GLBT DIGEST August 6, 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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Watch Presidential Forum at Rosie's - 9pm - Thursday, August 9, 2007

Come join us at Rosie's in Wilton Manors!

We will be viewing presidential candidates who have gathered in Los Angeles to debate issues affecting the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the United States. Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Joe Solmonese and Melissa Etheridge will appear as panelists at the event.

The historic two-hour forum will be televised live on the Logo network and the Logo website on Thursday, Aug. 9 starting at 9 p.m. Eastern.

You may submit a question in advance by going to www.hrc.org

Date:Thursday, August 9, 2007
Time:9:00pm - 10:00pm
Place:Rosie's Bar & Grill
Address:2449 Wilton Drive
Wilton Manors, FL 33305



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-People-Hathaway.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

August 6, 2007
Hathaway: Her Highbrow Image Off - Base
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:22 a.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- Anne Hathaway has plenty to say about men -- straight, gay
or celibate.

The 24-year-old actress, who plays writer Jane Austen in the movie''Becoming Jane,'' told Newsweek for its latest issue, now on newsstands,that she and her boyfriend, real estate developer Raffaello Follieri,''worship each other. We were desperately in love the first year, then webecame each other's best friends.''

She also showed an appreciation for Colin Firth, who had a steamy scene in afilm version of Austen's ''Pride and Prejudice.''

''That was a lovely bit they added. It's porno for tome-reading,tea-drinking girls,'' Hathaway said, referring to what she called a common
but mistaken impression of herself.

Hathaway said ''about 95 percent of my friends are gay men,'' as is herbrother. But he ducked a question about whether that complicated thingsbecause Follieri works ith the Roman Catholic Church, which does notsanction gay sexual relationships.



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Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail988nbaug06,0,716744,print.story

Gay influx revitalized Fort Lauderdale
August 6, 2007

Congratulations, Jim Naugle, you are on a roll. It's about time you got ridof those horrible gay people. I have several gay neighbors and those peopleare not to be believed. Can you believe that a gay couple in my neighborhoodadopted a mixed-race child who was the product of a crack addict mother andfather? No one else would adopt her.

And those gay newcomers who bought a crack house cleaned up the neighborhoodand got rid of the crack dealers on their block. What a shame.

Not to mention, the others who purchased boarded-up properties and investedhundreds of thousands of dollars in our neighborhoods. Why did they have toadd to the tax base and increase property values? I don't have the answer,but thanks to Jim Naugle, maybe we can return to the days of high crime,blight and boarded-up homes.

Doug Blevins

Fort Lauderdale



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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail999nbaug06,0,2486218,print.story

Lauderdale Mayor Naugle should resign now
August 6, 2007

I found the July 30 headline, "No backlash from gay tourists," incrediblynaive and continue to be amazed at how your paper and the local media aredealing with the ignorant, homophobic, bigotry of our mayor.

Has the writer stopped to think that maybe it takes time for the kind ofpeople who are emboldened by this kind of hate speech to perpetrate and actout their hate? Let me assure you that friends and family have called andare asking if we are OK here in Fort Lauderdale. There will be a backlash,it just takes time.

What is truly amazing to me is that if this buffoon had made these remarksabout black members of our city or Jews or Catholics or any other group hemay not like, the people of this city would be crying for his resignation.Why is it OK when it's the gay community?

This mayor's behavior should be abhorrent to every decent and educatedmember of our community. Watch out: today it's the gays, tomorrow it couldbe you.

Stand together and demand this mayor resign now.

Kenneth A. Shanahan

Fort Lauderdale



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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpschoolspace0806pnaug06,0,2656271,print.story

25 schools in Palm Beach County schools to be short of students this fall
By Marc Freeman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
August 6, 2007

Across Palm Beach County, both new and old schools alike this year willfeature attendance like that at a typical Florida Marlins game - well undercapacity.

Brand new Emerald Cove Middle in Wellington: 62 percent full when classesstart Aug. 22. Recently modernized John I. Leonard High in Greenacres: 71percent full. Under-construction elementary school west of Boynton Beach:projected to open next year at 81 percent full.

