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GLAAD'S "THE BEST AND WORST OF NATIONAL NEWS"
DECEMBER 2007
http://www.glaad.org/2007/2007BestAndWorst/BestAndWorstNov.htm
THE BEST
1.) The New York Times Spotlights the Struggle Against Anti-LGBT Hostilityin Newark
In the New York region, media coverage of the LGBT community often focuseson Manhattan and other affluent areas where many gay people can seek outaccepting communities. In a much-needed wake-up call, New York Timesreporter Andrew Jacobs opened readers' eyes to the intense homophobia thatcontinues to pervade Newark, New Jersey. In his Dec. 2 article "In aProgressive State, a City Where Gay Life Hangs By a Thread," Jacobs detailedthe physical violence, the lack of community resources and the policehostility that LGBT people must face on a daily basis in Newark. Moreimportantly, Jacobs took time to sensitively showcase the efforts of LGBTNewark esidents to live openly in the face of violence and harassment.
Jacobs made it clear that much more education and activism is needed beforeLGBT eople in Newark can live openly without fear. This sobering realitywas underscored y the article's conclusion, which featured a quote fromWillie Harden, a homeless ay man. Harden explained, "It sounds crazy, butone day I'd like to walk down the treet holding my boyfriend's hand withnobody saying one bad word."
READ STORY:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/nyregion/02newark.html?ref=todayspaper
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact Andrew Jacobs and The New York Times tothank themfor addressing the continuing problem of anti-LGBT violence andharassment in merican cities.
CONTACT: letters@nytimes.com
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2. The Denver Post Shares the Rich Stories of LGBT Elders
Too often, journalists overlook the stories of the thousands of LGBT seniorswho continue to seek acceptance and community. Luckily, Denver Post reporterLisa Kennedy found an occasion to address this topic by penning anexceptionally rich and engaging story about the residents of RainbowVisionSanta Fe, one of the first planned enclaves for aging LGBT people. Weaving aremarkably in-depth discussion of gay history into a tour of the facilitiesand inhabitants of RainbowVision, Kennedy's Nov. 25 story "Living Out TheGolden Years" revealed that many LGBT elders are still hesitant to come outto their heterosexual peers because they grew up in an era when LGBT peoplelacked positive representations in education and in the media. Kennedyconcluded that LGBT-inclusive retirement communities have finally providedgay seniors with an environment where they can be open and where they canshare their histories with others. "People who have been isolated for yearsare coming here," said RainbowVision Vice President Joyce Bogosian. "We havepeople who are just coming out."
READ STORY:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7550872
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact Lisa Kennedy and thank her for thoughtfullyspotlighting the lives of LGBT elders.
CONTACT: lkennedy@denverpost.com
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3. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Educates Readers About LGBT Lives Affectedby Workplace Discrimination
When the House of Representatives passed the Employment Non-DiscriminationAct (ENDA) in a historic vote in November, many media outlets covered thestory by quoting lawmakers and non-profit spokespeople. The Fort WorthStar-Telegram went further by telling the stories of LGBT people affected byworkplace discrimination and revealing the importance of ENDA to theirlivelihoods. In the Dec. 4 article "Workplace Measure Faces Tough Road,"Star-Telegram reporter Anna M. Tinsley told the story of Fort Worth residentLynn Johnson, who had been fired for being openly gay and who now works fora company with a non-discrimination policy. "There are some people whoseoccupations don't have that comfort," Johnson explained. "Someone could walkin today to them and say, 'You're gay...and we don't want you here anymore,'and there's not a leg to stand on for it." Additionally, Tinsley exploredthe consequences of the removal of gender identity protections from ENDA byinterviewing Rochelle Evans, a young transgender woman facing workplacediscrimination. By giving a human face to the debates surrounding ENDA,Tinsley educated readers about the significance of this legislation tothousands of lives.
READ STORY:
http://origin.dfw.com/mld/dfw/18077467.htm
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact Anna M. Tinsley and thank her for sharingthe stories of LGBT people impacted by workplace discrimination.
CONTACT: atinsley@star-telegram.com
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THE WORST:
Fox News's Hannity & Colmes Lack Balance in Boy Scouts StoryTelevision debate programs can serve as perfect forums for people on bothsides of an issue to argue their case. Fox News' Hannity & Colmes failed toprovide this kind of balance on a Nov. 20 segment about the City ofPhiladelphia's demand that its chapter of the Boy Scouts end its policy ofanti-gay discrimination or else lose its city-subsidized building. Inaddressing this story, co-host Sean Hannity quickly took sides by assertingthat the Boy Scouts “talk about God, faith, family, and country. Andthat’s their views, and they’re keeping kids out of trouble. Why wouldpeople just get involved to try and just destroy the organization?†Whilethe program featured two Boy Scouts representatives to defend theirorganization, it failed to include a guest who could illustrate the harmcaused by the Scouts' policy of barring or removing gay scouts who want tobe open and proud about who they are. Though co-host Alan Colmes brieflyargued against the city's financial support of the Boy Scouts, thisunbalanced program lacked any discussion about the message that thisnational organization's policy of anti-gay discrimination sends to youngpeople across the country.
READ THE TRANSCRIPT:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312425,00.html
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact Hannity & Colmes with your views about theirunbalanced coverage of the Boy Scouts issue.
CONTACT:
hannity@foxnews.com
colmes@foxnews.com
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The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs explained what has been done to try toavoid the execution of [Iranian] Makwan Mouloudzadeh.
Prior to the execution the EU informed the Iranian authorities about theirconcerns about the possible execution of Makwan and another minor : SoghraNajaf-Pour. The EU requested annulation of the death penalty. Alsobilaterally the case was taken up in the weeks before the hanging. The Dutchminister gave the same message to the Iranian ambassador in the Haguepersonally, other ministers from EU-member states did the same in theircapitals.
All to no avail.
Below is the EU press release after the execution.
