**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/arts/02left.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1180789496-UKADuhhHcAYPHNxBjA1TFw&pagewanted=print
June 2, 2007
Proclaiming Liberalism, and What It Now Means
By PATRICIA COHEN
The struggle among conservatives to define their movement in the post-Bushera may be getting more attention these days, but liberal intellectuals andwriters are doing some soul-searching of their own. Not only are they tryingto figure out what "the L word" now means, but also whether it could becomea guiding philosophy in the 2008 presidential campaign by embracing the veryideas that are often seen as its greatest weaknesses: family values and aproactive government.
In several recent and forthcoming books (not to mention in bars andcountless blog posts) liberals have been arguing over their past and theirfuture. Al Gore's new book, "The Assault on Reason," with its mercilessdissection of the Bush presidency, is getting the most attention. Unlike Mr.Gore, however, most of the other liberal uthors are focused less oncriticizing those in power than in defending and evitalizing their ownphilosophy.
There is a "new opening for a more robust liberalism," said Michael Tomasky,editor at large of the liberal magazine The American Prospect. "It's a veryfascinating debate, because it's also playing out to some extent in theworld. Each of the three main Democratic candidates represents a specificand distinct place on the ideological continuum, from center to left, withHillary Clinton towards the center, John Edwards towards the left, andBarack Obama occupying a still distinct place in between."
While no one in the Democratic presidential field is exactly advertising asthe "liberal" candidate, and polls show only 20 percent of Americans arewilling to identify themselves as liberal (a number that has remained fairlysteady since at least 1992), deep dissatisfaction with the Bushadministration's handling of the war in Iraq, combined with other oliticaldevelopments, is giving liberals who dared not speak their name their voicesback. A whiff of an old-fashioned revival meeting, where believers stand upand unabashedly declare their faith, can even be occasionally detected.
Those writing now are "motivated by the same eagerness to see a revival ofsomething other than what we've had and could be described as liberalism,"Alan Brinkley, provost at Columbia University, said in an interview. He isone of 13 prominent writers and scholars who contributed to "Liberalism fora New Century," a collection of essays coming out next week.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/us/02religion.html
June 2, 2007
Religion Journal
Split Over the Mormon Church, but Maintaining Some Ties
By MARTIN STOLZ
MILLVILLE, Utah - Janet and Lars Bergeson recently held a prewedding lawnparty for their son at their home, surrounded by farms on a bluff in sightof Mount Bergeson. The landmark, named for a Swedish Mormon who arrived in1860, is a reminder of their ancestors' religion.
The couple left the fold long ago, so they knew they would not be allowed toattend the temple wedding and eternal sealing of their son, Nils Bergeson,24, to Emily O'Hara, 25. The young couple are Mormons in good standing whohope to join the Peace Corps.
Despite years away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,being shut out of a family affair in the temple rekindled dormant emotionsfor Janet Bergeson, 52, as the rest of the family prepared for the wedding.Comfort came from users of a Web site that Mrs. Bergeson began participatingin about six months ago, www.PostMormon.org.
"Just being able to discuss these things online, that's helped me shapewhere I am today," she said.
The Web site is the primary focus of the Post-Mormon Community, a nonprofitgroup founded in 2002 that tries to help those struggling after a loss offaith, said Jeff Ricks, the executive manager of the organization.
Some arrive at PostMormon.org shunned by family members or doubting adoctrine. Some PostMormon.org visitors are gay, many in heterosexualmarriages and with children, Mr. Ricks said. A few have been officiallydisciplined or excommunicated. The common denominator, though, is that theyseek an anonymous and confidential way to find support, he said.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Conjugal-Visits.html?pagewanted=print
June 2, 2007
Calif. Gay Inmates Get Conjugal Visits
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 3:58 a.m. ET
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California has begun allowing overnight visitsfor gay and lesbian partners of prison inmates to conform to the state'sdomestic partnership law.
California is one of just six states that allow overnight family visits,which take place in trailers or other housing on prison grounds. Butattorneys, gay rights advocates and corrections officials said they know ofno other state that permits conjugal visits by same-sex partners.
''Historically, these types of requests were denied,'' said Terry Thornton,a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections andRehabilitation. ''Homosexuality is a touchy subject in prison. We don't wantpeople to come to harm in prisons, but we need to comply with the law.''
Since the 1970s, immediate family members have been able to visit manyprison inmates for up to three days at a time.
The privilege is being expanded to registered domestic partners under a lawsigned by former Gov. Gray Davis that took effect in 2005. It requires stateagencies to give the same rights to domestic partners that heterosexualcouples receive.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-yn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060102177_pf.html
What Voters Want
By George F. Will
Sunday, June 3, 2007; B07
One time, years ago, the veteran Baltimore newspaperman, H.L. Mencken, waschecking copy coming in from the night editor and sighing at the risingnumber of errors he was noticing, errors of fact but also of syntax, andeven some idioms that didn't sound quite right. He shook his head and said,as much to himself as to the editor at his side: "The older I get the more Iadmire and crave competence, just simple competence, in any field fromadultery to zoology."
-- Alistair Cooke,
"Memories of the Great
and the Good"
Accepting the 1988 Democratic nomination, Gov. Michael Dukakis, a carrier ofMassachusetts's political culture, allowed his fervent hope to be the fatherof his surmise when he said, "This election is not about ideology. It'sabout competence." His meaning was opaque -- how would he decide what tocompetently achieve? But perhaps today's events -- from Iraq to HurricaneKatrina to the irrationality of immigration policy -- have put Americansinto Mencken's frame of mind as they shop for a president. Which couldexplain why two among the parties' front-runners are who they are.
Hillary Clinton is hardly a fresh face. She has been in the nation's facesince the I'm-not-Tammy-Wynette expostulation of 1992. She is not even themost interesting novelty. Barack Obama is, and he is more charming. She is,however, seasoned. Americans hungry for competence seem to be resistingObama's request that, for his benefit, they should treat the presidency as anearly entry-level political office.
One or two persons were going to emerge as Clinton's principal rivals, andperhaps she is fortunate that they turned out to be Obama and the almost asinexperienced John Edwards, not, say, five-term Sen. Chris Dodd, six-termSen. Joe Biden or governor and former diplomat Bill Richardson. Clinton'spersona as the high school class grind may be this year's charisma.
Rudy Giuliani is crosswise with social conservatives, especially concerningabortion. Yet one reason he is in the top tier of the Republican field isthat, according to Pew Research Center polling, he is supported by nearly 30percent of social conservatives, who are 42 percent of the Republican vote.Perhaps some opponents of abortion are coming to terms with the fact thatthe party has written itself into a corner regarding that issue.
By 1972, 16 states with 41 percent of the nation's population hadliberalized their abortion laws, and the Republican platform did not mentionthe subject. The next year the Supreme Court ripped the subject away fromstate legislatures. In 1976 the Republican platform protested the court'sdecision, recommended "continuance of the public dialogue on abortion" andendorsed a constitutional amendment "to restore protection of the right tolife for unborn children."
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The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/obituaries/sfl-ogarisonjun02,0,6177030,print.story
Samuel Garrison, defended Nixon
By Patricia Sullivan
The Washington Post
June 2, 2007
Samuel Alexander Garrison III, who as minority counsel for the HouseJudiciary Committee defended President Richard Nixon in the 1974 impeachmenthearings, died Sunday of leukemia at Friendship Healthcare Center inRoanoke, Va. He was 65.
Mr. Garrison, then 32, was the last-minute replacement chosen by thecommittee's 17 Republicans to present the minority view of the case againstNixon. With just days to prepare, he submitted a 41-page argument againstimpeachment.
"By all accounts, Sam Garrison did not exactly hit a home run," TheWashington Post reported on July 23, 1974. "But his performance satisfiedthe senior Republicans who wanted someone, for appearance's sake if nothingelse, to argue the soft spots in the Judiciary Committee's evidence."
"The question," Mr. Garrison said at the time, "is whether the publicinterest would better be served or not served by the removal of thepresident."
The House Judiciary Committee passed the first of three articles ofimpeachment, charging obstruction of justice. Nixon resigned Aug. 8, 1974.
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The Sun-Sentinel
Calif. Gay Inmates Get Conjugal Visits
By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
June 2, 2007, 3:58 AM EDT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California has begun allowing overnight visits for gayand lesbian partners of prison inmates to conform to the state's domesticpartnership law.
California is one of just six states that allow overnight family visits,which take place in trailers or other housing on prison grounds. Butattorneys, gay rights advocates and corrections officials said they know ofno other state that permits conjugal visits by same-sex partners.
"Historically, these types of requests were denied," said Terry Thornton, aspokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation."Homosexuality is a touchy subject in prison. We don't want people to cometo harm in prisons, but we need to comply with the law."
Since the 1970s, immediate family members have been able to visit manyprison inmates for up to three days at a time.
The privilege is being expanded to registered domestic partners under a lawsigned by former Gov. Gray Davis that took effect in 2005. It requires stateagencies to give the same rights to domestic partners that heterosexualcouples receive.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060107Scouts.htm
Philadelphia Moves To Evict Boy Scouts Over Anti-Gay Policy
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: June 1, 2007 - 1:00 pm ET
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) The days of free rent on a city owned buildingmay be coming to an end for the Philadelphia branch of the Boy Scouts ofAmerica.
City Council has voted 16 - 1 to direct the city to end the lease, or forcethe BSA's Cradle of Liberty Council to pay full market value for the site,unless the scouts sign a pledge not to discriminate against openly gaypeople.
The Cradle of Liberty Council, the third-largest scouting group in thecountry. It has been battling with the city for more than three years overthe policy, which like the national Scouts organization forbids gays frombeing leaders.
The group has made its headquarters on a half-acre owned by the city in theupscale Philadelphia Art Museum area since 1928, when the city council votedto allow the Scouts to use the property rent-free "in perpetuity." TheScouts pay for building upkeep.
The City Council resolution, which was voted on without debate, gives thecity a year to reach a deal with the scouts.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060107camp.htm
Faith Playing Larger Role In 2008 Race
by The Associated Press
Posted: June 1, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET
(Washington) The personal faith of candidates has become a very public partof the 2008 presidential campaign.
Seven years after George W. Bush won the presidency in part with a directappeal to conservative religious voters - he cited Jesus Christ as hisfavorite philosopher during one debate - it seems all the leadingpresidential candidates are discussing their religious and moral beliefs,even when they'd rather not.
Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have hiredstrategists to focus on reaching religious voters. Obama's campaign holds aweekly conference call with key supporters in early primary and caucusstates whose role is to spread the candidate's message to religious leadersand opinionmakers and report their concerns to the campaign.
Democrats in general are targeting moderate Roman Catholics, mainlineProtestants and even evangelicals, hoping to enlist enough voters for whomreligious and moral issues are a priority to put together a winningcoalition.
Next week, Clinton, Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards arescheduled to address liberal evangelicals at a forum on "faith, values andpoverty."
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060107dems.htm
Dems Use Gay Pride Month To Rally Support
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: June 1, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Washington) Democrats buoyed by their victories in the House and Senatelast year, and sensing the White House is within grasp in 2008, are workingto solidify their LGBT base.
Friday, to mark the beginning of LGBT pride month, Democratic NationalCommittee Chairman Howard Dean joined openly gay members of Congress BarneyFrank (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) in issuing a PrideProclamation - something President Bush has declined to do.
"Today, we join Democrats across America in celebrating Pride month andhonoring the contributions that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenderAmericans have made to our society," the Democrats' proclamation reads.
"Our Party's commitment to protecting the fundamental right of everyAmerican to live in dignity with equal rights and protections under the lawhas never been stronger."
"This year," the proclamation goes on to say, "instead of fighting backdivisive, discriminatory and politically-motivated attacks in the RepublicanCongress and Republican state houses across the country, together we aremaking tremendous progress toward building a more fair and just America."
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060107pastor.htm
Court Reverses Damages Ruling Against Anti-Gay Pastor
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: June 1, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Madison, Wisconsin) A fundamentalist pastor who was ordered to pay courtcosts after having a defamation suit against a Wisconsin LGBT group tossedout does not have to pay the $87,000 an appeals court has ruled.
Grant Storms of the Reformer Ministries in Marrero, La., claimed in thelawsuit that Action Wisconsin defamed him by saying remarks he made at a2003 anti-gay conference in Milwaukee advocated the murder of gays.
But in a ruling in January 2006 Milwaukee County Circuit Judge PatriciaMcMahon said the group's interpretation of the remarks was reasonable andthe lawsuit lacked merit from the day it was filed.
The judge also blasted Storms' lawyer, James Donohoo of Milwaukee, saying heshould have known the complaint was a waste of time.
Storms was one of several speakers at the "International Conference onHomo-Fascism," a gathering of anti-gays.
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Friday, June 1, 2007
Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Web: www.TruthWinsOut.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRUTH WINS OUT STRONGLY OPPOSES THE NOMINATION OF JAMES HOLSINGER FOR U.S.
SURGEON GENERAL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holsinger's Founding of A Church That Tries To 'Cure' Gay People Makes Him
Unfit To Serve As Nation's Top Doctor
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Truth Wins Out announced its strong and committed opposition today to President George W. Bush's nomination for U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. James W. Holsinger, after it was revealed that he started a church in Lexington, Kentucky that has a ministry to "cure" gay people.
"Holsinger is an ideologue whose medical views on gay and lesbian people resemble sorcery more than sound science," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "The last thing America needed was another deplorable nominee who isn't up to the job, but this is exactly what Bush delivered."
Holsinger's nomination will go before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, education, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) sidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) sit on this committee.
"It is clear that James Holsinger is to medicine what Alberto Gonzales is to stice," said TWO's Besen. "It will be interesting to see where the presidential candidates stand on this troubling nomination."
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International Gay & Lesbian Review
http://gaybookreviews.info/review/3587/bashing-back-wayne-besen-on-glbt-people-politics-and-culture
review
BASHING BACK: WAYNE BESEN ON GLBT PEOPLE, POLITICS, AND CULTURE
by Wayne R. Besen
Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance author and activist who lives in South Florida. Reach him at jessemonteagudo@aol.com.
Book Review
by Jesse Monteagudo
In a perfect world, Wayne R. Besen would be as well-known as Andrew Sullivan; writing articles for "Time" and "The New Republic" and making periodic appearances on "The Chris Matthews Show" and "Real Time with Bill Maher." The author of "Anything But Straight" - both the book and the syndicated column - is certainly as intelligent, as talented and as committed as Sullivan, though not as controversial. But while Sullivan shines in the mainstream media, Besen only makes occasional appearances on cable news channels, where he is limited to discussing GLBT issues. And Besen's columns, though they deal with a wide variety of topics, appear mostly in GLBT publications. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Likewise, I fear that "Bashing Back," Besen's latest book, will be ghettoized in the "alternative lifestyle" sections of chain bookstores while in fact it belongs among "mainstream" books on politics and public affairs. Wayne Besen should be read by all, not just those of us who are L, G, B, or T.
"Bashing Back" is a collection of articles from the first few years of "Anything But Straight" (the syndicated column), arranged in alphabetical order by topic. If any single topic unites these widely disparate pieces, it is Besen's spirited defense of liberalism. Since 1980, conservative pundits and politicians have done their best to make "liberal" a dirty word. Besen hallenges these attacks, reminding us that "the left is the backbone of freedom, the defender of persona liberty, the guarantor of free speech and religious worship, and the nurturer of democratic movements across the globe."
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/6-1/news/localnews/3750.cfm
We've come a long way
Stonewall Library exhibit recalls how Bryant campaign attracted nationwide attention
Friday, June 01, 2007
Pride festivals and other events in June have tended to focus on the fun, tertaining side in recent year. But Stonewall Library & Archives has brought a more serious and educational focus to Pride month this year with its exhibit "Days Without Sunshine: Anita Bryant's Anti-Gay Crusade."
The 20-panel exhibit takes viewers on a journey back to the 1970s, when the
Save Our Children campaign repealed a 1977 Miami-Dade ordinance that
outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing
and public accommodation. The crusade was started by an unlikely source -
singer Anita Bryant.
The historical event took place in South Florida 30 years ago. Bryant's
crusade sparked a backlash against the gay and lesbian population, which, at
the time, was becoming more vocal in the world. The drama attracted a lot of ttention from the media and motivated the gay and lesbian community to come ogether and fight for their rights. The struggle between Bryant and Dade County gays and lesbians was featured in Newsweek and Time magazines. It was also all over the TVnews programs and newspapers.
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http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/6-1/news/localnews/3749.cfm
Express Gay News
Gay nude go-go bar forced to close in W. Palm
County's Code Enforcement Division ends Cupid's unique entertainment
By PHIL LaPADULA
Friday, June 01, 2007
Cupids Cabaret, the only gay male go-go club in mainland South Florida that features totally nude dancers, is closing, the bar's owner confirmed this week.
The West Palm Beach club will stop featuring nude go-go dancers and will reopen under a new name, Lifestylez, on July 3, said Brandy Powell, owner of Cupids. Powell said she had no choice but to shut down Cupids after Palm Beach County's Code Enforcement Division issued a ruling earlier this yearstating that the club's nude dancing was in violation of a county ordinance. She said she had spent $50,000 fighting the county to try to retain Cupid's unique entertainment.
"I could have continued to fight, but I don't have the money to do so," Powell said.
Cupids has operated as a gay nude go-go bar for seven years. The club was called before the county's Code Enforcement Division back in 1999 and charged with operating an adult club without an adult license. At the time, Cupids lawyers argued that it was exempt from the county's nudity restrictions because it was operating as a private club. After a hearing and review, the county dropped the charges against Cupids. Powell provided the Express with a copy of a document signed by Terry Verner, director of the county's Code Enforcement Division. The document, which is dated Feb. 4, 2000, states that the charges against Cupids were dropped.
