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http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldberg21sep21,0,3326687,print.column?coll=la-util-opinion-commentary
A Disgraced, Corrupt Ex-Governor ... who happens to be gay.
New Jersey's James McGreevey plays the identity card to garner sympathy.
by Jonah Goldberg
September 21, 2006
A SURE SIGN of a political movement's maturity is the discretion it shows inpicking its leaders. Which is why gay groups could show how grown-up theyare by excommunicating James McGreevey.
McGreevey, you will recall, was the corrupt governor of New Jersey who wasforced to resign when it was revealed that he had appointed Golan Cipel, apoet, to run his state's homeland security department in the hope that Cipelwould become the governor's male concubine. McGreevey came out of the closetonly after Cipel threatened to sue him for sexual harassment. McGreeveystill denies accusations that he plied Cipel with Jagermeister shots andassaulted him. He says it was a real "love affair" first consummated whileMcGreevey's wife was in the hospital recovering from her Caesarian sectiondelivery of their daughter. Cipel says he and McGreevey never had sex.
Whatever the truth, it's clear that McGreevey only came out because thewheels were coming off his political career. He tried to leap to safety bygrabbing on to the guardrail of identity politics, declaring withfocus-group clarity: "My truth is that I am a gay American." That formulation - "my truth" - was exquisitely postmodern, implying that truthisn't something we can all lay claim to any more. It must be personalized,relativized. It's all about me.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://news.com.com/Gonzales+ISPs+must+keep+records+on+users/2100-1028_3-6117455.html
WASHINGTON--Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday stepped up hisefforts to lobby for federal laws requiring Internet providers to keep trackof what their customers do online.
Gonzales asked senators to adopt "data retention" legislation that wouldlikely force Internet providers to keep customer logs for at least a year ortwo. Those logs, often routinely discarded after a few months, are intendedto be used by police investigating crimes.
ISP snooping time line
In events that were first reported by CNET News.com, Bush administrationofficials have said Internet providers must keep track of what Americans aredoing online. Here's the time line:
June 2005: Justice Department officials quietly propose data retentionrules.
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Forwarded from Ken's List
<Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2006/09/i_wrote_the_fol.html
Ghana: Media Leads Anti-Gay Witch-Hunt
NEW from DIRELAND, Septembver 20
Gays and lesbians in Ghana, where homosexuality is a crime, have beenthe target of a month-long campaign of homophobia in the media thatcontinues-an attack abetted by homophobic declarations from theGhanaian government. The climate of hate and fear is so great that theleader of Ghana's only LGBT group has been forced to flee the countryin fear of his life, after receiving a constant stream of threats ofviolence and death. FOR DETAILS, and an exclusive interview withPrince Kweku MacDonald, the exiled leader of the Gay & Lesbian Assn. Ghana (GALAG), click on:
<http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2006/09/i_wrote_the_fol.html>
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15572423.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
AIDS bill advances despite complaints from big-state lawmakers
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A spending bill that would send more AIDS money to the Southhas passed a House committee despite opposition from some big-state lawmakers.
Representatives from southern and rural states say revisions to the RyanWhite CARE Act of 1990 were necessary because of how the epidemic haschanged over the years.
Once a big-city illness mainly infecting gay white men, AIDS now isprevalent in the South and among minorities.
But, according to government studies, federal support has not kept pace.
A patient in California, for example, gets more money than a patient inAlabama, by some estimates.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/l21gay.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
September 21, 2006
Gays in the Military (1 Letter)
To the Editor:
Those who read "Gay Groups Renew Drive Against 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' "(news article, Sept. 14) should not forget that the military's "don't ask,don't tell" policy prohibits not only openly gay troops from serving, butalso openly gay lawyers in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the Navyand gay translators of Arabic within the military, among other positions.
The argument that allowing openly gay individuals to serve in the militarydisrupts "unit cohesion" strains logic when viewed in light of the military'spolicy of prohibiting from its ranks trained professionals it desperatelyneeds in the continuing war on terror. Mark Siegmund
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/15568840.htm
TOURISM SURVEY TO DEFINE GAY TOURIST MARKET
The travel industry is sponsoring a survey to plumb the details of anincreasingly popular label for vacation destinations: gay friendly. TheTravel Industry Association of America has hired Harris Interactive to poll2,000 gay travelers about what they look for when making vacation plans.Tourism bureaus in the Keys and Miami-Dade are also sponsoring the study.
