Saturday, August 30, 2008

GLBT DIGEST - August 30, 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.

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

-McCain's VP choice reassures evangelicals
John McCain's running mate was raised in a Pentecostal church, has calledherself "as pro-life as any candidate can be" and already has energizedconservative religious leaders who worried the Arizona senator would choosean abortion rights supporter.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/30/AR2008083000402.html

-Diving Into the Mystic Waters of Memory
Shhh. Listen. A half-mile clamber up a steep trail of smooth boulders, atrickle of crystal-clear water spills over a wide, flat rock into a silentpool. The unbroken surface reflects a grove of arching pine trees swaying ina gentle late-summer breeze. The smell is distinctive. Fresh. With a hint ofmud.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082903315.html

-SWING BLOC: An All-Out Battle for Women's Votes Begins
n 1984, Walter Mondale's choice of Geraldine Ferraro as his running mateshattered a glass ceiling as old as the republic, thrilled feminists andhelped create a gender gap among voters that has aided Democrats ever since.That was 24 years before another woman, Sarah Palin, was named to a nationalticket, and this time, it is conservatives who think they have seized thepolitical advantage.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082903611.html


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Steve Rothaus
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/steve_rothaus/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Miami Latin Gay Film Festival to debut week before troubled Miami Gay &Lesbian Film Fest
Jim Dobson, former publicist for the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival,announces he is organizer and executive director of a new Miami Latin GayFilm Festival. The new four-day festival, April 16-19, is scheduled tocoincide with a planned gay pride festival in South Beach. It also willdebut a week before the scheduled 2009 Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival,which recently fired its longtime executive director, Carol Coombes.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2008/08/miami-latin-gay.html


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

-"Gays Gone Wild" opens tonight
Sequel promises to exceed expectations
"Gays Gone Wild," the sequel to the hit gay comedy "Another Gay Movie,"follows four rowdy boys on a Spring Break trip to Fort Lauderdale, wherethey enter a contest to see who can have the most sexual escapades. The filmfeatures cameos by Scott Thompson, "Big Brother alum Will Wikle, dragsensations Lady Bunny and RuPaul, and a bevy of porn superstars.
http://www.floridablade.com/blog/index.cfm#20731


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

-Florida anti-gay amendment faces trouble
A proposed amendment to Florida's constitution that would limit marriage topeople of the opposite-sex could be in for a rough ride at the polls thisNovember a new survey of likely voters shows.
http://www.365gay.com/news/082908-florida-amendment/


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

-Straight Firefighters Sue Over Taunts at Pride Parade
Four straight San Diego firefighters who were required to participate in the2007 San Diego pride parade will soon be able to argue their sexualharassment case in front of a jury. San Diego Fire-Rescue Department captainJohn Ghiotto, engineer Jason Hewett, and firefighters Chad Allison and AlexKane told KGTV that "during the parade, bystanders taunted them withsexually explicit comments and colleagues called to tease them forparticipating in the event."
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid60303.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:

-Stars Shine at Black Gay Pride
Black Gay Pride comes to the city in full force this weekend with dozens of celebrities to wow the estimated 75,000 people expected to pack the clubsfor the annual fest, considered the largest event of its kind in the world.And after you've spent the day with community and cultural events likesummits and workshops (see related stories, pages 28 & 32), what better wayto heat up Labor Day weekend than with R&B sensation Danity Kane, slated toperform for the women as well as the men?

-Competition Begins at NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series
The competition got underway in Seattle yesterday as teams from across thecountry converged on the city for the 2008 NAGAAA (North American GayAmateur Athletic Association) Softball World Series. It was a beautiful dayfor softball and GaySports.com was on the ground checking in with theplayers and checking up on the action. With registration and check in outof the way, the pool play games got underway Tuesday. While the losses inthe pool play don't count toward elimination, they do help the tournamentorganizers set the brackets for the elimination games, which begin onThursday.


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

-Brighton to play host to Euro gay sailing regatta
Gays will be setting sail for the 8th annual Euro Gay Cup next month. The competition returns to Brighton Marina on the 6th and 7th September and issponsored by Barclays Bank and the Sailing and Cruising Association (S&CA),the home of gay sailing in the UK.

