**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT
rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/yourtown/content/local_news/epaper/2006/10/18/m1a_FOLEY_MAIN_1018.html
Lawyer: Foley to ID priest
By Brian E. Crowley, Jose Lambiet and Andrew Marra
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
WEST PALM BEACH - A Catholic priest is being named by former U.S. Rep. MarkFoley as the man who allegedly molested him when he was a teenager in LakeWorth.
Gerald Richman, an attorney for Foley, said Tuesday that the name of thepriest will be given to church officials at the Archdiocese of Miami asearly as today.
Asked whether Foley could prove the priest molested him about 30 years ago,Richman said, "I can't comment on whether he has proof but I can tell youthat I think it is going to be very clear in the coming days that it is afact as opposed to any possible allegations that it is a fantasy or something made up for political purposes."
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, October 17, 2006
http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=103496&ntpid=1
Could same-sex ban be dumped?
JASON STEIN, jstein@madison.com
If Wisconsin voters on Nov. 7 decide not to write a ban on gay marriage andcivil unions into the state's constitution, what will happen?
Without such a ban, the proposal's supporters claim, a court ruling allowinggay marriage in the state is not just possible, but imminent.Opponents, meanwhile, claim a constitutional ban serves no good purpose andsay that state law already forbids gay marriage and isn't likely to beoverturned.
In fact, a court ruling that would allow gay marriage in the state appearsneither imminent nor impossible, according to a Wisconsin State Journalreview of past court cases and the law, and interviews with legal experts.
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Boston Herald, MA, October 17, 2006
http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=162665&srvc=home
Oops, Mitt did it again
By Margery Eagan, Boston Herald Columnist
When will Mitt Romney begin his push to outlaw divorce - the fate of 50percent of American marriages?
When will he launch his campaign to eradicate out-of-wedlock births?Nearly 70 percent of black babies and 40 percent of white babies are born tounwed mothers, the government reports.
Surely any moment now. We know this because on Sunday, in a speech madedowntown but broadcast to millions of Christian conservatives nationwide,Romney issued an impassioned plea on behalf of . . . the children. "Everychild deserves a mother and a father," he said.
And he called gay marriage a terrible danger to the little ones.
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
US: Editorial--Sen. Brownback's Litmus Test;
May a federal judge have lesbian friends?
Washington Post, DC, October 17, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/16/AR2006101601201.html
Editorial--Sen. Brownback's Litmus Test
May a federal judge have lesbian friends?
IF YOU THOUGHT that fights over judicial nominations couldn't get any worse,consider the case of Janet T. Neff, whom President Bush has nominated to afederal district judgeship in Michigan. Judge Neff, who serves on theMichigan Court of Appeals, is part of a multi-judge deal between the WhiteHouse and Michigan's two Democratic senators resolving a long-standing fightover federal court nominees from that state. Yet in reaching anaccommodation with the home-state senators, Mr. Bush finds himself withanother problem. For Judge Neff, it turns out, once attended a commitmentceremony for a lesbian couple -- and that has Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (R)reaching for the smelling salts and blocking the nomination.
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
US: Opposition Research--Friends With Benefits? State marriage amendments will not ban private contracts.
National Review Online Blogs, October 17, 2006
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&scoring=d&q=%22domestic+partner%22+OR+%22same+sex%22+OR+%22gay+marriage%22+OR+%22civil+union%22&btnG=Google+Search
Friends With Benefits?
State marriage amendments will not ban private contracts.
By William C. Duncan
This November, eight more states will vote on marriage amendments. The newamendments (like most of those already passed in 20 states) typically saytwo things: (1) marriage is the union of one man and one woman; and (2)something else about civil unions.
That "something else" has become the subject of increasing political andlegal controversy. Gay-marriage advocates realize from hard experience thattrying to stop these marriage amendments by rallying support for gaymarriage is a losing proposition.
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Agape Press, October 16, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/162006a.asp
Rice's 'Mother-in-Law' Comment Raises Conservative Hackles
Remark Comes During Swearing In of Open Homosexual to A
mbassador-Level Post
By Fred Jackson and Jim Brown
(AgapePress) - A spokesman for a family-advocacy group in Washington, DC, isexpressing disgust with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's swearing in ofan openly homosexual man as global AIDS coordinator -- and in particular,with comments she made at the ceremony.
The ceremony involved Secretary of State Rice and the swearing in of MarkDybul, an open homosexual, as the nation's new global AIDS coordinator -- a position that carries the rank of ambassador. An Associated Press photo ofthe ceremony also shows a smiling First Lady Laura Bush and Dybul'shomosexual "partner," Jason Claire. During her comments, Rice referred tothe presence of Claire's mother and called her Dybul's "mother-in-law," aterm normally reserved for the heterosexuals who have been legally married.
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY, October 17, 2006
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/NEWS01/61017027
Proposal would prevent domestic partner benefits
A state lawmaker has filed a bill that seeks to prevent public colleges anduniversities from offering health benefits to the domestic partners ofemployees.
State Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, pre-filed the legislation for the2007 legislative session, which begins in Jan. 2.
Lee had said he would file such legislation, after the University ofLouisville decided to offer domestic partner benefits.
The University of Kentucky also has indicated it may offer similar benefits.
Under the bill ,"domestic partners" would be defined as any unmarried personliving with an adult of either the same or opposite sex, who is not a bloodrelative.
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Denver Post, CO, October 17, 2006
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_4501394
Focus on the Family misleads its "sheeple"
By Cindy Rodriguez, Denver Post Staff Columnist
There's a reason followers of the reactionary James Dobson are called "sheeple."
As chairman of the $145 million-a-year propaganda organization Focus on theFamily, Dobson is the ultimate puppet master, giving conservative members ofCongress marching orders in exchange for votes from his flock.
In Denver alone, Focus on the Family radio broadcasts can be heard 10 timesa day on three stations. It's heard by 1.5 million Americans each day.Millions more are influenced by the rest of FOTF's mediaconglomerate: TV shows, a syndicated column, magazines, books, even films.
By manipulating religious teachings, Dobson represses his followers with areactionary societal code: Get married, stay married, procreate and - mostimportant - donate your money to Focus on the Family.
=
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-dutch-immigration-gay.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
Dutch Grant Special Asylum Rights to Gay Iranians
By REUTERS
Filed at 5:43 a.m. ET
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch government has granted special asylum rightsto Iranian homosexuals, despite earlier comments by Immigration MinisterRita Verdonk who said they were safe so long as they were discrete.
Verdonk, whose tough stance on immigration and asylum has been condemned bymany on the left, based her decision on an unpublished report by HumanRights Watch, which refers to systematic abuse of homosexuals in Iran, herministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
She also decided to extend a moratorium for Iranian Christian asylum seekersto remain in the Netherlands until May 2007 from this month.
``Homosexual Iranian asylum seekers can now find a safe haven in theNetherlands from the persecution and inhuman treatment they face in Iran,''Frank van Dalen, chairman of gay rights group COC Nederland, said.
=
http://www.waynebesen.com/2006/10/impending-republican-purge.html
Wayne Besen
Anything But Straight
Oct. 18, 2006
A Come To Jesus Moment
In 1995, I arrived in Washington, DC as a fresh faced and doe-eyed twentyfive year old. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for a living, but I thoughtworking on Capitol Hill might be interesting and the big buildings lookedkind of cool. Although I had just served as a press secretary in a U.S.senate primary, I wasn't a political junkie and all I really knew was thatDemocrats were the pro-gay "good guys" and Republicans were the anti-gay"bad guys."
For days, I scurried down the long corridors of the ornate and mustyCongressional offices to drop off resumes. While I was ultimatelyunsuccessful in attracting a job offer, I did manage to attract furtiveglances from many staffers on The Hill - particularly well-scrubbedRepublicans. If there were steam coming out of some of those Republicanoffices, I would have sworn I was in a bathhouse. Wasn't the GOP supposed tobe the party that loathed homosexuals?
This bizarre dynamic was simply too mind-boggling for a political neophytelike myself to comprehend. I chalked it up to one of life's great unknowablemysteries, such as "Does God exist" or "why do straight women think Fabio ishot?"
=
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/17/AR2006101700139.html
Kolbe Matter Is Referred to House Ethics Panel
Allegations Involve Contact With Male Former Pages
By Jonathan Weisman and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 18, 2006; A09
The House committee looking into allegations that former congressman MarkFoley (R-Fla.) had improper contact with male former pages has been asked bylawmakers overseeing the page program to look into allegations involving asecond lawmaker, House sources said yesterday.
Members of the Page Board sought the review after news reports last weekthat the Justice Department had opened a preliminary inquiry into a campingtrip that Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) took with male former pages in 1996. Thatreport sparked a conference call Monday among board members.
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/18/us/politics/18trandahl.html?ei=5094&en=330eb62eab326b73&hp=&ex=1161230400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print
October 18, 2006
Ex-House Clerk May Be a Key in Foley's Case
By JEFF ZELENY
WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 - In the days after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, aselaborate battle plans were drawn to protect members of Congress andpreserve government continuity, Jeff Trandahl, the clerk of the House, didsomething else. He obtained a commercial driver's license.
Mr. Trandahl wanted to be ready for the next emergency. Of all hisresponsibilities in Congress, a priority was safeguarding the high schoolstudents who work as pages. He arranged for buses to be parked nearby, sopages could leave their dormitories or the Capitol. If needed, he woulddrive them to safety.
His concern for the pages highlights the protection provided to theteenagers in their time here. But it also raises piercing questions abouthow years of whispers over a congressman's unwelcome advances could escapepublic notice until being exposed on a television news program.