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Friday, June 01, 2007
GLBT DIGEST June 1, 2007
**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
=
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/us/01union.html?pagewanted=print
June 1, 2007
New Hampshire Adopts Same-Sex Unions
By PAM BELLUCK
BOSTON, May 31 - Civil unions for same-sex couples in New Hampshire will be legal starting in January under a bill signed into law Thursday by Gov. John Lynch.
In a ceremony in the governor's chambers at the New Hampshire Statehouse, Mr. Lynch, a second-term Democrat who has voiced opposition to same-sex marriage, said: "I do not believe that this bill threatens marriage. I believe that this is a matter of conscience and fairness."
New Hampshire becomes the fourth state to allow same-sex civil unions, joining Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey, and the first to do so without a court order or a pending lawsuit. Only Massachusetts allows same-sex marriage.
Bishop V. Gene Robinson, whose status as the openly gay Episcopal leader in New Hampshire has caused debate and division within the international Anglican Communion, attended the ceremony and said in an interview that he would enter into a civil union with his partner next year.
Bishop Robinson said he would allow other Episcopal priests in New Hampshire to decide individually whether to perform or approve of civil unions. Of the new law, he said: "I feel that it's a huge step forward for fairness and equality for all the citizens of New Hampshire and really is an affirmation of the very conservative values that we hold here. This will support gay and lesbian families the way marriage supports heterosexual families."
Paul Nagy, chairman of Conserve NH, a conservative group that had gathered 900 signatures on a petition urging Mr. Lynch not to sign the bill, said that throughout the process of enactment, the measure's opponents had not had enough opportunity to air their views.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Civil-Unions.html?pagewanted=print
June 1, 2007
N.H. Governor Signs Civil Unions Law
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:14 a.m. ET
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Gov. John Lynch has signed a law establishing civil unions for same-sex couples in New Hampshire, allowing them to apply for the same rights as married people as early as January.
New Hampshire has ''a long and proud tradition taking the lead in opposing iscrimination,'' Lynch said Thursday. ''Today that tradition continues.''
It will be the fourth state to offer civil unions and the first to do so without a court order or threat of one.
Couples who enter civil unions will have the same rights as married couples. Same-sex unions from other states also will be recognized if they were legal in the state where they were performed.
Lynch, a Democrat, called the measure a matter of conscience. ''How could any one of us look into the eyes of our neighbors, our friends or our loved ones if we continued to deny them these basic legal protections?'' he said.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-usa-religiousright.html?pagewanted=print
June 1, 2007
Post - Falwell, U.S. Religious Right Remains A Force
By REUTERS
Filed at 7:21 a.m. ET
DALLAS (Reuters) - U.S. evangelist Jerry Falwell has been laid to rest but it is premature to write the political obituary of the conservative Christian movement he once led.
They say the "Religious Right," a movement linked to the Republican Party that seeks to redraw U.S. public policy along evangelical Christian lines, remains a political force -- and doesn't need a unifying leader.
Falwell, who died in May at the age of 73, had been increasingly sidelined since 1989, when he disbanded the Moral Majority -- a group that drummed up support for conservative Republicans.
But the movement has moved from success to success over the years, even as Falwell's influence waned -- not least in playing an instrumental role in securing two White House terms for devout Christian George W. Bush.
"National-level leadership is less important than it was in the 1970s and 1980s when Falwell headed the Moral Majority because the movement has matured," said Matthew Wilson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist niversity.
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The Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-spheat01jun01,0,7052790,print.story?coll=sfla-sports-headlines
NBA PRE-DRAFT CAMP
Hardaway says that `stuff is over'
By Ira Winderman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 1, 2007
LAKE BUENA VISTA · Former Heat point guard Tim Hardaway was among those issued an NBA credential during Thursday's workouts and scrimmages at the league's pre-draft camp.
The NBA had banned Hardaway from contact with league events after he offered anti-gay comments during a South Florida radio interview in February.
Hardaway was sent home by the league from All-Star Weekend in the wake of those remarks, with Commissioner David Stern saying, "It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours," but in ensuing media appearances, Stern noted the NBA was a forgiving league.
Hardaway, who chatted with former Warriors teammate Chris Mullin and other league executives Thursday, is attempting to find work on a team staff.
"All that other stuff is over with. That's history," Hardaway said at the gym that was closed to the public.
=
The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/sfl-0531irs,0,3535913,print.story?coll=sfl-consumer-helpteam
IRS warns of new e-mail scam that tells victims they are under tax investigation
Associated Press
May 31, 2007, 4:12 PM EDT
WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service warned computer users not to fall for phony e-mails that scare people into believing they are under tax investigation _ then give scammers access to their computer hard drives.
The tax agency said Thursday that the e-mail claiming to be from IRS Criminal Investigation falsely states that the person is under a criminal probe for submitting a false tax return to the California Franchise Board. Opening up an attachment to learn more about the complaint allows those behind the scam to gain remote access to the computer.
The IRS stressed that it does not send out unsolicited e-mails or ask for detailed personal and financial information, including PIN numbers, passwords or other credit card and bank information.
It said that people receiving questionable e-mails should not open attachments or click on any links. Instead, they should forward the e-mails to phishingirs.gov. It said that since that mail box was opened last year, the IRS has received more than 17,700 e-mails from taxpayers reporting more than 240 separate phishing or scam incidents hosted in at least 27 countries and the United States.
Other scams try to entice taxpayers to enter a fake IRS web site and ask for bank account numbers or tell taxpayers the IRS is holding a refund for them as a ruse to obtain financial account information.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/technology/v-print/story/125343.html
Posted on Fri, Jun. 01, 2007
Woman sues eHarmony for discrimination
A Northern California woman sued the online dating service eHarmony on Thursday, alleging it discriminates against gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
Linda Carlson said she tried to use the Internet site in February to meet a woman but could not based on her sexual orientation. When Carlson wrote to eHarmony to complain, the company refused to change its policy, according to the lawsuit filed on her behalf in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The lawsuit claims that by only offering to find a compatible match for men seeking women or women seeking men, the company was violating state law barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
"Such outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business open to the public in this day and age," Carlson said in a statement.
The lawsuit names Pasadena-based eHarmony.com Inc., company founder Neil Clark Warren and his wife Marylyn, the company's former vice president, as defendants. It seeks class-action status, a jury trial and unspecified damages.
=
The BizReport.com
http://www.bizreport.com/2007/06/lawsuit_challenges_eharmonys_antigay_policy.html
Lawsuit challenges eHarmony's anti-gay policy
A lawsuit filed against popular dating site eHarmony is fast becoming a class action pitting gays, lesbians, and bisexuals against the site founded by a man with strong religious ties.
by Geoffrey Ramos
The lawsuit, which alleges that eHarmony's anti-gay policies are discriminatory under California law, was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson who was barred from eHarmony for being gay.
Carlson's lawyers said, they believed other people, particularly gays and lesbians, would join the lawsuit against eHarmony, which was founded in 2000 by Neil Clark. Clark, an evangelical Christian, is said to have strong religious ties to the conservative group Focus on the Family.
"This lawsuit is about changing the landscape and making a statement out there that gay people, just like heterosexuals, have the right and desire to meet other people with whom they can fall in love," said lawyer Todd Schneider, who represents Carlson.
eHarmony, in a statement, said years of research into relationships have only been "based on the traits and personality patterns to match heterosexual marriages." The company may include same-sex matches in the future with more research.
eHarmony is one of the biggest Internet dating site in the U.S. with over 12 million members.
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NationalGayNews.com
http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/728/173/
Friday, 01 June 2007 07:46
Lambda Literary Awards Announce Winners
May 31, 2007, 11:00 PM--Winners for the 19th annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced tonight by the Lambda Literary Foundation at a gala celebration attended by 300 people.
Awards were presented in 25 categories. Winners were chosen by a jury of judges who come from all walks of literary life: journalists, authors, booksellers, librarians, playwrights, illustrators. In all, 85 judges participated in the selection of winners from the pool of 381 books that were nominated by 147 publishers.
In addition, Marijane Meaker and Martin Duberman were recognized for their lifetime achievements by receiving the Pioneer Award from Lambda Literary Foundation.
One of the most moving episodes of the evening was an In Memoriam tribute, a 6 minute video recognizing eleven LGBT literary heroes who have passed away during the last 18 months, including Sarah Aldridge, Sybille Bedford, Betty Berzon, Tee Corinne, Hanns Ebensten, Aleta Fenceroy, Barbara Gittings, Sterling Houston, Dr. Fritz Klein, Art "Cassandra" Polansky, and Eric Rofes.
Another highlight of the evening was a raffle of a "Fun Home" Triptych, created by Alison Bechdel and featuring artwork from her award-winning memoir, FUN HOME, also named TIME Magazine's Book of the Year for 2006. All proceeds of the raffle benefited the Lambda Literary Foundation, the presenter of the Lambda Literary Awards.
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Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45539.asp
June 01, 2007
Mormon and gay: One man's journey
When he was a teenager, Connell O'Donovan opened up to his Mormon seminary teacher and said that he was gay.
O'Donovan was greeted with kindness-and a prescription to chart the frequency of his sexual thoughts; fasting and praying when the urges came were suggested as a means of willing them away.
''He didn't know what to do,'' O'Donovan said of his teacher, who is now a church elder. ''He was a super-nice guy but just misinformed, and all he had was the church handbook to go by.''
Raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, O'Donovan, a writer and historian, served as a church missionary and married in the church's Salt Lake City Temple. He came out in 1985 and eventually left the faith, unable to reconcile his gay identity with the teachings of the church.
''I had to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I started from scratch and rebuilt myself,'' he said in an interview with the Associated Press last week. ''I decided that I can use the word 'grace,' but in a different way.''
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060107eharm.htm
Popular Dating Site Sued For Gay Discrimination
by The Associated Press
Posted: June 1, 2007 - 9:00 am ET
(Los Angeles, California) A Northern California woman is suing the online dating service eHarmony, alleging it discriminates against gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
Linda Carlson said she tried to use the Internet site in February to meet a woman but could not based on her sexual orientation. When Carlson wrote to eHarmony to complain, the company refused to change its policy, according to the lawsuit filed on her behalf in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The lawsuit claims that by only offering to find a compatible match for men seeking women or women seeking men, the company was violating state law barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
"Such outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business open to the public in this day and age," Carlson said in a statement.
The lawsuit names Pasadena-based eHarmony.com Inc., company founder Neil Clark Warren and his wife Marylyn, the company's former vice president, as efendants. It seeks class-action status, a jury trial and unspecified damages.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/053107whipple.htm
Court to Reconsider Verdict In Dog Mauling Death Of SF Lesbian
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 31, 2007 - 8:00 pm ET
(San Francisco, California) A woman whose dogs fatally mauled a neighbor could get more prison time, after the California Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a trial judge to consider convicting her of second-degree murder rather than involuntary manslaughter.
A jury had first found Marjorie Knoller guilty of second-degree murder in the 2001 death of 33-year-old Diane Whipple. (story)
However, the presiding judge ruled that Knoller wasn't aware her two leashed Presa Canario dogs, each weighing more than 100 pounds, would escape her control and kill Whipple. The judge lowered the conviction to involuntary anslaughter.
An appeals court later reinstated the second-degree murder conviction, saying Knoller should have known the dogs were at risk to cause "great bodily harm."
The state Supreme Court said the trial judge set too lenient a standard, while the appeals court set too harsh a standard. It said "the awareness of engaging in conduct that endangers the life of another - no more, and no less" is what's needed to obtain a second-degree murder conviction.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/opinion/besen/besen.htm
Gay Pride and the Putin Soprano State
by Wayne Besen
The first sign that Russia's march toward freedom was on a downward spiral came on June 16, 2001, when George W. Bush said of Russian President Vladimir Putin, "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight-forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul."
It turns out that Bush's judgment on Putin was only eclipsed by his decision that fateful summer to add "My Pet Goat" to his reading list at the exclusion of a memorandum titled, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."
Sixteen years after the collapse of communism and only seven years after Putin's coming to power, Russia is headed in the wrong direction. Putin's crooked authoritarianism threatens to set off a new Cold War and erase the hard-won era of peace. Indeed, Alexei Bayer, a guest columnist in the St. Petersburg Times, said Putin's rule is noted for its "endemic corruption, rollback of democracy, blatant confiscation of private property and murky political murders."
The Committee to Protect Journalists described Russia as one of the 10 countries that had seen the greatest decline in media freedoms during the past several years. Since Putin came to power, at least 13 journalists have been whacked, turning Russia into a "Soprano-state."
In any dictator's playbook, the way to justify grotesque abuses of power and gain legitimacy is to wrap oneself in the flag and claim to be the great defender of traditional morality. Thus, it is perfectly logical that gay pride marchers were met with deplorable state-sanctioned (or at least supported) violence last week in Moscow.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/053107bomb.htm
No Bond For Accused Falwell Bomb Plotter
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 31, 2007 - 8:00 pm ET
(Roanoke, Virginia) A federal judge on Thursday refused to release from jail a Liberty University student charged with possessing a bomb the night before the Rev. Jerry Falwell's funeral, saying there was compelling evidence he could pose a danger.
Michael David Uhl told authorities he did not intend to hurt anyone, according to testimony from a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
But the agent, R.A. Davidson, also testified that the 19-year-old had other plans for violence, including a plot with a friend to disrupt a prom at his former high school in northern Virginia with heated homemade pepper spray.
A search of Uhl's computer turned up photographs of Adolf Hitler and young adults giving a Nazi salute, with one caption that said "I love Hitler," the agent said. Other photographs showed Uhl and others giving what is considered a gang sign, the agent said.
"All of this is very, very, very troubling," U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Urbanski said in ordering continued incarceration for Uhl. He sent the charge of possessing an unlawful destructive device against Uhl to a federal grand jury, which will decide whether to return an indictment against him.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/053107clinton.htm
Nod Highlights Growing Importance Of Hispanic Vote
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 31, 2007 - 6:00 pm ET
(Los Angeles, California) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's political courtship of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa landed her an early, influential endorsement this week that highlights the intense competition among presidential candidates for support within the growing Hispanic population.
Candidates in both major parties are reaching out to Hispanic voters with an ntensity that speaks to the importance of the nation's largest and fastest-growing minority group in the 2008 campaign.
Republican Mitt Romney has hired a Spanish-language media adviser in Florida. Democrat Bill Richardson, whose mother is Mexican, has made overt appeals to Hispanic voters, including announcing his candidacy in English and Spanish.
Sen. Barack Obama and John Edwards are among the candidates devoting parts of their Web sites to Spanish speakers. And next week, Sen. John McCain will travel to Miami to deliver a speech on immigration, a site chosen in part because of the city's large Hispanic population.
"As we've seen in the last few elections, the Hispanic vote has become a ritical ... part of the Republican coalition," said Romney aide Alex Burgos. With large Hispanic populations in early voting states like Florida, alifornia and New York, "it takes on even more importance," he said.
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=12896
Dutch police arrest 4 men in bizarre sex-crime investigation
Suspects all have HIV
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) | May 31, 12:13 PM
Dutch authorities arrested four men in a sex-crime investigation in the northern city of Groningen, with at least two of the men suspected of intentionally infecting others with HIV, a prosecution spokesman said Thursday.
Three of the men were suspected of drugging male victims and abusing them uring "sex parties," district police chief Ronald Zwarter said at a news conference Wednesday.
"The suspicion is that, at these parties, they had unsafe sex with people they had drugged, and also that these people were injected with infected blood," Zwarter said. The four suspects - all of whom have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS - were arrested May 13, he said.
Two of the suspects have confessed to injecting the victims, he said.
"The motive to do this was the 'kick,' and the feeling that unsafe sex is 'pure,'" Zwarter said.
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/2007/6-1/news/localnews/3750.cfm
We've come a long way
Stonewall Library exhibit recalls how Bryant campaign attracted nationwide attention
Friday, June 01, 2007
Pride festivals and other events in June have tended to focus on the fun, ntertaining side in recent year. But Stonewall Library & Archives has brought a more serious and educational focus to Pride month this year with its exhibit "Days Without Sunshine: Anita Bryant's Anti-Gay Crusade."
The 20-panel exhibit takes viewers on a journey back to the 1970s, when the Save Our Children campaign repealed a 1977 Miami-Dade ordinance that outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodation. The crusade was started by an unlikely source - singer Anita Bryant.
The historical event took place in South Florida 30 years ago. Bryant's crusade sparked a backlash against the gay and lesbian population, which, at the time, was becoming more vocal in the world. The drama attracted a lot of ttention from the media and motivated the gay and lesbian community to come ogether and fight for their rights. The struggle between Bryant and Dade County gays and lesbians was featured in Newsweek and Time magazines. It was also all over the TV news programs and newspapers.
"It was probably the first time gay and lesbian news was covered by the national media," said exhibit curator John Coppola.
He said that many younger gays and lesbians don't know about this historic moment, and he is hoping that will change.
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=3747
War stirs passions at GLCC town hall event
Big crowd turns out for meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Wasserman Schultz
By PHIL LAPADULA
Jun. 01, 2007
A town hall meeting called by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz drew an overflow, and sometimes raucous, crowd to the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of South Florida on Wednesday, May 30. Hundreds of people, including most of the leaders of the local gay and lesbian community, showed up for the event, filling up the parking lot and adjacent areas.
The war in Iraq dominated the meeting, but residents also voiced their concerns about the rising cost of living in South Florida and health care. Since the meeting was a constituent gathering for Wasserman Schultz's district, it drew a wide range of people, including members of two national anti-war groups, the Raging Grannies and Code Pink, as well as local veterans and even some members of the Christian Coalition.
