against Prop 8. The trick is that we want to keep the protests going, but also want to keep the media coverage as well. If we do the same protest all the time, it won't be news anymore.

Let's stir it up a bit by having all the students walk out of class for a NATIONWIDE protest similar to the ones on 11/15/2008!

This year we saw extremely high turnouts at the polls by young voters. They are politically involved, they want to be heard, and they can definitely make a difference!

Regardless of whether you are in college or high school. Regardless of whether you are straight or gay. Regardless of whether you are black, white, latino, asian, or any other race/nationality. Regardless of your religion or your political status. We ask you to stand up and DEMAND equal rights for all American citizens. On Wednesday December 3rd we strongly suggest that all students throughout the United States walk out of class at 9 am in your own time zone. This will create a ripple effect across the country! When you leave, please leave a note on your desk that says, "SCHOOL TAUGHT ME NOT TO DISCRIMINATE. SAY NO TO PROP 8. SAY YES TO EQUALITY"."

More info at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=99329430393

The great fishing lakes of Arkansas are among its most prized possessions.

2008-11-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

Jet skiing on Norfork Lake in the Arkansas Ozarks
A vast majority of recreational vacations are water-related, and Arkansas is ready. With 600,000 acres of Arkansas lakes, there's plenty of space for fishing, swimming, sailing, power-boating, scuba diving and more.

The great fishing lakes of Arkansas are among its most prized possessions. Constantly fed by cold-flowing springs and creeks, the mountain fishing lakes are among the cleanest in the world. Scuba divers and underwater photographers marvel at the water clarity, while fishermen are happy with the trophy-sized lunkers they hook in the same waters. The Ozarks offer Bull Shoals, Greers Ferry, Norfork, Beaver, Dardanelle and other smaller lakes. The Ouachita Mountains boast DeGray, Greeson, Hamilton, Catherine, Nimrod and Ouachita lakes. And, south Arkansas boasts Lake Millwood, White Oak, Chicot (the state's largest ox-bow cutoff from the Mississippi) and others lakes in Arkansas.

Houseboats, sailing rigs, party barges, fishing boats, rafts, parasails and jet skis are just some of the watercrafts enjoyed on Arkansas lakes. In addition, trout fishermen and nature lovers use the popular flat-bottomed johnboat to navigate the shallow tail waters below the big power dams.

2008-11-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

This is a note for you from Donna S., another MoveOn member in Little Rock:

2008-11-18T13:57:00.001-08:00

This is a note for you from Donna S., another MoveOn member in Little Rock:

Dear MoveOn member,

Hello! I'm Donna J. Stone, an excited neighbor and citizen of Little Rock, Arkansas. I and many others across the country are continuing to have enthusiastic visions for the Change that has ocurred and looking forward to being a part of future changes.

So come join the "Fired Up and Ready to Go" gathering that I am hosting on Thursday, November 20, 2008. Let's continue with this campaign. So tell your neighbors, friends, co-workers and family. Please as many of our youth as possible.

I look forward to seeing you.

Here are the details:

"Fired Up and Ready to Go" Gathering
Host: Donna S—fellow MoveOn member
Where: TBA (in Little Rock)
When: Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008, at 6:00 PM
Can you come? Click here to RSVP:

http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=85369&id=15131-1814070-N6w6uZx&t=1

Hope to see you there!

–Donna S., fellow MoveOn member

This email was sent through the MoveOn system, so your personal info is still private.

2008-11-13T15:02:00.001-08:00

Welcome to 37 years of Excellence in the art of female impersonation

2008-11-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 37 years of Excellence in the art of female impersonation

It has been a busy week for Truth Wins Out. Here is a quick update on our important work:

2008-11-13T09:27:00.001-08:00

It has been a busy week for Truth Wins Out. Here is a quick update on our important work:

1) TWO's Executive Director, Wayne Besen, will appear on FOX's O'Reilly Factor (8PM EST) this evening to discuss race and Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that bans same-sex marriage. He will also appear this evening on KABC's, The Al Rantel Radio Show, in Los Angeles, at 8PM (PST).

2) TWO's Respect My Research program had a hugely successful week. The Salt Lake Tribune covered our exclusive video with Dr. Lisa Diamond. She is a University of Utah professor who claimed the "ex-gay" therapy group, NARTH, distorted her findings. This is a vivid example of our important work, holding anti-gay organizations accountable when they twist the research of legitimate scientists to support their anti-gay theories.

3) Last Saturday, TWO and the Gay Liberation Network organized a protest against the Radio Hall of Fame for honoring Focus on the Family's James Dobson. The demonstration was also against Proposition 8. Hundreds of people energetically rallied and the event made local and national news, including NBC Nightly News and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show.

We have a powerful video of the Chicago protest.

If you like and appreciate the work of Truth Wins Out, please consider a generous contribution. If you can afford $15, it would help our efforts. If $100 or more is a possibility, please consider assisting us. We can only have an impact and make a difference with your continued support.

After Calif. loss, gays get right to wed in Conn.

2008-11-13T08:11:00.005-08:00

After Calif. loss, gays get right to wed in Conn.
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN – 18 hours ago

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Same-sex couples walked joyfully down the aisle Wednesday for the first time in Connecticut, while gay activists planned to march in protests across the country over the vote that took away their right to marry in California.

Advocates said they expected thousands at a demonstration at Boston's City Hall Plaza later Wednesday, with gay couples and families featured to try to keep the tone positive, said Ryan McNeely, an organizer for the Join the Impact protest movement.

"We're not trying to convey an image of persecution, we're not trying to attack any specific group," he said. "The point we need to be making is that we need to bring everybody together and to respect each other, and that hate breeds hate."

Bubbles and white balloons bounced in the chilly autumn air as well-wishers cheered the marriage of Peg Oliveira and Jennifer Vickery in New Haven. They wed outside City Hall, next to a statue commemorating the struggle for freedom among captives on the Amistad slave ship.

Despite the roaring traffic and clicking cameras, "it was surprisingly quiet," Oliveira said after the brief ceremony. "Everything else dissolved, and it was just the two of us. It was so much more personal and powerful in us committing to one another, and so much less about the people around us."

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Oct. 10 that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a 2005 civil union law designed to give them the same rights as married couples. A lower-court judge entered a final order permitting same-sex marriage Wednesday morning.

"Today, Connecticut sends a message of hope and inspiration to lesbian and gay people throughout this country who simply want to be treated as equal citizens by their government," said the plaintiff's attorney, Bennett Klein.

There was no comparison between civil unions and marriage for Robin Levine-Ritterman and Barbara Levine-Ritterman, who obtained a civil union in 2005 and were among eight same-sex couples who sued for the right to marry.

"We didn't do it with pride or joy," Barbara Levine-Ritterman said of getting the civil-union license. "It felt gritty to be in a separate line."

On Wednesday, however, she proudly held up the first same-sex marriage license issued in New Haven as about 100 people applauded outside City Hall. She and her betrothed, who held red roses, plan to marry in May.

"It's thrilling today," Barbara Levine-Ritterman said. "We are all in one line for one form. Love is love, and the state recognizes it."

Manchester Town Clerk Joseph Camposeo, president of the Connecticut Town Clerks Association, said clerks in the state's 169 communities were advised by e-mail shortly after 9:30 a.m. that they could start issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

"The feedback I'm getting from other clerks is that we're all at the ready, but no one really has a sense yet of what kind of volume we're going to get," he said.

According to the state public health department, 2,032 civil union licenses were issued in Connecticut between October 2005 and July 2008.

The health department had new marriage applications printed that reflect the change. Instead of putting one name under "bride" and the other under "groom," couples will see two boxes marked "bride/groom/spouse."

Massachusetts is the only other state allowing gay marriages. Like the highest courts in that state and Connecticut, the California Supreme Court ruled this spring that same-sex marriage is legal. After thousands of such unions were conducted in California, however, its voters last week approved Proposition 8, a referendum banning the practice.

Constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage also passed last week in Arizona and Florida, and Arkansas voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents.

Gay rights advocates are citing Massachusetts as an example at planned rallies this weekend to demonstrate why gay marriage is beneficial to families and children.

"In Massachusetts, in particular, we have a great story to tell, a great story to tell about marriage equality, that it works and that it's good," said Marc Solomon, executive director of MassEquality.

Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which opposes gay marriage, said planned and past protests, some of which have been angry in tone and targeted churches, are meant to intimidate the California high court into reversing its ruling that Proposition 8 was constitutional.

"We are a nation that goes by the rule of law," he said. "No court should ever be intimidated by mob rule. And that's what our opponents right now are trying to do."

The California vote has sparked protests and several lawsuits asking that state's Supreme Court to overturn the prohibition.

A group of Southern California activists have launched an effort to have simultaneous protests outside statehouses and city halls in every state Saturday. Demonstrations have been scheduled outside the U.S. Capitol and in more than 100 cities.

Activists also are aiming boycotts and protests at businesses and individuals who contributed to the campaign to pass Proposition 8. Many of the donors are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which played a significant role in encouraging its members to support the California ban.

Mormon churches in several states have become the focus of protests and some vandalism since the vote.

Since lawyers for gay rights groups and the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco have asked the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8, same-sex couples in California are not flocking to Connecticut and Massachusetts to wed, said Shannon Minter, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

"I think couples are still very hopeful they will be able to marry here," Minter said.

Connecticut voters could have opened the door to ending gay marriage last week by voting for a constitutional convention to amend the state's constitution, but the measure failed.

Peter Wolfgang, the executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, a gay-marriage opponent, acknowledged that banning gay weddings in Connecticut will be difficult but vowed not to give up. He condemned the high court's decision as undemocratic.

"Unlike California, we did not have a remedy," Wolfgang said. "It must be overturned with patience, determination and fortitude."

The state's 2005 civil union law will remain on the books for now. Same-sex couples can continue to enter civil unions, which give them the same legal rights and privileges in Connecticut as married couples without the status of being married. Several states, including California, allow domestic partnerships or civil unions for same-sex couples.

Associated Press writers Susan Haigh in Hartford, Conn., and Lisa Leff in San Francisco contributed to this report.

After Calif. loss, gays get right to wed in Conn.

2008-11-13T08:11:00.003-08:00

After Calif. loss, gays get right to wed in Conn.

2008-11-13T08:11:00.001-08:00

Skate4Cancer Photo Blog

2008-11-13T05:42:00.001-08:00

Skate4Cancer Photo Blog

Selfless; having, exhibiting, or motivated by no concern for oneself. It has been suggested that Rob Dyer is selfless, but few people know how truly far he has gone, and know how much, of himself, he...

erinhogue.com/blog
Report Item - Ban
Comments

MSNBC REPORT ON GAY MARRAIGE IN ca AND SMALL REPORT ABOUT TYHE FOSTOR BILL IN AR

2008-11-13T05:31:00.000-08:00

Laura Bellows sent a message to the members of Arkansas Families First

2008-11-08T10:05:00.001-08:00

Laura Bellows sent a message to the members of Arkansas Families First.

--------------------
Subject: PLEASE

It's almost over. Thank you for your support throughout this campaign. I need to ask you one more time for your help.

We need you on election day.

Yesterday, Family Council sent out the email below asking for volunteers on election day. We don't agree on much, but I agree with Jerry Cox that many voters in Arkansas still do not know how to vote on Initiated Act 1.

Some of ya'll have signed up to help out on election day, November 4th, but we need many more folks. If you haven't signed up to work on election day yet, please email me now or call 501-280-0082. I will ship materials wherever you need them.

Please help save homes for the children of Arkansas. Please counter Family Council at the polls.

Polls are open from 7:30 AM - 7:30 PM. We need as much time as you can give.

Laura Bellows
laura@arkansasfamiliesfirst.org
www.arkansasfamiliesfirst.org
---
From: Jerry Cox
Subject: Action Committee Looking for Poll Workers
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:03:16 +0000
Action Committee Looking for Poll Workers

As I said yesterday, the election is almost here. We’re fast approaching the “eleventh hour” for this campaign. With less than a week remaining, it’s becoming more and more critical that our voices be heard in support of Act 1, the Arkansas Adoption and Foster Care Act.

Many voters don’t make up their minds about how they will vote until a week or two prior to the election; many more do not decide how they will vote on initiated acts until they arrive at the voting booth. There are still thousands of undecided voters who will vote FOR Act 1 if we reach them now.

We need volunteers willing to stand in front of polling places, asking people to vote FOR Act 1. Whether it’s by holding up signs, passing out flyers, or just talking to voters, we need people who will campaign for the Adoption Act at the polls on Tuesday.

College students in Searcy are already planning to assemble volunteers fo r the Adoption Act outside polling places. I believe that similar efforts on the part of Arkansans across the state could secure victory for us in this election.

If you and your friends do not already have campaign material for next week, give us a call at (501) 375-7000. We would be happen to ship flyers and yard signs to you ASAP.

Thank you for standing with us in this fight. The next few days will determine the outcome of this election for the Arkansas Adoption and Foster Care Act. None of what we are doing would be possible without you.
--------------------

To reply to this message, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=1045663106067

Conference this weekend! OLD EVENT IN ARKANSAS IN CONWAY

2008-10-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

Conference this weekend!
To members of Queer Coalition Conference
Amanda Harris

April 1 at 8:06pm
Reply Hello all,

For those attending the 2nd Annual Arkansas Queer Coalition Conference, please take note of the following announcements.

Registration starts on Friday, April 4 at 4:30 p.m. on the 2nd floor of the student center at the University of Central Arkansas.

If you have not registered for the conference yet, but still want to come, please send your registration form ASAP! Find this file in our yahoo group at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/queercoalition. It is in the Files link to the left under the "2008 Conference Materials" folder. Email it to QueerCoalitionConference@gmail.com

For those concerned about parking, please look for any guest parking on campus. There is a large lot of guest parking alongside Donaghey St.

The second day of the conference (Saturday, April 5) will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the UCA Student Center.

Everyone who agreed to bring a dish to the potluck- THANKS! However, we have a million requests to bring chips. I don’t think we all want chips for dinner, so please try and bring a fun food dish if you are able :)

If you requested to have a slumber party for your housing accommodations, no worries. We will take care of you. Be sure to sign in on the housing sheet at the registration table.

If you want to see the updated conference schedule and workshop descriptions, look at the bottom of this message. Thanks! And if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at QueerCoalitionConference@gmail.com

See you this weekend!

P.S. Get ready for a non-conference sponsored Queer Bash on Saturday night!!

Friday Schedule

4:30-5:00 p.m.
Registration

5:00-5:50 p.m.
Informal Introduction/Potluck

6:00-8:30 p.m.
Group Session with Jaison Gardner

Saturday Schedule

Late Registration All Day

8:00-8:20 a.m.
On-site Breakfast

8:20-8:55 a.m.
Formal Introductions

9:00 – 10:20 a.m.
Workshop Session I

A:
You Have the Right to Be Yourself—and Not to Remain Silent by Holly Dickson

B:
All Together Now: Respecting Diversity within the Queer Movement by Jaison Gardner

10:30 - 11:50 a.m.
Workshop Session II

A:
Queer Defiance of Gay Compliance: a Critical Analysis of the Human Rights Campaign by Nick Stinson

B:
America’s Next Top GSA: Walking the Gay, Straight Alliance Runway by Hannah Sabet

11:50 a.m. - 12:50 p.m.
On-site Lunch

1:00-2:20 p.m.
Workshop Session III

A:
When Art and Revolution Meet by Randi Romo

B:
The Silent T in Stonewall by Kourt Osborn

2:30 – 3:50 p.m.
Workshop Session IV

A:
A Fabric That Breathes: A Queer Guide to Updating Your Spiritual Wardrobe by John Willis

B:
Blurring the Lines: Identity and the Queer Sexual Spectrum by Amanda Harris

3:50-5:30 p.m.
Group Session with Jaison Gardner

Workshop Descriptions:

You Have the Right to Be Yourself—and Not to Remain Silent by Holly Dickson, Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. A workshop on the rights of LGBT people in general, and public school students in particular.

All Together Now: Respecting Diversity within the Queer Movement by Jaison Gardner. The queer community is a broad, diverse community. When it comes to community organizing, who’s at the table? Who’s not at the table? Who built the table? Let’s work toward a better understanding of diversity within the queer movement and start working to build an inclusive community where all individuals are valued and empowered to reach their full potential.

Queer Defiance of Gay Compliance: A Critical Analysis of the Human Rights Campaign by Nick Stinson, co-creator of Conway League of Queer Activists. How does the Human Rights Campaign serve as a lens through which queers can gain a better understanding of gay assimilation and the violence it creates? This workshop will explore that question while examining the Buyer’s Guide and the recent ENDA controversy – and the complex ways they serve to build a whiter, richer, cismale-centered gay identity. Then we’ll discuss strategies for radical resistance to this type of profit driven assimilate-or-die gay rights framework.

America’s Next Top GSA: Walking the Gay, Straight Alliance Runway by Hannah Sabet, GLSEN. We all know the importance of organizing and maintaining GSAs in our high schools, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. This workshop will help you to understand the many functions of a GSA. Whether you want to start a GSA or you have already started one, you will have the opportunity to meet with other students to brainstorm ideas about strengthening student organizations. You will learn about your legal rights as a GSA as well as how to create maximum student involvement. Super fun activities and awesome resources will be provided to help you create a GSA that is totally FIERCE.

When Art and Revolution Meet by Randi Romo, Executive Director for Center for Artistic Revolution. This workshop will look at the ways that creativity and cultural work contribute to social justice movements. We will examine how cultural work has influenced historical movements for equality and strategize ways to use arts and cultural work for the future.

Trans Resistance at Stonewall and Beyond by Kourt Osborn, 2007 Soulforce Equality Rider, Southern Utah University PRIDE. This workshop will discuss how transgender people were involved in the Stonewall Riots, and its importance. We will also discuss other transgender actions during the period of Stonewall and their grand effect on it. Further, we will all discover more about the transgender activist, and why we are meant not to hear about them. Other topics to be covered in this workshop are: The Mattachine Society and its effect on future Queer Movements, and the Gay Liberation Front.

A Fabric That Breathes: A Queer Guide to Updating Your Spiritual Wardrobe by John Willis, Dir. of Religious Education, Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock. When you grow up religious AND queer, coming out about your sexuality usually involves an EXTREME MAKEOVER of what you used to believe about yourself, other people, and God (however you imagine Her!). Unfortunately, some of us come out spiritually “lopsided” because the faith we grew up with doesn’t fit right anymore, or we’ve found ourselves at odds with family members or close friends who don’t understand this latest part of our spiritual journey. Through body and breath practices, meditation, and interactive exercises, this workshop encourages participants to create a new “spiritual garment” that fits and enables them to be strong and courageous when showing their “true colors” to the people in their lives.

Blurring the Lines: Identity and the Queer Sexual Spectrum by Amanda Harris, who has been involved in a hodgepodge of organizations and causes. This workshop will first focus on the alphabet soup and then some. What are these identities? What is cismale? What is Queer? Why aren’t we talking about bisexuals in our movement? The second part of the workshop will move to an interactive model of the sexuality spectrum followed by an open discussion of our findings.

Miss Gay America: An Overview of the Pageant & its 2008 Winner

2008-10-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

Miss Gay America: An Overview of the Pageant & its 2008 Winner
Held in Memphis, Tennessee, MGA is More Than Just Men in Make-up
By R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen, published Jan 28, 2008
Published Content: 265 Total Views: 90,904 Favorited By: 100 CPs
Contact Subscribe Add to Favorites
Embed:
Rating: 4.0 of 5
1
2
3
4
5

Font

Font
close window
The Miss Gay America pageant began in 1972 when it crowned the first official king of queens Norma Kristie aka Norman Jones. It is currently in its 36th year and still going strong. This competition is more than just men in drag it is a competition that challenges every aspect of their being. It is very similar to the Miss America pageant.

Contestants cannot be surgically altered or on hormones only certain types of injections are allowed. Contestants must also me males age 21 or older. There are two preliminary rounds: State and Regional in which contestants must compete. The pageant has several of the same competition categories as the Miss America pageant. Competitors will compete in a Male Interview, Solo Talent, Evening Gown, On Stage Interview and Talent. All competition categories carry a score of 50-300 points per judge. Just like the Miss America Pageant there is a queen representing each state and only one can be crowned Miss Gay America.

The 2008 MGA came to a close crowning Miss Mikaila Kay. Other winners include 1st alternate Layla LaRue, 2nd alternate Victoria DePaula, Coti Collins, and 4th alternate Chantel ReShae. Other top ten finalists were Chelsea Delorean Divine, Coco Montrese, Victoria Parker, Melody Michaels and China Collins.

The 2008 pageant took place in Memphis, Tennessee from October 17-21, 2007. The theme for the 2008 MGA competition was "one night in Hollywood". The winning prize was a jewelry set costing approximately $2000.00.

Mikaila Kay is 24 years old and from Chicago, Illinois and is currently residing in Tempe, Arizona. He graduated from Clay High School in South Bend, Indiana in 2001 and has been pursuing MGA ever since he entered a show in high school. He was voted 8th most fascinating person of 2007 by the members of www.carriefairfield.com . He began his drag career doing shows at Marcella and Caberet winning his first pageant in 2001 as Miss Gay Entertainer of the year for Buffalo, New York. He also won Miss Gay Arizona in 2004 just months after moving there. In college he studied Musical Theatre. He is know the reigning queen of Miss Gay America.

"Stonewall Fall Wine Tasting Benefit" on Thursday, October 30 at 6:00pm.

2008-10-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

Joseph invited you to "Stonewall Fall Wine Tasting Benefit" on Thursday, October 30 at 6:00pm.

Joseph says, "Please help us spread the word about our fall winetasting benefit for Stonewall Democratic Caucus. A portion of the proceeds to benefit Arkansas Families First to help defeat Act 1.".

Event: Stonewall Fall Wine Tasting Benefit
"Honored Guest Robbie Thomas-Knight PhD"
What: Benefit
Host: Stonewall Democratic Caucus of Arkansas
Start Time: Thursday, October 30 at 6:00pm
End Time: Thursday, October 30 at 8:00pm
Where: 2200 South Broadway

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=44792771704

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

___
Want to control which emails you receive from Facebook? Go to:
http://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?notifications&md=ZXZlbnRfaW52aXRlO2Zyb209NTE0NzEwODg3O2VpZD00NDc5Mjc3MTcwNDt0bz03MzM4MzY3MTM=

Court reverses rulings denying unmarried parents' right to adopt

2008-06-06T06:09:00.001-07:00

Court reverses rulings denying unmarried parents' right to adopt
Friday, Jun 6, 2008

By Rob Moritz
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday overturned two lower court decisions from Pope County that denied adoption rights to single biological parents.

In both cases, Circuit Judge Gordon William McCain Jr. misinterpreted state law in ruling the unmarried parents were not eligible to adopt their own child, the high court said, ordering new hearings.

A spokeswoman for the Family Council Action Committee said Thursday's decisions would have no affect on the group's proposed initiated act to ban unwed couples from adopting or serving as foster parents.

"These decisions are just saying that an unmarried person may adopt and our proposal does not stop single-parent adoptions," Martha Adcock said.

The measure's name and ballot title have received Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's approval and supporters are trying to collect nearly 62,000 signatures of registered voters by July 7 to put the measure on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.

In one of the Pope County adoption cases, a biological father petitioned to adopt his child, of whom he already had been granted custody. The child's mother had consented to the adoption.

However, McCain denied the petition, expressing concern that terminating the mother's parental rights would end her financial responsibility to the child.

In a unanimous decision Thursday, the Supreme Court said the judge's ruling was contrary to state law.

Section 9-9-204(3) of the Arkansas Code states "the unmarried mother or father of the individual to be adopted" may adopt.

The law addresses only who may adopt, the court noted, saying McCain's "policy concern" was a "question that should be addressed by the Legislature."

"Parental rights and the integrity of the family unit have always been a concern of this state and their protection regarded as a proper function of the courts," Justice Jim Gunter wrote.

"Construing the statute just as it reads, it clearly allows for an unmarried father to adopt his own child, and therefore, is unambiguous," Gunter wrote, "... and we should not interpret the statute to say something that it clearly does not."

In the other case, the child's biological mother filed a petition to adopt her young child, stating that no father had been involved in the child's life and, after an inquiry was sent to the state Department of Human Services, no matching claim was found in the Arkansas Putative Father Registry.

The circuit judge again cited "public policy reasons" in denying the adoption.

The Supreme Court repeated its ruling in the first case in reversing the second and sent both cases back to circuit court for consideration of each adoption petition on its merits.

Task Force questions critical appointments to American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders

2008-05-28T10:45:00.001-07:00

Please post widely:

From: The Task Force [mailto:Media@theTaskForce.org]
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 1:40 PM
Subject: Task Force questions critical appointments to American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders

MEDIA CONTACT:

Inga Sarda-Sorensen
Deputy Director of Communications
(Office) 646.358.1463
(Cell) 202.641.5592
isorensen@theTaskForce.org

Task Force questions critical appointments to American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders

WASHINGTON, May 28 — The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is questioning the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) recent appointments of Kenneth Zucker, Ph.D., to chair the Committee on Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders for the revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), and Ray Blanchard, Ph.D., to serve as a committee member. These appointments are raising great concerns within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Zucker has built his reputation on the position that children can be directed away from nonconforming gender expression via therapy, while Blanchard has a long list of articles pathologizing commonplace expressions of sexuality and gender.

In 1973, the Task Force was instrumental in getting the APA to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

Statement by Rea Carey, Acting Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

“We are very concerned about these appointments. Kenneth Zucker and Ray Blanchard are clearly out of step with the occurring shift in how doctors and other health professionals think about transgender people and gender variance. It is extremely disappointing and disturbing that the APA appears to be failing in keeping up with the times when it comes to serving the needs of transgender adults and gender-variant children.”

–30–

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.
© 2008 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. 1325 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005. Phone 202.393.5177. Fax 202.393.2241. TTY 202.393.2284. theTaskForce@theTaskForce.org.

Police charge pair with 'crime against nature'

2008-05-26T22:16:00.001-07:00

Police charge pair with 'crime against nature'
By Matthew Eisley, Staff Writer
Raleigh police are charging two adults for sodomy in private, although the U.S. Supreme Court appears to have outlawed such charges five years ago.

Police on Saturday charged two West Raleigh men with a "crime against nature" for having sex early that morning. Each faces up to two years in prison if convicted of the Class I felony.

But that charge is unconstitutional, a state lawmaker says. And the circumstances of the encounter are murky.

Raleigh police first charged Nelson Keith Sloan, 40, of Grand Manor Court, who called them to his apartment about dawn, saying he had been attacked. Police later filed the same charge against Ryan Christopher Flynn, 25, of Glen Currin Drive. They also charged Flynn with simple assault for biting Sloan. And they charged him with communicating threats by telling Sloan he was going to disembowel him and show him his innards.

"This looks like a case of a consensual act that may have gotten out of hand," said Raleigh police Capt. T.D. Hardy. "The law is still on the books. Our detectives got involved in it last night and decided this was the best thing to do. What the D.A.'s office will do with it, I don't know." Sloan, however, said he was the victim of an assault.

"I didn't allow anything," he said Saturday after being reached at home by phone. "They knew it and turned it around and arrested me. I have never been so humiliated in all my life. It's just awful."

Police did not charge Flynn with any sort of sexual assault.

Flynn, who has past misdemeanor convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia and assault by pointing a gun, could not be reached for comment. North Carolina's "crime against nature" law doesn't apply only to same-sex partners. But a landmark 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling appears to forbid states from treating private, consensual, adult sex as crimes.

"The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives," the high court ruled in the case Lawrence v. Texas. "The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime. Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government."

Two months later, the Raleigh Police Department's attorney, Dawn Bryant, told officers they could keep charging people with crimes against nature for committing the acts in public places -- but not in private. "We're following constitutional law," Bryant said then. "The [Supreme Court's] decision only applies to private conduct."

Bryant could not be reached Saturday for comment. Nor could Wake County's district attorney, Colon Willoughby.

Some district attorneys have stopped prosecuting the crime, but sometimes police rely on it to prosecute public sex, same-sex prostitution and opposite-sex prostitution involving oral sex.

State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, a Carrboro Democrat and attorney, has tried for years to rescind the state statute, but the General Assembly hasn't been willing to do it.
"I press it every year," she said Saturday. "It would be politically difficult, but that doesn't matter -- it's unconstitutional."

Sloan, who had to post a $3,000 bond Saturday to get out of jail, is due in Wake County District Court on Tuesday. Flynn, who posted a $4,500 bail bond, is due in court July 18.
__._,_.___

What kind of impact do you want to make on the world? It all begins here. LSA... working towards a better tomorrow one color at a time.

