**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
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/legislature/sfl-flfproptax1019.1nboct19,0,7879576.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout
Hate crimes laws should be expanded
October 19, 2007
By William Butte
Would it surprise you to know that the latest FBI statistics, from 2004,show there were more hate crimes in the United States against gays,lesbians, and bisexual or transgendered people than against Jews and Muslimscombined? Or that only hate crimes motivated by anti-black racism were morenumerous?
If that doesn't surprise you, then you probably aren't surprised that theGLBT community gets little protection from employment discrimination. Just20 states plus Washington, D.C., prohibit employment discrimination due tosexual orientation, and only 13 states include gender identity in this legalprotection.
And while most states have hate crimes laws dealing with race, religion andethnicity, just 32 states include sexual orientation and only 11 includegender identity.
With this hodge-podge of state protection, the GLBT community has waited foryears for passage of legislation to expand federal law to include us withinhate crimes laws and employment discrimination protection.
Yet that seems to be too large a bite to chew for even our Democratic-ledCongress: It had the votes recently to pass a GLBT-inclusive hate crimesbill but not to pass a GLBT-inclusive employment non-discrimination bill.
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the EmploymentNon-Discrimination Act were both amended this year to include thetransgendered, so both pieces of legislation became GLBT-inclusive.
But there are not enough members on both sides of the aisle who will votefor ENDA that is transgender-inclusive.
A bipartisan Congress had no problem adding sexual orientation, genderidentity, gender and disability to current federal hate crimes laws thatcover victimization due to race, color, religion and national origin.
Likewise, a GLBT-inclusive ENDA would offer federal protection againstemployment discrimination due to sexual orientation and gender identity.This is similar to the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, thatprohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex,pregnancy and national origin; however, ENDA exempts religious organizationsand has a special provision for employer dress codes.
But one co-sponsor, Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., says about 20 of hisRepublican colleagues will only support ENDA for gays, lesbians andbisexuals. And at least 30 House Democrats apparently agree.
So, ironically, on the same day the Democratic-led Senate, with bipartisanapproval, voted to expand hate crimes laws that included the transgendered,Frank presented members of the Democratic-led House with a revised versionof ENDA so they could gain bipartisan approval to expand employmentnon-discrimination laws to protect gays, lesbians and bisexuals whileexcluding the transgendered.
Given that President Bush has threatened to veto both pieces of legislation,Democrats shouldn't trade principle for political expediency by trying tosplit the GLBT community into acceptable and unacceptable groups.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, pushing for the revised version of ENDA, said,"I would die if we didn't have any bill."
Too bad she and other House Democrats haven't considered how manytransgendered folks, too fearful without employment protection to reportthey're being victimized by hate crimes, may die.
William Butte is a commentator on issues affecting the GLBT community. Hiscolumn appears the third Friday of each month. E-mail him atwmbutte@bellsouth.net
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-pbmail944pnoct19,0,1170912,print.story
The objective in leaving transgendered out of anti-bias law
October 19, 2007
Gay people who would opt for the passage of an employment nondiscriminationlaw that does not include gender expression or gender identity are foolingthemselves if they think they would be covered. That a person is attractedto another person of the same sex is a transgression of "acceptable" genderboundaries.
So an employer could easily say, "Your gender expression doesn't match yourgender identity. Men don't love men; women love men. Get out." The objectiveis to get us back into our closets so they don't have to deal with their ownissues of sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression.
Donald Cavanaugh
Lake Worth, Florida
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/275413.html
A good law marred by a flaw
Posted on Thu, Oct. 18, 2007
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 is a good law thatallows for harsher sentences for convicted sex offenders. One provision ofthe law, however, makes it harder for defense lawyers to review computerevidence against their clients. The new evidence procedure is a departurefrom the norm -- and it is unfair. It should be changed or deleted from thelaw altogether.
Federal prosecutors say the evidence proviso is necessary because itprevents children from being revictimized by inappropriate copying anddistribution of digital computer images of child pornography. ''I don'tthink there's a human being out there who wouldn't agree with its purpose,''said Andrew Oosterbaan, chief of the Justice Department's Child Exploitationand Obscenity Section. Mr. Oosterbaan is right. It is tough enough to catchchild pornographers, and once child-porn materials are seized, the naturalinclination is to make sure that it doesn't get into the wrong hands.
But the new law requires defense lawyers and the forensic experts they hireto review confiscated child-porn files at government facilities, often withFBI agents in adjacent rooms monitoring their activities. The trouble withthis arrangement is that it doesn't allow for a thorough enough review ofthe files to determine if they've been manipulated or tampered with in a waythat makes an innocent person look guilty. A thorough examination by anexpert can eliminate those possibilities. That kind of work is bestperformed in the forensic expert's own office using specialized equipment.To deny defense lawyers access to this type of examination puts them at adisadvantage, and could result in wrongful convictions.
With other seized contraband, such as drugs, for example, defense lawyersroutinely get samples that can be sent out to labs for independent tests andanalyses. There is no reason that the same thing can't be done withchild-porn files. If there is concern that defense lawyers would distributecopies of the files or allow them to be used inappropriately, there is aready remedy: Prosecute them. And if they are found guilty, put them injail.
Unintented by-product
In truth, it is just as likely that confiscated materials could be misusedor tampered with while in government custody as in the hands of defenselawyers. The key is to make sure that everyone understands the need to limitaccess to child-porn files and maintain strict control over them, whetherthey're in defense or prosecutorial hands.
The Adam Walsh law gives prosecutors a powerful tool to go after childpornographers. It would be a shame if an unintended by-product of the law isthat it is used to catch the wrong people.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/v-print/story/274100.html
Shout against the Coulters of the world
Posted on Wed, Oct. 17, 2007
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
I already know what's going to happen after I write this column.Someone is going to say, why did you waste space condemning the latestdrivel from the mouth of Ann Coulter? Don't you know she says theseoutrageous things only to promote her books? Why reward her with attention?
The argument is not without merit. Coulter plays the news media like LouisArmstrong once played his cornet. She is a virtuoso of stage-managedcontroversy. So there's something to be said for refusing to play along, forignoring her in the hope that she will just go away.
But some things only fester and grow in the dark. Some things use silence asassent.
Last week, Coulter said that in her perfect America, everyone would be aChristian. She said this to Donny Deutsch, who was hosting her on his CNBCprogram, The Big Idea. Deutsch, who is Jewish, expressed alarm. WhereuponCoulter told him that Jews simply needed to be ''perfected'' -- i.e., madeto accept Jesus as savior. Which is, of course, one of the pillars (alongwith the slander of Christ's murder) supporting 2,000 years of pogroms,abuse and Holocaust.
I suspect the reason some people believe that kind of ignorance is bestignored is that they find it difficult to take it seriously, or to acceptthat Coulter -- or those who embrace her -- really believes what she says.After all, this is not 1933, not 1948, not 1966. It istwo-thousand-by-God-oh-seven, post-Seinfeld, post-Gore-Lieberman,post-Schindler's List. We no longer live in the era when open anti-Semitismcould find wide traction. This is a different time.
But time, Martin Luther King once observed, is neutral. Time alone changesnothing. It is people who make change in time. Or not. So you have to wonderif this determined sanguinity in the face of intolerance is not ultimatelyan act of monumental self-delusion.
While some of us are cheerfully assuring one another that They Don't ReallyMean It, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hategroups in this country has risen by a whopping 40 percent in just the lastseven years. If you had spent those years, as I have, jousting in print theagents of intolerance, you would not be surprised. It would be all butimpossible to quantify, but I've noted a definite spike, not simply in thehatefulness of some people, but in the willingness to speak that hatefulnessopenly and without shame. What used to be anonymous now comes with a nameand address.
Like Coulter, many of those people find intellectual cover under the cloakof conservatism. It is a development that thoughtful conservatives (the veryneed to use that qualifier makes the case) ought to view with alarm. For allthat Colin Powell, J.C. Watts, the presidents Bush and others have done toposit a friendly new ''big tent'' conservatism, Coulter and others have doneeven more to drag the movement back toward open intolerance.
That will be read as criticism of conservatism, but I intend a larger point.After all, liberalism has had its own unfortunate extremes -- the drug useof the '60s, the Weather Underground, the Symbionese Liberation Army and thelike. The difference is, say what you will about Michael Moore or JesseJackson, they are not pushing back toward that which has been discredited.Coulter is.
And if some of us are laughing that off, not everybody is.
So this is not about bashing conservatives. It is, rather, about challengingthem, and all of us. Within living memory, we have seen Jews in boxcars andblacks in trees and silence from those who should have been shouting. Theypretended it wasn't happening until it already had.
So, what about Ann Coulter? What about the push-back against diversity,pluralism and tolerance, that she represents? I keep hearing that we shouldjust ignore it.
My point is, that's been tried before. It didn't work.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=14849
GOP Reps save ENDA in close committee vote
Kucinich, others vote 'no' citing lack of trans protection
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Oct 18, 8:14 PM
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) cleared a pivotal hurdle incommittee today after four gay-supportive Republicans joined the Democraticmajority to save the bill from defeat.
Four pro-gay Democrats, including presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich(D-Ohio), voted against the bill, saying they did so because a provisionprotecting transgender persons had been removed.
The bill passed in the House Committee on Education and Labor by a vote of27 to 21, with 23 Democrats and four Republicans voting for the measure,which calls for banning job discrimination based on sexual orientation, acategory that includes gay men, lesbians and bisexuals. SeventeenRepublicans and the four Democrats voted against the bill.
If the Republicans voting for the measure had voted the other way, it wouldhave lost by a vote of 23 to 25.
"We have never been able to pass a gay rights bill with only Democrats,"said gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), one of the lead sponsors of ENDA. "We've always known we need some Republicans."
The bill is scheduled to go to the full House for a vote next week.
more....
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Raw Story
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Lack_of_funds_may_force_group_1016.html
Lack of funds may force group to return imperiled gay Iraqis to the streets
10/16/2007 @ 10:35 am
Filed by Julie Weisberg
Iraq's lesbian, gay and transgendered residents have become an all-toofrequent target of that occupied nation's lawlessness. Now they face thepossibility of losing the lone organization that has sought to protect themfrom violence.
Friends of Iraqi LGBT, an all-volunteer human rights organization currentlybased in London, runs a series of safe houses in Iraq for lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgendered Iraqis who have been targeted for persecution --including beatings, imprisonment and even death -- by militant Shia deathsquads that roam the war-torn nation's streets.
Last year, five members of the group were taken into custody by Iraqi policeduring a raid on Iraqi LGBTs headquarters in Baghdad. So far, only one ofthe five has been accounted for.
Amjad, 27, was found dead and mutilated in the same area three days later.
Iraqi LGBT was formed early last year after reports of homophobic violencein Iraq spiked. The organization provides financial assistance to LGBTindividuals in particularly dangerous areas of Iraq, allowing them to moveto relatively safer parts of the country, or seek refuge in neighboringcountries.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=10/16/07&end=10/20/07#14842
Larry Craig is a nasty boy
Posted by Kevin Naff, Washington Blade Editor|
Oct. 16 at 10:12 PM |
knaff@washblade.com
It's tempting to parse and respond to each line of Sen. Larry Craig's mediablitz today, but after listening to a full hour of him on NBC - and enduringthe cringe-inducing spectacle of Matt Lauer's toe-tapping demo - his liesare so transparent that it's hardly worth the effort.
Craig ought to thank NBC for providing such a welcoming backdrop: familyphotos carefully positioned in the foreground and background of each shot;soft light casting a warm glow over the doting wife; the actors comfortablyseated around the hearth. A Hollywood director couldn't have staged itbetter.
The not-so-subtle message: I'm a family man! Really, really, I am! I wouldn't jerk a guy off in the toilet!
(It was gratifying to learn that Craig is reading the Blade. During theinterview with Lauer, Craig quoted almost verbatim an editorial I wroteabout the Idaho Statesman investigation of the gay rumors, which includedsending a reporter with glossy photos of Craig to D.C. bars and publicrestrooms.)
Sadly, the irony of Craig's predicament is lost on him. Like it or not, hehas become a member of that community he so loathes. Mitt Romney publiclydenounced him and removed him from his Idaho campaign, giving Craig a littletaste of what it's like to be the member of a group that is hated anddiscriminated against. No wonder he chose to run back into the closet. Hisso-called friends in the GOP are shunning him and some, he claims, evenrefuse to look him in the eye. How does it feel, Larry?
But rather than add his voice to those fighting prejudice anddiscrimination, Craig continues to propagate both. Even after pleadingguilty to disorderly conduct in connection with solicitation of gay sex, hecontinues to demonize and attack fellow gay people. Craig told Lauer thathomosexuality is, "a lifestyle I don't agree with." He voted against thehate crimes bill only weeks ago, maintaining his perfect anti-gay votingrecord in Congress.
Despite all of this, Craig is right to stay in the Senate. Toe tapping andgesturing aren't illegal and he didn't engage in public sex. Some say heshould quit because he's a drag on his party, but plenty of others haveembarrassed their parties and remained on the job (David Vitter and BillClinton, for example).
Craig should stay in the Senate and endure the rejection and ridicule fromhis anti-gay peers. There could be no more perfect punishment for hisnon-crimes.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4122.cfm
Local right-wing lawyer seeks judge's impeachment
Anti-obscenity crusader Thompson was reprimanded for sending gay porn tocourt
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
Nearly a month after being reprimanded for submitting pornographic images ofgay men into the federal court record, anti-obscenity crusader Jack Thompsonis asking Congress and the acting U.S. attorney general to impeach the judgepresiding over his suit against the Florida Bar Association.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter andacting U.S. Attorney General Peter Keisler, Thompson is demanding thatFederal District Judge Adalberto Jordan be removed from the bench forrefusing to prosecute local attorney Norm Kent. Thompson has accused Kent ofillegally distributing obscene materials on his website, www.nationalgaynews.com. Kent, who is also the founder and former publisherof the Express, has denied Thompson's allegations.
