**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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From Michael Emanuel Rajner
merajner@gmail.com
Wilton Manors: Out of the Closet Grand Opening Event
Wed, 16 Jan 2008
Out of the Closet Thrift Store and AHF Pharmacy
Date: Saturday, January 26th, 2008
Time: 10:00 AM Opening Ceremony
Location: 2097 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305
RSVP: Crisaida Mendez @ crisaidam@aidshealth.org 727-433-0467
or Liza Nash @ elizabeth.nash@aidshealth.org 727-482-3849
Out of the Closet, the world's most fabulous thrift store, is a chain ofthrift stores in Northern and Southern California and now opening in Broward County Wilton Manors areowned and operated byAIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest specialized provider ofcutting-edge medicine andadvocacy regardless of ability to pay.
Out of the Closet Thrift Stores generate income that helps fund the medical
services AHF provides. In addition to regular retail operations, four locations including our Florida location offer free HIV testing andcounseling in a private area of the store. Out of the Closet thrift Stores generate 30,000 donations andnearly 1 million shoppers a year.
AHF Pharmacy is a non-for-profit pharmacy in which 96% of the profitssupport AIDS Healthcare
Foundation's Domestic and Global HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs.
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Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008
Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Web: www.TruthWinsOut.org
TruthWinsOut.org Slams Right Wing Fringe Groups For Exploiting Fears OfDrug-Resistant Bacterial Infection
NEW YORK - TruthWinsOut.org expressed concern today over a Reuters newsstory about a drug-resistant strain of MRSA bacteria that is more prevalentamong gay men in urban centers, such as Boston and San Francisco. Theorganization also slammed extremist groups for exploiting the news in orderto smear the GLBT community and advance an agenda of pure prejudice anddiscrimination.
"The comments by Concerned Women for America is hatred in its rawest andugliest form," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of TruthWinsOut.org."These wing nuts wasted no time seeking the spotlight and creating a climateof panic and fear. They are factually wrong, morally wrong-headed andtragically addicted to bigotry."
Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues with Concerned Women forAmerica, used the news to viciously attack gay people. "Citizens, especiallyparents, need to stand up and say, 'No More! We will no longer sit idly bywhile politically correct cultural elites endanger our children and largercommunities through propagandist promotion of this demonstrably deadlylifestyle,'" Barber said.
Peter LaBarbara, director of American's for Truth, capitalized on thesituation to call for a government crackdown to "reign in homosexualpromiscuity." In a statement he asked, "Why won't the news media make thecommon-sense connection between these frequent stories about (male)homosexual behavior and disease - to the idea that perhaps it's probably notsmart for society and pop culture to celebrate homosexuality andbisexuality?"
"This disease is a result of the overuse and abuse of antibiotics, which hasled to strains of MRSA that are drug resistant," said TWO's Besen. "Thehysteria from the right is reminiscent of how they exploited the HIV crisisin the early 80's for political gain. If there is any dangerous lifestyle,it is that of religious fanatics who have caused untold misery, war, deathand repression across the globe."
TruthWinsOut.org urges all people to educate themselves and take necessaryprecautions, if needed. According to the Centers of Disease Control andPrevention, MRSA killed 19,000 Americans in 2005.
TruthWinsOut.org is a non-profit organization that counters right wingpropaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life.For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.
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Earthtimes.org
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/174704,dont-mention-grandkids--europes-first-gay-nursing-home-opens.html
Don't mention grandkids - Europe's first gay nursing home opens
Posted on : 2008-01-17 | Author : DPA
Berlin - Europe's first gay nursing home has opened in Berlin, without-and-proud gay Mayor Klaus Wowereit publicly supporting theground-breaking project, which culminates years of planning andfund-raising. "The idea was first proposed at the Gay and Grey Forum inCologne in 1995 and we began drafting plans in 2001, and it is truly amazingthat it has taken all these years to become a reality," says Christian Hamm,a Berlin-based architect and nursing home board member.
"So we are even more pleased and proud that we have finally been able toopen Europe's first full-service nursing facility for elderly gays andlesbians."
The newly built, four-storey nursing facility in the Pankow district of theGerman capital can accommodate 28 patients in state-of-the-art rooms withprivate bathrooms and enough space for some of their own furnishings.Furnishings and decor are very important in a gay environment, says Hamm.
"When you are old," he says, "the last thing that you want to do is to haveto hide. And you certainly don't want to give up your identity and live insome hostile environment, possibly sharing a room with someone who despisesyou."
Many gay Germans, who have lived openly as homosexuals well into middle age,are now worried that discrimination will have them retreating into secrecyif they enter retirement communities or nursing homes.
more....
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/story/381036.html
An apology, suspension -- and keep on going
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
Posted on Wed, Jan. 16, 2008
Me, I've lost no sleep over what Kelly Tilghman said.