Administrators say that's the way they like it after years of boomingenrollments and crowding. Twenty-five schools will be at 66 percent ofcapacity or less, up from eight schools last year, according to a recentschool district report.

"That's the point, to not have overcrowded schools," said FacilitiesManagement Chief Joseph Sanches.

Where it exists - such as West Gate Elementary in West Palm Beach at 129percent of capacity - there's a new school or boundary change in the worksto provide relief. West Gate is one of eight schools in the county at 120percent of capacity or greater.



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The Miami Herald

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2007/08/naugle-to-guest.html

Naugle to guest host WFTL talk show on Friday
News release:
Controversial Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle to co-host WFTL morning show

Mayor Jim Naugle will co-host "Mitchell & Morley in the Morning" with KelleyMitchell on News-Talk 850, WFTL on Friday, August 10th, 6am-9am, while RussMorley is on vacation.

Naugle is no stranger to controversy. He recently made news by inciting theSouth Florida Gay & Lesbian community after making comments about a planned$250,000 public toilet and how it would help prevent homosexual sexencounters. When he announced a press conference to "apologize," hisapology was to the citizens of Fort Lauderdale for underestimating theproblem of men having sex in public restrooms.

He says he uses the term "homosexual,'' not "gay,'' because gays are"unhappy.''

Naugle has been a City Commissioner since 1985 and was elected Mayor in1991. He's now in his 6th term in that position: the longest serving Mayorin the history of Fort Lauderdale. Although a lifelong Democrat, Nauglefrequently votes for and supports Republicans, earning the title "renegadedemocrat" from the Washington Post.

Despite repeated efforts by members of the WFTL news staff to get reactionto the Naugle controversy from members of "Flush Naugle" and "Unite FortLauderdale," two groups who have been extremely vocal opposing the mayor, norepresentative has agreed to do any on-air interviews on WFTL.

"Mitchell & Morley" can be heard Monday-Friday from 6am-9am exclusively on850AM, WFTL. WFTL is also South Florida's place for news in the morning,hosting the "10 minute uninterrupted news sweep" at the top and bottom ofevery hour.



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NationalGayNews.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbmayocol0805nbaug05,0,7692271,print.column?coll=sofla_news_local_broward_util

Time to give transgenders rights, not ridicule
Michael Mayo | News Columnist
August 5, 2007

Last summer, when my cholesterol count came back high, my wife signed me upwith a personal trainer. "You'll like him," she said. "He's got aninteresting story."

Off I went to Bodies Under Construction, a fitness studio in Hollywood runby Mark Angelo Cummings and his wife Violet.

Mark was short, balding and had a beard. He had a big smile and a quick wit.

During my first workout, Mark told me he was born with a "birth defect."

"Really," I said. "You look perfectly healthy to me."



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NationalGayNews.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20124556/site/newsweek/

Democrats to Court Gay Voters at Forum

Most of the Democratic hopefuls will participate in the nation's firstpresidential forum devoted solely to lesbian and gay issues. Why they'recourting a small, but important, voting bloc.

By Kendyl Salcito
Newsweek
Updated: 5:03 p.m. ET Aug 4, 2007

Aug. 5, 2007 - In a crowded primary field, every vote counts. So it'sprobably not surprising that six of the eight Democratic presidentialcontenders for 2008 plan to participate in the first debate devoted entirelyto gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues on Aug. 9 in Los Angeles.(Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd declined to attend, citing schedulingconflicts) Still, the event's sponsors, the Human Rights Campaign andViacom's Logo cable TV network, are touting the event as an historic opportunity forthe gay community to raise its issues on a national stage. The forum,moderated by Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg News, will run from 9-11 p.m. ETon Logo and Logo.com. (The sponsors say they invited GOP candidates toparticipate in their own gay debate, but that none signed on.)

While gay and lesbian voters have largely been a reliable voting bloc forDemocrats at least since the '80s, some activists say their community istaken for granted by the party. Privately, political strategists saycandidates walk a fine line between being progressive on gay issues andpossibly alienating some conservative voters, including some Democrats.NEWSWEEK's Kendyl Salcito spoke with John D'Emilio, a historian of gayhistory and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, about theupcoming event. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How significant is this event?

