GLBT DIGEST July 2, 2007

**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.


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A note from Ray and Michael:

Wilton Manors:

We received a note from Paul Harris that he has resigned as publisher of TheIndependent. The gay newspaper was founded 3 years and 5 months ago by PaulHarris and Michael James. Executive Publisher Dave Knight, of BuzzPublications, Inc., purchased "The Indy" several months ago and has notnamed Harris' replacement. Harris named personal, and employment contractissues as his reason for leaving the newspaper. The Independent has been avaluable source of news for the gay community in S. Florida. Paul Harrisset very high journalistic standards. We wish The Independent the best asit moves on without Paul Harris' energy, wisdom and leadership.



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National Gay News

http://nationalgaynews.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Texas GOP Adopts Very Anti Gay Policy
Claims Gays Destroy Families, Spread Disease

The National Gay News has come upon the official 2006 formal platform of theRepublican Party of Texas.

It is a lengthy document drafting its philosophy on many, many issues.

We thought we would excise for our readers its thoughts on homosexuality,published at page 14 of its treatise.

Without editorial comment- at this time- it is here for your review.

The President of the United States of America formerly led the TexasRepublican Party as the State's governor.

At page 14........................

Homosexuality - We believe that the practice of sodomy tears at the fabricof society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads tothe spread of dangerous, communicable diseases.

Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths thathave been ordained by God, recognized by our country's founders, and sharedby the majority of Texans.

Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable "alternative" lifestylein our public education and policy, nor should "family" be redefined toinclude homosexual "couples."

We are opposed to any granting of special legal entitlements, recognition,or privileges including, but not limited to, marriage between persons of thesame sex, custody of children by homosexuals, homosexual partner insuranceor retirement benefits.

We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who opposehomosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.

Texas Sodomy Statutes - We oppose the legalization of sodomy. We demand thatCongress exercise its authority granted by the U.S. Constitution to withholdjurisdiction from the federal courts from cases involving sodomy.



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National Gay News

http://nationalgaynews.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Arkansas Town an Unlikely Leader For Gay Rights
City is issuing certificates to gay and unmarried domestic partners

Domestic partnerships are making their first Arkansas foothold in a citywith a seven-story statue of Jesus.

The partnership registry at Eureka Springs runs counter to popular opinionin a state that overwhelmingly banned gay marriage in 2004, but townofficials began recording unions of gay and unmarried couples this month.

Read More...



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365Gay.com

http://365gay.com/Newscon07/07/070107florida.htm

Protestors Arrested At St. Petersburg Gay Pride
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: July 1, 2007 - 9:00 am ET

(St. Petersburg, Florida) Four people from a Georgia evangelical group werearrested Saturday at gay pride celebrations in St. Petersburg after theyviolated a city order restricting demonstrators to a "free speech" zone ablock from the festival.

Police also arrested a woman at the celebration who allegedly threw a drinkat one of the protestors. The beverage splashed several other peoplestanding on the sidelines.

Most members of the evangelical group, from Georgia, obeyed the city orderlimiting where they could protest. Some held signs reading "Sodomy, It's ToDie For" and "Adam & Eve, NOT Adam & Steve" while others used a bullhorn todenounce gays.

People attending the festival largely ignored the demonstration, with somewaving and others blowing kisses at them.

The loud music from the festival virtually downed out the protestors.

Police estimated about 40,000 people attended the pride celebration,although organizers said it was closer to 60,000.

This was St. Petersburg's fifth annual pride event and has become the city'sbiggest cultural festival.



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Dyn.politico.com

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=826C0B70-3048-5C12-000D062B0F9A0723

Democrats target gay, South Asian donors
By: Ben Smith
July 1, 2007 07:06 PM EST

This year's unprecedented scramble for early presidential campaign money hasbroadened opportunities for old-style but growing constituent groups -notably, on the Democratic side, gay and Indian-American donors.

The big campaign finance story of the last four years has been Internetfundraising, and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is expected imminently toannounce record-breaking sums from online donors.

