GLBT DIGEST May 9, 2008

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Sunday Nights With the Siblings
For well over a year now, at 10 on Sunday nights, I've turned on "Brothers &Sisters" with the pre-emptive regret of someone gustily digging into asecond piece of cake.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/arts/television/09brot.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=gay&st=nyt&oref=slogin


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Washington Post
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

- DEAR AMY: I work at a local store. We all get along pretty well, exceptfor one issue. One of the employees, "Betsy," is gay. None of us has aproblem with her life choice, but she keeps coming on to certain femaleemployees who are straight.
These women like Betsy and have made it clear they're not interested,saying, "Sorry, I'm not interested; that's not my choice; let's just befriends." But Betsy doesn't seem to get the hint. She keeps making extremelyinappropriate comments and propositions people.
Despite this, everyone likes her. No one wants to get her in trouble.
My attitude on the whole matter is, if this situation were reversed and aman was doing this, someone would be running to management about thecomments.
My opinion is that when someone tells you "no," you should respect herwishes.
How do we get Betsy to take the hint? No one involved wants her to get introuble, but at the same time we are fed up. -- Puzzled

DEAR PUZZLED: First off, "Betsy's" sexuality isn't a "life choice," anymorethan yours is.
Sexual harassment, however, is a choice, and a very poor one.
Anyone being propositioned or sexually harassed should report it. You andyour co-workers have a right to work in an environment free of harassment.
I'm not sure why you are all so eager to protect Betsy from the consequencesof sexually harassing people. You're enabling her to do this. Anyone Betsypropositions should tell her, "That is completely inappropriate, and youneed to stop." Then, certainly, if there are repeated incidents, this mattershould be taken to a supervisor.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/06/AR2008050601123.html?sub=AR


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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Beat the Press: High-flying Obama plays to win
Perhaps Barack Obama's competitive juices need new outlets now that he hasexpanded his lead over Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-obama-game,0,3216363.story


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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Obama Welcomed As Mr President At US Capitol
(Washington) Sen. Barack Obama got a front-runner's welcome back at theCapitol, pressing congressional "superdelegates" to support him in a visitthat had the look and feel of a campaign victory lap.

-Obama: McCain Losing His Bearings
(Washington) Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says thatRepublican rival John McCain tried to smear him and was "losing hisbearings" with the suggestion that Hamas preferred Obama for president.

-Cindy McCain Would Never Release Her Tax Returns
(Washington) Cindy McCain says she will never make her tax returns publiceven if her husband wins the White House and she becomes the first lady.

-Family Values Congressman Admits To Affair, Illegitimate Child
(Washington) Rep. Vito Fossella of New York ran a red light, and wrecked hislife. A drunk-driving arrest last week led to talk of an extramaritalaffair, and then finally Thursday, an admission of a child from that affair.

-Faith-Based Group To Appeal Human Rights Ruling
(Toronto, Ontario) A provincially funded Christian group says it will appealpart of a tribunal ruling that found it violated the rights of a worker whowas forced to quit after revealing she was gay.

-Low Cost HIV Meds May Soon Head To Rwanda
(Toronto, Ontario) Four years after it was passed unanimously by Parliament,a bill drafted to allow low-cost Canadian-made AIDS drugs to be exported todeveloping countries may be on the verge of finally producing results.

-Va Elects First Gay African American
(Falls Church, Virginia) Lawrence Webb has become the first gay AfricanAmerican elected to office in Virginia. Webb won a seat this week on theFalls Church City Council in his first run for political office.

-Calif Appeals Court Rules In Gay Partner Assets Case
(Santa Ana, California) Same-sex partners who believe they are registered asdomestic partners but are not have the same rights as people whoserelationships are registered under the state partnership law an appealscourt has ruled.

-Gay Marriage Returns To RI Legislature
(Providence, Rhode Island) A House committee room was packed well into thenight Wednesday in what has become an annual debate in Rhode Island oversame-sex marriage.


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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-PFLAG Decries Honorary Doctorate for Schlafly
Gay rights advocates are asking Washington University administrators toreconsider honoring antigay activist Phyllis Schlafly with an honorarydoctorate at the school's commencement ceremony. Parents, Families, andFriends of Lesbians and Gays, along with many students and faculty, isurging the school not to honor Schlafly at the May 16 ceremony in St. Louis.