John D'Emilio: Since the Mondale campaign in 1984, the Democratic Party atthe national level has not had a great deal of trouble speaking about gayissues and speaking to gay audiences. They've done that with a great deal ofconsistency. So in this view the debate is one more, small step in a paththat's really been carved out for more than 20 years. The party has had muchmore difficulty at the national level in delivering anything. They love totalk about gay issues and to welcome gay constituents into the fold, butthey just haven't provided very much concretely. Maybe that's because sincethe '80s there have been only very short periods when there's been both aDemocratic president and Democratic control of both houses [of Congress].

What issues will be central in this forum?

Inevitably, in the year 2007 the issue of marriage is going to come up, andit would not surprise me at all if the debate gets hijacked by that issue,because that's where [the Democratic candidates] have the most difficulty. Ithink that there are four issues that are probably key for the comingelection: The issue of hate crimes, including crimes based on sexualorientation, in federal statutes; an anti-discrimination act includingsexual orientation in the general civil rights legislation; "don't ask, don'ttell," which technically is something that just the president could deliveron with an executive order; and same-sex marriage. Clinton, for example,issued an executive order against discrimination of [gay] federal employees,and he distributed federal grant money for studies of gay and lesbianhealth.



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Advocate.com

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid47873.asp

August 04, 2007
Nashville elects first out councilman

Keith Durbin, a Nashville accountant, made history Thursday, becomingTennessee's first out gay elected official by winning a seat on theNashville city council, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund said Friday.

Durbin, for five years president of the city's venerable Belmont-Hillsboroneighborhood association, ran unopposed for the seat in Nashville's District18.

Though unopposed (his predecessor left due to term limits), Durbin spentElection Day at the precinct, standing under a tree with his mother,Geraldine Durbin of Paducah, Ky., where he grew up, The Tennessean newspaperblogged Thursday. He said, "I'm running for office to represent people, andI want them to know who I am."

"Political office was not an end in itself," Durbin, 40, told Gay.com. "Myactivism in the neighborhood created a lot of relationships, and that wasthe springboard. It created a space in which people could see me work andsay, 'That's Keith,' not 'That's Keith, the gay person.'"

He describes Belmont-Hillsboro, built in the 1890s and largely regentrified,as "vibrant" and "really cool." Vanderbilt and Belmont universities are bothin his district.



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The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid47869.asp

August 04, 2007
Defendants in Sandy case to be tried for hate crime

A judge ruled Thursday that three men accused in Michael Sandy's death canbe prosecuted for a hate crime without evidence that they were motivated byhatred for gay men, The New York Times reported.

Sandy was struck by a car October 8 on Brooklyn's busy Belt Parkway whilefleeing his tormentors, whom police say met him online and lured him withpromises of sex to a nearby beach to rob. Sandy, 29, a designer for Ikea,was put on life support and declared dead five days later.

"The defendants deliberately set out to commit a violent crime against a manwhom they intentionally selected because of his sexual orientation. Thus,the hate-crime charges in this case are consistent with the intent of thelegislature," the Times quoted supreme court judge Jill Konviser as ruling.

John Fox, Ilya "Alex" Shurov, and Anthony Fortunato, all 20, are chargedwith murder as a hate crime. In videotaped statements aired in court, thedefendants told police they meant only to rob Sandy and blamed each otherfor his death. They face 20 years behind bars if convicted, the New YorkDaily News reported.



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ExpressGayNews.com

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200708060312/NEWS/708060324&template=printart

Gay couples still restricted by PERS rules
Law grants equality but doesn't extend to beneficiaries
STEVE LAW
Statesman Journal
August 6, 2007

When retired teacher Barbara Pinkerton broke up with her partner, Pinkertonsought to remove her "ex" as a beneficiary of her state pension benefits.But she couldn't.

The same thing happened to retired juvenile court referee Katharine English.

In both cases, the Public Employees Retirement System Board ruled that theformer partners must retain survivor's rights to PERS benefits.

The reason? Pinkerton and English never were legally married. They arelesbians who wanted to share pension benefits with their domesticpartners -- until their relationships unraveled.