But most Democratic candidates' contributions in the first quarter this yearwere raised the old-fashioned way - with big checks written at fundraisers.The system lets well-organized, wealthy constituencies present theirconcerns early and more effectively.

"Constituency groups that have large numbers of people that can write largenumbers of checks do well," said David Mixner, a top gay fundraisersupporting former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.). "This year [gay and lesbian]issues became important very quickly, because the [Democratic] candidateswere very similar so there was a real competitive outreach."



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Nwaonline.net

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/07/01/news/061407lrgayfoster.txt

The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
Social Workers Offered Seminar On Counseling Gay Adoptive And Foster Parents
By Rob Moritz
THE MORNING NEWS

LITTLE ROCK -- A continuing education seminar to help social workers workmore effectively with gays wanting to adopt or be foster parents, and withgay children in foster care, is drawing criticism from a conservative groupseeking to ban gay adoptions and foster parenting in Arkansas.

The Arkansas Family Council says it plans to spearhead a drive to put aproposal before voters in the 2008 general election.

"People ask why a ban is necessary," Jerry Cox, executive director of thecouncil, said Wednesday. "It is necessary because there is a concertedeffort to promote homosexual adoption in Arkansas."

Julia Baldwin, executive director of the Arkansas chapter of the NationalAssociation of Social Workers, denied the daylong workshop the group hasscheduled for Friday was intended to promote a gay agenda.

"It is not a concerted effort to promote anything," Baldwin said. "It is aconcerted effort to educate people on working with gay and lesbian clientsand people that want to be gay foster parents ... It's how to work with thatclient."

She said the continuing education seminar is one of about 40 the chapter,which represents about 1,000 social workers across Arkansas, organizes andoffers annually for social workers in the state. The most recent seminar wason psychopharmaceuticals, she said.

Licensed social workers in Arkansas are required to take at least 48 hoursof continuing education courses every two years, Baldwin said. Friday'sworkshop is worth 4 1/2 hours, she said.



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The Palm Beach Post

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2007/06/29/m11a_letterfile_0629.html

It's the penultimate letter.
by Donald Cavanaugh
Discrimination against gays hurts whole of society

About Maureen Dowd's column "Outed as out of touch" (June 6): What could bemore immoral in a democratic nation than to deny an entire class of humanbeings basic human decency, human dignity and human rights? Where in theConstitution does it say that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"should be denied to citizens because they love people who look likethemselves?

Without discussing the hypocrisy Ms. Dowd elucidates in her column, how dothese people sleep at night knowing that they have created a second-classcitizenry based solely on their religious beliefs, to which many of us, bothgay and straight, do not ascribe?

Worse, how do they justify taking our tax money to subsidize themselveswhile denying us access to the many benefits the government accords themajority both as married couples and members of the armed forces?Legislators who vote against civil rights and human equality for homosexualcitizens are not only failing in their oath to uphold the Constitution, theyare failing in human compassion and fairness. We must drive them back to the"sanctity" of their sanctuaries and keep that "holiness" off our secularstreets and out of our secular laws.

DONALD CAVANAUGH

Lake Worth



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

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2115858,00.html

Gay Poles head for UK to escape state crackdown
Thousands flock to Britain as Health Ministry unveils plans to 'cure' them
Colin Graham in Warsaw
Sunday July 1, 2007

The Observer

Polish gay rights groups claim thousands of homosexuals have fled thecountry to escape increasing persecution.

Robert Biedron, 27, the head of the Polish Foundation AgainstHomophobia, said that 'huge numbers' of Polish gays had left the countryfollowing the rise to power of the right-wing government. He said: 'It isincredible. The Polish gay community has just left because of the climateof fear and persecution.

'Most of the people I know are now in England because of the currentpolitical situation. Not for economic reasons, but because of thepersecution of homosexuals going on here. It's impossible for gays to bethemselves in Poland.'

He added: 'Around two million Poles have left the country seeking workand thousands of gays are among them. Many gays are approaching ourfoundation for help in emigrating to the UK.'