Millions celebrate in Brazil at world's biggest gay pride parade

2008-05-26T09:36:00.001-07:00

Exemptions for Charities Face New Challenges

2008-05-26T06:32:00.001-07:00

Exemptions for Charities Face New Challenges

By STEPHANIE STROM
May 26, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/us/26tax.html

RED WING, Minn. — Authorities from the local tax assessor to members of Congress are increasingly challenging the tax-exempt status of nonprofit institutions — ranging from small group homes to wealthy universities — questioning whether they deserve special treatment.

One issue is the growing confusion over what constitutes a charity at a time when nonprofit groups look more like businesses, charging fees and selling products and services to raise money, and state and local governments are under financial pressure because of lower tax revenues.

And there are others: Does a nonprofit hospital give enough charity care to earn a tax exemption? Is a wealthy university providing enough financial aid?

In a ruling last December that sent tremors through the not-for-profit world, the Minnesota Supreme Court said a small nonprofit day care agency here had to pay property taxes because, in essence, it gave nothing away.

The agency, the Under the Rainbow Child Care Center, charges the same price per child regardless of whether their parents are able to pay the full amount themselves or they receive government support to cover the cost.

“We were shocked,” said Michelle Finholdt, who founded the center in 1994 and scraped together the money to buy a building in 2002. “There are a lot of other organizations in our area that we’re similar to, and they are exempt from property taxes.”

The tax-exempt status of charities costs local governments $8 billion to $13 billion annually, according to various rough estimates.

And local assessors are not the only government officials scratching their heads over which groups deserve privileged tax status. Congress has threatened to impose a requirement that wealthy universities make minimum payouts from their endowments and raised questions about whether nonprofit hospitals are really all that different from their for-profit — and tax-paying — competitors.

And, concerned about the way some churches are spending money, the Senate Finance Committee has asked for detailed financial information from six evangelical ministries asking them to justify their tax exemptions.

Others are questioning whether some tax-exempt nonprofits, primarily universities and hospitals, have accumulated so much wealth that they should no longer be considered charities. In Massachusetts, where Harvard’s endowment has reached $35 billion in assets, legislators are weighing whether to impose a 2.5 percent annual assessment on universities with endowments of more than $1 billion.

The idea behind tax exemptions is that the organizations provide a public service or substantially reduce the burdens of government. Standards from property-tax exemptions are set by the states, while the federal exemption means charities are not taxed on their income.

Almost 88 percent of overall nonprofit revenues in 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available, came from fees for services, sales and sources other than charitable contributions, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics. Nonprofit health care providers, day care centers and retirement homes, among others, are often difficult to distinguish from their tax-paying competitors.

“We’re all seeing the growth of revenue in this area we call earned income,” said Audrey R. Alvarado, executive director of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, adding that the Minnesota court decision “is saying, ‘Wait a minute, charities are supposed to give things away for free.’ ”

“It goes to the core of how nonprofits are classified and defined,” she said, “and I think it is an example of the confusion in the public, and even among folks in the sector itself, about what a nonprofit is.”

Evelyn Brody, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law and an expert on nonprofits and property taxes, said that, in studying the issue in 2002 and revisiting it last year, she had seen an explosion of cases across the country in which charities were challenged to say why they deserve their property tax exemptions.

As universities charge high tuitions, and pay large salaries to administrators, they have become prime targets. For example, New London, Conn., assessed property taxes on a skating rink owned by Connecticut College. Local assessors tried to tax Smith College in Northampton, Mass., arguing that the women’s college engaged in sex discrimination and thus was not charitable.

Smaller organizations that provide services like day care or drug treatment are being challenged, too. The Oregon tax court denied property tax exemption to a residential substance-abuse treatment center because it catered to “addicted professionals” and, like Under the Rainbow, did not give away its services.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue and county tax assessors say the uproar over the court ruling here has surprised them.

“From the assessors’ standpoint, the Under the Rainbow ruling didn’t change anything for us,” said Thomas J. May, the tax assessor for Hennepin County and a spokesman for the state’s assessors.

In determining which organizations qualify for exemption, assessors in Minnesota rely on the State Constitution, which explicitly exempts things like public burial grounds, seminaries and colleges and universities from taxation, and on six criteria set out in a 1975 State Supreme Court decision.

Mr. May said that the determination process had become increasingly difficult, however, noting that the Mall of America, a major tourist attraction, was seeking tax exemptions as part of its plans to expand, arguing that it aids the state economy by drawing visitors.

“From our perspective in the assessment field, it’s harder to define what’s a nonprofit these days because there are so many different types, and many of them are doing the same thing for-profit groups that aren’t exempt are doing,” he said.

Some 95 percent of Under the Rainbow’s $550,582 budget in 2006 came from fees for services paid by families or by county and tribal governments. The court concluded that because the center charged all families the same amount, regardless of their ability to pay, and because its rates were not lower than those of its competitors, it was not an institution of “purely public charity” under the law and thus was subject to thousands of dollars in property taxes — $16,000 in 2006 and in 2007.

“The extent to which the recipients of the charity are required to pay for the assistance received tests for a value that is fundamental to the concept of charity — that is, whether the organization gives away anything,” Chief Justice Russell A. Anderson wrote in the decision.

Additionally, the court ruled that government payments were not evidence of charity — those payments were not a gift.

These two elements of the ruling have profoundly alarmed nonprofit groups in Minnesota and elsewhere.

“There are between 300 and 500 nonprofit groups in this state that could lose their property tax exemptions under that ruling,” said Jon Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, which represents about 2,000 of the state’s roughly 3,400 charities.

RSI Inc. in Duluth is among those at risk, said Jon Nelson, its executive director. The organization was founded 30 years ago by parents of mentally disabled children when the state closed the last of its homes for the disabled.

More than 93 percent of its $11 million budget this year will come from government, and 6 percent will come from clients. “For-profit businesses aren’t going to take on these clients, and the state long ago recognized that as a nonprofit, we could provide better care at a lower cost than it could,” Mr. Nelson said.

“This court ruling is just ripe with unintended consequences,” he said. “The state is cutting off its nose to spite its face.” RSI owns real estate valued at $5.5 million and would pay an estimated $110,000 in property taxes if it lost its exemption.

“The nonprofit sector is being pressed to be more business-like and to find new ways to fill the gaps between what government will pay and what services cost, but then assessors want to treat us like businesses, which pay taxes,” said Jan Malcolm, chief executive of the Courage Center in Minneapolis and a former state health commissioner.

The Courage Center, which provides services and facilities for physically disabled people, estimates that a change in its tax exemption would cost it $1.7 million — $1.4 million in property taxes and $300,000 in sales taxes, which are linked to payment of property taxes in Minnesota.

That, Ms. Malcolm said, would force the center to cut programs and services.

This month, the Minnesota Legislature passed a tax bill that establishes a one-year ban on reversing property tax exemptions held by existing nonprofits.

The bill requires legislators to set criteria to define what is “purely public charity,” a phrase included in many state statutes on charitable property tax exemption, in an era of nonprofit groups that charge for their services and receive only negligible amounts of donations.

“We need to figure out what we mean by ‘purely public charity’ because, frankly, we can’t afford as a state to lose nonprofits providing these kinds of services,” said State Representative Paul Marquart, chairman of the property tax subcommittee. “But it isn’t going to be easy.”

*

The material in this post is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research
and educational purposes.For more information go to:
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this
email for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you
must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

To members of The Bilerico Project from editor, Bill BROWNING

2008-05-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

To members of The Bilerico Project
To members of The Bilerico Project

Today at 8:44am
Reply Holy crap! Can you believe that the gays have been able to get married for a whole week now? If you've been so busy picking out dresses and matching wedding bands that you missed your favorite blog, here's the best that TBP had to offer this week.

Monday
Feeling Left Out - Monica Roberts
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/feeling_left_out.php
Scaremongering - Mercedes Allen
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/scaremongering.php

Tuesday
Tell Us Your Love Story - Steve Ralls
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/this_is_our_love_story.php
A Fleeting Moment of Democracy for California's Same-Sex Couples - Rev. Irene Monroe
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/a_fleeting_moment_of_democracy_for_calif.php

Wednesday
A Lesbian Mom's Lakewood Moment - Paige Schilt
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/a_lesbian_moms_lakewood_moment.php
Equality is a Sign of the Apocolypse? - Waymon Hudson
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/equality_is_a_sign_of_the_apocalypse.php

Thursday
What I Hate Most About Gay Marriage - Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/what_i_hate_most_about_gay_marriage.php
Confessions of a GLBT Airline Employee - Monica Roberts
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/confessions_of_a_glbt_airline_employee.php

Friday
Transgender Parents and Their Families - Donna Rose
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/transgender_parents_and_their_families.php
Ellen Puts McCain in the Hot Seat - Waymon Hudson
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/05/ellen_puts_mccain_in_the_hot_seat.php

Join us in the comment section as discuss the various posts! You can choose any of the above linked posts, or cruise on over to http://www.bilerico.com and check out other posts!

See you on the site!

And can I just give a shout out to the ladies of TBP? I love the fellas, but the womyn of TBP kicked ass this week! Just look at all the amazing posts and tell me that I'm wrong. It's awesome to be associated with so many smart womyn. Way to represent, ladies! Delete this message.Leave Group
Facebook © 2008 |Deutsch
English
Español
Français
한국어
Italiano
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk (Bokmål)
PolskiEnglishAboutFind FriendsAdvertisingDevelopersTermsPrivacyHelp

Today In History

2008-05-20T22:55:00.001-07:00

Today In History

1932 Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland for Ireland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

1939 Regular trans-Atlantic air service began as a Pan American Airways plane took off from Port Washington, NY, bound for Europe.

1969 US and South Vietnamese forces captured Apbia Mountain, referred to as Hamburger Hill by the Americans, following one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

1970 Some 100,000 people demonstrated in New York’s Wall Street district in support of US policy in Vietnam and Cambodia.

1971 The album “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye was released.

1989 Comedian Gilda Radner died of cancer at age 42.

1993 An estimated 93 million people tuned in for the final first-run episode of ‘Cheers’ on NBC.

1995 President Bill Clinton announced that the two-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House would be permanently closed to traffic as a security measure.

1996 The Supreme Court struck down a Colorado measure banning laws that protect homosexuals from discrimination.

2002 East Timor became an independent nation.

2003 The United States banned beef imports from Canada after a case of mad cow disease was discovered in Canada’s cattle country.

2004 Iraqi police backed by American soldiers raided the home and offices of Ahmad Chalabi, a prominent Iraqi politician once groomed as a possible replacement for Saddam Hussein.

Pridelets for May 17

2008-05-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

Pridelets for May 17
On this day in 2004, Same-sex marriages begin across Massachusetts,
and Gov. Mitt Romney concedes that "All along, I have said an issue as
fundamental to society as the definition of marriage should be decided
by the people. Until then, I intend to follow the law and expect others
to do the same."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1866 - Eccentric Impressionist Composer Erik Satie
* 1905 - Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright ("The Teahouse of the
August Moon") John Patrick (Goggan)
* 1908 - Novelist Frederic Prokosch
* 1916 - Writer Robin Maugham
* 1919 - Writer Merle Miller
* 1929 - The first writer to come out as a lesbian in the mainstream
media, Village Voice contributor Jill Johnston
* 1936 - Bisexual actor Dennis Hopper
* 1941 - Founder of the Theatre of the Ridiculous, poet, campmeister,
and Warhol associate Ronald Tavel
* 1967 - Advocate deputy arts and entertainment editor Alonso Duralde

Q.UOTE
"I often seem to stall in life. Being a better person, growing my
compassion is fine, yes yes, that's good and all. But now I'm at WORK.
Or now I'm BUSY. And that's where I often drop the ball. I know your
feelings are important, but Best Buy closes in half an hour and I have
two other errands. Call you back." -- Edmond Manning

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men" by Alonso Duralde
http://tinyurl.com/52kae5
In this comprehensive must-have guide to queer film, Alonso Duralde
presents 101 films that will resonate soundly with gay audiences for
reasons good, better, and outrageous!
Whether it's "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" (for redefining the idea of a
movie hero), "Mommie Dearest" (for making Joan Crawford campier than she
already was), or "Two for the Road" (because some-times you have to
glean insights about gay relationships from straight movies with great
banter), Duralde brings a quick wit, a gift for analysis, and a lifelong
love affair with the -movies to each film recommendation. Along the way,
he even outs Casablanca as a gay love story!
In addition to analysis as to why these films matter, each capsule
review also contains production notes, cast and crew credits, and
DVD/VHS availability.

Pridelets for May 15

2008-05-19T19:50:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for May 15
On this day in 2007, Rev. Mel White offers a eulogy his former boss,
Jerry Falwell on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."
"I like to say that I hate Jerry's sins, and I tried to love Jerry
the sinner, right back at him. The fact is, I -- I think he was really
sincere about his feelings that homosexuality was a threat to the
nation, really sincere that, by welcoming gays to this great country,
that God would take his hand of blessing off this country and, thus,
allow 9/11. He was -- to call him a huckster is really dangerous,
because he was a sincere believer. And that's much more difficult to
deal with. I don't know what he hated. I would say he thinks he loved
us. But, in fact, he showed all the signs of hatred, and created a lot
of hatred against us by his rhetoric. Yes, Jim Dobson, Pat Robertson,
Jerry Falwell, they all say, our rhetoric doesn't lead to any suffering
and death. Well, they're wrong. We have -- I've buried so many young gay
people who have killed themselves from Christian families, who have been
influenced directly and indirectly by this rhetoric. And I have buried a
lot of young gays who have been bashed to death by gay people -- by
anti-gay people who quote these guys, who quote the Scriptures, to give
them a reason, an excuse for killing us. So, I think their rhetoric
condemns, it caricatures, it kills us. And I think we have got to deal
with that rhetoric."
"He and I were surrounded by gay protesters. That's when I thought I
was sick and sinful myself, before I realized that homosexuality is a
gift from God to be accepted and celebrated. But, in that limousine, he
said to me one day: I just love these gay demonstrators. Without them, I
wouldn't get near the attention I get. If I didn't have them, I would
have to invent them. So, we played into his hand, in many ways. Oh, yes.
He raised more money off the gay threat than any -- than off any other
single cause. Maybe abortion ties with it. But he used these incredible
pictures of gays as promiscuous, as gays as child abusers, as gays a
threat to the nation, to the family. He went on and on, and undermining
the American values. He said these things. He created us as a scapegoat.
And then he said, now, send me money, and I will create an environment
here in Liberty University campus where young people will be trained not
to be gay, where they will get over their sexual orientation problems."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 356 BC. - Alexander the Great
* 1935 -Singer, actor, and theatre director Akihiro Miwa AKA Maruyama
Akihiro

Q.UOTE
"Our California dream is reality. Brad Altman and I can now marry. We
are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for
same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of
our state! The California Supreme Court has ruled that all Californians
have a fundamental right to marry the person he or she loves. Brad and I
have shared our lives together for over 21 years. We've worked in
partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the
performing. We've traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to
Australia. We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the
bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the
last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without
him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities,
of marriage. We embrace it all heartily. ... With time, I know the
opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and
discreditable part of our history. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony
Kennedy remarked on same sex marriage, "Times can blind us to certain
truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary
and proper, in fact, serve only to oppress." For now, Brad and I are
enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will
be married. Marriage equality took a long time, but, like fine wine, its
bouquet is simply exquisite." - the newly engaged George Takei

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"The Astrology of Great Gay Sex: The Ultimate Guide to Finding Mr.
Right and Avoiding Mr. Wrong" by Myrna Lamb
http://tinyurl.com/4nun4k
Are you searching for a lifelong partner or a fun fling? Is the man
you found destined to be your soul mate? What turns your lover on? The
answers to these questions are revealed here sign by sign by Myrna Lamb,
radio talk-show host and astrologer extraordinaire.
Through candid, explicit interviews with more than 1,200 men, Myrna
Lamb backs up her astrological insights into love matches,
relationships, and sexual preferences. Respondents to the survey open up
their private lives to reveal intimate secrets that correspond
remarkably to each sign of the zodiac. These real-life confessions will
make you laugh out loud and maybe blush . . .
"The Astrology of Great Gay Sex" is a book that entertains and
enlightens, offering new perspectives on compatibility, desire, and the
search for that special guy. The best part? It includes a copy of the
sex survey for you and your partner to discover and fulfill your own
fantasies

Pridelets for May 14 2008

2008-05-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

Pridelets for May 14
On this day in 1999, conservative Ben Stein notes that "Inasmuch as
two of my very closest friends are gay and are the salt of the earth, I
find anti-gay comments that are serious to be sickening. I do think,
however, that like every other group, gays can be made fun of. That's
the nature of the free society. I also do think that by and large gays
are born and not made."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1917 - Pioneering composer Lou Harrison
* 1930 - Cuban-born playwright Maria Irene Fornes
* 1881 - Stage and screen actor and female impersonator Julian
Eltinge AKA William Julian Dalton
* 1868 - German gay activist Magnus Hirschfeld, who helped create the
Scientific Humanitarian Committee (to help repeal Paragraph 175) on his
29th birthday.
* 1921 - "Dick Van Dyke Show" actor Richard Deacon
* 1939 - German sexologist Dr. Rolf Gindorf

Q.UOTE
"In a monumental victory for the gay rights movement, the California
Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a ban on gay marriage. Great news
for the state's mesh tuxedo industry." -- Amy Poehler

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Swish: My Quest To Become The Gayest Person Ever" by Joel Derfner
http://tinyurl.com/3j7osn

Joel Derfner is gayer than you.
Don’t feel too bad about it, though, because he has made being gayer
than you his life’s work. At summer day camp, when he was six, Derfner
tried to sign up for needlepoint and flower arranging, but the camp
counselors wouldn’t let him, because, they said, those activities were
for girls only. Derfner, just to be contrary, embarked that very day on
a solemn and sacred quest: to become the gayest person ever. Along the
way he has become a fierce knitter, an even fiercer musical theater
composer, and so totally the fiercest step aerobics instructor (just ask
him—he’ll tell you himself).
In "Swish," Derfner takes his readers on a flamboyant adventure along
the glitter-strewn road from fabulous to divine. Whether he’s
confronting the demons of his past at a GLBT summer camp, using the
Internet to “meet” men—many, many men—or plunging headfirst (and nearly
naked) into the shady world of go-go dancing, he reveals himself with
every gayer-than-thou flourish to be not just a stylish explorer but
also a fearless one. So fearless, in fact, that when he sneaks into a
conference for people who want to cure themselves of their
homosexuality, he turns the experience into one of the most fascinating,
deeply moving chapters of the book. Derfner, like King Arthur,
Christopher Columbus, and Indiana Jones—but with a better haircut and a
much deeper commitment to fad diets—is a hero destined for legend.
Written with wicked humor and keen insight, Swish is at once a
hilarious look at contemporary ideas about gay culture and a poignant
exploration of identity that will speak to all readers—gay, straight,
and in between.

Mixed results for divisive ballot measures

2008-05-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

Mixed results for divisive ballot measures

Opponents of abortion and race-based affirmative action have had more setbacks than victories so far this political season as they try to place measures with a strong pull for conservative voters on the ballots of numerous states this November.

At least five of the proposals have failed, and others face legal challenges. However, a proposal to ban most abortions already has made South Dakota's ballot, and several of the other measures could ultimately advance-including two in the potential swing state of Colorado.

The pending measures are the product of two separate multistate campaigns, one mounted by pro-life activists who want to define human life as beginning at fertilization, and the other led by California businessman/activist Ward Connerly, who opposes affirmative action programs based on race and gender.

Connerly has prevailed three times in past elections, with voters in California, Michigan and Washington approving proposals banning government-sponsored race and gender preferences in public education, state hiring and public contracts.

Connerly targeted five states with similar measures this year, but the campaign already has suffered two defeats-conceding that too few signatures would be gathered by the deadline in Missouri, and bowing out in Oklahoma in the face of challenges to the signatures gathered there.

Connerly blames harassment and political conniving for the setbacks; his critics contend the petition campaigns were rife with fraud and deception.

Signature-gathering is in progress for Connerly's measures in Nebraska and Arizona. His allies already have submitted more than enough signatures in Colorado, although opponents have challenged nearly 69,000 of them.

Connerly, who is of mixed racial background, contends that the historic Democratic presidential race between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama proves his contention that racial and gender preferences are no longer justifiable public policy.

"The argument for it is that society is racist and sexist, and that argument is totally collapsing," Connerly said. "We should go to socio-economic affirmative action ... but don't put race into the equation."

Supporters of the so-called Human Life Amendment-which would define "personhood" as beginning with fertilization-initially targeted four states this year. But the proposal failed to clear a legislative committee in Georgia and was rejected on technical grounds by state officials in Oregon.

On Tuesday, however, backers of the proposal in Colorado announced they had gathered well over the required number of signatures to get it on the November ballot. Signature-gathering for a similar measure is under way in Montana.

The pro-life community is divided over the measures, partly on strategic grounds. The National Right to Life Committee has not endorsed them, nor have Roman Catholic leaders in Colorado and Montana.

Supporters embrace the measures as a frontal assault on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that established a nationwide right to abortion. They expect any voter-approved Human Life Amendment to be challenged by abortion-rights backers, triggering a legal battle that might lead to the Supreme Court.

"We think this is the best vehicle to challenge Roe," said Brian Rooney, an attorney with the Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center, which helped draft the proposed amendments.

"Some people who are pro-life don't think the Supreme Court is of the mind to overturn it," Rooney added. "We say you'll never know until you ask."

Opponents say the proposals could have far-reaching impact if they became law, including the banning of some forms of birth control. Nancy Keenan, head of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the measures were "far out of the mainstream" and were being pushed in part to re-energize "depressed and deflated" conservative voters.

"But we take these very seriously," Keenan said. "It takes time and money to run a campaign to defeat them."

An unrelated pro-life measure was pushed hard in Missouri before its backers abandoned it following a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood. The measure would have made abortion an act of "medical negligence" unless the woman was first evaluated for risk factors.

In California, pro-life forces are trying to place on the ballot a proposal requiring parental notification before a minor can obtain an abortion. California voters have twice rejected similar measures.

In South Dakota, voters two years ago rejected a measure that would have banned all abortions except to save a mother's life. Abortion foes are trying again this year, placing on the ballot another broad ban with exceptions in cases of rape, incest and serious health threat to the mother.

Beyond abortion and affirmative action, there are several other potentially volatile ballot measures.

Already qualified for Florida's ballot is a proposed state constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage. Arizona legislators may place a similar measure on the ballot there, and gay-marriage opponents in California say they have submitted enough signatures to do likewise.

California's situation is noteworthy because the state Supreme Court is scheduled to rule Thursday on homosexual marriage. If it approves same-sex unions, a ballot measure in November would provide voters a chance to affirm or overturn that ruling.

In Arkansas, conservatives are gathering signatures for measure aimed at banning homosexual people from adopting or being foster parents. Another Arkansas measure would require government agencies to verify all those seeking public benefits are legal U.S. residents.

Two years ago, left-of-center groups tried to counter the conservatives' ballot-measure tactics by successfully pushing proposals in several states to raise the minimum wage. There is no such coordinated effort this year, in part because liberal forces feel optimistic about their overall election prospects.

"The right wing is organizing around same old bag of tricks on social issues, but I don't think they'll deliver as much as they expect," said Kristina Wilfore of the liberal Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. "We're not as desperate as the other side to change the conversation."

GLAAD APPLAUDS CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULING ON MARRIAGE

2008-05-16T00:04:00.001-07:00

GLAAD APPLAUDS CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULING ON MARRIAGE

Having trouble reading this email?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Rashad Robinson
Senior Director of Media Programs
(364) 871-8017
robinson@glaad.org
GLAAD APPLAUDS CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULING ON MARRIAGE

New York, May 15, 2008 - The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today applauded the California Supreme Court's decision in that state's landmark marriage cases. The court's ruling on the cases, referred to collectively as In re Marriage Cases, extended marriage to gay and lesbian couples in the Golden State.

"Today's ruling affirms that committed couples, gay and straight, should not be denied the duties, obligations and protections of marriage," said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. "We congratulate and express our deepest appreciation to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Equality California, Lambda Legal, the ACLU, Our Family Coalition, Heller Ehrman LLP, the Law Office of David C. Codell and the other organizations, leaders and courageous couples whose work and perseverance culminated in today's ruling.

"This decision is a vital affirmation to countless California couples -- straight and gay -- who want to make and have made a lifelong commitment to take care of and be responsible for each other," Giuliano added.

"In the days and weeks ahead, media will turn their attention to this important ruling and its impact on many thousands of committed couples in California," Giuliano concluded. "GLAAD urges those outlets to continue sharing the stories of the couples whose enduring commitments are at the heart of today's decision.â€

About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

###

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please read our privacy policy. If you no longer wish to receive GLAAD emails, click here.
GLAAD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that depends on your support. If you are a member,
please accept our thanks. If you would like to support our important work, please visit us online.

A Teacher Can Only Teach A Student To Grow
As Far As S/He Has Learned To Grow Her/Himself

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2008-05-15T22:18:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 15, 2008

Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Web: www.TruthWinsOut.org

TWO Ecstatic Over Historic California Marriage Ruling

Ruling Undermines 'Ex-Gay' Propaganda And Lets Potential Recruits See The Truth About Same-Sex Relationships

NEW YORK - TruthWinsOut.org expressed jubilation over the California Supreme Court's decision to overturn a ban on same-sex marriage. The momentous 4-3 ruling is one of the biggest victories in the GLBT equality movement's history. It also undermines "ex-gay" propaganda that demeans gay relationships to recruit new members.

"We are thrilled to be a part of history and experience a monumental victory for marriage equality," said Wayne Besen, TruthWinsOut.org's Executive Director. "The court made a bold decision and confirmed that all relationships, regardless of sexual orientation, are equal in California."

"Under these circumstances, we cannot find that retention of the traditional definition of marriage constitutes a compelling state interest," the court said in a majority decision. "Accordingly, we conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional."

The California court also said that the right to marry in the state's constitution "guarantees same-sex couples the same substantive constitutional rights as opposite-sex couples to choose one's life partner and enter with that person into a committed, officially recognized, and protected family relationship."

"This ruling is a devastating blow to 'ex-gay' cults, because it undermines their propaganda, which claims that same-sex relationships don't work," said TWO's Besen. "The images of happy couples marrying undercut their efforts to recruit vulnerable people."

The ruling will take effect and marriages will begin in 30 days. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement that said he will "respect the court's decision and will "uphold its ruling." He also said that he "will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."

TruthWinsOut.org is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.

HIV INFORMAITON DAY.....

2008-05-05T15:50:00.001-07:00

Still have available seating for HIV INFORMAITON DAY..... Come learn about HIV from prevention through testing, diagnosis, support systems, and living with HIV...

Information is power... Time to Talk...

What: HIV INFORMATION DAY
Time to Talk
When: SATURDAY
10 MAY 2008
1030AM - 530PM
(please be prompt and expect to attend until complete)
Where: THE ART SCENE
Corner of Maple and Broadway
North Little Rock
FREE
Breakfast items and lunch served
Based on limited seating: Please send email to or call 501-835-1463 with your name, phone number, and number attending

ROUGH ROUGH Draft of HIV Information Day Timetable, 10 May 2008
I owe many of you an estimate timetable for HIV Information Day.
I have therefore, sat down this morning and made up a very brief and unrefined overview of the potential times.
Since the day is based on starting with HIV prevention and testing, and progressing through being tested, told one is positive, and then dealing in a logical progression from that point through obtaining medical care, support services, and living with HIV; the actual progression grows more like a tree than a straight line.
So that panel members are available during the times that an topic is planned to be introduced, I have put down times. Albeit, estimates.
Additionally, I have attempted to fill in some of the general agencies that "might" fit into those times... This is not all inclusive, and if your agency feels that a better time would be in another block..that is perfect.
Reminders for panel members: There is no requirement for formal "presentations". Since this will be an interactive process...a lil something about your agency, and any FORMS that would have to be filled out to gain your services...to allow for the feel of completing information requests...is appreciated. Then, your professionalism and knowledge will do fine.
PS: I will have a shredder at the event to shred any and all documents...
Since this is an INCLUSIVE event, there may be youth with or without HIV and their parents/guardians also. This is noted, to ensure panel members are aware, and gear comments for attending audience.
Based on the potential of youth also. A special request is being submitted to attendees that work with youth, to monitor comments also...and, as needed, correct or re-interpret for youth...
As needed, a youth breakout group will be arranged.
NOTED: There are no child care opportunities available at the event. Albeit, youth able to understand and process HIV information, are welcome with proper parental/guardian consent.
Thank you again for your support and participation...we still need to encourage participation... FLYER ATTACHED....
Thus far, approximately 25 individuals (includes panel members) have responded.
Best, be safe, have fun, stay healthy and stress-free...God bless
Bob, 835-1463
TENTATIVE TIMETABLE FOR HIV INFORMATION DAY, 10 MAY 2008 (Since program stresses interaction, times are flexible within reason) Participants are encouraged to attend entire program from 1030am - 1730pm...though understand that some panel members will be unable to attend all)
Set up, Friday 9 May...(TBD with Art Scene)
10 May,
1000am - Art Scene Opens
1015am - Breakfast delivered and set up
1030am - Event begins, name tags, breakfast, seating
1100am - Greetings, Opening remarks, administration, overview
1115am - HIV/Syphilis Testing
1145am - Positive
1200pm - Immediate Support Systems (Family, Friends, Spiritual, Insurance - Discussion and breakout to doctors, JCCSI, White River Rural., Consortia, mental health)
1245pm - Secondary Support Systems (Medicaid denial, Social Security, Food banks, nutrition, labs, dental, housing, jobs, transportation)
1330pm - Living with HIV (Medical appointments, caseworkers, medications, disclosure...part 1)
1400pm - Break/Lunch
1500pm - Living with HIV (jobs, studies, healthy living, spirit, involvement, advocacy...part 2)
1600pm - Oversight agencies (Arkansas Department of Health, HRSA, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, et al...)
1630pm - Decompression (Networking, Community involvement, Healthy Living, et al)
1700pm - Thank you, closure, celebration of life...
1730pm - Program conclusion (begin breakdown)
1800pm - Art Scene closes

HIV INFORMATION DAY next Saturday.