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http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/09/092006cab.htm
Chicago Gay AIDS Activist Sentenced To Prison For Cabbie Murder
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
September 20, 2006 - 7:00 pm ET
(Chicago, Illinois) A gay Chicago man who devoted most of his adult life toraising money for AIDS organizations and working with the city's healthdepartment was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for killing a taxidriver over what prosecutors described as a fare dispute.
With good behavior Michael Jackson (pictured) could be released in seven toeight years.
A jury last month found Jackson, 38, not guilty of first-degree murder butconvicted him of second degree murder and aggravated criminal hijacking inthe death of cabbie Haroon Paryani last year.
During the trial Cook County Assistant State's Atty. Mercedes Luque-Rosalescalled Jackson a cold-blooded killer who repeatedly ran over Paryani in adispute over an eight-dollar fare.
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http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/09/092006vatican.htm
Vatican Gay Probe Of US Seminaries Finishes
by The Associated Press
September 20, 2006 - 9:00 pm ET
(Washington) A Vatican-ordered review of Roman Catholic seminaries in theUnited States has been completed and the results sent to Rome, the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops says.
Vatican officials sought the evaluation in response to the clergy sex abusecrisis, to look for anything that contributed to the scandal, which eruptedin 2002 and battered the church.
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the bishops' conference, said thismonth that the visits to the seminaries and houses of formation for priestswere finished July 14 and the reports were sent to the Vatican.
The agency overseeing the assessment _ the Vatican's Congregation forCatholic Education _ is reviewing the data. It was not known how much of thefindings will be made public.
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http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/09/092006phelps.htm
Phelps Clan Seeks Dismissal Of Gay Protest Charges
by The Associated Press
September 20, 2006 - 9:00 pm ET
(Westminister, Maryland) A church whose members show up at militaryfunerals claiming God is killing troops in Iraq to punish the nation for itstolerance of homosexuality is asking that a defamation lawsuit be dismissedon the grounds that they are merely expressing an opinion.
"There can be no falsehood when mere opinions are stated," attorneys for theWestboro Baptist Church said Monday in a motion
filed in U.S. District Court.
Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., is suing the Rev. Fred Phelps and his Topeka,Kan.-based church after church members demonstrated at the funeral of LanceCpl. Matthew Snyder, and posted pictures of the protest on their Web site.
Cpl. Snyder was killed in March. Snyder's lawsuit, filed June 5, allegeschurch members violated the family's right to privacy and defamed the Marineand his family at the funeral and on the church's Web site.
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http://www.waynebesen.com/2006/09/old-time-religion-with-new-twist.html
Anything But Straight
Sept. 20, 2006
by Wayne Besen
Old Time Religion With A Gay Twist
In the pastoral foothills of North Carolina, nearly 2000 conservativeChristians anxiously gathered this past Sunday in a school auditoriumconverted into a makeshift revival meeting. The make-up was as thick as theanticipation and the hairdos higher than the choir's soaring notes. Thestanding room only crowd was whiter than a convention of ghosts andoverflowed into an adjacent room with a big screen television. As the musicplayed people held up massive Bibles and hollered and hooted as if they werein a heated competition for the Lord's ear.
The clean cut and wholesome-looking families were not waiting on evangelicaltitans such as Billy Graham or Rev. Jerry Falwell, but on the somewhatobscure ex-gay leader Tim Wilkins, who directs Wake Forest-based CrossMinistries.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/frontpage/26725.php
Gay frat at UA gets its national charter
Delta Lambda Phi plans service role; adds to diverse Greek groups
By LA MONICA EVERETT-HAYNES
Tucson Citizen
It took a little more than one year for a group of University of Arizona students to get a national charter for their gay fraternity.
Delta Lambda Phi, which is now recognized at UA, received its charter earlier this month.
"We were one of the fastest charters in history because we were dedicated to this," said Christopher Newman, 23, a senior education major and founding member.
It's the university's first fraternity geared toward gays, making UA one of a few schools in the nation with Greek letter organizations geared toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students.
But the fraternity, which completed rush this month, is not exclusively for gays. Membership is open to men who are bisexual or progressive.
UA recognizes several fraternity and sorority chapters based on diversity.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2006/09/18/daily18.html?from_rss=1
Coors praised for treatment of gays
The Denver Business Journal - 9:48 AM MDT Tuesday
A national human rights organization on Tuesday gave Coors Brewing Co. a perfect score for its treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.
Coors was the only Colorado company to receive the highest marks and one of only 138 corporations in the nation to receive a perfect score.