Kamil Zapasnik, 22, a gay student who moved to London because he wantedto marry, said: 'It's very important to me that I am able to have a civilpartnership and adopt children. In the UK I have that freedom.'

Poland's Roman Catholic right-wing government has openly homophobicmembers and Polish media recently announced that the Health Ministry hadcreated a special committee responsible for 'curing' gays.



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

20070630161936.2C3F7735E3@hibiscus.onlinepolicy.net>

From the Chicago Free Press, June 27, 2007
Co-published at the Independent Gay Forum
(www.indegayforum.org)
A Few Dissenting Notes
Paul Varnell

Allow, if you will, a few dissenting notes from gay orthodoxy. If a writeronly wrote things you agreed with, what good is he? And why read him? Betterjust talk to yourself in the mirror. "Politically correct" originated as anorthodoxy-enforcing Communist Party term in the 1930s.

. Pride weekend and the Pride parade are becoming more like Mardi Gras everyyear--something we do mainly because a) it is traditional and b) it bringsrevenue into the city from suburban and regional visitors who buy food andalcohol, shop, maybe rent overnight accommodations, and spend money on othertourist things while here.

. It may be all very well to take government (taxpayers') money for variousgay projects--after all everyone else does it too--but there is always therisk that to get the money one's agenda will be compromised or that peoplewill shape their agenda to things the government (i.e., politicians) wouldapprove--avoiding "sensitive" issues, for instance. "He who pays the pipercalls the tune." And politicians always want a payback in the form ofpolitical support. It is better to rely on private funding from individuals,supportive corporations or sympathetic foundations less subject tomajoritarian dictates.

. Gay leaders repeat endlessly that abortion is a gay issue, but it isn't.Personally, I support all forms of abortion: A fetus may be "human" but itis not a "person." Nevertheless, how abortion can be an issue for gays andlesbians whose sexual activity does not produce fetuses is never explained.Yes, some lesbians might want to get pregnant but then abort a badlydeformed fetus.

Fine. Get an abortion, but don't say doing it is a gay issue just becauseyou are gay. Gay leaders say people have a right to control their ownbodies. I agree. But do they mean it?



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

AFP

http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070630-124018-5695r

Hundreds of thousands due at European Gay Pride Virginie Grognou
June 30, 2007

MADRID -- Gays, lesbians, and their supporters from all over Europe wereset to gather in their hundreds of thousands in Madrid Saturday in a massiveparade, as London and Paris also held their annual Gay Pride marches.

Europride 2007, which kicks off at 1600 GMT in the Spanish capital, marksthe highlight of a week of events during which organizers expected a totalof 2.5 million people, including 200,000 from abroad.

Some 40 floats, some of them from places such as Manchester, Marseille,Stockholm, Zurich, Italy, and Turkey, were to take part in the colorfulmarch through central Madrid under the slogan "Now Europe. Equality ispossible."

Meanwhile, in Paris organizers said about 700,000 people turned out for thecity's annual Gay Pride, which saw participants marching behind a bannerreading: "We will not compromise on equality."

The throng was made up of young people, couples, and families, as well astransvestites and drag queens in outrageous outfits, dancing to deafeningmusic from the floats under the shadow of rainbow flags.

But amid the fun was a serious message - to put pressure on the newgovernment over its opposition to gay marriage.

The spokesman for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual Association,Alain Perou, said the march - attended by political figures from across thespectrum - was not against the government, but intended to be"constructive."



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Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-cpnbjul02,0,4199269,print.story?coll=sfla-business-front

South Floridians increasingly victimized by medical identity theft
By Ian Katz
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 2, 2007

As front desk coordinator at Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Isis Machado was ina prime position to steal medical records.

On various days in May and June of last year, Machado waited until hersupervisor left before printing out the Medicare data of about 1,130patients. She would later meet her cousin, Fernando Ferrer Jr., at a gasstation in Miami Lakes, according to her own court testimony. In exchangefor the printouts, Ferrer gave her $5 or $10 per patient.

The case is one of the best-documented incidents of medical ID theft, a formof identity fraud that privacy experts say is increasingly common because itis so difficult to detect.