Thompson included the images of men engaging in sex into the court recordSept. 19 in an electronically filed pleading as evidence against Kent. Hesaid he pulled the sexual images from web links that were posted on thefront page of Kent's website. Kent said that neither he nor his staff postedany of the images referred to by Thompson. Kent said they were linked to hiswebsite by outside sites. In fact, the home page of Kent's site appears tocontain no pornographic images, but it is possible to reach adult pornimages by clicking on an advertiser and then clicking on "related links"from the advertiser's site.
Jordan denied Thompson's plea and sealed the filing. He then orderedThompson to show cause as to why he should not go before the court'sdisciplinary Ad Hoc Committee.
"What Judge Jordan has done in this instance - refusing to report a crime,hiding the evidence, thereof, and then threatening the person who broughthim evidence of that crime - constitutes an 'impeachable offense,'" Thompsonwrote in his letter, dated Oct. 16.
Thompson would not comment directly about the letter, stating only that itspoke for itself. But he defended his filing of the gay porn into the courtdocket.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4130.cfm
Family members of Fla. gay murder victim tape PSA
Ryan Skipper's parents and brother urge passage of hate-crimes bill
By PHIL LAPADULA
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The family of a young gay man who was murdered in Polk County, Fla., hastaped a public service announcement that urges passage of the federal hatecrimes bill, which is currently pending in Congress.
Ryan Skipper was just 25 when he was stabbed 20 times and left on the sideof a road in Wahneta, Fla., on March 14. The Polk County Sheriff's Officehas classified the murder as an anti-gay hate crime. Two suspects have beencharged with first-degree murder in the case and are awaiting trial. A trialdate for one of the suspects, William Brown, has been set for July 7, 2008.
Skipper's stepfather, Lynn Mulder, his mother, Pat Mulder, and his brother,Damien Skipper, taped the PSA with Equality Florida, a statewide gay rightsgroup, on Oct. 4. Editing on the piece is expected to be finished this week,according to Brian Winfield, communications director for Equality Florida.Plans call for airing the PSA over the internet through YouTube and EqualityFlorida's website. If opportunities arise, it may also be aired on TV in thefuture, Winfield said.
"The PSA asks people to contact the White House and ask President Bush notto veto [the federal hate-crimes bill]," Winfield said.
The federal hate crimes bill, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, wouldprovide federal assistance to state and local jurisdictions to prosecutecrimes motivated by prejudice or hatred, including anti-gay andanti-transgender hatred. The assistance would come in the form of fundinggrants as well as technical, forensic and other help. Under pressure fromfar-right religious groups, Bush has threatened to veto the bill, which isattached to a large Defense Appropriations Bill. Right-wing groups claim thebill would stifle free speech, even though nowhere in the bill is hatespeech, or any kind of speech, even mentioned. The bill's supporters say itis totally focused on preventing physical violence.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4128.cfm
Supporters hope state anti-bias bills will start legislative dialogue
South Florida legislators file for sexual orientation, transgenderprotections
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The odds are long for the passage of two anti-discrimination billsintroduced last week in the Florida legislature that include protectionsbased on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Butsupporters of the bills say the measures are necessary to advance thediscussion about sexual orientation and transgender protections in Florida.
Boca Raton legislators Rep. Kelly Skidmore and state Sen. Ted Deutch, bothDemocrats, introduced separate bills Oct. 11 that propose to amend the state's
civil rights act and fair housing act to include sexual orientation.Skidmore's bill, however, goes on to include protections for gender identityand gender expression. The parallel bills are meant to form a two-prongedstrategy, which if successful, will bring a thorough discussion oftransgender rights to the spring 2008 legislative session.
"We realized that more states are including everyone in the protected class," Skidmore said. "This is a more complete way of including everyonein the protected class."
Skidmore admits it is unlikely that either of the bills will be successfulin the Republican-dominated state legislature. Last year, a similar billthat called for sexual orientation protections, but did not include genderidentity and expression protections, failed to get a reading before anyHouse committee. The response indicated how unwilling the state officialsare to consider protections. Skidmore, a first-term member of the stateHouse, said she will continue to file similar bills that will eventuallysucceed.
"The reality is I have up to eight years to file the bills and get them asfar along as I can," Skidmore said. "It's going to take a while
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/view/editorial/4138.cfm
A new direction for inclusive ENDA
Fighting for state laws would ensure victory at the federal level
By Malcolm Lazin
Thursday, October 18, 2007
REP. BARNEY FRANK has made clear that even with a significant Democraticmajority in the House of Representatives, the Democrats cannot pass anEmployment Non-Discrimination Act that includes transgender protection. Evenif an inclusive ENDA were to pass the House, it is unlikely that it wouldboth pass the Senate and not be vetoed by President Bush.
There has been significant lamenting and criticism about the current ENDAbill. Donna Rose, the first and only transgender member of the Human RightsCampaign's board of directors has resigned in protest. Lambda Legal haspointed out other flaws in the bill. The National Transgender AdvocacyCoalition demonstrated at the HRC National Dinner.
With a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, why are we still unableto pass an inclusive ENDA bill that meets our aspirations?
Is the problem a lack of funding? The community has provided HRC withhundreds of millions of dollars. According to the Movement AdvancementProject (MAP), for all GLBT organizations in 2006, HRC's budget was by farthe largest at $35.9 million. The next highest-funded GLBT organization isLambda Legal, with $10.5 million. The issue appears not to be money orstaffing.
The New York Times exit poll for the 2006 federal election demonstrated that3 percent of voters self-identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual. Even if weassume that all voters candidly disclosed their sexual orientation to exitpollsters, 3 percent is a significant voting bloc. We are motivated votersand continue to garner straight allies.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
A new direction for inclusive ENDA
Fighting for state laws would ensure victory at the federal level
By Malcolm Lazin
Thursday, October 18, 2007
REP. BARNEY FRANK has made clear that even with a significant Democraticmajority in the House of Representatives, the Democrats cannot pass anEmployment Non-Discrimination Act that includes transgender protection. Evenif an inclusive ENDA were to pass the House, it is unlikely that it wouldboth pass the Senate and not be vetoed by President Bush.
There has been significant lamenting and criticism about the current ENDAbill. Donna Rose, the first and only transgender member of the Human RightsCampaign's board of directors has resigned in protest. Lambda Legal haspointed out other flaws in the bill. The National Transgender AdvocacyCoalition demonstrated at the HRC National Dinner.
With a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, why are we still unableto pass an inclusive ENDA bill that meets our aspirations?
Is the problem a lack of funding? The community has provided HRC withhundreds of millions of dollars. According to the Movement AdvancementProject (MAP), for all GLBT organizations in 2006, HRC's budget was by farthe largest at $35.9 million. The next highest-funded GLBT organization isLambda Legal, with $10.5 million. The issue appears not to be money orstaffing.
more....
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/view/columns/4127.cfm
Stop the Barney bashing
Where were all the ENDA critics when we needed them?
By PETER ROSENSTIEN
Thursday, October 18, 2007
DEMOCRATS BARNEY FRANK, Tammy Baldwin, Steny Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reidand Ted Kennedy deserve our thanks for passing trans-inclusive hate crimeslegislation.
Now on to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act! On the eve of the Housetaking up ENDA, inclusion of the words "gender identity" was raised as anissue. I know that Frank and Baldwin have been trying to see if the votesare there for an inclusive bill, which we all want. But if those votes arenot there, then our national organizations must face this head on. Theproblem is that our community doesn't agree on what their decision should beregarding a bill that doesn't include gender identity. And when I say ourcommunity I don't mean just members of their boards and a few vocalactivists - I mean our entire community.
Frank proposed a solution to this that takes into consideration the realitywe face in Congress. He introduced two bills, one without gender identityand then an amendment that puts gender identity into the bill. His strategyallows us to get a vote on ENDA and if the votes are there for anall-inclusive bill, then that would be the final version. But what it doesn't do is condemn ENDA to a total loss if we can't get the votes for anall-inclusive bill now.
more....
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/us/politics/19values.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Social Conservatives Meet, Their Options Cut by One
October 19, 2007
By MICHAEL LUO and JULIE BOSMAN
Senator Sam Brownback is planning to drop out of the presidential racetoday, as the social conservative advocates he courted try to find acandidate behind whom they can unite.
More than 2,000 participants will meet today and tomorrow in Washington forthe Values Voter Summit. The gathering represents a potentially pivotalevent for the leading contenders for the Republican nomination, who arescheduled to address the group today and tomorrow.
Several influential Christian conservative leaders said it was unlikely,even after the conference, that they would be able to coalesce around asingle candidate as they had once hoped to do. That raises anew the prospectthat the movement's ability to shape the outcome of the primaries could beseriously diminished.
"My guess is things will not be that much more clarified at the end of theweekend," said Gary L. Bauer, an influential leader and a Republicanpresidential hopeful in 2000.
Mr. Brownback, Republican of Kansas, was one of several politicians whoentered the contest with hopes that their conservative credentials wouldmake them the standard-bearer for evangelicals and other socialconservatives, who were pivotal to President Bush's victory over SenatorJohn Kerry in 2004.
Mr. Brownback failed to garner much enthusiasm, often drawing sparse crowdsand struggling to raise money.
more....
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/us/19brfs-HIGHERRENTFO_BRF.html
Pennsylvania: Higher Rent for Scouts
October 19, 2007
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philadelphia has decided that the local Boy Scouts chapter must payfair-market rent of $200,000 a year for its city-owned headquarters becauseit refuses to permit gay boys. The organization's Cradle of Liberty Council,which pays $1 a year in rent, must pay the increased amount to remain in itsdowntown building past May 31, said Robert N. C. Nix, Fairmount ParkCommission president. City officials say they cannot legally renttaxpayer-owned property for a nominal sum to a private organization thatdiscriminates. The city owns the land and the building the Scouts built in1928. Scouting officials will ask the city solicitor for details on theappraisals that yielded the $200,000 figure, said Jeff Jubelirer, spokesmanfor the Cradle of Liberty Council.
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365Gay.Com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/10/101907viagra.htm
FDA Warns Of Viagra Hearing Loss
by The Associated Press
Posted: October 19, 2007 - 9:00 am ET
(Washington) Viagra and other impotence drugs are about to bear new warningsthat users may experience sudden hearing loss.
It's not clear that the drugs truly trigger hearing loss, but the Food andDrug Administration decided Thursday to add a warning about the possiblerisk after counting 29 reports of the problem since 1996 among users of thisfamily of medicines.
The impotence drugs Viagra, Cialis and Levitra will bear the warnings. Sowill Revatio, a drug for pulmonary hypertension, which contains the sameingredient as Viagra.
Viagra's label already mentioned hearing loss as a possibility, because afew cases were reported during initial testing of that drug. But given thathearing loss is a risk of advancing age and certain conditions, such asdiabetes and heart disease, that can lead to impotence, it wasn't clear ifthe link was real.
That still isn't clear, said FDA ear nose and throat specialist Dr. RobertBoucher.
more . . . . .
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365Gay.Com
http://visiblevote08.logoonline.com/2007/10/17/yarbrough-lets-try-not-compromising-on-enda/
Yarbrough: Let's Try *Not* Compromising on ENDA
By: Jennifer Vanasco
by Dona Yarbrough
I have a lot of sympathy for Barney Frank.
As he said in his speech to the House of Representatives on October 9th, ourfriends in Congress have been working for over 30 years to try to protectlesbian, gay and bisexual people from employment discrimination.
Now he has a chance to pass the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act(EDNA) as long as he takes out protections for transgender people.
I have sympathy because he is a pragmatist and a strategist, and so am I. Hemight very well be correct in saying that many of us urging him to keep theinclusive version of the bill are "unrealistic in what a democraticpolitical system can deliver."
I am from the Deep South, so I understand the overwhelming opposition to allof our efforts in many parts of the country. Politics is about compromise,as most civil rights history reflects.
more . . . . .
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/10/101907women.htm
Pollster: GOP Women Will Vote For Hillary
by The Associated Press
Posted: October 19, 2007 - 6:30 am ET
(Washington) Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton 's top strategist predictedThursday that up to a quarter of Republican women could support Clinton inthe presidential contest - a claim that later drew sharp rebukes from therival campaigns of Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani.
Mark Penn, Clinton's senior adviser and pollster, told reporters thatprivate surveys suggested about 24 percent of Republican women could votefor Clinton because of "the emotional element of potentially having thefirst woman nominee."
Penn's claim that Clinton would win the support of GOP women was flatlychallenged by Obama pollster Joel Benenson in an e-mail to reporters.
"Penn's assertion is entirely baseless and refuted by a number of publicpolls. Moreover, these polls also indicate sizable defection amongDemocratic women should Sen. Clinton be the nominee," Benenson said. "Whileit may not be her fault, Clinton appears to be as polarizing a figure asever, showing the least crossover appeal of any of the Democraticcandidates."
Penn also refuted a claim made frequently by Republican presidentialcontender Rudy Giuliani, suggesting he is the only candidate who can beatClinton in a general election contest. Giuliani currently leads the GOPfield in most national surveys
more . . . . .
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/10/101807fletcher.htm
GOP Governor Fires Homophobic Broadside At Opponent
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: October 18, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Frankfort, Kentucky) Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) is in the midst ofthe political battle of his life as he struggles to keep his job from goingto Democratic challenger Steve Beshear but an accusation that Beshearsupports same-sex marriage because he accepted a campaign donation from agay couple has raised eyebrows even in Fletcher's own Republican party.
Last week Fletcher's campaign sent reporters a copy of Beshear's campaigncontribution list showing the names of two men who identified themselves indonation as a couple.