The Human Rights Campaign of Washington, D.C., said the number of companies
with a top rating of 100 percent rose from 101 last year. The organization has been tracking how gay-friendly corporate America is since 2002.
Coors has improved its standing since the first survey, when it was scored an 86 in 2002 and again in 2003. Coors has earned the top mark in each of the past three years.
Coors is a regional division of brewing giant Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) of Denver.
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The current issue of The Independent Gay News is online
http://www.indynews.4t.com/
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=9199
Hong Kong court upholds decision against sodomy laws
Decision: "Values have changed"
HONG KONG (AP) | Sep 20, 6:44 AM
The Hong Kong government lost an appeal Wednesday of a High Court rulingagainst a law that says men younger than 21 who engage in sodomy should bejailed for life.
A panel of three Court of Appeal judges upheld the original decision issuedby the lower court in August 2005, the court's ruling said.
The laws were first challenged by William Roy Leung, a then 20-year-old gayman who argued he should be able to have a loving relationship without thefear of imprisonment.
In last August's ruling, High Court Judge Michael Hartmann sided with Leung,saying the laws against sodomy infringed on the rights of privacy andequality for gay men.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092000540.html
Conservative Anglican bishops to sign anti-gay pact
Reuters
Wednesday, September 20, 2006; 9:35 AM
KIGALI (Reuters) - Conservative Anglican bishops largely drawn fromdeveloping countries are expected to agree on a pact condemning theordination of gay clergy, Nigeria's archbishop said on Wednesday.
The agreement, expected to be signed later this week by clerics from Africa,Latin America, the Middle East and Asia meeting in Rwanda, is likely todeepen rifts between the conservatives mainly from the "Global South" andliberals in the United States and Europe.
"In order to put to rest this issue of homosexuality, we are working on anAnglican covenant with provisions that very clearly say what it means to bean Anglican," Nigeria's Archbishop Peter Akinola, told reporters.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/arts/television/21barb.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1158812031-vNd/aqpMkLKsmxDN+yKxKw&pagewanted=print
September 21, 2006
On 'The View,' New Face, New Dynamics
By JACQUES STEINBERG
From her new perch at the head of the glass table on "The View" Tuesdaymorning, Rosie O'Donnell was expressing skepticism about Oprah Winfrey'srecent declaration that she was not gay.
After showing the "View" audience a clip of Ms. Winfrey and her friend GayleKing struggling to pump gas while driving cross-country this summer, a"Thelma and Louise" excursion they had recorded for the fall premiere of Ms.Winfrey's talk show, Ms. O'Donnell said, "I think that's very typical of gayrelationships - not saying they're gay."
"You might be a little bit gay," said Ms. O'Donnell, hardly shy about herown homosexuality, as she spoke to Ms. Winfrey, whom she called "Opie," asif she were there. "You're just not doing it."
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The Independent Gay News
http://www.indynews.4t.com/
http://www.indynews.4t.com/0319/features1.html
Today's Date:September 21, 2006
History of Gay Politics on The Island City
By Art Greenwald
Features Writer
As Wilton Manors evolved from a nondescript, blue-collar, conservative townwith a decaying downtown district into a booming gay epicenter, its politicsreflect that change.
Big, powerful hurricane force political winds of change have swept throughthe island city in recent years. It started with a slow-moving steamrollereffect in 1988 with John Fiore, the first 'out' gay man elected to the citycommission.
"Back then I didn't think being gay would be an asset," he noted. "I ran onmy record as an urban planner and believed I could turn things around."
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Moscow court rejects appeal against gay parade ban
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060919/54051050.html
MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Moscow City Court rejected Tuesdayan appeal lodged by the organizers of a gay pride parade in May against aban on the event, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the courtroom.
The Tverskoy district court issued a ruling against the parade, planned forMay 27, a day before, upholding a ban imposed earlier by City Hall.
"We intend to appeal shortly with the European Human Rights Court inStrasbourg to vindicate our rights, and also to lodge a complaint with thepresidium of the Moscow City Court. We believe the decision it has handeddown is against the law," Dmitry Bartenev, a lawyer representing theorganizers, told RIA.
Gay activists went ahead with their May 27 march in Moscow in defiance ofthe authorities' ban, but riot police, supported by neo-Nazis and militantChristians, broke up the rally shortly before it began.
Although homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, and quite a fewgay clubs have opened since then in Moscow and other big cities, there isstill a lot of resentment, both at the public and the state level, to open displays of homosexuality.
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