She's the Golf Channel broadcaster who is sitting out a two-week suspensionfor a throwaway comment on the air about Tiger Woods. It seems Tilghman andanalyst Nick Faldo were discussing how little chance young golfers have ofstopping Woods. ''To take Tiger on, maybe they should just gang up for awhile,'' Faldo said.
To which Tilghman replied with a laugh, ``Lynch him in a back alley.''
Ha ha ha.
Oh yeah, right.
more . . . . .
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The New York Observer
http://www.observer.com/2008/tearoom-trade-2008?page=0%2C0
The Tearoom Trade in 2008
Young gay men are getting H.I.V. again, and shutting down 'bathhouses' justignores the problem
by Choire Sicha | January 16, 2008
This article was published in the January 21, 2008, edition of The New YorkObserver.
My young gay friends complain that no one picks anyone up anymore anywhere.
At 3 a.m. on a recent Sunday morning, the East Village gay bars were realdead. There had been rumors of a sporadic back room-that's the lingo for"blacked-out broom closet where dudes get it on"-at Nowhere, a casualbasement bar on 14th Street between First and Second avenues. That night,the alleged back room was a well-lit coat check.
The Phoenix, down the road on 13th Street, was surprisingly empty at alittle after 3 a.m.; only a handful of patrons, most with friends, wereabout. Phoenix is the East Village bar of choice for the young bearded set,the semi-free young things.
Behind the velvet curtain obscuring the view into the Urge, down on SecondAvenue and Second Street, some real tawdry jockstrap-clad strippers gyratedon the bar; friends drank. The oddly suburban lounge was moderately fuller.
The Urge's even-darker and worse-smelling neighbor, the Cock, was a bit moreboisterous; a knot of dozens of boys were too thick to get through, but theywere leaving in singles and groups and sometimes even pairs pretty fast by3:45 a.m.
A few blocks north, on Fourth Street, the Bijou, also known as Club 82,which is a longtime porno theater/sex club with grubby black cubicles, hadits roll-down gate locked-something you would never have seen in the 90's.("Where East Village boys go when they want to cheat on their husbands,"says the 1994 edition of "Betty and Pansy's Severe Queer Review of New York." Not anymore!)
more....
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011602722.html
3 Sentenced in Cameroon for Being Gay
By EMMANUEL TUMANJONG
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 16, 2008; 3:45 PM
YAOUNDE, Cameroon -- Three men convicted of homosexuality _ a crime inCameroon _ were sentenced to six months' hard labor, their lawyer saidWednesday.
Lazare Baeeg, Emmanuel Balep and Tony Dikongue were arrested last August andhave already spent nearly six months in detention in the port city ofDouala, lawyer Alice Nkom said.
In Cameroon and several other African nations, homosexuality is a crime.Convictions carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine ofup to $450.
Nkom said she would appeal the convictions and sentences.
"None of these people were caught in homosexual act, so the court cannotcondemn them for something they never did," she said.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Italy's supreme court ruled Tuesday that it is legal to record sex videoswithout telling one's partner. The court ruled in favor of a 49-year-old manwho had secretly recorded his bedroom activities with his former girlfriend.
You can download the complete article over the Internet at the followingURL:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,528970,00.html
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.edgenewyork.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=&sc3=&id=54879
Texas man guilty of raping another man
by Liz Austin Peterson
Associated Press
Wednesday Jan 16, 2008
A jury convicted a man Tuesday of raping another man, one of five sexualassaults he is accused of committing on men in an eight-month spree in 2006.The sentencing phase of the trial was to begin later Tuesday for Keith Hill,who could receive anything from five years' probation to life in prison foraggravated sexual assault.
The trial focused on just one of the cases against him: A May 2006 attack ofa teenager who said he was forced to perform oral sex at gunpoint after hewas abducted from his driveway near Houston.
The U.S. Justice Department says one in 33 men in the United States has beena victim of a rape or attempted rape, compared with one in six women.Experts say men are far less likely to report a rape because they fear beingperceived as weak.
Hill, 20, pleaded not guilty to the attacks, and his attorney, Lane Lindsey,said Tuesday that a confession he gave to Harris County Sheriff's Sgt. ShaneMcCoy in February may have been coerced.
Lindsey said Hill gave a written confession after six hours of interrogationby McCoy and police officers from Baytown, the refinery town where theattacks allegedly occurred. Because there is no videotape or audiotape ofthe confession, it's impossible to tell whether the statement is genuine,Lindsey argued.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=598&sid=1327798
Nooses May Be Added to Md. Hate Crime Law
By KRISTEN WYATT
Associated Press Writer
January 16, 2008 - 4:58pm
ANNAPOLIS, Md - Saying nooses have replaced white hoods and burning crossesas symbols of racial hate, some Maryland lawmakers have proposed making itillegal to place one on someone's property as a threatening gesture based onrace or another protected class.