2008-05-02T23:43:00.001-07:00

Still need everyones help on this last week prior to HIV INFORMATION DAY next Saturday.

Please post the attached notice.

Encourage participants (still have seating available)...call 501-835-1463, or email with name, number attending, and any special dietary needs.

Still need folks to be available for panels: (see below for rough overview)

If there is anything else we can do to make this, TIME TO TALK, a success, please advise...

* * * * * * * *

ROUGH ROUGH Draft of HIV Information Day Timetable, 10 May 2008
I owe many of you an estimate timetable for HIV Information Day.
I have therefore, sat down this morning and made up a very brief and unrefined overview of the potential times.
Since the day is based on starting with HIV prevention and testing, and progressing through being tested, told one is positive, and then dealing in a logical progression from that point through obtaining medical care, support services, and living with HIV; the actual progression grows more like a tree than a straight line.
So that panel members are available during the times that an topic is planned to be introduced, I have put down times. Albeit, estimates.
Additionally, I have attempted to fill in some of the general agencies that 'might' fit into those times... This is not all inclusive, and if your agency feels that a better time would be in another block..that is perfect.
Reminders for panel members: There is no requirement for formal 'presentations'. Since this will be an interactive process...a lil something about your agency, and any FORMS that would have to be filled out to gain your services...to allow for the feel of completing information requests...is appreciated. Then, your professionalism and knowledge will do fine.
PS: I will have a shredder at the event to shred any and all documents...
Since this is an INCLUSIVE event, there may be youth with or without HIV and their parents/guardians also. This is noted, to ensure panel members are aware, and gear comments for attending audience.
Based on the potential of youth also. A special request is being submitted to attendees that work with youth, to monitor comments also...and, as needed, correct or re-interpret for youth...
As needed, a youth breakout group will be arranged.
NOTED: There are no child care opportunities available at the event. Albeit, youth able to understand and process HIV information, are welcome with proper parental/guardian consent.
Thank you again for your support and participation...we still need to encourage participation... FLYER ATTACHED....
Thus far, approximately 25 individuals (includes panel members) have responded.
Best, be safe, have fun, stay healthy and stress-free...God bless
Bob, 835-1463
TENTATIVE TIMETABLE FOR HIV INFORMATION DAY, 10 MAY 2008 (Since program stresses interaction, times are flexible within reason) Participants are encouraged to attend entire program from 1030am - 1730pm...though understand that some panel members will be unable to attend all)
Set up, Friday 9 May...(TBD with Art Scene)
10 May,
1000am - Art Scene Opens
1015am - Breakfast delivered and set up
1030am - Event begins, name tags, breakfast, seating
1100am - Greetings, Opening remarks, administration, overview
1115am - HIV/Syphilis Testing
1145am - Positive
1200pm - Immediate Support Systems (Family, Friends, Spiritual, Insurance - Discussion and breakout to doctors, JCCSI, White River Rural., Consortia, mental health)
1245pm - Secondary Support Systems (Medicaid denial, Social Security, Food banks, nutrition, labs, dental, housing, jobs, transportation)
1330pm - Living with HIV (Medical appointments, caseworkers, medications, disclosure...part 1)
1400pm - Break/Lunch
1500pm - Living with HIV (jobs, studies, healthy living, spirit, involvement, advocacy...part 2)
1600pm - Oversight agencies (Arkansas Department of Health, HRSA, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, et al...)
1630pm - Decompression (Networking, Community involvement, Healthy Living, et al)
1700pm - Thank you, closure, celebration of life...
1730pm - Program conclusion (begin breakdown)
1800pm - Art Scene closes

Best, be safe, have fun, stay healthy and stress-free...God bless

Bob 835-1463

Pridelets for May 1

2008-05-01T20:00:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for May 1
On this day in 2001, a federal judge dismisses the case of Dr. J.
Barrett Hyman vs. Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky ... over a
city ordinance "that would have requiring him to hire openly homosexual
individuals in violation of his religious beliefs." Says Jeff Vessels,
the Kentucky state executive director of the ACLU, the decision makes it
clear that personal religious beliefs do not exempt someone from civil
rights laws. Dr. Hyman, says that the dismissal (of his frivolous
lawsuit) is "a sad day for Christians and most people who believe in the
Bible."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1834 - Mathematician James Mills Pierce
* 1852 - Cowgirl Martha Cannary, better known to most as Ms. Calamity
Jane
* 1855 - Novelist Marie Corelli
* 1874 - Painter Romaine Brooks (formerly Beatrice Romaine Goddard)
* 1943 - Gay rights activist Ian Campbell Dunn
* 1951 - Playwright Craig Lucas
* 1980 - Polish poet, writer, translator and painter Jacek Dehnel

Q.UOTE
"I'm interested in grownups struggling to make their lives better.
I'm certainly not interested in seeing situations that I've already seen
on TV shows." -- Craig Lucas

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"The Dying Gaul and Other Screenplays" by Craig Lucas by Craig Lucas
and Steven Drukman
http://tinyurl.com/4zol94
Craig Lucas is a premier American dramatist and now a major film
director. These are his scripts for "The Dying Gaul," "The Secret Lives
of Dentists," and "Longtime Companion"-which The New York Times called
"the truest fictional screen chronicle of the advent of AIDS."
Commentary by Lucas and luminaries such as Mary-Louise Parker and
Alan Rudolph provide further insight into Lucas's work.

Pridelets for April 29

2008-04-29T20:45:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for April 29
On this day in 2003, alleged compassionate conservative columnist and
radio host Dennis Prager tries (but fails) to be civil about civil
unions (and such.)

"The homosexual is equal in God's eyes to the heterosexual. Parents must
love their children, including the child who is homosexual. At the same
time, a homosexual child must understand a loving parent's sadness over
his or her inability to sexually love a person of the opposite sex. ..."

(Okay.)

"Jewish and Christian denominations are right to refuse to ordain avowed
practicing homosexuals. At the same time they are not required to ask
prospective clergy what their sexual orientation is. Sexual orientation
is the individual's business; publicly proclaimed sexual behavior is the
denomination's business."

(Um ... okay.)

"Consensual, private sex between adults is not always acceptable. Even
most gays judge consensual adult incest such as father-daughter or
brother-sister (or brother-brother) sex wrong. Many gays even believe it
should be illegal. Therefore, heterosexuals who draw their line of
acceptance at homosexual sex are not necessarily any more bigoted than
gays who draw their line at consensual incest."

(Uh ... what?)

"The gay movement's constant linking of gay equality with equality for
the trans-gendered (someone who acts like the opposite sex) undermines
its moral credibility and feeds the belief that the movement seeks to
undermine Judeo-Christian and Western liberal society. It is one thing
to demand that gays not be fired for their private behavior or sexual
orientation. But it is quite another to demand that men who wear women's
clothing in public must be allowed to keep their jobs."

(Wow. That's just ... wow.)

"'Homophobic' is an epithet; often as ugly as 'fag.' Activists for
homosexuality-heterosexuality equivalence should make arguments, not
smear all those who believe in the heterosexual ideal. Likewise
activists for the heterosexual ideal must never deny the humanity or
dignity of the homosexual human being."

(What the f***?)

"Gay activist groups are radical organizations. Opposing them no more
renders a person anti-gay than having opposed communist parties rendered
one anti-worker."

(Sure, just like Focus on the Family and the NRA.)

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1863 - Greek poet, journalist, civil servant, skeptic and neo-pagan
Constantine P. Cavafy
* 1929 - Scandalized British politician Jeremy Thorpe
* 1933 - Singer/poet Rod McKuen
* 1955 - Emmy-winning actor Leslie Allen Jordan

Q.UOTE
"The military will have difficultly recruiting healthy and strong
heterosexuals for combat purposes. Why? Fighting in combat with a man in
your fox hole that has AIDS or is HIV positive is double jeopardy" --
Pastor John Hagee, endorser of Sen. John McCain

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
Preorder "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet" by Leslie Jordan
http://tinyurl.com/4yn7hs
Leslie Jordan is a small man with a giant propensity for scene
stealing. Best known for his bravura recurring role as Karen's nemesis,
Beverley Leslie, on "Will & Grace" (for which he won a Best Guest Actor
in a Comedy Series Emmy in 2006), he has also made memorable appearances
on "Ally McBeal," Boston Public," "Monk," and Murphy Brown."
Raised in a conservative family in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Leslie --
who describes himself as "the gayest man I know" -- boarded a Greyhound
bus bound for LA with $1,200 sewn into his underpants and never looked
back. His pocket-sized physique and inescapable talent for high camp
paved the way to a lucrative and varied career in commercials and on
television. Along the way he immersed himself in writing for the stage,
and his one-man testimonials have become cult off-Broadway hits. But
with success came dangerous temptations: a self-proclaimed former
substance abuser and sexaholic, Leslie has spent time in jail and
struggled to overcome his addictions and self-loathing.
My Trip Down the Pink Carpet" is a rollicking, fast-paced collection
of stories, served up with wit, panache, and plenty of biting asides.
Filled with comically overwrought childhood agonies, offbeat
observations, and revealing celebrity encounters -- from Boy George to
George Clooney -- it delivers a fresh, laugh-out-loud take on Hollywood,
fame, addiction, gay culture, and learning to love oneself.

HIV INFORMATION DAY

2008-04-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

Please copy the attached flyer, post...and attend. Thank you...

What: HIV INFORMATION DAY
Time to Talk
When: SATURDAY
10 MAY 2008
1030AM - 530PM
(please be prompt and expect to attend until complete)
Where: THE ART SCENE
Corner of Maple and Broadway
North Little Rock
FREE
Breakfast items and lunch served
Based on limited seating: Please send email or call 501-835-1463 with your name, phone number, and number attending

Best, be safe, have fun, stay healthy and stress-free...God bless

Bob

Pridelets for April 23

2008-04-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Pridelets for April 23
On this day in 1979, Time Magazine asks, "How Gay Is Gay?" and
determines that ... it's pretty gay.
There's actually "a national trend that is changing the lives of the
American minority that forms the gay society. Homosexual men and women
are coming out of the closet as never before to live openly. They are
colonizing areas of big cities as their own turf, operating bars and
even founding churches in conservative small towns, and setting up a
nationwide network of organizations to offer counseling and
companionship to those gays-still the vast majority-who continue to
conceal their sexual orientation. ... Gay people still encounter
suspicion and hostility, and occasionally violence, and their campaign
to live openly and freely is still far from won. But they are gaining a
degree of acceptance and even sympathy from heterosexuals, many of whom
are still unsure how to deal with them, that neither straights nor gays
would have thought possible just the day before yesterday."
Heterosexual society (can not) ignore the subject of homosexuality,
as many straights devoutly wish it could. Says Eric Rofes, a gay teacher
in a Cambridge, Mass., private school: 'Ten years ago, few people knew
that they knew a gay person. Today, most kids grow up knowing that they
know someone who is gay.' Knowledge, however, does not necessarily mean
acceptance."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1723 - Eighteenth-century British female soldier Hannah Snell
* 1857 - President James Buchanan
* 1909 - Gertrude Stein protégé, professor, writer, tattoo artist,
and pornographer, Samuel M. Steward
* 1918 - James Kirkup, author of the "blasphemous" poem "The Love
That Dares to Speak Its Name"
* 1930 - Psychologist Charles Silverstein, author of "A Family
Matter: A Parents' Guide to Homosexuality" and coauthor of "The Joy of
Gay Sex"
* 1952 - "Princess in Training" and "The Berdache" playwright, Cheryl
Ann Costa

Q.UOTE
"I send boxes full of my movies, T-shirts, and that kind of thing to
soldiers in Iraq. One whole troop told me they were being bombed while
watching 'Female Trouble.' I wrote the major back and said, 'I feel like
Bob Hope!' He wrote, 'I promise more of them know who you are than Bob
Hope!" -- John Waters

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"The Joy of Gay Sex (Revised & Expanded Third Edition)" by Charles
Silverstein and Felice Picano
http://tinyurl.com/yt36wj
For a new century and a new generation of readers comes a fully
revised and expanded edition of a classic guide to gay sex, love, and life.
Invaluable as a sex guide, a resource on building self-esteem, and a
trusted aid for coming out of the closet, "The Joy of Gay Sex" covers
the ins and outs of gay life alphabetically from "anus" to "wrestling."
Noted psychologist Dr. Charles Silverstein has collaborated once again
with critically acclaimed novelist Felice Picano on this third edition,
updating every single entry and adding nearly thirty new entries. The
authors provide positive and responsible advice on safe sex in all its
varieties; on emotional and relationship-oriented issues such as
long-term couples, loneliness, and growing older; and on scores of
diverse topics ranging from spirituality to online dating. With fifty
new line drawings by acclaimed illustrator Joseph Phillips, this
landmark reference is a necessary addition to every gay man's bookshelf.

Pridelets for April 25

2008-04-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

Pridelets for April 25
On this day in Augustan Rome (27 B.C. -14 A.D.), we'd be celebrating
the official holiday of male prostitutes.

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1284 - King Edward II of England
* 1608 - French Nobleman Gaston de France, duc D'Orleans
* 1964 - Erasure singer Andy Bell

DIVA WE ADORE
* 1917 - "First Lady of Song" Ella Jane Fitzgerald

STRAIGHT TALK
"Even if I get AIDS at this point, I'll still live 17 years! I could
smoke now. I could smoke! Because I'm gonna die anyhow. I think I'm
gonna light up as soon as I finish talking to you." – Joan Rivers

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Right Is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded
the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe" by Arianna Huffington
http://tinyurl.com/3hsdor
With her trademark passion, intelligence, and devastating wit,
Huffington Post editor in chief Arianna Huffington tackles the issues
that are crucial to this year's presidential election and, even more so,
to the fate of the country.
Huffington makes the case that America has been hijacked from within
by a radical element -- the "lunatic fringe" of the Right that has taken
over the Republican Party. Despite holding views at odds with the
majority of Americans, these zealots have given us an endless war in
Iraq, a sputtering economy, a health care system on life support, a war
on science and reason, and an immoral embrace of torture.
But they haven't done it on their own: they have been enabled by a
compliant media that act as if there is no such thing as truth and are
more interested in cozying up to those in power than in holding them
accountable, and by feckless Democrats who have allowed themselves to be
intimidated into backing down again and again.
Both a withering indictment and a hopeful call to arms, "Right Is
Wrong" is an explosive, boldly incisive work that will help set the
national agenda.

2008-04-24T17:33:00.001-07:00

Information Please: HIV INFORMATION DAY -Time to Talk Is, a locally sponsored event that will be held, Saturday, May 10 2008, 10:30AM - 5-30PM (please be prompt and expect to attend until complete) THE ART SCENE will be the location at the (Corner of Maple and BroadwayNorth Little Rock)FREE Breakfast items and lunch served based on limited seating: Please call Bob at 501-835-1463 with your name, phone number, and number attending. Kudos to Bob and all those grassroots organizers in their ongoing efforts to bridge the gaps in creating positive programming and zones for the HIV community and beyond.
His E-blast also cited the need for Volunteers, so if you have some extra time to commit then here's what they're looking for:

Help set up and break down - includes getting chairs, vacuuming, Testers to provide HIV tests and counseling. (Event is for poz AND poz caregivers, friends, and those interested knowing more about being HIV positive.) Individuals in the following category to sit on panels to answer question: HIV SurvivorsMedical HIV personnel (Doctors, PAs, Nurses...etc)PharamcistsMental Health workers (Social Workers, Counselors...etc)Dental Workers (Dentists, Dental Hygienst...etc)NutritionistsSupport Agencies (Housing, Transportation, Food distribution...etc)Spriitual representativesCaseworkers (Consortia Care, Community Health Departments, VA...etc)State/Federal agency representatives (Arkansas Department of Health, HRSA...etc)

Lawrence Webb Candidate for City CouncilFalls Church, Va.

2008-04-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Lawrence Webb
Candidate for City Council
Falls Church, Va.
General election: May 6
Contribution limit: No limits

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friend:

In a state that overwhelmingly voted to ban same-sex marriage, Lawrence Webb is well-positioned to become Virginia’s first openly gay African-American ever elected to office. But a victory in this groundbreaking May 6 race for the Falls Church City Council seat depends on supporters like you.

Gay political candidates face challenges that straight candidates don’t, and you can help level the playing field.

A first-time candidate for elected office, Lawrence is a rising star in Virginia politics. Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner appointed him to the board of the Department of Correctional Education. Lawrence has also received a key endorsement from Citizens for a Better City (CBC), one of the strongest political players in the city of Falls Church.

A win for Lawrence Webb will ensure that Virginia’s LGBT community has another strong voice for LGBT equality, but he needs your support to be victorious. With no contribution limits in this race, you can support Lawrence at any level, but a gift of $100 or more will enable him to quickly get his message of change to the most voters in the next two weeks.

Can you help with a gift of $500, $100, or even $50, today?

As always, I’m extremely grateful for your support of our work. Together, we’re changing the face of America’s politics.

Yours in Victory,

Chuck Wolfe
Victory Fund President and CEO

arkansas gay history yearly fair use notice

2008-04-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

FAIR USE NOTICE: The arkansas Gay history blog and arkansas history Web site and mailing lists provides access to some copyrighted material under 'fair use' provisions stipulated by section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

Reel Attractions

2008-04-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Reel Attractions is Arkansas' lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer, film festival.

We find films dealing with lgbtq issues so that we can bring them to you - the lgbtqa community of Arkansas.

The 3rd Annual Arkansas LGBTQ Film Festival will be held in the Easy Street Piano Bar Cabaret Room at 307 W 7th Street in Little Rock on June 23-24, 2007!

Reel Attractions is brought to you by Cinema Pride, Easy Street Piano Bar, and UCA PRISM. Our festivals are an approach to building community and creating fairness through a different media, entertainment and film, which makes it very unique. Just the fact that Arkansas has events like this, is a big deal. We show really great films from all over the world. All audiences and ages are welcome and encouraged to attend our Festivals. These are state-wide events.

Check out the latest merchandise for the recent 2nd Annual Reel Attractions LGBTQ Film Festival at the Reel Attractions online shop!

If you don't see what you're looking for, just let us know, and we will do our best to tailor something to your specific needs!LINK :www.reelattractions.org

CONWAY GAY PRIDE & FILM FEST EVENTS POSTED

2008-04-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

--CONWAY PRIDE--
Saturday

4th Annual Conway Pride Parade & Festival
Sponsored by John Schenck & Robert Loyd in Association with CAR
Saturday June 23, 2007
Parade Line-up 2pm at the Pink House
1605 Robinson Ave., Conway, AR
Festival location: Simon Park-next to City Hall 1201 Oak St.
Performances By:
Sally Miller
The Mob Kings
DJ Moon God
and "surprise" performers

--FILM FESTIVAL--
(Following Conway Pride)

3rd Annual AR LGBTQ Film Festival Reel Attractions
Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24
Easy Street Piano Bar Cabaret Room
307 W.7th Street Little Rock

I hope to see a lot of you there. We have a very special guest this year, a 6 time emmy award winning film maker, Stu Maddux.

Check the site for more info, including schedule of films:
http://www.reelattractions.org/

Medicaid is OK, DHS says

2008-04-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Medicaid is OK, DHS says
Doug Smith
Updated: 4/17/2008

Print E-mail del.icio.us Digg this

NO PANIC: DHS headquarters on Main Street.

The Medicaid program provides health care for the poor, and is a huge expense for all states, including Arkansas. So when the Beebe administration announced a major cutback in funding for Medicaid and other state programs, images leapt to mind of hordes of poor Arkansans being denied medical care. But the situation is not so dire, according to a spokesman for the Department of Human Services, which administers Medicaid in Arkansas.

“It's certainly not a gloom-and-doom picture at this point,” Julie Munsell said.

The administration has said that declining state revenues require major cuts in state spending for the fiscal year that begins July 1, possibly as much as $41 million in the amount that was budgeted for Medicaid.

But, Munsell said, “We have $220 million in the Medicaid trust fund to absorb any challenges we face.” The trust fund gets its money mostly from the soft drink tax and the bed tax paid by nursing homes. By law, the fund can be used for Medicaid only. “It's a rainy-day fund, and fortunately we haven't had to tap it in a couple of years,” Munsell said.

Because of the projected reduction in the state's general revenue, DHS will watch Medicaid usage even more closely than usual, Munsell said. But because Medicaid has been ruled an “entitlement” by the courts, “We don't have many options in rolling back services.”

“There've been times in the past when we wanted to eliminate services provided by Medicaid, and we've been enjoined by the courts,” she said. But the state can make changes in the package of services, she said. For example, if Medicaid had been covering six prescription drugs a month, and the state wanted to scale that back to four, it could. While some might consider that a minor change, it would be large to a poor person who needed all six of the drugs.

Still, Munsell said, “Medicaid is not as much of an issue as some of our other programs.” She mentioned children and family services, and aging and adult services. These do not have reserves like Medicaid, and to keep them running acceptably, money will have to be diverted from elsewhere in the DHS budget. Fortunately, DHS has authority to move resources from one area to another where the resources are needed more, Munsell said. She was confident the necessary adjustments could be made. “We're not talking about any reduction of any services in any division, at this point [as a result of a reduction in state funds].”

Such sentiments may reassure DHS clients and their families, but they may also elicit unwanted attention from legislators. Some of them believe that an agency unhurt by budget cuts is an agency with too much money.

NC-Sen: Kay Hagan refuses to answer questions about LGBT legislation

2008-04-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

NC-Sen: Kay Hagan refuses to answer questions about LGBT legislation
To members of Pam's House Blend
Pam Spaulding

12:18pm Apr 9th
Reply Hi Blenders...

I've blogged extensively about the U.S. Senate race in the state of North Carolina at my pad. Bush rubber-stamping Elizabeth Dole absolutely must be unseated, and despite the roiling Dem presidential primary season, I'm glad that the spotlight will be on my state for the May 6 primary -- it can only help expose the Democratic U.S. Senate candidates to a wider audience.

The leading Dem candidates are former investment banker Jim Neal (who has received the thumbs up from the netroots and who's openly gay) and State Senator Kay Hagan (who was recruited by Chuck Schumer and the DSCC). One candidate has a problem answering basic questions about pending LGBT legislation.

Sen. Hagan recently held a liveblog at BlueNC, and I had the chance to ask her very specific, detailed questions about LGBT issues and pending legislation, and well, let's just say that 1) she didn't adequately address them, and 2) despite repeated attempts to politely contact the campaign for follow up or clarification on the answer given, no one has given me -- or several other BlueNC members -- the courtesy of a response.

Read about the liveblog exchange and the follow up-to-nowhere:
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5020

Please recommend this diary:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/9/123341/7966/539/492716

North Carolina voters who are advocates of LGBT civil rights have a right to know a U.S. Senator candidate's position, and, as I showed in my recent interview with lieutenant governor candidate Dan Besse, there are politicians in the state who have no problem addressing LGBT issues in a straightforward manner. It speaks volumes about a candidate and their campaign when basic questions go unanswered.

The irony is that Sen. Hagan co-sponsored transgender inclusive non-discrimination bills in the past in our General Assembly; this perhaps makes her liveblog answer all the more disappointing. She could have cited this experience and support, yet she chose not to, playing it safe, hoping the issue will simply go away.

Jim's latest post is up at BlueNC:
http://bluenc.com/the-almighty-dollar

Pridelets for April 17

2008-04-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Pridelets for April 17
On this day in 2006, the BBC reports that "Gay Iraqis (now) fear for
their lives. ... They say that since the US-led invasion, gay people are
being killed because of their sexual orientation. They blame the
increase in violence on the growing influence of religious figures and
militia groups in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was ousted."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1863 - Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy (Konstantínos Pétrou Kaváfis)
* 1897 - Playwright Thornton Wilder
* 1923 - Actor Herbert Alonzo "Lon" McCallister Jr.
* 1951 - Photographer Gene Bagnato

STRAIGHT TALK
"You know, I never understand why religious people are so scared of
people who don't believe. If you believe, what do you care what other
people believe? Why does it threaten your faith if I don't agree with
you? If you really have a faith, you would say, 'Oh, I feel sorry for
someone who doesn't believe she's going to heaven.' You just feel sorry
for that person. Instead, they take out their rage on people like me.
The gay thing… that's a deep, deep issue. It's partly sociological,
partly psychological, partly evolutionary. You know, if you think about
history, they were much less uptight during the Greek days. They were a
very enlightened group of people, although they did have slaves. No
group is perfect. We're going through a big transition right now. At one
point, I said, 'Any Republican who votes against gay marriage and
against gay rights automatically seems to be gay.' Every single one of
them who's been adamantly against gay rights, it turns out that he's
playing happy feet in the bathroom." -- Joy Behar

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Major Conflict: One Gay Man's Life in the Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell
Military" by Ret. Major Jeffrey McGowan
http://tinyurl.com/83shr
A book that will move hearts and open minds, Jeffrey McGowan's memoir
is the first personal account of a gay man's silent struggle in the
don't-ask-don't-tell military, from a cadet who rose to the rank of
major, left as a decorated Persian Gulf hero, and whose same-sex
marriage was the first on the East Coast.
Love of country and personal love combine in this groundbreaking
memoir of one gay man's life in the military -- and beyond. In "Major
Conflict," Queens-born Jeffrey McGowan tells how he enlisted in the army
in the late 1980s and served with distinction for ten years. But McGowan
had a secret: he was gay. In the don't-ask-don't-tell world of the
Clinton-era army, being gay meant automatic expulsion. So, at the
expense of his personal life and dignity, he hid his sexual identity and
continued to serve the army well.
"Major Conflict" is a moving account of his years in the military, the
homophobia he encountered there, and his life afterward. McGowan
presents a vivid portrait of his experience as a soldier in the Persian
Gulf, where he commanded U.S. troops in Operation Desert Storm,
eventually rising to the rank of major. Ultimately, however, he realized
that the army held no future for gay men—even closeted ones. Desiring
more of a personal life and tired of hiding his true identity, McGowan
resigned from the Army he loved in 1998. In February 2004, he married
his partner of six years in New Paltz, New York, making front-page news
in the New York Times.

This work is copyright© 2008 Thomas Allen Heald, all rights reserved.
Additional material provided by publishers. Contact the author at
tom@idontgetit.org. Archives may be found at Pridelets.com.