-Lesbian senator calls for same-sex marriage in Australia
A new Australian Labour party Senator has used her maiden speech to make apassionate plea for marriage equality. Louise Pratt, the first member ofthe Australian parliament to have a trans partner, also spoke about thediscrimination trans people face.

-Competition and friendship at gay soccer world cup in London
The world's largest gay football event got underway with a series of matcheson Bank Holiday Monday in Regents Park. The International Gay and LesbianFootball Association championship has seen 40 male and female teams fromevery continent, competing in three different leagues; the Men's First andSecond Divison and the Women's Division.


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From Transgender Equality
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article

-Dallas is in top GEAR for transgender community
Far from the starting line, the Gender, Education, Advocacy &Resources program (GEAR) is now in overdrive. The Resource Center ofDallas program began in March of 2006, with just a handful oftransgender individuals sharing the desire to provide support to thegreater gender community. In just a couple of short years, they havekyrocketed into brand new gender zones.
http://www.edgedallas.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=local&sc2=features&sc3=&id=79625


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Gay.com
http://www.gay.com

-"Dude, you gave me crabs!"
A while after coming out, I got a call from a guy with whom I had gone on afew dates. He said we needed to get together that very same day, though hedidn't sound worried. I went to his house, and he said those inevitable butexcruciating words every sexually active person might hear in his lifetime:"I think you may have given me crabs." D'oh!Isn't the reaction always the same? "Really? I haven't noticed anything."
http://www.gay.com/news/roundups/package.html?sernum=7614&navpath=/channels/health/sexuality/

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#####

NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - August 30, 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.


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

-Choice of Palin Is Bold Move by McCain, With Risks
In choosing Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate and bidding for supportersof Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain risked undercutting his case againstBarack Obama.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/30assess.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

-Sarah Heath Palin, an Outsider Who Charms
Ms. Palin in the Governor's Mansion in Juneau with her daughters. She roseto prominence by impressing voters more with gumption than with anestablished record.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/30palin.html?hp

-McCain's Baked Alaska
The idea that women are going to race off to vote for any candidate with thesame internal plumbing is both offensive and historically wrong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30collins-.html?ref=opinion

-Investigators Are Looking at Governor About Firing
In unveiling Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as Senator John McCain's runningmate, the campaign is portraying her as a champion of ethics reform fortaking on members of her own party whom she saw as beholden to specialinterests.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/30trooper.html

-Two-Front Republicans
THE country is at war. The economy is in shambles. The Republican Party isweaker than it has been in decades. So whom does John McCain choose as hisvice presidential nominee? A former beauty queen turned governor fromAlaska. Think the 47-year-old Barack Obama is too inexperienced to bepresident? Mr. McCain says the 44-year-old Sarah Palin, who has two yearsfewer of experience as governor than Mr. Obama has as a senator fromIllinois, is up to the job. Concerned that Americans do not know enoughabout Mr. Obama, who spent part of his childhood overseas and went toprivate school in Hawaii? Ms. Palin is a total unknown who also hails from anoncontiguous state, one most people know only from watching Animal Planet.And that state is steeped in corruption and oil money. Its senior senator isunder indictment. They try to build bridges to nowhere there. What on earthwas Mr. McCain thinking?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30continetti.html?ref=opinion

-Surge in Natural Gas Cars Has Utah Driving Cheaply
Utah has become the first state to experience broad consumer interest in theidea of running cars on clean natural gas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/business/30gascars.html?hp

-The Massachusetts Way
The gains of the Massachusetts health insurance program suggest that theplan could become a model for universal health coverage for other states orthe nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30sat1.html?ref=opinion

-Millions Are Displaced by Floods in India
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/world/asia/30india.html

-Your Money: Automated Bill Payments Are a Cinch (Not So Fast)
A few months ago, in my first column for this newspaper, I extolled thevirtues of automated bill payments: Set them up once, let your utilities,phone and credit card companies pull what you owe from your bank accounteach month and never sit through the drudgery of a bill-paying sessionagain.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/business/yourmoney/30money.html


