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EdWeek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/05/29/39apreligion_web.h26.html?
Education Week
Published Online: May 29, 2007
Texas Religious Expression Bill Advances
By The Associated Press
Austin
Texas students would have greater freedom to express their religious viewson school campuses under a bill passed Saturday by the House and sent toGov. Rick Perry, who has publicly supported the measure.
Under the legislation, religious beliefs expressed in homework, artwork andother assignments would be judged by traditional academic standards.Students couldn't be penalized or rewarded because of the religious content
of their work.
Supporters say the bill is needed to protect students from censorship andschool districts from lawsuits. But opponents argue it will lead toreligious discrimination among students.
other stories on education issues in Texas. See data on Texas' public schoolsystem.
"We are allowing our young people to express their faith, whatever thatfaith is," said Rep. Larry Phillips, a Sherman Republican.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
The Swedish government today made an official announcement published ontheir homepage: http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/9108/a/83041 regarding MoscowPride.
The text very rapidly translated into English is the following:
Swedish government regarding the Moscow incidents
The Swedish government looks very serious at what happened in Moscow May27th when a demonstration, with out police permittance, were held to protestagainst the city´s ban against gay parades. Protesters were, according tointernational media and eye witnesses, exposed for violence from Russianpolice and counterprotesters. One of the organizers and several foreignpoliticians were seized during the tumult.
- The fact that the demonstration for human rights for LGBT persons did nothave a permit should not be taken as a cause to view the participants asfair game, says integration and equality minister Nyamko Sabuni ,who also isthe government´s minister for human rights, including LGBT questions. Weexpect us that Russia, as a member in the European Council, shall live up toit´s democratic core principles.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
Luke Harding in Moscow
Tuesday May 29, 2007
Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,2090147,00.html
A senior British diplomat has been beaten by two unidentified assailantswhile on an official trip in provincial Russia. Nigel Gould-Davies, firstsecretary at the British embassy in Moscow, was attacked at 1am on Saturdayas he walked across the theatre square in the Siberian city of Chita, policesaid.
Mr Gould-Davies needed hospital treatment for bruises to his face. Hisglasses were broken in the attack and he was unable to see his assailants,police said.
The beating is the second assault on Britons in Russia in two days, andfollows an attack on Sunday by anti-homosexual protesters on the Britishhuman rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. Mr Tatchell was punched, knocked tothe ground, and kicked while protesting about gay rights with a group ofEuropean parliamentarians. Yesterday embassy officials described the attackon Mr Gould-Davies as a random assault carried out by drunken teenagerscelebrating the end of the school year.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
TUBBY TROUBLE: Poland is investigating television show the Teletubbies overclaims they might promote homosexuality.
Poland's conservative government took its drive to curb what it sees ashomosexual propaganda to the small screen, taking aim at Tinky Winky and theother Teletubbies.
Ewa Sowinska, government-appointed children rights watchdog, told alocal magazine published on Monday she was concerned the popular BBCchildren's show promoted homosexuality.
She said she would ask psychologists to advise if this was the case.
In comments reminiscent of criticism by the late US evangelist JerryFalwell, she was quoted as saying: "I noticed (Tinky Winky) has a lady'spurse, but I didn't realize he's a boy."
"At first I thought the purse would be a burden for this Teletubby . . .Later I learned that this may have a homosexual undertone."
Poland's rightist government has upset human rights groups and drawncriticism within the European Union by apparent discrimination againsthomosexuals.
Polish Education Minister Roman Giertych has proposed laws sackingteachers who promote "homosexual lifestyle" and banning "homo-agitation" inschools.
But in a sign that the government wants to distance itself fromSowinska's comments, Parliamentary Speaker Ludwig Dorn said he had warnedher against making public comments "that may turn her department into alaughing stock".
The 10-year-old Teletubbies, which features four rotund, brightlycoloured characters loved by children around the world, became a target ofreligious conservatives after Falwell suggested Tinky Winky could behomosexual.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
Wednesday May 30, 2007
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2091014,00.html
From the suffragettes to the Montgomery bus boycotters, history is litteredwith characters who kick-start progress by being awkward - and awkwardnessis something Peter Tatchell has in spades. Whether he is interrupting theArchbishop of Canterbury's sermon or attempting a citizen's arrest of RobertMugabe, the gay-rights campaigner is always up to something that theestablishment does not like - which for Tatchell is precisely the point. Hisbrand of megaphone politics is unattractive to many, but after his defiantresponse to being beaten by thugs in Russia at the weekend, not even criticscan deny that he is brave.
