Saturday, January 13, 2007

GLBT DIGEST - January 13, 2007

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Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=10866


Former gay union foe now lobbying for equality
Activist hopes to see civil unions enacted in Hawaii
By JOSHUA LYNSEN | Jan 12, 5:28 PM



A woman who once led the charge against gay unions in Hawaii is now lobbyingfor their passage.


Debi Hartmann is working with gay activists and Democratic leaders in Hawaiito enact civil unions that carry the same rights as traditional marriage.The move represents a stark change for Hartmann, who once led Hawaii'sFuture Today, a conservative group of Mormons, Catholics and others whoopposed gay unions. In that role, the married mother of three railed againstgay marriage.


Hawaii's Future Today dissolved after a 1998 vote granted state lawmakersthe authority to ban gay marriage.


But in an exclusive interview with the Washington Blade, Hartmann said shenow believes that Hawaii should enact civil unions to protect gay couplesand their children.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/011207ford.htm


Gay Foe To Lead Centrist Democratic Wing
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: January 12, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET

(Washington) Gay Democrats voiced "deep concern" Friday over the naming offormer Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. as Chair of the Democratic LeadershipCouncil.

The DLC is not an official party organization, but a non-profit organizationthat represents a coalition of centrist Democrats in Congress and at thestate and local level. Openly-gay Democrats have previously joined theleadership of the DLC as members of State Legislative Advisory Board andLocal Elected Officials Network.

During the 1990s the Council was led nationally by then-Governor BillClinton and includes Vice President Al Gore as a founding member.

Former Iowa Governor, and presidential candidate, Tom Vilsack announcedThursday that he is stepping down of Chair of the DLC while indicating hisreplacement by Congressman Ford, who possesses a poor record on issues thatimpact LGBT families.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/011207az.htm


Arizona GOP Makes New Bid To Pass Anti-Gay Amendment
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: January 12, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET



(Phoenix, Arizona) A group of Republican lawmakers on Friday announced theywill attempt to put a "slimmed down" constitutional amendment on the 2008ballot to ban same-sex marriage.

Last November the state became the first in the nation to defeat aconstitutional ban on gay marriage. (story)

That amendment would have not only barred gays and lesbians from marryingbut also would have banned civil unions and prohibited state and localgovernments from providing marriage-like legal status to relationships otherthan marriage.

A survey taken following the vote showed Arizona voters were concerned aboutthe broad nature of the proposed amendment. (story) Groups fighting againstit had pointed out that it would affect thousands of unmarried opposite-sexcouples in the state.



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

Equality and 'Gen Next.'


January 10, 2007

A new study <http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/300.pdf> of "GenerationNext" (aged 18 to 25) by the Pew Research Center shows that today's youngadults are the most supportive of any generation on social and legal issuesrelating to gay people, and lead the way in their support for gay marriage:

Nearly six-in-ten (58%) say homosexuality is a way of life that should beaccepted by society. This compares with 50% of those over age 25. Onbalance, the public opposes allowing gays and lesbians to marry, but youngpeople are evenly split on the issue. Nearly half of Gen Nexters (47%) favorgay marriage, and 46% are opposed to it....

The public is more open to the idea of gay people adopting children, andhere too young people take a more liberal position. About six-in-ten GenNexters (61%) favor allowing gays and lesbians to adopt, compared with 44%of those over age 25.



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

Supreme Court again hears Ann Arbor same-sex benefits case

January 11, 2007
The Associated Press
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-40/116855815664000.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Supreme Court again heard argumentsThursday in a lawsuit challenging the Ann Arbor school district's same-sexbenefits policy.

But the justices didn't focus on the constitutionality of providing healthinsurance and other benefits to workers' gay partners.

The case involves whether 17 taxpayers followed the proper procedure tostop Ann Arbor Public Schools from offering benefits to gay couples.

The high court first heard the case in October and scheduled full oralarguments on whether the taxpayers had standing, or the legal right to sue.

The state appeals court dismissed the case in 2005 and ruled the taxpayersdidn't "demand" that the district stop providing the benefits to gaypartners before filing suit, as required under state law. They had sentletters to school board members asking them to stop the policy.



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

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=q85hs8bab.0.84zus8bab.cfeiuxbab.2767&ts=S0216&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irqo.net

University of Toronto - Hart House - Debate Room

The first Human Rights Symposium organized by theIranian Queer Organization (formerly PGLO) will takeplace in Toronto, Canada.


This symposium serves to highlight the systematic marginalizing,stigmatizing and violating basic human rights of sexual, ethnic, religiousand political minorities in Iran as well as women and children. It will alsoexplore the ongoing struggle for civil and civic rights in Iran andinvestigate the myriad forms of discrimination, persecution and torture andtheir consequences for people living at the margin of Iranian society.


Iranian law defines homosexuality as crime punishable by death, denieswomen's equal rights with men, persecutes political dissidents and civil andhuman rights activists, discriminates against Muslim minorities such asSunnis, brands Baha'is as heretics, harasses Jews as potential collaboratorswith the state of Israel, deprives ethnic and linguistic minorities ofspeaking in their mother tongues, refuses to ban death penalty for minorsand gives free hand to child abusers.




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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/011207wa.htm


Republicans Vow To Defeat Wa. Gay Marriage Bill
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: January 13, 2007 - 12:01 am ET

(Olympia) The Washington state GOP says there will be no gay marriage billpassed this year, even though the party does not have control of eitherhouse in the legislature.

And many Democrats agree the time is not right to enact same-sex marriagelegislation. But most Democrats feel the time may have come for domesticpartner rights.

A bill that would legalize same-sex marriage and other that would supportdomestic partnership benefits were unveiled Thursday by the LGBT caucus inthe legislature. (story).

Republicans say they will vote against both measures.



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

In Nigeria, a Bill To Punish Gays Divides a Family

Wall Street Journal, January 12, 2007
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116855583547274450.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
In Nigeria, a Bill To Punish Gays Divides a Family Theologian Is Pushing It;His Minister Son's Church Would Run Afoul of Law By MARK SCHOOFS

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Augustus Olakunle Macaulay founded the Bible universitythat trained his son in theology. He founded the evangelical ministry thatordained his son as a minister. And he is president of Nigeria's Associationof Christian Theologians, which counts his son as a member.

But now Prof. Macaulay supports a proposed law that could criminalize hisson's new Christian church and put him behind bars. That's because his son,the Rev. Rowland Jide Macaulay, has founded House of Rainbow, a churchthat caters to Nigeria's gay men and lesbians -- a first for Africa's mostpopulous
country.



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/16450733.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Sat, Jan. 13, 2007

POLITICS

Pols question Romney on issues

Recognizing the possibility of an early presidential primary in Florida,
Republican Mitt Romney is determined to make inroads in the nation's largestbattleground state.

BY BETH REINHARD
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com



Florida's leading religious conservatives grilled Republican presidentialcontender Mitt Romney on Friday over his changed positions on gay rights andabortion, suggesting the former Massachusetts governor could be a tough sellfor the party's influential right wing.

Romney was pro-choice when he twice ran for governor in the liberal-leaningstate. When he campaigned for the U.S. Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1994,he told gay activists he would be a stronger advocate for equal rights.

Now, Romney says he is pro-life and against gay marriage. The poised speakerdidn't win over Orlando attorney John Stemberger, who is spearheading areferendum on same-sex marriage on Florida's 2008 ballot.



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

Metro Weekly, DC, January 12, 2007

http://www.metroweekly.com/gauge/?ak=2493

Face to Face
Despite amendment loss, gay Virginians are taking the battle to the statelegislature by Yusef Najafi email

Virginia may have passed one of the nation's most restrictive constitutionalamendments banning gay marriage and civil unions last November, but thathasn't slowed down the state's gay rights advocates.

''We just go back to work,'' says Dyana Mason, executive director ofEquality Virginia. That's why Mason and more than 250 activists willconverge on the offices of Virginia's General Assembly on Wednesday, Jan.17, to make their cases directly to delegates and senators.

The timing of the Equality Virginia Lobby Day is apt -- on Jan. 16, theFamily Foundation will conduct its own activist effort, ''Religious Libertyin the Public Square Lobby Day.'' As followers of recent Virginialegislative sessions may expect, Mason says that there will be plenty ofbills hostile to the gay community -- and quite a few pro-gay bills as well.