The EU Presidency strongly deplores the execution of Makwan Mouloudzadeh,who was sentenced to death by a judge of Kermanshah Court for a crimeallegedly committed when he was only 13 years old.
The EU Presidency recalls the Islamic Republic of Iran's internationalcommitments, specifically the International Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both clearlyprohibiting the execution of minors or people who have been convicted ofcrimes committed while they were minors.
The EU Presidency reiterates its longstanding position against the deathpenalty in all circumstances and wishes to recall that any miscarriage orfailure of justice in the application of capital punishment represents theirreparable and irreversible loss of human life.
The EU Presidency urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to carry out aninvestigation in order to verify whether the trial of Makwan Mouloudzadehfollowed all legal procedures and if he was granted all the rights providedfor by the penal procedural code, and to ensure that all appropriatemeasures are taken in this regard.
The EU Presidency also appeals to the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensurethat the new law under consideration is approved by the Majlis and theJudiciary and that it should clearly exclude the application of deathpenalty sentences to minors or juvenile offenders.
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Truth Wins Out
http://www.truthwinsout.org/news/truthwinsoutorg-condemns-pat-robertson-and-other-evangelists-for-exploiting-young-man-during-i-35-%e2%80%98purity-siege%e2%80%99/
TruthWinsOut.org Condemns Pat Robertson And Other Evangelists For ExploitingYoung Man During I-35 'Purity Siege'
Dallas Voice Reveals That 'Convert' Was Bipolar - Not 'Ex-Gay'
NEW YORK - TruthWinsOut.org led on the leaders of several major Christianministries to apologize to a family after they took advantage of their son,who suffered from bipolar disorder. The crass manipulation of JamesStabile - and false sexual conversion on television outside of a Dallas gaybar - was deceptive, immoral and unchristian, said TruthWinsOut.org.
"This was predatory coercion, rather than a legitimate conversion," saidWayne Besen, Executive Director of TruthWinsOut.org. "The overzealouspreachers were so intent on proving that gay people could change, that theynever considered the damage they were doing to James Stabile and his family.Pat Robertson, Heartland World Ministries and Pure Life Ministries ought toapologize for dividing this family and fraudulently claiming that Stabilehad become 'ex-gay.'"
The absurd drama began when televangelist Pat Robertson aired a segment onthe 700 Club on a supposed biblical prophecy that claimed the Old Testamentmentioned that Interstate 35 is the "highway to holiness." To fulfill thisbizarre prophecy, Heartland World Ministries Church in Las Colinas stagedso-called "purity sieges" on Friday nights at porn palaces, nightclubs andgay bars off of I-35 in Dallas. The group's favorite hangout is outside JR'snightclub, a popular watering hole for gay men.
more....
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Transdgender Actress Candis Cayne on The View
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdlMD53LNl8
Check out the video on YouTube
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From MoveOn.Org
Jamie Leigh Jones was a 20-year-old woman working in Iraq for subsidiary ofHalliburton when she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by severalco-workers.
The next day, Halliburton told her that if she left Iraq to get medicaltreatment, she could lose her job.1
Jamie's story gets even more horrific: For the last two years, she's beenasking the US government to hold the perpetrators accountable. But the menwho raped her may never be brought to justice because Halliburton and othercontractors in Iraq aren't subject to US or Iraqi laws. They can't be triedfor a crime in any court.2
This is one of the most disturbing stories we have come across in a while.We're calling on Congress to investigate Jamie's case, hold those involvedaccountable, and bring US contractors under the jurisdiction of US law sothis can't happen again. If hundreds of thousands of us speak out againstthis outrageous story, we can force Congress to take action.
Can you sign the petition? Clicking below will add your name.
http://pol.moveon.org/contractors_accountable/o.pl?id=11800-5533006-rlFtuf&t=3
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Kerry, Smith Introduce Legislation To
End Discriminatory, Counterproductive HIV Law
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senator John Kerry introduced legislation today to repealoutdated, misguided provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)that bar HIV positive individuals from entering the United States, includingHIV positive doctors and experts as well as refugees seeking asylum. Thebill is co-sponsored by Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore.)
"It's incredible that the federal government still tolerates a ban that notonly restricts AIDS experts with the disease but also refugees who areseeking asylum in our country," said Sen. Kerry. "My legislation will endthis draconian law. The attempts to fix this law through a complex waiversystem, while admirable, still don't do anything to rectify thediscriminatory underlying problem. That is why I have introduced thislegislation to permanently strike this unfair provision from the books."
Frank Donaghue, Chief Executive Officer of Physicians for Human Rights basedin Cambridge, MA applauded the introduction of the bill. "There have neverbeen public health grounds for denying people living with AIDS admission tothe United States," Donaghue said. "The current policy violates the humanrights of people with AIDS and has stigmatized them for more than 15 years.We welcome the Kerry-Smith bill."
Since 1993, the INA has designated HIV as grounds for inadmissibility to theU.S. A cumbersome waiver option is available to those wishing to enter thiscountry, but the process is incredibly restrictive. These obstacles resultin an almost wholesale rejection of any HIV positive individual from theUnited States, no matter their reason for entry. Kerry's bill would strikethe HIV restrictions from the INA and ask for a full review of the publichealth aspects of travel and immigration restrictions against those withHIV.
President Bush acknowledged that the waiver system was a problem on WorldAIDS Day in 2006 when he asked the Department of Homeland Security tostreamline the process. However, the proposed regulations are arguably morerestrictive and intrusive.
more....
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GayCityNews.com
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19111240&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
Does Rule of Law Govern Iran?
By: DUNCAN OSBORNE
12/13/2007
Hours before Makwan Moloudzadeh was killed by the Iranian government, ScottLong, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Programat Human Rights Watch (HRW), issued a press release saying the "Iraniangovernment should prevent the execution."
Moloudzadeh, 21, was arrested in 2006 and charged with raping three otheryoung men seven years earlier. Though his alleged accusers withdrew theircharges and Moloudzadeh said his confession was coerced, he was convicted inJune and sentenced to death in July.