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

-Obama and McCain Tax Proposals
According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of theUrban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama andRepublican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result incuts for most American families. Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts tothose who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to thevery wealthy. For the approximately 147,000 families that make up the top0.1 percent of the income scale, the difference between the two plans isstark. While McCain offers a $269,364 tax cut, Obama would raise theirtaxes, on average, by $701,885 - a difference of nearly $1 million.
Check the comparison chart:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2008/06/12/GR2008061200193.html?referrer=emaillink

-Don't Do It
Hillary Clinton's supporters will be committing political suicide if theyfall for Sarah Palin.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082902891.html

-Topic A: Assessing Sarah Palin
The Post asked political experts for their thoughts on John McCain's runningmate. Below are contributions from: Michael Feldman, Newt Gingrich,Catharine A. "Kiki" McLean, Greg Mueller, Grover G. Norquist, John Podesta,Douglas E. Schoen and Lisa Schiffren
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082901777.html

-THE ANSWER, MY FRIEND
Want a Better Way to Power Your Car? It's a Breeze. Legendary Texas oilmanT. Boone Pickens is half right. We do need to harness this country's windresources for a homegrown source of electricity, as he has been urging thissummer in expensive television ads. And we do need to reduce the $700billion we may soon be paying annually for imported oil. But part two ofPickens's plan -- to move natural gas out of electricity production and useit to fuel cars instead -- just doesn't make sense.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082902334.html

-Abortion on Ballots in 3 States
Voters to decide measures that could add fuel to movement to overturn 1973Roe v. Wade ruling.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082903142.html?hpid=topnews

-Russian Offensive Hailed in Mideast
For some in the Middle East, the images of Russian tanks rolling intoGeorgia in defiance of U.S. opposition have revived warm memories of theCold War. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew last week to Moscow, wherehe endorsed Russia's offensive in Georgia and, according to Russianofficials, sought additional Russian weapon systems.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082903127.html?hpid=moreheadlines

-Thousands seek refuge from India religious attacks
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Thousands of people, most of them Christians,have sought shelter in makeshift government camps in eastern India, drivenfrom their homes by religious violence which has killed at least 13 peoplethis week.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082900264.html?hpid=sec-religion

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#####

FLORIDA DIGEST - August 30, 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.


~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

From Transgender Equality
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article

-Gainesville LGBT Rights Repeal to go before Voters
The Supervisor of Elections has certified that enough valid signatures werecollected by Citizens for Good Public Policy to put a repeal of civil rightsprotections for the city of Gainesville's LGBT population. The issue willnow go before voters. Last January, the City Council voted to expand theexisting protections in housing and employment to include gender identity(it already included sexual orientation). The Citizens for Good PublicPolicy launched a fear-mongering campaign which seeks to repeal not only thegender identity protections but sexual orientation by tying the city's humanrights law to the protections offered by the state. Florida state law doesnot include either gender identity or sexual orientation in the categoriesthat are protected. Citizens for Good Public Policy said that the mainconcern is the use of restrooms by transpeople in restaurants and otherplaces.
http://florida.bilerico.com/2008/08/gainesville_lgbt_rights_repeal_to_go_bef.php



~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-Not So Fast
The state of Florida needs to overhaul its system for restoring votingrights to former inmates.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30sat3.html?ref=opinion


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

-Gustav strengthens to Cat. 3; Hanna curls westward
Gustav swelled to a fearsome Category 3 hurricane early Saturday with windsof 115 mph as it approached western Cuba on a track to hit the U.S. GulfCoast three years after Hurricane Katrina. The U.S. National HurricaneCenter in Miami called the storm "dangerous" and said it had reached thestatus of a major hurricane, the second one of this Atlantic season afterBertha in July.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-hurricane-hanna,0,5749270.story

-Teachers finally win retroactive 2% raise
Palm Beach County teachers would get a 2 percent raise this year under atentative agreement reached Friday by negotiators for the school districtand teachers union. The deal comes nine days after union boss Robert Dowsaid teachers could become angry and "unreasonable" if they toiled in theclassroom much longer without a salary boost.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpteachers0830pnaug30,0,7398998.story