The list is required by Kentucky law and was submitted to the state.
"Beshear signed his name to the document under the penalty of perjury,swearing that he believed the contents of the report were accurate," theFletcher campaign charged in a press release.
When the Courier-Journal newspaper confronted the campaign with the listshowing that a Beshear staffer not the candidate had signed it Fletcher'speople refused to back off.
more . . . . .
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/10/101807washington.htm
Former Chicago Mayor Inducted Into LGBT Hall Of Fame
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: October 18, 2007 - 7:00 pm ET
(Chicago, Illinois) Former Chicago mayor Harold Washington was posthumouslyinducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame Thursday night.
Washington, who died in 1987, was the first African-American mayor ofChicago.
He served from 1983 to 1987 and helped lay the groundwork for the passage ofthe city's 1988 Human Rights ordinance, which protected gays and lesbiansfrom discrimination.
"Washington really encouraged and facilitated a new group of independent andprogressive gay leaders in Chicago ," said Bill Williams, former editor ofWindy City Times and Gay Life, as well as a 2003 Hall of Fame inductee.
"He could have ignored the gay community, especially since gay rights wascontroversial at the time in his core constituency of South SideAfrican-Americans. Instead, he encouraged a much broader participation amonggays and lesbians who weren't part of Machine politics. That led directly tothe re-introduction of the ordinance," Williams said.
more . . . . .
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/10/101807anglican.htm
Another Canadian Anglican Diocese To Vote On Gay Union Blessings
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: October 18, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Montreal, Quebec) The Montreal diocese of the Anglican Church of Canadawill vote Saturday on a proposal to allow priests to bless same-sexmarriages and unions.
The vote comes a week after the diocese of Ottawa voted to allow similarblessings.
Like the Ottawa motion, the one in Montreal would give final approval to thebishop and would not permit priests to conduct actual marriages.
Delegates to the annual synod of the diocese of Ottawa, which encompassesCanada's capital and much of Eastern Ontario, voted 177 to 97 to pass themotion. (story)
Bishop John Chapman told a news conference that he intends to take his timebefore reaching a decision. "It could be one day to 10 years," he said.
more . . . . .
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/10/101807haggard.htm
Haggard Successor Chosen
by The Associated Press
Posted: October 18, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Washington) A Minnesota megachurch pastor has been named president of theNational Association of Evangelicals, nearly a year after former presidentTed Haggard resigned in scandal.
The Rev. Leith Anderson, 62, has been interim president since Haggard's fallin November 2006, and held the job before Haggard's tenure. The NAE board,at a meeting here Oct. 11, voted unanimously to make the position permanent.
Anderson, 62, has not been as outspoken about politics as his predecessorbut is among a generation of evangelical pastors seeking to broaden themovement's tent, including speaking out about climate change.
"Leith Anderson is a man of astute mind and has a wealth of experience theNAE needs," Israel Gaither, national commander of the Salvation Army and NAEexecutive committee member, said in a statement. "In my view he is just theright leader for the NAE for this critical time."
Anderson is senior pastor of 5,000-member Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie,Minn., a Minneapolis suburb. He also is the author of eight books and theradio voice of Faith Matters, which is heard on Christian stationsnationwide.
more . . . . .
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles
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Lesbian Tennis Coach Found Guilty of Sex With 13-Year-Old Pupil
Tennis coach Claire Lyte was convicted today of molesting a 13-year-oldstudent. The 29-year-old was found guilty of four out of five counts ofsexual activity with the child, who was her pupil at the Lawn TennisAssociation Academy. The jury failed to reach a verdict on the final count.
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Chat Line Crimes on the Rise
In April, 19-year-old Darnell Boykin, pictured, climbed into the car of ahomeless advocate named Albert Merritt, 41, outside a Little Haiti church.The two had met through a popular telephone chat line. Moments later,Merritt was shot dead. Boykin stole his Nextel phone and sold it, policesay. Soon, Boykin was charged with murder.
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Groundbreaking Study Explores Gay and Lesbian Opinions on Print Ads andCommercials
In an unprecedented study, New American Dimensions, LLC and Asterix Groupreveal what motivates purchasing decisions of gays and lesbians, providingmainstream marketing executives with a one-of-a-kind glimpse into the livesof this coveted niche market. The study divides the gay and lesbian marketdemographic into five distinct segments, highlighting a wide range oflifestyles, values and consumption preferences. The segments arecross-referenced with preferred ad styles and imagery, creating a powerfulset of insights for targeting this influential demographic.
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Oops! U.S. Military Recruits Gays
The military was just looking for a few good men. Until USA Today pointedit out yesterday, the Army, Navy and Air Force were unwittingly advertisingfor recruits on a Web site for gays, those same gays who are barred frommilitary service if they are open about their sexual orientation.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid49852.asp
Gay Man From Colombia Wins Asylum in U.S.
October 19, 2007
After losing his sister and his father, both killed by the RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia, and receiving death threats and harassment forbeing gay, Colombian immigrant, J, won asylum in the United States.According to the Bay Area Reporter, the man's identity must remainconfidential due to provisions related to asylum cases.
The man fled to Miami on a three-month visa six months after his father'smurder. He later moved to San Francisco, where he was ordered by animmigration judge to get a lawyer. He eventually found one who pushed forasylum. While undergoing medical tests required for asylum, J was diagnosedwith HIV. The judge granted asylum to J based on his HIV status.
Many people in similar situations aren't granted asylum, Dusty Araujo,asylum documentation coordinator for the National Asylum Partnership onSexual Orientation, a program of the National Immigration Justice Center,told the Bay Area Reporter.
People contact the program for documentation of harassment and violence indifferent countries in order to support asylum cases. Araujo said that since2000, out of the 67 national contacts related to cases involving sexualorientation, HIV status, and missing the one-year deadline, 15 have beengranted asylum. (The Advocate
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid49842.asp
School Nearly Boycotts Red Cross Blood Drive Over Gay Ban
October 19, 2007
The University of Vermont's student government narrowly voted Tuesdayagainst forbidding the American Red Cross to collect blood on campus afterconsidering a resolution to boycott drives because gay men aren't allowed todonate, according to the Associated Press.
After more than three hours of discussion and debate, the university'sStudent Government Association rejected the boycott resolution 16-15.
The federal Food and Drug Administration enacted the policy in 1983, and allblood collection organizes must follow it. Supporters of the studentgovernment resolution argued that FDA policy contradicts the university'snondiscrimination standards.
Gay men who aren't allowed to donate blood "are essentially being told thatthey're bad and dirty," Dot Brauer, director of the school's Lesbian GayBisexual Transgender Questioning and Allied Services, told the AP. Hostingthe Red Cross on campus, she said, "indicates our agreement."
Red Cross officials told the AP on Tuesday that they disagree with FDApolicy and have requested that it be changed. (The Advocate)
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.tnr.com/
The New Republic Online
The Columbia Professor Who Also Doesn't Think Gay People Exist in the MiddleEast
Queer Theory
by James Kirchick
Only at TNR Online
Post date: 10.15.07
http://www.tnr.com/images/dropcaps/O.gif
If all the absurd claims
expressed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his recent address atColumbia University, his assertion that homosexuality does not exist in hiscountry is the most ridiculous. Ahmadinejad's florid statements regardingJews ("We are friends with the Jewish people"), prevarications aboutHolocaust denial ("There are researchers who want to approach the topic froma different perspective"), and hedging about Iranian nuclear ambitions("they are completely peaceful") paled in comparison to inflammatorystatements he has made on those subjects in the past and were clearlytempered for his live American audience. Even on the status of women,Ahmadinejad skirted critical questions, instead effusing, "Women are thebest creatures created by God." But when asked about Iran's oppression ofhomosexuals, Ahmadinejad was uncompromising and unapologetic: "In Iran, wedon't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that in ourcountry ... We do not have this phenomenon. I do not know who's told youthat we have it."
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Doug Ireland on "Lessons from the ENDA Mess" (Gay City News
http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18932387&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=569342&rfi=6
Lessons From the ENDA Mess
By: DOUG IRELAND
Gay City News, 10/18/2007
Regardless of whether or not Congress, in the days ahead, passes anEmployment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that protects all LGBT people,there are lessons to be drawn from the controversy that has been roiling ourcommunity for weeks now.
Let's briefly recall the facts. Late this summer, the Human Rights Campaigncut a backroom deal with the Democratic House leadership to strip from theoriginal ENDA bill introduced in April any protection of the transgenderedor of those who present their gender identity differently from theheterosexual norm - like butch lesbians or effeminate gay men.
But HRC did not inform the rest of the community of the deal for a truncatedENDA, and the rest of us only found out about it some three weeks ago.
Disgust and revulsion at this betrayal of the most vulnerable among usswiftly became widespread - and within days, a broad coalition of national,state, and local LGBT organizations, called ENDA United, had sprung up tooppose the version of ENDA that failed to protect gender identity andexpression and the transgendered - because if a shorn bill passes, thetransgender community is so politically weak and unpopular Congress willnever grant them protection separately.
As of now, more than 300 organizations have joined the ENDA United alliance,leaving HRC all alone in failing to oppose passage of the stripped-downbill.
Thus was revealed a deep fault line in our communities, one that can betraced back to the death of gay liberation and its replacement by whatJeffrey Escoffier, in his seminal 1998 book "American Homo: Community andPerversity," called "the gay citizenship movement."
How did we get to where we are?
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues List
With support from a grant by the Arcus Foundation National Fund, AFFIRM:Psychologists Affirming Their Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) Familyhas been working on a project to enhance the training of graduate studentsin clinical psychology.
Voicing their concern about the lack of exposure to LGB issues in theirtraining, graduate students have written to the APA Committee onAccreditation, urging them to recognize exposure to the literature onsexual minorities as an important part of the APA diversity requirement.
AFFIRM has put together a carefully selected list of readings on LGBissues and sent them to Directors of Clinical Training, asking them todistribute it to their faculty. The topics covered includechild/development, couples/family, ethics, psychopathology, and therapy.
In order to make these references available to an even larger audience,AFFIRM has also just posted them on its Web site, together withabstracts for each. To facilitate ease of use, a PDF can be obtained foreachreading through PsycINFO, by contacting the author, or by emailingmarvgoldfried@gmail.com.
You are invited to visit the AFFIRM Web site at: www.sunysb.edu/affirm.Go to "Announcements" for further information on the project, and thenclick on "Bibliographies."
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Lesbians and gay men have already lost the fight for same-sex marriage andit is time to move on to a fight we can win. Same-sex marriage with all ofthe rights, benefits and obligations of marriage cannot exist in the UnitedStates in the near future. Here is why: Forty-five states have laws orconstitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Source: HumanRights Campaign) There has been over 48 million votes cast on this issue in29 states and almost 32 million, almost two-thirds, voted against same-sexmarriage. As the noted gay historian and professor at the University ofIllinois, John D'Emilio, observed in his 2006 article, The Marriage Fight IsSetting Us Back, "The campaign for same-sex marriage has been an unmitigateddisaster. It has created a vast body of new anti-gay laws." There hasalready been, in effect, a national referendum and we have lost......BIG.
more....
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Pew Research Center
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/613/strangers-contact-teens-online
When Strangers Contact Teens Online
Most Such Experiences Are Neither Scary Nor Uncomfortable, but CertainTraits or Activities Can Invite More Interactions with Unknown Persons
October 15, 2007
While the number of teens who have been made uncomfortable by an onlineexperience with someone they do not know is relatively small,1 certaintraits and activities are more likely to attract interactions with unknownindividuals, whether unwanted or otherwise. In particular, teens who havecreated profiles on social networking sites (SNS) and those who have postedphotos of themselves online are more likely than others to be contactedonline by strangers. Girls are more likely than boys to report onlinecontact that made them scared or uncomfortable.
These findings are based on a survey of 935 teens age 12-17 by the PewInternet & American Life Project taken from October 23 to November 19, 2006.
Other key findings include:
Among teens who have been contacted online by someone they do not know,gender is the primary predictor of contact that is scary or uncomfortable.Sample size limitations, and the fact that the majority of teens' onlinecontacts are benign, make it difficult to disentangle all the factors thatare associated with an increased prevalence of scary or uncomfortable onlineencounters. However, among the factors evaluated in this study, genderconsistently has a strong correlation with contact that is scary oruncomfortable. Among teens who have been contacted by someone they do notknow, girls (27%) are significantly more likely to report feeling scared oruncomfortable as a result of the contact compared with boys (15%).
more....
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Chicago Free Press
http://chicagofreepress.com/node/600
AIDS experts say HIV infection rates among gay men in the United States are'catastrophic'
By Matt Simonette
Staff writer
Wed, 10/17/2007
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago kicked off its HIV prevention conference lastweek with "Gay, Sexy and Healthy," a discussion by Gregorio Millet, abehavioral cientist with the federal Centers for Disease Control andPrevention's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, and Ronald Stall, chair of theDepartment of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences of the University ofPittsburgh.
At the Oct. 10 presentation, Millet and Stall discussed current HIVinfection rates and the impact prevention efforts seem to be having on gayand bisexual men.
Millet said the epidemic has been decreasing in numbers among high-riskheterosexuals and injection drug users, but is still increasing among gayand bisexual men.
"When you take a look at the HIV/AIDS cases between 2001 to 2005, among men,by race and ethnicity, it's very clear...men who have sex with men are mostimpacted by HIV and AIDS," he said.
He added that Latino and African American gay and bisexual men comprise thelargest proportion of HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2005 and that African Americanand Latino men proportionally become infected at younger ages than theirwhite counterparts.
Millet said the news was especially alarming for African American gay andbisexual men-between the ages of 15-22, the HIV prevalence rate is 14percent, and between the ages of 23-29, it is 32 percent.
