~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/14/AR2006101400374.html
Studds, 1st Openly Gay Congressman, Dies
By JAY LINDSAY
The Associated Press
Saturday, October 14, 2006; 10:59 AM
BOSTON -- Former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay person electedto Congress, died early Saturday at Boston Medical Center, several daysafter he collapsed while walking his dog, his husband said. He was 69.
Studds fell unconscious Oct. 3 because of what doctors later determined wasa blood clot in his lung, Dean Hara said.
Studds regained consciousness, remained in the hospital, and seemed to beimproving. He was scheduled to be transferred to a rehabilitation center,but his condition deteriorated Friday and he died at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Hara said.
Hara, who married Studds shortly after gay marriage was legalized inMassachusetts in 2004, said Studds was a pioneer who gave courage to gaypeople everywhere by winning re-election after publicly acknowledging hishomosexuality.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301442_pf.html
Ex-Pages' Trip With Rep. Kolbe Examined
Saturday, October 14, 2006; A04
The U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix has opened a preliminary investigationof a 1996 camping trip that included Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) and two17-year-old boys who had participated in the congressional page program, lawenforcement officials said yesterday.
One official cautioned that the inquiry was based on allegations from oneunidentified source that has not been substantiated. The allegations involveKolbe's behavior toward one of the ex-pages, the official said.
The three-day trip down the Grand Canyon also included several Kolbestaffers and National Park Service employees, according to NBC News, whichfirst reported the investigation. Kolbe's office said in a statement to NBCthat "there is absolutely no basis and no truth" to any allegations ofinappropriate behavior, and that the trip included five Kolbe aides, twoformer pages and Kolbe's sister.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-11-gop-gay-identity-crisis_x.htm?POE=click-refer
Page scandal exposes GOP's gay identity crisis
Updated 10/12/2006 9:51 AM ET
By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - At a State Department ceremony this week, Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice warmly acknowledged the family members of Mark Dybul, whomshe was swearing in as the nation's new global AIDS coordinator.
As first lady Laura Bush looked on, Rice singled out his partner, JasonClaire, and Claire's mother. Rice referred to her as Dybul's "mother-in-law."
The celebratory moment for a gay couple was emblematic of the politicalidentity crisis facing the Republican Party, two years after an election theGOP won in part by making gay marriage an issue and less than two weeksafter revelations about a Republican House member's advances toward teenageboys.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Wow! is the new Fed pobe of Kolbe & pages an anti-gay witch-hunt?
If one reads the preceding NBC story to their "probe" story (both arebelow), this is starting to sound suspiciously like a witch-hunt, because itappears there were too many people on the camping trip for any hanky-pankyto have been going on. Is this somebody's revenge against Kolbe? anti-gayChrister right pressure? some combination of the two? what the hell is goingon here? I don't like the smell of this latest twist in the Foley fallout.-- D.I.
FED PROSECUTORS OPEN PROBE OF KOLBE TRIP WITH PAGES
By Jim Popkin, Aram Roston and the NBC News Investigative Unit
Updated: 1:55 p.m. ET Oct 13, 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15249733/
WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors in Arizona have opened a preliminaryinvestigation of a camping trip Congressman Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., took 10years ago that included two teenage congressional pages, a JusticeDepartment spokesman told NBC News. NBC News first reported on the campingand rafting trip on Tuesday. (SEE THAT STORY BELOW -- D.I.)
A spokesman for the Justice Department in Washington said that the U.S.attorney in Arizona has started a "preliminary assessment" of the trip,after an unidentified source made allegations about the congressman'sbehavior on the expedition.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 13, 2006
Luis Vizcaino | Phone: 202/216.1547 | Cell: 310/869.5700 Brad Luna | Phone:
202/216.1514 | Cell: 202/812.8140
NATIONAL SURVEY RELEASED BY HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN SHOWS
NO IMPACT OF MARK FOLEY SCANDAL ON GLBT ISSUES
Despite Links by Conservative Groups, Majority of Americans
Do Not Link Scandal to Gays
WASHINGTON DC - The Human Rights Campaign today released a new nationwide poll that shows the aggressively coordinated attempts by anti-gay right-wingleaders and anti-gay groups to brand the Mark Foley scandal as a gay issueare a resounding failure.
The new, nationwide poll shows that, by a 2-to-1 margin, voters believe that"this type of behavior is typical of politicians" over "this type ofbehavior is typical of gay men." The poll also showed support for eithercivil unions or marriage for same-sex couples at 66 percent, which isconsistent with other polls on the same question.