-Four Medicaid health plans withdrawing from Broward County
Patients face insurer, doctor changes
The four largest health plans in Florida's Medicaid reform experiment aredropping out, forcing more than half of 204,000 affected patients to changeinsurers and possibly doctors.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-flzmedicaid0828sbaug28,0,2496361.story

-Will Sarah Palin play in South Florida?
If Republican John McCain's vice presidential choice of Alaska Gov. SarahPalin is aimed at wooing women voters, a key testing ground will be SouthFlorida.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/columnists/sfl-flawomen0830sbaug30,0,4292368.story

-Fort Lauderdale police officer's pay per year for no work: $110,249
For almost two years, a Fort Lauderdale police officer has collected apaycheck, pension and benefits - at $110,249 a year. He has done no work.Officer Sharif Samer Masri's job since October 2006: stay home, check inwith the police department every day and take no "official police action."He can't wear a police uniform, carry a gun, drive a cruiser or enter thedepartment without an escort, city records show.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbpaidleave0828sbaug30,0,3594448.story



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Palm Beach County Human Rights Council
www.pbchrc.org
Go to the links for the following articles:

-St. Petersburg Times
With his first appointment to the Florida Supreme Court, Gov. Charlie Cristhas picked the most partisan candidate available. Whether Charles T. Canadywill bring his politics to the high court remains to be seen, but Crist hasjust declared his own. In announcing the appointment on Thursday, Cristtried to couch the decision in terms of legal experience and the "fair andjust" rulings Canady has made "throughout his career." But that'spurposefully misleading. Canady, 54, spent 16 years in elected and appointedoffice before Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to the 2nd District Court ofAppeal. His judicial "career" has lasted all of six years, and during meritretention in 2004 the Florida Bar rated his qualifications the lowest amongthe five 2nd DCA judges on the ballot. The credentials that would vaultCanady ahead of the other five candidates for this post are entirelypolitical in nature. He was a litmus-test warrior in the Legislature and inCongress, fighting against school prayer, abortion, gay rights, affirmativeaction and flag burning. He served as a House manager for the impeachment of
President Clinton, decrying the "pernicious example of lawlessness." Doesthis record square with the kind of "wisdom, fairness and humility" thatCrist said he sought? The governor has the extraordinary opportunity toappoint three more justices in his first term, which means he could stillhonor his pledge to "only appoint the most highly qualified'' applicants.His choice of Canady falls short of that standard. Canady is a Yale LawSchool graduate who may rise above his politics when he joins the highcourt, but the reason the Florida Chamber of Commerce and conservativewatchdogs are applauding the appointment is that they are confident hewon't.

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#####

Friday, August 29, 2008

GLBT DIGEST - August 29, 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.


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

-On Screen
Opening Sept. 5: Nicolas Cage plays a hit man in "Bangkok Dangerous.". . .
Gay Muslim filmmaker Parvez Sharma explores the complex global intersectionsbetween Islam and homosexuality in the documentary "A Jihad for Love.". . .Anne Hathaway plays a grief counselor who finds herself at the root of amystery when her clients begin to disappear in "Passengers." Opening datesmay change.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/28/AR2008082801005.html

-California prisons prepare for gay weddings
Now that same-sex couples can get married in California, state prisonofficials are trying to figure out what that means for gay inmates. Noprisoners so far have sought to arrange weddings with same-sex partnerssince the state Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to wed asof mid-June, according to Michele Kane, spokeswoman for the CaliforniaDepartment of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082900498.html


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

-Gay candidates strike out at polls
Backers blame divided GLBT votes, leaders for dismal outcome
Three openly gay candidates in Broward County were soundly defeated inprimary elections Tuesday night. Mark LaFontaine, Adriane Reesey and BryanCaletka each lost their bids for statewide and county public offices.
http://www.floridablade.com/2008/8-28/news/localnews/5003.cfm

-Miami-Dade gay delegate represents
Chip Arndt dispatches from the front lines of DNC
"You could call us all political junkies and this is our Olympics."
http://www.floridablade.com/2008/8-28/news/localnews/5005.cfm


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

-Portia de Rossi, Sarah Paulson Join ABC Lineup
Newlywed Portia de Rossi, 35, will be returning to prime time televisionearly next year in Better Off Ted, one of five pilots picked up by ABC forits midseason lineup.
http://www.365gay.com/features/portia-de-rossi-sarah-paulson-join-abc-lineup/

