GLBT DIGEST December 20, 2008

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

-Separate and Not Equal
Creating a separate, new legal structure to confer some benefits on same-sex couples neither honors American ideals of fairness, nor does it grant true equality.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/opinion/20sat4.html?ref=opinion

-Top Lawyer Urges Voiding California Proposition 8
By JESSE McKINLEY
In a sharp rebuke to supporters of a contested state ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage, the California attorney general said Friday that the measure was constitutionally indefensible and should be overturned.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/us/politics/20marriage.html?scp=4&sq=gay&st=cse


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

-Letters: Rick Warren and the Obama Inaugural
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/19/AR2008121903166.html

-Just Prayer
by Colbert I. King
No inaugural preacher has gone on to determine the course of U.S. policy.
[...] Is it an outreach effort to evangelicals in the spirit of unity and common purpose? Or is it a shameless abandonment of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans? My guess? Yes to the first, no to the second, and, above all, an absolutely immaterial question.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/19/AR2008121902985.html


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Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:

-With gay-rights petition, HRC calls on Obama to 'Restore Our Trust'
Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group, has issued a petition that it will present to President-elect Obama. From the HRC website:
Call on President-elect Obama to Restore Our Trust and take Real Action on Equality!
The Presidential Inaugural Committee may not change their minds on Rev. Warren but President-elect Obama can turn the corner on this controversy by officially committing to HRC's Blueprint for Positive Change - a concrete plan for LGBT equality. HRC's Blueprint for Positive Change calls onPresident-elect Obama to:
*Issue an Executive Order within the first 100 days that reaffirms protections for federal workers based on sexual orientation and expands them to also include gender identity;
*Work with Congress to sign Hate Crimes legislation into law within 6 months;
*Support only a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA);
*In the first 100 days develop a plan to begin the process of eliminating the failed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
policy; and Work with Congress to end unequal tax treatment of domestic partnerships benefits.

Take action NOW and send a powerful message to the incoming Obama Administration!
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/


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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Immigration vs. GLBT community:
An open letter to Florida Governor Charlie Crist
By DAN RENZI
Dear Governor Charlie Crist,
Hi. I am a resident of the state of Florida, and I followed the news of your recent wedding. Congratulations. There were several groups of political activists outside of your wedding, protesting various issues; one of those groups was Impact Florida, a GLBT rights organization that was formed in response to the passing of Amendment 2. You publicly supported Amendment 2, which restricts any legal recognition of relationships to be those between one man, one woman.
http://www.floridablade.com/2008/12-18/view/editorial/5384.cfm


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

-What the Warren Appointment Will Cost
By Emma Ruby-Sachs
Barack Obama's campaign was the most technologically savvy ever run. Part of that technological capacity was passed on to the transition team in the form of a blog and comment page on Change.gov, the website headquarters for Obama during these next few weeks.
http://www.365gay.com/blog/ruby-sachs-what-the-warren-appointment-will-cost/

-New Bush medical rules could harm LGBT, HIV patients
The Bush administration has issued a federal rule reinforcing protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in procedures because of religious.
http://www.365gay.com/news/new-bush-medical-rules-could-harm-lgbt-hiv-patients/

-First transgender hired on Capitol Hill
Diego Miguel Sanchez has become the first openly transgender person to work on Capitol Hill.
http://www.365gay.com/news/first-transgender-hired-on-capitol-hill/

-Should we punish supporters of Prop 8?
By John Corvino, columnist, 365gay.com
Marjorie Christoffersen seems like a nice enough person by all reports, including those of gay friends and acquaintances.
http://www.365gay.com/opinion/corvino-should-we-punish-supporters-of-prop-8/

-Transsexual acquitted of criticizing military in Turkey
A transsexual singer has been acquitted of charges of criticizing mandatory military service in Turkey.
http://www.365gay.com/news/transsexual-acquitted-of-criticizing-military-in-turkey/

-Calif. Gay rights leader rejects inauguration invite
The head of California's largest gay civil rights organization has declined an invitation to attend the inauguration because Rev. Rick Warren will deliver the invocation
http://www.365gay.com/news/calif-gay-rights-leader-rejects-inauguration-invite/


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

-Last Known Gay Holocaust Survivor Speaks Out in New Interview
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid69057.asp