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Indiana Top 10 State In Same-Sex Couples
http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/home.html
Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population:
New Estimates from the American Community Survey
INTRODUCTION
1
The news that same-sex couples lived in nearly every county of the UnitedStates marked one of most reported on statistics from the release of Census2000 data. Since then, policy debates focusing on marriage and partnershiprights for same-sex couples have led academics and policy-makers alike touse these data in hopes of gaining a more complete and accurate understanding of this population (e.g., Gates and Ost 2004; CongressionalBudget Office 2004; Badgett and Sears 2005).
The release of new data from the American Community Survey (ACS) this monthoffers the first opportunity to update what we have learned and to assesspossible changes in the geographic and demographic characteristics ofsame-sex couples.
Analyses of the ACS 2005 data reveal that:
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A note from Michael Emanuel Rajner
National Secretary - Campaign To End AIDS
October 13, 2006
Tonight in Fort Lauderdale, FL we just celebrated National Latino AIDSAwareness Day in Wilton Manors. It was an awesome night to share with acommunity of infected and affected individuals often left behind asstep-children in the fight to End AIDS and service to those in need. Formany that attended, English was a second language. What an amazingexperience it was to witness these people having the opportunity tocelebrate their culture as a true community, being HIV+ and putting asideall the hatred that exists in this world. They embraced the true beautythat exists in one another realizing what united a community of individuals.It made me wish I had a better grasp on the Spanish language after havingtaken Spanish classes over 10 years ago!
Stigma still delivers a mighty blow to the fight to End AIDS. As AIDSactivists; often opinionated, when we attend events, that last thing weexpect to do is say nothing and just sit back. Well, tonight I sort of didjust that, I bartended for the event and watched and listened. It washumbling to watch as others celebrated the end of their struggle to find asafe environment to trust and disclose to others. Tonight was a joyfulcelebration for those that attended. But I could not stop thinking of thosethat still fear to come out of their homes, those that fear to seek care,treatment and support. After 25 years, our work is only beginning!
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Forwarded from Ken's List <Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu>
To: kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.southernvoice.com/2006/10-13/news/localnews/localnews.cfm
LOCAL NEWS | <file://www.sovo.com> www.sovo.com
Atlanta police, trans activists try to 'build bridges'
Meetings focus on trans prostitution, alleged police harassment
By ERIC ERVIN
Oct. 13, 2006
Transgender activists and Atlanta Police Department officials met Oct. 4 toaddress issues of alleged police harassment of transgender residents as wellas to try to build a better understanding between the groups, according toattendees.
The meeting, held at City Hall East, is one of several concerning an AtlantaPolice Department crack down on transgender sex workers. Police haveincreased patrols in Midtown, concentrating on the areas between Ponce DeLeon Avenue and Piedmont Park.
Representatives from LaGender, Inc., Queer Progressive Agenda and the policedepartment's GLBT Advisory Board met for about two hours at City Hall Eastto come up with solutions.
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Irish Independent, 14 October 2006
Court reserves judgment in rights bid by lesbian couple
Judge gives no indication when decision will be ready
JUDGMENT has been reserved in the landmark legal action taken by a lesbian couple seeking to have their Canadian marriage recognised here.
In the High Court yesterday, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne said she would be reserving judgment, but gave no indication when that decision would be ready.
Yesterday, evidence concluded in the action taken by Dr Katherine Zappone, a public policy consultant, and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan, an academic, against the Revenue Commissioners and the State.
They claim the failure by the authorities here to recognise their Canadian marriage as valid breaches their right to marry under the Irish Constitution, European Convention on Human Rights and the European Charter of Fundamental Freedoms. They also argue that if their Canadian marriage, obtained in the Province of British Columbia in 2003, is not recognised they should have the right to marry within the State.
The State denies the alleged breaches of rights.
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Ray's Note:
In this interesting, but informal, survey it appears Gore gets the most votes for president, followed by Hillary, next Edwards, followed by Obama, then Clark. A mixture of all of the others combined receives more votes than all but Gore. Kerry received very little mention. Hillary gets the largest number of negative comments.
```
http://news.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=63#respond
Ex-Gov. Warner Decides to Forgo White House Run
With Mark Warner dropping out, what ticket has the best shot at winning the White House in 2008?
Related Article
239 comments
J Watson:
Clinton Edwards, of course
posted on October 12th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
victor:
Edwards/Obama
posted on October 12th, 2006 at 10:40 pm
M. Mitchell, Chicago:
Hilary! Hilary! Hilary!
posted on October 12th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
David Fisher:
Gore and Obama. In 2000 the GOP ridiculed Gore as an enviromental nut who was carrying around "a social security lockbox." Who's laughing now. The key states will be Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, maybe Michigan, Nevada. All have sizeable African-American populations who will turn out to vote for the first African-American on a national ticket. And if the GOP tries to prevent them from voting. again. there'll be rioting in the streets. I know, cause I'll be leading 'em.