-Corvino: Why moral approval matters
"The problem with you people," my critic scolded, "is that you're no longerhappy with merely being left alone. You don't just want us to toleratehomosexuality. You want us to think it's RIGHT."
http://www.365gay.com/features/082908-corvino/

-Toronto suburb launches LGBT homophobia hotline
(Toronto, Ontario) Police in Peel Region, a sprawling suburb of more than 2million people west of Toronto, have set up a special LGBT Hate CrimeHotline, believed to be the first of its kind in North America.
http://www.365gay.com/news/082808-homophobia-hotline/

-College wrestler in gay porn flap transfers
One of two University of Nebraska wrestlers dismissed from the team afterposing naked for videos and photographs on an Internet gay pornography sitehas left the school.
http://www.365gay.com/news/082808-college-wrestler/


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

-GOP's Platform Snubs Gay Rights
While the Republican Party's 2008 platform has diminished in size comparedto its 2004 plan, the party has made sure to include measures to prevent gayand lesbian couples from gaining marriage equality. The 2004 document wasmore than double the size of this year's, which is about 20,000 words, andmentions presidential nominee Sen. John McCain only in the preamble,according to National Public Radio. A stark comparison to the last platform,which mentioned incumbent president candidate George Bush on nearly everypage. The 120 platform delegates went after same-sex marriage, themilitary's ban on openly gay service members, and judges that rule in favorof LGBT rights.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid60181.asp

-Obama Makes Gay History
Sen. Barack Obama accepted his Party's history making nomination forpresident Thursday night with a speech that was also momentous for itsinclusion of gays and lesbians.
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid60227.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:

-Gay Rights Groups Counting on Democrats to Deliver
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, is in high spirits - and with good cause. His colleagues are represented like never before in theDemocratic delegate pool, and gay rights groups have partied hard duringthis week's convention. More important, Solmonese is confident that aftereight years of a Bush administration that opposed his agenda, the gay rightscommunity's alignment with the Democratic Party and Barack Obama will leadto policy victories in Washington.

-Competition Begins at NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series
The competition got underway in Seattle yesterday as teams from across thecountry converged on the city for the 2008 NAGAAA (North American GayAmateur Athletic Association) Softball World Series. It was a beautiful dayfor softball and GaySports.com was on the ground checking in with theplayers and checking up on the action. With registration and check in outof the way, the pool play games got underway Tuesday. While the losses inthe pool play don't count toward elimination, they do help the tournamentorganizers set the brackets for the elimination games, which begin onThursday.

-Gus Threatens New Orleans Gay Party
For the second time in three years a massive storm is threatening to scuttleSouthern Decadence. Right now, the massive gay party that attracts tens ofthousands of gays to the French Quarter is still on. But organizers aremonitoring the weather and the city is bracing for a possible evacuation asGustav gathers strength and could slam into the Gulf Coast as a major hurricane.

-Beijing's Homosexuals Live in the Shadows
The Beijing Olympics have not changed anything for Benjamin Han. He is stillgay, still single and still compelled to hide his orientation from publicview. The 28-year-old employee of a large international public relationsfirm is one of an estimated 5 million to 10 million gay men in China wholive, for the most part, in the shadows. Homosexuality has only been legalfor 11 years in China. Although the Chinese Psychiatric Association took itoff the list of psychiatric disorders in 2001, same-sex unions are stillconsidered immoral by the authorities.


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

-Media Matters: "AP misrepresents McCain's positions on same-sex marriage,civil unions, abortion"
On August 27, the Associated Press, in an article headlined "GOP takes hardline on abortion for its platform," reported that "[Sen. John] McCainopposes gay marriage but also is against a constitutional amendment againstit. He has expressed limited support for the rights accorded couples insame-sex civil unions." The article also stated, "Apart from opposing aconstitutional amendment to ban abortion, [McCain] is against most abortionrights and says he would favor overturning the Supreme Court decisionaffirming those rights." In fact, McCain has expressed support for a stateconstitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions and fora federal constitutional amendment banning abortion in most cases.