"By the time black MSM get to a median age of 32...nearly half the communityis HIV positive," he added. "It's the only community in the United Stateswhere the prevalence rates are as bad as what you'd find in Sub-SaharanAfrica."
Millet said that data conversely showed that African American gay andbisexual men are less likely to use crystal meth, amyl nitrate or otherdrugs commonly associated with HIV infection. They are also less likely toreport unsafe sex practices leading to infection. But African American gayand bisexual men are nine times more likely to be HIV-positive than theirwhite or Latino peers. Latino gay and bisexual men are twice as likely to beHIV positive than whites.
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/071017/0316603.html
New Study Reveals Latino Parents' Views on Bullying, Sexual Orientation andPrejudice
Wednesday October 17, 10:33 am ET
95% Feel Information on Sexual Orientation Should Come From Parents, but
Most Haven't Started Such Conversations
ALEXANDRIA, VA--(MARKET WIRE)--Oct 17, 2007 -- Mental Health America todayreleased results from a national study of Latino parents to betterunderstand parent-child communication about bullying, sexual orientation andprejudice. Despite the fact that nearly all Latino parents surveyed believeinformation on sexual orientation should come from parents, two-thirds havenot started such conversations with their children. The findings coincidewith the release of a new Spanish-language brochure, "Qué Significa SerGay?," part of Mental Health America's ongoing efforts to reduce bullying,particularly regarding sexual orientation. For details, visit
www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/surveys.
"Bullying and the use of gay slurs in schoolyards and communities are fartoo common in America," said David Shern, Ph.D., president and CEO of MentalHealth America. "It has serious effects on children's self-esteem,schoolwork and overall development. Talking with children about sexualorientation may not be easy, but it will help them learn to better handlesituations of bullying and to respect and value others."
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/features/2007/just-say-know.html
Just Say Know
Finally, faith-based sex education that doesn't leave teens groping in thedark
by Ken Picard (10/17/07).
When Jason Gerrard started eighth grade at Edmunds Middle School inBurlington, his formal sex education to that point might have been acquiredsomewhere between the pharmacy and the produce section of his localsupermarket.
"It was just your typical demonstration of how to put a condom on a banana.That's about it," Gerrard recalls. "All the kids laughed and asked sillyquestions. It was nothing special."
Apparently, Gerrard's mother wasn't much more informative on the subject."She never wanted to talk to me about sex ed, as I found out not too longago," adds the now 17-year-old, a freshman at the University of Vermont."She said, 'Jason, there are only three words I have to say to you aboutyour sex life: Use a condom.'"
Like millions of other American teens, Gerrard could have gone through hisentire secondary education learning nothing about human sexuality beyondsome basic anatomy and a few tips for avoiding sexually transmitteddiseases. (In many schools across the U.S., even some in Vermont, theofficial "facts of life" begin and end with the abstinence-until-marriagemantra of "Just say no.") But then Gerrard's mother enrolled him in ayearlong, comprehensive sex education class called "Our Whole Lives."
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
39 Noted Performing Artists Urge Congress to
Fix Flaws in President's Global AIDS Plan
http://www.pepfarwatch.org/
For Immediate Release
October 17, 2007
Contact: Kristen Thompson
Office: 310.204.1748
Mobile: 310.780.0736
39 Noted Performing Artists Urge Congress to Fix Flaws in President's Global AIDS Plan
Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA) Organizes Artists Sign-On Letter as Part of Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) HIV Prevention Advocacy Coalition
(Los Angeles, CA) - Last week, 39 celebrity activists and Artists for a New South Africa issued a letter to members of Congress, urging them to improve the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR currently restricts 1/3 of U.S. global HIV prevention funds to abstinence-until-marriage programs that are proven ineffective and fail to address the specific risk factors unique to women and girls.
"Already 20 million members of our human family have died of AIDS," the artists stated. "By empowering the most vulnerable populations with scientifically-based prevention methods, millions of lives can be saved." (Full letter posted at www.pepfarwatch.org.)
The diverse list of celebrity signers includes actors Chris Rock, Alfre Woodard, Gillian Anderson, Ed Harris & Amy Madigan, Dulé Hill, Mary Steenburgen & Ted Danson, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Noah Gray-Cabey, Alexandra Paul, Jurnee Smollett, and Sheryl Lee Ralph, musicians Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and Peter Yarrow, among others.
The bipartisan Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth (PATHWAY) Act [H.R. 1713] in the House and the Senate's HIV Prevention Act [S. 1553] would strike the abstinence-until marriage spending requirement on PEPFAR. Additionally, the PATHWAY Act, introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, requires the President to develop a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy to address the vulnerabilities of women and girls.
more....
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[Send your comments about articles to rays.list@comcast.net]
#####
Friday, October 19, 2007
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST October 19, 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
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4122.cfm
Local right-wing lawyer seeks judge's impeachment
Anti-obscenity crusader Thompson was reprimanded for sending gay porn to court
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
Nearly a month after being reprimanded for submitting pornographic images of gay men into the federal court record, anti-obscenity crusader Jack Thompson is asking Congress and the acting U.S. attorney general to impeach the judge residing over his suit against the Florida Bar Association.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter and acting U.S. Attorney General Peter Keisler, Thompson is demanding that Federal District Judge Adalberto Jordan be removed from the bench for refusing to prosecute local attorney Norm Kent. Thompson has accused Kent of illegally distributing obscene materials on his website, www.nationalgaynews.com. Kent, who is also the founder and former publisher of the Express, has denied Thompson's allegations.
Thompson included the images of men engaging in sex into the court record Sept. 19 in an electronically filed pleading as evidence against Kent. He said he pulled the sexual images from web links that were posted on the front page of Kent's website. Kent said that neither he nor his staff posted any of the images referred to by Thompson. Kent said they were linked to his website by outside sites. In fact, the home page of Kent's site appears to contain no pornographic images, but it is possible to reach adult porn images by clicking on an advertiser and then clicking on "related links" from the advertiser's site.
Jordan denied Thompson's plea and sealed the filing. He then ordered Thompson to show cause as to why he should not go before the court's disciplinary Ad Hoc Committee.
"What Judge Jordan has done in this instance - refusing to report a crime, hiding the evidence, thereof, and then threatening the person who brought him evidence of that crime - constitutes an 'impeachable offense,'" Thompson wrote in his letter, dated Oct. 16.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/locallife/sports/4135.cfm
Gay running group launches new Wilton Manors run
Front Runners have been holding weekly runs and participating in events since 1989
By PHIL LAPADULA
Oct. 18, 2007
The Front Runners, a local gay running group, launched a new weekly run in Wilton Manors on Oct. 13.
The group, which was formed in 1989, has been meeting for runs in Holiday Park on Wednesday and Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. The new Wilton Manors run will be the group's first morning run.
"We started running in Holiday Park years ago, but the community has shifted to Wilton Manors," said Gary Bitner, spokesperson and incoming president of Front Runners Fort Lauderdale. "We wanted to be more visible to people, and we also wanted to run in the morning."
The group now meets every Saturday at 7:30 a.m. at the northeast corner of the Shoppes of Wilton Manors parking lot. They run through Wilton Manors west to Andrews Avenue, north up to Oakland Park Boulevard and then east to Dixie Highway. Like the
Holiday Park runs, runners can choose between a 4-mile and 6-mile course.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/locallife/pulse/4136.cfm
Flamingo's Pride Wind Ensemble to perform 'heavy classics'
Event at Broward Center will benefit the gay community center
By JW ARNOLD
Oct. 18, 2007
The most vivacious, bombastic and powerful music from the Classical and Romantic eras will be performed by the South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble, the concert arm of the Flamingo Freedom Band, on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center.
Under the baton of Artistic Director Dan Bassett, the 50-member band will perform familiar classics such as "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner, "The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini and the finale from Antonin Dvorak's "New World" Symphony.
According to Bassett, the program includes some of the most recognizable and loved tunes ever composed. In fact, the band's performance of "The Barber of Seville" will accompany the infamous Bugs Bunny cartoon "The Rabbit of Seville."
The ensemble will be joined by mezzo-soprano Maria Denison for selections from Bizet's opera "Carmen" as well as the MCC Sunshine Cathedral Choir for excerpts from Verdi's "Manzoni" Requiem.
The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of South Florida is offering a VIP reception and block seating. This fund-raiser will benefit the community center's general fund. Tickets for this fund-raiser are available through the GLCC.
General tickets are available for $20 through the Broward Center website,
www.browardcenter.org, or by calling 954-462-0222.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4124.cfm
Sunshine Cathedral undergoing renovations
Upgrades to include improvements to sanctuary, new organ and sound system
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
As its 35th anniversary approaches, the Sunshine Cathedral, home to the Metropolitan Community Church in Fort Lauderdale, is getting a million-dollar facelift.
On Oct. 1, construction crews began razing the front of the sanctuary. They removed the church's performance platform and the first rows of pews to create a better, safer space for religious services and community performances. The old platform was a plywood structure that wasn't very strong, cathedral officials explained.
The upgrades will include the installation of a new organ with Italian pipes, tri-level tiers for choir, expanded room for musicians and a more sophisticated sound and light system.
"[The renovation] is going to enhance the worship experience," said Kurt itzenberger, who manages the church facilities. "It will be a safer place for the clergy and the musicians, and it will be beautiful."
This past Sunday, church members worshipped in closer quarters than usual. Behind the makeshift altar stood a metal frame with plastic sheets that separated the pews from the construction area. The choir members and musicians, who usually perform in the front of the church, were huddled in the balcony.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/cover/4126.cfm
Where the boys - and girls - are
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival keeps city on the gay radar screen
By SHERI ELFMAN
Oct. 18, 2007
Whether you like comedy, drama or thril-lers, you can get your film fix at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. FLIFF, which takes place through Nov. 14, will include 175 films from 26 countries. This year, the films will be presented at three venues - Cinema Paradiso in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Regal Cinemas Cypress Creek Station 16 in the northeast area of Fort Lauderdale and the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center at Nova Southeastern University.
Many of the independent films in the festival this year are geared toward the gay and lesbian community.
'Rock Haven'
The film "Rock Haven" focuses on the topics of religion, sexuality and romance and how they all collide the first time a young man finds love. The film tells the story of Brady, a spiritual young man who moves to the town of Rock Haven with his mother Marty, who is setting up a Christian school in the area. Things get complicated when Brady meets Clifford, whom he finds attractive. His feelings for Clifford make Brady question his Christian beliefs and God.
'EXPLORING LOVE'
"Exploring Love" was filmed in Miami, and it's nice to see how photogenic our area is. The film centers on Sean Parker, an attractive man who is about to turn 30 and begins questioning his life. He embarks on a journey for true love. Sean goes through several romances and analyzes his relationship with his parents to figure out why he has such a hard time finding love. The film eatures some unexpected twists.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/theater/4137.cfm
Mayor Naugle's worst nightmare comes to the stage
'Urinetown' puts wacky spin on politics of public restrooms
By J.W.ARNOLD
Oct. 18, 2007
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. If we weren't in Fort Lauderdale - where the silly controversy Mayor Jim Naugle created over public toilets drags on - the premise of "Urinetown the Musical" would seem completely absurd: Due to a 20-year drought, private toilets are outlawed to conserve water and the residents of a small mythical city are forced to pay to use public facilities run by a ruthless corporation. Break the law (like taking a "free" leak in the bushes or behind a tree) and the perpetrator is banished to the mythical "Urinetown."
Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables is tackling this Tony-award winning show, which, admittedly, has a terrible name, a silly plot and a tragic ending. But unlike the current politics of public restrooms, "Urinetown" offers a surprisingly smart script, sophisticated songs and plenty of real-life drama. And, before I go any further, put those nasty thoughts of kinky water sports out of your head, that is unless the mere mention of urination is enough of a thrill. After all, this is "Urinetown" and what else do the residents have to sing about while waiting in line for their turns in the 'loo?
The book by Greg Kotis relies heavily on metaphor, but soon slips into the familiar Broadway formula of "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back." Sort of. The boy is Bobby Strong (Tally Sessions), assistant manager of Public Facility No. 9, located in one of the poorest sections of the city. The girl is Hope Cladwell (Gwen Hollander), daughter of the show's villain, Urine Good Company CEO Caldwell W. Cladwell (Allan Baker). Of course, Bobby doesn't know Hope is Cladwell's daughter when they meet and share a kiss. You should be able to predict what happens next.
Likewise, the score by Mark Hollman, is also familiar, yet cleverly twisted. The production is full of nods to the greats (or at least most popular) of musical theater, including "West Side Story," "Guys and Dolls" "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Les Miserables."
Gay cast member Marcus Davis is familiar to Actors Playhouse audiences for his Carbonell Award-nominated performances in last year's "La Cage Aux Folles."
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/music/4133.cfm
Broadway legend Barbara Cook to sing with local gay chorus
Candid star of 'Candide' and many other shows tells it like it is
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
On the verge of her 80th birthday, Broadway legend Barbara Cook is still keeping busy. She's still garnering rave reviews and selling out concert halls. Tuesday afternoon she was doing press interviews for her upcoming concert with the Ft. Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Cook made her Broadway debut in 1951 playing the ingénue lead in "Flahooley." Her sweet soprano voice and sweeter looks soon led to ground-breaking roles in "Carousel," "The Music Man," "She Loves Me" and "Candide," among others.
In 1976, Cook won rave reviews for her solo show at Carnegie Hall. This led to a triumphant turn in the cabaret circuit. After more than 40 years in show usiness, Cook now performs in concert halls with symphony orchestras. Last year, she became the first female pop singer to perform a solo concertat the Met in New York. She followed that with her sixth performance at Carnegie Hall. The Express caught up with Cook before her Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus gig:
Express: I wanted to start this interview by wishing you an early happy birthday.