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/16450735.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Sat, Jan. 13, 2007

EDUCATION

Florida's top school official resigns
Florida's top education offical abruptly resigned on Friday, leaving Gov.Charlie Crist to pick a new education commissioner.

BY GARY FINEOUT
gfineout@MiamiHerald.com


TALLAHASSEE - John Winn, the veteran educator who rose to the job of stateeducation commissioner under former Gov. Jeb Bush and was a champion ofBush's education reforms, abruptly announced his retirement on Friday.

Winn said last year he had no plans to leave his job, but his departureappeared imminent after Gov. Charlie Crist announced earlier this week hewas removing two supporters of Winn from the state Board of Education. Theseven-member board has the power to hire and fire the educationcommissioner.

''I hope to continue to contribute to education as a private citizen andwill be available to Gov. Crist and his staff to assist in any way he findshelpful,'' Winn said in a statement released by the state Department ofEducation.




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

National Stonewall Democrats
www.stonewalldemocrats.org

http://www.stonewalldemocrats.org/link_tracker.php?id=15083&t=6427345

Stonewall Democrats Issue Strong Call of Convern over Harold Ford, Jr.
Pro-FMA Supporter Now Positioned to Head Democratic Leadership Council

Friday, January 12, 2007

Washington, DC - Today, the National Stonewall Democrats issued deep concernover the decision to name former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. as Chair ofthe Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). Stonewall also urged the DLC andthe lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to closelyscrutinize the record of Congressman Ford in light of the development. OnThursday, Former Iowa Governor, and presidential candidate, Tom Vilsackannounced that he is stepping down of Chair of the DLC while indicating hisreplacement by Congressman Ford, who possesses a poor record on issues thatimpact LGBT families.

"Congressman Harold Ford has demonstrated a lack of leadership and judgmenton family issues that causes our members great concern," said Joanne Wyrick,NSD Executive Director. "His willingness to lightly amend the U.S.Constitution and to exploit gay families for political gain should alarmDemocrats across the country. The Democratic Leadership Council is in needof leadership that supports and affirms all American families."



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Marriage vs.
Civil Unions

What's at Stake?

Equality Florida and Becker & Poliakoff, PA, invite you to a discussion onthe legal differences between marriage equality and civil unions. Theevening will start with a reception, followed by a panel discussion. Thepanel will consist of leaders from Equality Florida, The Fusion Coalition,and The National Center for Lesbian Rights.

An ever-increasing number of States and foreign countries are moving towardfull marriage equality for all persons regardless of sexual orientation. Aneven larger number have gone part way, recognizing civil unions. Manymembers and friends of our local LGBT community have already decided whichoption they support in Florida. But understanding the differences betweenmarriage and civil unions is a daunting task. With the help of severalleading advocates from the LGBT community, we hope to enlighten allparticipants on the differences between marriage equality and civil unions.



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NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST January 13, 2007

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Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-husarska13jan13,0,6696519,print.story?coll=la-opinion-center


They're refugees, not terrorists
As Sudanese Dominic Kur shows, the United States' post-9/11 asylum policiescan be unjust.
By Anna Husarska
ANNA HUSARSKA is senior policy advisor at the International RescueCommittee.

January 13, 2007


Sherkole refugee camp, Ethiopia - DOMINIC KUR is, in many ways, a typicalDinka. Like almost all the men in his ethnic group, he has had his foreheadmarked with ornamental scarification, and by custom, his bottom front fourteeth have been knocked out, which makes him lisp a bit.

As was expected of young Dinka men from southern Sudan in the mid-1980s, hejoined the armed resistance, known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army, inits civil war against the ruling government in Khartoum.

Kur fought with the group for nine years. "I felt I had to defend my countryagainst the Arabs," he explained. But he grew disenchanted with his unit'streatment of its troops, and with no mechanism in place for officiallyresigning from the guerrilla organization, he simply left and moved toKhartoum, where he worked on a construction site and married his childhoodsweetheart from the village of Madol. In 2002, he crossed the border andcame to the Sherkole camp.



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Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070113/NATION/701130367/1020/rss09&template=printart


The late Gerald Ford pulled no punches when rating presidents

Associated Press

GRAND RAPIDS -- In 25 years of interviews with the Grand Rapids Press, whichcould only be released upon his death, former President Ford had thefollowing to say about his fellow former presidents:

Harry Truman

"Look at what he faced. There was the challenge of Korea in 1951. He had nohesitancy using atomic weapons (on) Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He came up withthe Marshall Plan, which saved Europe after World War II. ... He deserveshigh marks."

Dwight Eisenhower

"The best president of my lifetime. ... The Soviets under Stalin were anaggressive, formidable military operation. NATO, under Ike, stopped them.... Overall, the economy under him was in pretty good shape for eightyears."

John Kennedy

"He had a tremendous following, but I think the substance of his presidencywas not as good as it was professed to be. ... Kennedy would never havegotten the civil rights legislation through."

more....


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CBS News

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/13/ap/politics/mainD8MK4OJO0.shtml


Drug Bill Passes Despite Veto Threat
Democratic House, defying veto threat, passes bill on bargaining forMedicare drug prices
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2007
By JIM KUHNHENN Associated Press Writer


(AP) Defying a presidential veto threat, the House approved legislationFriday directing the government to negotiate with drug companies in aneffort to lower prices for Medicare recipients.

Democrats, winding up an opening-week legislative rush after taking controlof Congress, said the measure would help the nation's seniors. The Bushadministration called it an unwise government intrusion in a system that isalready working well.

The 255-170 vote was short of the two-thirds margin that would be needed tooverride a presidential veto. The legislation still must pass the Senate,where it could undergo significant changes or be defeated.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/washington/13loans.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print


January 13, 2007
House Democrats Propose Cut in Student Loan Rates
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO


WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 - House Democrats on Friday unveiled a bill that wouldcut interest rates on federally subsidized loans to college students by halfover the next five years.

They said they would finance the $6 billion measure by increasing costs thatlenders pay to the government and reducing the largest lenders'government-guaranteed profits.

The bill, one of half a dozen that the new House majority had placed on its100-hour agenda, underscores the Democrats' all-out effort to consolidategains made in November among middle-class voters.

"How to pay for a college education has become a primary concern forstudents and families across this country, a concern that Congress musturgently address as part of our goal of strengthening America's middleclass," said Representative George Miller, chairman of the House Educationand Labor Committee.




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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/13/AR2007011300207_pf.html


Canada Unveils Border Security Plan

By BETH DUFF-BROWN
The Associated Press
Saturday, January 13, 2007; 3:38 AM


WINDSOR, Ontario -- Canada plans to spend more than $368 million over thenext five years to protect its border from terrorist, economic andenvironmental threats.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced the initiative Friday at theborder crossing between Windsor and Detroit, the conduit for one-third ofthe $1.6 billion in daily trade that passes between Canada and the UnitedStates.

"I even sometimes surprise my American friends when I remind them that thetrade that comes across the Ambassador Bridge in total is greater than allof the trade that exists between the United States and Japan," Day told anews conference.


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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/editorial/sfl-editafchavezspeechjan13,0,5613597,print.story?coll=sfla-news-editorial


Venezuela

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board

January 13, 2007



ISSUE: ChƔvez says he's a Marxist-Leninist.

The saber-rattling in Venezuela predictably reached fever pitch this weekafter Hugo ChƔvez's inauguration for a third term. The bombastic leaderpromised to further develop his "21st Century socialism" -- and Americansneed to listen closely.

In his three-hour inaugural speech, ChƔvez called himself a"Marxist-Leninist." He also vowed to radicalize and further deepen the"socialist revolution" that he has been gradually carrying out by pledgingto nationalize the country's utilities.

It's necessary, however, to put the speech in context. ChƔvez has been anapprentice of Fidel Castro, and clearly sees himself as the ailing Cubanleader's successor as chief nemesis to the United States in the Americas. Itstands to reason, then, that he'll launch anti-U.S. rhetoric at everyopportunity.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/washington/13gitmo.html?ei=5094&en=5fe52d89722035fe&hp=&ex=1168750800&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print


January 13, 2007
Official Attacks Top Law Firms Over Detainees
By NEIL A. LEWIS


WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 - The senior Pentagon official in charge of militarydetainees suspected of terrorism said in an interview this week that he wasdismayed that lawyers at many of the nation's top firms were representingprisoners at GuantƔnamo Bay, Cuba, and that the firms' corporate clientsshould consider ending their business ties.