-"Senegal jails Belgian, domestic helper for 'gay marriage': lawyer"
Senegal has jailed a Belgian retiree and his male Senegalese domestic helperfor two years for "homosexual marriage and acts against nature," theirlawyer said Thursday. Richard Lambot, 61, and Moustapha Gueye, 63, whowedded in Belgium -- where civil gay marriage is legal -- last month, weresentenced by the Dakar regional court on Augusut 21, said lawyer SeyniNdione. [...] Homosexuality in Senegal can lead to five years in prisonand fines running up to 1.5 million CFA francs (2,300 euros, 3,380 dollars).In February, five people were detained for several days, then freed withoutcharge, after a symbolic wedding between two men near Dakar.

-Newsom in spotlight as a 'hotshot to watch'
Four years ago, Newsom was a pariah at the 2004 Democratic NationalConvention. Democrats were angry that he had sanctioned San Francisco tobegin allowing same sex marriages, and blamed him for the backlash ofanti-gay marriage initiatives across the country. He still sounds hurttalking about how some of his closest political mentors shunned him. Muchhas changed this year. Newsom has been everywhere in Denver this week,boosting his national profile with a bottomless list of stop-bys andfeatured appearances. Within 36 hours, he was being vetted/honored by theWashington media elite, toasted by California's gay and lesbian caucus, andinterviewing top Facebook and YouTube officials on his local talk show.

-Jay Bakker and Religious Straight Americans Speak Up for Gay andTransgender Neighbors
Excerpt: Jay Bakker is the son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner. Hisnon-traditional approach to ministry achieved national attention in theSundance Channel documentary One Punk Under God, which documented hisjourney to become a gay-affirming Christian. Like Bakker, Michelle Garlandhas been on a journey to support gay and transgender friends. A ModernOrthodox Jew and married mother of three, Garland initially feared that,even as a straight woman, she would become the target of harassment.


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

-UK: Cardinal's body to be dismembered
Bones to be displayed as holy relics
Cardinal Newman's wishes violated by Vatican
"The Pope has strong-armed the Ministry of Justice to waive the law andallow the exhumation and reburial of Cardinal John Henry Newman," accordingto human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. "The rarely granted speciallicence for exhumation was approved by the Ministry of Justice burialsdepartment, headed by Catholic MP, Bridget Prentice. "It is entirelyinappropriate that a Catholic Minister should have overseen the granting ofthis exceptional legal dispensation. It will inevitably lead to allegationsthat the Minister has, as a loyal Catholic, shown favouritism. "JusticeSecretary Jack Straw MP has authorised the process that will lead to thedisinterment and dismemberment of Newman's body, contrary to Newman's ownrepeatedly expressed wishes to remain buried in the same grave as the man heloved, Father Ambrose St John. They have remained buried side by side forover 100 years, since Newman's death in 1890. "The government is complicitin this act of grave-robbing, sacrilege and desecration. Allowing theCatholic Church to over-ride Newman's explicit instructions to his executorsis truly shameful. The Pope does not have the right to violate theCardinal's wishes. "The Catholic Church has admitted that it plans to breakup parts of Newman's body and display some of his bones as holy relics. TheMinistry of Justice accepted these plans at a meeting with Catholicrepresentatives in July," notes Mr Tatchell.

-Ireland: Teenagers thrown out of their homes for being gay
Homophobia is still a significant problem in schools, with teachersill-equipped to talk about the issue of sexuality, a support network forgays and lesbians has claimed. Rainbow Support Services (RSS) said it wasrecently forced to find accommodation for a 16-year-old boy and girl fromthe mid-west after they were forced out of their homes and schools after'coming out' about being gay. RSS co-ordinator Vanessa Buswell said theteenagers had to find work after they were "thrown out" of home. She saidhomophobia was a greater problem in schools than in the home. A recentsurvey by Trinity College found 50% of gay and lesbian students weresubjected to bullying in school. This compares with 16% who are bulliedoutside of school.