Barbara Cook: Actually I'll have my birthday on the 25th, so it'll be a little after my performance in Florida. Three days later, I'll be 80 fucking years old.
Did you just use the F-word?
I did (laughing). My god you're recording. The whole world will know I have a dirty filthy mouth.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/nightlife/nightlife/4141.cfm
Bill's Filling Station moves into old Chardees building
Singer Sean Ensign to perform at club's grand opening in Wilton Manors
Oct. 18, 2007
The bar crowd was abuzz just a few weeks ago when Bill's Filling Station owners Jackson Padgett and Mark Negrete announced the bar's impending move to the former Chardee's location on busy Wilton Drive. Well, after painstakingly renovating the supper club, the duo-also recent partners in popular Georgie's Alibi across the street-are opening the doors this weekend.
Singer Sean Ensign will be performing live for the grand opening festivities and drag diva Cashetta will serve as guest "hostess with the most-est." VJ Gary Nolan, of Cathode Ray fame, will be serving up his signature videos every Friday through Monday at the bar.
In addition to the weekend-long blowout at Bill's, there's a lot going on at South Florida's gay bars and clubs this week. Check out these happenings:
Friday, Oct. 19
Celebrate drag diva Glitz Glamour's big birthday extravaganza at Coliseum tonight. The legendary Fort Lauderdale club hosts South Florida's largest college night on Fridays. Students with IDs get in for $8 and the drinks are cheap ($5) until midnight. DJ MIIK and DJ TPROMix are spinning in the main room or head upstairs to the White Lounge for music by Daisy D.
more . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editgscristcapnboct18,0,7598141,print.story
Mezuzah doesn't belong on Crist's office door
October 18, 2007
Crist should find better spot for symbol
Certainly Gov. Charlie Crist can find a better spot for a mezuzah than on his state capitol office door.
No doubt he thought it was a nice gesture to put the boxed Jewish scroll - a gift from state Rep. Adam Hasner, D-Delray Beach - on his office door. But by putting it there, in a public office, the governor not only is inviting charges of approving a religion, but is asking for a headache the first time some other religious group tells him they'd like him to display their symbol.
If Crist lived in his office, the church-state conflict might be viewed differently. But his office is a place where public work takes place, and the religious symbol at the entrance creates the impression that he is favoring one religion over another.
It's commendable Crist wants to celebrate diversity. He just need to find a more appropriate place for religious symbols than by the office door.
more . . . . .
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/v-print/story/276657.html
Fisher Island ferry rules controversial
BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
The ride to ultra-luxe Fisher Island -- home to peacocks, Mercedes golf carts and A-list celebrities -- is a ferry with two lounges that are almost indistinguishable in their plainness. They have the same faded, blue-cushioned benches, the same popcorny ceilings, the same framed safety warnings.
Without a guide, it would be hard to tell that one is reserved for residents and their guests, the other for employees.
In practice, however, the workers' cabin tends to fill with black and brown faces. The residents -- those who get out of their cars -- tend to be white.
''You see people of color being segregated in their own room,'' said Gene Mechanic, a labor union attorney who filed an equal-opportunity complaint Thursday on behalf of 19 current and former island workers. ``It's blatant segregation and discrimination.''
The island's four ferries -- Heron, Eagle, Pelican and Flamingo -- all have the same design: a wide platform to move cars and a small structure that has a wheelhouse in the middle and a lounge on each side.
''There's not enough room on either side to have a room large enough to accommodate everyone,'' said Mark James, president of the Fisher Island Community Association. ``It just seemed logical to have the larger room for employees.''
more . . . . .
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/276718.html
Testing of new Broward voting machines advances
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
As of Thursday afternoon, Broward had completed acceptance testing on more than one-third of the new voting machines.
So far, three of 380 machines did not pass the test and will be sent back to Election Systems & Software, the company that sold the machines to the county. Two machines failed to turn on and one was missing a part, said Mary Cooney, spokeswoman for the Broward Supervisor of Elections.
The machines are scanners into which voters insert completed paper ballots, filled out by hand. The machines will replace the controversial touch screens, which blind voters will continue to use in 2008. The testing of the 942 optical scanner machines should be finished next week.
=
The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/276702.html
Boycott has Broward Democrats feeling neglected
BY BREANNE GILPATRICK
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
Next year's early presidential primary should have meant a rush of campaign activity in Broward County, with Democratic presidential candidates coming to woo voters in the swing state's Democratic stronghold.
Voters say they expected constant candidate visits, a barrage of television advertisements and, like their counterparts in Iowa and New Hampshire, plenty of chances to see the candidates up close before the state's Jan. 29 primary.
But when the party's national committee penalized the state for leapfrogging ahead on the primary calendar and most of the party's major presidential candidates vowed not to campaign in the rule-breaking state, those prospects died.
Visions of marquee visits by celebrity candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama evaporated.
''I expected to be a bigger player, not to be written off the way we have been,'' said Charles Ayers, 39, president of the Plantation Democratic Club.
more . . . . .
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2007/10/19/a10a_XGR_S0H_1019.html
At issue: The death of Save Our Homes
By S.V. DÁTE
Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau
Friday, October 19, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Largely unnoticed so far in the din of back-and-forth, tax-cut olitics in the Capitol is one piece of potential dynamite: the destruction, even the actual reversal, of the popular Save Our Homes protection for homeowners.
Currently the biggest part of the House plan supported by Speaker Marco Rubio, the provision added in a committee Tuesday would, over time, make primary homeowners the most disadvantaged group of taxpayers in the state.
Proponents, including co-sponsor Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, do not describe it that way. They say the provision merely provides commercial and non-homesteaded residential property the same assessment cap - 3 percent or inflation, whichever is less - that homestead owners have enjoyed since Save Our Homes went into effect in 1994.
"This is basically a fairness issue," said Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, who unsuccessfully tried to add the language into the Senate plan Wednesday.
But that explanation ignores how the existing cap works. Save Our Homes does not limit taxes - it limits assessments. And the tax benefit enjoyed by homeowners is based solely on the differing rates of assessment increases on them versus everybody else.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Michael Rajner
Women Living Positive - It's my Life
N A T I O N A L S U M M I T
Friday, November 30, 2007
9:00 A.M. - 1:45 P.M. EST
LOCATION: ArtServe * FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED
Come join us in a discussion about issues unique to HIV-positivewomen, featuring:
* Keynote speaker Andrea Williams, the inspiration for theoriginal movie Life Support
* Presentations by nationally recognized HIV specialists, patientadvocates and ASO representatives
* Interactive workshops
For additional information, contact:
Sheila Reimer
AIDS Program Office - Broward County Health Department
Sheila_Reimer@doh.state.fl.us
954-467-4779
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4122.cfm
Local right-wing lawyer seeks judge's impeachment
Anti-obscenity crusader Thompson was reprimanded for sending gay porn to court
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
Nearly a month after being reprimanded for submitting pornographic images of gay men into the federal court record, anti-obscenity crusader Jack Thompson is asking Congress and the acting U.S. attorney general to impeach the judge residing over his suit against the Florida Bar Association.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter and acting U.S. Attorney General Peter Keisler, Thompson is demanding that Federal District Judge Adalberto Jordan be removed from the bench for refusing to prosecute local attorney Norm Kent. Thompson has accused Kent of illegally distributing obscene materials on his website, www.nationalgaynews.com. Kent, who is also the founder and former publisher of the Express, has denied Thompson's allegations.
Thompson included the images of men engaging in sex into the court record Sept. 19 in an electronically filed pleading as evidence against Kent. He said he pulled the sexual images from web links that were posted on the front page of Kent's website. Kent said that neither he nor his staff posted any of the images referred to by Thompson. Kent said they were linked to his website by outside sites. In fact, the home page of Kent's site appears to contain no pornographic images, but it is possible to reach adult porn images by clicking on an advertiser and then clicking on "related links" from the advertiser's site.
Jordan denied Thompson's plea and sealed the filing. He then ordered Thompson to show cause as to why he should not go before the court's disciplinary Ad Hoc Committee.
"What Judge Jordan has done in this instance - refusing to report a crime, hiding the evidence, thereof, and then threatening the person who brought him evidence of that crime - constitutes an 'impeachable offense,'" Thompson wrote in his letter, dated Oct. 16.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/locallife/sports/4135.cfm
Gay running group launches new Wilton Manors run
Front Runners have been holding weekly runs and participating in events since 1989
By PHIL LAPADULA
Oct. 18, 2007
The Front Runners, a local gay running group, launched a new weekly run in Wilton Manors on Oct. 13.
The group, which was formed in 1989, has been meeting for runs in Holiday Park on Wednesday and Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. The new Wilton Manors run will be the group's first morning run.
"We started running in Holiday Park years ago, but the community has shifted to Wilton Manors," said Gary Bitner, spokesperson and incoming president of Front Runners Fort Lauderdale. "We wanted to be more visible to people, and we also wanted to run in the morning."
The group now meets every Saturday at 7:30 a.m. at the northeast corner of the Shoppes of Wilton Manors parking lot. They run through Wilton Manors west to Andrews Avenue, north up to Oakland Park Boulevard and then east to Dixie Highway. Like the
Holiday Park runs, runners can choose between a 4-mile and 6-mile course.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/locallife/pulse/4136.cfm
Flamingo's Pride Wind Ensemble to perform 'heavy classics'
Event at Broward Center will benefit the gay community center
By JW ARNOLD
Oct. 18, 2007
The most vivacious, bombastic and powerful music from the Classical and Romantic eras will be performed by the South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble, the concert arm of the Flamingo Freedom Band, on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center.
Under the baton of Artistic Director Dan Bassett, the 50-member band will perform familiar classics such as "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner, "The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini and the finale from Antonin Dvorak's "New World" Symphony.
According to Bassett, the program includes some of the most recognizable and loved tunes ever composed. In fact, the band's performance of "The Barber of Seville" will accompany the infamous Bugs Bunny cartoon "The Rabbit of Seville."
The ensemble will be joined by mezzo-soprano Maria Denison for selections from Bizet's opera "Carmen" as well as the MCC Sunshine Cathedral Choir for excerpts from Verdi's "Manzoni" Requiem.
The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of South Florida is offering a VIP reception and block seating. This fund-raiser will benefit the community center's general fund. Tickets for this fund-raiser are available through the GLCC.
General tickets are available for $20 through the Broward Center website,
www.browardcenter.org, or by calling 954-462-0222.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4124.cfm
Sunshine Cathedral undergoing renovations
Upgrades to include improvements to sanctuary, new organ and sound system
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
As its 35th anniversary approaches, the Sunshine Cathedral, home to the Metropolitan Community Church in Fort Lauderdale, is getting a million-dollar facelift.
On Oct. 1, construction crews began razing the front of the sanctuary. They removed the church's performance platform and the first rows of pews to create a better, safer space for religious services and community performances. The old platform was a plywood structure that wasn't very strong, cathedral officials explained.
The upgrades will include the installation of a new organ with Italian pipes, tri-level tiers for choir, expanded room for musicians and a more sophisticated sound and light system.
"[The renovation] is going to enhance the worship experience," said Kurt itzenberger, who manages the church facilities. "It will be a safer place for the clergy and the musicians, and it will be beautiful."
This past Sunday, church members worshipped in closer quarters than usual. Behind the makeshift altar stood a metal frame with plastic sheets that separated the pews from the construction area. The choir members and musicians, who usually perform in the front of the church, were huddled in the balcony.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/cover/4126.cfm
Where the boys - and girls - are
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival keeps city on the gay radar screen
By SHERI ELFMAN
Oct. 18, 2007
Whether you like comedy, drama or thril-lers, you can get your film fix at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. FLIFF, which takes place through Nov. 14, will include 175 films from 26 countries. This year, the films will be presented at three venues - Cinema Paradiso in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Regal Cinemas Cypress Creek Station 16 in the northeast area of Fort Lauderdale and the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center at Nova Southeastern University.
Many of the independent films in the festival this year are geared toward the gay and lesbian community.
'Rock Haven'
The film "Rock Haven" focuses on the topics of religion, sexuality and romance and how they all collide the first time a young man finds love. The film tells the story of Brady, a spiritual young man who moves to the town of Rock Haven with his mother Marty, who is setting up a Christian school in the area. Things get complicated when Brady meets Clifford, whom he finds attractive. His feelings for Clifford make Brady question his Christian beliefs and God.
'EXPLORING LOVE'
"Exploring Love" was filmed in Miami, and it's nice to see how photogenic our area is. The film centers on Sean Parker, an attractive man who is about to turn 30 and begins questioning his life. He embarks on a journey for true love. Sean goes through several romances and analyzes his relationship with his parents to figure out why he has such a hard time finding love. The film eatures some unexpected twists.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/theater/4137.cfm
Mayor Naugle's worst nightmare comes to the stage
'Urinetown' puts wacky spin on politics of public restrooms
By J.W.ARNOLD
Oct. 18, 2007
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. If we weren't in Fort Lauderdale - where the silly controversy Mayor Jim Naugle created over public toilets drags on - the premise of "Urinetown the Musical" would seem completely absurd: Due to a 20-year drought, private toilets are outlawed to conserve water and the residents of a small mythical city are forced to pay to use public facilities run by a ruthless corporation. Break the law (like taking a "free" leak in the bushes or behind a tree) and the perpetrator is banished to the mythical "Urinetown."
Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables is tackling this Tony-award winning show, which, admittedly, has a terrible name, a silly plot and a tragic ending. But unlike the current politics of public restrooms, "Urinetown" offers a surprisingly smart script, sophisticated songs and plenty of real-life drama. And, before I go any further, put those nasty thoughts of kinky water sports out of your head, that is unless the mere mention of urination is enough of a thrill. After all, this is "Urinetown" and what else do the residents have to sing about while waiting in line for their turns in the 'loo?