HRW, Amnesty International, and the International Gay and Lesbian HumanRights Commission (IGLHRC) had made appeals to senior Iranian governmentofficials and believed that they had won a reprieve, perhaps onlytemporarily, of the sentence.
"I think that was the dominant perception," said Ariel Herrera, director ofthe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Human Rights Program at AmnestyInternational USA. "It was a reprieve, it was not an overturning."
"The chief justice had reviewed the case and had said to the courts that thesentence was not valid," said Paula L. Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executivedirector. "The local court is not required to follow what he said... but thechief justice does have the power to set the parameters of the law."
On December 3, HRW was told by Moloudzadeh's lawyer that the execution wouldgo forward "even though the required judicial review had not beencompleted," the group said in a press statement.
This made the killing that much more shocking because it appeared thatdespite the efforts of human rights groups and a ruling from a seniorgovernment official, a lower level Iranian bureaucrat was able to dragMoloudzadeh from his cell and hang him in the prison court yard on December5.
more....
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Omaha World Herald
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10209131
Gay Lawmaker: Iowa jury acts quickly in absolving state lawmaker
Published Friday | December 14, 2007
DES MOINES (AP) — A federal jury on Thursday found Iowa State Sen. MattMcCoy not guilty of attempted extortion.
McCoy was accused of threatening to use his influence as a lawmaker to forcea business partner to pay him $2,000.
The jury deliberated less than two hours before returning its verdict.
"The length of time the jury was out speaks volumes of this case," saidJerry Crawford, one of McCoy's defense attorneys.
Testimony began in the trial on Dec. 3.
McCoy's co-counsel, F. Montgomery Brown, said 90 percent of federal courtcases result in a conviction and the swift not guilty verdict indicatessomething was seriously wrong with the federal prosecutor's case.
Brown said the problem was that McCoy committed no crime.
"He didn't do it," Brown said. "He was innocent."
more....
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD03POL121407.htm
Ex officer: Marriage amendment would hurt more than gays
By EILEEN ZAFFIRO
Staff Writer
December 14, 2007
DAYTONA BEACH -- Some local gay residents say homosexuals shouldn't be theonly ones concerned about a proposed state constitutional amendment to bangay marriage in Florida.
They say the amendment, slated to be on the ballot next November, threatensto outlaw the legal recognition of any unmarried partners -- homosexual orheterosexual. They say that could mean millions of domestic partners couldlose health insurance benefits and other protections for their families.
"If people would look at what this law really means, no fair-minded, decentFloridian would ever want to see this pass," said David Perreault, a43-year-old Port Orange man who is a former prosecutor and police officer."We all know someone who this law would hurt."
But because heterosexual couples can always choose to get married,homosexual couples would be wounded most, they say.
"It would write hate into the Florida constitution," said Perreault, a localgay rights activist.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.washblade.com/2007/12-14/news/localnews/11723.cfm
Activists embrace incremental progress on marriage
Many fear congressional intervention, seek DP expansion
By LOU CHIBBARO JR
Dec. 14, 2007
Organizers of a Dec. 6 gay marriage forum in Washington, anticipating apossible heated debate over when D.C. should pass a same-sex marriage law,enlisted the services of a professional meeting facilitator, who was poisedto calm flaring tempers.
But last week’s Community Forum on Marriage Equality in the District ofColumbia played out as a cordial discussion and exchange of information,with most participants agreeing that the threat of congressionalintervention makes it too risky for the city to pass a gay marriage bill atthe present time.
Lane Hudson, a gay Democratic activist and co-founder of D.C. For Marriage,the lead sponsor of the forum, said he expects Congress would try tooverturn a gay marriage law in D.C.
Hudson and other leaders of the new marriage group joined the city’sestablished gay organizations in embracing a strategy of expanding theDistrict’s domestic partners law while seeking to persuade Congress toeventually allow the city to legalize full marriage rights for gays.
The D.C. Center, a local gay group, along with the Gay & Lesbian ActivistsAlliance, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the gay Asian group AQUA, theD.C. Coalition of Black Lesbian & Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Men & Women,and the Burgundy Crescent Volunteers co-sponsored the event.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.sovo.com/2007/12-14/news/localnews/7860.cfm
Butch lesbians accuse DeKalb police of bias
Department has no plans for gay liaison officer
By RYAN LEE
Dec. 14, 2007
By the time Torry Reid’s face slammed into the pavement, she says she stillhad no idea why DeKalb County Police Officer Derrick Asberry had pulled herover, let alone why he had cursed at her, handcuffed her and slammed her tothe ground.
It wasn’t until after her teeth were damaged and her face began to swellthat Reid said she was told that she had been driving without her taillightson.
Reid and her partner, Elizabeth Toledo, said they are convinced that theAugust 2005 traffic stop escalated into a case of anti-lesbian policebrutality because of Reid’s masculine appearance, and because Asberry is acop with a history of conduct complaints.
“He thought [Reid] was a man at first,” Toledo said of Asberry initiallystopping the car. “But when he saw it was a lesbian, his whole attitudeseemed to change. It was like, he was going to prove a point.”
Beyond the occasional homophobic joke or remark, Reid never encountereddanger because of her sexual orientation until she was stopped by Asberry.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.sovo.com/2007/12-14/news/localnews/7879.cfm
Civil rights center unveils proposed gay content
Gay history buffs hope final recommendation is more inclusive
By RYAN LEE
Dec. 14, 2007
While paying homage to widely celebrated civil rights icons and historicalmoments, leaders of Atlanta’s proposed Center for Civil & Human Rights saythe facility aims to teach visitors that the civil rights movement didn’tstart with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, nor was the gay rights movementinvisible before the Stonewall Riots.
Some 23 years before New York’s famous Stonewall Riots, Rev. George Hydeestablished a gay-friendly church in Atlanta, according to a draft ofrecommended content for the Civil & Human Rights Center released Dec. 11.