200+ more.....
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Congress-Pages-Kolbe.html?pagewanted=print
October 13, 2006
Kolbe Camping Trip Being Investigated
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:29 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal prosecutors in Arizona have opened a preliminary investigation into a camping trip that an Arizona lawmaker took with two former pages and others in 1996, according to a law enforcement official.Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., took the former pages as well as staff members and National Park Service officials on a Fourth of July rafting trip in the Grand Canyon in 1996, his spokeswoman Korenna Cline said Friday.An allegation related to the trip was given to the U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix, but it was not immediately clear whether it concerned any contention of improper activity by Kolbe.The official described the inquiry as preliminary and far narrower in scope than the federal investigation into former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who resigned two weeks ago amid reports about sexually explicit e-mails he sent to pages.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/nyregion/14attack.html
October 14, 2006
Man Attacked in Possible Hate Crime Dies
By AL BAKER
The victim of what the authorities say was a hate crime died in a Brooklyn hospital yesterday, five days after he was attacked, robbed and forced into roaring traffic on the Belt Parkway, where he was struck by a hit-and-run driver.
The victim, Michael J. Sandy, turned 29 on Thursday. McCartha L. Lewis, his aunt, said dozens of his friends and relatives gathered at Mr. Sandy's bedside at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center about noon as he was taken off a respirator that was supporting his breathing.
"He was already brain dead," Ms. Lewis said. "He was already gone. Michael is at peace at this moment, resting peacefully right now."
She added, "It was a very sad moment at that time, and up to now it is still a very sad time for us."Three Brooklyn men have been charged with hate crimes in connection with the attack on Mr. Sandy, who grew up on Long Island and worked in the interiors department at the Ikea store in Hicksville.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=12865
Judy Shepard: Carrying the Torch
by Andrew Davis
2006-10-11
If losing a child is the worst thing a parent can experience, then the wayJudy Shepard lost her son had to be even more excruciating, if that ispossible. Her son, of course, is former University of Wyoming studentMatthew Shepard, who, in 1998, was brutally attacked by three men and leftto die-because of his sexual orientation.
Matthew's death spawned an outpouring of grief. However, it also led to aglobal awareness of anti-gay hate crimes as well as the formation oforganizations such as The Matthew Shepard Foundation, which was started byJudy and Dennis Shepard, Matthew's parents.
Judy Shepard will appear at Roosevelt University on Oct. 16 to speak abouther son as well as the foundation and various programs. She briefly tooktime out from her exhausting tour to talk with Windy City Times about whatthe foundation is doing-as well as about Matthew.
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Journal of Homosexuality
Volume 51, Issue 1
Editor(s): John P. De Cecco, PhD
SPECIAL ISSUE:
Current Issues in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health
Guest Editor(s):
Jay Harcourt
This issue is now available online and will soon be mailed to subscribers inapproximately 4-6 weeks.
NOTE: If the URLs in this email are not active hyperlinks, copy and paste the URL into the address/location box in your browser.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
John P. De Cecco
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=71817
Current Issues in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Health
Introduction
Jay Harcourt
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=71818
Disclosure of Sexual Orientation and Behavior in the Nurses' Health Study II Results from a Pilot Study
Patricia Case, S. Bryn Austin, David J. Hunter, Walter C. Willett, Susan
Malspeis, JoAnn E. Manson, Donna Spiegelman
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=71819
Mental Health Issues A Comparison of Lesbian, Bisexual and Heterosexual Women
Audrey S. Koh, Leslie K. Ross
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=71820
Factors Associated with 'Feeling Suicidal' The Role of Sexual Identity
Jeanne Abelson, Sasho Lambevski, June Crawford, Michael Bartos, Susan Kippax
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=71822
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-10-12-gay-marriage_x.htm
Same-sex marriage returns to ballot, as voters' moods change
Updated 10/12/2006 11:33 PM ET
By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY
Two years after voters in 13 states approved constitutional bans on same-sex marriage, gay rights activists hope to reverse that course next month.
Colorado's first-in-the-nation ballot proposal to create same-sex domesticpartnerships had strong support in a recent poll. At the same time, polls inthree of the eight states that will vote on banning same-sex marriage showthe measures either trailing or leading narrowly.
"It could be a watershed year," said Carrie Evans, state legislativedirector at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay and lesbian advocacy group.