Only married couples can remove a beneficiary from their state pension,during a formal divorce.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/08/080507sweden.htm

Church Leaders Join Stockholm Gay Pride March
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: August 5, 2007 - 11:00 am ET

(Stockholm) Swedish political and church leaders marched in Stockholm's LGBTpride parade Saturday, drawing large cheers and applause from thousands ofpeople lining the streets of the capital.

About 30 members of the Swedish Lutheran Church, including the deans of thecathedrals of Stockholm and Uppsala. The Church is the largest denominationin the country.

In a statement the church said it wanted to "break the masses' big silence"regarding gays, bisexuals and transsexuals.

Representatives of the governing coalition and major opposition parties inParliament also marched. The group included three cabinet ministers.

On Friday, Fredrik Reinfeldt became the first serving Swedish Prime Ministerto take part in pride festivities when he toured a downtown park wherepre-pride activities were taking place.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/08/080507meds.htm

House OKs Prescription Drug Imports
by The Associated Press
Posted: August 4, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET

(Washington) The House passed legislation effectively permitting theimportation of lower-cost prescription drugs from places such as Canada,Australia and Europe.

The move came as lawmakers passed a $91 billion spending measure fundingfarm subsidies and nutrition programs for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.

The bill, passed by a 237-18 vote, faces a promised veto from President Bushover its price tag, and the administration also opposes the drug importationprovision.

The sprawling measure is the final domestic spending bill to pass the House.It contains almost $1 billion more than requested by Bush. But the overallmeasure is more than $10 billion below comparable costs for the currentbudget year because it does not contain farm disaster aid and reflects lowercrop subsidy costs due to the good farm economy.

The administration "strongly opposes" the drug provision, which wouldeffectively permit individuals, wholesalers and pharmacists to import lowercost U.S.-made and FDA-approved prescription drugs from Canada and othercountries.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/08/080507gop.htm

GOP Candidates In New Debate, But Reject Gay Invite
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff & Wires
Posted: August 5, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET, Updated 10:30 pm ET

(Des Moines, Iowa) After something of a hiatus, Republican presidentialrivals returned to the debate stage in a high-profile clash in a formatdesigned to let them engage with each other.

Nine Republican rivals - Sen. Sam Brownback, former New York Mayor RudyGiuliani, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Sen. JohnMcCain, Rep. Ron Paul, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. TomTancredo and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson - agreed to join thedebate being broadcast from Drake University in the state where precinctcaucuses launch the presidential nominating season.

"I can tell you I'm not a carbon copy of George Bush," former MassachusettsGov. Mitt Romney said Sunday, even as he called for a "surge of support" fortroops fighting in Iraq.

"All of us feel frustration, sometimes anger and sorrow," Arizona Sen. JohnMcCain said of the war. "It was badly mismanaged."

ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" hosted the debate which wasbroadcast live.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/08/080607demo.htm

Gays Demonstrate At Club Where Lesbian Badly Beaten
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: August 6, 2007 - 9:00 am ET

(Jackson, Tennessee) About two dozen people protested on the weekend outsidea Jackson bar where a woman says she was assaulted because she is a lesbian.

Miranda Greer, 24, was beaten by a man wielding a beer bottle, and lost thepartial sight in one eye in the attack. According to a police report filedby Greer she was approached by her assailant on July 15 at Tequila Joe'swhen he saw her dancing with a man.

The man apparently believed she was a male and told her gay men dancingtogether were not allowed at the club.

The police report says that Greer told the man she was a woman and that shewas a lesbian.

The man punched her in the face and struck her in the eye with the beerbottle before smashing it over her head.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/08/080607smitherman.htm

'Two-Spirited' Wedding For Gay Cabinet Member
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: August 6, 2007 - 11:00 am ET

(Elliot Lake, Ontario) George Smitherman, regarded as the most powerfulpolitician in Ontario married his partner Christopher Peloso in a smallceremony at a remote lodge in Northern Ontario on Sunday.

Smitherman is Ontario's Minister of Health and the province's DeputyPremier. Peloso is Canadian retail operations manager Lindt Chocolates.