In one campaign, widely damned for interfering in people's private affairs,he demanded that 10 Church of England bishops declare their homosexuality.Tatchell saw the tactic as a weapon of defence against ecclesiasticalbigotry - and claims that afterwards the church toughened its line ondiscrimination. Where hypocrisy is not an issue, Tatchell now defends theright of people to keep their sexuality to themselves. He has also shownthat he can bury the hatchet, endorsing Simon Hughes for the LiberalDemocrat leadership two decades after Hughes beat him in a bitter byelectionovershadowed by prejudice. His sympathies are consistently leftist, butTatchell is never blinded by tribal loyalties - he has condemned the machotactics of the NUM and the homophobia of Fidel Castro. It is all part of themaverick mix that has stirred up trouble everywhere.
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In Ankara, Turkey International meeting against homophobia under way
Int'l meeting against homophobia under way
May 18, 2007
Turkish Daily News
A two-day international meeting against homophobia kicked off yesterday inthe Turkish capital, with most speakers focusing on the legal vacuum insafeguarding the rights of homosexuals in Turkey and abroad.
Zehra Kabasakal, expert on political science and women studies, discussedthe issue in the context of international human rights, complaining thatthe United Nations is lacking a universal charter on the rights ofhomosexuals and that none of the U.N. documents make a direct reference tohomosexuality.
We must recognize the diversity in order to achieve equality for humandignity and we must ensure genuine equality, she told the conferenceaudience. Kabasakal, referring to the two separate milestones at theinternational level on the rights of homosexuals, said one was the removalby the World Health Organization of homosexuality from the list of themental illnesses in May 1990, and the other was the adoption of theYogyakarta Principles in November 2006 which address a broad range ofinternational human rights standards and their application to issues ofsexual orientation and gender identity.
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Forwarded from Wayne Besen
http://www.waynebesen.com/
Weekly Column: Anything But Straight
May 29. 2007
Gay Pride and Putin's Soprano-State
The first sign that Russia's march toward freedom was on a downward spiralcame on June 16, 2001. when George W. Bush said of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be verystraight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was ableto get a sense of his soul."
It turns out that Bush's judgment on Putin was only eclipsed by his decisionthat fateful summer to add "My Pet Goat" to his reading list at theexclusion of a memorandum titled. "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside theUnited States."
Sixteen years after the collapse of communism and only seven years afterPutin's coming to power. Russia is headed in the wrong direction. Putin'scrooked authoritarianism threatens to set off a new Cold War and erase thehard-won era of peace. Indeed. Alexei Bayer. a guest columnist in the St.Petersburg Times. said Putin's rule is noted for its "endemic corruption.rollback of democracy. blatant confiscation of private property and murkypolitical murders."
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South Florida's GLBT Monthly Networking Event supporting
The Human Rights Campaign
CLUB BLUE!
www.hrcclubblue.com
Club Blue is a monthly social and networking event designed to promote theHuman Rights Campaign and its membership in South Florida. It is held onthe first Thursday of each month!
Join the HRC South Florida Committee each month to network with other GLBTprofessionals and to learn about HRC in South Florida!
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Ndtv.com
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070013322
1) Same sex couple threaten suicide in Pak
NDTV Correspondent
Friday, May 25, 2007 (Islamabad)
Facing an almost certain separation and a possible prison term, Pakistan'sfirst known same sex couple has threatened to commit suicide.
The couple appealed to President Pervez Musharraf as well as theinternational community for help.
They were ferreted into court like common criminals. And a court in Lahoresent the couple to jail on the grounds that the husband was actually a womanand same-sex marriages were against Islam.
The husband, 31 year old Shumail Raj had sex-change surgery and agreed tomarry because she feared being forced into wedlock with someone else.
They were arrested last week. '' We don't feel safe in Pakistan.''
''We want to live together. We are not homosexuals,'' said the couple.
If convicted of 'unnatural offence' - a term used for homosexuality - theycould be sentenced to life in prison.