The comments by Charles D. Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary ofdefense for detainee affairs, produced an instant torrent of anger fromlawyers, legal ethics specialists and bar association officials, who saidFriday that his comments were repellent and displayed an ignorance of theduties of lawyers to represent people in legal trouble.

"This is prejudicial to the administration of justice," said StephenGillers, a law professor at New York University and an authority on legalethics. "It's possible that lawyers willing to undertake what has been longviewed as an admirable chore will decline to do so for fear of antagonizingimportant clients.



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CBS News

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/13/ap/politics/mainD8MK51AO0.shtml


Obama, Clinton Making 2008 Moves
Obama, Clinton showing fresh signs of joining 2008 presidential race
NEW YORK, Jan. 13, 2007
By BETH FOUHY Associated Press Writer


(AP) Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, a pair offront-runners in waiting, have shown fresh signs in recent days of joiningthe 2008 race, hiring senior aides while they court potential supporters inIowa, New Hampshire and other key states.

Obama has hired policy, research and press staff for a campaign to be runfrom Chicago, according to several Democrats. And a senior aide to thesenator, Steve Hildebrand, recently told potential Iowa supporters that wordof his plans could come early next week, state party spokeswoman ErinSeidler said Friday.

Obama also has held several conversations with Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C.,according to the congressman's spokeswoman. Clinton also has spoken to theinfluential South Carolina Democrat.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011101666_pf.html


Jewish Membership in Congress at All-Time High

By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 12, 2007; A17

While Democrats celebrated the election of the House's first female speaker,another milestone passed more quietly: The 110th Congress includes moreJewish lawmakers than any other in history, and all but four are Democrats.

About 2 percent of Americans identify themselves as Jewish. But in Congress,the proportion of Jewish members is now four times that. Six new JewishHouse members were sworn in last week, bringing the total to 30. In theSenate, the 13 Jewish members include freshmen Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.)and Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), according to the National Jewish DemocraticCouncil.

Other faith-related facts: This Congress includes its first Muslim memberand, in Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), its highest-rankingMormon ever. Catholics remain the largest single faith group in Congress, atabout 30 percent -- slightly larger than their proportion of the U.S.population. Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians outnumber Jewish members,who outnumber Episcopalians.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011202218_pf.html


For Teachers, Being 'Highly Qualified' Is a Subjective Matter
'No Child' Standards of Content Mastery Widely Interpreted

By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 13, 2007; A01


To overhaul public education, the No Child Left Behind law required amassive expansion of student testing. But it also called for states toensure that all teachers in core academic subjects are "highly qualified" tohelp students succeed -- an unprecedented mandate that has delivered lessthan promised.

The law, which turned five years old this week, has held schools toincreasingly higher standards for student achievement. For teachers,however, standards meant to guarantee that they know their subjects areoften vague and open to broad interpretation.

Legal loopholes and uneven implementation by states and the U.S. Departmentof Education have diluted the law's impact on the teaching workforce, someeducation experts say. They say that meeting the standards of quality ismore about shuffling paper than achieving two vital goals: ensuring thatteachers are prepared to help students succeed and reducing the teachertalent gap between rich and poor schools.




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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011202220_pf.html


The War Within Sen. McCain
Vocal Supporter of Bush Is Increasingly Critical, Isolated

By Dan Balz and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, January 13, 2007; A01



There is no mistaking the anguish of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Sitting inhis Senate office, he is uncharacteristically subdued, his voice at timesalmost inaudible.

Although the Bush administration this week finally embraced hislong-standing call to send more troops to Iraq, McCain believes the way ithas handled the war "will go down as one of the worst" mistakes in thehistory of the American military.

"One of the most frustrating things that's ever happened in my politicallife," he said, "is watching this train wreck."

McCain, an all but announced presidential candidate, offered thoseassessments toward the end of a lengthy interview Thursday night. Nopolitician in the United States is more clearly identified with PresidentBush's new policy, and no politician has more to lose if it fails.Democratic opponents have already coined a name for the troop "surge": theMcCain Doctrine.



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Capital Hill Blue

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/news2/2007/01/pentagon_memo_p-print.html


Pentagon memo predicts 10,000 or more American soldiers could die in Iraq by2008
January 12, 2007 6:27 AM


Pentagon planners this week warned President George W. Bush that his "troopsurge" plan could double U.S. casualties in Iraq in the coming year andresult in 10,000 or more American deaths by the end of 2008.

In a classified assessment memo, military experts predicted violence againstU.S. troops will increase "at a sustained pace" and concluded thatincreasing the use of soldiers for house to house searches in Baghdad will"dramatically alter" the "ratio of casualties to actions" in that civil-wartorn city, says a military source familiar with the memo.

The Pentagon report admitted battle weary soldiers are more prone tomistakes that lead to casualties and noted that military personnel sent toIraq for third and possibly fourth tours increase the odds that thosesoldiers will become casualties of war.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/opinion/13sat1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print


January 13, 2007
Editorial

Round Up the Usual Lawyers

No one who has followed President Bush’s policies on detainees should besurprised when a member of his team scorns American notions of justice. Buteven by that low standard, the administration’s new attack on lawyers whodare to give those prisoners the meager representation permitted them iscontemptible.

Speaking this week on Federal News Radio, a Web site and AM radio stationoffering helpful hints for bureaucrats and helpful news for theadministration, Cully Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense fordetainee affairs, tried to rally American corporations to stop doingbusiness with law firms that represent inmates of the GuantƔnamo internmentcamp.

It does not seem to matter to Mr. Stimson, who is a lawyer, that a greatmany of those detainees did not deserve imprisonment, let alone theindefinite detention to which they are subjected as “illegal enemycombatants.” And forget about the fundamental American right that everyoneshould have legal counsel, even the most heinous villain.



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FLORIDA DIGEST January 13, 2007

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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/16451014.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Sat, Jan. 13, 2007


Lawmakers close on insurance fix, but is it solution?

DAVID ROYSE
Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida lawmakers wish they could simply outlawhurricanes. That would solve the state's insurance crisis.

Unfortunately, changing the weather seems easier than what legislators haveon their hands.

As they return to the Capitol Tuesday for a weeklong special session aimedat lowering Floridians' property insurance bills, legislators have adifficult balancing act. They need to make insurance affordable - and theyhave committed to passing legislation that will cut rates at least some fornow.

But they also would like to fix the problem structurally, to avoid having toaddress it again each year. And they'd like to avoid chasing all privateinsurance companies away, leaving state government as Florida's onlyproperty insurer.




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Friday, January 12, 2007

GLBT DIGEST - January 12, 2007

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US ATrays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

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The Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/1-12/news/national/nibs.cfm


More National News
Spitzer promises to push gay marriage this year
Friday, January 12, 2007


ALBANY, N.Y. - By the one-year mark of his term, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzerwill propose legislation legalizing gay marriage in the state, a top aide tothe governor told the New York Sun last week. Though the issue wasn'taddressed in a recent "State of the State" address, Darren Dopp, Spitzer'scommunication's director, said the governor "made a commitment to advancingit this year and he will do so." He also told the Sun that gay marriage
isn't
a "day one" issue. Spitzer is more urgently concerned with advancing hisethics and economic agenda and is keeping gay marriage off the front burner.In Spitzer's address, he called New York a "state that understands that thecivil rights movement still has chapters to be written." Some gay activistswere concerned that marriage wasn't mentioned in the address and isn't asmuch a priority for Spitzer as he claimed while campaigning, when Spitzersaid same-sex marriage should be legal and that he would draft legislationthat would make New York the second state in the nation - afterMassachusetts - to extend marriage to same-sex couples.