As the meeting was about to begin, a short scuffle broke out between two Fort Lauderdale police officers and a woman who was holding anti-war placards in the front of the room near the congresswoman. Police apparently wanted the woman to move or put down her signs, but she refused. She was eventually allowed to continue holding the signs in the front of the room.
Wasserman Schultz started the meeting by defending her recent vote for an ppropriations bill that will fund the war in Iraq for the next four months. She acknowledged that the vote had disappointed some of her more liberal onstituents. But she asserted that even if the funds for the war were cut off, President Bush would not bring the troops home. She sought to assure people that Democrats have "begun to end this war."
But some of her constituents expressed their frustration over the Democrats' nability to force President Bush to change course on Iraq after taking control of Congress in November.
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=3749
Gay nude go-go bar forced to close in W. Palm
County's Code Enforcement Division ends Cupid's unique entertainment
Jun. 01, 2007
Cupids Cabaret, the only gay male go-go club in mainland South Florida that features totally nude dancers, is closing, the bar's owner confirmed this week.
The West Palm Beach club will stop featuring nude go-go dancers and will reopen under a new name, Lifestylez, on July 3, said Brandy Powell, owner of Cupids. Powell said she had no choice but to shut down Cupids after Palm Beach County's Code Enforcement Division issued a ruling earlier this year stating that the club's nude dancing was in violation of a county ordinance. She said she had spent $50,000 fighting the county to try to retain Cupid's unique entertainment.
"I could have continued to fight, but I don't have the money to do so," Powell said.
Cupids has operated as a gay nude go-go bar for seven years. The club was called before the county's Code Enforcement Division back in 1999 and charged with operating an adult club without an adult license. At the time, Cupids lawyers argued that it was exempt from the county's nudity restrictions because it was operating as a private club. After a hearing and review, the county dropped the charges against Cupids. Powell provided the Express with a copy of a document signed by Terry Verner, director of the county's Code Enforcement Division. The document, which is dated Feb. 4, 2000, states that the charges against Cupids were dropped.
Powell said she didn't know why the county decided to revisit the issue since nothing has changed at the club.
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/us/01union.html?pagewanted=print
June 1, 2007
New Hampshire Adopts Same-Sex Unions
By PAM BELLUCK
BOSTON, May 31 - Civil unions for same-sex couples in New Hampshire will be legal starting in January under a bill signed into law Thursday by Gov. John Lynch.
In a ceremony in the governor's chambers at the New Hampshire Statehouse, Mr. Lynch, a second-term Democrat who has voiced opposition to same-sex marriage, said: "I do not believe that this bill threatens marriage. I believe that this is a matter of conscience and fairness."
New Hampshire becomes the fourth state to allow same-sex civil unions, joining Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey, and the first to do so without a court order or a pending lawsuit. Only Massachusetts allows same-sex marriage.
Bishop V. Gene Robinson, whose status as the openly gay Episcopal leader in New Hampshire has caused debate and division within the international Anglican Communion, attended the ceremony and said in an interview that he would enter into a civil union with his partner next year.
Bishop Robinson said he would allow other Episcopal priests in New Hampshire to decide individually whether to perform or approve of civil unions. Of the new law, he said: "I feel that it's a huge step forward for fairness and equality for all the citizens of New Hampshire and really is an affirmation of the very conservative values that we hold here. This will support gay and lesbian families the way marriage supports heterosexual families."
Paul Nagy, chairman of Conserve NH, a conservative group that had gathered 900 signatures on a petition urging Mr. Lynch not to sign the bill, said that throughout the process of enactment, the measure's opponents had not had enough opportunity to air their views.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Civil-Unions.html?pagewanted=print
June 1, 2007
N.H. Governor Signs Civil Unions Law
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:14 a.m. ET
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Gov. John Lynch has signed a law establishing civil unions for same-sex couples in New Hampshire, allowing them to apply for the same rights as married people as early as January.
New Hampshire has ''a long and proud tradition taking the lead in opposing iscrimination,'' Lynch said Thursday. ''Today that tradition continues.''
It will be the fourth state to offer civil unions and the first to do so without a court order or threat of one.
Couples who enter civil unions will have the same rights as married couples. Same-sex unions from other states also will be recognized if they were legal in the state where they were performed.
Lynch, a Democrat, called the measure a matter of conscience. ''How could any one of us look into the eyes of our neighbors, our friends or our loved ones if we continued to deny them these basic legal protections?'' he said.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-usa-religiousright.html?pagewanted=print
June 1, 2007
Post - Falwell, U.S. Religious Right Remains A Force
By REUTERS
Filed at 7:21 a.m. ET
DALLAS (Reuters) - U.S. evangelist Jerry Falwell has been laid to rest but it is premature to write the political obituary of the conservative Christian movement he once led.
They say the "Religious Right," a movement linked to the Republican Party that seeks to redraw U.S. public policy along evangelical Christian lines, remains a political force -- and doesn't need a unifying leader.
Falwell, who died in May at the age of 73, had been increasingly sidelined since 1989, when he disbanded the Moral Majority -- a group that drummed up support for conservative Republicans.
But the movement has moved from success to success over the years, even as Falwell's influence waned -- not least in playing an instrumental role in securing two White House terms for devout Christian George W. Bush.
"National-level leadership is less important than it was in the 1970s and 1980s when Falwell headed the Moral Majority because the movement has matured," said Matthew Wilson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist niversity.
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The Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-spheat01jun01,0,7052790,print.story?coll=sfla-sports-headlines
NBA PRE-DRAFT CAMP
Hardaway says that `stuff is over'
By Ira Winderman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 1, 2007
LAKE BUENA VISTA · Former Heat point guard Tim Hardaway was among those issued an NBA credential during Thursday's workouts and scrimmages at the league's pre-draft camp.
The NBA had banned Hardaway from contact with league events after he offered anti-gay comments during a South Florida radio interview in February.
Hardaway was sent home by the league from All-Star Weekend in the wake of those remarks, with Commissioner David Stern saying, "It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours," but in ensuing media appearances, Stern noted the NBA was a forgiving league.
Hardaway, who chatted with former Warriors teammate Chris Mullin and other league executives Thursday, is attempting to find work on a team staff.
"All that other stuff is over with. That's history," Hardaway said at the gym that was closed to the public.
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The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/sfl-0531irs,0,3535913,print.story?coll=sfl-consumer-helpteam
IRS warns of new e-mail scam that tells victims they are under tax investigation
Associated Press
May 31, 2007, 4:12 PM EDT
WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service warned computer users not to fall for phony e-mails that scare people into believing they are under tax investigation _ then give scammers access to their computer hard drives.
The tax agency said Thursday that the e-mail claiming to be from IRS Criminal Investigation falsely states that the person is under a criminal probe for submitting a false tax return to the California Franchise Board. Opening up an attachment to learn more about the complaint allows those behind the scam to gain remote access to the computer.
The IRS stressed that it does not send out unsolicited e-mails or ask for detailed personal and financial information, including PIN numbers, passwords or other credit card and bank information.
It said that people receiving questionable e-mails should not open attachments or click on any links. Instead, they should forward the e-mails to phishingirs.gov. It said that since that mail box was opened last year, the IRS has received more than 17,700 e-mails from taxpayers reporting more than 240 separate phishing or scam incidents hosted in at least 27 countries and the United States.
Other scams try to entice taxpayers to enter a fake IRS web site and ask for bank account numbers or tell taxpayers the IRS is holding a refund for them as a ruse to obtain financial account information.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/technology/v-print/story/125343.html
Posted on Fri, Jun. 01, 2007
Woman sues eHarmony for discrimination
A Northern California woman sued the online dating service eHarmony on Thursday, alleging it discriminates against gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
Linda Carlson said she tried to use the Internet site in February to meet a woman but could not based on her sexual orientation. When Carlson wrote to eHarmony to complain, the company refused to change its policy, according to the lawsuit filed on her behalf in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The lawsuit claims that by only offering to find a compatible match for men seeking women or women seeking men, the company was violating state law barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
"Such outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business open to the public in this day and age," Carlson said in a statement.
The lawsuit names Pasadena-based eHarmony.com Inc., company founder Neil Clark Warren and his wife Marylyn, the company's former vice president, as defendants. It seeks class-action status, a jury trial and unspecified damages.
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The BizReport.com
http://www.bizreport.com/2007/06/lawsuit_challenges_eharmonys_antigay_policy.html
Lawsuit challenges eHarmony's anti-gay policy
A lawsuit filed against popular dating site eHarmony is fast becoming a class action pitting gays, lesbians, and bisexuals against the site founded by a man with strong religious ties.
by Geoffrey Ramos
The lawsuit, which alleges that eHarmony's anti-gay policies are discriminatory under California law, was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson who was barred from eHarmony for being gay.
Carlson's lawyers said, they believed other people, particularly gays and lesbians, would join the lawsuit against eHarmony, which was founded in 2000 by Neil Clark. Clark, an evangelical Christian, is said to have strong religious ties to the conservative group Focus on the Family.
"This lawsuit is about changing the landscape and making a statement out there that gay people, just like heterosexuals, have the right and desire to meet other people with whom they can fall in love," said lawyer Todd Schneider, who represents Carlson.
eHarmony, in a statement, said years of research into relationships have only been "based on the traits and personality patterns to match heterosexual marriages." The company may include same-sex matches in the future with more research.
eHarmony is one of the biggest Internet dating site in the U.S. with over 12 million members.
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NationalGayNews.com
http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/728/173/
Friday, 01 June 2007 07:46
Lambda Literary Awards Announce Winners
May 31, 2007, 11:00 PM--Winners for the 19th annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced tonight by the Lambda Literary Foundation at a gala celebration attended by 300 people.
Awards were presented in 25 categories. Winners were chosen by a jury of judges who come from all walks of literary life: journalists, authors, booksellers, librarians, playwrights, illustrators. In all, 85 judges participated in the selection of winners from the pool of 381 books that were nominated by 147 publishers.
In addition, Marijane Meaker and Martin Duberman were recognized for their lifetime achievements by receiving the Pioneer Award from Lambda Literary Foundation.
One of the most moving episodes of the evening was an In Memoriam tribute, a 6 minute video recognizing eleven LGBT literary heroes who have passed away during the last 18 months, including Sarah Aldridge, Sybille Bedford, Betty Berzon, Tee Corinne, Hanns Ebensten, Aleta Fenceroy, Barbara Gittings, Sterling Houston, Dr. Fritz Klein, Art "Cassandra" Polansky, and Eric Rofes.
Another highlight of the evening was a raffle of a "Fun Home" Triptych, created by Alison Bechdel and featuring artwork from her award-winning memoir, FUN HOME, also named TIME Magazine's Book of the Year for 2006. All proceeds of the raffle benefited the Lambda Literary Foundation, the presenter of the Lambda Literary Awards.
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Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45539.asp
June 01, 2007
Mormon and gay: One man's journey
When he was a teenager, Connell O'Donovan opened up to his Mormon seminary teacher and said that he was gay.
O'Donovan was greeted with kindness-and a prescription to chart the frequency of his sexual thoughts; fasting and praying when the urges came were suggested as a means of willing them away.
''He didn't know what to do,'' O'Donovan said of his teacher, who is now a church elder. ''He was a super-nice guy but just misinformed, and all he had was the church handbook to go by.''
Raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, O'Donovan, a writer and historian, served as a church missionary and married in the church's Salt Lake City Temple. He came out in 1985 and eventually left the faith, unable to reconcile his gay identity with the teachings of the church.
''I had to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I started from scratch and rebuilt myself,'' he said in an interview with the Associated Press last week. ''I decided that I can use the word 'grace,' but in a different way.''
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/06/060107eharm.htm
Popular Dating Site Sued For Gay Discrimination
by The Associated Press
Posted: June 1, 2007 - 9:00 am ET
(Los Angeles, California) A Northern California woman is suing the online dating service eHarmony, alleging it discriminates against gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
Linda Carlson said she tried to use the Internet site in February to meet a woman but could not based on her sexual orientation. When Carlson wrote to eHarmony to complain, the company refused to change its policy, according to the lawsuit filed on her behalf in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The lawsuit claims that by only offering to find a compatible match for men seeking women or women seeking men, the company was violating state law barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
"Such outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business open to the public in this day and age," Carlson said in a statement.
The lawsuit names Pasadena-based eHarmony.com Inc., company founder Neil Clark Warren and his wife Marylyn, the company's former vice president, as efendants. It seeks class-action status, a jury trial and unspecified damages.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/053107whipple.htm
Court to Reconsider Verdict In Dog Mauling Death Of SF Lesbian
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 31, 2007 - 8:00 pm ET
(San Francisco, California) A woman whose dogs fatally mauled a neighbor could get more prison time, after the California Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a trial judge to consider convicting her of second-degree murder rather than involuntary manslaughter.
A jury had first found Marjorie Knoller guilty of second-degree murder in the 2001 death of 33-year-old Diane Whipple. (story)
However, the presiding judge ruled that Knoller wasn't aware her two leashed Presa Canario dogs, each weighing more than 100 pounds, would escape her control and kill Whipple. The judge lowered the conviction to involuntary anslaughter.
An appeals court later reinstated the second-degree murder conviction, saying Knoller should have known the dogs were at risk to cause "great bodily harm."
The state Supreme Court said the trial judge set too lenient a standard, while the appeals court set too harsh a standard. It said "the awareness of engaging in conduct that endangers the life of another - no more, and no less" is what's needed to obtain a second-degree murder conviction.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/opinion/besen/besen.htm
Gay Pride and the Putin Soprano State
by Wayne Besen
The first sign that Russia's march toward freedom was on a downward spiral came on June 16, 2001, when George W. Bush said of Russian President Vladimir Putin, "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight-forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul."
It turns out that Bush's judgment on Putin was only eclipsed by his decision that fateful summer to add "My Pet Goat" to his reading list at the exclusion of a memorandum titled, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."
Sixteen years after the collapse of communism and only seven years after Putin's coming to power, Russia is headed in the wrong direction. Putin's crooked authoritarianism threatens to set off a new Cold War and erase the hard-won era of peace. Indeed, Alexei Bayer, a guest columnist in the St. Petersburg Times, said Putin's rule is noted for its "endemic corruption, rollback of democracy, blatant confiscation of private property and murky political murders."
The Committee to Protect Journalists described Russia as one of the 10 countries that had seen the greatest decline in media freedoms during the past several years. Since Putin came to power, at least 13 journalists have been whacked, turning Russia into a "Soprano-state."
In any dictator's playbook, the way to justify grotesque abuses of power and gain legitimacy is to wrap oneself in the flag and claim to be the great defender of traditional morality. Thus, it is perfectly logical that gay pride marchers were met with deplorable state-sanctioned (or at least supported) violence last week in Moscow.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/053107bomb.htm
No Bond For Accused Falwell Bomb Plotter
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 31, 2007 - 8:00 pm ET
(Roanoke, Virginia) A federal judge on Thursday refused to release from jail a Liberty University student charged with possessing a bomb the night before the Rev. Jerry Falwell's funeral, saying there was compelling evidence he could pose a danger.
Michael David Uhl told authorities he did not intend to hurt anyone, according to testimony from a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
But the agent, R.A. Davidson, also testified that the 19-year-old had other plans for violence, including a plot with a friend to disrupt a prom at his former high school in northern Virginia with heated homemade pepper spray.
A search of Uhl's computer turned up photographs of Adolf Hitler and young adults giving a Nazi salute, with one caption that said "I love Hitler," the agent said. Other photographs showed Uhl and others giving what is considered a gang sign, the agent said.
"All of this is very, very, very troubling," U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Urbanski said in ordering continued incarceration for Uhl. He sent the charge of possessing an unlawful destructive device against Uhl to a federal grand jury, which will decide whether to return an indictment against him.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/053107clinton.htm
Nod Highlights Growing Importance Of Hispanic Vote
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 31, 2007 - 6:00 pm ET
(Los Angeles, California) Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's political courtship of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa landed her an early, influential endorsement this week that highlights the intense competition among presidential candidates for support within the growing Hispanic population.
Candidates in both major parties are reaching out to Hispanic voters with an ntensity that speaks to the importance of the nation's largest and fastest-growing minority group in the 2008 campaign.
Republican Mitt Romney has hired a Spanish-language media adviser in Florida. Democrat Bill Richardson, whose mother is Mexican, has made overt appeals to Hispanic voters, including announcing his candidacy in English and Spanish.
Sen. Barack Obama and John Edwards are among the candidates devoting parts of their Web sites to Spanish speakers. And next week, Sen. John McCain will travel to Miami to deliver a speech on immigration, a site chosen in part because of the city's large Hispanic population.
"As we've seen in the last few elections, the Hispanic vote has become a ritical ... part of the Republican coalition," said Romney aide Alex Burgos. With large Hispanic populations in early voting states like Florida, alifornia and New York, "it takes on even more importance," he said.
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=12896
Dutch police arrest 4 men in bizarre sex-crime investigation
Suspects all have HIV
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) | May 31, 12:13 PM
Dutch authorities arrested four men in a sex-crime investigation in the northern city of Groningen, with at least two of the men suspected of intentionally infecting others with HIV, a prosecution spokesman said Thursday.
Three of the men were suspected of drugging male victims and abusing them uring "sex parties," district police chief Ronald Zwarter said at a news conference Wednesday.
"The suspicion is that, at these parties, they had unsafe sex with people they had drugged, and also that these people were injected with infected blood," Zwarter said. The four suspects - all of whom have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS - were arrested May 13, he said.