Panel: Keep foster kids from gays, single folk

2008-04-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

Panel: Keep foster kids from gays, single folk
ELIZABETH MCFARLAND
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Homosexuals and unmarried heterosexuals would be barred from serving as
foster parents through private agencies under a proposal approved
Tuesday by a state board.
An exemption might be available for unmarried heterosexuals, but not
for the homosexuals.
Board member Robin Woodruff of Little Rock made a motion to require
that foster parents be married and heterosexual.
"I would like for our children to have a mom role model and a dad
role model," Woodruff said.
The board adopted the motion.
Dr. Bob West of Little Rock, the only dissenter on the motion, said
after the meeting that the rule is "not practical."
"I think there are a lot of foster children out there and not enough
foster parents, and we may run into trouble if we try to limit it to
couples only," said West, a pediatric medical consultant who works for
the state Health Department.
The matter arose at a meeting of the Child Welfare Agency Review
Board, which was created in 1997 by the Legislature to prescribe minimum
licensing standards for child welfare agencies.
The board voted Tuesday to revise licensing standards for private
agencie. The rules have been silent on homosexuals and single parents.
Seven members of the nine-member board were present, but individual
yes votes were not recorded.
Regulations for public foster care agencies have yet to be written,
said Joel Landreneau, attorney for the licensing unit of the state
Department of Human Services.
The new regulation must undergo a public comment period before
becoming effective. The state has 2,700 to 2,800 children in foster care
any given day, said Joe Quinn, spokesman for the state Department of
Human Services.
The regulations say: "In a two-parent home, the husband and wife
shall be joint applicants, shall each actively participate in the
approval process and shall provide verification that they have been
married at least two years."
Woodruff said she knew of an agency that allowed foster children to
be placed with homosexuals despite the current regulations' reference to
a two-parent home.
She also said the current regulations don't prohibit heterosexuals
who are unmarried but living together from being foster parents. She
wants to change that to require that they be married.
She had made the proposal at a previous board meeting and the board
voted to have its attorney, Assistant Attorney General Karen Wallace,
devise language to that effect, Woodruff said.
But Wallace told the board she believed she had been asked to find
out whether the board could adopt a regulation requiring that foster
parents be related by blood or marriage.
Wallace said she believes the current regulations give all the
discretion and enforcement power needed to uphold that policy. She
recommended the board stick with the standards as written. She said she
has concerns about equal protection and discrimination.
Landreneau said he agrees with Woodruff that it is "optimal" for a
child to be in a two-parent foster home, but he said he opposed the
change because there is a shortage of foster homes.
Several board members said their agencies use single people, such as
widows, as foster parents. Board member James Balcom of Paragould said
agencies could still use single people by applying for an exemption
called alternative compliance.
Woodruff said if the board wanted to allow single people as foster
parents, she wanted a stipulation that they couldn't be homosexual.
Landreneau said attempting to enforce such a rule "would be sticky
business."
Woodruff said New Hampshire and Florida have laws prohibiting
adoptions by homosexuals and Arkansas could research how they enforce
them.
West said he believes there will be many requests for exemptions.
"I don't think you can exclude anyone just because they're single,"
West said. "I really think it should be up to the local agencies who is
qualified to be a foster parent. I just think it has to be done on a
case by case basis."
After the meeting, Woodruff said she had been told that the Centers
for Youth and Families had placed at least one child with a homosexual
family and had other such families waiting.
Kay Kimbrough, the center's service administrator for adolescent
services, said her agency doesn't inquire into foster parents'
sexuality.
"That is not an issue for us, as far as gender of parents. We don't
have a policy or practice that dictates whether we place kids in that
type family," Kimbrough said. "We don't make a practice to determine
whether a family is heterosexual or homosexual. It's not an issue that
we address."
Chris Pyle, family life issues liaison for Gov. Mike Huckabee, told
the board the governor supports applying the principle of foster parents
being heterosexual married couples.
Pyle said Arkansas law defines marriage as being between one man and
one woman and prohibits marriages between members of the same sex.
He said Huckabee believes "it is not in the best interest of
children for them to be placed in an environment that the Legislature
has specifically and purposely removed from legal sanction and
recognition."
Pyle said Huckabee supports regulations that would prevent a child
being removed from his home on a "mere accusation" and placed with
homosexual foster parents.
Balcom noted that Arkansas law makes homosexual behavior illegal.
Woodruff suggested that agencies don't abide by the regulation of
having a two-parent foster home be a heterosexual married couple because
the state doesn't enforce its law against homosexual sodomy.

This article was published on Wednesday, July 29, 1998
RETURN to Arkansas Section

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1998, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved.
This document may not be reprinted without the express written
permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.

Pope begins U.S. trip by reflecting on priest scandal

2008-04-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Pope begins U.S. trip by reflecting on priest scandal
by Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday April 16, 2008, 12:05 AM

Win McNamee/Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI is escorted by President Bush while arriving Tuesday at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Md.ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. -- Greeted by the president and hundreds of cheering supporters, Pope Benedict XVI arrived on American soil Tuesday for a six-day faith-building mission, a journey that began hours earlier with a somber pronouncement of regret over the clergy sex abuse scandal.

Speaking to reporters during the trans-Atlantic flight aboard his "'Shepherd One" plane, the pope said he was "deeply ashamed" by the crisis and vowed to rid the priesthood of pedophiles.

"As I read the histories of these victims, it is difficult for me to understand how it is possible that priests betrayed in this way," Benedict said. "Their mission is to give healing, to give the love of God to these children. We are deeply ashamed, and we will do everything possible that this cannot happen in the future."

The pope added that the sexual abuse of thousands of children over the decades had caused a "great suffering" to the church and to him personally.

The comments, his most expansive and emotionally charged on the crisis to date, contrasted in tone to the warm welcome he received on the runway at Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Washington Tuesday afternoon.

The pope's plane touched down at 3:52 p.m. Clad in bright white vestments, Benedict stepped briskly off the Alitalia jetliner and was met on the red carpet by President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna.

It was the first time Bush personally welcomed a dignitary at Andrews.

The spiritual leader of 67 million American Catholics greeted the president with a two-handed clasp. Moments later, the pope, his white hair whipped by the wind, smiled to an excited crowd of about 800 onlookers.

Benedict's short, highly choreographed arrival set the stage for a trip that includes a Mass at Washington's new ballpark, Nationals Park, an address to the United Nations and prayers at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan. The pope, who turns 81 today, also will celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium Sunday morning.

The visit is Benedict's first to the United States since becoming pope in April 2005.

Even before he touched down, Benedict addressed the clergy sex abuse crisis directly.

He said the church was working on several levels to solve the problem, including efforts to root out pedophiles studying for the priesthood and to better screen candidates for the seminary.

The pope made a distinction between pedophiles and homosexuals.

"I would not speak in this moment about homosexuality but pedophilia, which is another thing," Benedict said. "We would absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry ... Who is guilty of pedophilia should not be priests."

He said it was "more important to have good priests than to have many priests."

"We hope that we can do and have done and will do in the future all that is possible to heal this wound," Benedict said.

A leading victims group said the pope's comments fell short.

"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves. It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem: complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy," Peter Isely, a spokesman for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in a statement.

In an interview, John Moynihan, spokesman for Voice of the Faithful, a lay Catholic group, said he was encouraged Benedict is determined to exclude pedophiles from the priesthood, but remained disturbed that bishops who transferred known abusers from parish to parish remain in office.

He also said a "culture of secrecy" still exists.

"One can easily imagine that if parents were involved in these decisions, they wouldn't have tolerated these transfers of abusive priests," Moynihan said.

Benedict was immersed in the clergy scandal before he became pope. In December 2002, as the Vatican's top cardinal, he complained media coverage of the crisis was orchestrated to hurt the church. He also was quoted saying fewer than 1 percent of priests were abusers.

Since the extent of the problem came into public view in 2002, some 4,000 U.S. priests have been accused of sexual abuse. The Catholic church has paid out more than $2 billion in legal settlements, bankrupting six dioceses.

A study sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops later showed at least 4 percent of Catholic priests between 1950 and 2002 had been credibly accused of molesting minors.

The pope meets today with Bush at the White House. The two differ on several topics, such as the war in Iraq and capital punishment, but share an opposition to gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research.

"I really don't think that the president is planning to spend a lot of time talking about the issues of Iraq with the pope," White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a briefing with reporters before the pope's arrival. "But I do think that the root cause of ... terrorism and extremism is something that they will talk about."

Benedict also told reporters aboard Shepherd One he would talk to Bush about immigration.

"I have seen the breadth of this problem -- above all, the grave problem of the separation of families. This is really dangerous for the fabric -- social, moral, human -- for these countries," he said.

"The fundamental solution is there would be no need to immigrate because there would be sufficient jobs ... Everyone must work toward this objective and for social development in these countries ... .

"On this point I will also speak with the president, because, above all, the United States must help countries to develop themselves in the interest of everyone, not only of these countries, of the world and even of the United States."

Benedict, who has spoken fondly of the United States, also addressed the nation's history of separating church and state.

Asked if the United States could serve as a religious model for Europe and other areas of the world, the pope replied: "Certainly Europe can't simply copy the United States. We have our own history. We all have to learn from each other."

Staff writers Jeff Diamant and Carol Ann Campbell contributed to this report

Some gay couples are having trouble obtaining divorces By RAY HENRY

2008-04-15T19:04:00.001-07:00

Some gay couples are having trouble obtaining divorces By RAY HENRY, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 59 minutes ago

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Gay couples had to struggle mightily to win the right to marry or form civil unions. Now, some are finding that breaking up is hard to do, too.

ADVERTISEMENT

In Rhode Island, for example, the state's top court ruled in December that gays married in neighboring Massachusetts can't get divorced here because lawmakers have never defined marriage as anything but a union between a man and woman. In Missouri, a judge is deciding whether a lesbian married in Massachusetts can get an annulment.

"We all know people who have gone through divorces. At the end of that long and unhappy period, they have been able to breathe a sigh of relief," said Cassandra Ormiston of Rhode Island, who is splitting from her wife, Margaret Chambers. But "I do not see that on my horizon, that sigh of relief that it's over."

Over the past four years, Massachusetts has been the only state where gay marriage is legal, while nine other states allow gay couples to enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships that offer many of the rights and privileges of marriage. The vast majority of these unions require court action to dissolve.

Gay couples who still live in the state where they got hitched can split up with little difficulty; the laws in those states include divorce or dissolution procedures for same-sex couples. But gay couples who have moved to another state are running into trouble.

Massachusetts, at least early on, let out-of-state gay couples get married there practically for the asking. But the rules governing divorce are stricter. Out-of-state couples could go back to Massachusetts to get divorced, but they would have to live there for a year to establish residency first.

"I find that an unbelievably unfair burden. I own a home here, my friends are here, my life is here," said Ormiston, who is resigned to moving to Massachusetts for a year.

It's not clear how many gay couples have sought a divorce.

In Massachusetts, where more than 10,000 same-sex couples have married since 2004, the courts don't keep a breakdown of gay and heterosexual divorces. But Joyce Kauffman, a member of the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association, said probably more than 100 gay divorces have been granted in Massachusetts, and possibly many more.

She said she suspects the divorce rate among gays is lower than that among heterosexual couples, because many of the same-sex couples who got married in Massachusetts had probably been together for years.

Vermont has dissolved 2 percent of the 8,666 civil unions performed there since they became legal in 2000. Those numbers do not include couples who split up in another state.

Chambers and Ormiston wed in Massachusetts in 2004 and filed for divorce in 2006. But the Rhode Island Supreme Court last winter refused to recognize their marriage. That means at least 90 other gay couples from the state who got married in Massachusetts would not be able to divorce in Rhode Island if they wanted to.

Getting a divorce could prove toughest in some of the 43 states that have explicitly banned or limited same-sex unions, lawyers say.

In Missouri, which banned gay marriage in 2001, a conservative lawmaker has urged a judge not to grant an annulment to a lesbian married in Massachusetts.

Oregon started allowing gay couples to form domestic partnerships this year. But to prevent problems similar to those in Massachusetts, lawmakers added a provision that allows couples to dissolve their partnerships in Oregon even if they have moved out of state.

The measure is modeled on California's domestic partnership system and represents a major change in the usual rules governing jurisdiction.

"It's a novel concept in the family law area," said Oregon lawyer Beth Allen, who works with Basic Rights Oregon, a gay rights group.

Same-sex couples can form civil unions in Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and New Hampshire. They can enter into domestic partnerships or receive similar benefits in California, Oregon, Maine, Washington, Hawaii and the District of Columbia.

New York does not permit gay marriage, but a judge there has allowed a lesbian married in Canada to seek a divorce. In 2005, Iowa's Supreme Court upheld the breakup of a lesbian couple who entered into a civil union in Vermont.

Some Rhode Island lawmakers are pushing to legalize gay divorce. But Gov. Don Carcieri, a Republican who opposes gay marriage, is against the idea. So are church leaders in the heavily Roman Catholic state.

"Whatever name they want to give to it, it is a recognition of same-sex unions," said the Rev. Bernard Healey, a lobbyist for Catholic Diocese of Providence.

(This version CORRECTS number of states explicitly banning or limiting same-sex unions to 43).)

Email Story IM Story Printable View Yahoo! Buzz RECOMMEND THIS STORY
Recommend It:

Average (463 votes)
» Recommended Stories
U.S. News
Pope lands in US, vows to fight clergy sex abuse AP Images show police well armed for raid on polygamist retreat AP `Billable hours for the soul' drive lawyers to West Texas AP Kentucky latest state to prohibit alcohol vaporizers AP Group finds 6 million pounds of trash on world's beaches AP Most Viewed - U.S.
Group finds 6 million pounds of trash on world's beaches AP Images show police well armed for raid on polygamist retreat AP Shock jocks suspended over slur against Alaska Native women AP Man arrested in pregnant girlfriend's shooting sobs in court AP State Dept. warns of compulsory Iraq duty AP U.S. Video
Battle Over Sect Children Begins ABC News - 1 hour, 1 minute ago Catholic Univ Pres. on Pope CNN - 1 hour, 30 minutes ago Guns in parking lots okayed in Florida AP - 1 hour, 41 minutes ago Making Their Case FOX News - 1 hour, 58 minutes ago
Sponsored Links( What's this? )

Refinance and Save $1,000S
$150,000 Mortgage for $483/month. Compare up to 4 free quotes.
www.pickamortgage.com Refinance $300,000 for Only $965/Month
$300,000 Mortgage for only $965/month. Save $1,000's - No obligation.
www.HomeLoanHelpLine.com Fed Cuts Interest Rates Again
Mortgage Rates Hit 26 Month Lows. Calculate Your New Mortgage Payment.
www.LowerMyBills.com
AP Photo: Cassandra Ormiston is seen in her Providence, R.I., home Wednesday, April 9, 2008. Ormiston married... Slideshow: Same-Sex Marriage Issues
U.S. Video
Battle Over Sect Children Begins
ABC News
Catholic Univ Pres. on Pope
CNN
» All news video
Elsewhere on the Web
ABC News: State Dept. May Order Diplomats to Iraq
NPR: Peru Questions Yale on Inventory of Artifacts
Time.com: A New Bomber with No Pilot?
Yahoo! Real Estate

Need a new home?
Search the latest foreclosures listings on Yahoo! Real Estate.
Yahoo! Autos

Audi
Check out all of the 2008 models on Yahoo! Autos.
ADVERTISEMENT

Add headlines to your personalized My Yahoo! page
(About My Yahoo! and RSS)
Gay & Lesbian Issues
Add to My Yahoo! Add to RSS» More news feeds

NEWS ALERTS
Get an alert when there are new stories about:

civil unions in Vermont
Canada
Iowa
domestic partnership system
Basic Rights Oregon

» More alerts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yahoo! - My Yahoo! - Mail
Search: All News Yahoo! News Only News Photos Video/Audio Advanced

Primary Navigation
Home U.S Business World Entertainment Sports Tech Politics Science Health Travel Most Popular Odd News Opinion

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Copyright © 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - Ad Feedback

Search the Web:
Rhode Island

Search News | View Map

EVERYBODY HAS A GAY HERO! =-

2008-04-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

EVERYBODY HAS A GAY HERO! =-
(We're All In GREAT Company : )!

A
Sidney Abbott - F. Murray Abraham - Roberta Achenberg - Achilles & Patroccas –

Nick Adams - Jane Addams - Clay Aiken –Alvin Ailey - Edward Albee –

Alexander the Great - Jason Alexander - Horatio Alger - Chad Allen – Peter Allen –

Ted Allen – John Amaechi – Tori Amos - Hans Christian Andersen - Mitchell Anderson - Dr. Maya Angelou - Mark Anthony - Susan B. Anthony - Marie Antoinette –

John Aravosis – Reinaldo Arenas - Aristophanes - Aristotle - Joan Armatrading –

William Arondcus – W. H. Auden - Saint Augustine - Augustus - Marcus Aurelius – Charles Aznavour –

B
B-52s – Don Bachardy - Sir Francis Bacon - Lord Baden-Powell - Joan Baez –

Josephine Baker - James Bakker – George Balanchine - James Baldwin –

Tammy Baldwin – Tallulah Bankhead - Samuel Barber - Clive Barker –

Sir James M. Barrie – Clyde Barrow - Lionel Barrymore - Lance Bass - Alan Bates - Billy Bean - James Beard - Aubrey Beardsley – Cecil Beaton - Ludwig von Beethoven - Miriam Ben-Shalom - Michael Bennett - Copy Berg - Nate Berkus – Sandra Bernhard - Leonard Bernstein - Bernardo Bertolucci – Mark Bingham - Elizabeth Birch –

Mr. Blackwell - Dirk Bogarde – Brian Boitano - Chastity Bono - John Boswell –

Sandro Botticelli - Matthew Bourne – David Bowie - Boy George – Keith Boykin –

Terry Bradshaw - Marlon Brando - Tony Braxton – Benjamin Britten –

Matthew Broderick – Howard Brown – Rita Mae Brown – James Buchanan –

Jim J. Bullock - Raymond Burr - William S. Burroughs - Ellen Burstein –

Richard Burton - Dick Button - Lord Byron –

C
Paul Cadmus - Julius Caesar - John Cage - Robert Calhoun – Caligula – Adolfo Caminha - Margarethe Cammermeyer - Truman Capote - Capucino - Botticelli Caravaggi –

Nell Carter – George Washington Carver - Giovanni Casanova - Willa Cather –

Catherine The Great - C.P. Cavafy - Donatello Cellini - Miguel de Cervantes –

Richard Chamberlain - John Chapman(a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed) - Tracy Chapman –

Ian Charleson - Christian Chavez – John Cheever - Mary Cheney - Frederic Chopin –

Sir Winston Churchill - Craig Claiborne - Arthur C. Clarke - Claudius I –

Montgomery Clift - Kate Clinton - Kurt Cobain – Claudette Cobert - James Coco –

Jean Cocteau – Steven Cojocaru - Colette - Bart Conner – Bill Condon –

Anderson Cooper – Aaron Copeland - Katharine Cornell - Mark Cornelsen –

Ron Corning - Midge Costanza - Wally Cox - Noel Coward - Hart Crane -

Joan Crawford – Quentin Crisp - Mort Crowley – Wilson Cruz - George Cukor –

Alan Cumming – Merce Cunningham –John Curry - Tim Curran - Jamie Lee Curtis – Tony Curtis –

D
James Dale - Damon & Pythias - David & Jonathan – Brad Davis – Richard Deacon - James Dean - Ellen DeGeneres - Alain Delon - Muffin Spencer-Devlin - Sergei Diaghilev - Emily Dickenson - Marlene Dietrich - Dr. Tom Dooley – Kyan Douglas –

Lord Alfred Douglas - Robert Dover – Matt Drudge - Martin Duberman – Robert Duncan - Salvador Dali – Angela Davis - Lea DeLaria – Sandy Dennis - Depeche Mode –

Isadora Duncan - John DuPont –

E
Thomas Eakins - Amelia Earhart - Edward II - Brian Ebstein - Melissa Ethridge –

Erik Estrada - Segei Eisenstein - Erte - Raul Esparza –Jade Esteban Estrada - Euripedes –

F
Marianne Faithfull - Michael Feinstein - Thom Felicia – Harvey Fierstein –

Ronald Firbank - Waylon Flowers – Tom Ford - Jodie Foster – Stephen Foster –

Errol Flynn - Barney Frank - Frederick the Great - Sigmund Freud - Aaron Fricke –

Mark Feehily - Fannie Flagg - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - F. Scott Fitzgerald –

Victor Fleming - Errol Flynn – Malcomb Forbes - E.M. Forster - Bob Fosse –

Ani di Franco - James Franco - Anne Frank –

G
Rudy Galindo - Vasco de Gama - Greta Garbo - Janet Gaynor - Stephen Gately

& Eloy de Jong – David Geffen – Jean Genet - Richard Gere – Gericault - Andre Gide - Sir John Gielgud - Candace Gingrich – Allen Ginsberg – Gideon Glick – John Glover - Paul Goodman - Lesley Gore – Jason (Streisand) Gould - Farley Granger - Cary Grant - Michael Graves - Will Greer – Merve Griffin – George Grizzard - Thom Gunn –

H
Hadrian - William Haines - Hafiz - Rob Halford - Radclyffe Hall - Halston –

Daj Hammerskjold - Alexander Hamilton - George Frideric Handel - Lorraine Hansberry - Clayton Hardwig Jr. - Neil Patrick Harris – Sam Harris - Lorenz Hart – Hurd Hatfield - Bob Hattoy - Nathaniel Hawthorne – Nigel Hawthorne - Sean Hayes – Edith Head - Hugh Hefner – Lillian Helman – R.J. Helton - Henry III - Jerry Herman - Hermann Hesse - Carl Hester – Paris Hilton – Magnus Hirschfeld - David Hockney - Billie Holiday –

The Hollywood Kids - Robin Hood & Little John – Homer - J. Edgar Hoover –

Anthony Hopkins - Horace - James C. Hormel – Vladimir Horowitz - A. E. Houseman - Kuang-Hsu – Rock Hudson - Howard Hughes - Langston Hughes - Tom Hulce - Alexander von Humbolt - Tab Hunter –

I
Janice Ian - Indigo Girls - William Inge - Molly Irvin – Christopher Isherwood –

J
Cheyenne Jackson - Henry James - Kevin Jennings – Michael Jeter - Elton John –

Philip Johnson – James I of England - Jasper Johns - William Johnson - Angelina Jolie – Grace Jones - Tom Jones - Janis Joplin - Barbara Jordan - Father Mykal Judge –

Pope Julius III –

K
Frida Kahio - Danny Kaye - John Maynard Keynes - Jimmy Kimmel – Billie Jean King - Alfred Kinsey – Tommy Kirk - Calvin Klein - Steve Kmetko - T.R. Knight – Jim Kolbe - David Kopay – Dave Koz - Larry Kramer - Carson Kressley –Gene Kuffel – Nancy Kulp - Tony Kushner –

L
Wanda Landowska - Nathan Lane - K.D. Lang - Christopher Langdon - Jack Larsen - Charles Laughton - Arthur Laurents - D. H. Lawrence - T. E. Lawrence - Bruce Lehman - Mark Leno – John Lennon - Leonardo da Vinci - Liberace - Jose Limon - Abraham Lincoln - Andy Lippincott – Jack London - Frederico Garcia Lorca - Andre Lorde –

Greg Louganis - Louis XIII - Chris Lowe - Patti LuPone - Paul Lynde –

M
Moms Mabley - Machiavelli - Cameron Mackintosh - Madonna – Norman Mailer - Thomas Mann - Robert Maplethorpe - Eric Marcus - Christopher Marlowe –

Rob Marshall - Leonard Matlovich - Kerwin Matthews – Johnny Mathis - Steve May - Margaret Mead - Natalie Merchant - Freddie Mercury – Harvey Milk - Edna St. Vincent Millay - Merle Miller - Sal Mineo - Vincent Minnelli - Yukio Misima - John Cameron Mitchell –David Mixner - Isaac Mizrahi - Joseph McCarthy - Ashley Maclsaac –

George Maharis - Marjorie Main - Ricky Martin - W. Somerset Maugham –

Armistead Maupin - Amelie Mauresmo – Carson McCullers - Kevin McDaid –

Hattie McDaniel - Roddy McDowall – James McGreevey - Sir Ian McKellen –

Rod McKuen -Terrance McNally – Timothy McVeigh - Herman Melville –

Gian Carlo Menotti - George Michael - Michelangelo - John Milton - Moliere - Montezuma II - Marianne Moore - Agnes Moorehead - Morrissey - Jim Morrison – Megan Mullally –

N
George Nader - Ramon Navarro – Martina Navratilova - Holly Near - Nero –

Sir Isaac Newton - Florence Nightengale - Vaslav Nijinsky - David Niven –

Rudolph Nureyev - The Nylons - Laura Nyro –

O
Sinead O'Connor - Rosie O'Donnell - Georgia O'Keefe - Seiku Okuhara –

Sir Laurence Olivier - Phranc - Philippe I Duc D' Orleans - Suze Orman - Brian Orser - Ovid –

P
David Palone - STYX Chuck Panozzo - Tomie de Paola - Dorothy Parker - Saint Paul - Anthony Perkins - Reverend Troy Perry – River Phoenix – - Pablo Picasso –

David Hyde Pierce – Pink – Danny Pintaro - Plato - Iggy Pop - Cole Porter –

Paula Poundstone –Tyrone Power - Marcel Proust - Manuel Pulg - Pu Yi –

Q

Colin Quinn –

R
Sergei Rachmaninov - Ma Rainey - Ovidio Ramos - Raphael – Anthony Rapp –

Robert Rauschenberg – Johnnie Ray – Robert Reed - Charles Nelson Reilly –

Marcellas Reynolds - Richard The Lionhearted - Sir Cecil Rhodes - Christopher Rice – Jerome Robbins - Bishop V. Gene Robinson – Dennis Rodman - Jai Rodriguez –

Cesar Romero - Eleanor Roosevelt - Ty Ross - Portia de Rossi - Rumi - Bayard Rustin - RuPaul –

S
Dan Savage - Yves St. Laurent - Sappho - Dick Sargent - Jessica Savitch –

Francesco Scavullo – John Schlessinger - Franz Schubert - Randolph Scott –

William Shakespeare – Guenter Seidel – William Shattner - Patty Sheehan –

Matthew Shepard - Randy Shilts - Franz Shubert - Arthur Sullivan - Sigfried & Roy - Jaason Simmons - Richard Simmons - Roy Simmons - Oliver Sipple - Anna Nicole Smith – Bessie Smith - Liz Smith – Shepard Smith – Stephen Sondheim - Sophocles –

Kevin Spacey – Douglas Spearman - Cardinal Francis Spellman – Stephen Spinella - Dusty Springfield – Barbara Stanwyck - Gertrude Stein - Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben - Oliver Stone – Sharon Stone – Gerry E. Studds - Suleiman - Andrew Sullivan –

Sweet Honey in the Rock – Algernon Charles Swinbarne - Sheryl Swoopes –

T
George Takei – Blyth Tait – John Tartaglia - Rip Taylor – Peter Tchaikovsky –

Sara Teasdale - Alfred Lord Tennyson - Michael Tilson Thomas – Virgil Thompson – Tiberius - William Tiden -Andrew Tobias - Alice B. Toklas – Leo Tolstoy - Lili Tomlin & Jane Wagner - Prescott Townsend - Pete Townshend – Michael Trestrail –

Gennady Trifonov - Tommy Tune - Esero Tuaolo – Alan M. Turing –

U
Karl Ulrichs – Virginia Uribe –

V
Urvashi Vaid - Rudolph Valentino - Rudy Vallee – Luther Vandross - Gianni Versace - Gore Vidal - Bruce Vilanch - The Village People – Paul Verlaine - Voltaire –

W
Tom Waddell – Rufus Wainwright - Alice Walker - Andy Warhol - George Washington - Perry Watkins - Cliffton Webb - May West – Coleman Wheeler – Mel White –

Walt Whitman – Will Wikle - Oscar Wilde - Thornton Wilder – William II –

Tennesse Williams - Wendy O. Williams – Paul Winfield - Mary Wollstonecraft - Virginia Woolf - Monte Wooly - W'Wha –

X
Malcomb X –

Y
Yugasie –

Z
Pedro Zamora - Gus van Zant - Franco Zeferelli -

& More – MANY MORE!

Compiled by

"The Creative World of Coleman Wheeler"

History was made on May 14, 2007 when the Eureka Springs City Council unanimously approved the DOMESTIC PARTNER REGISTRY (DPR).

2008-04-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

History was made on May 14, 2007 when the Eureka Springs City Council unanimously approved the DOMESTIC PARTNER REGISTRY (DPR). This was not only a victory for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) couples, but also for unmarried straight couples. Although the document does not entitle couples legal benefits as in a marriage, we feel it does act as a wonderful validation and acknowledgement of their relationship and commitment to each other. It is especially helpful for couples
working for companies that provide Domestic Partner Benefits. This is a first for Arkansas and hopefully, will inspire other registries throughout the state and beyond. We are proud that despite oppressive and at times, hateful opposition, Eureka Springs has sent out a clear message to encourage the evolution of equality for ALL couples!

By the way, couples must apply in person Monday through Friday! Sign the Domestic Partner Benefit application form at the City Clerk's Office at City Hall, pay a $35 fee, be placed in the registry, and receive your official DPR Certificate. It cost $20 to be removed from the registry using Application for Termination (and we like to encourage trying couple counseling first! ;-)

PLEASE EMAIL YOUR FAVORITE DPR PICS! We’d love to post them and share them with others!
Deborah@diversitypride.com

*As is commonly known, most Eureka Springs locals and businesses are diversity welcoming year round.
There are now four Diversity Weekends, Valentine’s, Spring, Summer and Fall, and from time to time a
special Pride weekend will occur. So, to keep in the loop, we suggest you join our mailing list, periodically check back in with our website, Diversity Pride Events, as well as others that are listed in the COMMUNITY PAGES section of our website.