They've appealed to the international community and to President Musharraffor help, yet it seems they are up against massive odds.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/nyregion/30mbrfs-raise.html?r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
May 30, 2007
Metro Briefing | New York
Loudonville: Little Support for Legislative Raise
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Most New York voters do not think state legislators deserve a pay raise,according to a poll released yesterday by the Siena Research Institute atSiena College. Lawmakers have not received a raise since 1999, but the pollfound that 62 percent of voters opposed the increase, while 32 percentsupported it. The telephone survey of 620 voters was conducted May 18-20 andhas a margin of error of four percentage points, the institute said.Pollsters also found that voters were divided on Gov. Eliot Spitzer's callfor legalization of gay marriage, with 43 percent in favor and 47 percentopposed.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Romney-Wealth.html?pagewanted=print
May 30, 2007
Romney Vows to Donate Salary if Elected
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:40 a.m. ET
ALTON, N.H. (AP) -- Republican Mitt Romney said Tuesday he would likelydonate his salary to charity if elected president, a financial freedom hedescribed as a byproduct of a successful business career.
''I never anticipated that I'd be as financially successful as I was, andthen my business went far better than I expected it would,'' Romney told awoman at a Liberty Mutual office in Dover, N.H., when she asked ifmillionaire candidates could resolve government problems in Washington.
''I wouldn't disqualify somebody by virtue of their financial wealth ortheir financial poverty,'' Romney added. ''I would instead look at theirrecord, what they've done with their life and whether they can make adifference, whether the things they have learned will enable them to be aneffective leader.''
A former venture capitalist who headed the 2002 Winter Olympics and servedone term as Massachusetts governor from 2003 to 2007, Romney is thewealthiest of all the candidates, Democrats and Republicans. His assets areestimated at $190 million to $250 million.
Later, speaking with reporters, Romney said he would likely accept thepresidential salary of $400,000 annually but donate the money. Whilegovernor, Romney declined his $135,000 annual salary.
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The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-pb444may30,0,1636527,print.story
Governor's answer on gay adoption
Irving M. Herman
Boca Raton
May 30, 2007
You are only technically accurate in stating on May 18 that "Gov. CharlieCrist answers a Lake Worth reader's question about adoption by gayfamilies." The question was whether the indication in his State of the Statespeech that he would support whatever is best for a child "extended topromoting and signing a bill that allows gay families to adopt." He mighthave avoided a direct answer by noting that he lacked such authority becauseFlorida's prohibition of gay adoption is a statutory one. He chose asimplistic response: "I support the traditional family. I think raising achild in a traditional family is best."
Since the insufficiency of "traditional" folk to enter the market requiresso many children to remain in foster care -- or worse -- his "answer" wasmuch like answering the question, "Do you ever eat poached eggs?" by saying"My favorite form of egg is an omelet."
The least an official owes his constituency is candor, a quality sadlymissing from what you called the governor's "answer."
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The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail918xmay30,0,5642293,print.story
Gay Christians
Jim Feldscher
Fort Lauderdale
May 30, 2007
In her May 13 letter, "Different lives," the author takes William Butte totask because, "He does to Christians what he himself does not want others todo to gays." She does not fully explain what Mr. Butte does or does not want"others to do to gays," but she does describe his "portrayals of Christiandoctrine as something inhumane and mean."
As a gay Christian, I do not find "Christian doctrine" to be mean orinhumane. But when the writer equates "the homosexual lifestyle or otherforms of adulterous behavior," does she claim that she is being loving ndsupportive? (Anyone who speaks of one "homosexual lifestyle" does not knowmany homosexuals!) When she describes gays as "being slaves to someunhealthy and unfulfilling habit," does she believe that she is exhibitingChristian charity?
Whether it's a matter of me finding Jesus or of Jesus finding me, my lifecan be blessed by God even though some would consider me to be "different."
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Ebar.com
http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=1841
Chicago SM club under fire for anti-trans policy
Issue: Vol. 37 / No. 21 / 24 May 2007
Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
As thousands of leathermen head to Chicago for this weekend's InternationalMr. Leather contest, one group won't be welcome at a Windy City gay SMclub - those who are transgender.
Leather transmen and their advocates are putting pressure on the ChicagoHellfire Club, one of the oldest leather and SM clubs in the country, torepeal its 10-year-old policy against female-to-male individuals.