Two of the suspects have confessed to injecting the victims, he said.
"The motive to do this was the 'kick,' and the feeling that unsafe sex is 'pure,'" Zwarter said.
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/2007/6-1/news/localnews/3750.cfm
We've come a long way
Stonewall Library exhibit recalls how Bryant campaign attracted nationwide attention
Friday, June 01, 2007
Pride festivals and other events in June have tended to focus on the fun, ntertaining side in recent year. But Stonewall Library & Archives has brought a more serious and educational focus to Pride month this year with its exhibit "Days Without Sunshine: Anita Bryant's Anti-Gay Crusade."
The 20-panel exhibit takes viewers on a journey back to the 1970s, when the Save Our Children campaign repealed a 1977 Miami-Dade ordinance that outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodation. The crusade was started by an unlikely source - singer Anita Bryant.
The historical event took place in South Florida 30 years ago. Bryant's crusade sparked a backlash against the gay and lesbian population, which, at the time, was becoming more vocal in the world. The drama attracted a lot of ttention from the media and motivated the gay and lesbian community to come ogether and fight for their rights. The struggle between Bryant and Dade County gays and lesbians was featured in Newsweek and Time magazines. It was also all over the TV news programs and newspapers.
"It was probably the first time gay and lesbian news was covered by the national media," said exhibit curator John Coppola.
He said that many younger gays and lesbians don't know about this historic moment, and he is hoping that will change.
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=3747
War stirs passions at GLCC town hall event
Big crowd turns out for meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Wasserman Schultz
By PHIL LAPADULA
Jun. 01, 2007
A town hall meeting called by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz drew an overflow, and sometimes raucous, crowd to the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of South Florida on Wednesday, May 30. Hundreds of people, including most of the leaders of the local gay and lesbian community, showed up for the event, filling up the parking lot and adjacent areas.
The war in Iraq dominated the meeting, but residents also voiced their concerns about the rising cost of living in South Florida and health care. Since the meeting was a constituent gathering for Wasserman Schultz's district, it drew a wide range of people, including members of two national anti-war groups, the Raging Grannies and Code Pink, as well as local veterans and even some members of the Christian Coalition.
As the meeting was about to begin, a short scuffle broke out between two Fort Lauderdale police officers and a woman who was holding anti-war placards in the front of the room near the congresswoman. Police apparently wanted the woman to move or put down her signs, but she refused. She was eventually allowed to continue holding the signs in the front of the room.
Wasserman Schultz started the meeting by defending her recent vote for an ppropriations bill that will fund the war in Iraq for the next four months. She acknowledged that the vote had disappointed some of her more liberal onstituents. But she asserted that even if the funds for the war were cut off, President Bush would not bring the troops home. She sought to assure people that Democrats have "begun to end this war."
But some of her constituents expressed their frustration over the Democrats' nability to force President Bush to change course on Iraq after taking control of Congress in November.
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=3749
Gay nude go-go bar forced to close in W. Palm
County's Code Enforcement Division ends Cupid's unique entertainment
Jun. 01, 2007
Cupids Cabaret, the only gay male go-go club in mainland South Florida that features totally nude dancers, is closing, the bar's owner confirmed this week.
The West Palm Beach club will stop featuring nude go-go dancers and will reopen under a new name, Lifestylez, on July 3, said Brandy Powell, owner of Cupids. Powell said she had no choice but to shut down Cupids after Palm Beach County's Code Enforcement Division issued a ruling earlier this year stating that the club's nude dancing was in violation of a county ordinance. She said she had spent $50,000 fighting the county to try to retain Cupid's unique entertainment.
"I could have continued to fight, but I don't have the money to do so," Powell said.
Cupids has operated as a gay nude go-go bar for seven years. The club was called before the county's Code Enforcement Division back in 1999 and charged with operating an adult club without an adult license. At the time, Cupids lawyers argued that it was exempt from the county's nudity restrictions because it was operating as a private club. After a hearing and review, the county dropped the charges against Cupids. Powell provided the Express with a copy of a document signed by Terry Verner, director of the county's Code Enforcement Division. The document, which is dated Feb. 4, 2000, states that the charges against Cupids were dropped.
Powell said she didn't know why the county decided to revisit the issue since nothing has changed at the club.
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
GLBT DIGEST May 30, 2007
**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
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EdWeek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/05/29/39apreligion_web.h26.html?
Education Week
Published Online: May 29, 2007
Texas Religious Expression Bill Advances
By The Associated Press
Austin
Texas students would have greater freedom to express their religious viewson school campuses under a bill passed Saturday by the House and sent toGov. Rick Perry, who has publicly supported the measure.
Under the legislation, religious beliefs expressed in homework, artwork andother assignments would be judged by traditional academic standards.Students couldn't be penalized or rewarded because of the religious content
of their work.
Supporters say the bill is needed to protect students from censorship andschool districts from lawsuits. But opponents argue it will lead toreligious discrimination among students.
other stories on education issues in Texas. See data on Texas' public schoolsystem.
"We are allowing our young people to express their faith, whatever thatfaith is," said Rep. Larry Phillips, a Sherman Republican.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
The Swedish government today made an official announcement published ontheir homepage: http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/9108/a/83041 regarding MoscowPride.
The text very rapidly translated into English is the following:
Swedish government regarding the Moscow incidents
The Swedish government looks very serious at what happened in Moscow May27th when a demonstration, with out police permittance, were held to protestagainst the city´s ban against gay parades. Protesters were, according tointernational media and eye witnesses, exposed for violence from Russianpolice and counterprotesters. One of the organizers and several foreignpoliticians were seized during the tumult.
- The fact that the demonstration for human rights for LGBT persons did nothave a permit should not be taken as a cause to view the participants asfair game, says integration and equality minister Nyamko Sabuni ,who also isthe government´s minister for human rights, including LGBT questions. Weexpect us that Russia, as a member in the European Council, shall live up toit´s democratic core principles.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
Luke Harding in Moscow
Tuesday May 29, 2007
Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,2090147,00.html
A senior British diplomat has been beaten by two unidentified assailantswhile on an official trip in provincial Russia. Nigel Gould-Davies, firstsecretary at the British embassy in Moscow, was attacked at 1am on Saturdayas he walked across the theatre square in the Siberian city of Chita, policesaid.
Mr Gould-Davies needed hospital treatment for bruises to his face. Hisglasses were broken in the attack and he was unable to see his assailants,police said.
The beating is the second assault on Britons in Russia in two days, andfollows an attack on Sunday by anti-homosexual protesters on the Britishhuman rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. Mr Tatchell was punched, knocked tothe ground, and kicked while protesting about gay rights with a group ofEuropean parliamentarians. Yesterday embassy officials described the attackon Mr Gould-Davies as a random assault carried out by drunken teenagerscelebrating the end of the school year.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
TUBBY TROUBLE: Poland is investigating television show the Teletubbies overclaims they might promote homosexuality.
Poland's conservative government took its drive to curb what it sees ashomosexual propaganda to the small screen, taking aim at Tinky Winky and theother Teletubbies.
Ewa Sowinska, government-appointed children rights watchdog, told alocal magazine published on Monday she was concerned the popular BBCchildren's show promoted homosexuality.
She said she would ask psychologists to advise if this was the case.
In comments reminiscent of criticism by the late US evangelist JerryFalwell, she was quoted as saying: "I noticed (Tinky Winky) has a lady'spurse, but I didn't realize he's a boy."
"At first I thought the purse would be a burden for this Teletubby . . .Later I learned that this may have a homosexual undertone."
Poland's rightist government has upset human rights groups and drawncriticism within the European Union by apparent discrimination againsthomosexuals.
Polish Education Minister Roman Giertych has proposed laws sackingteachers who promote "homosexual lifestyle" and banning "homo-agitation" inschools.
But in a sign that the government wants to distance itself fromSowinska's comments, Parliamentary Speaker Ludwig Dorn said he had warnedher against making public comments "that may turn her department into alaughing stock".
The 10-year-old Teletubbies, which features four rotund, brightlycoloured characters loved by children around the world, became a target ofreligious conservatives after Falwell suggested Tinky Winky could behomosexual.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
Wednesday May 30, 2007
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2091014,00.html
From the suffragettes to the Montgomery bus boycotters, history is litteredwith characters who kick-start progress by being awkward - and awkwardnessis something Peter Tatchell has in spades. Whether he is interrupting theArchbishop of Canterbury's sermon or attempting a citizen's arrest of RobertMugabe, the gay-rights campaigner is always up to something that theestablishment does not like - which for Tatchell is precisely the point. Hisbrand of megaphone politics is unattractive to many, but after his defiantresponse to being beaten by thugs in Russia at the weekend, not even criticscan deny that he is brave.
In one campaign, widely damned for interfering in people's private affairs,he demanded that 10 Church of England bishops declare their homosexuality.Tatchell saw the tactic as a weapon of defence against ecclesiasticalbigotry - and claims that afterwards the church toughened its line ondiscrimination. Where hypocrisy is not an issue, Tatchell now defends theright of people to keep their sexuality to themselves. He has also shownthat he can bury the hatchet, endorsing Simon Hughes for the LiberalDemocrat leadership two decades after Hughes beat him in a bitter byelectionovershadowed by prejudice. His sympathies are consistently leftist, butTatchell is never blinded by tribal loyalties - he has condemned the machotactics of the NUM and the homophobia of Fidel Castro. It is all part of themaverick mix that has stirred up trouble everywhere.
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In Ankara, Turkey International meeting against homophobia under way
Int'l meeting against homophobia under way
May 18, 2007
Turkish Daily News
A two-day international meeting against homophobia kicked off yesterday inthe Turkish capital, with most speakers focusing on the legal vacuum insafeguarding the rights of homosexuals in Turkey and abroad.
Zehra Kabasakal, expert on political science and women studies, discussedthe issue in the context of international human rights, complaining thatthe United Nations is lacking a universal charter on the rights ofhomosexuals and that none of the U.N. documents make a direct reference tohomosexuality.
We must recognize the diversity in order to achieve equality for humandignity and we must ensure genuine equality, she told the conferenceaudience. Kabasakal, referring to the two separate milestones at theinternational level on the rights of homosexuals, said one was the removalby the World Health Organization of homosexuality from the list of themental illnesses in May 1990, and the other was the adoption of theYogyakarta Principles in November 2006 which address a broad range ofinternational human rights standards and their application to issues ofsexual orientation and gender identity.
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Forwarded from Wayne Besen
http://www.waynebesen.com/
Weekly Column: Anything But Straight
May 29. 2007
Gay Pride and Putin's Soprano-State
The first sign that Russia's march toward freedom was on a downward spiralcame on June 16, 2001. when George W. Bush said of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be verystraight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was ableto get a sense of his soul."
It turns out that Bush's judgment on Putin was only eclipsed by his decisionthat fateful summer to add "My Pet Goat" to his reading list at theexclusion of a memorandum titled. "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside theUnited States."
Sixteen years after the collapse of communism and only seven years afterPutin's coming to power. Russia is headed in the wrong direction. Putin'scrooked authoritarianism threatens to set off a new Cold War and erase thehard-won era of peace. Indeed. Alexei Bayer. a guest columnist in the St.Petersburg Times. said Putin's rule is noted for its "endemic corruption.rollback of democracy. blatant confiscation of private property and murkypolitical murders."
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South Florida's GLBT Monthly Networking Event supporting
The Human Rights Campaign
CLUB BLUE!
www.hrcclubblue.com
Club Blue is a monthly social and networking event designed to promote theHuman Rights Campaign and its membership in South Florida. It is held onthe first Thursday of each month!
Join the HRC South Florida Committee each month to network with other GLBTprofessionals and to learn about HRC in South Florida!
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Ndtv.com
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070013322
1) Same sex couple threaten suicide in Pak
NDTV Correspondent
Friday, May 25, 2007 (Islamabad)
Facing an almost certain separation and a possible prison term, Pakistan'sfirst known same sex couple has threatened to commit suicide.
The couple appealed to President Pervez Musharraf as well as theinternational community for help.
They were ferreted into court like common criminals. And a court in Lahoresent the couple to jail on the grounds that the husband was actually a womanand same-sex marriages were against Islam.
The husband, 31 year old Shumail Raj had sex-change surgery and agreed tomarry because she feared being forced into wedlock with someone else.
They were arrested last week. '' We don't feel safe in Pakistan.''
''We want to live together. We are not homosexuals,'' said the couple.
If convicted of 'unnatural offence' - a term used for homosexuality - theycould be sentenced to life in prison.
They've appealed to the international community and to President Musharraffor help, yet it seems they are up against massive odds.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/nyregion/30mbrfs-raise.html?r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
May 30, 2007
Metro Briefing | New York
Loudonville: Little Support for Legislative Raise
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Most New York voters do not think state legislators deserve a pay raise,according to a poll released yesterday by the Siena Research Institute atSiena College. Lawmakers have not received a raise since 1999, but the pollfound that 62 percent of voters opposed the increase, while 32 percentsupported it. The telephone survey of 620 voters was conducted May 18-20 andhas a margin of error of four percentage points, the institute said.Pollsters also found that voters were divided on Gov. Eliot Spitzer's callfor legalization of gay marriage, with 43 percent in favor and 47 percentopposed.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Romney-Wealth.html?pagewanted=print
May 30, 2007
Romney Vows to Donate Salary if Elected
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:40 a.m. ET
ALTON, N.H. (AP) -- Republican Mitt Romney said Tuesday he would likelydonate his salary to charity if elected president, a financial freedom hedescribed as a byproduct of a successful business career.
''I never anticipated that I'd be as financially successful as I was, andthen my business went far better than I expected it would,'' Romney told awoman at a Liberty Mutual office in Dover, N.H., when she asked ifmillionaire candidates could resolve government problems in Washington.
''I wouldn't disqualify somebody by virtue of their financial wealth ortheir financial poverty,'' Romney added. ''I would instead look at theirrecord, what they've done with their life and whether they can make adifference, whether the things they have learned will enable them to be aneffective leader.''
A former venture capitalist who headed the 2002 Winter Olympics and servedone term as Massachusetts governor from 2003 to 2007, Romney is thewealthiest of all the candidates, Democrats and Republicans. His assets areestimated at $190 million to $250 million.
Later, speaking with reporters, Romney said he would likely accept thepresidential salary of $400,000 annually but donate the money. Whilegovernor, Romney declined his $135,000 annual salary.
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The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-pb444may30,0,1636527,print.story
Governor's answer on gay adoption
Irving M. Herman
Boca Raton
May 30, 2007
You are only technically accurate in stating on May 18 that "Gov. CharlieCrist answers a Lake Worth reader's question about adoption by gayfamilies." The question was whether the indication in his State of the Statespeech that he would support whatever is best for a child "extended topromoting and signing a bill that allows gay families to adopt." He mighthave avoided a direct answer by noting that he lacked such authority becauseFlorida's prohibition of gay adoption is a statutory one. He chose asimplistic response: "I support the traditional family. I think raising achild in a traditional family is best."
Since the insufficiency of "traditional" folk to enter the market requiresso many children to remain in foster care -- or worse -- his "answer" wasmuch like answering the question, "Do you ever eat poached eggs?" by saying"My favorite form of egg is an omelet."
The least an official owes his constituency is candor, a quality sadlymissing from what you called the governor's "answer."
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The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail918xmay30,0,5642293,print.story
Gay Christians
Jim Feldscher
Fort Lauderdale
May 30, 2007
In her May 13 letter, "Different lives," the author takes William Butte totask because, "He does to Christians what he himself does not want others todo to gays." She does not fully explain what Mr. Butte does or does not want"others to do to gays," but she does describe his "portrayals of Christiandoctrine as something inhumane and mean."
As a gay Christian, I do not find "Christian doctrine" to be mean orinhumane. But when the writer equates "the homosexual lifestyle or otherforms of adulterous behavior," does she claim that she is being loving ndsupportive? (Anyone who speaks of one "homosexual lifestyle" does not knowmany homosexuals!) When she describes gays as "being slaves to someunhealthy and unfulfilling habit," does she believe that she is exhibitingChristian charity?
Whether it's a matter of me finding Jesus or of Jesus finding me, my lifecan be blessed by God even though some would consider me to be "different."
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Ebar.com
http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=1841
Chicago SM club under fire for anti-trans policy
Issue: Vol. 37 / No. 21 / 24 May 2007
Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
As thousands of leathermen head to Chicago for this weekend's InternationalMr. Leather contest, one group won't be welcome at a Windy City gay SMclub - those who are transgender.
Leather transmen and their advocates are putting pressure on the ChicagoHellfire Club, one of the oldest leather and SM clubs in the country, torepeal its 10-year-old policy against female-to-male individuals.
According to David Igasaki, the immediate past president of the HellfireClub and a member for 15 years, "The general rule of thumb is that there hasto be a penile attachment." This means that for transgender men to beinvited to or considered for membership to attend the private play partiesand events they need to complete convertive surgery.
Igasaki told the Bay Area Reporter that he was aware that many FTMs don'tcomplete genital surgery for various reasons, but that he opposed changingthe current policy regarding transmen.
"They don't want to admit women," said Igasaki. "It's not that people areanti-women or personally discriminate against transgender people. It's justthat as a sex club there is a desire to protect a gay environment duringplay."
The Hellfire Club has an estimated 400 members with an annual operatingbudget of over $300,000, according to David Schultz, a member for 10 yearswho supports transmen's inclusion in the club.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid45501.asp
May 30, 2007
American support of gays up significantly
American acceptance of gay rights is at its highest level in 30 years,according to a national poll released Tuesday. A Gallup Poll shows that 59%of Americans believe that "homosexual relations between consenting adults"should be legal. This question, which is part of the Gallup Poll's annualValues and Beliefs survey carried out each May, has been asked every yearsince 1977, when only 43% responded affirmatively.