Eureka Springs' Registry Flak Blows Over

2008-04-15T08:33:00.001-07:00

Eureka Springs' Registry Flak Blows Over
By Jamie Walden
3/10/2008

In the 10 months since the Eureka Springs City Council created a "domestic partnership registry," which allows even same-sex couples to obtain a public document recognizing their relationships, the Victorian hamlet in the shadow of the Christ of the Ozarks has attracted some serious flak.
Shortly after the registry was created last May, Don Wildmon, the founder and chief executive officer of the American Family Association, warned that this "could destroy the Eureka Springs tourist trade and hurt the local economy." That statement came from an article posted on the Web site of the Arkansas Republican Assembly, a conservative group that describes itself as the "Republican wing of the Republican party."
Wildmon did not respond to repeated requests for an interview for this article, but according to the Republican Assembly's report, he said, "Many Christian families will no doubt reconsider their plans to visit Eureka Springs, or refuse to vacation in Eureka Springs."
The little cultural cubbyhole nestled in northwest Arkansas has garnered attention from both residents and visitors alike for its gay-friendly activities. For instance, Diversity Weekend LLC hosts "gay pride weekends" in April, August and November.
"Eureka has always been a very open and accepting town," said Mayor Dani Joy, a key player in the registry. "And no matter if you want to be a corporate giant or a hippie or if you are gay or if you're straight and have children, it's always been accepting."
Though city officials disagreed with Wildmon's dire predictions, they cannot deny that the tourism industry felt a twinge in an already flat market. Tourism revenue grew only 2 percent in 2006 and a paltry 0.1 percent during 2007, Jim Williams, executive director of the Eureka Springs Advertising & Promotion Commission, said. Eureka suffered from poor weather the first few months of 2007, but most officials agree the registry had an affect, though short-lived.

Please join the Arkansas Stonewall Democratic Caucus

2008-04-15T08:25:00.001-07:00

Please join the Arkansas Stonewall Democratic Caucus

2008-04-14T13:06:00.001-07:00

Please join the Arkansas Stonewall Democratic Caucus
at Democratic Party Headquarters (corner of Pulaski & Capital St in
Little Rock AR)

Thursday April 24, 2008, at 6 pm

For a conversation about the work of the National Stonewall Democrats
organization
with Executive Director Jon Hoadley

Refreshments will be served

Learn more about National Stonewall Democrats at
www.stonewalldemocrats.org

--
For more information about the Stonewall Democratic Caucus of Arkansas,
please visit our website at www.stonewallarkansas.com

------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArkEquality/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArkEquality/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:ArkEquality-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:ArkEquality-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ArkEquality-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please join the Arkansas Stonewall Democratic Caucus

2008-04-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

Arkansas Times

2008-04-14T11:49:00.001-07:00

Sullivan lecture cancelled
The lecture by The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan. planned for Tuesday at Philander Smith Colllege, has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled, the college has announced. The news release didn't give a reason.

UPDATE: A blog reader notes that Sullivan has cited illness on his own blog.

ever want to run for public officeHRC can help you

2008-04-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to be a part of history in the making? If so, join us for HRC’s 2008 Campaign College!

A diverse group of 40 participants, ages 18-24, will take part in a unique program that trains young people in political skills and places them with political and ballot campaigns across the country. Campaign College includes:

Intensive, week-long training in campaign skills led by political professionals near Washington, D.C.
Fulltime position on a congressional, ballot, or statewide campaign with a stipend
Follow-up retreat for guidance focusing on future job possibilities.
There is so much at stake in 2008. Voters will choose a new president, one-third of the U.S. Senate, all U.S. House members, and thousands of state legislators. GLBT equality must be a top priority.

We need you to consider making a deeper commitment than you ever have before. Campaign College will be held August 11-17, 2008, with nationally recognized political professional will lead workshops on planning a winning political campaign, developing a strong message, handling the media, creating a field plan, and fundraising for the campaign.

Political campaigns view the participants of HRC's Campaign College as valuable members of their staffs. Graduates have worked on various campaigns across the country, including Arcuri for Congress in New York, Chris Shays for Congress in Connecticut, Pro-equality side of Wisconsin ballot measure, and Kulongoski for Governor in Oregon.

Campaign College participants will receive a stipend and community housing while working on their political campaign, as well as travel expenses to and from Campaign College and their political campaign. For more information, please visit HRC.org/CampaignCollege.

Apply today, get in the game, and make a difference!

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese

LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS BIKER CLUB POSTED INFORMATION

2008-04-12T05:49:00.001-07:00

Hi there! My name is Josh, and I have started a group for Little Rock are GLBT and friendly motorcycle enthusiasts. Does this sound like something that is interesting to you or someone you know? The goal is to get us together for some cruises, cookouts, maybe a pride parade or 2. Can't let the summer blaze by without making the most of it! Just copy and paste this link into your browser and see for yourself. Thanks again for your time! -Josh

http://groups. myspace. com/greaterLRGLBTbikers

Obama: Repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' possible

2008-04-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24046489/

Obama: Repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' possible

Democratic hopeful says he wouldn't require Joint Chiefs to be opposed

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama says if elected president he won't require that his appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff support allowing gays to serve openly in the military.

The Democratic presidential front-runner favors repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays, which was instituted during the Clinton administration. He said his priority for the Joint Chiefs will be that they make decisions to strengthen the military and keep the country safe, not their position on the policy.

"I would never make this a litmus test for the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Obama said in an interview with The Advocate, a gay newsmagazine.

"But I think there's increasing recognition within the Armed Forces that this is a counterproductive strategy," he said. "We're spending large sums of money to kick highly qualified gays or lesbians out of our military, some of whom possess specialties like Arab-language capabilities that we desperately need. That doesn't make us more safe."

The Advocate provided The Associated Press with excerpts of the interview, posted on its Web site Thursday.

The interview comes after Obama was criticized by gay advocates for not speaking to the gay media. The Philadelphia Gay News last week ran a large blank space on its front page next to an interview with Hillary Rodham Clinton to highlight that he did not talk to the publication.

"The gay press may feel like I'm not giving them enough love, but basically all press feels that way at all times," Obama told The Advocate. He said he's frequently spoken out against homophobia and in support of gay rights.

Asked what he could reasonably accomplish for the gay community as president, Obama said he can "reasonably see" repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy as well as signing legislation to ban workplace discrimination against gays. He said he'd like transgendered people to be covered by the law, but thinks it would be tough to get such legislation through Congress.

Obama also said he's interested in ensuring that same-sex couples in civil unions get federal benefits.

and the bible tells me so

2008-04-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajBR0dq0XXkfron burt wolefe

I just finished watching the new documentary “For the Bible Tells Me So”, and it’s a wonderful film. It’s a bit frustrating at times, to once again review just how deep the hatred is in the United States concerning GLBT’s. And to listen to the mindless members of many religious groups saying ‘the Bible tells me so and that’s all I need to know’.

But wonderfully enough, there is an encouraging flip side. Like watching the election of Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson – and seeing this enormous convention of people jump to their feet and just go wild with delight that they had finally broken through the taboos and elected a gay man to the position.

What I hadn’t realized about that historic event was that Robinson was wearing a flak jacket under his vestments. And I had no idea just how hateful the hate mail was – “We have bullets with the names of you and your partner on them, and we know where you live.”

The most inspiring segment for me was filmed during one of Mel White’s Soulforce Ride for Equality bus tours of fundamentalist enclaves. James Dobson showed just what a total coward of a human being he is. In the picture below, gay son Jake Reitan (center) is shown with his parents Randi and Phil, getting ready to hand-deliver a letter from Randi to James Dobson. As soon as they took a few more steps, Dobson had them handcuffed and jailed. And he wasn’t even man enough to confront them – he turned that over to the local police.

__._,_.___

What kind of impact do you want to make on the world? It all begins here. LSA... working towards a better tomorrow one color at a time.

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

2008-04-10T01:44:00.001-07:00

Hi ArkansasGayHistory,
I just came across your blog - PinkPanthersBlog! and found it very interesting .
I would like to invite you to my new blog which has cool slideshows.
link : http://slideshows.nachofoto.com/?i=1
My blog consists of slideshows from categories like travel,food,photography,sports,gadgets and many others.
If you like any of the slideshows, you are welcome to embed it in your own blog.

-anuj
Success is never final and failure never fatal. It's courage that counts.

the Unitarian Universalist uuclr

2008-04-10T01:32:00.001-07:00

UUCLR Weekly E-mail for the Week of April 3-10, 2008 - 1 new
http://groups.google.com/group/UUCLR-Weekly-Email/t/3900f412985d4ef3?hl=en
* from John Willis, Dir. of Religious Education - 1 new
http://groups.google.com/group/UUCLR-Weekly-Email/t/a774912ac6f00213?hl=en

Active Topics
-------------

UUCLR Weekly E-mail for the Week of April 3-10, 2008 - 1 new
------------------------------------------------------------
Spring is in the air! One of my favorite things at the Unitarian Universalist
Church of Little Rock, the Hudnall Wisteria Arbor, is in full bloom and
smelling wonderful. Come by and celebrate spring this Sunday at the Unitarian
Universalist Church of Little Rock and catch a few moments in the shade of the
wisteria (Young Adult Group has "dibs" - Thurs, Apr 3 2008 10:31 am
1 message, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/UUCLR-Weekly-Email/t/3900f412985d4ef3?hl=en

from John Willis, Dir. of Religious Education - 1 new
-----------------------------------------------------
8 April 2008 Dear Members and Friends of the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Little Rock, In the Time All Together section of our Sunday Worship Services,
you have doubtless heard me extol--in several variations--the virtues of
valuing one's inherent goodness and wisdom and following the guidance - Wed,
Apr 9 2008 10:12 am
1 message, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/UUCLR-Weekly-Email/t/a774912ac6f00213?hl=en

Celebrate New Book by Bishop Gene Robinson

2008-04-09T16:59:00.001-07:00

Celebrate New Book by Bishop Gene Robinson
On May 5, come to the HRC Equality Forum and hear Bishop Robinson reflect on his journey of faith, his life experiences, his passion for justice, and the controversy that has rocked the church he loves. Beloved in his diocese and chosen from a wide selection of candidates, Robinson has nonetheless been in “the eye of the storm” in the Anglican community worldwide. Don't miss this opportunity to meet one of the most gracious and passionate leaders of our time. Learn more and RSVP now.

Clergy Call 2009
In case you missed our last newsletter, we want to be sure you know that on May 4 and May 5, 2009 HRC’s Religion and Faith Program will present our second Clergy Call for Justice and Equality! It is not too early to register to come. Read more.

Spiritual Reflections

A Powerful Haggadah for Passover

On March 30, the Gay and Lesbian Outreach and Engagement (GLOE) in partnership with Metro DC GLBT Center and the Human Rights Campaign collaborated to create a Stonewall Seder. Part ritual, part celebration, part feast, and part conversation—this event drew awareness to LGBT issues while participating in the timeless ceremonial Seder tradition. We strongly encourage you to use the Haggadah, written by GLOE, as you plan your Passover services for April 19.

Religion Council Member Dr. Thistlethwaite Speaks to HRC

Rev. Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite, President of Chicago Theological Seminary, Senior Fellow for the Center for American Progress and founding member of HRC’s Religion Council gave an extraordinary speech at our major donor summit that calls on all of us to be advocates for social justice.

Life-Sustaining Sermon on Intimacy

Rev. Dr. Sidney Fowler, editor for Out In Scripture and pastor at Hope United Church of Christ, wrote a beautiful sermon for Easter Sunday, “The Intimacy of Easter and More...” Fowler writes that “The resurrection faith begins in intimacy and is lived out in a life of love and justice joined with God and all of humanity and creation.” This is a spirit-sustaining piece about the power of intimacy as faith sustaining.

New Events In Our Communities

7 Days to a Better Financial You

Across the country, millions of GLBT Americans face significant financial challenges and legal hurdles in building a secure future. The Human Rights Campaign has launched a national effort to educate same-sex individuals and couples about the tools and resources available to navigate tax laws and ensure good financial decision-making. The campaign features a variety of web resources which can be found at www.hrc.org/7days.

As part of this week’s events, local faith leaders are invited to a press event at the Atlanta Regional Post Office at 3900 Crown Rd, Atlanta, GA 30304 on Tuesday, April 15 at 10:30am to protest discrimination against same-sex couples in our nation’s tax code. Interested faith leaders should contact Harry Knox, director of the HRC Religion and Faith Program.

Call to Action in Dallas-Fort Worth

Join the Dallas-Fort Worth HRC Religion & Faith Committee, Soulforce, and the Reconciling Ministries Network for peaceful demonstrations surrounding the United Methodist General Conference on April 26-27. Participate in Sunday worship service, non-violence training and a vigil aimed at defeating the GLBT exclusionary policies to be voted on at the conference.

Fellowship 2008 Annual Conference
The Fellowship, a coalition dedicated to proclaiming the radically inclusive love of Jesus Christ, will hold their 2008 conference on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 in Dallas, Texas. Among the speakers are Fellowship founder Bishop Yvette Flunder and Dr. Horace Griffin. You can register now and look for the complete conference schedule on the Fellowship website.

Resources

A New Book by a New Kind of Evangelical Christian

Tony Campolo’s new book, Red Letter Christians: A Citizen’s Guide to Faith and Politics, sets out another way to be an Evangelical Christian that does not take its talking points from the Radical Right. Red Letter Christians offers a thoughtful and compassionate look at the issues that face us as a culture. His chapter on gay rights emboldens a new generation of Evangelicals to see LGBT rights as social justice issues. As he tells us: “Justice for gays and lesbians should be on the political front burner for Red Letter Christian . . . because it is impossible to tell people we love them if we deny them the basic rights we enjoy.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
Tell-a-friend!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Human Rights Campaign.

If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific Human Rights Campaign list, or update your account settings, you can visit your Subscription Management Page. Click here to remove yourself from all Human Rights Campaign lists.

Equality California

2008-04-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

April 9, 2008

Dear L. Ramsey,

I wouldn’t be writing you again if I didn’t think this was urgent. We are in the fight of our lives.

With your help, the ballot initiative that would change the state constitution to prohibit marriage for same-sex couples for generations may not qualify for the November election. We need every person reading this to volunteer for just one day during the next two weeks.

Clearly, we are having an impact. Here's what our opponents are saying about us:

"We are facing a major obstacle that could derail our effort to protect marriage... Our opponents have launched a counterattack to disrupt the petition drive and keep the Marriage Amendment from qualifying for the ballot... This is slowing down our daily signature totals."

- ProtectMarriage.com email, April 7.

But as we all know, they will stop at nothing to get the ballot initiative qualified. They are even paying people for every signature they collect. And groups like Focus on the Family continue to pour more money and resources into their effort.

We need more people on the ground in key areas, which is why your help is critical right now. Here’s what you can do to help us reach more people:

Volunteer. It will take all of us to counter the opposition’s efforts. We especially need help in Burbank, Fresno, Orange County, Pasadena, Palmdale, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino and San Diego. If you don’t live in one of these areas, why not make a weekend trip?
Tell your family, friends and co-workers about what’s happening. Ask them to help.
Make a donation. Every dollar raised will help defeat anti-gay ballot measures in California.
This is a true test for our community. Can we fend off the ballot measure now or will we have to fight for months to come? We need your help. Please sign up to volunteer now.

Thank you for helping us fight for equality.

In solidarity,

Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California Issues PAC

Two Weeks
Just 14 Days Left to Fight the Initiative

Protectmarriage.com reports it has 975,000 of the 1.1 million signatures they need.

Help Equality For All prevent them from getting more in the next two weeks:

• Volunteer. It will take all of us to counter the opposition’s efforts. We especially need help in Burbank, Fresno, Orange County, Pasadena, Palmdale, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino and San Diego

• Tell your family, friends and co-workers what is going on. Ask them to help.

• Help by making a donation. Every dollar raised will help defeat anti-gay ballot measures in California.

Learn more about the campaign:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equality California is dedicated to achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians.

Our work depends on individual financial contributions. Donate now using our secure website or download a donation form to send via fax or mail.

Contributions to EQCA support political work and are not tax-deductible as charitable contributions under IRS-162(e).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contact EQCA Privacy Policy EQCA Home

Copyright ©2007 EQCA

Remove yourself from all mailings from Equality California.

pams house blend presonal message from pam

2008-04-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pam's site of the week:
Republican Offenders

All the pervs and crooks you've come to love reading about here on the Blend. Event Calendar
April 2008
(view month)
S M T W R F S
* * 01 02 03 04 05
06 07 08 09 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 * * *

<< (add event) >>

About
-- The Blog
-- Pam
-- Autumn
-- Daimeon
-- The Educated Eclectic
-- Terrance

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email Pam

Email Autumn

Email Daimeon

Email The Educated Eclectic

Email Russ

Email Terrance

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support the Blend

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern
* Watch the YouTube video
* The transcript of the entire rant is here.
* Read her interview with Matt Barber and Peter LaBarbera
* Review the Sally Kern Blend archive
Blend-o-licious endorsements...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend:
"a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."

He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior." (CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:

"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians." (from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist."
(Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)

"A nutty lesbian blogger."
(MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.

--Impeach Bush

who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.

--"Joe"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Content © 2004-2008
Pam Spaulding
House Blend logo © 2005
Melissa McEwan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SITE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best of the Blend
Blog Posts
Special Events and Interviews

An Online Magazine in the Reality-Based Community.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NC: U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan refuses to answer basic questions about LGBT legislation (+)
by: pam
Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 07:00:00 AM EDT

[subscribe]

(UPDATE: Maybe you'll have better luck sending polite, well-framed questions that Sen. Hagan will answer on these issues. Kay Hagan's campaign contact page: http://www.kayhagan.com/pages/contact.)
I've blogged extensively about the historic U.S. Senate race in the state of North Carolina. Bush rubber-stamping Elizabeth Dole absolutely must be unseated, and despite the roiling Dem presidential primary season, I'm glad that the spotlight will be on my state for the May 6 primary -- it can only help expose the Democratic U.S. Senate candidates to a wider audience.

The leading Dem candidates are former investment banker Jim Neal (who has received the thumbs up from the netroots, and who's openly gay) and State Senator Kay Hagan (who was recruited by Chuck Schumer and the DSCC). The latest SurveyUSA poll shows Neal and Hagan effectively tied despite her huge war chest. Neal:

"This proves that grassroots politics works and people power trumps the power of money. Despite being outspent two to one, our message is getting through. The average contribution to our campaign is $80, and I am honored that thousands of North Carolinians are putting their hard-earned money behind us. I will continue reaching out to people across the state, listening to their concerns and learning from their ideas so we can have a government that works for all the people."
UPDATE: Listen to Jim on yesterday's Mike Signorile show; he was in studio.:

Neal's campaign has been open and responsive to folks around the state, and to the progressive online community at BlueNC. Questions on policy and even tough ones about campaign tactics have been responded to promptly, publicly, and in detail.
I wish that the Hagan campaign had that same level of respect for members of the BlueNC and LGBT communities.

Sen. Hagan recently held a liveblog at BlueNC, and I had the chance to ask her very specific, detailed questions about LGBT issues and pending legislation, and well, let's just say that 1) she didn't adequately address them, and 2) despite repeated attempts to politely contact the campaign for follow up or clarification on the answer given, no one has given me -- or several other BlueNC members -- the courtesy of a response. Read about the liveblog exchange and the follow up-to-nowhere below the fold.

pam :: NC: U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan refuses to answer basic questions about LGBT legislation
So here's what happened.
I submitted a set of very specific questions on LGBT issues for the Hagan liveblog several hours in advance (as did several BlueNC members on other topics), so Sen. Hagan could prepare answers ahead of time and take other questions live.

The initial questions posted to the thread:

Senator Dole has not supported any legislation before her that would extend civil rights to LGBT citizens. What are your positions on matters under consideration in the U.S. Senate that will profoundly affect gay and lesbian taxpaying citizens here in NC. Below is legislation already introduced or about to be introduced that you would cast a vote on during your term if elected.
1. Federal hate crimes legislation. Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (H.R. 1592 / S. 1105).

2. Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). One version has already passed the House. It would prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual orientation. Gender identity is included in the other version of the bill.

3. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal, which would allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. This has been introduced in the House and will likely be introduced in the Senate.

4. The Uniting American Families Act (H.R. 2221, S. 1328), that would enable an American citizen to petition for immigration sponsorship for a same-sex partner, and the INS would treat the relationships between opposite and same-sex couples in the same manner under the immigration code.

***

LGBT voters and allies in the NC (as well as thousands of my readers around the country) would also like to know your positions on these civil rights issues...

* Regarding civil marriage. In her consistent position in favor of restricting rights of LGBT citizens, Senator Dole voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment in 1996.

During a Feb. 25 forum at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, you conveyed to attendees that the definition of marriage should be left up to state law. - How is that reconciled with 1967's Loving v. Virginia, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated state bans on interracial marriages? Should that have been left a state matter? - Would you be in favor of overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act in full?

* What legal rights should tax-paying gay and lesbian couples NOT have access to if you believe that extending civil marriage is inappropriate at this time. Do you believe that there should not be parity with opposite-sex married couples regarding: - inheritance rights - hospital visitation rights - equal pension and health care benefits - and the over 1,100 other legal protections government affords couples via civil, not religious, marriage?

Thank you for your consideration.

Sen. Hagan's liveblog response:
Pam - I'm close to John Edwards on this - I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and that it's fundamentally a state issue the federal government has no business getting involved in. But I take a back seat to no one when it comes to equal opportunity and fairness. I oppose ANY form of discrimination and I believe that partnerships should be protected when it comes to financial issues, hospital visits, employment, and housing issues.
My follow up comment in the thread:
I'll take it from your answer that you would, in fact, support passage of the bills I mentioned upthread, specifically federal hate crimes legislation, transgender-inclusive ENDA, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal and The Uniting American Families Act if you were the Senator from NC. I assume this is what I can report to my readers? Please confirm, since I want to be accurate. Many thanks.
There was no response to the follow up. Knowing the breakneck speed of liveblogging can result in unclear or non-specific answers, I emailed the Q&A to Communications Director Colleen Flanagan and asked her:
While I appreciate Sen. Hagan's response given the limited time allowed, her answer is incomplete in terms of any specificity, given the pending legislation referenced. The query could have been answered with a simple "Yes" or "No" on how she would vote after each bill. Given her response, it's unclear whether it is a declaration that she would vote for passage of the pro-LGBT bills in question.
If she opposes any form of discrimination, that's in direct conflict with her initial statement that civil marriage (and I was asking about civil, not religious marriage) should not be available to lesbian and gay couples. Does her answer mean that Sen. Hagan: a) supports separate but legally-equal-on-paper civil unions? b) states extending a patchwork of legal recognitions without any recognition of the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution?

Thanks in advance for the clarification and an on-the-record response; I plan to share it with readers of my blog and BlueNC.

No response.
Since I received emails from Flanagan on other occasions, and said my email to her mistakenly went into a junk filter in the past, I made sure to send this particular message not only through another email account as well, but also to her BlueNC private message account. I left my cell phone number.

No response.

I later learned that not only had I not received any reply from the campaign to clarify Sen. Hagan's positions on LGBT legislation, other members of the BlueNC community who independently sought a follow up response didn't receive a reply.

This does not bode well for an improvement in constituent services if Sen. Hagan is elected senator, as constituent services has been one of the hallmark weaknesses of Elizabeth Dole, never mind her Bush-fawning politics. The only conclusion I can draw is that her campaign is only willing to engage with a certain segment of citizen journalists, community members and MSM journalists Hagan is comfortable with.

The questions I asked are ones I that would ask of any candidate who would represent me. They weren't "gotcha" questions, or vague general ones. Hagan is supposed to represent all of us as a U.S. Senator, and if she is not willing to respond to questions about pending legislation, then I'm left to believe that she has no intention of supporting those measures. I suppose Sen. Hagan could support all of the legislation, but her answer left it open to interpretation (though it would be simple enough to confirm with a reply that Kay Hagan would vote in these cases to affirm extending civil rights to LGBT citizens, not curtail them).

North Carolina voters who are advocates of LGBT civil rights have a right to know a U.S. Senator candidate's position, and, as I showed in my recent interview with lieutenant governor candidate Dan Besse, there are politicians in the state who have no problem addressing LGBT issues in a straightforward manner. It speaks volumes about a candidate and their campaign when basic questions go unanswered.

The irony is that Sen. Hagan co-sponsored transgender inclusive non-discrimination bills in the past in our General Assembly; this perhaps makes her liveblog answer all the more disappointing. She could have cited this experience and support, yet she chose not to, playing it safe, hoping the issue will go away.

As long as I have my soapbox, it isn't going away. I won't stop trying.

You can read reactions by the BlueNC community to Sen. Hagan's weak response over at Kosh's well-documented diary.

Related:
* Jim Neal's campaign web site
* Blend files on Jim Neal
* Jim Neal stuns James Carville into silence at NC Young Democrats event
* DSCC's Chuck Schumer is staying neutral on the N.C. Senate race - NOT
* Jim Neal picks up additional high-profile endorsements

***

UPDATE: Wow. Howie Klein's had it with Carville, Schumer, the DSCC and the rest of the machine.

Little more than a week after showing himself the most scurrilous, divisive prick in the Institutional Democratic Party, James Carville just sent me a letter asking for money. He wants my increasingly meager discretionary income on behalf of at least one of the party's runners-up on the scurrilous prick scale, Chuck Schumer.
...These assholes want my money. These assholes diluted the Democratic Party to where it meant nothing. These assholes bent the party over backwards to where it could no longer even stake itself to virtue in the face of fucking evil. These assholes, in fact, decided virtue a commodity, tradable for corporate money, the great unequalizer of American politics, and thereby ceded the party's great raison d'etre since the days of FDR, championing all the people.

...These assholes won't get cent one from me. We've got tools like ActBlue and the real progressive arbiters like the Blue America communities now, to circumvent their asses and get the pittance I can afford to the people who actually fucking deserve it. But more than anything else, this stupid, stupid letter, as much as I agree with its ostensible intentions, evinces the same kind of disconnect with reality that running corporate-embedded right-wingers as vitally needed agents of change for a system fucked by corporate embedded right-wingers. That is, Carville's spokesmanship for the DSCC represents just an absolute misfire from a basic Marketing 101 perspective.

Tags: Jim Neal, Elizabeth Dole, 2008 Election. U.S. Senate, North Carolina, Kay Hagan, (All Tags)
Print Friendly View Send As Email

NC: U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan refuses to answer basic questions about LGBT legislation | 9 comments (1 new) | Post A Comment

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment
Kay Hagan seems to think (4.00 / 1)
she can ignore the dreaded uncomfortable "gay" issue until she is elected then do some sweet talk and do nothing for us similar to Dole. Schumer is giving her pointers and how to run her race by pretending gays don't exist in NC. She is a puppet of the DSCC anyway. Sorry Kay, I don't believe you "jumped back in" under your own volition after declining. She just could not resist the clarion call from DC to stop the gay man from winning. Disgraceful conduct for The Democratic Party. Support Jim Neal. I really think he has a shot to go all the way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: Sage @ Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 07:54:38 AM EDT
[ Reply | none0: Troll1: Unproductive2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment
Sorry to post "off subject" here (3.00 / 1)
but does anyone have any insight into the positions of Richard Moore and Bev Perdue with respect to LGBT issues? My partner and I are leaning towards supporting Moore primarily because of the education issue, but we don't want to have that choice come back and bite us on LGBT issues later. We noticed the LGBT question was posed to these candidates by BlueNC but it doesn't appear that they were ever answered. Any info or direction to where information can be located would be greatly appreciated.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: A&E @ Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:19:42 AM EDT
[ Reply | none0: Troll1: Unproductive2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment
Moore and Perdue did dodge my questions (3.00 / 1)
on the BlueNC liveblog. At least our current governor, in a debate when he was up for re-election, answered (unfortunately) that he would sign a marriage amendment -- after taking gay dollars up until that point and even garnering endorsements by LGBT activist groups. Slimy, but at least he took a position.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: pam @ Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:47:42 AM EDT
[ Parent | Reply | none0: Troll1: Unproductive2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment
So, any gut feeling (3.00 / 1)
between these two? I guess if we can't find something definitive for either of them in regard to LGBT issues we will likely go with Richard Moore based on his position to college tuition.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: A&E @ Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 15:13:09 PM EDT
[ Parent | Reply | none0: Troll1: Unproductive2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment
*[new] My problem with Moore is (0.00 / 0)
his opposition to the death penalty moratorium. He thinks we need to get the death machinery rolling ASAP. Perdue is pro-death penalty, but at leasts supports the moratorium.
Neither inspire me.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: Kosh @ Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 16:18:34 PM EDT
[ Parent | Reply | none0: Troll1: Unproductive2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment
Why be surprised (3.00 / 1)
This does not bode well for an improvement in constituent services if Sen. Hagan is elected senator, as constituent services has been one of the hallmark weaknesses of Elizabeth Dole, never mind her Bush-fawning politics.