About 200 family and friends attended the ceremony, conducted by Ojibwayspiritual advisor Ron Indian-Mandamin and officiated over by Justice of thePeace Gerry Solursh.

During the ceremony, Indian-Mandamin referred to the aboriginal name forgays: "two-spirited people", noting that in Indian history had served asmystics and medicine men.

The two have been together for the past 18-months, although they have datedon and off for the past 10 years. They were officially engaged on ChristmasDay.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070803/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/raid_on_congress&printer=1;_ylt=An2yEpoBneFgoCSa1cQwUWiWwvIE

Court sides with congressman on FBI raid By MATT APUZZO, Associated PressWriter
Fri Aug 3, 3:35 PM ET

The Justice Department trampled on congressional independence when raidingU.S. Rep. William Jefferson's office last year, a federal appeals courtruled Friday, siding with Congress in a constitutional showdown.

In a rare textbook case involving all three branches of government, thecourt held that investigators violated the Constitution by reviewinglegislative documents as part of a corruption investigation.

The court ordered the Justice Department to return any legislative documentsit seized from the Louisiana Democrat's office on Capitol Hill. Stillundecided is whether prosecutors can use other records it confiscated aspart of their bribery case against Jefferson.

The raid was part of a 16-month international bribery investigation ofJefferson, who is accused of accepting $100,000 from a telecommunicationsbusinessman, $90,000 of which was later recovered in a freezer in thecongressman's Washington home.

Jefferson pleaded not guilty in June to charges of soliciting more than$500,000 in bribes while using his office to broker business deals inAfrica.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/58795/

They Didn't Ask, He Didn't Tell, They Assumed He Was Gay and Targeted Him
By Guest Blogger

Posted on August 3, 2007, Printed on August 6, 2007

This post, written by Pam Spaulding, originally appeared on Pam's HouseBlend

Steve Ralls of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and The Bilerico Projectpoints to yet another gay witchhunt case, that of PFC ChristopherMastromarino, covered by Julie A. Weisberg for PageOneQ:

After enduring months of homophobic harassment and slurs, a decoratedsoldier with an exemplary service record may have been targeted fordismissal by his Army superiors because they think that he is gay.

But the onslaught of anti-gay comments directed toward him went unchallengedand unabated.

Mastromarino said within a few months of joining The Old Guard in October2005, soldiers in his unit began to spread rumors about his sexuality, afterhe moved in with his openly gay cousin and partner who lived in theWashington, D.C. area.

"I realized it was a different climate than what I experienced in myprevious units," Mastromarino said, adding he had never had any problems atany of the other units he had served with in the past.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://www.pridesource.com/print.shtml?article=26213

Between The Lines Newspaper
From issue number 1530
Return to PrideSource

Disabled man and his advocate target of racist, anti-gay vandalism
By Jason A. Michael
Originally printed

WATERFORD -

A handicap parking sign belonging to residents in a federally subsidizedhousing unit was vandalized over the weekend with homophobic and ethicslurs. Anthony Williams, who lives in the Whispering Woods housing complex,awoke Saturday morning to find that one of his handicap parking signs hadbeen completely removed. The other, meanwhile, had been turned to face hisunit. A basecoat of white paint completely covered the sign and on top inblue spray paint were written such slurs as "dick sucker," "fudge packer,""faggot" and "nigger lover."

"They turned that sign around to face our apartment unit so that when welooked out we would immediately see it," said Williams. "Our first responsewas to call the police. I told them that I had seen a group of men outsidearound 4 a.m. when I stepped out to have a cigarette. There were peoplestanding outside of another unit and a lady pointed a finger at me."

Waterford Police officials arrested a man in the complex on an outstandingwarrant and confiscated the sign for fingerprint analysis. But no arrest inthis case has been made. The following morning, Williams' was on his way tochurch when he found his car had been egged.

Though residents in the complex have apparently mistaken Williams and hisroommate for a couple, Williams, in fact, is not gay. Williams, who isblack, is the medical advocate for his roommate who is mildly retarded.Williams' roommate is white and openly gay.

"He's really suffered a lot from this," said Williams of his roommate. "He'snot been able to process this effectively."