The book by Greg Kotis relies heavily on metaphor, but soon slips into the familiar Broadway formula of "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back." Sort of. The boy is Bobby Strong (Tally Sessions), assistant manager of Public Facility No. 9, located in one of the poorest sections of the city. The girl is Hope Cladwell (Gwen Hollander), daughter of the show's villain, Urine Good Company CEO Caldwell W. Cladwell (Allan Baker). Of course, Bobby doesn't know Hope is Cladwell's daughter when they meet and share a kiss. You should be able to predict what happens next.
Likewise, the score by Mark Hollman, is also familiar, yet cleverly twisted. The production is full of nods to the greats (or at least most popular) of musical theater, including "West Side Story," "Guys and Dolls" "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Les Miserables."
Gay cast member Marcus Davis is familiar to Actors Playhouse audiences for his Carbonell Award-nominated performances in last year's "La Cage Aux Folles."
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/music/4133.cfm
Broadway legend Barbara Cook to sing with local gay chorus
Candid star of 'Candide' and many other shows tells it like it is
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
On the verge of her 80th birthday, Broadway legend Barbara Cook is still keeping busy. She's still garnering rave reviews and selling out concert halls. Tuesday afternoon she was doing press interviews for her upcoming concert with the Ft. Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Cook made her Broadway debut in 1951 playing the ingénue lead in "Flahooley." Her sweet soprano voice and sweeter looks soon led to ground-breaking roles in "Carousel," "The Music Man," "She Loves Me" and "Candide," among others.
In 1976, Cook won rave reviews for her solo show at Carnegie Hall. This led to a triumphant turn in the cabaret circuit. After more than 40 years in show usiness, Cook now performs in concert halls with symphony orchestras. Last year, she became the first female pop singer to perform a solo concertat the Met in New York. She followed that with her sixth performance at Carnegie Hall. The Express caught up with Cook before her Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus gig:
Express: I wanted to start this interview by wishing you an early happy birthday.
Barbara Cook: Actually I'll have my birthday on the 25th, so it'll be a little after my performance in Florida. Three days later, I'll be 80 fucking years old.
Did you just use the F-word?
I did (laughing). My god you're recording. The whole world will know I have a dirty filthy mouth.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/nightlife/nightlife/4141.cfm
Bill's Filling Station moves into old Chardees building
Singer Sean Ensign to perform at club's grand opening in Wilton Manors
Oct. 18, 2007
The bar crowd was abuzz just a few weeks ago when Bill's Filling Station owners Jackson Padgett and Mark Negrete announced the bar's impending move to the former Chardee's location on busy Wilton Drive. Well, after painstakingly renovating the supper club, the duo-also recent partners in popular Georgie's Alibi across the street-are opening the doors this weekend.
Singer Sean Ensign will be performing live for the grand opening festivities and drag diva Cashetta will serve as guest "hostess with the most-est." VJ Gary Nolan, of Cathode Ray fame, will be serving up his signature videos every Friday through Monday at the bar.
In addition to the weekend-long blowout at Bill's, there's a lot going on at South Florida's gay bars and clubs this week. Check out these happenings:
Friday, Oct. 19
Celebrate drag diva Glitz Glamour's big birthday extravaganza at Coliseum tonight. The legendary Fort Lauderdale club hosts South Florida's largest college night on Fridays. Students with IDs get in for $8 and the drinks are cheap ($5) until midnight. DJ MIIK and DJ TPROMix are spinning in the main room or head upstairs to the White Lounge for music by Daisy D.
more . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editgscristcapnboct18,0,7598141,print.story
Mezuzah doesn't belong on Crist's office door
October 18, 2007
Crist should find better spot for symbol
Certainly Gov. Charlie Crist can find a better spot for a mezuzah than on his state capitol office door.
No doubt he thought it was a nice gesture to put the boxed Jewish scroll - a gift from state Rep. Adam Hasner, D-Delray Beach - on his office door. But by putting it there, in a public office, the governor not only is inviting charges of approving a religion, but is asking for a headache the first time some other religious group tells him they'd like him to display their symbol.
If Crist lived in his office, the church-state conflict might be viewed differently. But his office is a place where public work takes place, and the religious symbol at the entrance creates the impression that he is favoring one religion over another.
It's commendable Crist wants to celebrate diversity. He just need to find a more appropriate place for religious symbols than by the office door.
more . . . . .
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/v-print/story/276657.html
Fisher Island ferry rules controversial
BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
The ride to ultra-luxe Fisher Island -- home to peacocks, Mercedes golf carts and A-list celebrities -- is a ferry with two lounges that are almost indistinguishable in their plainness. They have the same faded, blue-cushioned benches, the same popcorny ceilings, the same framed safety warnings.
Without a guide, it would be hard to tell that one is reserved for residents and their guests, the other for employees.
In practice, however, the workers' cabin tends to fill with black and brown faces. The residents -- those who get out of their cars -- tend to be white.
''You see people of color being segregated in their own room,'' said Gene Mechanic, a labor union attorney who filed an equal-opportunity complaint Thursday on behalf of 19 current and former island workers. ``It's blatant segregation and discrimination.''
The island's four ferries -- Heron, Eagle, Pelican and Flamingo -- all have the same design: a wide platform to move cars and a small structure that has a wheelhouse in the middle and a lounge on each side.
''There's not enough room on either side to have a room large enough to accommodate everyone,'' said Mark James, president of the Fisher Island Community Association. ``It just seemed logical to have the larger room for employees.''
more . . . . .
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/276718.html
Testing of new Broward voting machines advances
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
As of Thursday afternoon, Broward had completed acceptance testing on more than one-third of the new voting machines.
So far, three of 380 machines did not pass the test and will be sent back to Election Systems & Software, the company that sold the machines to the county. Two machines failed to turn on and one was missing a part, said Mary Cooney, spokeswoman for the Broward Supervisor of Elections.
The machines are scanners into which voters insert completed paper ballots, filled out by hand. The machines will replace the controversial touch screens, which blind voters will continue to use in 2008. The testing of the 942 optical scanner machines should be finished next week.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/276702.html
Boycott has Broward Democrats feeling neglected
BY BREANNE GILPATRICK
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
Next year's early presidential primary should have meant a rush of campaign activity in Broward County, with Democratic presidential candidates coming to woo voters in the swing state's Democratic stronghold.
Voters say they expected constant candidate visits, a barrage of television advertisements and, like their counterparts in Iowa and New Hampshire, plenty of chances to see the candidates up close before the state's Jan. 29 primary.
But when the party's national committee penalized the state for leapfrogging ahead on the primary calendar and most of the party's major presidential candidates vowed not to campaign in the rule-breaking state, those prospects died.
Visions of marquee visits by celebrity candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama evaporated.
''I expected to be a bigger player, not to be written off the way we have been,'' said Charles Ayers, 39, president of the Plantation Democratic Club.
more . . . . .
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2007/10/19/a10a_XGR_S0H_1019.html
At issue: The death of Save Our Homes
By S.V. DÁTE
Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau
Friday, October 19, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Largely unnoticed so far in the din of back-and-forth, tax-cut olitics in the Capitol is one piece of potential dynamite: the destruction, even the actual reversal, of the popular Save Our Homes protection for homeowners.
Currently the biggest part of the House plan supported by Speaker Marco Rubio, the provision added in a committee Tuesday would, over time, make primary homeowners the most disadvantaged group of taxpayers in the state.
Proponents, including co-sponsor Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, do not describe it that way. They say the provision merely provides commercial and non-homesteaded residential property the same assessment cap - 3 percent or inflation, whichever is less - that homestead owners have enjoyed since Save Our Homes went into effect in 1994.
"This is basically a fairness issue," said Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, who unsuccessfully tried to add the language into the Senate plan Wednesday.
But that explanation ignores how the existing cap works. Save Our Homes does not limit taxes - it limits assessments. And the tax benefit enjoyed by homeowners is based solely on the differing rates of assessment increases on them versus everybody else.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Michael Rajner
Women Living Positive - It's my Life
N A T I O N A L S U M M I T
Friday, November 30, 2007
9:00 A.M. - 1:45 P.M. EST
LOCATION: ArtServe * FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED
Come join us in a discussion about issues unique to HIV-positivewomen, featuring:
* Keynote speaker Andrea Williams, the inspiration for theoriginal movie Life Support
* Presentations by nationally recognized HIV specialists, patientadvocates and ASO representatives
* Interactive workshops
For additional information, contact:
Sheila Reimer
AIDS Program Office - Broward County Health Department
Sheila_Reimer@doh.state.fl.us
954-467-4779
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
FLORIDA DIGEST October 19, 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.
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4122.cfm
Local right-wing lawyer seeks judge's impeachment
Anti-obscenity crusader Thompson was reprimanded for sending gay porn tocourt
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
Nearly a month after being reprimanded for submitting pornographic images ofgay men into the federal court record, anti-obscenity crusader Jack Thompsonis asking Congress and the acting U.S. attorney general to impeach the judgepresiding over his suit against the Florida Bar Association.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter andacting U.S. Attorney General Peter Keisler, Thompson is demanding thatFederal District Judge Adalberto Jordan be removed from the bench forrefusing to prosecute local attorney Norm Kent. Thompson has accused Kent ofillegally distributing obscene materials on his website,www.nationalgaynews.com. Kent, who is also the founder and former publisherof the Express, has denied Thompson's allegations.
Thompson included the images of men engaging in sex into the court recordSept. 19 in an electronically filed pleading as evidence against Kent. Hesaid he pulled the sexual images from web links that were posted on thefront page of Kent's website. Kent said that neither he nor his staff postedany of the images referred to by Thompson. Kent said they were linked to hiswebsite by outside sites. In fact, the home page of Kent's site appears tocontain no pornographic images, but it is possible to reach adult pornimages by clicking on an advertiser and then clicking on "related links"from the advertiser's site.
Jordan denied Thompson's plea and sealed the filing. He then orderedThompson to show cause as to why he should not go before the court'sdisciplinary Ad Hoc Committee.
"What Judge Jordan has done in this instance - refusing to report a crime,hiding the evidence, thereof, and then threatening the person who broughthim evidence of that crime - constitutes an 'impeachable offense,'" Thompsonwrote in his letter, dated Oct. 16.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/locallife/sports/4135.cfm
Gay running group launches new Wilton Manors run
Front Runners have been holding weekly runs and participating in eventssince 1989
By PHIL LAPADULA
Oct. 18, 2007
The Front Runners, a local gay running group, launched a new weekly run inWilton Manors on Oct. 13.
The group, which was formed in 1989, has been meeting for runs in HolidayPark on Wednesday and Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. The new Wilton Manors runwill be the group's first morning run.
"We started running in Holiday Park years ago, but the community has shiftedto Wilton Manors," said Gary Bitner, spokesperson and incoming president ofFront Runners Fort Lauderdale. "We wanted to be more visible to people, andwe also wanted to run in the morning."
The group now meets every Saturday at 7:30 a.m. at the northeast corner ofthe Shoppes of Wilton Manors parking lot. They run through Wilton Manorswest to Andrews Avenue, north up to Oakland Park Boulevard and then east toDixie Highway. Like the
Holiday Park runs, runners can choose between a 4-mile and 6-mile course.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/locallife/pulse/4136.cfm
Flamingo's Pride Wind Ensemble to perform 'heavy classics'
Event at Broward Center will benefit the gay community center
By JW ARNOLD
Oct. 18, 2007
The most vivacious, bombastic and powerful music from the Classical andRomantic eras will be performed by the South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble,the concert arm of the Flamingo Freedom Band, on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7:30p.m. in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center.
Under the baton of Artistic Director Dan Bassett, the 50-member band willperform familiar classics such as "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner,"The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini and the finale from AntoninDvorak's "New World" Symphony.
According to Bassett, the program includes some of the most recognizable andloved tunes ever composed. In fact, the band's performance of "The Barber ofSeville" will accompany the infamous Bugs Bunny cartoon "The Rabbit ofSeville."
The ensemble will be joined by mezzo-soprano Maria Denison for selectionsfrom Bizet's opera "Carmen" as well as the MCC Sunshine Cathedral Choir forexcerpts from Verdi's "Manzoni" Requiem.
The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of South Florida is offering a VIPreception and block seating. This fund-raiser will benefit the communitycenter's general fund. Tickets for this fund-raiser are available throughthe GLCC.
General tickets are available for $20 through the Broward Center website, www.browardcenter.org, or by calling 954-462-0222.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4124.cfm
Sunshine Cathedral undergoing renovations
Upgrades to include improvements to sanctuary, new organ and sound system
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
As its 35th anniversary approaches, the Sunshine Cathedral, home to theMetropolitan Community Church in Fort Lauderdale, is getting amillion-dollar facelift.
On Oct. 1, construction crews began razing the front of the sanctuary. Theyremoved the church's performance platform and the first rows of pews tocreate a better, safer space for religious services and communityperformances. The old platform was a plywood structure that wasn't verystrong, cathedral officials explained.
The upgrades will include the installation of a new organ with Italianpipes, tri-level tiers for choir, expanded room for musicians and a moresophisticated sound and light system.
"[The renovation] is going to enhance the worship experience," said KurtLitzenberger, who manages the church facilities. "It will be a safer placefor the clergy and the musicians, and it will be beautiful."
This past Sunday, church members worshipped in closer quarters than usual.Behind the makeshift altar stood a metal frame with plastic sheets thatseparated the pews from the construction area. The choir members andmusicians, who usually perform in the front of the church, were huddled inthe balcony.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/cover/4126.cfm
Where the boys - and girls - are
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival keeps city on the gay radarscreen
By SHERI ELFMAN
Oct. 18, 2007
Whether you like comedy, drama or thril-lers, you can get your film fix atthe Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. FLIFF, which takes placethrough Nov. 14, will include 175 films from 26 countries. This year, thefilms will be presented at three venues - Cinema Paradiso in downtown FortLauderdale, Regal Cinemas Cypress Creek Station 16 in the northeast area ofFort Lauderdale and the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center atNova Southeastern University.