"Nooses seem to be becoming the premier symbol of racism today," saidDelegate Saqib Ali, D-Montgomery, who co-sponsored one of two bills a Housecommittee debated Wednesday.
The anti-noose bills would expand harassment and property damage laws tomake it a felony to hang a noose as a symbol of racial hatred to intimidate.
Noose hangings, which do not violate state law, have popped up aroundMaryland in the last year. A noose was discovered hanging in October at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, near a building that houses severalblack campus groups. And a noose was found hanging from a classroom door atKent Island High School in December after a fight between a white studentand a black student.
"The message is, Maryland is a diverse state ... and we won't put up withthis type of behavior," said Delegate Victor Ramirez, D-Montgomery, who alsosponsored a noose ban.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/01/will_gays_and_lesbians_be_allowed_to_dri
The Bob Oke Bridge: Will Gays and Lesbians Be Allowed to Drive Over It?
Posted by Dan Savage on January 16 at 16:15 PM
On Friday January 27, 2006, the Washington state legislature passed acomprehensive gay rights bill-after 29 years of struggle-that banneddiscrimination against gays and lesbians in housing, employment, and publicaccommodation, and credit.
The bill was controversial, of course, and Washington state's religiousbigots were in an uproar. So the galleries were packed when the Senate votedon the final version of the bill that Friday afternoon. According to aSeattle Times reporter, "activity in the Capitol all but halted" while thesenators debated the bill. With all eyes on the Senate, State Senator BobOke (R-Port Orchard) delivered a speech that shocked the gay rightssupporters. Here's the Seattle Times' account:
Sen. Bob Oke, R-Port Orchard, gave one of the most gripping speeches,talking to fellow senators about his daughter. "Having a child who chooses to be homosexual is very painful. I know thisbecause my daughter has chosen the life of a lesbian," Oke said. "From thevery first day she shared with me what her lifestyle was, she has beentrying to change me. And I, quite frankly, have been trying to change her."
Oke said his daughter called a while back and asked to come visit, bringingher partner. "There was a long hesitation on my part and I said, 'I can'thave that,' " he said. "That's called tough love."
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.queerty.com/dnc-includes-gays-in-convention-standing-committee-20080116/
DNC Includes Gays In Conv. Standing Comm.
Howard Dean Led Appointments
August's Democratic National Convention will have some gay representation.The DNC - led by Chairman Howard Dean - has appointed six LGBT members forthe Convention's Standing Committee, which oversees Convention business andconsiders delegate recommendations. From the DNC press release, which we'veincluded in full after the jump:
The Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee (DNC)unanimously elected DNC Chairman Howard Dean's nominations for the Chairsand members of the 2008 Democratic National Convention Standing Committees,including a record number of openly LGBT members.
Dean's LGBT appointments include Dr. Marjorie Hill of the Gay Men's HealthCrisis organization in New York, Diego Sanchez from AIDS Action Committee ofMassachusetts, State Representative Patricia Todd of Alabama, and IngridDuran of Virginia to serve on the Platform Committee, along with ClaireLucas and Evan Low of California to the Rules Committee and Bob Rogan ofVermont to the Credentials Committee.
In addition to appointing a record number of LGBT standing committeemembers, Dean was also the first DNC chair to appoint a member of thetransgender community to a Convention committee.
Former Vermont governor Dean expressed his excitement over the party'sstrong showing this election season: "The record turnout and enthusiasm we've seen for our Democratic candidates is a clear sign that Americans trustDemocrats to bring much needed change to our country."
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/01/kgb-and-militia-raid-apartment-of-gay.html
KGB and Militia Raid Apartment of Gay TV Journalist
January 16, 2008
GOMEL, January 16, 2008 - Openly gay journalist Siarhei Padsasonny wasalone in his apartment in Valatauskaya Street, Gomel, on Saturday evening.There was a knock on the door.
It was the militia.
Officer Prakapenka, district officer from the militia department of theCentral district, demanded to be let in, saying that he had reports of noisecoming from the apartment that was disturbing the downstairs neighbours.
Mr. Padsasonny, a member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, wasperplexed. Not only was he alone, but his "neighbours downstairs" was infact a grocery store, which was closed for the night.
Then came the arrival of the KGB, led by Lt. Bojak.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://shanghaiist.com/2008/01/17/spotlight_on_ga.php
Spotlight on Gay China
Gay China seen through the eyes of three different media this week
January 17, 2008
China Daily has an interview of two gay men and a lesbian that also featuresa big, bold picture of two young men kissing in Beijing. The first story ofa 57 year old married man caught our attention:
Tong Ge was married to a woman for more than 20 years, and has raised a son.