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The Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/1-12/news/religion/religion.cfm

Religion News
Sex, drug allegations could derail Haggard's writing career
Friday, January 12, 2007


DENVER (AP) - Former megachurch leader Ted Haggard's book-writing careercould be on the line after losing his pulpit and reputation last year amidaccusations that he patronized a male prostitute and bought drugs. Haggard's12 titles, which counseled readers on marital faithfulness and warnedagainst sexual activities like pornography and prostitutes, have been takenoff the shelves at the bookstore at New Life Church, which he founded 21years ago in Colorado Springs, Colo. Haggard was fired as senior pastor ofthe 14,000-member church in November, shortly after allegations surfacedthat he maintained a three-year sexual relationship with a gay prostituteand had purchased methamphetamine. "We haven't thought through plans forfuture works, but the fact of Ted's moral failure and dismissal doesn'tnecessarily negate the value of all his teachings," associate pastor RobBrendle said recently. Other booksellers are still carrying Haggard's works,even though the titles have traditionally seen unspectacular sales and havenever made it to the international Christian Bookseller's Association's top50 list. The future of Haggard's books outside his former church isuncertain.



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Southern Voice

http://www.sovo.com/print.cfm?content_id=6373

Savannah passes gay-inclusive resolution



By ZACK HUDSON
Jan. 12, 2007

In keeping with a 2006 agreement with Georgia's largest gay rightsorganization, the Savannah City Council passed a resolution stating itscommitment to fair treatment for gay men and lesbians, among other minoritygroups.

The legislation, titled " A resolution to re-affirm Savannah's commitment tobe an inclusive community," passed Jan. 4 by a unanimous vote of theSavannah City Council, which is comprised of eight aldermen and SavannahMayor Otis Johnson.

The resolution condemns "individual and collective acts" of abuse anddiscrimination "directed toward any resident or visitor" based on race,religion, sexual orientation and other categories.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-mexico-gay.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print


January 11, 2007
Mexican State Near Texas Passes Gay Union Law
By REUTERS
Filed at 11:35 p.m. ET



MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The northern state of Coahuila, a mining andranching region south of Texas, approved gay civil union on Thursday,becoming the second area in Mexico to give legal status to homosexualpartnerships.

Legislators in the state Congress voted 20-13 for a bill that gives gaysgreater rights than a similar law backed by Mexico City last November.

``It is more like a civil marriage,'' said Silvia Solis, a gay rightsactivist in the capital. She said Coahuila would grant social securitybenefits to both members of a homosexual union, an important demand of gaycampaigners.

The law was promoted by Coahuila's Institutional Revolutionary Party, whichrules the state.




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The current issue of The Express Gay News is online

http://expressgaynews.com/




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National Stonewall Democrats

http://www.stonewalldemocrats.org/vegas/


Las Vegas National Training
We are thrilled to announce our Western National Training this March in LasVegas! Join us at the Riviera Hotel & Casino, smack-dab in the middle of thefamous Las Vegas Strip.

Of course, we're going to have a good time. No, we're going to have a greattime. But, we're also going to change our Party. This training is for anyonewho is interested in getting involved in presidential campaigns, becoming adelegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, sitting on importantparty committees, or simply organizing LGBT Democrats in your neighborhood.

Early-bird registration is open.

Las Vegas has it ALL!



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Advocate.com

http://advocate.com/print_article_ektid41066.asp


Giuliani dismisses pro-gay views as irrelevant to presidential bid


Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani on Thursday dismissed his liberal socialviews, including his support for gay rights, as irrelevant to a presidentialbid.


Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani on Thursday dismissed his liberal socialviews-including support for gay rights-his divorces, and his former aide'simbroglio as irrelevant to a presidential bid. Asked about a leakedpolitical strategy memo that cited such issues as potentially insurmountableobstacles to a campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination,Giuliani said, ''That is not going to be the issue.''

''I sure have strengths and weaknesses,'' Giuliani said on ABC's GoodMorning America. ''I think that sort of puts me in the same category as justabout everybody else that's running. Are my strengths greater or myweaknesses worse? I don't know. You have to sort of examine that. That won'tbe the issue.''



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/opinion/oped/oped.htm


Get The Message

by Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director, Lambda Legal


Today we're sending Condoleezza Rice a World AIDS Day message. We're askingher to put an end to the U.S. State Department's discriminatory policy ofnot hiring people with HIV to serve in the Foreign Service. We've got thebacking of many health experts and a petition signed by 17,000 people acrossthe country asking Rice to change this policy. We hope she'll get themessage.

Lambda Legal began the campaign to shed light on the State Department'sdiscriminatory policy last summer after we filed our case on behalf ofLorenzo Taylor, who was turned away from the Foreign Service simply becausehe has HIV. For the record, Taylor is more than qualified to serve in theForeign Service. He's fluent in three languages, has a decade of diplomaticwork experience and easily passed the rigorous job-application process tofulfill the State Department's requirements. In April, we launched an onlineaction campaign and took Lorenzo's story out into the streets at Pridecelebrations throughout the country. Within a month we received more than4,600 signatures, which we hand-delivered to the State Department.



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The Express Gay News

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/011107marine.htm


Marine Ordered To Stand Trial In Gay Murder
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: January 12, 2007 - 12:01 am ET

(San Diego, California) A San Diego judge has ruled there is enough evidenceagainst a U.S. Marine for him to stand trial for murder with a hate crimeenhancement in the slaying of a gay man in 2006.

James Hardy, 19, was ordered to remain in jail in lieu of a million dollarbond until the trial.

The body of Raymund Catolico, 39, was found in his San Diego apartment onFebruary 9. A pathologist testified at this week's preliminary hearing thatCatolico had been dead two days.

Hardy was absent without leave from the Marine Corps at the time of thekilling.




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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/health/fitness/sports/011207sports.htm


Homophobia On Ice

by Jim Buzinski., Outsports.com

Homophobia is sports is sad. It's even sadder when it's practiced by anopenly gay person. But that's what has happened to American figure skaterJohnny Weir.

Weir was slammed on a recent cable TV skating show called "Nancy Kerrigan'sWorld of Figure Skating." The culprit was Mark Lund, the openly gay founderof "International Figure Skating" magazine and most recently a judge onFox's "Skating With Celebrities."

In discussing the upcoming U.S. men's figure skating nationals, the showfeatured a segment on Weir, a three-time defending champion. As usual, Weirwas his flamboyant self, discussing part of his long program "loosely basedon Jesus Christ." That was enough for Lund to crucify him a segment laterwith Kerrigan and host Lou Tilley.




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National Stonewall Democrats

http://www.stonewalldemocrats.org/2007/01/stonewall_democ_21.php

Stonewall Congratulates City of Denver
Thursday, January 11, 2007)

Washington, DC - Today, the National Stonewall Democrats congratulated thecity of Denver for being selected as the host for the 2008 DemocraticNational Convention. The announcement was made today by the DemocraticNational Convention.

"The City of Denver has long been a welcoming home for LGBT Coloradoans,"said Jo Wyrick, NSD Executive Director. "Stonewall will use the attentionthat Denver will gain from its selection to work with Colorado Democrats tobuild on their recent electoral gains and to again help them passnon-discrimination legislation at the statehouse.

In 2005, the Democratically-controlled statehouse passed legislation that
would bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Thelegislation was vetoed by Republican Governor Bill Owens. This week, Owenswas replaced as Governor by Democrat Bill Ritter. Stonewall is committed toworking with Colorado Democrats to pass into law an inclusivenon-discrimination bill that bars employment discrimination on the basis ofsexual orientation and gender identity.




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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/opinion/Libby/Libby.htm


Houston, We Have A Problem

by Libby Post

Houston has a problem when it comes to the LGBT community.

Early Tuesday morning, many patrons of the popular gay bar, EJ's, wereleaving to drive home only to find their cars vandalized. Tires wereslashed, windows smashed and finishes ruined by being keyed-scoring a car'spaint job with a key or knife.

Gay activists called the incident a hate crime. The cops took statements butsince there was no surveillance in the parking lot and no witnesses, they'renot putting a lot of time into finding the people who did these deeds.

Further, had any of these folks asked a local Houston landscaper, GardenGuy, to do some work for them, their request would have fallen on homophobicears. It seems that Garden Guy refuses to work for gays and lesbians.

This past fall, a gay couple, Michael Lord and Gary Lackey, requestedlandscaping bids for their new home in Houston. After agreeing to meet,Garden Guy's co-owner, Sabrina Farber, e-mailed Lackey back saying "I needto tell you that we cannot meet with you because we choose not to work forhomosexuals."



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-anglican-africa.html?pagewanted=print


January 11, 2007
African Anglicans to Snub Pro - Gay Rights U.S. Bishop
By REUTERS
Filed at 12:09 p.m. ET

JOHANNSEBURG (Reuters) - Africa's leading Anglican archbishops plan to snubtheir pro-gay rights U.S. counterpart at a key summit next month as a bitterbattle over homosexuality intensifies in a world church on the brink ofschism.