“I think this really illustrates so many interesting different things: One,it’s a religious institution, and religion is such an important piece whenyou talk about human and civil rights,” said Doug Shipman, executivedirector of the public-private partnership working to bring the Center forCivil & Human Rights to fruition by fall 2010 at an estimated $125 millionprice tag.
“Two, it’s in Atlanta in ’46!” Shipman added.“Why is that happening? What isit that makes a minister undertake that, and what was the communityreaction? Those are the kinds of stories to uncover.”
A 22-member content committee comprised of educators, museum experts, civilrights veterans and media specialists drafted the proposal that mentionsHyde’s gay-friendly church among other specific topics or exhibits. It alsoenvisions the center hosting movies, artistic performances, discussionpanels and workshops.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19092040&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
Journalist, Victim's Lawyer Attest to Executed Iranian's Railroading
By: DOUG IRELAND
12/06/2007
State Murder for Sex at 13 in the Islamic Republic
NOTE: This article is an updated version, supplemented by additionalreporting, from that first posted on December 6.
The Islamic Republic of Iran murdered Makwan Moloudzadeh, a lad of 21, onthe cold morning of December 5. Makwan was dragged at dawn from his jailcell in the Kermanshah Central Prison and hanged in secret within theprison, without the required presence of his lawyer and family, for theso-called "crime" of having had anal sexual relations, which the authoritiesclaimed was rape, with boys of his own age eight years ago, when he was 13.
Given recantings by plaintiffs during his trial, it is impossible to knowwhat, if in fact anything, actually transpired during the alleged rape.
Amnesty International released a statement denouncing the execution as a"mockery of justice." The International Gay and Lesbian Human RightsCommission's executive director, Paula Ettelbrick, said in a statement,"This is a shameful and outrageous travesty of justice and internationalhuman rights law. How many more young Iranians have to die before theinternational community takes action?"
And the trial of Makwan, held in June, was indeed a farce.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6342.html
Policy Exchange stands by report into homophobic Muslim texts
14th December 2007 13:40
Tony Grew
BBC news programme Newsnight has called into question the validity of acontroversial report claiming that extremist texts encouraging hatred ofgays, Christians and Jews are available at Britain's mosques.
Researchers for the centre-Right think tank Policy Exchange claimed to havefound such publications in a quarter of the 100 mosques and Islamicinstitutions they visited, including London Central Mosque in Regent's Park,which is funded by Saudi Arabia.
Many of the publications allegedly called on British Muslims to segregatethemselves from non-Muslims and contained repeated calls for gays toexecuted and for women to be subjugated.
However, an investigation shown on Newsnight earlier this week found seriousinconsistencies in some of the receipts for the purchases of the texts whichform part of Policy Exchange's report.
Several of the receipts had been printed on laser-jet printers, as opposedto being commercially produced, which would be normal practice.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6344.html
Castro's girl seeks legal protection for Cuban LGBT
14th December 2007 16:05
Joe Roberts
A Cuban sexologist has shocked her communist country by suggesting thatgays, lesbians, transsexuals, transvestites and transgender people should begranted legal protection under forthcoming reforms.
Mariela Castro, director of the National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX),is calling for new measures including non-discrimination on the grounds ofsexuality or gender identity.
She also advocates the introduction of same-sex unions and adoption rights,and major reforms relating to health care and treatment of trans people.
Speaking to www.IPSnews.net, Miss Castro, who is the niece of Cuban LeaderFidel Castro and daughter of current president, Raúl Castro, admitted reformwas necessary to address the country's poor history on gay rights.
Speaking of the 1960s, she criticised the Communist party saying: "Arevolutionary ideology should be truly revolutionary throughout, not just insome aspects. But the ideology of that era was deeply prejudiced againsthomosexuals."
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6341.html
Premier league club commits to fight homophobia
14th December 2007 13:15
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
Reading FC have pledged their support to The Football Association's campaignto ban homophobia from the terraces.
The start of the 2007/08 season saw a change in football ground regulationswith homophobic abuse now deemed punishable.
Richard Howgill of the Gay Football Supporter's Network recently discoveredthat the Madejski Stadium outfit are top of the league when it comes totraining their staff.
"I met the Stadium Safety Officer and the Chief Steward and outlined what weare trying to achieve and they were very supportive and positive about thecampaign.
"I saw many practical aspects of stewarding and how they’re trained tohandle homophobic chanting outside the ground on match days," said Richard.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6337.html
Peru urged to protect LGBT youth
14th December 2007 12:05
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
The Peruvian Congress is under pressure from gay rights activists to becomea party to a convention on the rights of young people.
The Ibero-American Convention on the Rights of Youth seeks to promote andsafeguard the rights of young people and remedy the inequality thatthousands of young people confront for a variety of reasons, including forhaving a sexual orientation different from heterosexuality.
But the Foreign Relations Committee of the Congress of Peru has raisedconcerns in this respect, and opposes the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexualand transgender (LGBT) young people.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and theHomosexual Movement of Lima (MHOL) are asking people to write to thePeruvian lawmakers about the convention.
In a letter to Dr. Luis González Posada Eyzaguirre President of the Congressof the Peruvian Republic, IGLHRC said:
"Far from promoting same-sex unions, the only right that the conventiongrants to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people involvesnon-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.themonkeycage.org/2007/12/did_moral_values_and_the_gay_m.html
Did "Moral Values" and the Gay Marriage Backlash Play a Key Role in Bush's2004 Victory?