According to David Igasaki, the immediate past president of the HellfireClub and a member for 15 years, "The general rule of thumb is that there hasto be a penile attachment." This means that for transgender men to beinvited to or considered for membership to attend the private play partiesand events they need to complete convertive surgery.
Igasaki told the Bay Area Reporter that he was aware that many FTMs don'tcomplete genital surgery for various reasons, but that he opposed changingthe current policy regarding transmen.
"They don't want to admit women," said Igasaki. "It's not that people areanti-women or personally discriminate against transgender people. It's justthat as a sex club there is a desire to protect a gay environment duringplay."
The Hellfire Club has an estimated 400 members with an annual operatingbudget of over $300,000, according to David Schultz, a member for 10 yearswho supports transmen's inclusion in the club.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid45501.asp
May 30, 2007
American support of gays up significantly
American acceptance of gay rights is at its highest level in 30 years,according to a national poll released Tuesday. A Gallup Poll shows that 59%of Americans believe that "homosexual relations between consenting adults"should be legal. This question, which is part of the Gallup Poll's annualValues and Beliefs survey carried out each May, has been asked every yearsince 1977, when only 43% responded affirmatively.
The largest percentage of Americans voicing support for gays surfaced in May2003, when 60% agreed that gay sex should be legal. Lawrence v. Texas, theJune 2003 Supreme Court ruling that overturned sodomy laws, led to anapparent backlash among the American public regarding gay equality. From2003 to 2005 public support remained at about 50%, increasing to 56% lastyear.
Support for same-sex marriage has also increased to an all-time high.Although supporters are still the minority, 46% believe marriages betweensame-sex couples should be legally validated.
The most support comes in relation to equality in the workplace, with 89%believing that gays "should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities." (The Advocate)
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45487.asp
May 30, 2007
Russian police detain gay activists after demonstration
Russian police detained gay rights activists, among them European lawmakers,as they tried to present a letter to Moscow's mayor Sunday in ademonstration that also attracted a hostile crowd of people who punched andthrew eggs at the activists.
The letter, signed by some 40 European lawmakers, appealed the city's ban ona march that would have taken place Sunday to mark the 14th anniversary ofRussia's decriminalization of homosexuality.
Police quickly grabbed about a dozen demonstrators and forced them into abus, including Russian gay rights movement leader Nikolai Alexeyev. Policethen hustled away others, including German parliament member Volker Beck, asopponents threw eggs and shouted: ''Moscow is not Sodom!''
Marco Cappato, a European parliament deputy from Italy, was kicked by oneopponent as he spoke to journalists. Cappato began shouting ''Where are thepolice? Why don't you protect us?'' and officers hauled him away as hestruggled.
The gay rights activists appeared to number fewer than 100, while roughlythat many police were present.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45488.asp
May 30, 2007
Pakistan court jails same-sex couple
A court in Lahore, Pakistan, on Monday jailed a same-sex couple for threeyears for perjury, prompting the defendants to ask the president for help.
The case of Shumail Raj, who was born female but had two operations toremove her breasts and uterus 16 years ago, and Shahzina Tariq has madewaves by raising issues of homosexuality and transsexuality that are tabooin this conservative Muslim society.
The couple, who married last year, had approached the Lahore high court forprotection against harassment by Tariq's relatives. However, the judgeaccused them of lying about the biological sex of Raj, 31.
Court-appointed doctors examined Raj and decided she was still awoman-something the couple acknowledged later in court. Raj has expressed adesire to go abroad for further surgery.
Presiding judge Kahawaja Mohammed Sharif, announcing their conviction forperjury, said he was issuing a ''lenient'' sentence, below the seven-yearmaximum, because they had apologized.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45502.asp
May 30, 2007
Homeless lesbian sues over shelter denial
A woman who sought housing at a Chicago homeless shelter but was turned awaybecause she is a lesbian is filing a complaint over the matter. MichelleWang, 27, came to the Chicago from Indianapolis last year with her partner,but their relationship ended, leaving her without a home, according to theAmerican Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which is handling her case.
On October 31, 2006, a coworker drove Wang to the city Department of HumanServices. An employee was unable to find a shelter where she could stay thenight and asked her to return the following day. That night Wang stayed inan unheated building and returned to the the department's offices the nextmorning. The employee called and confirmed that New Life Interim Housing,which is operated by a Christian group but receives some city funding, hadbeds available and put Wang on the phone with a New Life staffer.