Several African leaders have blasted Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, thefirst woman to head the U.S. Episcopal Church, for backing gay clergy andsame-sex unions. They have urged Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams notto invite her to a global meeting of Anglican primates in Tanzania.

Williams, who admitted this week he was losing control over the divisivedebate, insisted Jefferts Schori meet her critics ''face to face'' butsought to appease traditionalists by inviting conservative U.S. churchleaders too.



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The Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=10837

Judge rules former lawmaker violated law with 'homosexual agenda' calls
Message failed to indicate calling group's identity
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) | Jan 11, 8:07 AM

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a political consultant who is a formerstate House member violated the law by initiating 20,000 automated,prerecorded telephone calls targeting an Oklahoma County commissioner, theattorney general's office said.


U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron ruled that the phone calls initiatedby Tim Pope violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act because they didnot identify the organization placing the call.


Commissioner Jim Roth had asked state officials to check whether any lawshad been broken by the calls, in which a female caller said Roth was"advancing a homosexual agenda in Oklahoma County."



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Romney-2008.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print


January 12, 2007
Report Blasts Romney's Political Record
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 2:33 a.m. ET

BOSTON (AP) -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's politicalrecord is relatively brief -- four years as Massachusetts governor and afailed campaign for the U.S. Senate. That's enough, however, for BrianCamenker, a conservative gadfly and longtime thorn in Romney's side, towrite a 28-page report that portrays Romney as sympathetic to gay rights andsexual behavior that clashes with his burnished image as a defender oftraditional values.

Camenker's report, which has been making the rounds of conservative blogsand Web sites, threatens to undermine Romney's carefully crafted image,portraying him as far more liberal on social issues, particularly gayrights.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/nyregion/12civil.html?pagewanted=print


January 12, 2007

New Jersey Says Clerics Aren't Required to Unite Gay Couples
By TINA KELLEY

Allaying the fears of some clergy members, the New Jersey attorney generalannounced yesterday that the state would not require clerics to unitesame-sex couples in civil unions.

In a letter to the state registrar, Joseph A. Komosinski, Attorney GeneralStuart Rabner wrote that clergy members could decline to perform civil unionceremonies without violating the law, if performing such ceremonies would goagainst their "sincerely held religious beliefs."

Last month, New Jersey became the third state - after Vermont andConnecticut - to offer gay couples civil unions. Massachusetts permits gaycouples to marry.

New Jersey couples can begin applying for civil union licenses on Feb. 19.



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Religious right defeated in the Lords

Take a bow, your Lordships

Last night's victory for gay rights was a setback for the zealous,authoritarian tactics of US-style Christian fundamentalism.

Peter Tatchell

The Guardian - Comment Is Free - 10 January 2007

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2007/01/religious_right_defeated_1.html


The
religious right was trounced last night. An attempt to neuter new lawsprotecting gay people against discrimination was defeated, 199 votesto 68.

This stunning three to one victory happened in the House of Lords -the traditional stomping ground of religious, conservative andhomophobic parliamentarians. Only a few years ago, the Lordsrepeatedly blocked attempts to equalise the age consent, with criesthat it was a "paedophiles charter."

How times have changed. And so quickly. The vast majority of theirlordships are now, it seems, the steadfast defenders of lesbian, gayand bisexual human rights. They backed the government's new sexualorientation regulations, which extend to gay people theanti-discrimination laws that currently protect women, black, disabledand religious people.



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

AFP via Yahoo! News, January 10, 2007

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070110/lf_afp/afplifestyleitaly

Italian Senate begins deliberations on civil unions

The Italian Senate's justice committee began examining proposals forlegalizing civil unions, a divisive election pledge of the center-leftgovernment in socially conservative Italy.

The committee is beginning with proposals by individual lawmakers, since thegovernment, a coalition ranging from far-left communists and libertarians tocentrist Christians, has not yet finalized its own proposal.

"We decided not to wait for the government's draft bill," said committeechairman Cesare Salvi, adding that he has consulted in recent days with hiscounterpart in the lower house, Pino Pisicchio, the ANSA news agencyreported.

Family Minister Rosy Bindi and Equality and Rights Minister BarbaraPollastrini are drafting separate proposals and have yet to consult eachother on the subject, according to the Corriere della Sera daily onWednesday.



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

Portuguese slow to accept gay adoptions and marriages

Updated: 11 January 2007
The Portugal Residant
http://portugalresident.com/portugalresident/showstory.asp?ID=16861

PORTUGUESE SOCIETY is among the most conservative and intolerant in theEuropean Union when it comes to issues such as gay marriages and adoption bygay couples.

According to the latest research by Eurobarometer in 25 European Unioncountries, the vast majority of Portuguese are against adoption by gaycouples.

When asked if they thought that gay couples should be allowed to adoptchildren only 19 per cent thought they should - well below the Europeanaverage of 32 per cent.




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

Thursday, January 11, 2007
Gay City News

http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17699878&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6

LGBT ASYLUM-SEEKERS: SINCE 9/11, U.S. FREQUENTLY TURNS A BLIND EYE TOPERSECUTION

by DOUG IRELAND

Talented gay tennis player Habib Mukasa (knownas "Habeeb") was the sole Ugandan to participate in the Gay Games in Chicagothis past July, when he decided to defect to the U.S. and applied for asylumfrom persecution as a sexual refugee.

Habeeb has played in tennis tournaments for the Gay & Lesbian TennisAssociation for the last few years, in 2006 rising to fifth in the world inthe GLTA Men's Singles ranking.


Unfortunately, Habeeb's father, a strict Muslim who did not know he is gay,saw the rankings online and found other evidence on the Internet of hisparticipation in gay tennis tournaments around the globe-and reported hisson's homosexuality to Ugandan authorities. Homosexuality is a crime inUganda punishable by seven years in prison-and the country is in the throesof an anti-gay crusade (see this reporter's article, "Uganda Witch-HuntEscalates," in Gay City News, September 14-20, 2006). Not too long agoUganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, ordered all gays and lesbians arrestedfor engaging in "abominable acts."




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

New era for gay rights movement

Advocates call for changes in recently passed partnership law

By Hilda Hoy
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
January 10th, 2007
http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2007/01/10/new-era-for-gay-rights-movemen
t.php

Six months after the country adopted historic legislation legalizingregistered partnerships for same-sex couples, the Czech Republic isscrambling to adapt to a new era in the gay rights movement.

Since last July, when the bill went into effect - the first, and mostsweeping, adopted in the former Eastern bloc - more than 200 couples haveregistered their unions, gaining many of the same rights as marriedheterosexual couples.



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

http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2007/01/10/3


AIDS Project L.A. launches black outreach

Planet Out, January 10, 2007


SUMMARY: The campaign called "Let's Flip the Script" aims to encourage opendiscussion about HIV/AIDS among gay and bisexual African-American men.

AIDS Project Los Angeles is launching a new campaign -- complete willbillboards spread across the City of Angels -- to turn the tide against thehigh HIV rates among black men who sleep with men.

The campaign is called "Let's Flip the Script" and hopes to encourage opendiscussion about HIV/AIDS among gay and bisexual African-American men, aswell as their family members and friends.

Seven billboards throughout South Los Angeles, Hollywood, West Hollywood andalong Wilshire Boulevard will depict groups of men in several environmentscentral to black communities, including a barbershop and a park. More than5,000 bookmarks with art from the campaign were printed for distributionthroughout the city.



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The Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/1-12/view/columns/mountain.cfm


On Dr. King's mountaintop
To live up to Martin Luther King's example, the gay rights movement mustseek justice, not just equality.


By H. Alexander Robinson
Friday, January 12, 2007

LEADERS OF THE modern gay equality movement are quick to invoke the words ofthe late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King,when demonstrating themselves as bona fide scions to the justice movementfor which Dr. King will be finally honored with a memorial on the NationalMall.

As we reflect upon Dr. King's contributions on the national holidaydedicated to his memory, it is fitting that we examine our claim as heirs tohis legacy. Just how true to Dr. King's dream of the mountaintop is the LGBTequality movement?