But Tong is gay.
"If I could turn back time, I would never have married a woman," he sighs.
"Even though my wife has forgiven me, I cannot forgive myself, and feelguilty all the time."
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008/01/16/news/politics/doc478e26539e6ab122456906.txt
Anti-bullying bill gets first-round approval after many tries
BY JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star
Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008 - 08:42:04 pm CST
For Omaha Sen. Gwen Howard, any success for her anti-bullying bill has beena long time coming.
On Wednesday, the bill (LB205) cleared first-round approval on a 39-1 vote,and Howard was more than pleased.
The social worker senator has carried the bill since 2005, when formerLincoln Sen. Dave Landis handed it off to her. He had tried and failed toattack the bullying problem in schools since at least the late 1990s.
The success came, she believes, because school boards, districts, parent andstudents helped work on details of the bill, which would require thatdistricts have a written anti-bullying policy that would be reviewedannually.
"I think there was a greater realization by senators that this truly is aproblem," Howard said after the vote. In past years, some senators havetended to think of bullying - as they remembered it - as a right of passage.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/01/far-right-claims-gays-will-spread-drug.html
January 16, 2008
Far right claims gays will spread " drug-resistant 'superbug'" to the restof the world! Honest. Would they lie to us?
The far right - pretending to be 'Christians' - have jumped on this issueand are issuing news releases with headlines likeEpidemic Feared - 'Gays' May Spread Deadly Staph Infection to GeneralPopulation
New MRSA Staph Risk Spread by Gay Men Shows Risks of 'Second-Hand Sodomy'
Now you really have to wonder how - if this 'superbug' is spread by sexualcontact, straight people would contact the infection from gay people.
Unless, of course, the "straight people" are folks with "wide stances" likeGOP Senator L. Craig.
Maybe these right wing fear mongers are so sensitive that they will contractthe infection from door knobs and toilet seats?
Really, these bigots give real Christians a bad name.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-whitman/gay-sex-equals-death-aga_b_81898.html
Gay Sex Equals Death! Again! Always!
by Sarah Whitman
Posted January 16, 2008 | 07:45 PM (EST)
Oh, those gay men are at it again. Or is it antibiotic use?
In San Francisco on Monday, it was reported "A new variety of staphbacteria, highly resistant to antibiotics and possibly transmitted by sexualcontact, is spreading among gay men in San Francisco, Boston, New York andLos Angeles."
Where did this new horror come from? Was it the gay men themselves thatcreated it?
No.
In fact, "MRSA was first seen in several countries the 1960s. Withincreasing use of antibiotics, new strains of MRSA have developed over thepast 20 years."
And, "The culprit is a form of MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcusaureus, a bug that was once confined to hospitalized patients but, since thelate 1990s, has been circulating outside medical settings, afflicting anyonefrom injection-drug users to elementary school students."
Wait... gay men having too much sex is causing elementary school students toget it?
I'm confused.
And I'm mad.
I'm mad because, like Sean Bugg wrote, "These kinds of infections have beena problem in medical settings for some time, but when a report comes outthat attaches "gay" with "disease," everyone's certain to pay attention."
A quick google search came up with comments and stories from NPR to TheOnion, everyone quick to discuss the new findings. Gay men have yet anotherreason to panic and abandon their wanton ways.
When is anyone going to panic about lesbian sex? I mean, I do. Will I haveenough? When will I get more? Today? Tomorrow? Tonight?
Major anxiety.
Instead, lesbians get blamed for tabouli and Birkenstock shoes.
What strikes me, though, is some of the worst abusers of antibiotics areparents of young children. In an effort to keep kids in school/at day care,these parents insist on antibiotics for almost every illness. In fact, theAmerican public is so confused about antibiotics that patients routinelydemand them for viral infections.
Antibiotics don't kill viruses, people do...
Oh, wait. I forgot. It's about gay men having sex. And always TOO MUCH sex.Maybe Huckabee is right and we should just quarantine them.
Personally, I'm going to go back to being panicked about lesbian sex. Weneed MORE sex. Much more. And if that makes it out to the generalpopulation... well... Ann Coulter better watch out.
This is a serious disease. It comes from a strain of bacteria first found inhospitals, our most "sterile" of all environments. Whenever gay men's sexlives ends up being classified as deadly instead of focusing on thepharmaceutical industries responsibility for the continued growth of newstrains of antibiotic resistant infections, I have to wonder why.
The headlines end up continuing negative images, reinforcing stereotypesabout gay men. It won't help the problem.
But it's damn sexy, isn't it?
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.cbs46.com/news/15059702/detail.html
Archbishop Earl Paulk Pleads Guilty
POSTED: 5:53 am EST January 16, 2008
UPDATED: 2:43 pm EST January 16, 2008
ATLANTA -- Court officials say the 80-year-old leader of a suburban Atlantamegachurch pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge he lied under oath.