When the staffer asked Wang why she was homeless, Wang disclosed that hergirlfriend had asked her to leave their apartment when their relationshipended. The staffer put Wang on hold, returning to say that there were nobeds available. The Human Services employee asked a colleague to phone theshelter and check on the availability of beds, and that employee found thatNew Life indeed had space available.
"I am disturbed that I was denied shelter, left to the cold and the dangerbecause of something so trivial," Wang told the Chicago Tribune in anarticle published last week.
The Reverend Bud Ogle, cofounder of the ministry that runs New Life,attributed the incident to a misunderstanding about whether the beds wereavailable, not to antigay discrimination, the Tribune reported. He addedthat he was relying on staffers' word about the matter.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45479.asp
May 30, 2007
Gay rights groups included on Alabama terrorist Web site
The Alabama Department of Homeland Security has taken down a Web site itoperated that included gay rights and antiwar organizations in a list ofgroups that could include terrorists. The Web site identified differenttypes of terrorists and included a list of groups it believed could spawnterrorists. The list also included environmentalists, animal rightsadvocates, and abortion opponents.
The director of the department, Jim Walker, said his agency received anumber of calls and e-mails from people who said they felt the site unfairlytargeted certain people just because of their beliefs. He said he plans toput the Web site back on the Internet but will no longer identify specifictypes of groups.
Howard Bayliss, chairman of the gay and lesbian advocacy group EqualityAlabama, said he doesn't understand why gay rights advocates would be on thelist.
''Our group has only had peaceful demonstrations. I'm deeply concerned we'vebeen profiled in this discriminatory matter,'' Bayliss said.
The site included the groups under a description of what it called''single-issue'' terrorists. That group includes people who feel they aretrying to create a better world, the Web site said. It said that in somecommunities law enforcement officers consider certain single-issue groups tobe a threat.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45494.asp
May 30, 2007
Polish watchdog backs off Teletubbies investigation
Poland's watchdog for children's rights had been quoted as saying she wouldask psychologists to investigate whether one of the characters on the BBCchildren's show Teletubbies is gay. On Tuesday, however, she backed awayfrom her comments.
Ewa Sowinska, Poland's ombudsman for children's rights, said in a Wprostmagazine interview that the Teletubbies character Tinky Winky, who carries apurse, could possibly be promoting homosexuality.
''I noticed that he has a purse, but I didn't realize he's a boy,'' Sowinskatold the magazine in an interview her office approved before publication.''At first I thought that must be a bother for him. Later I learned thatthere could be some hidden homosexual undertones.''
Sowinska said she would ask her office's psychologists to look into theallegations ''and judge whether it can be shown on public television andwhether the suggested problem really exists.''
On Tuesday, however, Sowinska spokeswoman Wieslawa Lipinska told theAssociated Press that Sowinska ''hasn't asked and won't ask'' psychologiststo investigate whether the show promotes homosexuality. ''They are fictionalcharacters. They have nothing to do with reality, and the bag and scissorsand other props the fictional characters use are there to create a fictionalworld that speaks to children,'' Lipinska said. ''We are not going to dealwith this issue anymore.''
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052907salad.htm
Salad Semen Prank Sends Teen To AIDS Center
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 29, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Wheaton, Illinois) A judge has ordered a 17-year-old to pay a $750 fine andperform 120 hours of community service for contaminating salad dressing withsemen and returning it to a suburban Chicago high school's cafeteria.
DuPage County Judge Terence Sheen also placed Marco Castro on two yearsprobation and ordered him to write a letter of apology to Wheaton North HighSchool officials. Castro must complete his community service work for anagency that works with AIDS patients.
Sheen called the prank "beyond stupid." "If you prove to me you're worthy ofanother chance, in two years, then I will give it to you," Sheen said.
Castro pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in connection withthe Dec. 6 incident. He admitted taking a bottle of ranch salad dressingfrom the school cafeteria to the bathroom and ejaculating into it, and thenreturning it to the cafeteria where juniors and seniors eat lunch.
Students reported Castro, and the senior was expelled from Wheaton North.There were no reported cases of illness following the incident.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052907prison.htm
NY Prison Creates Dementia Unit
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 29, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Fishkill, New York) In the day room, white-haired men in robes watch "ThePrice is Right." Out on the balcony, another looks through bars as hefidgets from side to side.