In Dr. King's vision, we as a nation would heal the wounds of our treatmentof native peoples, the betrayal of slavery, our subjugation of women, ouraddiction to war and the injustices to our economy. Even more, we wouldovercome our notions of race altogether. Indeed Dr. King was a visionary -as the findings of the Human Genome Project attest, there are no clearscientific categories that truly separate humans by the color of their skin.



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The Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/1-12/view/editorial/editorial.cfm


A dream deferred
Anti-gay religious leaders should heed the words of Martin Luther King andend their bigoted, hypocritical attacks.

Friday, January 12, 2007

IF MARTIN LUTHER King Jr. had lived to see the gay rights chapter in thiscountry's ongoing civil rights movement, there is no doubt he would bedismayed at what fellow religious folk have wrought.

King's talk of compassion, his dream of equality for all and his poetic useof language are gone, replaced by demagoguery, calls for legalized andconstitutional discrimination and hate-filled rhetoric, often spewed fromthe pulpits of black churches.

Last spring, Bishop Alfred A. Owens Jr., the black pastor of Greater MountCalvary Church in Northeast, used the slurs "faggot" and "sissy" to describegay men. Incredibly, Owens served on former Mayor Anthony Williams'Interfaith Council and stubbornly refused to offer a sincere apology for theremarks. Williams never removed Owens from the council. Let's hope new MayorAdrian Fenty has more of a backbone when it comes to standing up to suchblatant bigotry.


[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####

NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST January 12, 2007

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US ATrays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

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

Tell Your Senators, America Deserves a Raise!

https://img.getactivehub.com/08/custom_images/outandorganizing/paw_logo.jpg

Working Families Deserve a Raise

Minimum Wage Increase

Dear Kenneth Sherrill,

As you may know, yesterday the House of Representatives passed a bill toraise the minimum wage to $7.25, the first increase in ten years. The Senateis expected to vote on its own minimum wage legislation very soon, and it isimperative that we demand the passing of a clean minimum wage increase.Contact your members of Congress today and tell them to increase the minimumwage to $7.25 an hour with no anti-worker amendments by sending the emailbelow.

As the Senate prepares to debate raising the federal minimum wage, Pride AtWork wants to hear the real stories of people who would benefit (or wouldhave benefited) from a higher minimum wage. Far too many assumptions aboutclass surround the queer community, and it's important that our allies inCongress realize the reality of working class LGBT families. So, afteryou've sent a message to your Senator, take a moment to share yourexperiences with us; we'll pass them on to our members and the greater LGBTcommunity.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011101573_pf.html


Thinking War-War Again

By Eugene Robinson
Friday, January 12, 2007; A19

Listening to George W. Bush announce his fantasy-based escalation of the warin Iraq, which could only make sense in some parallel universe where pigsfly and fish commute on bicycles, I flashed on something Bush's hero WinstonChurchill once said: "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won'tchange the subject." By that standard, President Bush is no fanatic.

True, he scores off the charts on the part about inflexibility of mind. Butthe Decider changes the subject all the time. First, the way to fight the"war on terror" was to invade Afghanistan, where the Taliban regime wassheltering Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Before finishing that job, Bushdecided to invade Iraq, which had nothing to do with al-Qaeda or the Sept.11, 2001, attacks. And now, with Iraq mired in bloody chaos, he seems to bechanging the subject yet again -- to Iran.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011101575_pf.html


An Opening for the Democrats

By David Ignatius
Friday, January 12, 2007; A19

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the architect of the Democratic victory in November'scongressional elections, watched President Bush's Iraq speech Wednesdaynight like the coach of an opposing debate team: "Tired," he said. "Toowooden." "Doesn't fill the screen."

The military consequences of Bush's new policy in Baghdad aren't knowable.But politically in Washington, it appeared to be dead on arrival. Emanuel'sreaction was typical of leading Democrats, but many Republicans in Congressand on TV talk shows were lukewarm in their praise and a few were outrightcritical. Looking at Bush's grim demeanor, you sensed a presidency ineclipse: He has lost the House and Senate; he has lost the public on thewar; and he has attached his presidency to a riderless horse.




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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/16441485.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Fri, Jan. 12, 2007

NATIONAL SECURITY
Military takes over intelligence

BY MELVIN A. GOODMAN
www.ciponline.org



The expected confirmation of retired Navy Adm. Mike McConnell as director ofnational intelligence will complete the Pentagon's takeover of theintelligence community and end any pretense of civilian influence, let alonecontrol, of the community. Flag officers are now in control of the CentralIntelligence Agency and the National Counterterrorism Center as well as thekey position of undersecretary of defense for intelligence.

The militarization of intelligence is a reversal of the kind of communitythat President Harry Truman began to create 60 years ago and will complicateefforts to rebuild the nation's strategic intelligence capabilities.

Over the past decade, the Department of Defense has gradually become thechief operating officer of the $45 billion intelligence industry. ThePentagon controls more than 80 percent of the intelligence budget as well asmore than 85 percent of all intelligence personnel. Most collectionrequirements flow from the Pentagon, and the deference within the policycommunity and the congressional intelligence communities for the''warfighter'' has meant that tactical military considerations haveoverwhelmed collection for strategic geopolitical considerations.



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16441386.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Fri, Jan. 12, 2007

IN MY OPINION
It's no wonder our trust has disappeared

BY LEONARD PITTS JR.

So finally we have a glimpse of President Bush's new plan for Iraq. And whocan be surprised that the new plan is basically to do what he did under theold plan, except more.

Twenty thousand more, to be exact. That's the amount by which Bush wants tobump American troop strength. The reinforcements, he explained in histelevised speech Wednesday night, largely would be used to secure Baghdad.Baghdad is, of course, one of the less secure cities on Earth, center of aninsurgency that has killed thousands of Iraqis and Americans.

The decision to increase troop strength is remarkable coming, as it does,from a president who consistently has defended existing troop levels asadequate to get the job done. But then, he's also a president whoconsistently has said he could not think of any mistakes he made inprosecuting the so-called War on Terror. Yet, there he was, belatedlyadmitting that he has pursued a flawed strategy based on false assumptions.''Where mistakes have been made,'' he said, ''the responsibility rests withme.'' Contrary to a prediction his critics often have made, this admissionof error and acceptance of responsibility did not cause Bush's lips to falloff.



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The New York Times


http://select.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/opinion/12krugman.html

January 12, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
Golden State Gamble
By PAUL KRUGMAN

A few days ago. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled an ambitious plan tobring universal health insurance to California. And I'm of two minds aboutit.

On one side, it's very encouraging to see another Republican governorendorse the principle that all Americans are entitled to essential healthcare. Not long ago we were wondering whether the Bush administration wouldsucceed in dismantling Social Security. Now we're discussing proposals foruniversal health care. What a difference two years makes!

And if California - America's biggest state, with a higher-than-averagepercentage of uninsured residents - can achieve universal coverage, so canthe nation as a whole.

On the other side, Mr. Schwarzenegger's plan has serious flaws. Maybe thoseflaws could be fixed once the principle of universal coverage wasestablished - but there's also the chance that we would end up stuck withthose flaws, the way we ended up stuck with a dysfunctional system ofinsurance tied to employment.



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The New York Times


http://select.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/opinion/12friedman.html?pagewanted=print

January 12, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
Make Them Fight All of Us
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
I've heard the president's surge speech, and I have a reaction, anobservation and some advice.

My reaction to the president's speech was to recall a line from Bill Maher'sbook about the war against terrorists: "Make them fight all of us."

Mr. President, you want a surge? I'll surge. I'll surge on the conditionthat you once and for all enlist the entire American people in this wareffort, and stop putting it all on the shoulders of 130,000 militaryfamilies, and now 20,000 more. I'll surge on the condition that you makethem fight all of us - and that means a real energy policy, with a realgasoline tax, that ends our addiction to oil, shrinks the flow ofpetro-dollars to bad actors and makes America the world's leader inconservation.

But please, Mr. President, stop insulting our intelligence by telling usthat this is the "decisive ideological struggle of our time," but we'regoing to put the whole burden of victory on 150,000 U.S. soldiers. Yes,you'reright, confronting violent Islamic radicalism by trying to tilt Iraq and theArab-Muslim world onto a more progressive track is indeed hugely important.But the way you have fought this war - with our pinky - is contemptible.