This is a Senator that wrote the Senate budget in secret, a budget which was horrible for the people of North Carolina but which every Democrat voted for. Even Ellie Kinnaird voted to slash medicaid and to give tax cuts to millionaires. Think there was any pressure given behind those closed doors?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: Robert P. @ Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:24:06 AM EDT
[ Reply | none0: Troll1: Unproductive2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment
truly disgraceful. (3.00 / 1)
Makes me ashamed to be a registered Democrat. and I assure you I have returned all requests for $$ with a large black banner stating support of of Jim Neal or no $$.

Straight for Equality

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: Orion45 @ Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:34:38 AM EDT
[ Reply | none0: Troll1: Unproductive2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment
I got a bad vibe from Hagan from day one (0.00 / 0)
when she started out fire and brimstone about what needed to be changed, then ended by talking about "reaching across the aisle" to the GOP. It was immediately apparent that she was hopelessly out of her depth.
She then went on to back immunity for telcos in the FISA bill, which shows WAY too much sympathy for corporations at the expense of individual rights and the Constitution. As I listen to her talk about the issue, it becomes apparent to me that she has no grasp of the issue, and only knows what her handlers are telling her.

David

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: Kosh @ Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 13:50:44 PM EDT
[ Reply | none0: Troll1: Unproductive2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment
a reminder: Hagan had to be persuaded to get in the race (3.00 / 1)
She initially took a very public pass on jumping into the Senate race.

After Jim Neal announced, Chuck Schumer and the party machinery got into gear to convince Sen. Hagan back in. Could it be...TEH GAY?!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: pam @ Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 14:42:49 PM EDT
[ Reply | none0: Troll1: Unproductive2: Marginal3: Good4: Excellent ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: you @ soon
To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

You must enter a subject for your comment

Post a comment: Subject:
Comment:

NC: U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan refuses to answer basic questions about LGBT legislation | 9 comments (1 new) | Post A Comment Menu
- Home
- Diaries
- Diamondark's Page
- New Diary
- Your Comments
- Hot List
- Log off Diamondark

Search the Blend
Current site

PHB 2.0 Web

Search Blend 1.0 Archives

Web PHB 1.0
Premium Sponsors

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BlogAds

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Premium Ads
Advertise on the Blend
Support the Blend
Escape to Key West Key West's warm come as you are atmosphere welcomes all visitors. This destination is a place to be open and relaxed, to make new friends, and be embraced by the town's official philosophy "One Human Family".Read more...Advertise here
Support the Blend
Liberal Headlines Read more...A BANQUET FOR BOOKCLUBS A first-rate read— you finish feeling certain the lives inside will go on long after the final page. —PEOPLE

A big, juicy, commercial Korean American coming-of-age novel. —ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

The acclaimed epic about class, society and identity. The debut of an exciting voice. BUY IT NOW!

Read more...Advertise here

NC U.S. Senate candidate
Jim Neal wins
Favorite eQualityGiving Endorsed Candidate!
His campaign receives $1,000.
Help other endorsed candidates.

Ad Networks

BlogSheroes BlogAds

In the Neighborhood...

Miscellany

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RSS Feeds

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Powered by: SoapBlox

2008-04-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

2008 Arkansas Literary Festival Schedule of Events

2008-04-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

2008 Arkansas Literary Festival Schedule of Events

.

THURSDAY, APRIL 3

Noon: “Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary.” Susan Morrison presents writings by noted authors, Darragh Center, Main Library.

6 p.m., 7:15 p.m.: National Public Radio's “The Book Guys.” Darragh Center, Main Library. Call 918-3029 for reservations.

FRIDAY, APRIL 4

Noon: “Writing About Religion for a Popular Audience.” Cecil Murphey, Robert L. Short. Main Library.

5:30 p.m.: “Rethinking Religion and Politics.” E.J. Dionne Jr., Clinton School of Public Service.

7 p.m.: Festival Author Party. Lafayette Building, $55-$100.

SATURDAY, APRIL 5

All day: “Literature Live!” Street performers read from festival authors works. River Market East Pavilion, Rock Street in front of Main Library.

9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Professional development workshop: “Cultural Competence: Critical Times, Critical Issues.” Donna Elam, Clinton Presidential Library Classroom. Reservations encouraged.

9:30 a.m.: “Dogs and Their People.” Sonny Brewer, Beth Finke, Main Library.

9:30 a.m.: “Get It Write ... Or Else.” Elise Blackwell, Tito Perdue, Cox Creative Center.

9:30 a.m.: “Delta Roots.” Margaret Jones Bolsterli, Main Library.

10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Kids' Session: “Hands On Literacy Activities.” Historic Arkansas Museum.

10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Kids' session: “Read to a Stallion.” 1850s Farmstead.

10 a.m.: Kids' session: “No Brats Allowed.” Kimberly Willis Holt, Ottenheimer Theater, HAM.

10 a.m., 1 p.m.: Kids' Session: “Puppetry: Snow White in the Dog House.” Sturgis Gallery, HAM.

10 a.m.: Kids' session: “Once Upon a Time There Was a Story Which Wanted to be Told.” Crescent Dragonwagon, Trinity Gallery, HAM.

10 a.m.: Writing workshop: “Hammer and Nail: Building Better Writing.” Joey Cole, Fribourgh Room, Main Library. Reservations encouraged.

10 a.m.: “Falling in Love with the Crescent City.” Sara Roahen, River Market Clark Room.

10:30 a.m.-noon: Professional development workshop: “Black Stallion-Inspired Literacy in the Classroom.” Larry Bramblett, Peg Smith Room, HAM. Reservations encouraged.

10 a.m.: Reader's Theatre Competition. High school student writers. Willy D's.

10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m.: Kids' Session: “Storytime with the Characters: Sarah, Plain and Tall.” Hands On History Room, HAM.

10:30 a.m.: Workshop for teens: “Introduction to Verbal Self-Defense: No Bullying Allowed (Aloud).” Suzette Haden Elgin, Cromwell Hall, HAM.

11 a.m., 2 p.m.: Kids' Session: “Puppetry: Fairytale Theater.” Sturgis Gallery, HAM.

11 a.m., 2 p.m.: Kids' Session: “Storytime with the Characters: Mother Goose.” Hands On History Room, HAM.

11 a.m.: Kids' session: “Adventures Abound.” Trenton Lee Stewart, Ottenheimer Theater, HAM.

11 a.m.: Writing Workshop. “Getting It Out There.” Caroline C. Lewis, Fribourgh Room, Main Library. Reservations encouraged.

11 a.m.: “Girl Empower.” M. Gigi Durham, Main Library.

11 a.m.: “Rising Star.” Tony Earley, Cox Creative Center.

11 a.m.: “The True Story of Reconstruction.” Douglas A. Blackmon, Pyramid Books.

11:30 a.m.: Kids' session: “Dog Tales.” Beth Finke and seeing-eye dog Hanni, Trinity Gallery, HAM.

Noon: Kids' session: “Black Stallion Rides Again.” 1850s Farmstead.

Noon: Writing workshop: “Nothing New under the Sun: Lyrics Together.” Wade Derden, Angie Macri, Fribourgh Room, Main Library. Reservations encouraged.

12:30 p.m.: “Let Us Eat Cake.” Roland Mesnier, River Market Clark Room, $12.

12:30 p.m.: “Mom-oir.” Kelly Corrigan, Main Library.

12:30 p.m.: “Why People Behave Badly.” Barbara Oakley, Cox Creative Center.

12:30 p.m.: “The African-American Experience in Fiction.” Tina McElroy Ansa, Pyramid Books.

1-3 p.m.: Professional development workshop: “How to Travel to Texas without Leaving your School.” Kimberly Willis Holt, Peg Smith Room, HAM. Reservations encouraged.

1 p.m.: Kids' session: “Prey.” Lurlene McDaniel, Ottenheimer Theater, HAM.

1 p.m.: Kids' session: “Science, Machines And More!” Linda D. Williams, Trinity Gallery, HAM.

1 p.m.: Writing workshop: “As is Painting, So is Poetry: A Conversation Between a Poet and a Painter.” Antoinette Brim, David Warren, Fribourgh Room, Main Library. Reservations encouraged.

2 p.m.: Kids' session: “Crossword Puzzles for the Family.” Trinity Gallery, HAM.

2 p.m.: Kids' session: “A New ‘Pecking Order.' ” Jacques Couvillion, Ottenheimer Theater, HAM.

2 p.m.: “Crossword Puzzles for All.” Jan Buckner Walker, Historic Arkansas Museum. Reservations encouraged.

2 p.m.: Reception for Teen Literary Champions. Main Library.

2 p.m.: “Being the Queen Mother.” Jill Conner Browne, Main Library.

2 p.m.: “Men and Their Novels: Does Gender Matter?” Brad Land, Cox Creative Center.

3 p.m.: Kids' session: “Making Dreams Come True.” Richard Mason, Ottenheimer Theater, HAM.

3 p.m.: Kids' session: “Whoooooa, Domino!” Steve Whisnant, Trinity Gallery, HAM.

3 p.m.: “Food-Shelter-Story.” Crescent Dragonwagon, River Market Clark Room, $15.

3:30 p.m.: “The New Master of Noir.” Patrick McGrath, Darragh Center, Main Library.

3:30 p.m.: “Willie Nelson, American Legend.” Joe Nick Patoski, Cox Creative Center.

3:30 p.m.: “Sci-Fi Alive.” Suzette Haden Elgin, East Room, Main Library.

7 p.m.: “Pub or Perish.” Poetry and prose readings. Sticky Fingerz, 107 S. Commerce St.

SUNDAY, APRIL 6

1:30 p.m.: “Is Peace in the Middle East Possible?” Zachary Karabell, Cox Creative Center.

1:30 p.m.: “The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy.” Robert Leleux, East Room, Main Library.

1:30 p.m.: “A Poetic Trio: Home is Where the Art Is,” Greg Brownderville, Fribourgh Room, Main Library.

1:30 p.m.: “It's a Mystery.” Ace Atkins, East Room, Main Library.

3 p.m.: “Arkansas Fiction II.” Kevin Brockmeier, Darragh Center, Main Library.

3 p.m.: “Arkansas History.” Carolyn LeMaster, Cox Creative Center.

3 p.m.: “Freelancing as a Career Option.” Jay Jennings, Joe Nick Patoski, Rebecca Skloot, East Room, Main Library.

3 p.m.: “Muslim in the Midwest.” Mohja Kahf, Pyramid Books.

4:30 p.m.: “Arkansas Fiction III.” Donald Harington, Main Library, Darragh Center.

TUESDAY, APRIL 22

10:30 a.m.: 2008 Awards Ceremony. Arkansas Literary Councils Inc. honors Arkansans who've contributed to literacy in Arkansas, State Capitol Rotunda.
http://www.arktimes.com/

The Road to Victory goes through New Orleans

2008-04-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

One of the DSCC's most important responsibilities is to keep you, our most dedicated supporters, up-to-the-minute on all the latest developments from Senate campaigns across the country. This job is especially significant during this critical election year, when so much media attention is focused on the presidential race.

That's why the DSCC's Amy Rubin is traveling to all our key states - video camera in hand - to give you the inside story on how we're going to expand our Senate majority in November.

For her most recent video, I dispatched Amy to New Orleans where she toured the devastated Lower Ninth Ward with Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu. This new clip captures the real connection between Senator Landrieu and the people she serves.

Click here to take a look at our new video from New Orleans. It's just the latest dispatch from our new series, The Road to Victory.

I've been proud to serve with Senator Landrieu as she fights for the relief and rebuilding assistance they need in Louisiana. I know that the people we talked to are ready to stand up in November and fight to make sure she is reelected.

Watch the video and you'll see one of her constituents deliver a simple and heartfelt message of support: "I believe in her. I really do."

That's all I need to hear. I'm doing everything I can to give the DSCC all the resources we need to help Senator Landrieu secure victory this fall. I hope I can count on your support every step of the way.

Sincerely,

Chuck Schumer

ucaprism] Kathy Webb to discuss Ballot Initiative this Thursday

2008-04-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Family Council Action Committee launched a campaign to place a
measure banning unmarried, cohabiting couples from adopting children or
becoming foster parents on the ballot for November's general election.

This is a VERY DISCRIMINATORY measure affecting LGBTQ people and all of
those who are not married in our state! We must continue to work with
others in our state to fight this. PRISM will be having a talk about it
in place of our meeting on Thursday.

Discussion about Ballot Initiative with
Democratic Representative from Little Rock, Kathy Webb
Thursday, April 10
X-period (1:40-2:30)
Main 14 (across the hall from our usual meeting place)

Minutes of the Meeting of UCA PRISM

2008-04-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

Minutes of the Meeting of UCA PRISM
General Meeting
April 1, 2008

A General Meeting of UCA PRISM began at 1:44 p.m. on April 1,
2008 in Old Main.

I. SGA Meeting - Members went to an SGA meeting on Monday to lobby for
support for an LGBTQ Resource Center. Vickers spoke for seven minutes
in front of the SGA about how the university needs to step up in
promoting LGBTQ diversity, instead of leaving it to PRISM. She said
that PRISM needs help with Safespace and minority services does not
offer any help to LGBTQ people. A resource center would provide a
permanent place of LGBTQ support and involvement on campus.For three
more minutes, SGA members asked questions and Vickers answered them.

II. Budget - SGA votes on RSO budgets on April 7, so we should soon
know our financial situation for the fall semester.

III. FagBug - There will be no meeting on Thursday. Instead, come Come
talk to Erin Davies about her
experiences with fagbug in the student center from 10am - 3 pm and
come to her speaking engagement at 7pm in Harrin 225. Parts of her
documentary will be shown.

IV. Queer Coalition Conference - Registration starts on Friday, April
4 at 4:30 p.m. on the 2nd floor
of the student center at the University of Central Arkansas. The
Potluck dinner starts at 5pm, so please bring some food! From
6:00-8:30 p.m., there will be a group Session with Jaison Gardner.
Breakfast starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday, and workshops and group
sessions will last until 5:30 on Saturday. Hope to see you there!

V. Literary Festival - Two gay authors that are guests of the Literary
Festival will speak on UCA campus Friday morning (April 4) in the
Library Conference Room (206) at 9 AM and at 11 AM. Robert Leleux- is
the author of
The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy, about growing up gay and pretty.
Joshus Dagon is the author of The Fallen, Demon Tears, and Into the
Mouth of the Wolf, and he will speak of being gay and writing.

VI. Representative from Little Rock - On Thursday, April 10, Kathy
Webb, an openly lesbian representative, will come and speak during our
normal meeting time.

VII. Day of Silence - PRISM will participate in the Day of Silence on
April 24 and the Breaking the Silence Rally on the Capitol on April 25.

The meeting of UCA PRISM was adjourned at 2:20 p.m. on April 1,
2008 in Old Main.

------------------------------------

***This message is courtesy of the UCA PRISM Alliance mailing list. If you are interested in joining PRISM and have not yet contacted us, please e-mail us and we will put you on our announcement list which will list activities, dates, meeting times and place.*

The organizers of the Queer Coalition Conference

2008-04-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

The organizers of the Queer Coalition Conference would like to extend a huge thank you
to all the attendees, workshop presenters, and donors who made the conference possible.

We would like to remind you to please utilize this yahoo group and the facebook group
("Queer Coalitoin Conference") to network across the state and share ideas about
upcoming projects and work on Queer and progressive issues.

There is a database on the yahoo group where you can list your contact info and any
special skills/resources you might have to offer.

Thanks again for making the conference a success. If we can ever do anything for you,
please let us know.

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/queercoalition/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/queercoalition/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:queercoalition-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:queercoalition-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
queercoalition-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

The Ghosts of Homophobia Past

2008-04-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Ghosts of Homophobia Past
Posted 4/4/2008 10:30:00 AM
Will Smith is a pretty big star:

Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet. Smith has been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammys.

(...)

He is also one of only three actors in the history of film to have seven consecutive US$100 million blockbusters, the two other being Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks.

Given that Hollywood is fairly gay-friendly, it's notable that this hasn't negatively impacted his career:

"All the homeboys that got aids be quiet
All the girls out there that dont like guys, be quiet"

Now, those lyrics are from 1986 and Smith may have not even been 18 when he wrote them. I think it's also fair to say that Will Smith's views toward homosexuality are much different today that they were in 1986 (which is probably true for most of us). But should his career have been haunted - or derailed - by his former homophia? History has provided us with the answer.

It's an unusual analogy - but I think an apt one - to the case of Conservative MP Thomas Lukiwski and his comments caught on video in 1991:

"There's A's and there's B's," he says with what appeared to be a beer bottle in his hand.
"The A's are guys like me, the B's are homosexual faggots with dirt under their fingernails that transmit diseases."

Lukiwski has again apologized, but it has not staved off calls for his resignation. To me, it would be unfair at this point to write him off as an anti-gay bigot and toss him (politically) overboard. If he can demonstrate that he is truly sorry and that his attitude toward homosexuals has evolved since then, then that should be sufficient. That said, voters in his riding might see things differently, and consider this when voting - or not voting - for him next time around. Let's leave it to them.

Posted by: Rob Breakenridge

Dr. Martin Luther King, and GLBT Pioneer Bayard Rustin.

2008-04-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

Dr. Martin Luther King, and GLBT Pioneer Bayard Rustin. Dr. King chose Rustin to organize the 1963 March on Washington.

Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, and the global media will be reminding us all of the accomplishments of Dr. King. There will also be talk of what he might have been able to accomplish if his life had not been cut short on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

Completely missing, no doubt, will be what Dr. King might have done for GLBT’s. And yet, his widow Coretta Scott King, addressed this issue quite directly during her lifetime, and it was her firm belief that Dr. King would have been a key ally in the struggle for GLBT rights.

On this sad day of remembrance, it’s not only Dr. King whom I miss, but also Coretta. She picked up the fallen torch from her husband, once again held it aloft, and worked hard to carry that torch into even darker places in the world.

http://www.hatecrime.org/subpages/coretta.html

Coretta Scott King: Homophobia Same as Racism

Of course, there's a reason the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force links the issues of African-American civil rights and gay civil rights: Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King's widow, told them to. In a remarkable address before the Task Force's annual meeting, Mrs. King gave a forceful statement on the importance of gay rights to the overall civil rights struggle (read Mrs. King's entire speech here.)

And this was not the first time Mrs. King made it clear that groups like the Concerned Women for America have no idea what they're talking about when they try to speak on behalf of African-Americans by criticizing the struggle for gay equality. Excerpts of Mrs. King's numerous public statements in favor of gay civil rights are posted below. Please feel free to cite any of the following quotations the next time a far-right extremist dares to speak on behalf of Martin Luther King and America's African-American community:

Make Room At The Table for Lesbian and Gay People

Coretta Scott King, speaking four days before the 30th anniversary of her husband's assassination, said Tuesday the civil rights leader's memory demanded a strong stand for gay and lesbian rights. "I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice," she said. "But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'" "I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people," she said. - Reuters, March 31, 1998.

Homophobia is Like Racism and Anti-Semitism

Speaking before nearly 600 people at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel,
Coretta Scott King, the wife of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Tuesday called on the civil rights community to join in the struggle against homophobia and anti-gay bias. "Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood," King stated. "This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group." - Chicago Defender, April 1, 1998, front page.

MLK's Struggle Parallels The Gay Rights Movement

Quoting a passage from her late husband's writing, Coretta Scott King
reaffirmed her stance on gay and lesbian rights Tuesday at a luncheon
celebrating the 25 anniversary of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national gay rights organization. "We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny . . . I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be," she said, quoting her husband. "I've always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all Americans who believe in democracy," King told 600 people at the Palmer House Hilton, days before the 30th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination on April 4, 1968. She said the civil rights movement "thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion." Her husband's struggle parallels that of the gay rights movement, she said. - Chicago Sun Times, April 1, 1998, p.18.

Mrs. King is Outspoken Supporter of Gay and Lesbian People

"For many years now, I have been an outspoken supporter of civil and human rights for gay and lesbian people," King said at the 25th Anniversary Luncheon for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.... "Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Ga. and St. Augustine, Fla., and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement," she said. "Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions." - Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1998, sec.2, p.4.

Sexual Orientation is a Fundamental Human Rights

We have a lot more work to do in our common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say “common struggle” because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination. - Coretta Scott King, remarks, Opening Plenary Session, 13th annual Creating Change conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Atlanta, Georgia, November 9, 2000.

We Need a National Campaign Against Homophobia

"We have to launch a national campaign against homophobia in the black community," said Coretta Scott King, widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the slain civil rights leader. - Reuters, June 8, 2001.

Justice is Indivisible

For too long, our nation has tolerated the insidious form of discrimination against this group of Americans, who have worked as hard as any other group, paid their taxes like everyone else, and yet have been denied equal protection under the law.... I believe that freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. My husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” On another occasion he said, “I have worked too long and hard against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern. Justice is indivisible.” Like Martin, I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others. So I see this bill as a step forward for freedom and human rights in our country and a logical extension of the Bill of Rights and the civil rights reforms of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. The great promise of American democracy is that no group of people will be forced to suffer discrimination and injustice. - Coretta Scott King, remarks, press conference on the introduction of ENDA, Washington, DC, June 23, 1994.

Pridelets for April 3

2008-04-03T22:27:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for April 3
The New York Times reports on this day in 1993, that an Air Force
radar instructor on Naval (AW1) Petty Officer Keith Meinhold's ship
refuses to fly with him, because being in the cockpit with a gay man is
"like being a man in the ladies restroom." (This would apparently
explain why the cockpit is unusually damp every day after the radar
instructor deplanes.)

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1791 - Diarist Anne Lister
* 1924 - Contender, Godfather, Superman's dad and Paris Tango-er,
bisexual Marlon Brando

Q.UOTE
"Hiding homosexuality is a long-tested shame in Hollywood and no
doubt continues even in these days of gay marriage and gay civil
partnerships. I agree that audiences are much less perturbed than
producers allow, by a performer's sexuality." -- Ian McKellen

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Ask & Tell: Gay and Lesbian Veterans Speak Out" by Steve Estes
http://tinyurl.com/28fs73
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was the directive of President Clinton's 1993
military policy regarding gay and lesbian soldiers. This volume recovers
the lost voices of those who served in silence, offering a rich
chronicle of the history of gay and lesbian service in the U.S. military
from World War II to the Iraq War. Drawing on more than 50 interviews
with gay and lesbian veterans, Estes charts the evolution of policy
toward homosexuals in the military over the past 65 years, uncovering
the ways that silence about sexuality and military service has affected
the identities of gay veterans. Far from undermining national security,
unit cohesion, or troop morale, Estes demonstrates, these veterans
strengthened the U.S. military in times of war and peace. He also
examines challenges to the ban on homosexual service, placing them in
the context of the wider movement for gay rights and gay liberation.

Diversity festival offers a rare social event for homosexuals

2008-04-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Diversity festival offers a rare social event for homosexuals
BY CAROLYNE PARK

Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008

Email this story | Printer-friendly version

Jan Ridenour was driving through Northwest Arkansas after visiting a relative when she stumbled onto Eureka Springs.

She liked it so much, she bought a log house on 40 acres just outside the city and went home to Boulder, Colo., intent on persuading her longtime domestic partner to move with her.

Kim Ridenour, who took Jan Ridenour’s last name 18 years ago, had never been to Arkansas. The two didn’t know anyone and weren’t sure how they would be accepted as a lesbian couple in a small Southern city.

“I was just like ‘No, no, no, ’” Kim Ridenour said.

Twenty years later, the Ridenours have made a life for themselves in Arkansas. Their online consulting business has flourished, and they’ve raised two children, now ages 18 and 23.

About 2, 000 people will converge on the city for its Diversity Weekend that begins Thursday and runs through Sunday. Held four times a year, the festival draws people from far away, even as far away as Asia and Europe, Hot Springs resident Mark Wetzel said.

“Diversity Weekend pretty much fills up the town,” Kim Ridenour said.

Homosexual and transsexual people living in Northwest Arkansas say it’s one of a limited number of social events that cater to them.

An estimated 5, 890 same-sex couples and 64, 424 homosexual and bisexual adults made up 3. 2 percent of Arkansas’ population in 2005, according to the latest figures from The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

The institute estimates that there are 1, 508 same-sex couples and 16, 864 homosexual and bisexual adults in 12 Northwest Arkansas counties: Benton, Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope, Sebastian and Washington.

Homosexual and transsexual residents say that living in Northwest Arkansas has its benefits, such as the small-town atmosphere, natural beauty, and amenities such as shopping and restaurants.

But many lament the limited social venues and a lack of connectivity within their own community.

“There is a fairly large population of people that are gay, lesbian or bisexual, but there is no community,” said Fayetteville resident J. Judd Harbin.

EUREKA SPRINGS Eureka Springs and Fayetteville are considered more gayfriendly than other Northwest Arkansas cities, but as anywhere, there are people who don’t want homosexual or transsexual people in their communities. Eureka Springs is featured in the film They’re Coming to Your Town, released in January by the American Family Association, a nonprofit group that promotes “traditional family values,” according to its Web site. The association didn’t return calls seeking comment, but the Web site says the film describes how a “small group of homosexual activists” have taken over Eureka Springs “which was known far and wide as a center for Christian entertainment.” Wetzel said Eureka Springs has long been a mecca for Arkansas’ homosexual, bisexual and transsexual residents.

“In Eureka, there are no gay bars, but no straight bars,” Jan Ridenour said. “Everyone’s accepted here.” Freelance magazine writer Michael Walsh moved to Eureka Springs from Chicago in August 2006. Tired of the bustle of city life, he was looking for a gay-friendly rural community. Friends in Berryville told him about Eureka Springs.

“I had the northerners’ perspective of Arkansas as a backward, hillbilly place,” Walsh said.

Eureka Springs proved him wrong, he said.

“It’s an amazingly progressive community,” Walsh said.

There are nearly 60 homosexual-owned businesses in town, he said. The city draws a variety of people, including liberals, religious conservatives, artists and business officials.

“It’s a mosaic of people,” Walsh said. “Eureka Springs is socially a very open place.” On June 22, 2006, the city started a domestic-partnership registry, written by Walsh and the Ridenours and approved unanimously by the Eureka Springs City Council.

It’s the first such registry in Arkansas, and its passage attracted national attention. The registry doesn’t guarantee benefits but can serve as proof of a domestic partnership for companies that offer benefits to same-sex couples.

More than 140 couples from 35 cities in 11 states have registered, Walsh said.

COMMUNITY Bridgett Kane, 25, moved to Fayetteville two years ago from Newton Falls, a town of 4, 700 in northeast Ohio. Recently divorced after a six-month marriage, she was just coming to terms with her sexuality and needed a change of scenery. Like the Ridenours, she knew nothing about the area. “I dropped everything, packed up my car and came here with nothing,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect coming to Arkansas.” Kane found friends and has been dating Courtney Curtis, 21, for a year. Both wish there were more venues for the homosexual community.

Away from a handful of nightspots, there are a few churches that welcome homosexual, bisexual and transsexual people.

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville is part of the Welcoming Congregation Program, an international initiative by the Unitarian Universalist Association to “reduce prejudice by increasing understanding and acceptance” among people of different sexual orientations, the association’s Web site says.

Donna Marie Sawyer-Tindle is president of the Northwest Arkansas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Community Center. The nonprofit started two years ago to provide services to members in Benton, Washington, Madison and Carroll counties.

The center has 78 registered members and 24 paying members. The center’s Positive Links Buddy Program, a support group for people with HIV and their friends, has 30 members.

At the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, students can join the independent student organization PRIDE (People Respecting Individual Differences and Equality ), said Harbin, the group’s faculty adviser.

The group was founded on the Fayetteville campus in 1983 to provide activities, outreach and education for students “who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and straight,” according to its mission statement.

Harbin, an assistant to the vice chancellor for student affairs at UA, said membership has fluctuated over the years, with a peak of about 200 students three years ago to about 30 members this semester.

In their daily lives, Kane and Curtis said they may hold hands in downtown Fayetteville in the early evening, but they would be more hesitant to do it late at night when they are more likely to be harassed. In some cities, they would avoid it all together.