Prisons have been dealing with the special needs of older prisoners foryears, but the one here in Fishkill state prison is considered uniquebecause it specializes in dementia-related conditions.
The unit - 30 beds on the third floor of the prison's medical center - is afirst for New York and possibly the nation, through experts say it likelywon't be the last as more people grow old behind bars.
The unit has the clean-white-wall feel of a nursing home - but for theprison bars. A marker board in the day room includes a picture of a sun witha smiley face and a reminder to "Have a great day." The activity calendarlists puppies on Thursday and bingo on Friday. As long as they behave,patients can wander from their rooms to the day room.
"They're still in prison," said Fishkill superintendent William Connolly."This is just a unique environment within a prison environment."
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/2007/5-25/news/localnews/3740.cfm
First Gay Day Families Weekend to be held in Orlando
New group seeks to provide alternative to circuit parties for families withchildren
By PHIL LAPADULA
May. 25, 2007
Ever since the first Gay Day at Walt Disney World in 1991, conservativereligious groups have criticized gay groups for holding a "coming out party," as the Christian Action Network once described it, in a theme parkthat caters to families with small children. Critics have accused Gay Daysattendees of exposing children to homosexual behavior. Gay Days organizershave denied that any inappropriate behavior takes place in the theme parksthat cater to families.
Well this year, some gay families with children of their own have staked outtheir turf at Gay Days. The first annual Gay Day Families Weekend will beheld June 1 to 3 in Orlando. The weekend's itinerary includes a Milk &Cookies Welcome Party, a Disney Characters Breakfast, a Family Picnic at SeaWorld and a luau with non-alcoholic beverages. The group will also take partin the traditional Gay Day in the Magic Kingdom on Saturday, June 2. Thecomplete schedule of Gay Day Families Weekend is available atwww.gaydayfamily.com.
Yesi Leon, co-producer of Gay Day Families Weekend, said she got the ideaafter attending Girls in Wonderland, the official women's event for OrlandoGay Days.
"A lot of the women with children complained that Gay Days was mostlycircuit parties and that there was nothing for families," Leon said. "Yetthere's no better place to bring families than Orlando because of all thetheme parks. There are not a lot of places that gay families can go in whichthe kids can actually meet other gay families and feel comfortable. Thisgives the kids a chance to play and feel normal."
Leon organized the event with co-producers Alison Burgos of Ultra Events andAmy Alonso of Pandora Events. Gay Day Families Weekend will even include aday-care center, called Treasure Cove, staffed with child-care professionalsand teachers, Leon said.
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chicagotribune.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0705210621may22,1,5787813.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
COMMENTARY
Sex toys: What would Reagan do?
Leonard Pitts, a syndicated columnist based in Washington: Tribune MediaServices
May 22, 2007
"Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem."
-- Ronald Reagan, 1981
Sherri Williams took sex toys to the Supreme Court this month. Again.
The first time was in 2005, but justices declined to hear the case.Williams is hoping for better luck this time. Otherwise, a Valentine's Dayruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will stand, and a ban onthe purchase of sex toys in Alabama -- enacted in 1998 but not enforcedpending the outcome of litigation -- will go into effect.
Any Alabamian seeking an inflatable girlfriend or battery-operated boyfriendwill have to buy it out of state (possession is still legal).But in-state retailers like Williams will be out of business. And getthis: The court reasoned that the ban is constitutional because Alabama hasan interest "in preserving and promoting public morality."
Public. Morality.
Beg your pardon, but unless people were using Williams' merchandise on parkbenches, it's hard to see what public morality has to do with this.
Hard to see anything, in fact, except another government intrusion into themost private and intimate details of our lives. One need not be an Alabamapurveyor of sex toys to be profoundly troubled by that.
And right about now, someone is probably wondering what former PresidentRonald Reagan has to do with this. The quote above comes, of course, fromhis first inaugural address, a declaration of war against a federalgovernment he saw as oversized and overreaching, taxing too heavily,spending too freely and regulating too tightly.
For a long time, Reagan's words were the prime directive of the Americanconservative movement. But something has happened to that movement in the26 years since he spoke. Those who once promised to get government off thebacks of the people, who swore an oath against its intrusion on our lives,now gleefully use it to poke, prod, peer and interfere in the most privateaspects of our existence.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Latest Gallup Poll: Tolerance for Gay Rights at High Ebb
Why is the religious right so invested in promoting the ex-gay movement?