Cobb County Magistrate Frank Cox said Archbishop Earl Paulk of the Cathedralof the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church was sentenced to 10 yearsprobation and a $1,000 fine for the felony charge.
Paulk turned himself in to authorities Tuesday night after a warrant wasissued for his arrest the previous day. The charges stem from a depositionPaulk gave as part of a civil lawsuit against him, his brother Don and thechurch by a former church employee who says she was coerced into an affair.
Paulk's defense attorney, Joel Pugh, said the warrant took the family bysurprise.
"We weren't expecting the warrant to be issued this quickly," Pugh said.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.edgenewyork.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=national&sc2=&sc3=&id=54865
Vir. Head Advocate Promotes Anti-Gay Churches' Cause
by Steve Weinstein
New York Editor-In-Chief
Tuesday Jan 15, 2008
The attorney general of Virginia is siding with the anti-gay breakawayEpiscopalian churches in his state. Bob McDonnell has filed briefssupporting the 11 congregations by arguing that state law isunconstitutional because, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "itrequires that the court wade into theological issues such as whether aschism has occurred within the Episcopal denomination."
McDonnell is inserting himself into the largest religious controversyinvolving homosexuals in Christianity. The Anglican Communion, of which theAmerican Episcopalians are a wing, is sharply divided about the question ofblessing gay unions and especially gay clergy and gay bishops. The breakawaychurches are trying to go under the pastorship of the Nigerian archbishop.African Anglicans are far more anti-gay than their Western counterparts.
The 77 million members of the communion are trying to stay together. Butwhen some parishes insist on breaking away, there is an inevitable fightover the hard assets, such as the church, deaconate, parish house and otherreal estate.
The Virginia churches cheer the attorney general, who motioned to intervenein a Fairfax County Circuit Court suit. McDonnell wants the judge to followa state law dating back to the Civil War era, which allows the congregationitself to determine ownership and affiliation when a "division" hasoccurred.
The Episcopal Church is countering that the law wanders into the dangerousterritory of a state arbitrating over theological matters. McDonnell, aRepublican, is widely expected to make a bid for governor next year.
Church leaders and religious people of all faiths around the world arelooking closely at the dispute.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wned/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1212826
Episcopal church cracks down on dissidents
(2008-01-16)
By Michael Conlon, Religion Writer
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Leaders of the U.S. Episcopal Church have stepped up acrackdown on conservative dissidents, ordering one bishop to stop hisreligious work and threatening a second with the same thing.
Both rebuffed the moves.
The worldwide Anglican church and its U.S. branch have been fractured since2003 when the Episcopal Church consecrated Gene Robinson of New Hampshire asthe first bishop known to be in an openly gay relationship in over fourcenturies.
There are also divisions over interpreting the Bible, the ordination ofwomen and the blessing of same-sex unions.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, head of the 2.4-million-memberU.S. church, last week slapped Bishop John-David Schofield, leader ofCalifornia's 8,000-member Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, with an"inhibition."
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.truthwinsout.org/news/truthwinsoutorg-expresses-concern-for-evangelical-christians-after-%E2%80%98ex-gay%E2%80%99-group-launches-%E2%80%9810000-divorces-campaign%E2%80%99/
TruthWinsOut.org Expresses Concern For Evangelical Christians After 'Ex-Gay'Group Launches '10,000 Divorces Campaign'
January 14th, 2008
TruthWinsOut.org expressed concern today for the Evangelical Christiancommunity after an "ex-gay" organization pledged to recruit 10,000 churches.If Exodus International succeeds with its goal, it will become one of theleading causes for Evangelical divorce in America, says TruthWinsOut.org.
"Evangelical pastors will rue the day they aligned themselves with Exodusand caused a great deal of needless suffering for many of their congregants," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of TruthWinsOut.org. "Wehope to head off as many disasters as possible and stop thousands ofEvangelical Christians from unwittingly marrying ex-gay spouses - whichoften leads to divorce. TruthWinsOut.org is willing to have off-the-recorddiscussions with any evangelical church pastor who wants to learn more aboutExodus. We urge them to look carefully before they make the leap off theExodus cliff."
According to Family News in Focus, Exodus will offer resources and trainingto pastors and church members.
"The vision is that there would be churches that people struggling withsame-sex attraction could go to where they could learn how to be Disciplesof Christ," said Exodus deputy spokesperson Randy Thomas.
Often, churches take serious looks at the content of "ex-gay" programs andtheir spokespeople and find they lack credibility and believability.According to the article, Thomas hopes Exodus' outreach will help churchesbecome less hostile to their unproven message.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.forward.com/articles/12498/
Gay Alumni of Brooklyn Yeshiva Fight for Right To Bring Partners to Reunion
By Marissa Brostoff
Wed. Jan 16, 2008
Alumni of a prominent Modern Orthodox yeshiva in Brooklyn were prohibitedfrom bringing same-sex partners to a class reunion last month, causing anuproar among some former students.