-The Road to Equality
Barbara Boxer, the U.S. Senator from California, understands why her gay constituents are furious over Rick Warren's role in the inauguration -- it feels like Proposition 8 redux. - Read her statement.
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid69059.asp


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

-2008 Trans Year in Review
By Jacob Anderson-Minshall
Between the collapse of the economy, California's same sex marriage flip-flops and Obama's election it took a pregnant man to capture mainstream press' attention. But while media outlets around the globe carried that trans story, most of the year's transgender highlights received short shrift. Here's some of what they missed: Read more...
http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4327/175/

-A Snapshot of Holiday Home
Bargains in Vacation Markets
This past year has been historically dismal for the real estate industry, but within the rough patch there are some rare investment gems. The sagging sector has driven home prices downward and has been fueled by tight credit and an unprecedented volume of foreclosures in all categories of property. But that also means that shopping for a home in places where they have been typically overpriced and the inventories are usually skimpy has suddenly become much more satisfying and profitable. The flip side of all the bad news, in other words, is that some of the most desirable and popular vacation and retirement destinations in the USA are now temporarily available at fire sale prices.
http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/4323/173/


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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Little Britain stars accept damages over fake claims their show was condemned by USA gay groups
Little Britain stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas have accepted damages and a public apology from Express Newspapers over an article published in the Daily Star Sunday in September that falsely claimed that gay rights groups considered their programme offensive.

-Lesbian parents raise happy, healthy children according to 22-year study
The longest-running study into lesbian parents in the United States has found that discrimination and not the sexual orientation of their parents harms children.


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Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Racial Extremists are Infiltrationg the Military for the Chance to 'Kill a Brown'
By David Holthouse, Intelligence Report | AlterNet
The racist skinhead logged on with exciting news: He'd just enlisted in the United States Army.
"Sieg Heil, I will do us proud," he wrote. It was a June 3 post to AryanWear Forum 14, a neo-Nazi online forum to which "Sobibor's SS," who identified himself as a skinhead living in Plantersville, Ala., had belonged since early 2004. (Sobibor was a Nazi death camp in Poland during World War II). About a month after he announced his enlistment, Sobibor's SS bragged in another post to Forum 14 that he'd specifically requested and been assigned to MOS, or Military Occupational Specialty, 98D. MOS98D soldiers are in high demand right now. That's because they're specially trained in disarming Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), the infamous roadside bombs that are killing and maiming so many U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Presumably, part of learning how to disarm an IED is learning how one is made. "I have my own reasons for wanting this training but in fear of the government tracing me and me loosing [sic] my clearance I can't share them here," Sobibor's SS informed his fellow neo-Nazis.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/112770/

-Could Obama's Pro-Marijuana Commerce Secretary Spell a Golden Era for Pot Reform?
By Scott Thill, AlterNet
December has been an interesting month for marijuana, or cannabis as it is known to scientists and all too few others. To kick off the month, the U.S. Supreme Court decided against reviewing a California state appellate court ruling arguing that its medical marijuana law trumped federal law. That, in effect, set the stage for better implementation of medical-marijuana law in not just California, but every state that has one, while also reminding local police that the job of enforcing federal drug policy is, in fact, not its job.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/113767/

-Milwaukee to Form Gay-Friendly Middle School
US News and World Report
The Milwaukee Public School System will expand the services provided by its gay-friendly high school and apparently become the nation's first school system to create a gay-friendly middle school.
At a meeting two weeks ago, a subcommittee of Milwaukee's Board of Education unanimously approved the Alliance School's proposal to serve sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The proposal gained unanimous approval from the full board by default when the item was not pulled for further discussion or a vote at last night's meeting. Alliance School lead teacher Tina Owen said the public charter school will begin accepting new applicants eligible for middle school in the 2009-2010 school year immediately.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-education/2008/12/17/milwaukee-to-form-gay-friendly-middle-school.html?s_cid=rss:on-education:milwaukee-to-form-gay-friendly-middle-school

-Obama Stands Firm on 'Gay Rights' Support
Florida Baptist Witness
Any hope that an incoming Obama administration will dump some of its more controversial proposals concerning "gay rights" apparently ended in recent days, when the president-elect's team launched a page on the transition website devoted to homosexual causes.
The webpage at Change.gov boasts that a Barack Obama White House will bring "support for the LGBT Community"-an acronym that stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender"-and will back a series of bills long championed by homosexual groups but opposed by the current Bush administration. The website quotes Obama as saying, "While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do."
http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/9703.article