According to a federal grand jury indictment, Ferrer, who owned a medicalclaims company in Naples, used the information to file false Medicare claimsand provided the data to others who also filed fake claims.

In the most extreme medical ID theft cases, someone whose health record hasbeen altered could receive incorrect or even dangerous treatment.



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NationalGayNews.com

http://washingtonblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=13252

Gay former radio host's death a homicide
Mike Webb died from multipe sharp-force injuries
SEATTLE (AP) | Jul 1, 4:25 PM

The death of former Seattle radio talk show host Mike Webb was a homicide,the King County Medical Examiner's Office said Friday.

Webb, 51, died sometime after April 13 from multiple sharp-force injuries,the office said.

His body was found Thursday by workers cleaning out his rental home. Theremains, stuffed in a basement crawl space and covered by boxes and a tarp,were so decomposed that police initially could not determine "race, sex,age - anything," police spokesman Jeff Kappel said.

Longtime friend John McMullen said Webb was last seen April 13, but hisfamily continued to receive text messages from Webb's cell phone for anothermonth.

Although the messages indicated he was fine, and leaving town, Webb did notnormally use text messages, and his family eventually demanded that Webbcall them, McMullen said.



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NationalGayNews.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4933999.html

Arkansas town an unlikely leader for gay rights
City is issuing certificates to gay and unmarried domestic partners
By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

Domestic partnerships are making their first Arkansas foothold in a citywith a seven-story statue of Jesus.

The partnership registry at Eureka Springs runs counter to popular opinionin a state that overwhelmingly banned gay marriage in 2004, but townofficials began recording unions of gay and unmarried couples this month.

Supporters say they don't see how town-issued certificates will hurtanybody. A local pastor purchased newspaper ads to express his concern thatcommunity leaders would "deliberately promote our city as a homosexualMecca."

"I prefer Eureka Springs to be marketed as a Victorian village, a villagethat is family friendly, a village that has all of the beauty of a Victorianvillage and the values of a Victorian village," said the Rev. Philip Wilson,pastor of the First Christian Church. "I don't believe that a Victorianvillage and a homosexual village are compatible."

The Eureka Springs City Council voted unanimously in May to set up theregistry, which will be kept in the clerk's office. Couples who are 18 andolder and pay a $35 fee will receive a certificate noting their partnership.



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid47018.asp

June 30, 2007
Parsing the Dems on HIV/AIDS

Last night's debate marked the first time this Democratic Party presidentialdebate season that candidates were not asked about their positions onsame-sex marriage or "don't ask, don't tell."

The eight Democratic candidates for president appeared together on stage atHoward University, an elite African-American college in Washington, D.C., onThursday night. The event was moderated by television and radio personalityTavis Smiley and broadcast by PBS. With the Reverend Al Sharpton,entertainer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, and Princetonprofessor Cornel West in the auditorium, the debate was squarely centered onissues confronting the African-American community.

Primary topics concerned issues such as racism, poverty, and the criminaljustice system, with the candidates promising to improve various socialinequities. It may have been a welcome reprieve for former senator JohnEdwards, who had spent the week explaining that he still supports civilunions even though his wife proclaimed that she is "completely comfortablewith gay marriage" last Sunday in San Francisco.

During the debate, however, Edwards made a vague reference to the LosAngeles LGBT Center he had visited earlier in the week. When the candidateswere asked about containing the spread of AIDS among African-American teens,the former senator mentioned a recent visit to a "medical center in LosAngeles" that cared for AIDS patients.

Edwards was not the only candidate who shied away from mentioning the LGBTcommunity, even within the context of a discussion on AIDS. Illinois senatorBarack Obama, who is African-American, seemed the only person willing tobroach the subject. Playing his favorite role as truth teller, Obama said,"One of the things we have to overcome is a stigma that still exists in ourcommunities. We don't talk about this, we don't talk about it in ourschools, sometimes we don't talk about it in our churches. It has been anaspect sometimes of our homophobia that we don't address this issue asclearly as it needs to be."