The high-school division of Yeshivah of Flatbush, one of the mostprestigious Modern Orthodox schools in New York City, held a reunion in lateDecember for members of the class of 1997. While most alumni were invited tobring guests, a few were explicitly forbidden to do so. According tosources, graduates thought by yeshiva personnel to have same-sex significantothers were sent an e-mail that barred them from bringing their partners.
"As previously stated to you, we welcome your attendance and look forward toyour participation," read the letter, which appeared on the blog JVoices."However, your partner cannot attend."
Angered by what they see as a discriminatory and hypocritical stance on thepart of the yeshiva, some alumni have taken the issue to the Internet, wherethey have circulated a petition and created a Facebook group calling for"Open Flatbush Reunions" at which "everyone. [is] entitled to bring a guest."
They have also called for an end to what they say is censorship on the partof the administration, which, they claim, selectively edited alumnibiographies compiled at the reunion to weed out information they foundundesirable.
more . . . . .
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From Ron Mills
precinct114r@yahoo.com
Stop Chris Matthew's Woman Bashing
Using overtly sexist language, he has referred to Sen. Hillary RodhamClinton (D-NY) as a "she devil" and compared her to a "strip-teaser." He hascalled her "witchy" and likened her voice to "fingernails on a blackboard."He has referred to men who support her as "castratos in the eunuch chorus."He has suggested Clinton is not "a convincing mom" and said "modern women"like Clinton are unacceptable to "Midwest guys." He has called her "MadameDefarge" and "Nurse Ratched."
Had enough? Contact MSNBC to tell them what you think.
Mr. Phil Griffin,
Senior Vice President, News
NBC Television Network
30 Rockefeller Plz
New York, NY 10112
phil.griffin@nbc.com
Steve Capus,
President, NBC News
steve.capus@nbc.com
MSNBC
letters@msnbc.com
MSNBC/Microsoft-NBC
30 Rockefeller Plz
3rd Fl
New York, NY 10112
(212) 664-4444
Chris Matthews
hardball@msnbc.com
After Clinton won the New Hampshire Democratic primary, Matthews asserted:"[T]he reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around." Hedescribed her performance at a debate last Saturday as apparently "goodenough to seem good enough here for women who wanted to root for heranyway."
His sexism is hardly limited to comments about Clinton. During coverage ofthe New Hampshire primary, he said that Clinton is the only viable womanpresidential candidate "on the horizon." He couldn't think of a singlefemale governor eligible to run: "Where are the big-state women governors?"he asked. "Where are they? Name one." In fact, several of the states thatcurrently have women governors are comparable in population to the states inwhich the male presidential candidates serve or have served as governor.
In November 2006, shortly after the Democrats took the majority in Congress,Matthews asked a guest if then-presumptive speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)was "going to castrate Steny Hoyer" if Hoyer (D-MD) were elected Housemajority leader.
During coverage of a presidential debate last spring, NBC News chief foreignaffairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell was compelled to remind Matthews thatSen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) wife, Michelle, is a Harvard-educated lawyerafter he focused obsessively on her physical appearance.
The good news is that people are speaking out against Matthews' flagrant,persistent sexism.
Of the New Hampshire primary results, the blog TalkLeft, observed:
"It was a revolt of women sick and tired of the likes of Chris TweetyMatthews and the Media Misogynists.
Barack Obama did not lose New Hampshire. The Media did. Their misogynisthatred of Hillary Clinton was soundly rejected by the voters. Especially thewomen voters of New Hampshire.
How the Media will react to this well deserved rebuke is the question. Andlet's be clear, Chris Matthews should be removed from covering this race.His offensive behavior is a disgrace to NBC."
It's time to play a little "hardball." Please contact MSNBC and ChrisMatthews today and let them know what you think.
A Election '08 News Site:
http://electionGeek08.Blogspot.com
For News And Commentary:
http://www.RonMills.us
For Florida Election News See:
http://www.ChangeInTallahassee.com
Political Talk For And By Political Junkies
http://politalk1.blogspot.com/
Just Rumors The Rumor Mills
http://justrumormills.blogspot.com/
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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A group plans to rally today on the steps of our state Capitol to call for aconstitutional amendment to restrict Iowa courts from hearing certain cases,specifically same-sex marriage cases. There have also been calls to impeacha trial judge after he carried out his mandated duty of issuing a decisionbased on the facts before him and the Iowa Constitution. This is wrong,terribly wrong. Iowans want and indeed need an independent judiciary, as wehave been fortunate to have for our entire history. The framers of ournation's and our state's constitutions established three co-equal branchesof government: the executive; the legislature; and the judiciary. For morethan 200 years, judges have been supposed to reach decisions free ofpolitical pressures, special-interest group influence, polls, whatever.Judges make decisions - must make decisions - based on the facts and the lawalone.