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From Clarence Brooks
clarencejr1960@bellsouth.net
Please listen to Rev. Rick Warren and decide if this man should deliver the presidential inaugural invocation. I hope that you will agree with me that he should not be given a place in history at the podium of this historic event. The Rev. Warren speaks with hate and not peace, equality, civility, humanity, or justness. I hope - after hearing him speak - that you will sign this and any other petition and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Watch Warren's statements supporting Prop 8 and comparing marriages of gay couples to adults marrying children:
Clarence Brooks

Check out these 3 short videos:
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce1ILmS5yMo

* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4QqGbQmU0&feature=related

* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0spPzgma6Q



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Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article

-Although the United States (and the Vatican) has not declared formal opposition to the UN statement, it has declined to support the statement backing gay rights. As Bush was fond of saying, "If you're not for us, you're against us."
Bob Schwartz

-Syrian envoy Abdullah al-Hallaq, speaking on behalf of 58 nations, read an opposing statement warning that homosexuality could "usher into social normalization and possibly the legitimization, of many deplorable acts, including pedophilia." The envoy said espousing the rights of homosexuals infringes on guarantees of sovereignty in the UN Charter, and that the idea of "genetic factors" playing a role in sexual orientation has been "rebuffed repeatedly."

-GayRussia Celebrates Three and a Half Years of Gay Activism - and a Million Visitors to Website Video reporting to be introduced next year Three Moscow Prides, 165 banned events appealed in the courts, 5,000 articles published, 10 million hits on its web site, and more than a billion watchers of Moscow Pride 2006 documentary.

-Vatican refusal to back UN gay rights declaration is true to form
The Vatican refusal to sign the declaration before the UN that seeks to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide is true to form. In a recent 'clarification' the Vatican claims that while it has declined to sign-on, it condemns 'unjust' discrimination against homosexuals - without saying what exactly might constitute just discrimination.
By exempting itself from the list of states calling for decriminalization, the Vatican is in effect handing moral authority to those nations that are determined to keep homosexuals on the periphery of society, under fear of being persecuted for the 'crime' of gay orientation. The two-faced position adopted by the Vatican is nothing new.
http://aidanmaconachyblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/vatican-refusal-to-back-un-gay-rights.html

-The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and Gender DynamiX announced today the successful conclusion of their first ever African Strategy Workshop for transgender activists. Held in Cape Town, South Africa, the historic workshop brought together 15 activists from 9 East and Southern African countries-Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe-to address the very specific needs of transgender people on the African continent. It marked a key step in the process of defining and building the African transgender movement by African transgender people.
"Transgender people throughout the world experience frequent and unacceptable discrimination, violence and abuse," said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's Executive Director. "IGLHRC is proud to be part of this historic gathering of transgender people, taking the fight for human rights in Africa to a whole new level."


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Gay American Heros
http://www.gayamericanheroes.info/

News from Gay American Heroes Foundation

-Durval Martins 35, Murdered December 16,2008
Jose Sucuzhanay 31, Murdered December 8,2008
If any other group of Americans were being murdered one every 14 days ..what would they do about it...?
So what are you going to do, now that you know...?
There is an LGBT Murder about every 14 days in 2008.
That we know of... because 18 states are not reporting.
Because we do not have National hate crime laws to protect all Americans.
So how many LGBT murders are there in America every year?
Please join us and help find and Honor our Heroes.
Email us at GayAmericanHeroes@yahoo.com
See our new 1 min 3 D animated video of our National Memorial on our home page.
www.GayAmericanHeroes.com
Gay American Heroes Foundation
ATTN: Scott Hall, Founder and President
1350 East Sunrise Blvd, Suite 119
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
321.506.8738
www.GayAmericanHeroes.com


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-Vatican refusal to back UN gay rights declaration is true to form
The Vatican refusal to sign the declaration before the UN that seeks to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide is true to form. In a recent 'clarification' the Vatican claims that while it has declined to sign-on, it condemns 'unjust' discrimination against homosexuals - without saying what exactly might constitute just discrimination. By exempting itself from the list of states calling for decriminalization, the Vatican is in effect handing moral authority to those nations that are determined to keep homosexuals on the periphery of society, under fear of being persecuted for the 'crime' of gay orientation. The two-faced position adopted by the Vatican is nothing new.


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