The largest percentage of Americans voicing support for gays surfaced in May2003, when 60% agreed that gay sex should be legal. Lawrence v. Texas, theJune 2003 Supreme Court ruling that overturned sodomy laws, led to anapparent backlash among the American public regarding gay equality. From2003 to 2005 public support remained at about 50%, increasing to 56% lastyear.
Support for same-sex marriage has also increased to an all-time high.Although supporters are still the minority, 46% believe marriages betweensame-sex couples should be legally validated.
The most support comes in relation to equality in the workplace, with 89%believing that gays "should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities." (The Advocate)
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45487.asp
May 30, 2007
Russian police detain gay activists after demonstration
Russian police detained gay rights activists, among them European lawmakers,as they tried to present a letter to Moscow's mayor Sunday in ademonstration that also attracted a hostile crowd of people who punched andthrew eggs at the activists.
The letter, signed by some 40 European lawmakers, appealed the city's ban ona march that would have taken place Sunday to mark the 14th anniversary ofRussia's decriminalization of homosexuality.
Police quickly grabbed about a dozen demonstrators and forced them into abus, including Russian gay rights movement leader Nikolai Alexeyev. Policethen hustled away others, including German parliament member Volker Beck, asopponents threw eggs and shouted: ''Moscow is not Sodom!''
Marco Cappato, a European parliament deputy from Italy, was kicked by oneopponent as he spoke to journalists. Cappato began shouting ''Where are thepolice? Why don't you protect us?'' and officers hauled him away as hestruggled.
The gay rights activists appeared to number fewer than 100, while roughlythat many police were present.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45488.asp
May 30, 2007
Pakistan court jails same-sex couple
A court in Lahore, Pakistan, on Monday jailed a same-sex couple for threeyears for perjury, prompting the defendants to ask the president for help.
The case of Shumail Raj, who was born female but had two operations toremove her breasts and uterus 16 years ago, and Shahzina Tariq has madewaves by raising issues of homosexuality and transsexuality that are tabooin this conservative Muslim society.
The couple, who married last year, had approached the Lahore high court forprotection against harassment by Tariq's relatives. However, the judgeaccused them of lying about the biological sex of Raj, 31.
Court-appointed doctors examined Raj and decided she was still awoman-something the couple acknowledged later in court. Raj has expressed adesire to go abroad for further surgery.
Presiding judge Kahawaja Mohammed Sharif, announcing their conviction forperjury, said he was issuing a ''lenient'' sentence, below the seven-yearmaximum, because they had apologized.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45502.asp
May 30, 2007
Homeless lesbian sues over shelter denial
A woman who sought housing at a Chicago homeless shelter but was turned awaybecause she is a lesbian is filing a complaint over the matter. MichelleWang, 27, came to the Chicago from Indianapolis last year with her partner,but their relationship ended, leaving her without a home, according to theAmerican Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which is handling her case.
On October 31, 2006, a coworker drove Wang to the city Department of HumanServices. An employee was unable to find a shelter where she could stay thenight and asked her to return the following day. That night Wang stayed inan unheated building and returned to the the department's offices the nextmorning. The employee called and confirmed that New Life Interim Housing,which is operated by a Christian group but receives some city funding, hadbeds available and put Wang on the phone with a New Life staffer.
When the staffer asked Wang why she was homeless, Wang disclosed that hergirlfriend had asked her to leave their apartment when their relationshipended. The staffer put Wang on hold, returning to say that there were nobeds available. The Human Services employee asked a colleague to phone theshelter and check on the availability of beds, and that employee found thatNew Life indeed had space available.
"I am disturbed that I was denied shelter, left to the cold and the dangerbecause of something so trivial," Wang told the Chicago Tribune in anarticle published last week.
The Reverend Bud Ogle, cofounder of the ministry that runs New Life,attributed the incident to a misunderstanding about whether the beds wereavailable, not to antigay discrimination, the Tribune reported. He addedthat he was relying on staffers' word about the matter.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45479.asp
May 30, 2007
Gay rights groups included on Alabama terrorist Web site
The Alabama Department of Homeland Security has taken down a Web site itoperated that included gay rights and antiwar organizations in a list ofgroups that could include terrorists. The Web site identified differenttypes of terrorists and included a list of groups it believed could spawnterrorists. The list also included environmentalists, animal rightsadvocates, and abortion opponents.
The director of the department, Jim Walker, said his agency received anumber of calls and e-mails from people who said they felt the site unfairlytargeted certain people just because of their beliefs. He said he plans toput the Web site back on the Internet but will no longer identify specifictypes of groups.
Howard Bayliss, chairman of the gay and lesbian advocacy group EqualityAlabama, said he doesn't understand why gay rights advocates would be on thelist.
''Our group has only had peaceful demonstrations. I'm deeply concerned we'vebeen profiled in this discriminatory matter,'' Bayliss said.
The site included the groups under a description of what it called''single-issue'' terrorists. That group includes people who feel they aretrying to create a better world, the Web site said. It said that in somecommunities law enforcement officers consider certain single-issue groups tobe a threat.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45494.asp
May 30, 2007
Polish watchdog backs off Teletubbies investigation
Poland's watchdog for children's rights had been quoted as saying she wouldask psychologists to investigate whether one of the characters on the BBCchildren's show Teletubbies is gay. On Tuesday, however, she backed awayfrom her comments.
Ewa Sowinska, Poland's ombudsman for children's rights, said in a Wprostmagazine interview that the Teletubbies character Tinky Winky, who carries apurse, could possibly be promoting homosexuality.
''I noticed that he has a purse, but I didn't realize he's a boy,'' Sowinskatold the magazine in an interview her office approved before publication.''At first I thought that must be a bother for him. Later I learned thatthere could be some hidden homosexual undertones.''
Sowinska said she would ask her office's psychologists to look into theallegations ''and judge whether it can be shown on public television andwhether the suggested problem really exists.''
On Tuesday, however, Sowinska spokeswoman Wieslawa Lipinska told theAssociated Press that Sowinska ''hasn't asked and won't ask'' psychologiststo investigate whether the show promotes homosexuality. ''They are fictionalcharacters. They have nothing to do with reality, and the bag and scissorsand other props the fictional characters use are there to create a fictionalworld that speaks to children,'' Lipinska said. ''We are not going to dealwith this issue anymore.''
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052907salad.htm
Salad Semen Prank Sends Teen To AIDS Center
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 29, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Wheaton, Illinois) A judge has ordered a 17-year-old to pay a $750 fine andperform 120 hours of community service for contaminating salad dressing withsemen and returning it to a suburban Chicago high school's cafeteria.
DuPage County Judge Terence Sheen also placed Marco Castro on two yearsprobation and ordered him to write a letter of apology to Wheaton North HighSchool officials. Castro must complete his community service work for anagency that works with AIDS patients.
Sheen called the prank "beyond stupid." "If you prove to me you're worthy ofanother chance, in two years, then I will give it to you," Sheen said.
Castro pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in connection withthe Dec. 6 incident. He admitted taking a bottle of ranch salad dressingfrom the school cafeteria to the bathroom and ejaculating into it, and thenreturning it to the cafeteria where juniors and seniors eat lunch.
Students reported Castro, and the senior was expelled from Wheaton North.There were no reported cases of illness following the incident.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052907prison.htm
NY Prison Creates Dementia Unit
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 29, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Fishkill, New York) In the day room, white-haired men in robes watch "ThePrice is Right." Out on the balcony, another looks through bars as hefidgets from side to side.
Prisons have been dealing with the special needs of older prisoners foryears, but the one here in Fishkill state prison is considered uniquebecause it specializes in dementia-related conditions.
The unit - 30 beds on the third floor of the prison's medical center - is afirst for New York and possibly the nation, through experts say it likelywon't be the last as more people grow old behind bars.
The unit has the clean-white-wall feel of a nursing home - but for theprison bars. A marker board in the day room includes a picture of a sun witha smiley face and a reminder to "Have a great day." The activity calendarlists puppies on Thursday and bingo on Friday. As long as they behave,patients can wander from their rooms to the day room.
"They're still in prison," said Fishkill superintendent William Connolly."This is just a unique environment within a prison environment."
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/2007/5-25/news/localnews/3740.cfm
First Gay Day Families Weekend to be held in Orlando
New group seeks to provide alternative to circuit parties for families withchildren
By PHIL LAPADULA
May. 25, 2007
Ever since the first Gay Day at Walt Disney World in 1991, conservativereligious groups have criticized gay groups for holding a "coming out party," as the Christian Action Network once described it, in a theme parkthat caters to families with small children. Critics have accused Gay Daysattendees of exposing children to homosexual behavior. Gay Days organizershave denied that any inappropriate behavior takes place in the theme parksthat cater to families.
Well this year, some gay families with children of their own have staked outtheir turf at Gay Days. The first annual Gay Day Families Weekend will beheld June 1 to 3 in Orlando. The weekend's itinerary includes a Milk &Cookies Welcome Party, a Disney Characters Breakfast, a Family Picnic at SeaWorld and a luau with non-alcoholic beverages. The group will also take partin the traditional Gay Day in the Magic Kingdom on Saturday, June 2. Thecomplete schedule of Gay Day Families Weekend is available atwww.gaydayfamily.com.
Yesi Leon, co-producer of Gay Day Families Weekend, said she got the ideaafter attending Girls in Wonderland, the official women's event for OrlandoGay Days.
"A lot of the women with children complained that Gay Days was mostlycircuit parties and that there was nothing for families," Leon said. "Yetthere's no better place to bring families than Orlando because of all thetheme parks. There are not a lot of places that gay families can go in whichthe kids can actually meet other gay families and feel comfortable. Thisgives the kids a chance to play and feel normal."
Leon organized the event with co-producers Alison Burgos of Ultra Events andAmy Alonso of Pandora Events. Gay Day Families Weekend will even include aday-care center, called Treasure Cove, staffed with child-care professionalsand teachers, Leon said.
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chicagotribune.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0705210621may22,1,5787813.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
COMMENTARY
Sex toys: What would Reagan do?
Leonard Pitts, a syndicated columnist based in Washington: Tribune MediaServices
May 22, 2007
"Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem."
-- Ronald Reagan, 1981
Sherri Williams took sex toys to the Supreme Court this month. Again.
The first time was in 2005, but justices declined to hear the case.Williams is hoping for better luck this time. Otherwise, a Valentine's Dayruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will stand, and a ban onthe purchase of sex toys in Alabama -- enacted in 1998 but not enforcedpending the outcome of litigation -- will go into effect.
Any Alabamian seeking an inflatable girlfriend or battery-operated boyfriendwill have to buy it out of state (possession is still legal).But in-state retailers like Williams will be out of business. And getthis: The court reasoned that the ban is constitutional because Alabama hasan interest "in preserving and promoting public morality."
Public. Morality.
Beg your pardon, but unless people were using Williams' merchandise on parkbenches, it's hard to see what public morality has to do with this.
Hard to see anything, in fact, except another government intrusion into themost private and intimate details of our lives. One need not be an Alabamapurveyor of sex toys to be profoundly troubled by that.
And right about now, someone is probably wondering what former PresidentRonald Reagan has to do with this. The quote above comes, of course, fromhis first inaugural address, a declaration of war against a federalgovernment he saw as oversized and overreaching, taxing too heavily,spending too freely and regulating too tightly.
For a long time, Reagan's words were the prime directive of the Americanconservative movement. But something has happened to that movement in the26 years since he spoke. Those who once promised to get government off thebacks of the people, who swore an oath against its intrusion on our lives,now gleefully use it to poke, prod, peer and interfere in the most privateaspects of our existence.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Latest Gallup Poll: Tolerance for Gay Rights at High Ebb
Why is the religious right so invested in promoting the ex-gay movement?
Gallup notes:
"The nature vs. nurture argument about the origin of homosexuality has beenan important element of the gay rights debate over the years, and it isclear why. Americans who believe homosexuals are born with their sexualorientation tend to be much more supportive of gay rights than are those whosay homosexuality is due to upbringing and environment (and therefore,perhaps, more of a lifestyle choice).
"Americans are closely divided today over which of the two explanations iscorrect: 42% say homosexuality is something a person is born with while 35%say it is due to factors such as upbringing and environment. The balance ofpublic opinion on the question has shifted back and forth in recent years,but the long-term pattern shows a clear increase in the view that one'ssexuality is determined at birth."
"As noted, substantive attitudes about homosexual rights are closely relatedto views on this question. For example, nearly four in five of those whobelieve homosexuality is congenital think it should be an acceptablelifestyle. By contrast, only 30% of those who think homosexuality is causedby environmental factors agree."
Jack Drescher, MD
jadres@psychoanalysis.net
http://www.jackdreschermd.net
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Latest From the Gallup News Service
RELIGION AND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Tolerance for Gay Rights at High Ebb -
http://www.gallup.com/nl/?27694,AlertSP,5/29/2007
May 29, 2007
Tolerance for Gay Rights at High Ebb
Public evenly divided over whether homosexuality is morally acceptable orwrong
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, conducted eachMay, finds current public tolerance for gay rights at the high-water mark ofattitudes recorded over the past three decades. There is still considerablepublic opposition to complete equality for gays, particularly with respectto marriage. However, after several years of lower support for gay rights,support is now springing back to the relatively high levels seen in 2003,just before the Supreme Court's June 26, 2003, decision striking down aTexas sodomy law. (According to Gallup trends, that ruling appeared toproduce a backlash of public opposition to gay rights.)
The clearest example of the recent renewal in pro-gay rights attitudes comesfrom a question asking Americans whether they believe homosexual relationsshould be legal. Public tolerance for this aspect of gay rights expandedfrom 43% at the inception of the question in 1977 to 60% in May 2003. Thenin July 2003, it fell to 50% and remained at about that level through 2005.Last year, it jumped to 56% and this year it reached 59%, similar to the2003 high point.
[continues at url http://www.gallup.com/nl/?27694,AlertSP,5/29/2007]
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Turner Classic Movies Screened Out this month
Turner Classic Movies will be showing films during the month of June withgay and lesbian characters (or innuendo). Many of these are tough to indcommercially, so this is a great opportunity to catch them (many in the eehours, unfortunately).
Here is the lesbian related schedule with links to more info on each filmfrom TCM. These are Eastern times, so be sure to check your own schedule.
The Office Wife (1930)
Monday, June 4,2007 3:00 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159634
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Wednesday, June 6,2007 8:00 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=72483
Queen Christina (1933) - Greta Garbo
Wednesday, June 6,2007 1:00 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=29966
Ladies They Talk About (1933) - Barbara Stanwyck
Monday, June 11,2007 9:15 PM
Monday, July 16,2007 8:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=139173
Caged (1950)
Monday, June 11,2007 10:30 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159638
So Young, So Bad (1950)
Monday, June 11,2007 12:15 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159639
Women's Prison (1955)
Monday, June 11,2007 4:00 AM
Tuesday, June 19,2007 5:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159641
The Uninvited (1944)
Monday, June 18,2007 8:00 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=87872
Voodoo Island (1957)
Monday, June 18,2007 12:00 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=91120
&mainArticleId=159623
The Haunting (1963)
Monday, June 18,2007 1:30 AM
Thursday, July 19,2007 1:00 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=419
The Seventh Victim (1943)
Monday, June 18,2007 3:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=449
Sylvia Scarlett (1935) - Katharine Hepburn
Wednesday, June 20,2007 9:30 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=12762
Turnabout (1940)
Wednesday, June 20,2007 11:15 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=155278
The Children's Hour (1961) - Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine
Monday, June 25,2007 10:15 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=1109
Walk on the Wild Side (1962) - Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Fonda
Wednesday, June 27,2007 10:30 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=76250
The Fox (1967)
Wednesday, June 27,2007 12:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159648
The Killing of Sister George (1968)
Wednesday, June 27,2007 2:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159650
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
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EdWeek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/05/29/39apreligion_web.h26.html?
Education Week
Published Online: May 29, 2007
Texas Religious Expression Bill Advances
By The Associated Press
Austin
Texas students would have greater freedom to express their religious viewson school campuses under a bill passed Saturday by the House and sent toGov. Rick Perry, who has publicly supported the measure.
Under the legislation, religious beliefs expressed in homework, artwork andother assignments would be judged by traditional academic standards.Students couldn't be penalized or rewarded because of the religious content
of their work.
Supporters say the bill is needed to protect students from censorship andschool districts from lawsuits. But opponents argue it will lead toreligious discrimination among students.
other stories on education issues in Texas. See data on Texas' public schoolsystem.
"We are allowing our young people to express their faith, whatever thatfaith is," said Rep. Larry Phillips, a Sherman Republican.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
The Swedish government today made an official announcement published ontheir homepage: http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/9108/a/83041 regarding MoscowPride.
The text very rapidly translated into English is the following:
Swedish government regarding the Moscow incidents
The Swedish government looks very serious at what happened in Moscow May27th when a demonstration, with out police permittance, were held to protestagainst the city´s ban against gay parades. Protesters were, according tointernational media and eye witnesses, exposed for violence from Russianpolice and counterprotesters. One of the organizers and several foreignpoliticians were seized during the tumult.
- The fact that the demonstration for human rights for LGBT persons did nothave a permit should not be taken as a cause to view the participants asfair game, says integration and equality minister Nyamko Sabuni ,who also isthe government´s minister for human rights, including LGBT questions. Weexpect us that Russia, as a member in the European Council, shall live up toit´s democratic core principles.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
Luke Harding in Moscow
Tuesday May 29, 2007
Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,2090147,00.html
A senior British diplomat has been beaten by two unidentified assailantswhile on an official trip in provincial Russia. Nigel Gould-Davies, firstsecretary at the British embassy in Moscow, was attacked at 1am on Saturdayas he walked across the theatre square in the Siberian city of Chita, policesaid.