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Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus stepped into a politicallycharged arena at the state Capitol Wednesday but sidestepped controversy byfocusing on challenges pertaining to children and "paperless" courts. Ternusdelivered her second Condition of the Judiciary address to a joint sessionof the General Assembly on a day when traditional marriage proponentsflooded the Statehouse - including the House chamber galleries - to push fora constitutional amendment that would effectively ban same-sex marriage - anissue that soon will come before Iowa's top court.
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Republicans are demanding that Democrats who control the legislature take upa proposed amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Wednesday hundredsof conservative Christians bussed in from across the state added leverage tothe call. The protestors held a prayer session at the legislature in supportof traditional marriage. Iowa already has a law limiting marriage toopposite-sex couples but supporters of the amendment say it could beoverturned by "renegade" judges. At least 48 representatives have signedonto a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to prevent same-sexmarriage.
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The three opposition parties in Sweden have said they may force a billthrough parliament to extend marriage to gay and lesbian couples.Undercurrent laws, dating back to 1987, marriage is defined as being between aman and a woman. Gay and lesbian couple can register their partnershipthrough a civil ceremony, a process introduced in 1995 which gives same-sexcouples the same rights as married couples.A new piece of proposed"gender-neutral" legislation however, may soon remove this distinctionallowing anybody to marry in the Church of Sweden. Six of the seven partiesrepresented in parliament are in support of gay marriage with only theChristian Democrats, a junior member of the four-party coalition, opposingit.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid51660.asp
My Night at the White House
A gay couple -- and blue state Democrats, no less -- invited to the BushWhite House for a Christmas party? Advocate managing editor John Jamesonrecounts his and his partner's evening with George and Laura and a fewhundred of their family and friends.
An Advocate.com exclusive posted January 16, 2008
"We're all going!" This is my mom on December 2, typing a message to me onher TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf), reversing her positionfrom a week earlier, when she said she'd have to decline an invitation fromfirst lady Laura Bush to attend a Christmas reception at the White House("It's too last-minute, and I don't have anything to wear").
(We Jamesons are related to Laura by marriage. Her uncle married my aunt,and their kids, Mary and Robert, our first cousins, not only get invited tothe White House every holiday season but also spend the night there, Robertin Lincoln's bedroom. But this was the first year the Jamesons had beenincluded.)
"Wow, that's great!" I typed back. "Be sure to take lots of pictures andstore up great stories." But I was thinking, So where exactly is my invite,and why does everyone in the family seem to assume that I and my partnereither couldn't or wouldn't go? Yes, we're Democrats. Yes, we live in bluestate California (the rest of my family live in redder-than-red Dallas). Andyes, we're gay. But I can't imagine that Laura's blanket invite for theJamesons wouldn't cover me.
more . . . . .
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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011603624.html?hpid=topnews
Abortions Hit Lowest Number Since 1976
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 17, 2008; A01
The number of abortions performed in the United States dropped to 1.2million in 2005 -- the lowest level since 1976, according to a new report.
The number of abortions fell at least in part because the proportion ofwomen ending their pregnancies with an abortion dropped 9 percent between2000 and 2005, hitting the lowest level since 1975, according to anationwide survey.
At the same time, the long decline in the number of abortion providersappears to be stabilizing, partly a result of the availability of the Frenchabortion pill RU-486, the report found, because some physicians who do notperform surgical abortions provide it to their patients.
The report did not identify reasons for the drop in abortions, but theresearchers said it could be caused by a combination of factors.
"It could be more women using contraception and not having as manyunintended pregnancies. It could be more restrictions on abortions making itmore difficult for women to obtain abortion services. It could be acombination of these and other dynamics," said Rachel K. Jones of theGuttmacher Institute, a reproductive-health research organization, whichpublished the report in the March issue of the journal Perspectives onSexual and Reproductive Health.
more . . . . .
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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011601835.html?hpid=sec-education
Sex-Ed Dispute Aired in Court
Lessons Violate Md. Law, Opponents' Attorney Tells Judge
By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 17, 2008; B03
A six-year battle over the content of a new sex education curriculum inMontgomery County schools came down to two questions posed yesterday in aRockville courtroom: Can the school board legally teach students thathomosexuality is innate? And can the lessons discuss sex acts other thancopulation?
Montgomery educators are defending the new curriculum, approved by theschool board last summer, which addresses sexual orientation as a classroomtopic for the first time. The lessons place the county at the fore of atrend among some of the nation's public schools toward more candor indiscussing homosexuality. But they have prompted a strenuous challenge fromreligious conservatives who see the curriculum as a one-sided endorsement ofhomosexuality.