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid47023.asp

June 30, 2007
House wards off veto threat with gay slap

By a surprisingly bipartisan vote of 224-200, the U.S. House ofRepresentatives on Thursday passed an amendment banning the use of federalfunds to support Washington, D.C.'s local domestic-partner registry.

The White House warned Wednesday that President Bush would veto this year'sroutine appropriations bill for the District of Columbia if it did notinclude such an amendment, a response to the district's strengthening of itssame-sex partner benefits last year.

Officials said the vote will have little practical effect because the cityuses local funds for the partner registry, The Washington Post reported.

But gay activists deplored the move, with Human Rights Campaign presidentJoe Solmonese calling the veto threat "a new low" in "antigay zeal."

The district, though it gets most of its revenue from local taxes, alsoreceives federal funding through Congress, making it more vulnerable thanother cities to shifts in the national political winds.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/07/070107nola.htm

Levee Work May Imperil New Orleans Gay Area
by The Associated Press
Posted: July 1, 2007 - 4:00 pm ET

(New Orleans, Louisiana) The government's repairs to New Orleans'hurricane-damaged levees may put the French Quarter in greater danger thanit was before Hurricane Katrina, a weakness planners said couldn't behelped, at least for now.

Experts say the stronger levees and flood walls could funnel storm waterinto the cul-de-sac of the Industrial Canal, only 2 miles from BourbonStreet, and overwhelm the waterway's 12-foot-high concrete flood walls thatshield some of the city's most cherished neighborhoods.

The only things separating Creole bungalows and St. Louis Cathedral from a
hurricane's storm surge are those barriers, similar in design to the wallsthat broke during Katrina.

"A system is much like a chain. We have strengthened some of the lengths,and those areas are now better protected," said Robert Bea, a leadinvestigator of an independent National Science Foundation team thatexamined Katrina's levee failures.

"When the chain is challenged by high water again, it will break at thoseweak links, and they are now next to some of the oldest neighborhoods,including the French Quarter, Marigny, and all of those areas west of thecul-de-sac."



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/07/070107bishop.htm

Bishop: Gays, Permissive Society Responsible For Disasters
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: July 1, 2007 - 4:00 pm ET

(London) A senior Church of England bishop says floods that have causedwidespread damage in the UK are the result of God's wrath on a permissivesociety that endorses gay right.

"We are in serious moral trouble because every type of lifestyle is nowregarded as legitimate," the Rt Rev Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle, told theSunday Telegraph.

"In the Bible, institutional power is referred to as 'the beast', which setsitself up to control people and their morals. Our government has beenplaying the role of God in saying that people are free to act as they want,"he told the paper, adding that the introduction of recent pro-gay lawsundermines marriage.

"The sexual orientation regulations [which give greater rights to gays] arepart of a general scene of permissiveness. We are in a situation where weare liable for God's judgment, which is intended to call us to repentance."

Dow is a leading church conservative. The worldwide Anglican denominationhas been engaged in a feud between conservatives and liberals over the roleof gays in the faith since the American branch, the Episcopal Church,elected Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as bishop of New Hampshire in2003.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/07/070207obama.htm

Obama Sets Fundraising Record
by The Associated Press
Posted: July 2, 2007 - 9:00 am ET

(Washington) Sen. Barack Obama reported Sunday raising at least $32.5million for his presidential campaign from April through June, a record fora Democratic candidate.

That is about $5 million more than what Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama'smain Democratic rival, has said she would raise for the reporting periodthat ended Saturday.

At least $31 million of Obama's total is for party primaries, according tocampaign aides. That figure could further distance Obama from Clinton, whosefundraising has included significant sums of money eligible only for thegeneral election.

The first-term senator from Illinois received donations from more than154,000 individual contributors and through the first half of the year had258,000 donors, an extraordinary figure at this stage of the campaign. Obamaraised $25.7 million in the first three months of the year.