Journalists (via political pundits)** and political scientists haveconflicting accounts of the 2004 elections. Both are very convincing. Let mefirst start with the journalists’ account. Twenty-two percent of the voterstold election pollsters that “moral values” were their top issue (and ofthat group 80 percent voted for Bush) and thirteen states voted to bansame-sex marriages. The NY Times backs up that account in their article,Same-Sex Marriage Issue Key to Some G.O.P. Races, with interviews withpolitical consultants:
[T]he ballot measures also appear to have acted like magnets for thousandsof socially conservative voters in rural and suburban communities who mightnot otherwise have voted…In Ohio, for instance, political analysts creditthe ballot measure with increasing turnout in Republican bastions in thesouth and west, while also pushing swing voters in the Appalachian region ofthe southeast toward Mr. Bush.
The (logical) conclusion is that “moral values” and the gay marriagebacklash played a key role in Bush’s victory.
Political scientists believe the exact opposite. In an article byAnsolabehere and Stewart III, appropriately titled, Moral values and thegay-marriage backlash did not help Bush, they argue that, the “Marriagereferenda mobilized voters on both sides, not just the conservatives, andthe net result may have been to John Kerry’s benefit.” Here are the factsfrom Ansolabehere and Stewart III:
Eleven states—Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan,Mississippi, Montana,North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah—had measures before thevoters that would prohibit gay marriage, and in some cases civil unions.Nine of the 11—all but Michigan and Oregon—had gone for Bush in 2000, andonly three—Michigan, Ohio, and Oregon—were battleground states.
more....
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.washblade.com/2007/12-14/view/editorial/11737.cfm
A disappointing year
Giddy 2006 predictions of gay rights advances gave way to a more soberingreality in 2007
By KEVIN NAFF
Dec. 14, 2007
HERE WAS A lot of celebrating when Democrats took control of both houses ofCongress in the 2006 mid-term elections, followed by ebullient predictionsof historic gay rights advances that would surely follow in 2007.
The conventional wisdom among Hill observers went something like this:Democrats would quickly push through the hate crimes bill as a thank-you toa loyal gay constituency. And there was some talk of scheduling hearings onrepealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” But we were told not to get toooptimistic because other interest groups were also in line for payback.Introduction of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was a possibility, butmight require too much “heavy lifting” in the end.
The caveat was that all this would have to get done in 2007, because no onewants to touch gay issues in a presidential election year. The Republicansare desperate to use the old marriage wedge again, given the sorry state oftheir party and the pathetic lot of standard bearers seeking the GOPnomination. The old white rubes and hucksters running for the Republicannomination are too busy debating creationism and blathering about their“faith” to realize most Americans have had their fill of God in governmentand are ready for leadership instead of sermons.
This week’s flurry of stories about former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’sviews on AIDS serve as a reminder of just how out of touch the RepublicanParty can be.
In 1992, Huckabee told the Associated Press in a questionnaire: “We need totake steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague. … It is the firsttime in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuineplague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which thisdeadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rightsissue instead of the true health crisis it represents.”
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.washblade.com/2007/12-14/view/columns/11732.cfm
OPINION | washingtonblade.com
Separating state from the church: For gays, keeping Huckabee out of theWhite House is a must.
Dec. 14, 2007
THIS COUNTRY, AND specifically the LGBT community, does not need anAyatollah sitting in the White House. And that’s exactly what we would getif the current flavor-of-the-week, Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansasshould, in comeback fashion, meander his way through the primaries to winthe GOP nomination and then upset the Democratic candidate in November of2008.
We have already experienced a devastating seven years with George W. Bush atthe helm, who some have dubbed the “minister-in-chief. While the federalgovernment is technically secular, this president has seen to it thatadministration policies and personnel meet with the approval of theChristian conservatives who, in no small way, helped to elect him twice andembraced him as one of their own.
You can point to the disproportionate number of Department of Justiceemployees who have graduated from none other than Rev. Pat Robertson’s lawschool as an example of this influence. Then there was the inappropriateWhite House-backed intervention in a personal family matter in the TerriSchiavo case. Add that to the successful appointments of two veryconservative Supreme Court justices as well as other anti-gay administrationappointees who were the darlings of the religious right.
Not to be forgotten and just as egregious for gays was the cynical use offaith-based dollars and other incentives to influence church leaders,including African-American ministers, to rail against “gay marriage” duringthe 2004 campaign, especially in the battleground state of Ohio to helpbolster Republican turnout.
After this Bush presidency you would think the electorate would yearn for areturn to secular and competent governance. But on the strength of afriendly persona that contrasts with an immigrant-hating, terrorism-obsessedangry field of GOP competitors and a well-timed but not necessarily funnyquip during the recent CNN-YouTube Republican debate, Huckabee, an ordainedminister, is seeing his stock rapidly rise.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.towleroad.com/2007/12/ex-gay-camp-har.html
Gay Man Goes Through "Ex-Gay" Hell After Christian "Purity Siege"
by Jason Stratham
Some of you may remember the piece I posted about Pat Robertson and thenutty evangelical "purity sieges" that have been going on aroundInterstate-35 in the midwest.
According to Robertson, God is using superhighway I-35 that runs from Canadato Mexico to purify America from sin. He says "I-35 is the highway spoken ofin Isaiah 35:8 - "And a highway will be there; it will be called the way ofholiness." So, evangelical Christians have set aside 35 days to use thecities around I-35 to rid America of sin, meaning "abortion clinics, gaybars, strip joints, and porn shops." God is using "purity sieges" to setAmerica free.
One of the main people featured in the clip posted below is James Stabile,who was apparently "cured" of his homosexuality by a minister at one ofthese purity sieges.
John Wright of the Dallas Voice attempted to track down Stabile anddiscovered what had happened to him after talking to Joe Oden, the midwestevangelist who has been organizing the "purity sieges" and who "touched"Stabile, allegedly transforming him from gay to straight in an instant:
Writes Wright: "Oden told me Stabile had been shipped off to Pure LifeMinistries, which operates a residential treatment program in NorthernKentucky. 'It’s a program for people who’ve lived alternative lifestylesjust to get totally clean,' Oden told me. Upon further investigation, Idiscovered Pure Life Ministries is also the place where Mike Johnston —remember him?! — is director of donor and media relations. Johnston’s theguy who contracted HIV before swearing off homosexuality and becoming aposter child for the ex-gay movement in the late 1980s. Then, in 2003, itwas revealed that Johnston was living a double life — cruising men onlineand organizing unsafe sex parties while failing to disclose his HIV statusto partners. Johnston eventually checked into Pure Life and later re-emergedin his current position. 'With good reason, people would question what I’msaying now,' Johnston told me recently during what he said was the onlyinterview he’s given on the subject in four years."
more....