Kane said she knows a lot of homosexual people who are afraid of admitting their sexual preferences for fear of negative repercussions from friends, family, co-workers or employers.

Sawyer-Tindle was born a man and was diagnosed with sexual-identity disorder last year. He is undergoing hormone therapy. As an independent information technology consultant, he said he works as a man for fear of discrimination.

Sawyer-Tindle said the area’s homosexual, bisexual and transsexual population is fragmented. People stay in their own social groups. The only things they have in common are “discrimination and politics,” Sawyer-Tindle said.

“We’re a dysfunctional family,” he said. “Is there really a sense of community ? Not unless there’s a common adversary. Then people come together.”

Hot judicial politics

2008-04-03T11:00:00.001-07:00

Hot judicial politics
Arkansas Times Staff
Updated: 4/3/2008

Print E-mail del.icio.us Digg this

Judicial races in Arkansas are supposed to be nonpartisan, and judicial candidates generally avoid political issues, but those conventions are being tested in Northwest Arkansas. Former state Sen. Jim Holt, a fire-eating conservative Republican and former U.S. Senate candidate, is sending letters seeking votes and contributions for Ron Williams of Springdale, a lawyer running for a seat on the state Court of Appeals.

Holt also asks support for a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit homosexuals from adopting children, and he says, “I know Ron Williams and I know he holds our values as his own. For us to protect children from unmarried cohabitating adoptive or foster parents, we must put judges in office that will interpret the law as it is written, not make new law that coincides with the wave of liberalism. That's why this election, I'm giving my money and my time to Ron Williams for the Arkansas Court of Appeals.”

Holt is prominent in the anti-immigrant movement in Arkansas, too. He says he believes “with all that's in me” that Williams will do right on cases involving illegal immigration. Holt is not just a private citizen supporting Williams. He's a paid consultant to the Williams campaign. High Integrity Marketing, which the Williams campaign has paid $4,000 for consulting, has the same address as Holt's residence. The campaign also bought $2,943 worth of signs from HIM.

Other Republicans are prominent in the Williams campaign. Northwest Arkansas is considered Republican territory.

Former U.S. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt, a Republican, has endorsed Williams' opponent, Courtney Henry of Fayetteville, though Henry's in-laws, Ann and Dr. Morriss Henry, have been Democratic activists and officeholders. Her campaign material says that any judicial candidate who'll tell voters he has a party affiliation is violating the spirit and the letter of the law.

e-STEM e-nrollment

About 1,200 students have applied so far for the 856 available seats in the new e-STEM charter schools, and a little more than half of those came from current Little Rock School District enrollees.

E-STEM's spokesman, Joe Mittiga, said 54 percent of the 856 students offered admission to the school last month come from the LRSD, and about 50 percent of those on the waiting list. Of those offered admission — through a random lottery with preference given to siblings of students who made it in — another 16 percent come from the Pulaski County Special School District, 6 percent from North Little Rock public schools, 2 percent from home schools, 14 percent from private schools, 4 percent from other charter schools, 2 percent from public schools outside Pulaski County and 2 percent from some other school, Mittiga said.

Of those on the waiting list, 13 percent are from Pulaski County public schools, 7.5 percent from North Little Rock public schools, 23 percent from private schools, 2 percent from home schools, 1 percent from other charter schools and 3.5 percent from other public schools, Mittiga said.

The school — headed by former LRSD superintendent Roy Brooks and supported financially by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette publisher Walter Hussman, among other undisclosed private donors — plans to open July 21 in the Arkansas Gazette building at Third and Louisiana with kindergarten through ninth grades, and add a grade every year through 12th grade. Mittiga said the highest number of applications were for seats in kindergarten through sixth grades; there are still a few seats open in seventh, eighth and ninth grades.

Assuming the percentages for admitted students don't change significantly, about 460 LRSD students will leave for e-STEM in the 2008-09 school year, taking at least $2.7 million in state funding with them. Pulaski County schools stand to lose about $804,000 in state money, and North Little Rock schools about $302,000.

The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony

2008-04-03T01:42:00.001-07:00

The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony

Not for Ourselves Alone

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Elizabeth_Cady_Stanton_Susan_B._Anthony/60027639?trkid=226870

Witness the dramatic story of two women who made an immensely important mark in American history -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Their fight for equality in a male-dominated society more than 100 years ago gets the exhaustive and respectful treatment it deserves in this film directed by gifted documentarian Ken Burns.

An absolutely must see Ken Burns documentary. Every person striving for equal rights today should see this documentary.

The parallels then and now are astonishing. PBS, WETA, Ken Burns production.

http://www.pbs.org/stantonanthony/ This documentary should be required viewing in American history classes.

Two parts, each an hour and a half long.

------->

The first ever Women's Convention anywhere around this planet was held in July 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York.

68 woman and 32 men voted to start the movement -- 72 years after the Declaration of Independence.

72 more years would pass before Amendment 19 in 1920 gave women the right to vote.

Unless we learn and absorb the journey, trials, experience, disappointments, and challenges of Anthony and Stanton, we will continue the delay in attainment of our equality goals today in the 21st century. I can not emphasize enough the parallels between the struggle to obtain the right to vote for women and the struggle to obtain equality for gay people. It is literally the same struggle. The same foes. The same preventing excuses.

Beginning at Seneca Falls, New York in 1848, for nearly two decades Stanton and Anthony fought tirelessly to free American women from the cult of "True Womanhood", the suffocating customs and oppressive laws that kept women powerless and confined to the home and family. In the years after the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the women's rights movement had made some progress, but the vote which they believed was the key to improving the lives of women continued to elude them.

When the Civil War brought the vote only to Black men, Stanton and Anthony reacted with anger, alienating themselves from many of their old allies. Disappointed by the 14th Amendment [see below] to the Constitution that created new obstacles for their cause, abandoned by their male comrades in the reform movement to which they had dedicated so much of their early lives, the two women decided to form their own organization, the National Woman Suffrage Association.

In the years to come as the country grew in ways no one could imagine, Stanton and Anthony would find themselves at war with conservative women over questions of political strategy, the role of religion, and the unresolved question of race. The conservative women, lead by bitter rival Lucy Stone, formed an opposing organization, the American Association.

In 1875 a constitutional amendment was introduced into congress to "give" women the right to vote. It never got out of committee. It was re-introduced every year after, taking 45 more years before that amendment would be ratified into the Constitution.

----------

Not For Ourselves Alone

Part One -- Revolution one hour and 30 minutes

1 Introduction

2 I Wish I Were A Boy

3 A Drudge Or A Doll

4 A New Revelation

5 A Reformer

6 Mental Hunger

7 Seneca Falls, NY (July 19-20, 1848)

8 A Caged Lion

10 Man's Sense of Justice

11 The Negro's Hour

12 Credits

Part Two -- Failure Is Impossible one hour and 30 minutes

1 Introduction

2 Done It! --- Susan B. Anthony put on trial in 1873 for voting!

3 Spreading The Word

4 Making History

5 Wedded To An Idea

6 The Solitude of Self

7 An Awful Hush

8 A Little Bit of Justice

9 Winter Wheat

10 Credits

----------

Thomas Jefferson had proclaimed equality the bedrock of American government but it took 144 years for women to finally achieve full citizenship in the Untied States.

----------

Susan B. Anthony

Adams, Massachusetts, February 15, 1820

Rochester, New York, March 13, 1906

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Johnstown, New York, November 12, 1815

New York City, October 26, 1902

----------

Be sure to also watch the special features "The Making of Not For Ourselves Alone". (eight minutes)

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Elizabeth_Cady_Stanton_Susan_B._Anthony/60027639?trkid=226870

http://www.pbs.org/stantonanthony/

http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=1402903&cp=&sr=1&origkw=susan+b.+anthony&kw=susan+b.+anthony&parentPage=search

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220253/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notice the use of the word "male" three times in number 2 below.

Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868. Note History

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

*****************************************************************

Sure wish Ken Burns would do a history of Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899).

http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=ingersoll&page=museum

Stonewall DEMS Elects 2008 Officers

2008-03-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

Stonewall Elects 2008 Officers

President Joe LaFountaine - stonewallarkansaspresident@gmail.com
Executive VP - Brett Miracle- stonewallarkansasevice@gmail.com
Political VP - Jada Walker- stonewallarkansaspvice@gmail.com
Treasurer - Cindy Kane- stonewallarkansastreasurer@gmail.com
Secretary - Laura Luce - stonewallarkansasinfo@gmail.com

Owner of H.G. Roosters Dead in Murder-Suicide

2008-03-22T21:47:00.001-07:00

Owner of H.G. Roosters
Dead in Murder-Suicide

Michael Brown, owner of H.G. Roosters, a bar that has been a gathering spot for the city's gay community for more than two decades, died of blows to the head and multiple stab wounds, an autopsy showed.

Police say he was the murder victim in an apparent homicide and suicide in his Flagler Drive apartment Friday evening.

The other man found dead in the apartment, Brant Hines, 27, apparently killed Brown late Wednesday or early Thursday, when a neighbor heard shouting and crashing. Hines was seen with a black eye the following day, when he answered the door of Brown's apartment, and when he walked Brown's two dogs. He answered the telephone Wednesday afternoon and said that Brown was not available when someone from H.G. Rooster's called, police said.

Mayor Joy rebukes Oklahoman's anti-gay comments

2008-03-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

Friday, March 21, 2008 3:28 PM CDT

Mayor Joy rebukes Oklahoman's anti-gay comments

By E. Alan Long, Carroll County News

EUREKA SPRINGS - Statements made by Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern (R), secretly recorded and released on YouTube.com on March 7 brought a rebuke from Mayor Dani Joy at the conclusion of Monday's's city council meeting.

Kern used Eureka Springs as an example of a town “taken over by the militant homosexual agenda,” and can be seen on the Web at http://www/youtube.com/watch v=1T7s3x4JoQ.\

The mayor's statement, released earlier on Geekfest, an electronic community bulletin board, describes Eureka Springs as “welcoming to all visitors and residents without regard to their race, color, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability or national origin. It is our hope that all people would aspire to this ideal.”

She also added that in her opinion it was appalling that Kern used Eureka Springs and its citizens to further a private agenda. Elected officials, she said, are put into office for other reasons, and added that she feels that Kern owes the city an apology.

Public Transit Director Lamont Ritchie addressed the third request he has received to relocate the Farmers' Market to the new Planer Hill park-and-ride lot.

He stated that federal regulations specifically prohibit it being used in ways incompatible with its intended use, except in incidental cases, as the project was federally funded, unlike city lots.

Ritchie said that the farmer's market, which would occupy the space at least once and possibly twice a week during the season, “far exceeds” incidental use.

Council member Rae Hahn asked if the Federal Transit Administration could look into the issue, to which Richie replied that he could make the request, but would recommend the market as inappropriate for the site.

As to Hahn's question as to whether the lot could be used during lax periods, Richie stated that because the Planer Hill lot is federally funded, it is ineligible for such an arrangement.

Mayor Joy said that market organizer Patrice Gros is emphasizing use of the Planer Hill site, rather than city-owned lots, although Pine Mountain Village continues to offer its parking lot rent-free.

Hahn's suggestion that Gros speak to the council so she could have an informed decision was met by Ritchie's disagreement that the council was uninformed, as the issue had come before it repeatedly.

Despite Ritchie's request for an immediate vote, the council decided to ask Gros to attend the next meeting for questions.

Despite the failure of his motion to discuss, again, the empty council seat for Ward 2 Position 1, during council comments, Eric Scheunemann addressed the request he had sent to State Representative Bryan King asking for clarification of wording in state code regarding the mayor's authority to veto the “election” of a member of the council, which took place on Dec. 10.

Scheuenmann read his original letter and King's response into the record. King stated that the mayor did have the authority to veto a council's appointment.

Scheunemann then read a lengthy response to King, saying “an expert's opinion of another expert is insufficient.”

He added that if the mayor can choose the representatives of the people, then they are representatives of the mayor, and not of the people.

Council member Joyce Zeller suggested, as the council had belabored the question “for months and months,” that it be taken off the table until any legal action is taken.

Dennis Hunt of Stephens Inc. the company providing bond services for the 2002 water-sewer bond, reported that the income-expense ratio for the city had shrunk between 2006 and 2007 to the point that his firm would not be able to follow through on re-financing.

Hunt stated that the city has relied too much on investment income, and that either city revenues must be increased or expenditures lessened if the bonds are to be re-financed.

Mayor Joy pointed out that the city hasn't raised water rates since 2003, and suggested that a plan should have been put in place five years ago to raise water rates gradually, rather than being forced to do so all at once.

Hahn said she was concerned regarding wording in the recently revised Historic District Commission procedures, saying there appears to be a disparity between the current city code and the updated version.

City Attorney Tim Weaver said he was not aware of any conflicts, and Hahn responded, asking how they would know if the two were in conflict.

With Hahn calling for further research, the council agreed to invite Historic District Commissioner Glenna Booth to the next meeting to address questions.

Pridelets for March 21

2008-03-21T08:55:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for March 21
On this day in 1999, following up on Rev. Jerry Falwell's assertions
that Tinky Winky is a threat to society at large, The Washington Post's
Style Invitational (humor contest) names an even greater menace to the
mavens of morality: "The American flag is homosexual. What are the
predominant colors? Red, white and blue. If you combine red with white
you get pink. If you combine red with blue you get purple. Both of these
are notorious 'gay' colors. And what is a star but a combination of
triangles?"

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1664 - Italian statesman Giulio Alberoni
* 1839 - Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky
* 1839 - Harvard mathematician James Mill Pierce
* 1901 - Bisexual American astrologer "The Circle of Sex" author
Gavin Arthur
* 1929 - Writer, actor, and activist John Paul Hudson
* 1930 - Character actor James Coco
* 1935 - German author Hubert Fichte, first author to introduce
homosexuality openly into German literature after World War II
* 1962 - Comedian, talk show, host activist and loving mom Rosie
O'Donnell
* 1976 - Former Boyzone singer Stephen Gately

STRAIGHT TALK
"It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it
well." --Rene Descartes,

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Of Drag Kings And the Wheel of Fate" by Susan Smith
http://tinyurl.com/2bgelf
A sultry, mystical novel of love and destiny, of leather jackets and
cigarettes, Of Drag Kings and the Wheel of Fate will draw you into its
passion, power, and magic, leaving you spellbound. Rosalind, a college
professor, moves to Buffalo for her first job where she meets Taryn, a
young butch tattoo artist, and they set the harsh upstate winter ablaze
with their intense attraction, but find out it is so much more than
that--all the world's their stage, and they must act on the demands of
fate, or lose everything. Smitty's eloquent prose lures you with its
beauty and captivates you with its unashamed honesty; its intensity will
overwhelm you and make you beg for more as the words burn into you.
Rosalind and Taryn will reside in your heart and soul long after you've
read this book for the 20th time. You will find the meaning of life, you
will be entranced in the sublime, and you will be grateful for the moment.

Pridelets for March 20

2008-03-20T21:11:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for March 20
On this day in 1998, gay porn star Ryan Idol plummets from his
third-floor apartment in New York City. He sustains a broken pelvis
among his other injuries in the fall. While Idol says he has no memory
of jumping, although, "I wanted to end it all, I wanted it to be over. I
didn't have a bright future, and drugs and alcohol didn't help my
situation, it depressed me even more. Everything seemed to be going
wrong." He's still around tho, appearing last year in the revival of
Terrence McNally's "The Ritz."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 43 B.C - Roman poet Ovid
* 1770 - German poet Friedrich Hölderlin
* 1890 - Famed NY Met Opera star Lauritz Melchior
* 1891 - Bisexual film director and screenwriter Edmund Goulding
* 1922 - "Quatrefoil" author "James Barr" (born James Fugaté)
* 1947 - "Same-Sex Unions in Pre-modern Europe" author John Boswell
* 1928 - Minister turned children's television friend "Mr." Fred
McFeeley Rogers, The (God Hates Fags) Westboro Church picketed Rogers'
funeral claiming the gentle Presbyterian minister's show helped
"perpetuate homosexuality."

Q.UOTE
"I don't even know why straight people want to get married because
you invite the government in your bedroom. But that's okay. It seems to
be a very basic human need that I don't share." -- Rita Mae Brown

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Trans-Sister Radio" by Chris Bohjalian
http://tinyurl.com/2bxm66
With "Trans-Sister Radio," Chris Bohjalian, confronts his very human
characters with issues larger than themselves, here tackling the
explosive issue of gender.
When Allison Banks develops a crush on Dana Stevens, she knows that
he will give her what she needs most: attention, gentleness, kindness,
passion. Her daughter, Carly, enthusiastically witnesses the change in
her mother. But then a few months into their relationship, Dana tells
Allison his secret: he has always been certain that he is a woman born
into the wrong skin, and soon he will have a sex-change operation.
Allison, overwhelmed by the depth of her passion, and finds herself
unable to leave Dana. By deciding to stay, she finds she must confront
questions most people never even consider. Not only will her own life
and Carly's be irrevocably changed, she will have to contend with the
outrage of a small Vermont community and come to terms with her lover's
new body -- hoping against hope that her love will transcend the physical.

Pridelets for March 19

2008-03-19T00:49:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for March 19
Where is GRID (Gay-related immune deficiency) popping up? It's not just
New York City and California. On this day in 1982, the Centers for
Disease Control reports that 285 cases of the disease (which will
eventually be known as AIDS) have been announced in seventeen states.

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1850 - Novelist "Octave Thanet" (AKA Alice French)
* 1872 - Russian impresario (Nijinsky's lover) Sergei Diaghliev
* 1938 - Dr. Daniel Curzon-Brown, author of the landmark gay protest
novel "Something You Do in the Dark"
* 1953 - B-52's guitarist Ricky Helton Wilson

Q.UOTE
"You know, I think 'God save the Queen' was first written for Oscar
Wilde." -- "Laugh-In's" Judy Carne

SPIN IT
The B-52's "Funplex"
http://tinyurl.com/25ujmy
Like a time capsule, the B-52s' first album in 16 years reanimates
that familiar fusion of danceable post-punk and bizarrely conceived
songs of the oldest new wave. After sitting out 1992’s "Good Stuff,"
Cindy Wilson returns to the love shack, joining fellow bee-hiver Kate
Pierson on mouth-watering vocals and harmonies circa "Wild Planet."
Colossal hooks jostle relentless rhythms, oddball lyrics, and the
outrageous voice of Fred Schneider, who struts like a peacock through
this infectious 11-track mix of frolic and frivolity. The songs are
inspired by Fellini movies ("Juliet of the Spirits"), Athens, Georgia
lore ("Hot Corner"), and the shopping mall ("Funplex"), and thanks to
the band’s melody creator, Keith Strickland, they shimmy, shake, and
house-quake all night long. Out of the blue and virtually as fun as a
party out of bounds, "Funplex" is a dee-lightful reunion record. --
Scott Holter

Pridelets for March 17

2008-03-17T13:06:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for March 17
What's the deal with bears? Camille Paglia (over)explains it all in
her Salon.com column on this day in 1999. "In their defiant hirsutism,
gay bears are more virile than the generic bubble-butt junior stud,
since body hair is stimulated by testosterone. But the bears' fatness
resembles not the warlike Viking mass of a Hell's Angel but the
capacious bosom of the primal earth mother. The gay bear is
simultaneously animalistic and nurturing, a romp in the wild followed by
nap time on a comfy cushion. The Greek-style pretty ephebe is a cold
visual icon, tauntingly remote and ultimately ungraspable. The bear,
however, offers warm, soothing regression to what Freud calls the
polymorphous perverse, the whole-body tactility of early childhood. My
working theory is that the gay bear as a sexual persona is a mythic
father-mother, a parental fusion like the androgynous Egyptian river god
Hapi or the Roman Father Tiber, bearded and jovially recumbent amid his
swarm of rollicking cherubs."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1866 - pioneering American female photographer Elizabeth Alice Austen
* 1910 - activist/ co-"Dreamer" Bayard Rustin
* 1938 - Dance legend Rudolf Nureyev
* 1969 - British fashion designers Alexander McQueen (Lee McQueen)

Q.UOTE
"I've been shocked by the amount of emails I've gotten from men who
want to go out with me! And who think I'm really cute and who want to
lick me from head to toe." -- Project Runway's Chris March

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
Tales from the Bear Cult: Best Bear Stories from the Best Magazines,
Bearotica for Your Inner Goldilocks" edited by Mark Hemry and Jack Fritscher
http://tinyurl.com/yvsczl
Hand-picked by a dozen magazine editors from "Bear," "Classic Bear,"
"American Bear," "American Grizzly," "Drummer," "Men," "Indulge,"
"Hippie Dick," and "Target" magazines, these 17 short stories light up
the world of Bears and Cubs emerging as a species within the diverse gay
world. Masculine adventure stories meet men's love stories. Comedy mixes
light erotica with some serious themes. Young Bear Culture counters the
Gay Over-Culture where Bears' potential is often circumscribed by their
sexuality of the homomasculine kind, because Bears famously explode
stereotypes of gay beauty into new archetypes.
These stories show Bears are a fresh new movement in the queer world.
Post-plague and post-political-correction, the thousands of men in the
Bear Movement demonstrate it`s okay for gay men to be masculine again,
celebrating all the primary joys and secondary sex characteristics of
beards, hairy bodies, and belly-up-to-the-bar-boys sex. The 18 pages of
new G-rated photographs by Palm Drive Video reference photographer Chris
Nelson's best-selling coffee-table photo book, "The Bear Cult" with its
introduction by famed British cultural critic, Edward Lucie-Smith.
Credentials out-the-wahzoo of the 11 featured authors are: Jack
Fritscher, editor emeritus of "Drummer," with more than 4,000 pages in
print including "Bear Book II," Haworth Press; Simon Sheppard,
best-selling editor of "Rough Stuff," Alyson Publications; Ron Suresha,
editor of the nonfiction book, "Bears on Bears" 2001, Alyson; Charles
Eldridge, frequent contributor to "American Bear" magazine; Bob Vickery,
frequent contributor to Brush Creek Media/"Bear" magazine; as well as
Jay Neal, "A Returning Appetite"; Mike White, "Stormy Weather"; Kerry
Bashford, "Bodily Fluids"; George Madison, "Hippie Hitchhiker"; and Bob
Condron whose stories, written in Berlin, appear in "Bar Stories,"
Alyson, and "Chasing Danny Boy," Palm Drive.

Pridelets for March 12

2008-03-12T02:37:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for March 12
What does the Revolutionary War have to do with same-sex marriage?
Everything says moralist Robert H. Knight on this day in 1997 in
testimony before the Maryland legislature: "Our forefathers, including
great patriots from Maryland, fought a war largely over taxation without
representation. What would they think of this far greater intrusion into
the intimate areas of citizens' lives?"

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1710 - English composer Thomas Augustine Arne
* 1776 - English traveler Lady Hester Stanhope, "the last of the
eighteenth century eccentrics"
* 1890 - Ballet dancer and choreographer Vaslav Fomich Nijinsky
* 1922 - Beat poet and novelist Jack Kerouac
* 1926 - Poet James Merrill
* 1928 - "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" playwright Edward Franklin
Albee III
* 1946 - Dorothy's daughter, Diva, and possessor of the world's worst
gaydar -- Liza Minnelli
* 1963 - Author writer Randall Kenan
* (year not given) Director, actor, teacher, student, author of books
on film Frank Miller

Q.UOTE
"Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it. A good
writer turns fact into truth; a bad writer will, more often than not,
accomplish the opposite." -- Edward Albee

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Rascals: The Erotic Fantasies of Todd Yeager"
by Todd Yeager
http://tinyurl.com/yrnz7b
Todd Yeager's art is strong stuff. His drawings take us on a bracing
and thrilling journey to the dark depths of manly desire and sexual
abandon! Unsoiled, clean-shaven youth is not in Yeager's vocabulary.
Instead, his artistry leads us in search of unadulterated masculinity.
The unexpected intensity of these monochrome drawings sends a shiver
down the spine of the observer and reveals the promising potential of
this one-of-a-kind artist.

Pridelets for March 11

2008-03-11T12:55:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for March 11
How's the trans-revolution going? "I'm meeting more and more cool
queer het people and, sad to say (or not sad, depending on your point of
view), more and more what might be called straight lesbians and gay men.
It seems they were right when they said they were just like straight
folks except for who they slept with. Well, I'm not and neither are a
lot of folks. I think who we sleep with has less to do with being queer.
It's more of a value system, isn't it? And folks who are queer, or who
want to be, are way in sync with the stuff I'm saying. Folks who are
straight, or want to be, have a more difficult time with this
gender-transgressing stuff," says Trans writer Kate Bornstein on this
day in 1998.

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1957 - The Grand Empress of Savannah," drag queen The Lady Chablis
AKA Benjamin Edward Knox, immortalized in "Midnight in the Garden of
Good and Evil"
* 1544 - Italian poet Torquato Tasso
* 1897 - Composer Henry Cowell
* 1904 - Bisexual surrealist painter Salvador Dali
* 1942 - American poet Joe Brainard
* 1967 - Scottish American "Doctor Who" actor, musical performer,
dancer, singer, and TV presenter John Barrowman

Q.UOTE
"I have come to represent a sad person’s view of a gay person." --
Quentin Crisp, An Evening with Quentin Crisp

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Sensuous Magic: A Guide for Adventurous Lovers" by Pat Califia
http://tinyurl.com/2dttrj
Renowned erotic pioneer Pat Califia provides this honest,
unpretentious peek behind the mask of dominant/submissive sexuality and
adventurous adult world of pleasure often obscured by ignorance and
fear. With her trademark wit and insight, Califia demystifies the scene
for the novice, explaining the terms and techniques behind many
misunderstood sexual practices. The adventurous (or just curious) lover
won't want to miss this volume.

Pridelets for March 10

2008-03-11T02:40:00.001-07:00

Pridelets for March 10
On this day in 1995, David Caton, head of the Florida chapter of the
American Family Association, suggests that "homosexuality be discouraged
by photographing patrons entering Gay bars and posting these photos in
public places such as the post office."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1934 - Artist Bhupen Khakhar
* 1934 - "City of Night" Novelist/bodybuilder John Rechy
* 1936 - Amateur historian and French gay militant Pierre Hahn , who
received the first doctorate given in France for work in the field of
gay history
* 1955 - playwright / performance artist and Holly Hughes
* 1958 - AIDS activist/supporter and "Basic Instinct's" killer
bisexual Catherine Tramell, Sharon Stone
* 1932 - British businessman and politician Michael Montague, Baron
Montague of Oxford CBE

Q.UOTE
"If I was, why hide it? It's not as if the music business would be an
odd place for a gay man to work. And anyway, if I was trying to hide the
fact that I was gay, I would be off playing rugby every Saturday,
wouldn't I?" -- American Idol judge Simon Cowell

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"About My Life and the Kept Woman: A Memoir" by John Rechy
http://tinyurl.com/2e3g5f
The untold personal life story of the novelist whom Gore Vidal has
hailed as "one of the few original American writers of the last
century." John Rechy's first novel, "City of Night," is a modern classic
and his subsequent body of work has kept him among America's most
important writers. Now, for the first time, he writes about his life, in
a volume that is a testament to the power of pride and self-acceptance.
Rechy was raised Mexican-American in Texas, at a time when Latino
children were routinely discriminated against. As he grew older -- and
as his fascination with a notorious kept woman from his childhood
deepened -- Rechy became aware that his differences lay not just in his
heritage but in his sexuality. While he performed the roles others
wanted for him, he never allowed them to define him -- whether it was
the authoritarians in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, the bigoted
relatives of his Anglo college classmates, or the men and women who
wanted him to be something he was not. "About My Life and the Kept
Woman" is as much a portrait of intolerance as of an individual who
defied it to forge his own path.

Oklahoma legislator's anti-gay comments stir hostile reaction

2008-03-11T00:54:00.001-07:00

Oklahoma legislator's anti-gay comments stir hostile reaction

Associated Press - March 10, 2008 2:15 PM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Republican state Representative Sally Kern says she's been getting death threats since telling a political group that - quote - "the homosexual agenda is just destroying this nation."

Kern told a group of Republicans that according to God's word homosexuality is not the right kind of lifestyle and that it's not good for the nation.

The comments were recorded and posted on the Web site YouTube.

Kern said today she's gotten more than 3,000 e-mails and hundreds of phone calls since the comments were posted online. She says a few support her but most condemn her and some include death threats and obscenities.

In her recorded comments Kern expressed concern that gay candidates "are winning elections" and control city councils in Arkansas, Maryland and other states.

She also said gays are indoctrinating young public school children that their lifestyle is acceptable and she says it will destroy the nation.