Until now, opposition has focused on the constitutional rights of Montgomeryfamilies whose religious beliefs do not abide homosexuality. But withyesterday's hearing before Circuit Court Judge William Rowan III, anattorney for the plaintiffs narrowed his focus to a few words in thedisputed lessons.
Brandon Bolling, a lawyer from the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor,Mich., challenged a passage in the 90-minute lessons that describeshomosexuality as innate. That assertion, he said, violates a provision of astate law that says school curricula must be factual.
That sexual orientation is innate is a theory that has been rejected bycourts in several states, Bolling said. "The Maryland law says you have toteach something that is factually accurate," he said. "They are not doingthat. That is illegal."
more . . . . .
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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ACLU: Sex in Restroom Stalls Is Private
In an effort to help Sen. Larry Craig, the American Civil Liberties Union isarguing that people who have sex in public bathrooms have an expectation ofprivacy.Craig, of Idaho, is asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to let himwithdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct stemming from a bathroom sexsting at the Minneapolis airport.
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AIDS Project Los Angeles Blasts Cuts to Vital State AIDS Programs
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today expressed severe disappointment withGovernor Schwarzenegger's proposal to cut $11 million from the state'sHIV/AIDS programs as part of his efforts to close the state's $14.5-billiondeficit.
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The OutField: Wolfgang's World of Ping-Pong
Wolfgang, Rodolfo, Paulo, Jeff-as teenagers, they all played Ping-Pong. Theywere good. But they grew up, went to college, got jobs, came to terms withbeing gay, and had no time to smash a little white ball across a small greentable.
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Gay Basketball Shootout
Nineteen teams from across the United States will compete in the West CoastClassic III on Jan. 19 and 20 in Los Angeles. The tournament, which is nowan official National Gay Basketball Association event, will host men's teamsfrom New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Memphis, Dallas and Wisconsin, toname a few. It will also host a women's bracket with teams from Salt LakeCity and Los Angeles.
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GLCC Announces 2008 "Stars of the Rainbow"
The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida (GLCC) is proud toannounce the Stars of the Rainbow Crystal Ball Gala & Celebration. Thisannual and much anticipated Stars of the Rainbow event, formally recognizesremarkable individuals and organizations who contribute to the Greater FortLauderdale LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community. Stars ofthe Rainbow will be held at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort, 3030 HolidayDrive in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, February 17, 2008. The event issignificant, as 2008 marks the GLCC's 15th anniversary of providing criticalprograms and services to the LGBT community. The "Crystal Ball Gala &Celebration" theme recognizes the GLCC's 15-year anniversary.
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Women's Bisexuality an 'Identity,' Not Phase
Bisexuality among women isn't just a phase, according to new research thatfollowed 79 non-heterosexual women for a decade and found that bisexualwomen continue to be attracted to both sexes over time.
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Sidelines Gay Softball Teams to Compete in Orlando
Two Sidelines Sports Bar-sponsored gay softball teams are headed to Orlando,Florida to compete in the 9th Annual Orlando Meltdown Charity SoftballTournament to be held on January 18 - 20, 2008. The Sidelines Cyclones andthe Paladins, both "C" Division teams, will represent Sidelines for thesecond year in a row.
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Photos of Gay Icons Bought by National Portrait Gallery
Four portraits by acclaimed gay photographer David Gwinnutt have beenacquired by the National Portrait Gallery in London. Mr Gwinnutt, who asphotographed many well-known gay celebrities, said he was honoured that hiswork will become part of the national collection of portraiture.
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365Gay.Com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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Violence Against Gays Unchecked In Sydney
(Sydney, Australia) LGBT civil rights groups are voicing concern aboutescalating violence against gays in Sydney and are warning it may spiral outof control in the lead-up to Mardi Gras.
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Vibrating Dildo Causes Bomb Scare, Evacuation
(Stockholm) A Swedish bomb squad called out to disarm a suspicious packageon Wednesday did not find a ticking bomb. But they did find a vibrating sextoy.
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Man: NY Hospital Forced Rectal Exam For Head Wound
(New York City) A construction worker claimed in a lawsuit that when he wentto a hospital after being hit on the forehead by a falling wooden beam,emergency room staffers forcibly gave him a rectal examination.
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Morocco Imprisons 6 For Homosexuality
(Rabat) An appeals court has upheld the convictions of six men whoprosecutors had claimed took part in a gay wedding.
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Cameroon Sentences Three To Hard Labor For Being Gay
(Yaounde) A Cameroonian court has sentenced three men accused of beinghomosexuals to six months hard labor, their attorney Alice Nkom said onWednesday.
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