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/343602_faith15.html?source=rss
Articles of Faith: Christian stereotypes detract from ability to help others
By ANTHONY B. ROBINSON
GUEST COLUMNIST
Last updated December 14, 2007 9:30 p.m. PT
NOT LONG AGO, I spent an afternoon visiting with a small group of Christianswho work for the Seattle-based Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Listening as theyspoke of their work and their faith, and the challenges to which thatcombination sometimes led, my mind flashed on the wry quip of writerFlannery O'Connor: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make youodd."
One woman, who asked that her name not be used, described growing up in aconservative Christian family. "We went to church all the time." Still, herfamily took seriously the words of Jesus to care for the afflicted, feed thehungry and welcome the stranger. "My family," she said, "really did that.Our home was a welcoming place for people in trouble."
But when she went to work for Lifelong, an agency serving people withHIV/AIDS, many of them gay, her family had doubts. "But isn't this," theyoung woman asked her parents, "what you taught us growing up -- that asChristians we are to help people in need?"
The answer seemed to be "yes, but maybe not those people." ConservativeChristian friends were worse, saying with looks and words, "What are youdoing?"
For other Christian Lifelong workers, the challenge hasn't come from churchor family, but from those they serve and sometimes the colleagues with whomthey work. They find themselves bumping up against stereotypes that allChristians are people who don't drink or dance and who believe all gaypeople are going to hell.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.washblade.com/2007/12-14/arts/feature/11736.cfm
Behind the times: Despite shifting Hollywood landscape, some stars opt tostay in the closet
By KATHERINE VOLIN
Dec. 14, 2007
Gay internet gossip sites were all abuzz last week after Jodie Fosterappeared to come out as a lesbian during a speech at an awards banquet.
Foster, who has long been the subject of gay rumors and who refuses todiscuss her personal life with reporters, concluded her speech at the Womenin Entertainment Power 100 breakfast on Dec. 4 in Los Angeles by thanking“my beautiful Cydney who sticks with me through all the rotten and thebliss.” Los Angeles media outlets reported that the Cydney in question wasCydney Bernard, a film producer thought to be Foster’s partner of 14 years.
Adding to the controversy was a rumor about another female star who won’tdiscuss her personal life — Queen Latifah. The New York Post’s Page Six, ina blind item, hinted last week that she was planning to wed her femalepersonal trainer.
Publicists for both stars did not respond to requests for comment for thisarticle, but Latifah did respond to the rumors to the Chicago-Sun Times.
“When you’re famous these days, it’s just part of the deal — unfortunately,”Latifah told the paper. “People will make up all sorts of things that arenot true. There ain’t going to be no wedding.”
more . . . . .
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Gay & Lesbian Leadership
SmartBrier
http://www.smartbrief.com/index.jsp
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Oped: Leaders failed to advance issues in 2007
Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade, looks back on the unfulfilledpromises of a Democrat-controlled Congress. From hate-crime legislation toHIV, national politics in 2007 has left much to be desired, affirming theneed for more accountability, he writes. Washington Blade (12/14)
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Huckabee boasts "consistent" stance against marriage rights
The presidential hopeful is leading Iowa polls, but he faces renewedcriticism for statements calling gays and lesbians sinful and for hissteadfast opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples. Huckabee alsohas come under fire for calling for the quarantining of AIDS patients in the1990s. The Boston Globe (12/12)
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Trans pol won't join Maryland legislature
Dana Beyer, a transgender Montgomery County political aide who soughtappointment to the Maryland House of Delegates to serve out the term of thelate Democratic Delegate Jane Lawton, withdrew her name from consideration.
Had she been appointed by the Montgomery County Democratic CentralCommittee, Beyer would have been the first transgender person to serve as astate legislator, according to this article. Washington Blade (12/14)
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GOP weighs marriage stance in New Hampshire primary
Republican candidates have yet to rally their forces against the state'srecent passage of a law granting civil unions. The party's strategy remainsunclear as candidates try to court the state's independents without losingthem to overly conservative rhetoric. MSNBC/Associated Press (12/13)
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Iowa state Sen. Matt McCoy acquitted on federal extortion charges
The Des Moines Register (Iowa) (12/14)
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Are you ready to lead?
The Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute (GLLI) doesn't just bring you thisSmartBrief twice a week. It's the training and professional developmentorganization for openly LGBT public leaders in government, politics andadvocacy. From training candidates to run for office to building the skillsof LGBT movement leaders, GLLI is making sure those on the front lines inthe fight for equality are equipped for success. Learn more about how we canhelp you get ready to lead.
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Queerty: Haters are "psycho"
Queerty draws attention to the violent side of intolerance, spotlighting aquote from a blog for self-described white supremacists that advocates thelynching of openly gay politicians. Click here for more from the blogQueerty.
http://www.queerty.com/news/anti-gay-white-supremacists-are-totally-psycho-20071212/
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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A lesbian seeking a divorce has returned to court despite a ruling by RhodeIsland Supreme Court that said same-sex divorce cannot be decided by FamilyCourt. This time Margaret Chambers is trying to get her divorce in SuperiorCourt.Last week in a split decision the high court ruled that laws governingFamily Court do not include same-sex couples. The case involved Chambers andCassandra Ormiston who were married in Massachusetts in 2004. Because RhodeIsland has no specific law banning same-sex marriage gay and lesbian couplescan go to assachusetts to marry.But those marriages are not recognized inRhode Island.Last year the Chambers filed for divorce in Providence, citing"irreconcilable differences".