Mr Gould-Davies needed hospital treatment for bruises to his face. Hisglasses were broken in the attack and he was unable to see his assailants,police said.
The beating is the second assault on Britons in Russia in two days, andfollows an attack on Sunday by anti-homosexual protesters on the Britishhuman rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. Mr Tatchell was punched, knocked tothe ground, and kicked while protesting about gay rights with a group ofEuropean parliamentarians. Yesterday embassy officials described the attackon Mr Gould-Davies as a random assault carried out by drunken teenagerscelebrating the end of the school year.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
TUBBY TROUBLE: Poland is investigating television show the Teletubbies overclaims they might promote homosexuality.
Poland's conservative government took its drive to curb what it sees ashomosexual propaganda to the small screen, taking aim at Tinky Winky and theother Teletubbies.
Ewa Sowinska, government-appointed children rights watchdog, told alocal magazine published on Monday she was concerned the popular BBCchildren's show promoted homosexuality.
She said she would ask psychologists to advise if this was the case.
In comments reminiscent of criticism by the late US evangelist JerryFalwell, she was quoted as saying: "I noticed (Tinky Winky) has a lady'spurse, but I didn't realize he's a boy."
"At first I thought the purse would be a burden for this Teletubby . . .Later I learned that this may have a homosexual undertone."
Poland's rightist government has upset human rights groups and drawncriticism within the European Union by apparent discrimination againsthomosexuals.
Polish Education Minister Roman Giertych has proposed laws sackingteachers who promote "homosexual lifestyle" and banning "homo-agitation" inschools.
But in a sign that the government wants to distance itself fromSowinska's comments, Parliamentary Speaker Ludwig Dorn said he had warnedher against making public comments "that may turn her department into alaughing stock".
The 10-year-old Teletubbies, which features four rotund, brightlycoloured characters loved by children around the world, became a target ofreligious conservatives after Falwell suggested Tinky Winky could behomosexual.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer Groups
euro-queer@groups.queernet.org
Wednesday May 30, 2007
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2091014,00.html
From the suffragettes to the Montgomery bus boycotters, history is litteredwith characters who kick-start progress by being awkward - and awkwardnessis something Peter Tatchell has in spades. Whether he is interrupting theArchbishop of Canterbury's sermon or attempting a citizen's arrest of RobertMugabe, the gay-rights campaigner is always up to something that theestablishment does not like - which for Tatchell is precisely the point. Hisbrand of megaphone politics is unattractive to many, but after his defiantresponse to being beaten by thugs in Russia at the weekend, not even criticscan deny that he is brave.
In one campaign, widely damned for interfering in people's private affairs,he demanded that 10 Church of England bishops declare their homosexuality.Tatchell saw the tactic as a weapon of defence against ecclesiasticalbigotry - and claims that afterwards the church toughened its line ondiscrimination. Where hypocrisy is not an issue, Tatchell now defends theright of people to keep their sexuality to themselves. He has also shownthat he can bury the hatchet, endorsing Simon Hughes for the LiberalDemocrat leadership two decades after Hughes beat him in a bitter byelectionovershadowed by prejudice. His sympathies are consistently leftist, butTatchell is never blinded by tribal loyalties - he has condemned the machotactics of the NUM and the homophobia of Fidel Castro. It is all part of themaverick mix that has stirred up trouble everywhere.
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In Ankara, Turkey International meeting against homophobia under way
Int'l meeting against homophobia under way
May 18, 2007
Turkish Daily News
A two-day international meeting against homophobia kicked off yesterday inthe Turkish capital, with most speakers focusing on the legal vacuum insafeguarding the rights of homosexuals in Turkey and abroad.
Zehra Kabasakal, expert on political science and women studies, discussedthe issue in the context of international human rights, complaining thatthe United Nations is lacking a universal charter on the rights ofhomosexuals and that none of the U.N. documents make a direct reference tohomosexuality.
We must recognize the diversity in order to achieve equality for humandignity and we must ensure genuine equality, she told the conferenceaudience. Kabasakal, referring to the two separate milestones at theinternational level on the rights of homosexuals, said one was the removalby the World Health Organization of homosexuality from the list of themental illnesses in May 1990, and the other was the adoption of theYogyakarta Principles in November 2006 which address a broad range ofinternational human rights standards and their application to issues ofsexual orientation and gender identity.
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Forwarded from Wayne Besen
http://www.waynebesen.com/
Weekly Column: Anything But Straight
May 29. 2007
Gay Pride and Putin's Soprano-State
The first sign that Russia's march toward freedom was on a downward spiralcame on June 16, 2001. when George W. Bush said of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be verystraight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was ableto get a sense of his soul."
It turns out that Bush's judgment on Putin was only eclipsed by his decisionthat fateful summer to add "My Pet Goat" to his reading list at theexclusion of a memorandum titled. "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside theUnited States."
Sixteen years after the collapse of communism and only seven years afterPutin's coming to power. Russia is headed in the wrong direction. Putin'scrooked authoritarianism threatens to set off a new Cold War and erase thehard-won era of peace. Indeed. Alexei Bayer. a guest columnist in the St.Petersburg Times. said Putin's rule is noted for its "endemic corruption.rollback of democracy. blatant confiscation of private property and murkypolitical murders."
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South Florida's GLBT Monthly Networking Event supporting
The Human Rights Campaign
CLUB BLUE!
www.hrcclubblue.com
Club Blue is a monthly social and networking event designed to promote theHuman Rights Campaign and its membership in South Florida. It is held onthe first Thursday of each month!
Join the HRC South Florida Committee each month to network with other GLBTprofessionals and to learn about HRC in South Florida!
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Ndtv.com
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070013322
1) Same sex couple threaten suicide in Pak
NDTV Correspondent
Friday, May 25, 2007 (Islamabad)
Facing an almost certain separation and a possible prison term, Pakistan'sfirst known same sex couple has threatened to commit suicide.
The couple appealed to President Pervez Musharraf as well as theinternational community for help.
They were ferreted into court like common criminals. And a court in Lahoresent the couple to jail on the grounds that the husband was actually a womanand same-sex marriages were against Islam.
The husband, 31 year old Shumail Raj had sex-change surgery and agreed tomarry because she feared being forced into wedlock with someone else.
They were arrested last week. '' We don't feel safe in Pakistan.''
''We want to live together. We are not homosexuals,'' said the couple.
If convicted of 'unnatural offence' - a term used for homosexuality - theycould be sentenced to life in prison.
They've appealed to the international community and to President Musharraffor help, yet it seems they are up against massive odds.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/nyregion/30mbrfs-raise.html?r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
May 30, 2007
Metro Briefing | New York
Loudonville: Little Support for Legislative Raise
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Most New York voters do not think state legislators deserve a pay raise,according to a poll released yesterday by the Siena Research Institute atSiena College. Lawmakers have not received a raise since 1999, but the pollfound that 62 percent of voters opposed the increase, while 32 percentsupported it. The telephone survey of 620 voters was conducted May 18-20 andhas a margin of error of four percentage points, the institute said.Pollsters also found that voters were divided on Gov. Eliot Spitzer's callfor legalization of gay marriage, with 43 percent in favor and 47 percentopposed.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Romney-Wealth.html?pagewanted=print
May 30, 2007
Romney Vows to Donate Salary if Elected
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:40 a.m. ET
ALTON, N.H. (AP) -- Republican Mitt Romney said Tuesday he would likelydonate his salary to charity if elected president, a financial freedom hedescribed as a byproduct of a successful business career.
''I never anticipated that I'd be as financially successful as I was, andthen my business went far better than I expected it would,'' Romney told awoman at a Liberty Mutual office in Dover, N.H., when she asked ifmillionaire candidates could resolve government problems in Washington.
''I wouldn't disqualify somebody by virtue of their financial wealth ortheir financial poverty,'' Romney added. ''I would instead look at theirrecord, what they've done with their life and whether they can make adifference, whether the things they have learned will enable them to be aneffective leader.''
A former venture capitalist who headed the 2002 Winter Olympics and servedone term as Massachusetts governor from 2003 to 2007, Romney is thewealthiest of all the candidates, Democrats and Republicans. His assets areestimated at $190 million to $250 million.
Later, speaking with reporters, Romney said he would likely accept thepresidential salary of $400,000 annually but donate the money. Whilegovernor, Romney declined his $135,000 annual salary.
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The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-pb444may30,0,1636527,print.story
Governor's answer on gay adoption
Irving M. Herman
Boca Raton
May 30, 2007
You are only technically accurate in stating on May 18 that "Gov. CharlieCrist answers a Lake Worth reader's question about adoption by gayfamilies." The question was whether the indication in his State of the Statespeech that he would support whatever is best for a child "extended topromoting and signing a bill that allows gay families to adopt." He mighthave avoided a direct answer by noting that he lacked such authority becauseFlorida's prohibition of gay adoption is a statutory one. He chose asimplistic response: "I support the traditional family. I think raising achild in a traditional family is best."
Since the insufficiency of "traditional" folk to enter the market requiresso many children to remain in foster care -- or worse -- his "answer" wasmuch like answering the question, "Do you ever eat poached eggs?" by saying"My favorite form of egg is an omelet."
The least an official owes his constituency is candor, a quality sadlymissing from what you called the governor's "answer."
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The Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail918xmay30,0,5642293,print.story
Gay Christians
Jim Feldscher
Fort Lauderdale
May 30, 2007
In her May 13 letter, "Different lives," the author takes William Butte totask because, "He does to Christians what he himself does not want others todo to gays." She does not fully explain what Mr. Butte does or does not want"others to do to gays," but she does describe his "portrayals of Christiandoctrine as something inhumane and mean."
As a gay Christian, I do not find "Christian doctrine" to be mean orinhumane. But when the writer equates "the homosexual lifestyle or otherforms of adulterous behavior," does she claim that she is being loving ndsupportive? (Anyone who speaks of one "homosexual lifestyle" does not knowmany homosexuals!) When she describes gays as "being slaves to someunhealthy and unfulfilling habit," does she believe that she is exhibitingChristian charity?
Whether it's a matter of me finding Jesus or of Jesus finding me, my lifecan be blessed by God even though some would consider me to be "different."
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Ebar.com
http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=1841
Chicago SM club under fire for anti-trans policy
Issue: Vol. 37 / No. 21 / 24 May 2007
Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
As thousands of leathermen head to Chicago for this weekend's InternationalMr. Leather contest, one group won't be welcome at a Windy City gay SMclub - those who are transgender.
Leather transmen and their advocates are putting pressure on the ChicagoHellfire Club, one of the oldest leather and SM clubs in the country, torepeal its 10-year-old policy against female-to-male individuals.
According to David Igasaki, the immediate past president of the HellfireClub and a member for 15 years, "The general rule of thumb is that there hasto be a penile attachment." This means that for transgender men to beinvited to or considered for membership to attend the private play partiesand events they need to complete convertive surgery.
Igasaki told the Bay Area Reporter that he was aware that many FTMs don'tcomplete genital surgery for various reasons, but that he opposed changingthe current policy regarding transmen.
"They don't want to admit women," said Igasaki. "It's not that people areanti-women or personally discriminate against transgender people. It's justthat as a sex club there is a desire to protect a gay environment duringplay."
The Hellfire Club has an estimated 400 members with an annual operatingbudget of over $300,000, according to David Schultz, a member for 10 yearswho supports transmen's inclusion in the club.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid45501.asp
May 30, 2007
American support of gays up significantly
American acceptance of gay rights is at its highest level in 30 years,according to a national poll released Tuesday. A Gallup Poll shows that 59%of Americans believe that "homosexual relations between consenting adults"should be legal. This question, which is part of the Gallup Poll's annualValues and Beliefs survey carried out each May, has been asked every yearsince 1977, when only 43% responded affirmatively.
The largest percentage of Americans voicing support for gays surfaced in May2003, when 60% agreed that gay sex should be legal. Lawrence v. Texas, theJune 2003 Supreme Court ruling that overturned sodomy laws, led to anapparent backlash among the American public regarding gay equality. From2003 to 2005 public support remained at about 50%, increasing to 56% lastyear.
Support for same-sex marriage has also increased to an all-time high.Although supporters are still the minority, 46% believe marriages betweensame-sex couples should be legally validated.
The most support comes in relation to equality in the workplace, with 89%believing that gays "should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities." (The Advocate)
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45487.asp
May 30, 2007
Russian police detain gay activists after demonstration
Russian police detained gay rights activists, among them European lawmakers,as they tried to present a letter to Moscow's mayor Sunday in ademonstration that also attracted a hostile crowd of people who punched andthrew eggs at the activists.
The letter, signed by some 40 European lawmakers, appealed the city's ban ona march that would have taken place Sunday to mark the 14th anniversary ofRussia's decriminalization of homosexuality.
Police quickly grabbed about a dozen demonstrators and forced them into abus, including Russian gay rights movement leader Nikolai Alexeyev. Policethen hustled away others, including German parliament member Volker Beck, asopponents threw eggs and shouted: ''Moscow is not Sodom!''
Marco Cappato, a European parliament deputy from Italy, was kicked by oneopponent as he spoke to journalists. Cappato began shouting ''Where are thepolice? Why don't you protect us?'' and officers hauled him away as hestruggled.
The gay rights activists appeared to number fewer than 100, while roughlythat many police were present.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45488.asp
May 30, 2007
Pakistan court jails same-sex couple
A court in Lahore, Pakistan, on Monday jailed a same-sex couple for threeyears for perjury, prompting the defendants to ask the president for help.
The case of Shumail Raj, who was born female but had two operations toremove her breasts and uterus 16 years ago, and Shahzina Tariq has madewaves by raising issues of homosexuality and transsexuality that are tabooin this conservative Muslim society.
The couple, who married last year, had approached the Lahore high court forprotection against harassment by Tariq's relatives. However, the judgeaccused them of lying about the biological sex of Raj, 31.
Court-appointed doctors examined Raj and decided she was still awoman-something the couple acknowledged later in court. Raj has expressed adesire to go abroad for further surgery.
Presiding judge Kahawaja Mohammed Sharif, announcing their conviction forperjury, said he was issuing a ''lenient'' sentence, below the seven-yearmaximum, because they had apologized.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45502.asp
May 30, 2007
Homeless lesbian sues over shelter denial
A woman who sought housing at a Chicago homeless shelter but was turned awaybecause she is a lesbian is filing a complaint over the matter. MichelleWang, 27, came to the Chicago from Indianapolis last year with her partner,but their relationship ended, leaving her without a home, according to theAmerican Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which is handling her case.
On October 31, 2006, a coworker drove Wang to the city Department of HumanServices. An employee was unable to find a shelter where she could stay thenight and asked her to return the following day. That night Wang stayed inan unheated building and returned to the the department's offices the nextmorning. The employee called and confirmed that New Life Interim Housing,which is operated by a Christian group but receives some city funding, hadbeds available and put Wang on the phone with a New Life staffer.
When the staffer asked Wang why she was homeless, Wang disclosed that hergirlfriend had asked her to leave their apartment when their relationshipended. The staffer put Wang on hold, returning to say that there were nobeds available. The Human Services employee asked a colleague to phone theshelter and check on the availability of beds, and that employee found thatNew Life indeed had space available.
"I am disturbed that I was denied shelter, left to the cold and the dangerbecause of something so trivial," Wang told the Chicago Tribune in anarticle published last week.
The Reverend Bud Ogle, cofounder of the ministry that runs New Life,attributed the incident to a misunderstanding about whether the beds wereavailable, not to antigay discrimination, the Tribune reported. He addedthat he was relying on staffers' word about the matter.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45479.asp
May 30, 2007
Gay rights groups included on Alabama terrorist Web site
The Alabama Department of Homeland Security has taken down a Web site itoperated that included gay rights and antiwar organizations in a list ofgroups that could include terrorists. The Web site identified differenttypes of terrorists and included a list of groups it believed could spawnterrorists. The list also included environmentalists, animal rightsadvocates, and abortion opponents.
The director of the department, Jim Walker, said his agency received anumber of calls and e-mails from people who said they felt the site unfairlytargeted certain people just because of their beliefs. He said he plans toput the Web site back on the Internet but will no longer identify specifictypes of groups.
Howard Bayliss, chairman of the gay and lesbian advocacy group EqualityAlabama, said he doesn't understand why gay rights advocates would be on thelist.
''Our group has only had peaceful demonstrations. I'm deeply concerned we'vebeen profiled in this discriminatory matter,'' Bayliss said.
The site included the groups under a description of what it called''single-issue'' terrorists. That group includes people who feel they aretrying to create a better world, the Web site said. It said that in somecommunities law enforcement officers consider certain single-issue groups tobe a threat.
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The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid45494.asp
May 30, 2007
Polish watchdog backs off Teletubbies investigation
Poland's watchdog for children's rights had been quoted as saying she wouldask psychologists to investigate whether one of the characters on the BBCchildren's show Teletubbies is gay. On Tuesday, however, she backed awayfrom her comments.
Ewa Sowinska, Poland's ombudsman for children's rights, said in a Wprostmagazine interview that the Teletubbies character Tinky Winky, who carries apurse, could possibly be promoting homosexuality.
''I noticed that he has a purse, but I didn't realize he's a boy,'' Sowinskatold the magazine in an interview her office approved before publication.''At first I thought that must be a bother for him. Later I learned thatthere could be some hidden homosexual undertones.''
Sowinska said she would ask her office's psychologists to look into theallegations ''and judge whether it can be shown on public television andwhether the suggested problem really exists.''