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/printer_080307A.shtml

Video, Report Details Evangelism at Highest Levels of US Military
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report

Friday 03 August 2007

A report released publicly on Thursday by the Defense Department's (DOD)inspector general has found high-ranking Army and Air Force personnelviolated long-standing military regulations when they participated in apromotional video for an evangelical Christian organization while in uniformand on active duty.

The report recommended Air Force Maj. Gen. Jack Catton, Army Brig. Gen.Bob Caslen, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, Maj. Gen. Peter Sutton, and a coloneland lieutenant colonel whose names were redacted in the inspector general's report, "improperly endorsed and participated with a non-Federal entitywhile in uniform" and the men should be disciplined for misconduct. Caslenwas formerly the deputy director for political-military affairs for the waron terrorism, directorate for strategic plans and policy, joint staff. Henow oversees the cadets at the Military Academy at West Point. Caslen toldDOD investigators he agreed to appear in the video upon learning othersenior Pentagon officials had been interviewed for the promotional video.

The inspector general's report recommended the "Secretary of the AirForce and the Chief of Staff of the Army take appropriate corrective actionwith respect to the military officers concerned."

The officers did not return phone calls or emails to respond to thereport's findings.

The 47-page report was also highly critical of Pentagon Chaplain Col.Ralph G. Benson, whom the inspector general's report accused of knowinglymisleading the DOD when he requested permission from DOD officials to film avideo inside the Pentagon claiming he was interested in gatheringinformation about the Pentagon's "own ministry." In fact, the report says,Benson was determined to use the video to "attract new supporters" to theChristian Embassy, an evangelical organization that evangelizes members ofthe military and politicians in Washington, DC via daily Bible studies andoutreach events. The group holds prayer breakfasts on Wednesdays in thePentagons executive dining room, according to the organization's web site.Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, founded the ChristianEmbassy 30 years ago.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/aug/02/gay_couples_celebrate_registration/?print

Gay couples celebrate registration
By Laura McHugh
August 2, 2007

Over a dozen couples take advantage of new registry

A landmark day in Lawrence, as the city launches the state's first legalrecognition for same-sex couples. A total of 14 gay and heterosexual coupleshave logged on and applied to Kansas' only domestic partnership registry.

Watch

Kansas Attorney General's opinion on the domestic partnership registry(.pdf)

It wasn't exactly a walk down the aisle, but couples who registered asdomestic partners at Lawrence City Hall on Wednesday found cause forcelebration.

"It's not marriage, but we're getting there," said Teri Herberger, who'sbeen with her partner, Angela Richmond, for three years.

Both dressed in white blouses, and Richmond donned a white hat, as the twotyped their names in a computer set up for the first day of the registry.They provided proof they live together and paid the $75 fee. After clicking"submit," a crowd of about two dozen people cheered.

"We knew that it would be special for people and wanted it to feelcelebratory," said Lori Messinger, an organizer of Wednesday's kick-offevent.

According to City Clerk Frank Reeb, the first application to the city's newdomestic partnership registry came in at 7:31 a.m. By 5 p.m., 14 couples hadlogged onto lawrenceks.org and applied to become among the first legallyrecognized same-sex couples in Kansas.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5092.html

Italy raises issue of executions with Iran
3rd August 2007 11:39
PinkNews.co.uk writer

Italy has urged Iran to stop executions, today, citing Rome's 'deepuneasiness' with a spate of executions of gay people in the IslamicRepublic.

More than 140 people have been executed in Iran so far this year, many ofthem convicted of 'hooliganism,' which some reports say includes consensualgay sex.

"On the instruction of [Italian foreign] Minister Massimo D'Alema,the foreign ministry today protested to the deputy chief of Iran'sembassy in Rome, Hossein Mafi Moghaddam, Italy's deep uneasiness with theexecutions that have been taking place in Iran over the last weeks,including those which cited homosexuality as a charge," the foreign ministrysaid in a statement according to Adnkronos.com.

Last week, Iranian sources reported that some of the 16 people hanged,labelled 'the most famous hooligans in Tehran,' were executed for being gay.