Many of the independent films in the festival this year are geared towardthe gay and lesbian community.
'Rock Haven'
The film "Rock Haven" focuses on the topics of religion, sexuality andromance and how they all collide the first time a young man finds love. Thefilm tells the story of Brady, a spiritual young man who moves to the townof Rock Haven with his mother Marty, who is setting up a Christian school inthe area. Things get complicated when Brady meets Clifford, whom he findsattractive. His feelings for Clifford make Brady question his Christianbeliefs and God.
'EXPLORING LOVE'
"Exploring Love" was filmed in Miami, and it's nice to see how photogenicour area is. The film centers on Sean Parker, an attractive man who is aboutto turn 30 and begins questioning his life. He embarks on a journey for truelove. Sean goes through several romances and analyzes his relationship withhis parents to figure out why he has such a hard time finding love. The filmfeatures some unexpected twists.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/theater/4137.cfm
Mayor Naugle's worst nightmare comes to the stage
'Urinetown' puts wacky spin on politics of public restrooms
By J.W.ARNOLD
Oct. 18, 2007
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. If we weren't in Fort Lauderdale -where the silly controversy Mayor Jim Naugle created over public toiletsdrags on - the premise of "Urinetown the Musical" would seem completelyabsurd: Due to a 20-year drought, private toilets are outlawed to conservewater and the residents of a small mythical city are forced to pay to usepublic facilities run by a ruthless corporation. Break the law (like takinga "free" leak in the bushes or behind a tree) and the perpetrator isbanished to the mythical "Urinetown."
Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables is tackling this Tony-award winning show,which, admittedly, has a terrible name, a silly plot and a tragic ending.But unlike the current politics of public restrooms, "Urinetown" offers asurprisingly smart script, sophisticated songs and plenty of real-lifedrama. And, before I go any further, put those nasty thoughts of kinky watersports out of your head, that is unless the mere mention of urination isenough of a thrill. After all, this is "Urinetown" and what else do theresidents have to sing about while waiting in line for their turns in the 'loo?
The book by Greg Kotis relies heavily on metaphor, but soon slips into thefamiliar Broadway formula of "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girlback." Sort of. The boy is Bobby Strong (Tally Sessions), assistant managerof Public Facility No. 9, located in one of the poorest sections of thecity. The girl is Hope Cladwell (Gwen Hollander), daughter of the show'svillain, Urine Good Company CEO Caldwell W. Cladwell (Allan Baker). Ofcourse, Bobby doesn't know Hope is Cladwell's daughter when they meet andshare a kiss. You should be able to predict what happens next.
Likewise, the score by Mark Hollman, is also familiar, yet cleverly twisted.The production is full of nods to the greats (or at least most popular) ofmusical theater, including "West Side Story," "Guys and Dolls" "Fiddler onthe Roof" and "Les Miserables."
Gay cast member Marcus Davis is familiar to Actors Playhouse audiences forhis Carbonell Award-nominated performances in last year's "La Cage AuxFolles."
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/music/4133.cfm
Broadway legend Barbara Cook to sing with local gay chorus
Candid star of 'Candide' and many other shows tells it like it is
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
On the verge of her 80th birthday, Broadway legend Barbara Cook is stillkeeping busy. She's still garnering rave reviews and selling out concerthalls. Tuesday afternoon she was doing press interviews for her upcomingconcert with the Ft. Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus at the Broward Center forthe Performing Arts.
Cook made her Broadway debut in 1951 playing the ingénue lead in "Flahooley." Her sweet soprano voice and sweeter looks soon led toground-breaking roles in "Carousel," "The Music Man," "She Loves Me" and"Candide," among others.
In 1976, Cook won rave reviews for her solo show at Carnegie Hall. This ledto a triumphant turn in the cabaret circuit. After more than 40 years inshow business, Cook now performs in concert halls with symphony orchestras.Last year, she became the first female pop singer to perform a solo concertat the Met in New York. She followed that with her sixth performance atCarnegie Hall. The Express caught up with Cook before her Fort LauderdaleGay Men's Chorus gig:
Express: I wanted to start this interview by wishing you an early happybirthday.
Barbara Cook: Actually I'll have my birthday on the 25th, so it'll be alittle after my performance in Florida. Three days later, I'll be 80 fucking
years old.
Did you just use the F-word?
I did (laughing). My god you're recording. The whole world will know I havea dirty filthy mouth.
more . . . . .
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/nightlife/nightlife/4141.cfm
Bill's Filling Station moves into old Chardees building
Singer Sean Ensign to perform at club's grand opening in Wilton Manors
Oct. 18, 2007
The bar crowd was abuzz just a few weeks ago when Bill's Filling Stationowners Jackson Padgett and Mark Negrete announced the bar's impending moveto the former Chardee's location on busy Wilton Drive. Well, afterpainstakingly renovating the supper club, the duo-also recent partners inpopular Georgie's Alibi across the street-are opening the doors thisweekend.
Singer Sean Ensign will be performing live for the grand opening festivitiesand drag diva Cashetta will serve as guest "hostess with the most-est." VJGary Nolan, of Cathode Ray fame, will be serving up his signature videosevery Friday through Monday at the bar.
In addition to the weekend-long blowout at Bill's, there's a lot going on atSouth Florida's gay bars and clubs this week. Check out these happenings:
Friday, Oct. 19
Celebrate drag diva Glitz Glamour's big birthday extravaganza at Coliseumtonight. The legendary Fort Lauderdale club hosts South Florida's largestcollege night on Fridays. Students with IDs get in for $8 and the drinks arecheap ($5) until midnight. DJ MIIK and DJ TPROMix are spinning in the mainroom or head upstairs to the White Lounge for music by Daisy D.
more . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editgscristcapnboct18,0,7598141,print.story
Mezuzah doesn't belong on Crist's office door
October 18, 2007
Crist should find better spot for symbol
Certainly Gov. Charlie Crist can find a better spot for a mezuzah than onhis state capitol office door.
No doubt he thought it was a nice gesture to put the boxed Jewish scroll - agift from state Rep. Adam Hasner, D-Delray Beach - on his office door. Butby putting it there, in a public office, the governor not only is invitingcharges of approving a religion, but is asking for a headache the first timesome other religious group tells him they'd like him to display theirsymbol.
If Crist lived in his office, the church-state conflict might be vieweddifferently. But his office is a place where public work takes place, andthe religious symbol at the entrance creates the impression that he isfavoring one religion over another.
It's commendable Crist wants to celebrate diversity. He just need to find amore appropriate place for religious symbols than by the office door.
more . . . . .
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/v-print/story/276657.html
Fisher Island ferry rules controversial
BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
The ride to ultra-luxe Fisher Island -- home to peacocks, Mercedes golfcarts and A-list celebrities -- is a ferry with two lounges that are almostindistinguishable in their plainness. They have the same faded,blue-cushioned benches, the same popcorny ceilings, the same framed safetywarnings.
Without a guide, it would be hard to tell that one is reserved for residentsand their guests, the other for employees.
In practice, however, the workers' cabin tends to fill with black and brownfaces. The residents -- those who get out of their cars -- tend to be white.
''You see people of color being segregated in their own room,'' said GeneMechanic, a labor union attorney who filed an equal-opportunity complaintThursday on behalf of 19 current and former island workers. ``It's blatantsegregation and discrimination.''
The island's four ferries -- Heron, Eagle, Pelican and Flamingo -- all havethe same design: a wide platform to move cars and a small structure that hasa wheelhouse in the middle and a lounge on each side.
''There's not enough room on either side to have a room large enough toaccommodate everyone,'' said Mark James, president of the Fisher IslandCommunity Association. ``It just seemed logical to have the larger room foremployees.''
more . . . . .
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/276718.html
Testing of new Broward voting machines advances
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
As of Thursday afternoon, Broward had completed acceptance testing on morethan one-third of the new voting machines.
So far, three of 380 machines did not pass the test and will be sent back toElection Systems & Software, the company that sold the machines to thecounty. Two machines failed to turn on and one was missing a part, said MaryCooney, spokeswoman for the Broward Supervisor of Elections.
The machines are scanners into which voters insert completed paper ballots,filled out by hand. The machines will replace the controversial touchscreens, which blind voters will continue to use in 2008. The testing of the942 optical scanner machines should be finished next week.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/276702.html
Boycott has Broward Democrats feeling neglected
BY BREANNE GILPATRICK
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
Next year's early presidential primary should have meant a rush of campaignactivity in Broward County, with Democratic presidential candidates comingto woo voters in the swing state's Democratic stronghold.
Voters say they expected constant candidate visits, a barrage of televisionadvertisements and, like their counterparts in Iowa and New Hampshire,plenty of chances to see the candidates up close before the state's Jan. 29primary.
But when the party's national committee penalized the state for leapfrogging
ahead on the primary calendar and most of the party's major presidential
candidates vowed not to campaign in the rule-breaking state, those prospectsdied.
Visions of marquee visits by celebrity candidates such as Hillary Clintonand Barack Obama evaporated.
''I expected to be a bigger player, not to be written off the way we havebeen,'' said Charles Ayers, 39, president of the Plantation Democratic Club.
more . . . . .
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2007/10/19/a10a_XGR_S0H_1019.html
At issue: The death of Save Our Homes
By S.V. DÁTE
Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau
Friday, October 19, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Largely unnoticed so far in the din of back-and-forth, tax-cutpolitics in the Capitol is one piece of potential dynamite: the destruction,even the actual reversal, of the popular Save Our Homes protection forhomeowners.
Currently the biggest part of the House plan supported by Speaker MarcoRubio, the provision added in a committee Tuesday would, over time, makeprimary homeowners the most disadvantaged group of taxpayers in the state.
Proponents, including co-sponsor Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, do notdescribe it that way. They say the provision merely provides commercial andnon-homesteaded residential property the same assessment cap - 3 percent orinflation, whichever is less - that homestead owners have enjoyed since SaveOur Homes went into effect in 1994.
"This is basically a fairness issue," said Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton,who unsuccessfully tried to add the language into the Senate plan Wednesday.
But that explanation ignores how the existing cap works. Save Our Homes doesnot limit taxes - it limits assessments. And the tax benefit enjoyed byhomeowners is based solely on the differing rates of assessment increases onthem versus everybody else.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Michael Rajner
Women Living Positive - It's my Life
N A T I O N A L S U M M I T
Friday, November 30, 2007
9:00 A.M. - 1:45 P.M. EST
LOCATION: ArtServe * FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED
Come join us in a discussion about issues unique to HIV-positivewomen, featuring:
* Keynote speaker Andrea Williams, the inspiration for theoriginal movie Life Support
* Presentations by nationally recognized HIV specialists, patientadvocates and ASO representatives
* Interactive workshops
For additional information, contact:
Sheila Reimer
AIDS Program Office - Broward County Health Department
Sheila_Reimer@doh.state.fl.us
954-467-4779
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4122.cfm
Local right-wing lawyer seeks judge's impeachment
Anti-obscenity crusader Thompson was reprimanded for sending gay porn tocourt
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
Nearly a month after being reprimanded for submitting pornographic images ofgay men into the federal court record, anti-obscenity crusader Jack Thompsonis asking Congress and the acting U.S. attorney general to impeach the judgepresiding over his suit against the Florida Bar Association.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter andacting U.S. Attorney General Peter Keisler, Thompson is demanding thatFederal District Judge Adalberto Jordan be removed from the bench forrefusing to prosecute local attorney Norm Kent. Thompson has accused Kent ofillegally distributing obscene materials on his website,www.nationalgaynews.com. Kent, who is also the founder and former publisherof the Express, has denied Thompson's allegations.
Thompson included the images of men engaging in sex into the court recordSept. 19 in an electronically filed pleading as evidence against Kent. Hesaid he pulled the sexual images from web links that were posted on thefront page of Kent's website. Kent said that neither he nor his staff postedany of the images referred to by Thompson. Kent said they were linked to hiswebsite by outside sites. In fact, the home page of Kent's site appears tocontain no pornographic images, but it is possible to reach adult pornimages by clicking on an advertiser and then clicking on "related links"from the advertiser's site.
Jordan denied Thompson's plea and sealed the filing. He then orderedThompson to show cause as to why he should not go before the court'sdisciplinary Ad Hoc Committee.
"What Judge Jordan has done in this instance - refusing to report a crime,hiding the evidence, thereof, and then threatening the person who broughthim evidence of that crime - constitutes an 'impeachable offense,'" Thompsonwrote in his letter, dated Oct. 16.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/locallife/sports/4135.cfm
Gay running group launches new Wilton Manors run
Front Runners have been holding weekly runs and participating in eventssince 1989
By PHIL LAPADULA
Oct. 18, 2007
The Front Runners, a local gay running group, launched a new weekly run inWilton Manors on Oct. 13.
The group, which was formed in 1989, has been meeting for runs in HolidayPark on Wednesday and Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. The new Wilton Manors runwill be the group's first morning run.
"We started running in Holiday Park years ago, but the community has shiftedto Wilton Manors," said Gary Bitner, spokesperson and incoming president ofFront Runners Fort Lauderdale. "We wanted to be more visible to people, andwe also wanted to run in the morning."
The group now meets every Saturday at 7:30 a.m. at the northeast corner ofthe Shoppes of Wilton Manors parking lot. They run through Wilton Manorswest to Andrews Avenue, north up to Oakland Park Boulevard and then east toDixie Highway. Like the
Holiday Park runs, runners can choose between a 4-mile and 6-mile course.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/locallife/pulse/4136.cfm
Flamingo's Pride Wind Ensemble to perform 'heavy classics'
Event at Broward Center will benefit the gay community center
By JW ARNOLD
Oct. 18, 2007
The most vivacious, bombastic and powerful music from the Classical andRomantic eras will be performed by the South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble,the concert arm of the Flamingo Freedom Band, on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7:30p.m. in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center.