=
http://www.examiner.com/printa-339037~Pastor%E2%80%99s_son_speaks_out_against_anti-gay_church.html
Pastor's son speaks out against anti-gay church
Kelsey Volkmann, The Examiner
BALTIMORE - Nightmares about his father's "brainwashing" tormented him years after leaving his family and their anti-gay church behind.
"If a God was so hurtful and destructive and evil as [my father] portrays,
I'll
take my chances with hell," Nate Phelps, the estranged son of the Rev. FredPhelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, told The Examiner. He criticized theTopeka, Kan., church's military funeral protests, where his relatives holdinflammatory signs, such as "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," to demonstratetheir belief that God is killing service members as punishment for America'stolerance of homosexuality.
Nate Phelps, 47, described himself as a victim of a violent childhood, wherehe alleges his father beat him and his 12 siblings so much that, at onepoint, they lived in the garage to escape his rage.
"I got most of the beatings because I was the black sheep of the family foras long as I can remember," Nate Phelps said.
=
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/17/news_pf/State/Orlando_a_top_10_city.shtml
Orlando a top-10 city for percent of gay residents
By Wire services
Published October 17, 2006
ORLANDO
The Orlando metro area now ranks in the top 10 cities in the country forgay, lesbian and bisexual residents, according to a recent study.
More than 80,000 people, 6 percent of the adult population, in the area aregay, a study by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and PublicPolicy at the UCLA School of Law found.
Orlando ranks ninth in the study. San Francisco had the highest percentageof gays at more than 8 percent.
The city of Orlando and local companies have become more progressive towardgays in recent years, said Chris Alexander, vice president of sales andmarketing for Gay Days Inc.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Common%2FMGArticle%2FPrintVersion&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191190235&image=timesdispatch80x60.gif&oasDN=timesdispatch.com&oasPN=%21news
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AMENDMENT
Opponents out-raise ban's backers
BY PAMELA STALLSMITH
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
The leading group fighting a proposed constitutional amendment that wouldban same-sex marriage brought in nearly nine times as much money last monthas the best-known supporters.
The Commonwealth Coalition raised more than $445,000 in September, bringingits total to nearly $762,000, according to reports filed yesterday withstate Board of Elections. The coalition entered October with more than$370,000 in cash.
"We are feeling very positive about where we are, and it's very clear thatthe momentum continues to move in our direction," said campaign managerClaire Guthrie Gasta?aga. "We are continuing to raise money to do everythingwe need to do. Every informed voter is a no voter."
Mary Cheney of Great Falls, the openly gay daughter of Vice President DickCheney and author of a recently published political memoir, gave $1,000 tothe coalition, the report shows.
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
Where's the support?
When is a grant to help suicide prevention among youth controversial?
The PFLAG organization was asked to apply for the grant in order tomake the money go further. This is a great way to make tight budget dollarsgo so much further in today's city/county budget fight for dollars!
PFLAG stands for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians And Gays.This is a well-respected nonprofit organization that has been in Lincoln for25 years. It is a support and advocacy group for those family members andfriends who are trying to cope with and understand their family members andfriends who are likely to face rejection from their own families and who arestill legally discriminated against by the laws of this nation.
This is not an organization that does "recruitment and retention." Iam proud to say that my family and I have been long-time supporters of PFLAG and will continue to do so!
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/nation/15748565.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Hatch: GOP didn't want to appear homophobic
CRITICS BLAST INACTION, BRISTLE AT EXPLANATION
By Matt Canham
MediaNews
U.S. House leaders may have delayed taking action against former FloridaRepublican Rep. Mark Foley because they were afraid of appearing anti-gay,Sen. Orrin Hatch said.
Utah's Republican senator called Foley's sexually explicit e-mails andinstant messages to congressional pages ``abysmal'' and inexcusable, but healso defended House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who has drawn repeated criticismfor not acting on concerns brought to his office earlier.
Hatch's defense, presented to the Salt Lake City Tribune editorial boardearlier this week, centered on how busy Hastert is as the Republican leaderin the House.
=
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/content/2006/10/another_congres.html
Another Congressman named in growing page scandal
October 17, 2006 6:44 AM | News | 3 Comments
A U.S. congressional board which oversees a Capitol Hill internship programrocked by a sex scandal, discussed allegations on Monday involving a secondlawmaker, said Rep. Dale Kildee, a Michigan Democrat.
Kildee made the comment as he emerged from a closed-door meeting of a Houseethics committee, which has been focused on the case of former RepublicanRep. Mark Foley of Florida, who resigned last month following disclosure hesent inappropriate electronic messages to male teenage interns, known aspages.
"It's only been allegations made," Kildee told reporters of the House pageboard's discussion about a second lawmaker, who he declined to identify.
Kildee said he and other board members had a conference call earlier in theday about "other allegations, not about Mr. Foley." Kildee also indicatedthe page board had talked about the matter with the second lawmaker.
#####