"Together, we have built the largest grass-roots campaign in history forthis stage of a presidential race," Obama said in a statement Sunday."That's the kind of movement that can change the special interest-drivenpolitics in Washington and transform our country. And it's just thebeginning."



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/opinion/Neff/neff.htm

Getting Comfortable About Getting Hitched
by Lisa Neff

"I don't know why someone else's marriage has anything to do with me,"Elizabeth Edwards told reporters following a politically charged gatheringbefore the San Francisco pride parade.

Of course, one's marriage does matter. That's why a crowd was on hand tolisten to Elizabeth Edwards talk about her husband John's campaign for theWhite House.

"I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage," she added, and with thatstatement Elizabeth Edward's position matched that of two candidates forpresident - and neither one is her husband.

Dennis Kucinich, the liberal congressional member from Ohio, and MikeGravel, the former U.S. senator from Alaska, are the only candidates seekingthe Oval Office who support, wholesale, legalizing same-sex marriage.

Kucinich's support for gay marriage goes back years, before his run forpresident in 2004. "The principle of equal protection under the law shouldbe extended to gays - and that includes marriage," Kucinich said in 2003.



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365gay.com

http://www.afterellen.com/TV/2007/7/bestlesbiansummerever

Best. Lesbian. Summer. Ever.
by Karman Kregloe, Senior Writer and Director of Special Projects
July 2, 2007

It's officially summer. That means there's not much on TV except realityshows (unless you have pay cable, and how many lesbians have that?), and themegaplexes are chock full of testosterone-heavy blockbusters. But forgetabout the heterosexual cultural majority! There's plenty of dykeyentertainment out there that you can put together to make this the Best.Lesbian. Summer. Ever.

Plus, if you're an adrenaline junkie, check the UV Index rating for thehotness factor. Just don't forget the sunscreen.

OOPS, I SWEAR I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS LOADED!

In classic film noir of the 1940s, summer in seedy Los Angeles is rife withsex, crime and double-crossing vixens. But not many lesbians. Which is justwrong because, let's face it, really good sex with double-crossing vixenshas driven more than one lesbian to a life of crime, right?

Proving that you don't need a fedora or a Pall Mall to recapture the noirspirit, writer-director Angela Robinson (D.E.B.S.) has created her owncriminal world in the online series Girltrash, which is positively teemingwith lesbians with axes to grind, heists to execute and other people's wivesto conquer. Oh, and did I mention the snappy, hilarious dialogue?



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ArtsUnited
Subject: ArtsUnited Hosts Opening Reception TONIGHT
Eve McBride's Art Exhibit Opens Monday

ArtsUnited will present the mixed media art work of local artist Eve McBride in a solo exhibit at the Stonewall Library and Archives from July 2 through August 3, 2007. The exhibit opens with a reception to meet the artist on Monday, July 2 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. The library is located at 1717 N. Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

A native Floridian, Eve McBride has had a love for creating art since an early age. Sketching, drawing and experimenting with a variety of media, Eve's whimsical art was a source of comfort during a difficult childhood. She began a love of photography at the age of eight, and that love has developed into a source of inspiration for her art today.

Ms. McBride put her painting on hold to raise a family, but began eagerly pursuing it again after her children were grown. Eve returned to school in 1997, and earned
two degrees from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. At the Institute, she learned to put her art on the computer and now includes digitally rendered art in her repertoire.

Eve's ultimate goal is to own her own shop where she can sell her paintings, photographs and whimsically painted wood tables while surrounded by creative minds. Her motto is "Every day is fabulous." This optimistic spirit is evident in her work.

The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. Funding for this art series has been provided in part by Comcast. For more information about ArtsUnited, goonline to www.artsunitedonline.org.



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Steve Rothaus of the Miami Herald recently carried my recent resignation/new
online magazine launch announcement in his blog. I hope you will take a moment to check it out.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2007/06/latino-boys-mag.html

Thanks you to all our friends who've offered their words of encouragement and support. Your emails and text messages and myspace comments have been a tremendous source of inspiration to Geo and myself.

