GLBT DIGEST December 21, 2008

**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.


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

-Q. and A.: Caroline Kennedy's Platform
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Following are the answers Caroline Kennedy and her staff provided to 15 questions posed by The New York Times: Q. Does she support state or federal legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage? A. Caroline supports full equality and marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/nyregion/21platform.html?sq=gay&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=6&adxnnlx=1229871756-dEPiTR3uiU46HT3H23GwJw

-Kennedy Offers Hints of a Platform, and a Few Surprises
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
In just a few days, Caroline Kennedy's bid to replace Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has acquired nearly all the trappings of a traditional New York statewide campaign: a bevy of consultants, a tour of upstate cities and television cameras tracking her every move.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/nyregion/21kennedy.html?scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse

-Editorial Notebook: Ode to Joseph Zaretzki
By ELEANOR RANDOLPH
Joseph Zaretzki? The name flickers briefly in New York history books as a Democratic state senator from Washington Heights. The year was 1965 - the last time Democrats controlled both houses of New York's wayward Legislature. That sudden rush to power so addled the new Democratic majority that legislators could not agree on their leaders.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/opinion/21sun2.html?scp=4&sq=gay&st=cse


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

-Prop. 8 sponsors seek to nullify 18K gay marriages
By LISA LEFF
The sponsors of Proposition 8 asked the California Supreme Court on Friday to nullify the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters approved the ballot initiative that outlawed gay unions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/20/AR2008122000292.html

-Pastor Rick Warren defends invite to inauguration
By CHRISTINA HOAG
Under fire for opposing gay marriage, influential evangelical pastor Rick Warren said Saturday that he loves Muslims, people of other religions, Republicans and Democrats, and he also loves "gays and straights." The 54-year-old pastor and founder of Saddleback Church in Southern California told the crowd of 500 that it's unrealistic to expect everyone to agree on everything all the time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/21/AR2008122100262.html


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

-Evangelicals fear losing influence
By Manya A. Brachear
He's not in office yet, but conservative evangelical Christians are already worried that Barack Obama's rise to the White House will threaten their freedom to live according to the Bible and profess it as the literal word of God. If evangelicals don't act now, prayer in schools and on the airwaves would give way during the Obama administration to pornography and same-sex marriage, some predict.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-flaobamaevangelical1221sbdec21,0,5961827.story


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

-South Africa's gay human rights disgrace
my.PinkNews.co.uk member Cobus is disgusted that South Africa didn't sign the UN decleration on equal rights of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersexed and questioning) people.

-Christian registrar loses employment tribunal appeal over civil partnerships
An employment tribunal appeal has ruled that Islington council is not guilty of either religious discrimination in the case of a Christian registrar who refused to perform civil partnerships because she claimed they conflicted with her religious beliefs.

-Gays should give Obama a break over inauguration preacher
Forget for a moment Obama's attempts to reach across the political aisle by appointing Republicans to his Cabinet, probably the boldest and most potentially provacative move he has made so
far.http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10011.html


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

-Transgender Man Appointed to Barney Franks Staff
Transadvocate
Sources on the Hill confirmed to The Transadvocate that Barney Frank's office will announce the hiring of Diego Sanchez today. Sanchez will replace outgoing senior policy adviser, Joe Racalto. Sanchez is currently the Director of Public Relations & External Affairs for AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts. He made history this past August as the first transgender person appointed by the DNC to the Platform Committee and is also a member of the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) Boston Steering Committee and the HRC Business Council. (HRC) Boston Steering Committee and the HRC Business Council. The appointment doesn't come without some built in controversy.
Sanchez crossed union picket lines (on July 28th, 2008) to speak at the HRC's San Francisco Gala Dinner.

-Tales of a Fallen Pastor-HBO to Air 'The Trials of Ted Haggard'
Bill Berkowitz | Talk2Action
According to the Associated Press, "The Trials of Ted Haggard," directed by Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is set to air Jan. 29 on HBO. AP also reported that Haggard has agreed to promote the documentary. Since Haggard's story includes drugs and sex - I'm not sure how much rock n roll - think of the possibilities! After all, it's not television, my friends. It's HBO.

-What Obama Could Say to Young Christians and/or Homosexuals:
We Live in the Real World
Billy Glover
There seems to be a loss of reality on the part of many Americans, no matter what their religious, political or sexual beliefs are. There seems to be no intellectual understandng of the connection between the passage of Proposition 8 in the bluest state in the nation and the hollering about a preacher who is going to give a prayer at the Inauguration of Obama. There needs to be a reminder of the words used against Obama during the election.
Specifically these words are STILL hurting his attempt to change America.
The evidence can be found, among other places in the real world, on the front page of The (Shreveport LA) Times of yesterday, reporting on the conflict in Claiborne Parish over not only the mistreatment of a black student who was overly eager after Obama's election, but more important, the fact that during the election a teacher circulated literature claiming Obama was the anti-Christ. Now think about how to combat this continuing attack on Obama from the radical nutty-usually "religious"-right that will undercut his ability to make any good changes, and then add an attack on his coming administration from those on the left and some homosexuals over his invitation of a preacher (Warren) to lead a prayer at the inauguration.
Hopefully the youth of America will know enough history to understand how much better America is today for all minorities than it was even a decade ago, much less how life for blacks and homosexuals was in the civil rights days of the 1950s and 60s when their parents were marching for the right to even vote, and get an education in schols not divided by race. That is what Obama needs to remind us, and ask for a little help from all of us, no matter who we voted for or how much hope we have for his administration.

-AZ: Phoenix City Council Approves Domestic Partner Registry Out in Tucson
WASHINGTON -The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights group, praised the Phoenix, Arizona City Council and mayor for voting today to enact a domestic partner registry for city residents. The registry will permit unmarried couples to register as domestic partners and receive hospital visitation rights. The registry, which will become effective February 9, 2009, will be available to both same-sex and different-sex couples. "Today, the city of Phoenix has begun to recognize what we have known for a long time - that our relationships are just as true, meaningful, and deserving of legal protections as anyone else's," said Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors member and Phoenix resident Linda Elliott. "With this registry, we can feel confident that we can visit our loved ones in medical facilities at a time when they need us most. We thank Mayor Phil Gordon, Councilman Tom Simplot and the entire city council for taking this step towards equality." Phoenix joins more than 70 other cities and counties nationwide with domestic partner registries.


=

[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####