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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Some CDC grant money unspent by Latino clinic
La Clinica blames staffing, facility hurdles for trans program delays
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=18179

-Calif. may be headed for epic marriage battle
Constitutional ban, high court ruling both in the works
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=18181

-Atlanta Pride turns away HRC sponsorship over trans fight
Festival says national gay rights group not 'inclusive' enough
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=18178

-Mass. D.A. appoints liaison for gay, bisexual groups
Victim witness advocate to track cases
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=18176

-Despite death threats, gay bishop plans civil union
It's 'what God is calling me to do,' says controversial clergymanEpiscopal bishop Gene Robinson knows he is inviting death threats byentering into a civil union with his gay partner on the eve of his church'sbiggest ecclesiastical conference. And he says it is worth it, because he isdoing what God asks of him.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/24521220/

-OPEN INVITATION: Gay group reaches out to Lakewood
Joel Osteen remains silent, but Soulforce presses on with Saturday's picnicin Houston
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5762904.html

-Transgender teen says he has support at Brewster school
Brewster High School student Michael Loscalzo said he was scared to go toschool yesterday, given all the attention he's received for his recentdecision to start dressing as a girl.
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805080471

-Children's Health: Parents Consider Treatment to Delay Son's PubertyNew Therapy Would Buy Time to Resolve Gender Crisis
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90273278

-Madonna announces tour
Madonna will embark on her "Sticky & Sweet" tour this fall, and sorry, localWashington Blade readers, she's skipped D.C. again.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=5/8/08&end=5/10/08#18191

-Welcome to the Age of the "Insurance Card Marriage"
Forget green cards. A growing number of Americans are getting hitched to gethealth insurance.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terrance-heath/welcome-to-the-age-of-the_b_100868.html

-A More Suitable Person, Please
"They're very mean," Phyllis Schlafly, the mother of a gay son, once saidwhen someone asked her what she thought of the GLBT community. "[J]ust . . .vicious . . . "
http://www.pflag.org/blog/?p=297

-A mother finds her voice amid reminders of tragedy
Denise King battles GLBT hatred despite a rush to judgment by FloridaAttorney General
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2008/5-8/news/localnews/4648.cfm

-Friend or Foe?
Mildred Loving and the Grand Cayman Islands Police
FRIEND
Mildred Loving
It is with great sadness that we award this Friend of the Week, as it isalso a "goodbye." Mildred Loving, one of America's greatest (andleast-known) civil rights leaders, passed away on May 5. She was 68.
Mildred Loving was a co-defendant in the landmark civil rights case Lovingvs. Virginia, which ruled that laws barring marriage based on race wereunconstitutional.
FOE
Grand Cayman Islands Police
Speaking of legal troubles: Aaron Chandler, a 23-year-old college studentfrom Massachusetts, was vacationing in Grand Cayman with his boyfriend thispast weekend, They decided to visit a local nightclub, and while on thedance floor, Chandler planted a kiss on his boyfriend. Local bar patronscomplained, but Chandler was unfazed--he insisted that his "quick kiss" wasin no way obscene-and he later kissed his boyfriend again, as they preparedto leave.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2008/5-8/view/friendfoe/4656.cfm


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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Wisconsin: Police: On-Campus Assault Could Be Hate Crime
The assault of a UW-Platteville student on campus May 3 has been initiallyclassified as a hate crime. During the incident, homophobic slurs were usedagainst the student, who is gay. "Any time where we have a situation whereit could possibly be a hate crime, we list it as such," Laurel Skrede, chiefof the UW-P campus police department, said. If a case may be a hate crime,it's easier to classify it as such in the beginning of the investigationrather than after the fact.

-MTV Networks Launches Video Hub For Gay Community
xecs at MTV Networks say the best way to distribute media over the Web is to"go an inch wide but a mile deep." Instead of one central Web destination,Viacom-owned MTV Networks is building hundreds of sites around its content.
An example of that strategy can be found at Logo, the unit that serves thegay and lesbian community.

-Lawyer Blames School in Shooting of Gay Oxnard Student
As 14-year-old Brandon McInerney prepares to be arraigned today in theslaying of 15-year-old Lawrence "Larry" King at E.O. Green Junior HighSchool in Oxnard, his lawyer is advancing a defense that at least partlyblames school officials for the tragedy.