We are hoping for a soft launch of the online magazine in July and we are shooting for the 'big launch' in August, to coincide with our associate editor Geo's 21st birthday. You'll be one of the first to get an invite to our Launch/Birthday party!!!

The new magazine (Yes, we do have a name but we are keeping it under our hat until the soft launch) will focus on 'all that's good' in the South Florida GLBT community. Our goal is to Entertain, Educate, and Edify. Politics, gossip, hard hitting interview, celebrity profiles, event photo galleries...all will be regular features of this new online media outlet.

Imagine a fusion of People, GQ, and TIME, with the South Florida GLBT Community being the focus and you'll have a good idea of what we are shooting for. The magazine will be free of all adult content and suitable for viewing by anyone.

We are still looking for content contributors. If you're interested in being a part of our team please feel free to send me an email! We are also accepting press releases from organizations serving the GLBT community.
Send away!

Regards,
David L. Wylie



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The Detroit News

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070702/OPINION03/707020358

by Deb Price
GOP prez candidates stampede against mainstream

In the spring of 2000, as Texas Gov. George W. Bush was cruising toward the Republican presidential nomination, he invited a dozen gay Republicans to Austin. That sent a powerful message to the independent voters Bush needed in winning the White House: He would be a different kind of Republican -- tolerant and respectful toward gay Americans.

"These are people from our neighborhoods, people with whom all of us went to school and I appreciate them sharing their stories with me," Bush said after the cordial 90-minute meeting where he heard about hardships faced by gay parents, gay soldiers, and gay workers. Bush declared that listening had made him a "better person," adding, "And I'm mindful that we're all God's children."

Fast-forward seven years. Bush hasn't lifted a finger to end anti-gay discrimination. He's the first president to advocate writing it into the Constitution.

And in a sad and bizarre twist, the men competing for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination act as if the contest is over who can show the most hostility to gay rights -- even though their party desperately needs to win back the moderates and independents who've abandoned it, largely over the war in Iraq.

Take Mitt Romney, for example. In 1994, he boasted that if Massachusetts elected him to the Senate, he'd do more for gay people than Ted Kennedy could. These days, Romney never seems to meet an anti-gay policy he doesn't like.

And take Rudy Giuliani. He was the gay-friendly mayor of New York City who moved in with a gay couple while getting a divorce. Now, he no longer supports civil unions.

The gay Log Cabin Republicans' online overview of where these presidential wannabes stand is full of lines like "he has made his opposition to basic fairness for gay people one of the pillars of his campaign" (Sen. Sam Brownback) and "an ardent opponent" of gay rights (ex-Gov. Jim Gilmore).



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Hundreds of thousands due at European Gay Pride
Virginie Grognou

AFP
http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070630-124018-5695r
June 30, 2007

MADRID -- Gays, lesbians, and their supporters from all over Europe wereset to gather in their hundreds of thousands in Madrid Saturday in a massiveparade, as London and Paris also held their annual Gay Pride marches.

Europride 2007, which kicks off at 1600 GMT in the Spanish capital, marksthe highlight of a week of events during which organizers expected a totalof 2.5 million people, including 200,000 from abroad.

Some 40 floats, some of them from places such as Manchester, Marseille,Stockholm, Zurich, Italy, and Turkey, were to take part in the colorfulmarch through central Madrid under the slogan "Now Europe. Equality ispossible."

Meanwhile, in Paris organizers said about 700,000 people turned out for thecity's annual Gay Pride, which saw participants marching behind a bannerreading: "We will not compromise on equality."

The throng was made up of young people, couples, and families, as well astransvestites and drag queens in outrageous outfits, dancing to deafeningmusic from the floats under the shadow of rainbow flags.

But amid the fun was a serious message - to put pressure on the newgovernment over its opposition to gay marriage.

The spokesman for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual Association,Alain Perou, said the march - attended by political figures from across thespectrum - was not against the government, but intended to be"constructive."



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01 July 2007
LET'S DON'T BE SILENT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN TURKEY!