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The New York Times

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/carter-and-his-critics-the-skirmishes-continue/


January 12, 2007, 7:11 am
Carter and His Critics: The Skirmishes Continue
By Tom Zeller Jr.

Tags: books, culture, foreign affairs, israel, palestine

As Brenda Goodman reports this morning, 14 members of the Carter CenterBoard of Councilors, a "leadership advisory group that serves to promoteunderstanding of and support for The Carter Center," the human rightsorganization founded by former President Jimmy Carter, resigned their poststhis week in protest over views expressed by Mr. Carter in his book,"Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."

The resignations came in the form of a letter - you can download and read acopy of it here - that largely echoed the complaints of a Carter Centerfellow, Kenneth W. Stein, who quit his post last month citing what he saidwere errors of fact in the book.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/us/12calif.html?ei=5094&en=9dc9393dd218aa7c&hp=&ex=1168664400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print


January 12, 2007

As States Innovate, Schwarzenegger Blurs Lines
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 - So, who is Arnold Schwarzenegger anyway?

Is he an extreme environmentalist, proposing California be the first stateto limit carbon dioxide emissions from cars? Or a foe of wildlife, with hisdesire for above-ground water storage, announced hours after his move tolimit emissions?

Does his heart bleed for the disadvantaged, as suggested by his call foruniversal health care? Or does he turn a hard eye toward entitlements, ashis plan to cut welfare benefits for children seems to indicate?

In many ways, Mr. Schwarzenegger is sui generis, acelebrity-turned-politician hurled toward the center by California'sDemocratic majority. And since he can never run for president, hisgovernorship is most likely the outlet for his more audacious ideas.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/world/europe/12britain.html?pagewanted=print


January 12, 2007

Britain Signals Plans to Reduce, Not Increase, Troop Levels in Iraq
By ALAN COWELL

LONDON, Jan. 11 - Britain, which had been America's closest and most pliantally in Iraq, said Thursday that it would not follow the United States inraising troop levels there and signaled that it would proceed with plans tohand over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces in the south.

Britain has about 7,000 troops in Iraq, most in the southern city of Basra,and says the situation there is far less dire than in Baghdad.

Officials here dismissed as speculation, though, a report in The DailyTelegraph on Thursday that those numbers would be cut by 3,000 before theend of May.

British officials offered a cautious welcome for President Bush'sannouncement but made clear that it would not distract them from trying toreduce British forces. In recent months, senior British commanders havevoiced increasing concern that, with thousands of troops also fighting on asecond front in Afghanistan, the British Army is overstretched.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011101571_pf.html


Stem Cell Miracle?
An Advance This Side Of Bush's Moral Line

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, January 12, 2007; A19



When President Bush announced in August 2001 his restrictive fundingdecision for federal embryonic stem cell research, he was widely attackedfor an unwarranted intrusion of religion into scientific research. Hissolicitousness for a 200-cell organism -- the early embryo that Bushdeclared should not be destroyed to produce a harvest of stem cells -- wasroundly denounced as reactionary and anti-scientific. And cruel to boot. Itwas preventing a cure for thousands of people with hopeless and terriblediseases, from diabetes to spinal cord injury. As John Edwards put it moststarkly and egregiously in 2004: If John Kerry becomes president,Christopher Reeve will walk again.

This kind of stem cell advocacy did not just shamefully inflate its promise.It tended to misrepresent the basis for putting restrictions on embryonicresearch, insisting that it was nothing more than political enforcement ofthe religious fundamentalist belief that life begins at conception.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/opinion/12fri1.html?pagewanted=print


January 12, 2007
Editorial

Negotiating Lower Drug Prices

From all the ruckus raised by the administration and its patrons in thepharmaceutical industry, you would think that Congressional Democrats wereout to destroy the free market system when they call for the government tonegotiate the prices of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. Yet abill scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives today issufficiently flexible to allow older Americans to benefit from the bestefforts of both the government and the private drug plans.

The secretary of health and human services should be able to exert hisbargaining power with drug companies in those cases in which the privateplans have failed to rein in unduly high prices - leaving the rest to thedrug plans. The result could be lower costs for consumers and savings forthe taxpayers who support Medicare.



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boston.com

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/01/12/insulated_from_risk?mode=PF


ELLEN GOODMAN
Insulated from risk
By Ellen Goodman | January 12, 2007



IT'S SAFE to say that Bob Nardelli was never confused with Bob the Builder,the cartoon character who teaches teamwork to the kids: "Can we fix it? Yes,we can!"

Home Depot has a similar slogan -- "You can do it. We can help" -- but theformer CEO was more of a do-it-for-himself kind of guy.

By the time Bob the Un-Builder hung up his orange apron, the Home Depotstock had gone down 6 percent in six years. Nevertheless, he left with $210million in his pocket, thereby becoming another in the burgeoning line ofCEOs Gone Wild.

The money Bob got just for going was over and above his annual compensation,a number that hit $38.1 million in 2005, roughly $100,000 a day.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/world/middleeast/12iraq.html?pagewanted=print


January 12, 2007

In Baghdad, Bush Policy Is Met With Resentment
By JOHN F. BURNS and SABRINA TAVERNISE

BAGHDAD, Jan. 11 - Iraq's Shiite-led government offered only a grudgingendorsement on Thursday of President Bush's proposal to deploy more than20,000 additional troops in an effort to curb sectarian violence and regaincontrol of Baghdad. The tepid response immediately raised questions aboutwhether the government would make a good-faith effort to prosecute the newwar plan.

The Iraqi leader, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, failed to appear at anews conference and avoided any public comment. He left the government'sresponse to an official spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, who gave what amounted toa backhanded approval of the troop increase and emphasized that Iraqis, notAmericans, would set the future course in the war.

Mr. Dabbagh said that the government's objective was to secure the eventualwithdrawal of American troops, and that for that to be possible there had tobe security for Iraqis. "If this can be achieved by increasing either Iraqior multinational forces," he added, "the government, for sure, will notstand against it."




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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011101572_pf.html


Five Flaws in the President's Plan

By Zbigniew Brzezinski
Friday, January 12, 2007; A19



The president's speech gives rise to five broad observations:


· It provided a more realistic analysis of the situation in Iraq than anyprevious presidential statement. It acknowledged failure, though it dodgedaccountability for that failure by the standard device of assuming personalresponsibility. Its language was less Islamophobic than has been customarywith President Bush's rhetoric since Sept. 11, though the president stillcould not resist the temptation to engage in a demagogic oversimplificationof the challenge the United States faces in Iraq, calling it a struggle tosafeguard "a young democracy" against extremists and an effort to protectAmerican society from terrorists. Both propositions are more than dubious.


· The commitment of 21,500 more troops is a political gimmick of limitedtactical significance and of no strategic benefit. It is insufficient to winthe war militarily. It will engage U.S. forces in bloody street fightingthat will not resolve with finality the ongoing turmoil and the sectarianand ethnic strife, not to mention the anti-American insurgency.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/opinion/12fri4.html


January 12, 2007
Editorial Observer

Where Covering a Wedding Can Bring Death Threats
By TINA ROSENBERG

The north of Mexico is under siege. Gang wars for control of the drug marketand cocaine routes to the United States took at least 2,000 lives in Mexicolast year, most of them in border states. Serious journalism is also avictim.

Working as a reporter has become a very dangerous job in Mexico. Accordingto the Committee to Protect Journalists, seven Mexican reporters were killedlast year, their work the confirmed or suspected reason. This count movesMexico past Colombia - a country where journalists vanish with terrifyingregularity.

Mexico's count is still much lower than Iraq's record of 39 murders in 2006.But it is high enough to accomplish what the traffickers want. Widespreadintimidation has brought coverage of drug trafficking virtually to a halt.




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boston.com

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/01/12/warming_up_to_climate_change?mode=PF


GLOBE EDITORIAL

Warming up to climate change
January 12, 2007

ONE PROBLEM in galvanizing public opinion to do something about globalwarming is that some of its effects can seem downright pleasant. With helprecently from the tropical weather pattern El NiƱo, the warmest year onrecord for the United States has just segued into what has been, for NewEngland at least, an abnormally warm and snow-free January.

The most obvious result is lower heating and utility bills, fewerfender-benders, and fewer trips to the emergency room for cracked ribs aftericy sidewalk spills. Public works trucks are not spreading the salt thatdamages roadside trees and degrades our aquifers. And Al Gore wants us todrive mini-cars and dial down our air conditioners in August to put an endto all this?