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It was a strikingly different scene in the Bellows Free Academy auditoriumon Monday, Dec. 10, than was seen in the same room seven years ago, whenmany raised bitter, angry, and sometimes threatening voices in opposition toVermont’s then-pending civil unions law. This week the 60 people who turnedup in that same auditorium spoke for 90 minutes in nearly unanimous supportof expanding the law to allow same-sex couples in Vermont to legallymarry.Testimony given to the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition andProtection on Monday was full of heart-felt calls for civil rights andreligious freedom and asking legislators to move Vermont beyond theseparate-but-equal status of civil unions.Following the din of oppositionheard seven years ago, the absence of opponents this week was striking.While some might attribute this to a boycott by opponents, resident SherryCorbin had a different explanation.
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It doesn't matter whether you're gay or straight, you can't get legallymarried at Lyndale United Church of Christ. The small, liberal church insouth Minneapolis was the first of several Twin Cities congregations lastyear to stop performing civil marriage ceremonies as long as gay marriage isillegal. These churches, and a handful of others around the country thattook the same step, will still have a religious ceremony to bless the unionsof straight and gay couples -- but straight couples must go separately to ajudge or justice of the peace for the marriage license."If you feel that gayand lesbian people are loved and credited by God, then how can we continueto discriminate against our brothers and sisters?" asked the Rev. DonPortwood, the Nebraska native who's been lead pastor at the 120-memberLyndale United Church of Christ for 27 years.The churches in questionminister to only a handful of the most-liberal churchgoers in Minneapolisand St. Paul, and most have large contingents of gay members.
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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If There Was a Gay-Straight Switch, Would You Switch?
Is there a switch that turns you gay? That's the startling question raisedagain by a recent experiment in which scientists said they were able to turnon and off homosexual behavior in fruit flies. Researchers at theUniversity of Illinois at Chicago said they discovered what they call a"gender blind gene," or GB, in male fruit flies. A mutation in this GB genespurred the males flies to start courting other males, as well as females.
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Sales Up After Becks Underwear Ad
SHOTS of David Beckham posing in tight white pants have sparked a 50 percent increase in sales of similar briefs, a retailer says.The footballer'spublicity shots for Armani underwear have prompted a huge increase in salesof white pants at Selfridges. They are currently outselling boxer shorts bytwo to one.
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The Year in Gay Books:
Mouse Soars, J.K. Scores and More!
For gay books, 2007 was the best of times and the worst of times. Setbacksin the gay publishing industry did not keep good gay books from beingpublished or good gay writers from doing what they do best, but several gaypublishers and one gay book club went, or are going, out of business. Hereare the literary highs and lows of the year along with our choices for theauthor of the year, the top five books of the year and other assorted honorspassed out with bright, shiny holiday bows.
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Brazilian Congressman Targeted by Homosexual Activists
Henrique Afonso is a member of the House of Representatives in Brazil. Hewas elected to office as a member of the Brazilian Workers' Party. He is nowan evangelical Protestant Christian. In keeping with his convictions,informed by his faith, he has become an ardent opponent of efforts to givehomosexual paramours equal status with marriage. He also openly supports theright to life for all human beings from conception to natural death.
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Countering Fanaticism
It is clear to nearly everyone that fundamentalists — Christians who believein biblical inerrancy — are the chief obstacle to equality under the law forgays and lesbians. It would not be so irritating if they limited theirreligious practice to their own lives not participating in homosexual acts,not inviting known gays into their homes, praying privately for thesalvation of homosexuals, etc. But they generally try to go much further andimpose their anti-gay religious doctrine on society at large.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121507evita.htm
Can Clinton Follow In Steps Of Argentina's 'New Evita'?
by The Associated Press
Posted: December 15, 2007 - 7:30 am ET
(Buenos Aires) Cristina Fernandez was sworn in this week as Argentina'sfirst elected female president, completing a rare husband-wife transfer ofpower that the nation hopes will ensure continued recovery from an economicmeltdown.
Fernandez, whose husband Nestor Kirchner is credited with leading Argentinaout of its 2001-2002 economic meltdown, vowed to increase his center-lefteconomic programs, create jobs and reduce high poverty levels.
During her hour-long inaugural speech, Fernandez's voice rose in anger asshe demanded faster progress from dozens of slow-moving court investigationsof human rights abuses of the country's 1976-83 dictatorship.
"I expect that in the four years of my term, trials that have been delayedmore than 30 years will be concluded. We must try and punish those who wereresponsible for the greatest genocide" in modern Argentine history,Fernandez, 54, told a packed Congress after taking up the blue-and-whitesash from Kirchner, who gingerly adjusted it on her shoulders.
Nearly 13,000 people are officially listed as missing or dead under a "dirtywar" crackdown on dissent by past military governments. Activists estimatenearly double that number died.
more . . . . .
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/fashion/16meangirls.html
When the Bullies Turned Faceless
By CHRISTOPHER MAAG
December 16, 2007
DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo.
LIKE most mobs, the one that pursued Megan Meier was cruel and unrelenting.Its members gathered on the social networking site MySpace and called Megana liar, a fat whore and worse.
Megan, 13, fought back, insulting her tormenters with every profanity sheknew. But the mob shouted her down, overwhelming her computer and her shakyself-confidence with a barrage of hateful instant messages.
“Mom, they’re being horrible!” Megan said, sobbing into the phone when hermother called. After an hour, Megan ran into her bedroom and hanged herselfwith a belt.
“She felt there was no way out,” Ms. Meier said.
Megan Meier’s suicide made headlines because she was the victim of a hoax.Lori Drew, another mother in the neighborhood, said in a police report thatshe had created a MySpace profile of a boy, an invention named “Josh Evans,”and that she and her daughter had manipulated Megan into thinking that thisfabricated person liked her.
more . . . . .