Spring Diversity Weekend April 3-6, 2008

2008-03-11T00:09:00.000-07:00

Spring Diversity Weekend

April 3-6, 2008

Dear Eureka Springs, Business Owners, Eureka Pride Members and Citizens,

Each Spring and Fall Diversity, Eureka Pride places an ad in the Lovely County Citizen that lists and thanks the Sponsors of Eureka Pride.

This Spring, Eureka Pride would like to include the the names of any individual or business that would like to express support for Diversity Weekends.

And AT NO CHARGE.

If you would like me to include your name, business or organization, please e-mail markwetzel@sbcgloabl.net by March 24, 2008.

If you want to really show your support, the Lovely County Citizen offers signature ads at a very reasonable price.

Anyone wishing to contribute toward the ad expense or contribute a store gift certificate as a prize at the Friday April 4, Meet N Greet local charity raffle, please send to Diversity Weekend LLC, 138 St Martinique Way, Hot Springs, AR. 71913.

For those with merchandise for the the raffle, please send an e-mail to me and we can arrange for a convenient pickup.

One more thing: If you want to offer a discount to couples who register for a Domestic Partnership--as many of you graciously did last year--alert Michael Walsh at michael5976@sbcglobal.net. It's good public relations and another free way to advertise your business to visitors.

Thank You,
Sparky

PRISM is hosting a speaker tomorrow during x=period.

2008-03-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

PRISM is hosting a speaker tomorrow during x=period. Come to
Laney 102 to see her speak and bring people with you!

Event Info Name: Magdalen Hsu-Li
Tagline: Musician, Artist, Speaker, Cultural Activist
Host: PRISM
Type: Education - Lecture
Time and Place Date: Thursday, March 6, 2008
Time: 1:40pm - 2:30pm
Location: UCA Campus Laney 102 (Chemistry Building) During x-period
City/Town: Conway, AR

Description
"Magdalen Hsu-Li is an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter,
painter, and cultural activist that is redefining the female musician
and smashing the ceiling in the American music industry."

Magdalen examines issues including race, ability/disability, sexual
orientation, and more.

She will be giving a lecture about the "Redefinition of Identity."
This lecture has an LGBT, Asian, and Feminist focus.

Arkansas Blog Arkansas times blog

2008-02-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

Arkansas TIMES Arkansas Blog

Today I am an Obamaist
Barack Obama released a letter to the LGBT community today. He's a candidate for president, perhaps soon to face a Republican attack machine that has feasted off this very issue for years. He need not have spoken so frankly. But he did. (UPDATE: This letter's release coincided with ads in gay publications in large cities in coming primary states.) It's awesome. Excerpt:

Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage. Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system.

RELATED TOPICS: 1) One gay writer says Obama is just now making up for an earlier outrage. 2) There will be a screening of "For the Bible Tells Me So," an examination of Christianity and homosexuality, at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 29, at First Presbyterian Church in Little Rock. An Arkansas couple featured in the film will speak.

Full letter on jump.

OPEN LETTER FROM BARACK OBAMA

"I’m running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all – a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters. It’s wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class citizens in this nation. And I ask for your support in this election so that together we can bring about real change for all LGBT Americans.

Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage. Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system.

The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When it comes to prevention, we do not have to choose between values and science. While abstinence education should be part of any strategy, we also need to use common sense. We should have age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception. We should pass the JUSTICE Act to combat infection within our prison population. And we should lift the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. In addition, local governments can protect public health by distributing contraceptives.

We also need a president who’s willing to confront the stigma – too often tied to homophobia – that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to evangelicals at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, and will continue to speak out as president. That is where I stand on the major issues of the day. But having the right positions on the issues is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and implement fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and discrimination in the workplace, we need to bring the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well as friendly ones – and that’s what I’ve done throughout my career. I brought this message of inclusiveness to all of America in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention. I talked about the need to fight homophobia when I announced my candidacy for President, and I have been talking about LGBT equality to a number of groups during this campaign – from local LGBT activists to rural farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King once preached.

Just as important, I have been listening to what all Americans have to say. I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans. But neither will I close my ears to the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary.

Americans are yearning for leadership that can empower us to reach for what we know is possible. I believe that we can achieve the goal of full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this country. To do that, we need leadership that can appeal to the best parts of the human spirit. Join with me, and I will provide that leadership. Together, we will achieve real equality for all Americans, gay and straight alike."

Posted by Max Brantley on February 28, 2008 04:27 PM

New sentencing hearing ordered for two convicted of hate crime

2008-02-29T06:57:00.000-08:00

New sentencing hearing ordered for two convicted of hate crime
Friday, Feb 29, 2008

Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK - A federal appeals court Thursday ordered a new sentencing hearing for two men convicted in 2006 of burning a cross in front of the home of a black man at Fouke in Southwest Arkansas.

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled Christopher Mitchell and James Bradley Weems, each sentenced to a month in prison followed by five months home detention, two years probation and a $2,000 fine, were "deeply involved in the conspiracy" and should have been sentenced accordingly.

The appeals court overruled U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes, who concluded at a sentencing hearing the two men were minor participants in the crime.

In Thursday's decision, the appeals court said the Mitchell and Weems attended a party with several friends at Christopher Baird's home in Fouke on Aug. 2, 2005. At the party the men talked about a black man who lived nearby and used racial slurs to discuss the neighbor.

Later in the evening, Mitchell, Weems and Baird built a cross out of wooden boards, went to the neighbor's home, planted the cross in the front yard and set it on fire, the court said.

Baird later pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to threaten and intimidate a black man in the free exercise and enjoyment of his housing rights. He was sentenced, under the federal court's three-level enhancement for hate crime motivation, to six months home detention, three years probation and fined $2,000.

He could have been sentenced to up to a year in prison but received reductions for acceptance of responsibility and cooperation with the government.

Mitchell and Weems were found guilty of the same offense after a trial, but the federal judge granted their request for a two-level reduction for being minor participants in the conspiracy.

Federal prosecutors appealed the sentencing, arguing Barnes erred by not using the three-level enhancement.

The 8th Circuit panel overturned Barnes' ruling Thursday.

"Because the jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that Weems and Mitchell selected the victim because of his race, the district court should have applied the three-level enhancement when calculating the correct guidelines range," the appeals court said.

Pridelets for February 29

2008-02-29T06:06:00.001-08:00

Pridelets for February 29
On this day in 2004, New York Times columnist Frank Rich suggests
that the battle is over: "Here's the denouement of the epic drama over
gay marriage. It's going to happen, it's going to happen within a
generation, and it's going to happen even though George W. Bush teed off
his re-election campaign this week by calling for a constitutional
amendment to outlaw it. As the country has now had weeks to digest, it
has already happened in bulk in San Francisco, where images of couples
waiting all night in the rain to be wed finally wiped Janet Jackson off
our TV screens. The first of those couples, Phyllis Lyon, 79, and Del
Martin, 83, were celebrating a partnership of 51 years. Take that,
heterosexual marriage! The most famous practitioner of mixed-sex
nuptials this year, Britney Spears, partook of a Vegas marriage that
clocked in at 55 hours. ... The big picture remains the same: this is a
revolution churning unstoppably through the culture, where it took root
long before the law and politicians, especially those in Washington,
started to catch up. As the fulcrum of a culture war in a presidential
campaign year, same-sex marriage now promises to explode with a
vengeance as yet absent in San Francisco. America would be the loser,
and so might either political party."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1916 - Gay icon Frances Rose "Dinah" Shore
* 1948 - one of the most successful African-American fashion
designers in fashion history, Willi Donnell Smith
* 1956 - Serial killer Aileen Wuornos, portrayed in the film "Monster"
* 1972 - HIV+ "The Real World" cast member and AIDS activist Pedro Zamora
* 1972 - Actor Antonio Sabato, Jr.

Q.UOTE
"I don't design clothes for the Queen, but for the people who wave at
her as she goes by." -- Willi Smith

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Me2: A Novel of Horror" by M. Christian
http://tinyurl.com/yttkae
He looks just like you. He acts exactly like you. He takes away your
job. He steals your friends. He seduces your lover. Every day he becomes
more and more like you, pushing you out of your life, taking away what
was yours...until there's nothing left. Where did he come from? Robot?
Alien? Clone? Doppleganger? Evil twin? Long lost brother?
A shocking new view of queer identity, ME2 is a groundbreaking and
wildly twisted novel that you'll remember for a long time--no matter who
you are, or who you think you may be.

This will be published in various outlets in Texas and Ohio. I learned about it through Rawstory.com.

2008-02-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

This will be published in various outlets in Texas and Ohio. I learned about it through Rawstory.com.

[Editor's note:] The following letter was released by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to GLBT Americans. This letter follows the announcement that the Obama campaign will be taking out full page ads in GLBT newspapers in Ohio and Texas beginning Friday. Read Obama's previous Bilerico guest post A Call for Full Equality.

I’m running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all – a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters. It’s wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class citizens in this nation. And I ask for your support in this election so that together we can bring about real change for all LGBT Americans.

Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage. Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system.

The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When it comes to prevention, we do not have to choose between values and science. While abstinence education should be part of any strategy, we also need to use common sense. We should have age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception. We should pass the JUSTICE Act to combat infection within our prison population. And we should lift the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. In addition, local governments can protect public health by distributing contraceptives.

We also need a president who’s willing to confront the stigma – too often tied to homophobia – that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to evangelicals at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, and will continue to speak out as president. That is where I stand on the major issues of the day. But having the right positions on the issues is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and implement fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and discrimination in the workplace, we need to bring the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well as friendly ones – and that’s what I’ve done throughout my career. I brought this message of inclusiveness to all of America in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention. I talked about the need to fight homophobia when I announced my candidacy for President, and I have been talking about LGBT equality to a number of groups during this campaign – from local LGBT activists to rural farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King once preached.

Just as important, I have been listening to what all Americans have to say. I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans. But neither will I close my ears to the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary.

Americans are yearning for leadership that can empower us to reach for what we know is possible. I believe that we can achieve the goal of full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this country. To do that, we need leadership that can appeal to the best parts of the human spirit. Join with me, and I will provide that leadership. Together, we will achieve real equality for all Americans, gay and straight alike.

Jessi

Pridelets for February 28

2008-02-28T04:35:00.000-08:00

Pridelets for February 28
On this day in 2004, Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton declares that
"people fighting against same sex unions exhibit only disgust and
disdain while they spew hatred and inhumanity. And if a state marriage
amendment passes the forces of bigotry and hatred will have had their say."

The religious right attack the legislator saying that "He's the one
promoting bigotry and hatred ... His harsh and deliberate attacks on the
motives and sincerely held convictions of hundreds of thousands of
Minnesotans is unacceptable. He owes the people of Minnesota a public
apology."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1468 - Pope Paul III
* 1533 - French essayist Michel de Montaigne (one of the first
authors to refer to lesbianism in their works)
* 1824 - Austrian-born journalist, Karl-Maria Kertbeny (creator of
the term "homosexual")
* 1909 - English poet Stephen Spender
* 1910 - Judy's hubby, and Liza's dad Vincente Minnelli (great
marital judgment runs in the family, don't it?)
* 1939 - Dancer Tommy Tune
* 1994 - "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Q.UOTE
"Homophobia is in large part born of the male's fear of the feminine;
and not just on the part of straight men but gay men as well. Too many
gay men idealize straight acting--which is nothing more than another
rejection of the feminine. Our society holds the feminine in contempt:
Most women are weak and frequently incompetent when compared to men.
The exceptions are dykes or bitches. Gay men exhibit what appear to be
feminine traits making them womanly inferior creatures and worse,
defective men." -- Richard Rothstein

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Straight Acting: Gay Men, Masculinity and Finding True Love" by
Angelo Pezzote
http://tinyurl.com/2dwvaf
Finding, let alone building, a strong relationship can still be
challenging for gay men. The reason? Masculinity. All men, gay or
straight, have been socialized to believe that to be overtly gay is
unmanly and shameful. To compensate, many gay men adopt a macho,
"straight acting" pose that blocks them from being their full selves,
expressing their true feelings and forging real, lasting connections.
In "Straight Acting," Angelo Pezzote encourages readers to go beyond
limiting ideas of how "real" men should behave, and leave behind
out-dated ways of being that create stumbling blocks to deeper intimacy.
Drawing on his years of experience as a gay psychotherapist and advice
columnist, he offers practical and thoughtful relationship strategies,
with tips on subjects that include coming out, dating, how to avoid
falling for a player, how to maintain a sizzling, satisfying sex life,
navigating open relationships, and much more. Most of all, he delivers
crucial insights on the importance of ditching the macho act and
learning to be true to yourself. Whether you're single and sick of it,
wanting to move closer to your partner, or wondering how to meet someone
for the very first time, let Angelo show you how to get real and get
him. Put yourself out there to get--and keep--the love you want.

Minutes of the Meeting of UCA PRISM

2008-02-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

Minutes of the Meeting of UCA PRISM
General Meeting
February 27, 2008

A General Meeting of UCA PRISM began at 1:44 p.m. on February 27,
2008 in Old Main.

I.Thursday, March 6th, X-PERIOD p.m., Laney 102 – Redefinition of
Identity Lecture -Magdalene Hsu-Li, a bisexual, female, singer,
activist will speak and play her guitar.
There will not be a large concert.

II. Movie and a speaker – CAR and DYSC will show "The Bible Tells Me
So" and Mary Lou Waldren, whom PRISM had speak last October, will
speak after the movie. The movie and talk will be at the DYSC
meeting on Friday, February 29 at 6:30pm on 800 Scott Street at 1st
Presbyterian Church in Little Rock. Please bring school supplies for
poor children in Africa. There will be a carpool in front of Main.
Meet at 5:15 p.m., leave at 5:30 p.m.

III. Tax Day, April 15, Protest in Front of Post Office – LGBT
Community does not get equal rights, why do we have to pay equal taxes?

IV. Raising Awareness on Campus - RA Training will be on Friday, March
7th.

V. REGISTER ONLINE FOR CONFERENCE! Go to the Yahoo group "queercoaltion".

VI. Next Year – PRISM will bring Jessica Petitt to speak next October.
Contact Vickers if you have other ideas for PRISM events for the
2008-2009 school year.

The meeting of UCA PRISM was adjourned at 2:20 p.m. on February 27,
2008 in Old Main.

***This message is courtesy of the UCA PRISM Alliance mailing list. If you are interested in joining PRISM and have not yet contacted us, please e-mail us and we will put you on our announcement list which will list activities, dates, meeting times and place.***

The NWA GLBT Community Center is gearing up for its 2nd Annual Fund Raising Gala

2008-02-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

The NWA GLBT Community Center is gearing up for its 2nd Annual Fund Raising Gala. “

Category: Life

The NWA GLBT Community Center is gearing up for its 2nd Annual Fund Raising Gala. " A Star Studded Night" will be held Friday, June 27, 2008 at the Clarion Inn in Fayetteville. The event will prove to be an exciting 'night among the stars' as members of the GLBT CC along with friends and family members enjoy a lavish buffet dinner and live entertainment. The event has been strategically placed on PRIDE weekend and will be considered the Kick-off of all kick-offs. Tickets are $50 each and will be on sale soon. We are in need of several workers to help make this year's Gala the best it can be! With just a little effort from numerous people the Community Center will undoubtedly see record breaking attendance and profits.
Our goal this year is to raise at least $8,600.00 and see 296 guests at the event.
Will you help make this year's event a success?
We will be discussing the details of the following positions this coming Sunday, March 2, 2008 at the GLBT CC General Meeting at the Jones Center in Springdale.
1.Marketing and Publicity Team- Captain and 1 person.
a.This team will be responsible for consistent publicity of the event
b.Marketing and publicity experience is helpful but not required.
2.Corporate and Ad Book Team-Captain and 5 people.
a.This team will be responsible to talking with local business owners asking for their support by placing an ad in the program book.
b.Good selling skills are needed for this.
3.Ticket Team-Captain and 10 people.
a.This team will be responsible for the bulk of ticket sales.
4.Auction Team-Lead by Faith Sawyer-Tindle, Captain and 3 people.
a.This team will be responsible for soliciting business owners for donated items for the Silent Auction.
b.Will also be responsible for handling the Silent Auction during the event.
5.Decorating Team-Michael Burks, Event Coordinator and 10 people.
a.This team will be responsible for the development of all decorations for the event.
b.Most work for this team will be required on the day of the event.
c.Starting time to be announced.
6.Host/Hostess Team- Captain and 3 people.
a.This team will be the door greeter for the event
b.Will be required to be at the entrance from 6 p.m. to 8p.m.
c.Will be responsible for seating guests at the proper tables.
7.Clean-up Team –Michael Burks, Event Coordinator and 10 people.
a.This team will be required to stay after the event to help un-decorate the event hall.
b.It will take 1-2 hours of steady work to complete the clean-up.
8.Membership Registration Team- captain and 2 people.
a.This team will be posted at the membership table for new members' applications and collecting of dues.

--
If you do not want to receive any more newsletters, this link

To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit this link
Forward a Message to Someone this link

Pridelets for February 25

2008-02-26T01:52:00.000-08:00

Pridelets for February 25
"I'm Morley Safer ... What makes this man so undesirable as a teacher
of public-school children? His credentials are excellent. Yet he has
been removed from the classroom. The suburban community of Rockville,
Maryland, is divided on the question of this man's life and its effect
on their children. Tonight on 60 Minutes, on this day in 1973: 'The Case
of Joe Acanfora.'"
"Two days ago a U.S. District Court judge in Maryland began to
consider the dilemma of a man who is fighting to get back the job he was
hired for. The case has broad ramifications for a minority group which
may number as high as 10 percent of the population. More than the career
of one man is at issue here, What may be on trial is the right of any
person to hold a job, regardless of the nature of his or her private
life, The drama is being played out in a suburban community of 40,000 -
16 miles from Washington.
This is Parkland Junior High School, Montgomery County, Rockville,
Maryland. Last September the school hired a new teacher, a young
graduate of Penn State University. His name is Joe Acanfora and he was
hired to teach eighth-grade science. But a month after he began, the
school board relieved him of his classroom duties and put him into a
behind-the-scenes job where he would have no contact with children, And
they went further: they told Joe Acanfora he could not enter the school
if there were children present.
The school board claims it was simply exercising its right to
transfer personnel as it sees fit. Joe Acanfora says he was relieved of
his classroom duties because he is a homosexual. But Joe Acanfora wants
to teach - so much so that he is now suing the school board for
violating his constitutional rights."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1928 - Poet Gerrit Lansing
* 1889 - Hollywood producer Paul Bern
* 1803- English poet Reverend Richard Hurrell Froude, the gadfly of
the Oxford movement

Q.UOTE
"When Hillary Clinton was in the White House I really thought there
was hope for her. And then she became the senator from New York and I
thought 'hurray, hallelujah, she's from New York, she's representing us,
her fashion will really be ramped up,' but I think she's confused about
what her gender is. She's so mannish in her dress, and I believe the
suits are probably made out of Kevlar. I just don't get it. There is one
Capitol Hill leader whose fashion I think can't be beat and that's Nancy
Pelosi." -- Tim Gunn

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"One Teacher in 10" by Kevin Jennings
http://tinyurl.com/23ty22
From the director of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network
(GLSEN) comes a new collection of accounts by openly gay and lesbian
teachers who tell about their struggles and victories as they have put
their own careers on the line to fight for justice.
Kevin Jennings is the founder and executive director of GLSEN. He
lives in New York City.

Pridelets for February 20

2008-02-20T01:27:00.001-08:00

Pridelets for February 20
On this day in 2004, the National Catholic Reporter endorses same-sex
marriage saying that "The ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court of
Massachusetts allowing same-sex civil marriage is a beneficial step
along the path of human understanding and human rights."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1872 - The seventh Earl of Beauchamp, William Robert Lygon
* 1927 - Self-loathing lawyer, assistant to Sen. Joseph McCarthy
during the witch-hunt for communists, Roy Cohn
* 1958 - Actor James Wilby (of "An Ideal Husband," "Gosford Park,"
and "Maurice")
* 1966 - supermodel and actress Cindy (Cynthia Ann) Crawford, who
once took out a joint $300,000 London newspaper ad (protesteth-ing too
much) that they were "heterosexual, monogamous, and in love"
* 1966 - AIDS activist Stephen Gendin
* 1967 - Bisexual Nirvana lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Kurt
Donald Cobain
* 1969 - Drag queen, performance artist, painter, independent
curator, composer, and writer Vaginal Davis
* 1985 - t.A.T.u. singer Yuliya Olegovna Volkova, who faked being a
lesbian to promote her group's album sales
* 1948 - Crossbench member of the House of Lords, John Browne, Baron
Browne of Madingley

STRAIGHT TALK
"I was licking jelly off of my boyfriend's penis and all of a sudden
I'm thinking, 'Oh My God, I'm turning into my mother!'" -- Sarah Silverman

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Absolute Brightness" by James Lecesne
http://tinyurl.com/2dvlcc
Darkness: Where light is not.
Light: Brightness or illumination from a particular source.
Absolute brightness: The mystery of Leonard Pelkey.
This is the story of a luminous force of nature: a boy who encounters
evil and whose magic isn't truly felt until he disappears.

James Lecesne is an author, actor, and activist, whose film Trevor
received an Academy Award for best short film. James cofounded the
Trevor Helpline, a 24-hour suicide-prevention hotline for lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgendered, and questioning teens. He lives in New York City.

Pridelets for February 19

2008-02-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

Pridelets for February 19
On this day in 1976, Ron McCrea's "Leaving the Gay Life Behind: Is it
Choice or Coercion?" in the questions "behavior modification" (what is
not yet known as the 'Ex-Gay' Movement). Among his article's sections
are "The Therapist as Sadist," "Of Fruits and Vegetables," and "Happy in
the Head."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1902 - Literary Critic F.O. Matthiessen
* 1917 - Author Carson McCullers
* 1947 - transgendered film star, poet and playwright Jackie Curtis
AKA John Holder Jr.
* 2004 - wedding of author/editors Ian Philips & Greg Wharton

Q.UOTE
"Every time I hear the word 'conservative,' it makes me sick to my
stomach, because they're really just fake Christians, as I call them.
That's all they are. I think they want to be judge and jury. Like, I'm
for gay marriage. It's none of my business if gay people want to get
married. I'm pro-choice. And I think these Christians, first of all,
they're not supposed to judge other people. But they're the most
hypocritical judge of people we have in the country. And it bugs the
hell out of me. They act like they're Christians. They're not forgiving
at all." -- former NBC star Charles Barkley

THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Alpha Males" by Henning Von Berg
http://tinyurl.com/2aa58o
Henning von Berg's long overdue retrospective - distinctive,
provocative, fascinating!
Henning von Berg first made a name for himself with his photo shoot
in Berlin's Reichstag - in 1999 he photographed six naked men, later
known as the "Reichstag Rascals", and created an international
sensation, catapulting von Berg into the international limelight. He's
maintained his penchant for architectural backdrops and bizarre, erotic
group scenes to this day, both things that make his images so
distinctive. He prefers to work with natural lighting and in unusual
settings.
In the meantime he has published over four hundred images, been
represented in countless numbers of international exhibits in museums
and galleries. A former engineer, Henning von Berg is a true shooting
star in the world of photography. His previous release UNIVERSAL was a
co-production with Kingdome 19. Alpha Males is a 160-page, large format
coffee-table book and is sure to be a big hit around the world.

Today Eureka Springs, Tomorrow Toad Suck: The Planetary Gay Agenda DisclosedJacqueline Froelich, radio journalist from KUAF in Fayetteville, asked me

2008-02-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Today Eureka Springs, Tomorrow Toad Suck: The Planetary Gay Agenda Disclosed
Jacqueline Froelich, radio journalist from KUAF in Fayetteville, asked me last week what I thought about the American Family Association's new video featuring Eureka Springs and entitled «They're Coming to Your Town.»

«I give it two thumbs down for the title alone,» I said. «It should have been «They're Already IN Your Town, Stupid.»

As sound bites go, it was decent. And, probably, I should have just left it at that. But under Froelich's intense questioning, I blurted out the entire gay agenda for the total domination of Eureka Springs.

Well, why not? The AFA broke the story, outing the town as «a national hub for homosexuals . . . the San Francisco of Arkansas . . . and a gay hot spot.» It also says our town--with nary a gay bar let alone a gay bath house--is a «gay sex tourism destination.»

Huh?! Lawdy!

Well, if the AFA's gaydar says so, it must be true.

Also true, as the AFA discovered, the city council has been «taken over by a small group of homosexual activists.»

And, unless the lens-loving Rev. Phil Wilson of the First Christian Church of Eureka Springs gets left on the cutting-room floor (perish the thought), he'll appear on the video to proclaim, «They've come out of the closets!»

Yep, and the door is now wide open for, like, gazillions of gay tourists, right along with regular folk.

Yesserie bob, Puerto Vallarta and Key West will be a ghost towns this winter as the Speedo queens flock instead to the hot hub of Eureka Springs.

Well, there could be worse things than having the American Family Association pimp for your micro-mecca. Our other southern affiliates would die for the kind of national media exposure the debut of this video will generate.

Although, exactly how 10 percent of the gay and gay-friendly population (that's the AFA's «official» estimate) managed to convince the other 90 percent to elect an entirely «pro-homosexual» city council remains a closely-guarded secret. But the way we get elected officials to do our bidding is hardly confidential: Free makeovers and decorating advice. Not only do our alderpersons vote correctly, they read Architectural Digest religiously now and look fab-u-lous.

In any case, the AFA will let the official cat out of the bag with the January release of its blockbuster film and the disclosure that (cue drum roll) WE run things now.

Hell. You ain't seen nothin' yet.

Having established thriving gay colonies in every major city in every single state in Gaymerica--New York's Greenwich Village, Chicago's Boystown, Miami's South Beach, New Orleans, Palm Springs, Provincetown and the grand gay-daddy of 'em all, San Francisco's Castro--we have set our sights now on small southern villages.

Ergo, Eureka Springs.

Bible Belt towns are easy pickins'. See, the closets are full to over-flowing and recruiting is a snap. Newbie lesbians get gift cards from Home Depot. No-longer-latent gay men get gift certificates from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Fence-sitting bi-sexuals get both. Trans-sexuals can exchange one for the other when they're ready.

Now firmly in control of city hall, we'll soon rename Eureka Springs' streets after famous «family» members (we were going to name them after pro-family Republicans and preachers who have been outed as gay this year, but we don't have that many streets).

Anyway, within a few short months you'll see the likes of Ellen DeGeneres Drive, kd Lang Lane, Barney Frank Boulevard, Rosie O'Donnell Avenue and Elton John Parkway. Rock House Road will become Rock Hudson Road.

Basin Spring Park, the cruisy (AYOR) hub of homoville, will become Walt Whitman Park. Lake Leatherwood will be Lake Liberace. Beaver Lake, for obvious reasons, will continue to be known as Beaver Lake.

The «Little Switzerland» slogan on the backs of our vintage-style trollies will be changed to «Swish Alps.»

The city's unofficial motto, «Where Misfits Fit,» will be made official--and engraved into new, smooth concrete sidewalks. A girl could break a heel on those limestone slabs.

Instead of four Diversity Weekends a year, there will be fifty-two.

At least.

In fact, we may direct the city council--now that things are going so well--to declare Diversity Weeks. Or even seasons.

Having captured city hall without firing a single shot, our next target will be the Greater Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce. The take-over should be swift and bloodless.

Any business not gay-owned or gay-friendly (if there are any left) will be listed under «Alternative Lifestyles.» They can apply for membership if they really want to but we're not going to actually, you know, invite them.

After that, look out Great Passion Play. Plans are on the drawing board to transform the venue into a gated gay retirement village to be called Passion Place Townhomes and Richard Simmons Fitness Center.

The PP amphitheater will be enclosed and will offer only Broadway shows. Rent and Hairspray have already been booked. Rather than continue to lip-sync bible verses, the actors will actually speak their lines for a change.

The seven-story Big Jesus statue will remain, but new statues of Barbra Streisand, Bette Davis, Cher and Tina Turner, among others, will be erected--as street lights along Diva Drive.

Same-sex couples wishing to tie the knot in the «honeymoon capital of the South,» are expected to flock to the new Slippery Slope Domestic Partnership Drive-Thru Wedding Chapel.

The town's new sewer plant, if it ever comes on line, will be named for former resident Anita Bryant.

Or, for tireless promoter of Eureka Springs and AFA Chairman Donald E. Wildmon.

-------------------------

Listen to News Producer Jacqueline Froelich's interview with GNB's film critic, Michael «Scooter» Walsh on National Public Radio KUAF 91.3 FM. The broadcast will air Friday (Dec. 14) on Ozarks At Large at 6 p.m. and stream on-line at KUAF.com.