On Tuesday, however, Sowinska spokeswoman Wieslawa Lipinska told theAssociated Press that Sowinska ''hasn't asked and won't ask'' psychologiststo investigate whether the show promotes homosexuality. ''They are fictionalcharacters. They have nothing to do with reality, and the bag and scissorsand other props the fictional characters use are there to create a fictionalworld that speaks to children,'' Lipinska said. ''We are not going to dealwith this issue anymore.''
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052907salad.htm
Salad Semen Prank Sends Teen To AIDS Center
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 29, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Wheaton, Illinois) A judge has ordered a 17-year-old to pay a $750 fine andperform 120 hours of community service for contaminating salad dressing withsemen and returning it to a suburban Chicago high school's cafeteria.
DuPage County Judge Terence Sheen also placed Marco Castro on two yearsprobation and ordered him to write a letter of apology to Wheaton North HighSchool officials. Castro must complete his community service work for anagency that works with AIDS patients.
Sheen called the prank "beyond stupid." "If you prove to me you're worthy ofanother chance, in two years, then I will give it to you," Sheen said.
Castro pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in connection withthe Dec. 6 incident. He admitted taking a bottle of ranch salad dressingfrom the school cafeteria to the bathroom and ejaculating into it, and thenreturning it to the cafeteria where juniors and seniors eat lunch.
Students reported Castro, and the senior was expelled from Wheaton North.There were no reported cases of illness following the incident.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052907prison.htm
NY Prison Creates Dementia Unit
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 29, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Fishkill, New York) In the day room, white-haired men in robes watch "ThePrice is Right." Out on the balcony, another looks through bars as hefidgets from side to side.
Prisons have been dealing with the special needs of older prisoners foryears, but the one here in Fishkill state prison is considered uniquebecause it specializes in dementia-related conditions.
The unit - 30 beds on the third floor of the prison's medical center - is afirst for New York and possibly the nation, through experts say it likelywon't be the last as more people grow old behind bars.
The unit has the clean-white-wall feel of a nursing home - but for theprison bars. A marker board in the day room includes a picture of a sun witha smiley face and a reminder to "Have a great day." The activity calendarlists puppies on Thursday and bingo on Friday. As long as they behave,patients can wander from their rooms to the day room.
"They're still in prison," said Fishkill superintendent William Connolly."This is just a unique environment within a prison environment."
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The Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/2007/5-25/news/localnews/3740.cfm
First Gay Day Families Weekend to be held in Orlando
New group seeks to provide alternative to circuit parties for families withchildren
By PHIL LAPADULA
May. 25, 2007
Ever since the first Gay Day at Walt Disney World in 1991, conservativereligious groups have criticized gay groups for holding a "coming out party," as the Christian Action Network once described it, in a theme parkthat caters to families with small children. Critics have accused Gay Daysattendees of exposing children to homosexual behavior. Gay Days organizershave denied that any inappropriate behavior takes place in the theme parksthat cater to families.
Well this year, some gay families with children of their own have staked outtheir turf at Gay Days. The first annual Gay Day Families Weekend will beheld June 1 to 3 in Orlando. The weekend's itinerary includes a Milk &Cookies Welcome Party, a Disney Characters Breakfast, a Family Picnic at SeaWorld and a luau with non-alcoholic beverages. The group will also take partin the traditional Gay Day in the Magic Kingdom on Saturday, June 2. Thecomplete schedule of Gay Day Families Weekend is available atwww.gaydayfamily.com.
Yesi Leon, co-producer of Gay Day Families Weekend, said she got the ideaafter attending Girls in Wonderland, the official women's event for OrlandoGay Days.
"A lot of the women with children complained that Gay Days was mostlycircuit parties and that there was nothing for families," Leon said. "Yetthere's no better place to bring families than Orlando because of all thetheme parks. There are not a lot of places that gay families can go in whichthe kids can actually meet other gay families and feel comfortable. Thisgives the kids a chance to play and feel normal."
Leon organized the event with co-producers Alison Burgos of Ultra Events andAmy Alonso of Pandora Events. Gay Day Families Weekend will even include aday-care center, called Treasure Cove, staffed with child-care professionalsand teachers, Leon said.
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chicagotribune.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0705210621may22,1,5787813.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
COMMENTARY
Sex toys: What would Reagan do?
Leonard Pitts, a syndicated columnist based in Washington: Tribune MediaServices
May 22, 2007
"Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem."
-- Ronald Reagan, 1981
Sherri Williams took sex toys to the Supreme Court this month. Again.
The first time was in 2005, but justices declined to hear the case.Williams is hoping for better luck this time. Otherwise, a Valentine's Dayruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will stand, and a ban onthe purchase of sex toys in Alabama -- enacted in 1998 but not enforcedpending the outcome of litigation -- will go into effect.
Any Alabamian seeking an inflatable girlfriend or battery-operated boyfriendwill have to buy it out of state (possession is still legal).But in-state retailers like Williams will be out of business. And getthis: The court reasoned that the ban is constitutional because Alabama hasan interest "in preserving and promoting public morality."
Public. Morality.
Beg your pardon, but unless people were using Williams' merchandise on parkbenches, it's hard to see what public morality has to do with this.
Hard to see anything, in fact, except another government intrusion into themost private and intimate details of our lives. One need not be an Alabamapurveyor of sex toys to be profoundly troubled by that.
And right about now, someone is probably wondering what former PresidentRonald Reagan has to do with this. The quote above comes, of course, fromhis first inaugural address, a declaration of war against a federalgovernment he saw as oversized and overreaching, taxing too heavily,spending too freely and regulating too tightly.
For a long time, Reagan's words were the prime directive of the Americanconservative movement. But something has happened to that movement in the26 years since he spoke. Those who once promised to get government off thebacks of the people, who swore an oath against its intrusion on our lives,now gleefully use it to poke, prod, peer and interfere in the most privateaspects of our existence.
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Latest Gallup Poll: Tolerance for Gay Rights at High Ebb
Why is the religious right so invested in promoting the ex-gay movement?
Gallup notes:
"The nature vs. nurture argument about the origin of homosexuality has beenan important element of the gay rights debate over the years, and it isclear why. Americans who believe homosexuals are born with their sexualorientation tend to be much more supportive of gay rights than are those whosay homosexuality is due to upbringing and environment (and therefore,perhaps, more of a lifestyle choice).
"Americans are closely divided today over which of the two explanations iscorrect: 42% say homosexuality is something a person is born with while 35%say it is due to factors such as upbringing and environment. The balance ofpublic opinion on the question has shifted back and forth in recent years,but the long-term pattern shows a clear increase in the view that one'ssexuality is determined at birth."
"As noted, substantive attitudes about homosexual rights are closely relatedto views on this question. For example, nearly four in five of those whobelieve homosexuality is congenital think it should be an acceptablelifestyle. By contrast, only 30% of those who think homosexuality is causedby environmental factors agree."
Jack Drescher, MD
jadres@psychoanalysis.net
http://www.jackdreschermd.net
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Latest From the Gallup News Service
RELIGION AND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Tolerance for Gay Rights at High Ebb -
http://www.gallup.com/nl/?27694,AlertSP,5/29/2007
May 29, 2007
Tolerance for Gay Rights at High Ebb
Public evenly divided over whether homosexuality is morally acceptable orwrong
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, conducted eachMay, finds current public tolerance for gay rights at the high-water mark ofattitudes recorded over the past three decades. There is still considerablepublic opposition to complete equality for gays, particularly with respectto marriage. However, after several years of lower support for gay rights,support is now springing back to the relatively high levels seen in 2003,just before the Supreme Court's June 26, 2003, decision striking down aTexas sodomy law. (According to Gallup trends, that ruling appeared toproduce a backlash of public opposition to gay rights.)
The clearest example of the recent renewal in pro-gay rights attitudes comesfrom a question asking Americans whether they believe homosexual relationsshould be legal. Public tolerance for this aspect of gay rights expandedfrom 43% at the inception of the question in 1977 to 60% in May 2003. Thenin July 2003, it fell to 50% and remained at about that level through 2005.Last year, it jumped to 56% and this year it reached 59%, similar to the2003 high point.
[continues at url http://www.gallup.com/nl/?27694,AlertSP,5/29/2007]
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Turner Classic Movies Screened Out this month
Turner Classic Movies will be showing films during the month of June withgay and lesbian characters (or innuendo). Many of these are tough to indcommercially, so this is a great opportunity to catch them (many in the eehours, unfortunately).
Here is the lesbian related schedule with links to more info on each filmfrom TCM. These are Eastern times, so be sure to check your own schedule.
The Office Wife (1930)
Monday, June 4,2007 3:00 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159634
The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Wednesday, June 6,2007 8:00 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=72483
Queen Christina (1933) - Greta Garbo
Wednesday, June 6,2007 1:00 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=29966
Ladies They Talk About (1933) - Barbara Stanwyck
Monday, June 11,2007 9:15 PM
Monday, July 16,2007 8:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=139173
Caged (1950)
Monday, June 11,2007 10:30 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159638
So Young, So Bad (1950)
Monday, June 11,2007 12:15 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159639
Women's Prison (1955)
Monday, June 11,2007 4:00 AM
Tuesday, June 19,2007 5:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159641
The Uninvited (1944)
Monday, June 18,2007 8:00 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=87872
Voodoo Island (1957)
Monday, June 18,2007 12:00 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=91120
&mainArticleId=159623
The Haunting (1963)
Monday, June 18,2007 1:30 AM
Thursday, July 19,2007 1:00 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=419
The Seventh Victim (1943)
Monday, June 18,2007 3:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=449
Sylvia Scarlett (1935) - Katharine Hepburn
Wednesday, June 20,2007 9:30 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=12762
Turnabout (1940)
Wednesday, June 20,2007 11:15 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=155278
The Children's Hour (1961) - Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine
Monday, June 25,2007 10:15 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=1109
Walk on the Wild Side (1962) - Barbara Stanwyck, Jane Fonda
Wednesday, June 27,2007 10:30 PM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=76250
The Fox (1967)
Wednesday, June 27,2007 12:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159648
The Killing of Sister George (1968)
Wednesday, June 27,2007 2:30 AM
http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=159650
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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
GLBT DIGEST May 29, 2007
**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cgayjamaicans29may29,0,6285044,print.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
Fort Lauderdale church faces furor for starting gay congregation in Jamaica
By Alva James-Johnson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 29, 2007
The Rev. Grant Lynn Ford appeared on a recent Caribbean radio program hopingto improve relations between Jamaicans in South Florida and the gay andlesbian community.
Instead, the pastor from Sunshine Cathedral, which recently started a gayand lesbian congregation in Jamaica, endured a hostile radio audience.
Jamaican callers chastised him for promoting homosexuality in their country.One caller said Ford would get a bullet through his head if he set foot onthe island.
"What surprised me was the violence of it, and saying it on public radio,"Ford said. "I probably wouldn't invite any of them to my next family picnic.I might be the roasted pig."
The incident highlights a clash of cultures between gays and lesbians inSouth Florida and some in the Jamaican-American community as reports ofhomophobic violence flow from the Caribbean island. The tension is furtherfueled by anti-gay lyrics found in popular reggae music, which many gay andlesbians find offensive.
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Join South Florida Social Circle & lots of Others on Peter Burke's TeaCruise
South Florida Social Circle sets sail Sunday, July 1st for a 3 hour cruise
Deadline to get the for 2 for 1 South Florida Social Circle Special Priceis: Friday, June 1st
South Florida Social Circle is joining Peter Burke's Tea Cruise on Sunday,July 1st at 3PM. Boarding starts at 2:30PM and anchors away at 3PM. Alltickets 2-4-1 with reservation No later than Friday, June 1st, In order toget the 2 for 1 price of 2 tickets for $30, Call Peter directly at (954)649-1107, otherwise the cost is $25 per person with a reservation in advanceand $30 at the pier if space is still available (people have been turnedaway at the pier). Free parking, Free food, Hot dancers and D.J. Marcio! &cash bar, ---And of Course A FABULOUS Time with South Florida Social Circle.For Reservations Call Peter @ (954) 649-1107(credit cards accepted).
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/opinion/l29gay.html?pagewanted=print
May 29, 2007
Gay Marriage in New York (1 Letter)
To the Editor:
Re "Legal Status Brings Security to Some Same-Sex Marriages" (news article,May 22):
It is heartening to learn that a judge in Massachusetts has ruled in favorof same-sex couples from New York who went to the state in pursuit oflegally recognized unions.
As one of five plaintiff couples in Hernandez v. Robles, Lambda Legal'shistoric lawsuit seeking marriage equality for same-sex couples in New YorkState, we are acutely aware of the importance of any level of legal sanctionfor gay and lesbian relationships.
Same-sex couples in New York seek nothing more than the same recognition andrights as those available to our counterparts in Massachusetts and thatheterosexuals take for granted. This will involve, in no small part, workingto change hearts and minds.
Let's hope that the State Legislature does what the Court of Appeals failedto do: grant equal civil marriage protections for all New Yorkers.
Jo-Ann Shain
May Jo Kennedy
Brooklyn, May 22, 2007
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/washington/29district.html?pagewanted=print
May 29, 2007
Alone in a City's AIDS Battle, Hoping for Backup
By IAN URBINA
WASHINGTON, May 28 - The nation's capital is the only city in the countrybarred by federal law from using local tax money to finance needle exchangeprograms. It is also the city with the fastest-growing number of new AIDScases.
These two facts keep Ron Daniels on the move, tirelessly driving his ricketyWinnebago from drug corner to drug corner across the rougher parts of thiscity, counseling the addicted and swapping clean needles for dirty ones.
Faced with an AIDS problem growing here at a rate 10 times the nationalaverage, Mr. Daniels, the director of Prevention Works, the city's onlyneedle exchange program, is armed with a shoestring budget of $385,000 inprivate donations, a small fraction of what programs in other major citiesreceive in state and local money.
Since Washington is not part of a state, Congress controls the city's localsystem of government, and for nearly a decade members of the House, citingconcerns about worsening drug abuse, have inserted language into the billapproving the city's budget to prohibit financing such programs.
That may soon change.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/world/europe/29briefs-tinkywinky.html?pagewanted=print
May 29, 2007
World Briefing | Europe
Poland: Tinky Winky Outed Again
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The government-appointed children's rights watchdog, Ewa Sowinska, told thenewsmagazine Wprost that she was concerned that the children's televisionseries "Teletubbies" promoted homosexuality. She said she had noticed thatthe purple Teletubby, Tinky Winky, had "a lady's purse, but I didn't realizehe's a boy." When she did, she continued: "I thought the purse would be aburden. Later I learned that this may have a homosexual undertone." Poland'sconservative government has drawn criticism within the European Union forapparent discrimination against homosexuals. Rev. Jerry Falwell, theAmerican fundamentalist, was ridiculed for suggesting in 1999 that the show's
creators intended Tinky Winky to be a gay role model. He also made the pointthat the bag, described by the characters' licenser as a magic bag,resembled a purse.
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-yn/content/article/2007/05/28/AR2007052801052_pf.html
Losing Focus
Why Does This Presidential Field Seem So Blurry?
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, May 29, 2007; A13
The presidential candidates of both parties have been campaigning for monthsnow, introducing themselves to the nation. So why do so many of them seem toget progressively fuzzier and less distinct, like photographs left out inthe sun? Is it the process that's causing this steady attenuation, or doesthe problem lie with the candidates themselves?
There are two major exceptions to the general rule I've just posited.Hillary Clinton and John McCain are as vivid as the subjects of the artistChuck Close's hyperrealist portraits, in which you can see every wrinkle,every blotch, every pore. The problem is that when people know exactly whoyou are, or think they do, they tend to form hard and fast opinions. Thereare so many Democrats who "just don't like Hillary Clinton" and so manyRepublicans who "just don't like John McCain" that the two candidates onceconsidered presumptive favorites to win the major-party nominations couldboth fall short.
By contrast, the images of their opponents range from gauzy to blurry topractically incorporeal.
Barack Obama's phenomenal rise as a candidate came as he was brilliantlysketching the outlines of who he is and what he believes. His identity andphilosophy are based on inclusiveness, which is a soothing message for anation bleeding from wedge-issue politics as practiced by George W. Bush,Karl Rove and the like. But not all either/or propositions are falsechoices -- some are real choices, with real consequences. While we know muchabout who Obama is and how he thinks, the question of precisely what hewould do in a given situation is like the bottom line on an eye chart -- youcan almost make it out, but not quite.
Obama's sudden prominence lowered a scrim in front of John Edwards'scandidacy -- he was going to be the anti-Hillary, but that role is nowtaken. Joe Biden certainly speaks his mind clearly enough, but it has beenhard to persuade people to see him and Chris Dodd as anything other thancreatures of the Senate -- unlike Clinton and Obama, two senators who areblessed with escape-velocity star power.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052807alabama.htm
Alabama Lists Gays Among Terrorist Groups
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 28, 2007 - 8:00 am ET
(Montgomery, Alabama) The Alabama Department of Homeland Security has takendown a Web site it operated that included gay rights and anti-warorganizations in a list of groups that could include terrorists.
The Web site identified different types of terrorists, and included a listof groups it believed could spawn terrorists. The list also includedenvironmentalists, animal rights advocates and abortion opponents.
The director of the department, Jim Walker, said his agency received anumber of calls and e-mails from people who said they felt the site unfairlytargeted certain people just because of their beliefs. He said he plans toput the Web site back on the Internet, but will no longer identify specifictypes of groups.
Howard Bayliss, chairman of the gay and lesbian advocacy group EqualityAlabama, said he doesn't understand why gay rights advocates would be on thelist.