[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
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FLORIDA DIGEST January 12, 2007

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US ATrays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.


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Call for Gay and Lesbian Artists

Plans are well underway for ArtsUnited's annual signature eventArtExplosion, which combines all forms art in a two week calendar ofspectacular events. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender visual andperformance artists as well as published authors are encouraged to apply.The ArtExplosion2007 Visual Art Exhibit will be on display from February26 through March 16, 2007 in the JM Family Enterprises Gallery at ArtServe,1350 East Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale.

The opening reception will be on Saturday March 3rd from 6 to 9 PM. TheOpening Reception will also include music, dance, theatre, book signings andvocal performances. Over 500 people attended last year's reception, andhundreds more viewed the exhibit during month.

Guest jurist and curator Mr. Jorge Santis, Curator of Collections at theMuseum of Art Fort Lauderdale will judge the visual art entries. Prizes willbe awarded for Best of Show, People's Choice and Best in Class. Artistsneed not be members of ArtsUnited to participate; however, this is ashowcase of artists from the Gay and Lesbian Community. Visual andperformance artists and writers who wish to participate must complete andsubmit an application on or before February 22, 2007 to be considered.Visual Artist Applications fees are $20.00 for nonmembers and are waivedfor members of ArtsUnited. There is no fee for writers or performers toapply.

Applications are available at ArtServe, 1350 East Sunrise Blvd, FortLauderdale, and the Stonewall Libraryand Archives, 1717 N. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale. They can also bedownloaded from www.artexplosiononline.org, or requested by mail bycalling 954-530-2723. ArtsUnited is a nonprofit, all volunteerorganization dedicated to using the arts to present a positive message aboutthe gay and lesbian
community.



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The Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=3355


Bringing suicide out of the closet
Gay suicide awareness program to train bartenders, others to recognize signsof depression


By PHIL LAPADULA
Jan. 12, 2007

After battling drug and health problems, it appeared that Kevin Cline hadput his life back on track. He had overcome his addiction problems and wasserving as a mentor to others struggling in recovery. In fact, he had helpedfund and organize a clubhouse for gay people in recovery in South Beach.After being on disability because of illness, Cline, 44, had just re-enteredthe workforce, starting his own home-renovation company.

But appearances are often deceiving, and something wasn't right in Cline'slife. Cline took his own life on Sept. 25, 2003 by jumping from the 10thfloor of a building.

In hindsight, Cline's friend, Ed Straub, said he should have recognized thesigns.




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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/16441148.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Fri, Jan. 12, 2007

Former Rep. Davis joins prestigious law firm

TAMPA - (AP) -- Former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, who unsuccessfully challengedCharlie Crist for Florida governor, is joining the law firm of Holland &Knight, the company said Thursday.

Davis will work in the firm's Tampa and Washington, D.C., offices, thecompany announced. Davis, who represented Tampa in Washington for a decade,vacated his congressional seat to run for governor.

Davis' former chief of staff, Karl Koch, is also joining the firm. Holland &Knight announced Wednesday that former Florida Gov. Bob Martinez joined thefirm.




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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/011107drugs.htm


Gay Sex Wasn't Supposed To End In Murder Defense Lawyer Says
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: January 11, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET

(Tampa, Florida) A lawyer for a man on trial for allegedly assisting in thedrug rape and murders of two gay men says his client never intended forMichael Wachholtz and Jason Galehouse to die.

Scott Schweickert is on trial in federal court charged with conspiracy andassisting in a drug-facilitated crime of violence. If convicted, he faces amaximum of 60 years in prison.

His alleged coconspirator, Steven Lorenzo, was convicted in 2005 of plyingnine gay men with the drug GHB and then brutally sexually assaulting them.He currently is serving a 200 year sentence. He has yet to stand trial forthe murders of Wachholtz and Galehouse in 2003.

Schweickert's attorney, Pedro Amador, in his opening arguments said that hisclient does not dispute he spent hours in Internet chat rooms discussingsexual torture and bondage.

Amador also said Schweickert will not deny accompanying Lorenzo in going togay bars to find men to sexually dominate.

But, according to Amador, it was all fantasy.

"Did two young men die?" Amador asked. "Yes they did. They died at the handof Steven Lorenzo. Not Scott Schweickert."



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The Express Gay News

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/01/011107fla.htm


Gay Student Group Seeks Injunction Against Florida School District
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: January 11, 2007 - 9:00 pm ET

(Okeechobee, Florida) LGBT students, represented by the American CivilLiberties Union of Florida asked a federal court Thursday to orderOkeechobee school officials to allow a Gay-Straight Alliance to startmeeting.

The ACLU argues that the Equal Access Act stipulates that when a schoolallows any non-curricular club to meet on campus, it must allow allnon-curricular clubs to meet on campus.

The motion seeks to grant the students access to meet on campus for theduration of the legal proceedings.




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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/steve_rothaus/16441391.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Fri, Jan. 12, 2007

MIAMI-DADE
Alvarez accused of 'reneging' on 2004 civil-unions pledge

BY STEVE ROTHAUS
srothaus@MiamiHerald.com

A leader in Florida's movement to ban gay marriage said Thursday thatMiami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez has ''reneged'' on a campaign pledge he madein 2004 not to support civil unions or domestic partnerships.

''Voters relied on his good-faith commitment,'' said David Caton, executivedirector of the conservative Florida Family Association in Tampa. ``Heshould honor his commitment as mayor. It's as plain and simple as you canget.''

While campaigning this week to change Miami-Dade's charter to a strong-mayorform of government, Alvarez said he supported several issues important tolocal gay activists:




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The Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/1-12/locallife/outinatlanta/


Hot tickets
South Florida's arts scene thrives


By J.W. Arnold
Friday, January 12, 2007


The rich cultural diversity of South Florida and excellent arts venuespromote the "critical mass" for a lively arts scene that is unparalleled inthe Southeast. January, in particular, is a busy month, as areaorganizations kick off their 2007 seasons:

The Miami Gay Men's Chorus, under the direction of Artistic Director GaryKeating, will hold auditions for its spring season on Jan. 18 and 25 atMiami Shores Presbyterian Church, NE 96th Street at NE 6th Avenue in MiamiShores. Upcoming performances include "The Night They Invented Champagne," acabaret concert featuring the music of Cole Porter and George Gershwin,March 10-12 at the Colony Theatre, and "Changing Hearts and Classic '80s!,"a salute to music of that classic decade on June 8-10, also at the Colony.For more information, call 305-759-3390 or go to www.miamigaychorus.org.


more....


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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-criverfront12jan12,0,1917164,print.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines


Latest plan calls for Las Olas Riverfront to be replaced with 253 condos,hotel

By Brittany Wallman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

January 12, 2007



FORT LAUDERDALE -- Las Olas Riverfront, the downtown bar-movie-restaurantcomplex considered by many to be a flop, will be demolished and replacedwith a condo, a hotel and an office tower, under a new plan submittedThursday to the city.


Boca Developers Inc., owner of the complex on the New River, just west ofAndrews Avenue, has changed plans drastically from a proposal it submittedlast summer. The earlier version included three towers that were 34, 39 and41 stories tall, with 750 condos, plus 100,000 square feet of retail andentertainment businesses.


The new plan calls for the same amount of retail and entertainment, but justone condo building 33 stories tall with 253 condos. Added to the plan are a22-story hotel with conference facilities, and a 19-story office tower.



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For Immediate Release:


For more information phone the Synagogue at (954) 564-9232

Rabbi Harold F. Caminker, D.D., the spiritual leader of Congregation EtzChaim of Wilton Manors, is pleased to announce that he will lead theCongregation in the first of a series of special Shabbat weekends onFebruary 16th and 17th.

On Friday the 16th there will be a meditative Kabbalat Shabbat service at6:30 p.m.

On Saturday the 17th the Congregation will take part in a more traditionalTorah service beginning at 11 a.m. and ending with Kiddush around noon.

Future Shabbat weekends with special Friday evening and Saturday morningservices are also scheduled for the weekends of March 30th and April 20th.

All services will be held at the Synagogue, located at 1881 N.E. 26 Street -Wilton Plaza - in Wilton Manors.


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