Islamic law states that all sexual acts outside of a heterosexualmarriage - referred to as sodomy - are forbidden.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://lgbtyouthnews.blogspot.com/2007/08/americas-teens-left-behind-by.html

Wednesday, August 1, 2007
America's Teens Left Behind by 'abstinence-only' programs

WASHINGTON, DC -- The following is a statement by James Wagoner on theextension of Title V abstinence-only programs:

Does a teenager, aged 15-19, growing up in Georgia have to move to NewJersey in order to avoid misinformation that HIV is spread through "sweat ortears?" Will the 1,703,000 teenagers that age living in Texas, PresidentBush's home state, continue to be told that HIV can "pass through" condoms?And what about the over 50,000 girls, ages 15-19, growing up in Nebraska?Will they be taught to be submissive out of fear that their "prince" willmarry another woman? Will gay and lesbian youth in New York be treated withrespect in the sex ed classroom while those in Oklahoma are targeted forstigma and isolation?

These are the questions that America's youth now face because the Democraticleadership in the House of Representatives chose to extend the discreditedTitle V abstinence-only-until-marriage programs for two more years.Democratic leaders will tell you that it's not the same old program becausethey've added a provision that allows states the "flexibility" to designtheir own sex education programs, as well as adding language about medicalaccuracy and effectiveness.

It all sounds good, but the "devil" as they say, "is in the details."

And there are a number of details that can be problematic. First, anyabstinence-plus programs designed by the states must still pass through theBush Administration's ideological filter. Second, there is little reason tobelieve that the Administration will effectively police the medical accuracyrequirement inserted into the bill. The Government Accountability Office(GAO) has already gone on records criticizing HHS's lack of oversight ofabstinence- only program content.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://news.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=559662

Gay, Lesbian Students Rush to State Greek Life
August 4th, 2007 @ 2:01am
by Associated Press

MESA, Ariz. - The students who formed Sigma Phi Beta six years ago wanted asocial scene for gay men at ASU the same as straight students have enjoyedfor decades.

They didn't intend to help the spread of gay organizations within Greek lifeat universities across the state and nation.

But this fall, the Arizona State University chapter will expand as itorganizes a Sigma Phi Beta chapter at Northern Arizona University.

Though open to all male students, the fraternity focuses on supporting thegay, bisexual and transgender community.

``We feel that what we created on campus was so powerful and creating changeand impacting the lives of gay students, that we want to create that sameenvironment at other campuses,'' said Sam Holdren, president of Sigma PhiBeta's national office.



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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=22137&pf=1

Boston Art Exhibit Examines The Word 'Gay'
Bay Windows
Thursday Aug 2, 2007

Atlantic Works Gallery opens an intriguing exhibit this weekend with thedeceptively simple title GAY. What does this word mean to different people?Artist Eric Hess challenged fellow gallery members to make art inspired bythe word and its associations. Hess says the results are "an eye opener."

"One Boston cable show thought coverage of GAY was not suitable to daytimeprogramming simply from hearing the title," Hess revealed. "Another straightartist I have been working with is really learning a lot about how it feelsto be gay...one of the group members who is straight experienced homophobiasimply getting the show card printed at Kinko's. It has set up amazingconversations and is just heating up. All of this in gay-marriage-friendly,liberal Massachusetts."

A queer riddle of the sphinx, an installation about an artist's uncle beingarrested in East Boston for having sex with a man. a lascivious Craig's listmontage of M2M postings, a full-scale closet that invites visitors to huddlewithin, a painting addressing male love in Chinese prison - these are someof the topics from the show. Gay exhibitions range in media from paint tophotography to jewelry, installation, and video.

The public is invited to attend the OPENING RECEPTION on Thursday, August 9,from 6 to 9 pm and to visit the gallery during the following hours: Fridays2 to 6pm, and Saturdays 2 to 6pm.

Entertainment will include gay, vocal house by DJ Dylsnick and some surpriseguests. Admission is free.

The public is also invited to attend Atlantic Works Gallery's monthly THIRDTHURSDAY POT LUCK GATHERING on Thursday, August 16, from 6 to 9 pm.


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