-Waltz Right in, Gay or Straight
The sport (art?) of ballroom dance isn't a foreign concept anymore, thanksto the phenomenal success of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," which hasbrought copious couples into dance classes ... mostly heterosexual couples,that is. So where would a same-sex couple go if they wanted to perfect thejive or learn the finer points of a waltz?

-Gay Shag List is "Revolutionary"
A listing of which male celebs gays want to sleep with has been described as"downright revolutionary." Gay entertainment website AfterElton.com said ina release that their "Hot 100 List" of hot people "is all about gay andbisexual men telling the world which men we think are sexy. "Will lastyear's winner Jake Gyllenhaal repeat or will an out, gay man such as NeilPatrick Harris, T.R. Knight or John Barrowman nab the top slot?

- Gay List Daily to Launch New York, Los Angeles & National Editions
Gay List Daily, a swank e-publication 'dedicated to making trendy gays evenmore trendy and gay,' will launch three new editions in the coming weeks --New York City and Los Angeles, as well as a National "anywhere" edition. GayList Daily has been publishing a Dallas edition since late October 2007.

-Perez Hilton on Outing
He is undoubtedly an internet phenomenon - the overweight, unattractivenobody who became the toast of Hollywood.The first real gossip columnist ofthe 21st century, Perez Hilton has also shown a pechant for speculating onthe sexuality of movie stars and teen idols.

-KSU Student Leads Multifaceted Life as Drag Queen,
Restaurant OwnerDusty Garner is more than just a set of pretty legs and really bigknockers."When I'm out and about, I'm actually a horribly shy person," saidGarner, the accomplished drag queen, restaurant owner and full-time student.
The regular blond-haired, blue-eyed, jeans wearer said while he's too shy toeven go up and talk to people when he goes out, Garner's personality changes180 degrees when he turns into his counterpart Monica Moree.

-"It Is Not OK To Be Gay"
Homosexual weekly alleges 14 "hate crimes" have occurred on University ofSan Diego campus in less than a year, urges crackdown on wrongdoers Claimingthat 14 "hate crimes" have been committed on the campus of the University ofSan Diego since September 2007, the Gay & Lesbian Times says the Catholicschool should institute "mandatory sensitivity/tolerance training forincoming students" and that students who don't get the message should beseverely disciplined.


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Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Lansing lawyer Eric Doster is a busy fellow.
Besides serving as corporate counsel to the state Republican Party andrunning for a seat on the state Court of Appeals, he represented thecoalition of religious activists who led the successful crusade to bansame-sex marriage in Michigan. According to the state Supreme Court'sRepublican majority, Doster is also a bit of a fibber. In an opinionreleased Wednesday, five GOP justices say the language of the constitutionalamendment voters adopted in 2004 clearly prohibits public employers fromproviding medical benefits for same-sex couples, and that Doster wasobviously stretching the truth when he told the State Board of Canvassers atan August 2004 hearing that it wouldn't.

-Rep. Vito Fossella of New York ran a red light, and wrecked his life. Adrunk-driving arrest last week led to talk of an extramarital affair, andthen finally Thursday, an admission of a child from that affair. "Mypersonal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the peopleI love and I am truly sorry," said Fossella, a Republican, who lives in hisStaten Island, N.Y., district with his wife and their three children.
Fossella is the only Republican member of Congress from New York City, andthe paternity revelation could lead to the loss of a seat in Congress at atime when the House GOP faces the possibility of a second grim November ofelection setbacks. In Congress Fossella voted in favor of a constitutionalamendment that would bar same-sex marriage and against the Matthew ShepardAct which would add gay under hate crime law.

-After much anticipation on the set of ABC's Brothers & Sisters, a weddingcake has arrived. The four-tier creation - adorned with flowers andblackberries - is locked in a freezer, out of sight from the curious castmembers, who are wondering what the cake topper looks like. Spotting a propwoman with the topper in her hands, Matthew Rhys - whose character, Kevin,weds Sunday (10 p.m. ET/PT) in the show's Season 2 finale - calls her over.
"Is it a man and a woman?" he asks. Getting a closer look, Rhys smiles andsays, "Oh, it's two men. Fantastic. There were jokes made that they wouldn'tbe able to find two men, so they'd have to doctor the woman by adding amoustache."