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/us/14brfs-RULINGAGAINS_BRF.html
National Briefing | West
California: Ruling Against Marijuana Clubs
By CAROLYN MARSHALL
December 14, 2007
A federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld an 2002 injunction barringthree California marijuana clubs from giving the drug to medical patientswith a prescription. The ruling by judges on the United States Court ofAppeals for the Ninth Circuit sided with the Justice Department, which firstsued the dispensaries in 1998 to stop sales of medical marijuana to patientswith a doctor’s approval, as allowed under a California law approved byvoters in 1996. The law has been at the heart of a series of legal battlesover state and federal drug laws, which categorize marijuana as illegal. Theruling was likely the last legal recourse for the clubs. In 2001, the UnitedStates Supreme Court heard the case and ruled against the Californiacooperatives.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121507huck.htm
Huckabee Bashes Bush Bunker Mentality
by The Associated Press
Posted: December 15, 2007 - 7:30 am ET
(Concord, New Hampshire) Mike Huckabee, who has joked about his lack offoreign policy experience, is criticizing the Bush administration's efforts,denouncing a go-it-alone "arrogant bunker mentality" and questioningdecisions on Iraq.
Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor now running for the Republicanpresidential nomination, lays out a policy plan that is long on optimism butshort on details in the January-February issue of the journal ForeignAffairs, which is published by the Council on Foreign Relations. A copy ofhis article was released Friday.
"American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, andreach out," Huckabee said. "The Bush administration's arrogant bunkermentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administrationwill recognize that the United States' main fight today does not pit usagainst the world but pits the world against the terrorists."
In one specific criticism, Huckabee said Bush did not send enough troops toinvade Iraq. And he accused the president of marginalizing Gen. EricShinseki, the Army chief of staff, who said at the outset of the war that itmight take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after theinvasion. "I would have met with Shinseki privately and carefully weighedhis advice," Huckabee said.
He said this year's troop increase under Bush has resulted in significantbut tenuous gains, and he said - much as Bush has - that he would notwithdraw troops from Iraq any faster than Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S.commander there, recommends. The military has now slowly begun to reversethe troop increase.
more . . . . .
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HuffingtonPost.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/christ-not-again-antig_b_76877.html
Christ, Not Again. Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment Puts Florida in Play
Chris Kelly
Posted December 14, 2007 | 03:04 PM (EST)
Florida4Marriage sounds like the worst boy band of all time, but it turnsout it's not. It's a Republican front group, run by a personal injurylawyer, to lure gay-hating boobs into the voting booths next November.
Florida4Marriage, and its chairman, John Stemberger (a recognized leader inrental car accident law) are the people behind Florida's new MarriageProtection Amendment, and yesterday they finally got the signatures theyneed to put it on the 2008 ballot.
So come on down! And while you're in there, marking the magic X that provesyou're not a homo -- and that your life wasn't a squalid waste of everyone'stime, because at least you got yerself hitched -- why not also vote for aRepublican president?
Something for you. Something for the GOP. It's a get-out-the-vote win/win.
Anti-gay amendments are the Happy Meal toy of Republican politics.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
December 13, 2007
(202) 328-3244, ext. 116 / sralls@sldn.org
CBS Newsmagazine 60 Minutes to Feature
Out, Active Duty Army Sergeant
Correspondent Lesley Stahl Looks at SLDN Report on Growing Trend of OpenlyGay Troops
Washington, DC - This Sunday's edition of the award-winning CBSnewsmagazine 60
Sergeant Darren Manzella, who has served a tour of duty in Iraq and is nowserving inside Kuwait. Manzella tells Stahl that he has receivedoverwhelming support from both his fellow soldiers and superiors sincecoming out last year. Stahl's report also looks at SLDN's work in assistingservice personnel such as Manzella, and the organization's campaign torepeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." In addition to Manzella, Sunday's segmentalso features SLDN board member Cholene
Espinoza, an Air Force Academy graduate and the second woman to fly the U-2reconnaissance aircraft.
"Sergeant Manzella's story illustrates the arbitrary and uneven enforcementof 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'" said SLDN executive director Aubrey
Sarvis. "Many commands, like Manzella's, recognize that their lesbian andgay troops are instrumental in the work of defending our country. Thosecommanders, who want to do the right thing and retain good troops, shouldnot have their hands tied by this unfair law. Our nation's commitment tofairness and civil liberties demands an end to this law, and our nationalsecurity interests are best served by repealing it."
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Ban on sex toys targeted: Rogers tries again to revoke ban
By BRIAN LYMAN
Capital Bureau
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
MONTGOMERY -- A Birmingham legislator has filed a bill that would revoke thestate's 10-year ban on the sale of sex toys, a prohibition that has drawnnational attention and led to lengthy court battles.
It's the second attempt by state Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, to strikethe 1998 prohibition on the sale of such devices.
"A shower head could be considered a sex toy," he said. "It's just bringingthe state into the 20th century."
Dan Ireland, executive director of the Alabama Citizens' Action Program, aBaptist group, said it would oppose any effort to overturn the law.
"Laws are made to protect the public," he said. "Sometimes you have toprotect the public against themselves."
The 2008 regular session is scheduled to begin Feb. 5.
The law prohibits the sale and manufacture of items "designed or marketed asuseful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs." It does notprohibit the possession of those items and provides an exception for devicessold for medical purposes.
The statute drew national attention and led to a nine-year court struggleover its enforcement. A series of lawsuits were filed against the state bycivil libertarians, store owners and women who said the law violated privacyrights.
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=&sc3=&id=53583
LGBT leaders question Dems on hate crimes by Ethan Jacobs staff reporterThursday Dec 13, 2007 The decision last week by U.S. House and Senateleaders to remove a hate crimes amendment from a Department of Defenseauthorization bill currently before Congress prompted strong criticism fromvarious quarters ranging from the New York Times editorial board, whichharshly criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the move, to LGBT groupsincluding the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which pronounced itself"deeply angered and disappointed."
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