Gallup notes:
"The nature vs. nurture argument about the origin of homosexuality has beenan important element of the gay rights debate over the years, and it isclear why. Americans who believe homosexuals are born with their sexualorientation tend to be much more supportive of gay rights than are those whosay homosexuality is due to upbringing and environment (and therefore,perhaps, more of a lifestyle choice).
"Americans are closely divided today over which of the two explanations iscorrect: 42% say homosexuality is something a person is born with while 35%say it is due to factors such as upbringing and environment. The balance ofpublic opinion on the question has shifted back and forth in recent years,but the long-term pattern shows a clear increase in the view that one'ssexuality is determined at birth."
"As noted, substantive attitudes about homosexual rights are closely relatedto views on this question. For example, nearly four in five of those whobelieve homosexuality is congenital think it should be an acceptablelifestyle. By contrast, only 30% of those who think homosexuality is causedby environmental factors agree."
Jack Drescher, MD
jadres@psychoanalysis.net
http://www.jackdreschermd.net
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Latest From the Gallup News Service
RELIGION AND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Tolerance for Gay Rights at High Ebb -
http://www.gallup.com/nl/?27694,AlertSP,5/29/2007
May 29, 2007
Tolerance for Gay Rights at High Ebb
Public evenly divided over whether homosexuality is morally acceptable orwrong
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, conducted eachMay, finds current public tolerance for gay rights at the high-water mark ofattitudes recorded over the past three decades. There is still considerablepublic opposition to complete equality for gays, particularly with respectto marriage. However, after several years of lower support for gay rights,support is now springing back to the relatively high levels seen in 2003,just before the Supreme Court's June 26, 2003, decision striking down aTexas sodomy law. (According to Gallup trends, that ruling appeared toproduce a backlash of public opposition to gay rights.)
The clearest example of the recent renewal in pro-gay rights attitudes comesfrom a question asking Americans whether they believe homosexual relationsshould be legal. Public tolerance for this aspect of gay rights expandedfrom 43% at the inception of the question in 1977 to 60% in May 2003. Thenin July 2003, it fell to 50% and remained at about that level through 2005.Last year, it jumped to 56% and this year it reached 59%, similar to the2003 high point.
[continues at url http://www.gallup.com/nl/?27694,AlertSP,5/29/2007]
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Turner Classic Movies Screened Out this month
Turner Classic Movies will be showing films during the month of June withgay and lesbian characters (or innuendo). Many of these are tough to indcommercially, so this is a great opportunity to catch them (many in the eehours, unfortunately).
Here is the lesbian related schedule with links to more info on each filmfrom TCM. These are Eastern times, so be sure to check your own schedule.
The Office Wife (1930)
Monday, June 4,2007 3:00 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159634
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Wednesday, June 6,2007 8:00 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=72483
Queen Christina (1933) - Greta Garbo
Wednesday, June 6,2007 1:00 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=29966
Ladies They Talk About (1933) - Barbara Stanwyck
Monday, June 11,2007 9:15 PM
Monday, July 16,2007 8:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=139173
Caged (1950)
Monday, June 11,2007 10:30 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159638
So Young, So Bad (1950)
Monday, June 11,2007 12:15 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159639
Women's Prison (1955)
Monday, June 11,2007 4:00 AM
Tuesday, June 19,2007 5:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159641
The Uninvited (1944)
Monday, June 18,2007 8:00 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=87872
Voodoo Island (1957)
Monday, June 18,2007 12:00 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=91120
&mainArticleId=159623
The Haunting (1963)
Monday, June 18,2007 1:30 AM
Thursday, July 19,2007 1:00 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=419
The Seventh Victim (1943)
Monday, June 18,2007 3:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=449
Sylvia Scarlett (1935) - Katharine Hepburn
Wednesday, June 20,2007 9:30 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=12762
Turnabout (1940)
Wednesday, June 20,2007 11:15 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=155278
The Children's Hour (1961) - Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine
Monday, June 25,2007 10:15 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=1109
Walk on the Wild Side (1962) - Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Fonda
Wednesday, June 27,2007 10:30 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=76250
The Fox (1967)
Wednesday, June 27,2007 12:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159648
The Killing of Sister George (1968)
Wednesday, June 27,2007 2:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159650
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