Jim Pfaff, state policy director for the conservative group Focus on theFamily, disagrees. He says all same-sex-marriage bans will pass becausevoters "believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://365gay.com/Newscon06/10/101106cameroon.htm
UN Body Condemns Cameroon Imprisonment Of Gay Men
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
October 11, 2006 - 3:00 pm ET
(New York City) International pressure is mounting on the government ofCameroon to release nearly a dozen men sentenced to prison earlier this yearon charges of being gay.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Wednesdaydeclared that the detentions on the basis of their presumed sexualorientation constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty contrary to theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.dailytrojan.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=60c3a68e-6742-49ae-ac37-f890ec438818
Foley scandal elicits age-old homophobia
Stephan Kwok
Posted: 10/12/06
USC has topped many a list in athletics, academics and community service over the years, but this year it adds another title. "The Advocate CollegeGuide for LGBT Students," a new publication from popular gay-rights magazine"The Advocate" has ranked USC in the top 20 "Best of the Best" universitiesfor gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. This week, the USC GayLesbian Bisexual Transgender Assembly launches its part of the annualNational Coming Out Week - one of many "Best of the Best" events - in aneffort to promote gay awareness on campus.
With rainbow banners hung across Trousdale Parkway, it's a worthy questionto ask: Is USC a representative microcosm of advancing views onhomosexuality in America? Or is it more of an unwelcome aberration?
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/us/politics/14marriage.html
October 14, 2006
Gay Marriage Losing Punch as Ballot Issue
By KIRK JOHNSON
DENVER, Oct. 13 - The debate over same-sex marriage was a black-or-white proposition two years ago when voters in 11 states barred gay couples from marrying.
But this year shades of gray are everywhere, as eight more states consider similar ballot measures. Some of the proposed bans are struggling in the polls, and the issue of same-sex marriage itself has largely failed to rouse conservative voters.
In some cases, other issues, like the war in Iraq and ethics in Washington, have seized voters' attention. But the biggest change, people on both sides of the issue say, is that supporters of same-sex marriage this year are likely to be as mobilized as the opponents.
The social conservatives, who focused on marriage in 2004 and helped President Bush gain re-election in some hard-fought states in the Midwest, have been offset by equally committed and organized opposition. Slick advertising, paid staff and get-out-the-vote drives have become a two-way street.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-pbmail967oct14,0,6436688.story
Homophobia abetted by media
Donald Cavanaugh
Lake Worth
October 14, 2006
Re your Oct. 7 editorial "ISSUE: Foley's excuses are unacceptable": TheSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel is being fatuous purporting that there would havebeen any support for the gay community had Foley been honest about hissexual orientation. You know full well that Foley would never have beenelected if his constituents had known he was gay.
Although Foley's behavior was reprehensible, and I certainly hope he willget help and try to make amends, I suspect part of the blame lies with thetacit "don't ask/don't tell" policy of most of the media regardingpoliticians' sexual orientation.
The media are not doing anyone a favor by not reporting all the facts -- including sexual orientation. Heterosexual orientation doesn't have to bereported because everyone is assumed to be straight unless declaredotherwise.
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http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/10/101306boston.htm
Evangelicals Bid To Energize The Right Despite Foley Affair
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
October 14, 2006 - 12:01 am ET
(Boston, Massachusetts) Far right religious groups will attempt to unifytheir base Sunday in what is being described by foes as a gay-baiting to getout the vote.
Called "Liberty Sunday" it is patterned after similar events just prior tothe elections in 2000 and 2004. But this time conservatives are concernedthat evangelical Christians, considered the core of the Republican Party,may stay home on election day to show their disgust over the GOP handing ofthe Mark Foley affair.
Liberty Sunday this year will originate in Boston at the Tremont TempleBaptist Church and be broadcast by satellite to churches across the country.The list of speakers reads like a who's who of gay foes. It includes TonyPerkins, President of the Family Research Council, Alan Chambers, Presidentof the so-called ex gay group Exodus International, and video cutins fromJames Dobson of Focus on the Family, Gary Bauer from American Values, AlanSears of the Alliance Defense Fund and Don Wildmon of the American FamilyAssociation.
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Irish Examiner, 13 October 2006
Activists welcome welfare decision for gay couple
By Caroline O'Doherty
GAY rights campaigners have welcomed a landmark decision by the Government to financially assist a gay man who was refused welfare payments while caring for his terminally-ill partner.
The Equality Authority said the case highlighted the inequities of the welfare system which would automatically have paid the man if he was in a heterosexual relationship.
The payments were made through the Department of Social and Family Affairs on a "ex gratia" basis, meaning it was not legally obliged to do so, and it said the decision would not set a precedent for other same-sex couples in similar situations.
Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority, however, said the case showed that the department could use discretion in making payments and he called for the same approach to be taken in similar cases involving same sex couples.
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salam, everyone,
this is from the popular iranian website, iranian.com about a story i wrote on lesbian iranians inparis/tehran. it illustrates how sometimes our worldforces us in situations we really don't have muchchoices in-- between beloved families and a life weknow is possible for us.
http://www.iranian.com/Experimental/2006/October/Paris/index.html
Reading Shahnameh in Paris
Over the years, the two women developed a special bond
Afdhere Jama
October 13, 2006
iranian.com
The Marais district of Paris is full of people somewould not really expect in the heart of Paris, likeIranian lesbians. A traditional neighborhood of Jews,Le Marais is now famous as the "gay" neighborhood ofParis. Many of the gay restaurants, clubs and otherhappenings are found here. But it is because of theatmosphere of this district that attracts them, saythe locals.
A 37-year-old Iranian lesbian named Parvaneh isvisiting a young (man and woman) couple who live in atiny studio on rue Sainte Croix de Bretonnerie.
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http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid37535.asp
Antigay leader claims memo targets closeted Republican staffers
In the wake of the Mark Foley scandal, a memo containing the names ofallegedly closeted gay Republican congressional staffers has reportedly beensent to leading antigay Christian groups.
In the wake of the Mark Foley scandal, a memo containing the names ofallegedly closeted gay Republican congressional staffers was composed byanti-Republican gay rights activists and sent to leading antigay Christiangroups, according to a report in The Nation. The Reverend Don Wildmon of thenotoriously antigay American Family Association told The Nation's MaxBlumenthal that he had received that memo, which he referred to simply as"the list."
Blumenthal claims that Wildmon told him he's convinced that a secretive gay"clique" within the Republican-controlled Congress was responsible forcovering up Foley's alleged sexual advances toward teenage male House pages.Moreover, Wildmon called on the Republican Party leadership to promptlypurge the "subversive" gay staffers.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301418_pf.html
Cybersexual Revolution
By William Saletan
Sunday, October 15, 2006; B02
Eight years ago, when Bill Clinton was caught lying about his affair with aWhite House intern, Mark Foley voted to impeach him."It's vile," said the congressman. "It's more sad than anything else, to seesomeone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexualaddiction."
As we say on the Internet: LOL. We now know that Clinton and Foley were ondifferent teams, but not in the way Foley pretended.And the irony only begins there. The two men have played similar roles, notonly in their reckless personal lives but in the cultural revolutions oftheir respective decades. Clinton introduced us to the ambiguities of sex.Foley is introducing us to the wilder ambiguities of cybersex.
In his 1998 deposition , Clinton was asked whether he had ever "had sexualrelations with Monica Lewinsky, as that term is defined in DepositionExhibit 1." The definition referred to "contact" with the other person'sprivate parts.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/world/africa/14briefs-006.html?pagewanted=print
October 14, 2006
World Briefing | Africa
Swaziland: U.S. Circumcision Funds Termed an Error
By SHARON LaFRANIERE
The United States Agency for International Development mistakenly financed aprogram in Swaziland that promoted circumcision to prevent the spread ofH.I.V., a spokesman said. The spokesman, David Snider, said the Family LifeAssociation of Swaziland received about $150,000 in agency funds last yearand circumcised 328 men. Financial support has not been renewed this year.
He said the agency's policy is not to finance circumcisions until resultsare in from two major American-financed studies into whether malecircumcision helps to prevent H.I.V. transmission. World Health Organizationexperts are also awaiting the results of those studies before decidingwhether to recommend circumcision as a way to fight AIDS.
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The New York Times
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301284_pf.html
In Virginia, a Rare Opportunity . . .
Gay Marriage Amendment Offers Moderate Republicans a Chance to Challenge
Extremists
Sunday, October 15, 2006; B08
On Nov. 7, Virginia will experience a Republican Moment.
The election presents the commonwealth's long-neglected moderate andlibertarian Republican voters with a rare opportunity to challenge theparty's religious extremists without supporting a Democrat .
A proposed amendment to Virginia's state constitution theoreticallyaddresses the definition of marriage. In reality, however, the amendmentwould not change the status of marriage. Same-sex marriages have never beenrecognized in Virginia, and they have been prohibited by statute for morethan 30 years. There is no prospect of the situation changing throughlegislative or judicial action. Therefore, thoughtful opponents of gaymarriage have nothing to fear in voting against the amendment. Same-sexmarriage would remain illegal.
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