"Our group has only had peaceful demonstrations. I'm deeply concerned we'vebeen profiled in this discriminatory matter," Bayliss said.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052807moscow.htm
Russian Gay Leaders Released From Jail
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: May 28, 2007 - 4:00 pm ET
(Moscow) Nikolai Alekseev and two other Moscow Gay Pride organizers werereleased from jail Monday afternoon but ordered to appear back in court onJune 9 for a hearing on criminal charges they were staging an illegaldemonstration.
Three European lawmakers and British LGBT rights advocate Peter Tatchellwere released on Sunday, hours after they were detained.
In all about 20 people were arrested by heavily armed riot police as gayrights campaigners attempted to deliver to Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov apetition which had been signed by about 40 members of the EuropeanParliament supporting a gay pride parade. (story)
The governments of Germany and Italy have officially protested the arrestsof their representatives to the European Parliament.
Luzhkov earlier had banned the pride celebration and rights groups said theywould march anyway. The petition was to have been a last ditch effort toavoid a confrontation with city authorities.
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Washington Blade
May 25, 2007
http://www.washblade.com/2007/5-25/news/national/10649.cfm
Gay candidates faring well in big city racesDallas mayoral hopeful in historic campaign
Openly gay political candidates and elected officials are making noticeablestrides - and in some cases making history - around the country inhigh-profile races.
Three of the most prominent gay and transgender political players - a SanFrancisco Police Commission president, a Pittsburgh City Councilmember and aDallas mayoral candidate - took time to chat with the Blade about why theygot involved and what it's like to campaign as openly gay in majormetropolitan areas today.
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Iowa City Press Citizen
May 25, 2007
http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/NEWS01/70525006/1079
Culver signs civil rights expansion into law
By the Associated Press
DES MOINES - Gays and lesbians in Iowa will get new protections fromdiscrimination in housing, education and a host of other areas underlegislation Gov. Chet Culver signed into law today.
``The civil rights struggle has defined our country for generations,'' saidCulver. ``This has been a nearly 20-year fight up at the Legislature. We arehere to celebrate one more victory.''
The measure Culver signed adds sexual orientation and gender identity to thelist of traits included in Iowa's civil rights law, which already banneddiscrimination based on such factors as race and ethnicity.
Culver signed the measure at the downtown offices of Principal FinancialGroup, a powerhouse business that supported the new rules. Principal hasbanned discrimination of gays and lesbians since 1991.
``It's a good day for Iowa,'' said Ralph Rosenberg, head of the Iowa CivilRights Commission, which also had supported the legislation. ``I feel goodbeing an Iowan today.''
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[euro-queer] Moscow Pride '08 will take place on Saturday May 31
The Moscow Pride Committee has decided tonight that next Moscow Pride willtake place Saturday May 31st.
"The 27th of May will be on tuesday. We will celebrate the 15th anniversaryof decriminalization of male homosexuality on the next saturday" declaredtonight Nikolai Alekseev.
"In between, I am planing to run next december for the upcoming Doumaelection. This could really change the course of next year pride" he added.
The 4 veterans MPs and MEPs of this year and past year will invite theircolleagues to join them for the event and make the trip to Moscow.
"Last year, we were 2 MPs. This year we were 4. If we could be 20 next yearof at least 10 different countries, the event would really be different. Thepressure would be important and the pride would be more secure" declaredVolker Beck from Moscow tonight.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
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May 28, 2007
Officers and Counterprotesters Disrupt Gay Rights Rally in Russia
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
MOSCOW, May 27 - Police officers and riot troops quashed a gay rights rallyin Moscow on Sunday, detaining organizers as well as at least two Europeanlawmakers, while members of Orthodox Christian and nationalist groupsbadgered the demonstrators with insults, eggs and fists.
Barely had Nikolai A. Alekseyev, the event's main organizer, appeared infront of City Hall when the police pushed him and several otherdemonstrators into a police bus.
Skirmishes between gay rights protesters and counterprotesters broke outacross from City Hall along Tverskaya Street, Moscow's main thoroughfare.The general disorder made it hard to determine the number of people actuallyparticipating in the demonstration. Mr. Alekseyev had predicted that 200people would participate.
A man in camouflage clothing struck Peter Tatchell, a British gay rightscampaigner, in the face as he tried to speak to the news media. Officersarrested the man who threw the punch and took Mr. Tatchell to a police vanfor his protection, a police spokesman said.
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ABC to Debut Isaiah Washington PSA Today
http://www.glaad.org/media/release_detail.php?id=4021
Thursday, May 24, 2007
ABC Debuts Isaiah Washington PSA Today
Isaiah Washington appears in a public service announcement (PSA) intended to combat intolerance based on sexual orientation, race and gender that debuts tonight on ABC during two back-to-back episodes of Grey's Anatomy.
The PSA is the result of a January meeting with Neil G. Giuliano, president of GLAAD, and Kevin Jennings, founder and executive director of GLSEN, during which the actor apologized for use of an anti-gay slur. At the January meeting, Washington acknowledged the harm he had caused by his use of the epithet and expressed an interest in taking steps, such as appearing in this PSA, to combat prejudice and intolerance faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The PSA was produced by ABC.
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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cgayjamaicans29may29,0,6285044,print.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
Fort Lauderdale church faces furor for starting gay congregation in Jamaica
By Alva James-Johnson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 29, 2007
The Rev. Grant Lynn Ford appeared on a recent Caribbean radio program hopingto improve relations between Jamaicans in South Florida and the gay andlesbian community.
Instead, the pastor from Sunshine Cathedral, which recently started a gayand lesbian congregation in Jamaica, endured a hostile radio audience.
Jamaican callers chastised him for promoting homosexuality in their country.One caller said Ford would get a bullet through his head if he set foot onthe island.
"What surprised me was the violence of it, and saying it on public radio,"Ford said. "I probably wouldn't invite any of them to my next family picnic.I might be the roasted pig."
The incident highlights a clash of cultures between gays and lesbians inSouth Florida and some in the Jamaican-American community as reports ofhomophobic violence flow from the Caribbean island. The tension is furtherfueled by anti-gay lyrics found in popular reggae music, which many gay andlesbians find offensive.
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Join South Florida Social Circle & lots of Others on Peter Burke's TeaCruise
South Florida Social Circle sets sail Sunday, July 1st for a 3 hour cruise
Deadline to get the for 2 for 1 South Florida Social Circle Special Priceis: Friday, June 1st
South Florida Social Circle is joining Peter Burke's Tea Cruise on Sunday,July 1st at 3PM. Boarding starts at 2:30PM and anchors away at 3PM. Alltickets 2-4-1 with reservation No later than Friday, June 1st, In order toget the 2 for 1 price of 2 tickets for $30, Call Peter directly at (954)649-1107, otherwise the cost is $25 per person with a reservation in advanceand $30 at the pier if space is still available (people have been turnedaway at the pier). Free parking, Free food, Hot dancers and D.J. Marcio! &cash bar, ---And of Course A FABULOUS Time with South Florida Social Circle.For Reservations Call Peter @ (954) 649-1107(credit cards accepted).
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/opinion/l29gay.html?pagewanted=print
May 29, 2007
Gay Marriage in New York (1 Letter)
To the Editor:
Re "Legal Status Brings Security to Some Same-Sex Marriages" (news article,May 22):
It is heartening to learn that a judge in Massachusetts has ruled in favorof same-sex couples from New York who went to the state in pursuit oflegally recognized unions.
As one of five plaintiff couples in Hernandez v. Robles, Lambda Legal'shistoric lawsuit seeking marriage equality for same-sex couples in New YorkState, we are acutely aware of the importance of any level of legal sanctionfor gay and lesbian relationships.
Same-sex couples in New York seek nothing more than the same recognition andrights as those available to our counterparts in Massachusetts and thatheterosexuals take for granted. This will involve, in no small part, workingto change hearts and minds.
Let's hope that the State Legislature does what the Court of Appeals failedto do: grant equal civil marriage protections for all New Yorkers.
Jo-Ann Shain
May Jo Kennedy
Brooklyn, May 22, 2007
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/washington/29district.html?pagewanted=print
May 29, 2007
Alone in a City's AIDS Battle, Hoping for Backup
By IAN URBINA
WASHINGTON, May 28 - The nation's capital is the only city in the countrybarred by federal law from using local tax money to finance needle exchangeprograms. It is also the city with the fastest-growing number of new AIDScases.
These two facts keep Ron Daniels on the move, tirelessly driving his ricketyWinnebago from drug corner to drug corner across the rougher parts of thiscity, counseling the addicted and swapping clean needles for dirty ones.
Faced with an AIDS problem growing here at a rate 10 times the nationalaverage, Mr. Daniels, the director of Prevention Works, the city's onlyneedle exchange program, is armed with a shoestring budget of $385,000 inprivate donations, a small fraction of what programs in other major citiesreceive in state and local money.
Since Washington is not part of a state, Congress controls the city's localsystem of government, and for nearly a decade members of the House, citingconcerns about worsening drug abuse, have inserted language into the billapproving the city's budget to prohibit financing such programs.
That may soon change.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/world/europe/29briefs-tinkywinky.html?pagewanted=print
May 29, 2007
World Briefing | Europe
Poland: Tinky Winky Outed Again
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The government-appointed children's rights watchdog, Ewa Sowinska, told thenewsmagazine Wprost that she was concerned that the children's televisionseries "Teletubbies" promoted homosexuality. She said she had noticed thatthe purple Teletubby, Tinky Winky, had "a lady's purse, but I didn't realizehe's a boy." When she did, she continued: "I thought the purse would be aburden. Later I learned that this may have a homosexual undertone." Poland'sconservative government has drawn criticism within the European Union forapparent discrimination against homosexuals. Rev. Jerry Falwell, theAmerican fundamentalist, was ridiculed for suggesting in 1999 that the show's
creators intended Tinky Winky to be a gay role model. He also made the pointthat the bag, described by the characters' licenser as a magic bag,resembled a purse.
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WashingtonPost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-yn/content/article/2007/05/28/AR2007052801052_pf.html
Losing Focus
Why Does This Presidential Field Seem So Blurry?
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, May 29, 2007; A13
The presidential candidates of both parties have been campaigning for monthsnow, introducing themselves to the nation. So why do so many of them seem toget progressively fuzzier and less distinct, like photographs left out inthe sun? Is it the process that's causing this steady attenuation, or doesthe problem lie with the candidates themselves?
There are two major exceptions to the general rule I've just posited.Hillary Clinton and John McCain are as vivid as the subjects of the artistChuck Close's hyperrealist portraits, in which you can see every wrinkle,every blotch, every pore. The problem is that when people know exactly whoyou are, or think they do, they tend to form hard and fast opinions. Thereare so many Democrats who "just don't like Hillary Clinton" and so manyRepublicans who "just don't like John McCain" that the two candidates onceconsidered presumptive favorites to win the major-party nominations couldboth fall short.
By contrast, the images of their opponents range from gauzy to blurry topractically incorporeal.
Barack Obama's phenomenal rise as a candidate came as he was brilliantlysketching the outlines of who he is and what he believes. His identity andphilosophy are based on inclusiveness, which is a soothing message for anation bleeding from wedge-issue politics as practiced by George W. Bush,Karl Rove and the like. But not all either/or propositions are falsechoices -- some are real choices, with real consequences. While we know muchabout who Obama is and how he thinks, the question of precisely what hewould do in a given situation is like the bottom line on an eye chart -- youcan almost make it out, but not quite.
Obama's sudden prominence lowered a scrim in front of John Edwards'scandidacy -- he was going to be the anti-Hillary, but that role is nowtaken. Joe Biden certainly speaks his mind clearly enough, but it has beenhard to persuade people to see him and Chris Dodd as anything other thancreatures of the Senate -- unlike Clinton and Obama, two senators who areblessed with escape-velocity star power.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052807alabama.htm
Alabama Lists Gays Among Terrorist Groups
by The Associated Press
Posted: May 28, 2007 - 8:00 am ET
(Montgomery, Alabama) The Alabama Department of Homeland Security has takendown a Web site it operated that included gay rights and anti-warorganizations in a list of groups that could include terrorists.
The Web site identified different types of terrorists, and included a listof groups it believed could spawn terrorists. The list also includedenvironmentalists, animal rights advocates and abortion opponents.
The director of the department, Jim Walker, said his agency received anumber of calls and e-mails from people who said they felt the site unfairlytargeted certain people just because of their beliefs. He said he plans toput the Web site back on the Internet, but will no longer identify specifictypes of groups.
Howard Bayliss, chairman of the gay and lesbian advocacy group EqualityAlabama, said he doesn't understand why gay rights advocates would be on thelist.
"Our group has only had peaceful demonstrations. I'm deeply concerned we'vebeen profiled in this discriminatory matter," Bayliss said.
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/05/052807moscow.htm
Russian Gay Leaders Released From Jail
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: May 28, 2007 - 4:00 pm ET
(Moscow) Nikolai Alekseev and two other Moscow Gay Pride organizers werereleased from jail Monday afternoon but ordered to appear back in court onJune 9 for a hearing on criminal charges they were staging an illegaldemonstration.
Three European lawmakers and British LGBT rights advocate Peter Tatchellwere released on Sunday, hours after they were detained.
In all about 20 people were arrested by heavily armed riot police as gayrights campaigners attempted to deliver to Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov apetition which had been signed by about 40 members of the EuropeanParliament supporting a gay pride parade. (story)
The governments of Germany and Italy have officially protested the arrestsof their representatives to the European Parliament.
Luzhkov earlier had banned the pride celebration and rights groups said theywould march anyway. The petition was to have been a last ditch effort toavoid a confrontation with city authorities.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Washington Blade
May 25, 2007
http://www.washblade.com/2007/5-25/news/national/10649.cfm
Gay candidates faring well in big city racesDallas mayoral hopeful in historic campaign
Openly gay political candidates and elected officials are making noticeablestrides - and in some cases making history - around the country inhigh-profile races.
Three of the most prominent gay and transgender political players - a SanFrancisco Police Commission president, a Pittsburgh City Councilmember and aDallas mayoral candidate - took time to chat with the Blade about why theygot involved and what it's like to campaign as openly gay in majormetropolitan areas today.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Iowa City Press Citizen
May 25, 2007
http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070525/NEWS01/70525006/1079
Culver signs civil rights expansion into law
By the Associated Press
DES MOINES - Gays and lesbians in Iowa will get new protections fromdiscrimination in housing, education and a host of other areas underlegislation Gov. Chet Culver signed into law today.
``The civil rights struggle has defined our country for generations,'' saidCulver. ``This has been a nearly 20-year fight up at the Legislature. We arehere to celebrate one more victory.''
The measure Culver signed adds sexual orientation and gender identity to thelist of traits included in Iowa's civil rights law, which already banneddiscrimination based on such factors as race and ethnicity.
Culver signed the measure at the downtown offices of Principal FinancialGroup, a powerhouse business that supported the new rules. Principal hasbanned discrimination of gays and lesbians since 1991.
``It's a good day for Iowa,'' said Ralph Rosenberg, head of the Iowa CivilRights Commission, which also had supported the legislation. ``I feel goodbeing an Iowan today.''
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
[euro-queer] Moscow Pride '08 will take place on Saturday May 31
The Moscow Pride Committee has decided tonight that next Moscow Pride willtake place Saturday May 31st.
"The 27th of May will be on tuesday. We will celebrate the 15th anniversaryof decriminalization of male homosexuality on the next saturday" declaredtonight Nikolai Alekseev.
"In between, I am planing to run next december for the upcoming Doumaelection. This could really change the course of next year pride" he added.
The 4 veterans MPs and MEPs of this year and past year will invite theircolleagues to join them for the event and make the trip to Moscow.
"Last year, we were 2 MPs. This year we were 4. If we could be 20 next yearof at least 10 different countries, the event would really be different. Thepressure would be important and the pride would be more secure" declaredVolker Beck from Moscow tonight.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
May 28, 2007
Officers and Counterprotesters Disrupt Gay Rights Rally in Russia
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
MOSCOW, May 27 - Police officers and riot troops quashed a gay rights rallyin Moscow on Sunday, detaining organizers as well as at least two Europeanlawmakers, while members of Orthodox Christian and nationalist groupsbadgered the demonstrators with insults, eggs and fists.
Barely had Nikolai A. Alekseyev, the event's main organizer, appeared infront of City Hall when the police pushed him and several otherdemonstrators into a police bus.
Skirmishes between gay rights protesters and counterprotesters broke outacross from City Hall along Tverskaya Street, Moscow's main thoroughfare.The general disorder made it hard to determine the number of people actuallyparticipating in the demonstration. Mr. Alekseyev had predicted that 200people would participate.
A man in camouflage clothing struck Peter Tatchell, a British gay rightscampaigner, in the face as he tried to speak to the news media. Officersarrested the man who threw the punch and took Mr. Tatchell to a police vanfor his protection, a police spokesman said.
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ABC to Debut Isaiah Washington PSA Today
http://www.glaad.org/media/release_detail.php?id=4021
Thursday, May 24, 2007
ABC Debuts Isaiah Washington PSA Today
Isaiah Washington appears in a public service announcement (PSA) intended to combat intolerance based on sexual orientation, race and gender that debuts tonight on ABC during two back-to-back episodes of Grey's Anatomy.
The PSA is the result of a January meeting with Neil G. Giuliano, president of GLAAD, and Kevin Jennings, founder and executive director of GLSEN, during which the actor apologized for use of an anti-gay slur. At the January meeting, Washington acknowledged the harm he had caused by his use of the epithet and expressed an interest in taking steps, such as appearing in this PSA, to combat prejudice and intolerance faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The PSA was produced by ABC.
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