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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if can't access the article

-Survey sheds light on LGBs
The clearest picture yet of the identity, political attitudes, and civicengagement of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals is emerging from the largestand most rigorous survey of that community ever conducted. The politicalscientists who conducted the study unveiled their findings at a forum inWashington, D.C. on April 30.
Kenneth Sherrill, a well-known researcher in the field and a professor atHunter College in New York, said the 10 percent figure popularized byAlfred Kinsey referred to those who have ever engaged in sexual activitywith a person of the same sex, rather than those who identify as LGB. Theactual figure of those who identify as lesbian or gay, according to thesurvey, is much lower.
Exit polls and other surveys have found the number of people whoself-identify as gay or lesbian to be about 3 percent, and the sampleSherrill and the researchers drew from had 2.9 percent identifying asLGB. Among the 758 LGB persons surveyed, about half were male and halffemale.
One of the surprising and controversial findings is that half considerthemselves to be bisexual. Sherrill explained, "Virtually all of theprior surveys asked the question, are you LGB, and stopped. We followedthat up with, would you characterize yourself as L, G, or B."
http://www.hrc.org/documents/Hunter_College_Report.pdf.


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McCain advisor film

-You may have heard of Rev. John Hagee, the McCain supporter who said Godcreated Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its homosexual "sins."
Well now meet Rev. Rod Parsley, the televangelist megachurch pastor fromOhio who hates Islam. According to David Corn of Mother Jones, Parsley hascalled on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he considers to be a"false religion." In the past, Parsley has also railed against theseparation of church and state, homosexuals, and abortion rights, comparingPlanned Parenthood to Nazis. John McCain actively sought and receivedParsley's endorsement in the presidential race. McCain has called Parsley "aspiritual guide," and he hasn't said whether he shares Parsley's viciousanti-Islam views. That's because the mainstream media refuses to ask. Andso, we've taken matters into our own hands, joining Mother Jones to presentthe truth about McCain's pastor: Watch the video:
http://bravenewfilms.org/watch/22821259/38133?utm_source=rgemail


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-If you care about reproductive health and rights, I invite you to subscribeto the Daily Women's Health Policy Report. The Daily Report offers asynopsis of local, state, national and international reproductive healthdevelopments - from courts to Congress to NGOs and governments worldwide -via email each morning.
It's a one-of-its-kind news summary that keeps you informed and saves youtime - and is a trusted resource for advocates, analysts, and academicsalike. Click here to subscribe to the must-read daily e-mail report withthe latest news and media coverage on women's health policy.
http://archive.democrats.com/optin.cfm?email=ron@precinct114r.org&fieldname=L38


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-If you care about reproductive health and rights, I invite you to subscribeto the Daily Women's Health Policy Report. The Daily Report offers asynopsis of local, state, national and international reproductive healthdevelopments - from courts to Congress to NGOs and governments worldwide -via email each morning.
It's a one-of-its-kind news summary that keeps you informed and saves youtime - and is a trusted resource for advocates, analysts, and academicsalike. Click here to subscribe to the must-read daily e-mail report withthe latest news and media coverage on women's health policy.
http://archive.democrats.com/optin.cfm?email=ron@precinct114r.org&fieldname=L38

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-ARMY BRATS
I was interested to read about the dramatic increase in the issuance ofmoral waivers allowing criminals to join the Army and Marine Corps,including child molesters and rapists, while at the same time gay men andlesbians are being discharged as unsuitable. Rather than allow educated andqualified men and women to serve, the government would rather the U.S.military be taken over by a gang of "heterosexual" thugs with prisontattoos. As if ex-cons have had no experience of sodomy while behindbars-yeah, right! However, the more I think about it, the more an army offelons seems like a good idea, as long as the criminal recruits are assignedto the right regiments. You wouldn't want Staff Sgt. Lucrezia Borgia, whopoisoned five husbands and six of her children, working in the kitchens, nowwould you? You don't want the Dame of Deadly Doses passing out MRE fieldration packets containing a delicious spaghetti and arsenic sauce, with aside dish of rat poison and cyanide brûlé for dessert.
http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/1810


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