GLBT DIGEST - December 18, 2006

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Irish Times, 18 December 2006

Quality of care is the key factor in rearing children

Claims that children raised by same-sex parents are worse off than childrenraised by heterosexual parents, as maintained here last week by Rik VanNieuwenhove of Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, are not supported byresearch evidence, writes Geraldine Moane

There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that children parentedby same-sex couples are at a developmental disadvantage. On the contrary,the evidence shows that children raised by lesbian parents are similar tochildren raised by heterosexual parents in gender identity, sexualorientation, well-being and sociability.

These are the consistent findings from numerous studies that were reviewedby Dr Susan Golombok of the University of Cambridge in a recent presentationat a British Psychological Society conference. Golombok concluded: "Childrenin lesbian families did not differ from other children as result of theirnon-traditional family environment."



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

Boston Globe, MA, December 17, 2006

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/12/17/the_constitutions_guardrails/

The Constitution's guardrails
By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist

A LAWSUIT filed in US District Court last week accuses 109 Massachusettslawmakers of violating the US Constitution. The plaintiffs are leaders ofVoteOnMarriage.org , a grass-roots campaign to amend the Massachusettsconstitution by defining marriage "only as the union of one man and onewoman."

It was a year ago this week that the proposed amendment, having attracted arecord-setting 170,000 signatures, was formally transmitted to theLegislature by the Massachusetts secretary of state. What was supposed tohappen next is spelled out in the state constitution. Article 48 directs theHouse and Senate to meet jointly and vote on amendments proposed by citizeninitiative; those that get at least 50 votes in two consecutive sessions arethen put on the state ballot.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

Des Moines Register, IA, December 17, 2006
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061217/OPINION01/6
12170310/1035/OPINION

Dick, take a stand for your grandkid
Rekha Basu

Dear Vice President Cheney,

I saw your happy news in the paper: A sixth grandchild on the way.What joy and hope such an arrival brings. What cause for celebration.

The picture showed your radiant daughter, Mary, and her partner, Heather.They look like a smart, strong and capable couple. They certainly seemcommitted after 15 years.

Your spokeswoman says that you and Mrs. Cheney are "looking forward witheager anticipation" to the birth, which suggests that you two have acceptedboth your daughter's lesbianism, and her decision to make a family with hersame-sex partner. Good for you. Too many gays and lesbians are turned out oftheir homes for being who they are and loving who they love. Many hunger fortheir parents' approval and for society's acceptance. Mary and Heather arelucky to have you on their side.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/arts/television/18bust.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print


December 18, 2006

Censured PBS Bunny Returns, Briefly
By DENNIS GAFFNEY


What happens to a children's public television show after it has beenattacked by the secretary of education, pilloried by conservatives, thenabandoned by its underwriters? In the case of "Postcards From Buster," itmanages to return, belatedly but unbowed, for a second season.

"We were proud of 'Postcards From Buster,' and we are proud of 'PostcardsFrom Buster,' " said Brigid Sullivan, vice president for children'sprogramming at WGBH, the Boston PBS station that produces the show. "It's achildren's show dealing with diversity by showing real kids in real-lifesituations. That's not being done by anyone else."

In "Postcards From Buster" documentary footage of children from differentcultures is combined with animation of Buster and his friends. This seasonincludes only 10 episodes, which began in November and will run throughFebruary, a far cry from the 40 produced for the show's first season.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/us/18episcopal.html?ei=5094&en=d688812abe57a8de&hp=&ex=1166418000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print


December 18, 2006
Episcopal Parishes in Virginia Vote to Secede
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN


Two large and influential Episcopal parishes in Virginia votedoverwhelmingly yesterday to leave the Episcopal Church and to affiliate withthe Anglican archbishop of Nigeria, a conservative leader in a churchwidefight over homosexuality.

Five smaller churches in Virginia also announced yesterday that they hadvoted to secede, joining four others that have already left and three moreexpected to announce their decisions soon. Some affiliated with otherarchbishops in Africa.




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The New York Times


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/opinion/18mon2.html?pagewanted=print


December 18, 2006
Editorial
The AIDS-Malaria Connection


AIDS prevention has seen two breakthroughs this month. The big news is theprotective value of circumcision. But there is another important finding:AIDS and malaria feed on each other, with disastrous effects.

In a paper published in the journal Science, researchers looked at healthrecords from Kisumu, Kenya, a city of 200,000 with high levels of bothdiseases. They calculated that the interaction of the diseases increasedAIDS cases by 8 percent and malaria by 13 percent. Over 25 years, that meant8,500 additional AIDS cases and almost a million extra cases of malaria. Theresearchers drew on earlier findings that H.I.V.-positive people who getmalaria experience a six- to eight-week spike in the level of the AIDS virusin their blood. During that spike, they are supercontagious, with double theusual chance of infecting a sexual partner. People with H.I.V. have alsobeen proved more likely to catch malaria.



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