News Letter for "Monitoring the Human Rights and Law" Commission of LGBTT
Individuals
July 2007
http://news.kaosgl.com/item/2007/7/1/let-s-don-t-be-silent-against-human-rights-violations-in-turkey

LET'S DON'T BE SILENT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS!

Homosexual organizations in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir are recording thehuman rights violations that gay, lesbian, drag, transsexual individuals arefacing. The organizations are calling out to LGBTT individuals who aresubject to discrimination and violence.

Up until now, homosexual individuals solely have got into contact withhomosexual organizations when they were subjected to any kind ofdiscrimination and violence. However, the organizations either couldn'trecord this information regularly or they recorded them missing theimportant points that secure data within the "circle of case". They couldn'tgo back to the records later and follow the process, neither.

While homosexual organizations giving voice that they struggle in the fieldsof human rights, they generally give ordinary and memorized answers to theviolations that homosexual individuals are facing and also turn off thequestions like " how many violations were faced by them last year and howwas the distribution of violations?" "which right is abused the most? "Besides, the other human rights organizations haven't been interested inhomosexual victims systematically and they haven't utilized the human rightsmechanisms effectively concerning their problems.



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GAY AND LESBIAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION
PO BOX 130
LONDON W5 1DQ
UNITED KINGDOM
TEL. 0884 800 3067
EMAIL secretary@galha.org
WEBSITE www.galha.org

Affiliated to Amnesty International &the International Humanist & Ethical Union
News Release
1 July 2007
Bishop belongs in the Bronze Age, says GALHA

The Anglican Bishop of Carlisle was mocked today as a "bronze age primitive" by the UK Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA).

GALHA's comments follow Bishop Graham Dow's pronouncement that the recentfloods in Britain are a result of the introduction of pro-gay laws. He saidthat going against biblical standards had resulted in God's judgment in theform of floods.

GALHA's chairman Jim Herrick said: "The Bishop's comments reveal aprimitive, superstitious mind that belongs in the Bronze Age. If he thinksthese floods are the result of pro-gay laws rather than global warming, thenhow come far more catastrophic floods afflict homophobic nations such asBangladesh? And how come ultra-pious nations such as Pakistan suffercatastrophic earthquakes? And the self-proclaimed religiosity of the UnitedStates doesn't protect it from lethal hurricanes either."

Mr Herrick said: "People like Graham Dow bring religion into even moredisrepute with such fatuous comments. No wonder people are abandoning theChurch of England in such huge numbers when it is led by silly people likehim."



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Pew Research Center

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/532/questions-muslim-survey

"Frequently Asked Questions" about Pew's Muslim American Survey

The Facts behind the Design, Conduct and Analysis of a High-Profile Studyby Scott Keeter, Director of Survey Research, Pew Research Center on the People & the Press
July 2, 2007

The Pew Research Center study "Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream" attracted a great deal of attention but also raised a number of uestions about the research, especially regarding how the study was conducted. Here are some of the most common questions we received together with our responses. Readers who have other questions are invited to send them to us; responses will be posted in the future.

Why did Pew conduct this study?



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Pewresearch.org

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/526/marriage-parenthood

As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social
Impact
Generation Gap in Values, Behaviors
July 1, 2007

Download the complete report

Executive Summary
a.. A Generation Gap in Behaviors and Values. Younger adults attach far less moral stigma than do their elders to out-of-wedlock births and cohabitation without marriage. They engage in these behaviors at rates unprecedented in U.S. history. Nearly four-in-ten (36.8%) births in this country are to an unmarried woman. Nearly half (47%) of adults in their 30s and 40s have spent a portion of their lives in a cohabiting relationship.

b.. Public Concern over the Delinking of Marriage and Parenthood. Adults of all ages consider unwed parenting to be a big problem for society. At the same time, however, just four-in-ten (41%) say that children are very important to a successful marriage, compared with 65% of the public who felt this way as recently as 1990.


c.. Marriage Remains an Ideal, Albeit a More Elusive One. Even though a decreasing percentage of the adult population is married, most unmarried adults say they want to marry. Married adults are more satisfied with their lives than are unmarried adults.


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