Under the baton of Artistic Director Dan Bassett, the 50-member band willperform familiar classics such as "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner,"The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini and the finale from AntoninDvorak's "New World" Symphony.
According to Bassett, the program includes some of the most recognizable andloved tunes ever composed. In fact, the band's performance of "The Barber ofSeville" will accompany the infamous Bugs Bunny cartoon "The Rabbit ofSeville."
The ensemble will be joined by mezzo-soprano Maria Denison for selectionsfrom Bizet's opera "Carmen" as well as the MCC Sunshine Cathedral Choir forexcerpts from Verdi's "Manzoni" Requiem.
The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of South Florida is offering a VIPreception and block seating. This fund-raiser will benefit the communitycenter's general fund. Tickets for this fund-raiser are available throughthe GLCC.
General tickets are available for $20 through the Broward Center website, www.browardcenter.org, or by calling 954-462-0222.
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/news/localnews/4124.cfm
Sunshine Cathedral undergoing renovations
Upgrades to include improvements to sanctuary, new organ and sound system
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
As its 35th anniversary approaches, the Sunshine Cathedral, home to theMetropolitan Community Church in Fort Lauderdale, is getting amillion-dollar facelift.
On Oct. 1, construction crews began razing the front of the sanctuary. Theyremoved the church's performance platform and the first rows of pews tocreate a better, safer space for religious services and communityperformances. The old platform was a plywood structure that wasn't verystrong, cathedral officials explained.
The upgrades will include the installation of a new organ with Italianpipes, tri-level tiers for choir, expanded room for musicians and a moresophisticated sound and light system.
"[The renovation] is going to enhance the worship experience," said KurtLitzenberger, who manages the church facilities. "It will be a safer placefor the clergy and the musicians, and it will be beautiful."
This past Sunday, church members worshipped in closer quarters than usual.Behind the makeshift altar stood a metal frame with plastic sheets thatseparated the pews from the construction area. The choir members andmusicians, who usually perform in the front of the church, were huddled inthe balcony.
more . . . . .
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/cover/4126.cfm
Where the boys - and girls - are
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival keeps city on the gay radarscreen
By SHERI ELFMAN
Oct. 18, 2007
Whether you like comedy, drama or thril-lers, you can get your film fix atthe Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. FLIFF, which takes placethrough Nov. 14, will include 175 films from 26 countries. This year, thefilms will be presented at three venues - Cinema Paradiso in downtown FortLauderdale, Regal Cinemas Cypress Creek Station 16 in the northeast area ofFort Lauderdale and the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center atNova Southeastern University.
Many of the independent films in the festival this year are geared towardthe gay and lesbian community.
'Rock Haven'
The film "Rock Haven" focuses on the topics of religion, sexuality andromance and how they all collide the first time a young man finds love. Thefilm tells the story of Brady, a spiritual young man who moves to the townof Rock Haven with his mother Marty, who is setting up a Christian school inthe area. Things get complicated when Brady meets Clifford, whom he findsattractive. His feelings for Clifford make Brady question his Christianbeliefs and God.
'EXPLORING LOVE'
"Exploring Love" was filmed in Miami, and it's nice to see how photogenicour area is. The film centers on Sean Parker, an attractive man who is aboutto turn 30 and begins questioning his life. He embarks on a journey for truelove. Sean goes through several romances and analyzes his relationship withhis parents to figure out why he has such a hard time finding love. The filmfeatures some unexpected twists.
more . . . . .
=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/theater/4137.cfm
Mayor Naugle's worst nightmare comes to the stage
'Urinetown' puts wacky spin on politics of public restrooms
By J.W.ARNOLD
Oct. 18, 2007
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. If we weren't in Fort Lauderdale -where the silly controversy Mayor Jim Naugle created over public toiletsdrags on - the premise of "Urinetown the Musical" would seem completelyabsurd: Due to a 20-year drought, private toilets are outlawed to conservewater and the residents of a small mythical city are forced to pay to usepublic facilities run by a ruthless corporation. Break the law (like takinga "free" leak in the bushes or behind a tree) and the perpetrator isbanished to the mythical "Urinetown."
Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables is tackling this Tony-award winning show,which, admittedly, has a terrible name, a silly plot and a tragic ending.But unlike the current politics of public restrooms, "Urinetown" offers asurprisingly smart script, sophisticated songs and plenty of real-lifedrama. And, before I go any further, put those nasty thoughts of kinky watersports out of your head, that is unless the mere mention of urination isenough of a thrill. After all, this is "Urinetown" and what else do theresidents have to sing about while waiting in line for their turns in the 'loo?
The book by Greg Kotis relies heavily on metaphor, but soon slips into thefamiliar Broadway formula of "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girlback." Sort of. The boy is Bobby Strong (Tally Sessions), assistant managerof Public Facility No. 9, located in one of the poorest sections of thecity. The girl is Hope Cladwell (Gwen Hollander), daughter of the show'svillain, Urine Good Company CEO Caldwell W. Cladwell (Allan Baker). Ofcourse, Bobby doesn't know Hope is Cladwell's daughter when they meet andshare a kiss. You should be able to predict what happens next.
Likewise, the score by Mark Hollman, is also familiar, yet cleverly twisted.The production is full of nods to the greats (or at least most popular) ofmusical theater, including "West Side Story," "Guys and Dolls" "Fiddler onthe Roof" and "Les Miserables."
Gay cast member Marcus Davis is familiar to Actors Playhouse audiences forhis Carbonell Award-nominated performances in last year's "La Cage AuxFolles."
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/arts/music/4133.cfm
Broadway legend Barbara Cook to sing with local gay chorus
Candid star of 'Candide' and many other shows tells it like it is
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Oct. 18, 2007
On the verge of her 80th birthday, Broadway legend Barbara Cook is stillkeeping busy. She's still garnering rave reviews and selling out concerthalls. Tuesday afternoon she was doing press interviews for her upcomingconcert with the Ft. Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus at the Broward Center forthe Performing Arts.
Cook made her Broadway debut in 1951 playing the ingénue lead in "Flahooley." Her sweet soprano voice and sweeter looks soon led toground-breaking roles in "Carousel," "The Music Man," "She Loves Me" and"Candide," among others.
In 1976, Cook won rave reviews for her solo show at Carnegie Hall. This ledto a triumphant turn in the cabaret circuit. After more than 40 years inshow business, Cook now performs in concert halls with symphony orchestras.Last year, she became the first female pop singer to perform a solo concertat the Met in New York. She followed that with her sixth performance atCarnegie Hall. The Express caught up with Cook before her Fort LauderdaleGay Men's Chorus gig:
Express: I wanted to start this interview by wishing you an early happybirthday.
Barbara Cook: Actually I'll have my birthday on the 25th, so it'll be alittle after my performance in Florida. Three days later, I'll be 80 fucking
years old.
Did you just use the F-word?
I did (laughing). My god you're recording. The whole world will know I havea dirty filthy mouth.
more . . . . .
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/10-18/nightlife/nightlife/4141.cfm
Bill's Filling Station moves into old Chardees building
Singer Sean Ensign to perform at club's grand opening in Wilton Manors
Oct. 18, 2007
The bar crowd was abuzz just a few weeks ago when Bill's Filling Stationowners Jackson Padgett and Mark Negrete announced the bar's impending moveto the former Chardee's location on busy Wilton Drive. Well, afterpainstakingly renovating the supper club, the duo-also recent partners inpopular Georgie's Alibi across the street-are opening the doors thisweekend.
Singer Sean Ensign will be performing live for the grand opening festivitiesand drag diva Cashetta will serve as guest "hostess with the most-est." VJGary Nolan, of Cathode Ray fame, will be serving up his signature videosevery Friday through Monday at the bar.
In addition to the weekend-long blowout at Bill's, there's a lot going on atSouth Florida's gay bars and clubs this week. Check out these happenings:
Friday, Oct. 19
Celebrate drag diva Glitz Glamour's big birthday extravaganza at Coliseumtonight. The legendary Fort Lauderdale club hosts South Florida's largestcollege night on Fridays. Students with IDs get in for $8 and the drinks arecheap ($5) until midnight. DJ MIIK and DJ TPROMix are spinning in the mainroom or head upstairs to the White Lounge for music by Daisy D.
more . . . .
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editgscristcapnboct18,0,7598141,print.story
Mezuzah doesn't belong on Crist's office door
October 18, 2007
Crist should find better spot for symbol
Certainly Gov. Charlie Crist can find a better spot for a mezuzah than onhis state capitol office door.
No doubt he thought it was a nice gesture to put the boxed Jewish scroll - agift from state Rep. Adam Hasner, D-Delray Beach - on his office door. Butby putting it there, in a public office, the governor not only is invitingcharges of approving a religion, but is asking for a headache the first timesome other religious group tells him they'd like him to display theirsymbol.
If Crist lived in his office, the church-state conflict might be vieweddifferently. But his office is a place where public work takes place, andthe religious symbol at the entrance creates the impression that he isfavoring one religion over another.
It's commendable Crist wants to celebrate diversity. He just need to find amore appropriate place for religious symbols than by the office door.
more . . . . .
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/v-print/story/276657.html
Fisher Island ferry rules controversial
BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
The ride to ultra-luxe Fisher Island -- home to peacocks, Mercedes golfcarts and A-list celebrities -- is a ferry with two lounges that are almostindistinguishable in their plainness. They have the same faded,blue-cushioned benches, the same popcorny ceilings, the same framed safetywarnings.
Without a guide, it would be hard to tell that one is reserved for residentsand their guests, the other for employees.
In practice, however, the workers' cabin tends to fill with black and brownfaces. The residents -- those who get out of their cars -- tend to be white.
''You see people of color being segregated in their own room,'' said GeneMechanic, a labor union attorney who filed an equal-opportunity complaintThursday on behalf of 19 current and former island workers. ``It's blatantsegregation and discrimination.''
The island's four ferries -- Heron, Eagle, Pelican and Flamingo -- all havethe same design: a wide platform to move cars and a small structure that hasa wheelhouse in the middle and a lounge on each side.
''There's not enough room on either side to have a room large enough toaccommodate everyone,'' said Mark James, president of the Fisher IslandCommunity Association. ``It just seemed logical to have the larger room foremployees.''
more . . . . .
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/276718.html
Testing of new Broward voting machines advances
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
As of Thursday afternoon, Broward had completed acceptance testing on morethan one-third of the new voting machines.
So far, three of 380 machines did not pass the test and will be sent back toElection Systems & Software, the company that sold the machines to thecounty. Two machines failed to turn on and one was missing a part, said MaryCooney, spokeswoman for the Broward Supervisor of Elections.
The machines are scanners into which voters insert completed paper ballots,filled out by hand. The machines will replace the controversial touchscreens, which blind voters will continue to use in 2008. The testing of the942 optical scanner machines should be finished next week.
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The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/276702.html
Boycott has Broward Democrats feeling neglected
BY BREANNE GILPATRICK
Posted on Fri, Oct. 19, 2007
Next year's early presidential primary should have meant a rush of campaignactivity in Broward County, with Democratic presidential candidates comingto woo voters in the swing state's Democratic stronghold.
Voters say they expected constant candidate visits, a barrage of televisionadvertisements and, like their counterparts in Iowa and New Hampshire,plenty of chances to see the candidates up close before the state's Jan. 29primary.
But when the party's national committee penalized the state for leapfrogging
ahead on the primary calendar and most of the party's major presidential
candidates vowed not to campaign in the rule-breaking state, those prospectsdied.
Visions of marquee visits by celebrity candidates such as Hillary Clintonand Barack Obama evaporated.
''I expected to be a bigger player, not to be written off the way we havebeen,'' said Charles Ayers, 39, president of the Plantation Democratic Club.
more . . . . .
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The Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2007/10/19/a10a_XGR_S0H_1019.html
At issue: The death of Save Our Homes
By S.V. DÁTE
Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau
Friday, October 19, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Largely unnoticed so far in the din of back-and-forth, tax-cutpolitics in the Capitol is one piece of potential dynamite: the destruction,even the actual reversal, of the popular Save Our Homes protection forhomeowners.
Currently the biggest part of the House plan supported by Speaker MarcoRubio, the provision added in a committee Tuesday would, over time, makeprimary homeowners the most disadvantaged group of taxpayers in the state.
Proponents, including co-sponsor Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, do notdescribe it that way. They say the provision merely provides commercial andnon-homesteaded residential property the same assessment cap - 3 percent orinflation, whichever is less - that homestead owners have enjoyed since SaveOur Homes went into effect in 1994.
"This is basically a fairness issue," said Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton,who unsuccessfully tried to add the language into the Senate plan Wednesday.
But that explanation ignores how the existing cap works. Save Our Homes doesnot limit taxes - it limits assessments. And the tax benefit enjoyed byhomeowners is based solely on the differing rates of assessment increases onthem versus everybody else.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Michael Rajner
Women Living Positive - It's my Life
N A T I O N A L S U M M I T
Friday, November 30, 2007
9:00 A.M. - 1:45 P.M. EST
LOCATION: ArtServe * FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED
Come join us in a discussion about issues unique to HIV-positivewomen, featuring:
* Keynote speaker Andrea Williams, the inspiration for theoriginal movie Life Support
* Presentations by nationally recognized HIV specialists, patientadvocates and ASO representatives
* Interactive workshops
For additional information, contact:
Sheila Reimer
AIDS Program Office - Broward County Health Department
Sheila_Reimer@doh.state.fl.us
954-467-4779
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