-Norway: Islamic Council says imams should listen to homosexuals
The Islamic Council of Norway doesn't want homosexuals, Muslim or not, to bein the closet
They live in Norway, a democratic country, and they are free to comeout,says Senaid Kobilica of the Islamic council of Norway to Dagsavisen. He stresses that nobody should live in fear and points to violent incidents where homosexuals were beaten due to the sexual inclination. "Mostof all they need somebody to speak with. Imams must therefore be opento listen to homosexual Muslims. We recommend that everybody respecthomosexuals and lesbians", says Kobilica. http://europenews.dk/en/node/13484

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NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - August 29, 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:

-McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate
In a surprise move, Senator John McCain chose Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate on Friday, shaking up the political world at a time when his campaign has been trying to attract women, especially disaffected supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, McCain officials confirmed. In choosing Ms. Palin - a 44-year-old conservative Christian and self-described "hockey mom" who has been governor for less than two years -the McCain campaign reached far outside the Washington Beltway in an election in which the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, is running on a platform of change. Ms. Palin, a former mayor of the small town of Wasilla and beauty pageant queen, first rose to prominence as a whistle-blower uncovering ethical misconduct in state government. The selection amounted to a gamble that an infusion of new leadership - and the novelty of the Republican Party's first female candidate for vice president - would more than compensate for the risk that Ms. Palin could undercut one of the McCain campaign's central arguments, its claim that Mr. Obama is too inexperienced to be president.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/29palin.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

-Obama Takes Aim at Bush and McCain With a Forceful Call to Change America
Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party presidential nomination onThursday, declaring that the "American promise has been threatened" by eight years under President Bush and that John McCain represented a continuationof policies that undermined the nation's economy and imperiled its standingaround the world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/us/politics/29dems.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

-News Analysis: In Speech, Bringing Lofty Words Down to Earth
Good, great or something else, Senator Barack Obama's acceptance speechThursday night unquestionably confronted two of his greatest challenges.One was to help voters, in emotion-laden language, to connect his promise of"change" to more earthly policy proposals, the other to show he could takethe fight to Senator John McCain over Mr. Obama's own image and the best wayforward for the nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/us/politics/29assess.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1220015091-fFQVS3y28K0aYiAkOTr/Qw

-Op-Ed Columnist: Feeling No Pain
My first reaction to Bill Clinton's convention speech was sheer professional jealousy: nobody, but nobody, has his ability to translate economic wonkeryinto plain, forceful English. In effect, Mr. Clinton provided an executivesummary of the new Census report on income, poverty and health insurance -but he did it so eloquently, so seamlessly, that there was no sense that hewas giving his audience a lecture.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/opinion/29krugman.html?ref=opinion

-In Texas School, Teachers Carry Books and Guns
Students in this tiny town of grain silos and ranch-style houses spent muchof the first couple of days in school this week trying to guess which oftheir teachers were carrying pistols under their clothes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/us/29texas.html


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

-So Many Miles From Selma
"I cried on Monday when Michelle spoke," Rep. John Lewis told me Wednesdayat the Pepsi Center, "and I know that on Thursday night at the stadium I'llcry again." Lewis, as every schoolchild should know, is one of the fewlions of the civil rights movement still with us. As a Freedom Rider, he waspummeled by white Alabama mobs in 1961. As chairman of the StudentNonviolent Coordinating Committee, he spoke alongside Martin Luther King Jr.at the March on Washington in 1963. His pate is scarred from a brutalbeating administered by Alabama state troopers at the Edmund Pettus Bridgeduring the first Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965. Lewis has earned theright to shed tears of amazement and joy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/28/AR2008082802853.html

-A Federal Shield Law
The Senate should pass a bill that would protect reporters and theirsources. A SENATE BILL that got mauled in the run-up to the summer recessbut that has momentum for passage in the fall is the Free Flow ofInformation Act, a law that would protect the relationship betweenjournalists and their sources. The District of Columbia and 49 statesalready do so. While we have a concern about one aspect of the legislation,this shield is needed on the federal level.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/28/AR2008082803206.html

-Iraq and China Sign $3 Billion Oil Contract
Deal Is First of Its Kind Since InvasionBAGHDAD, Aug. 28 -- Iraq and Chinasigned a $3 billion deal this week to develop a large Iraqi oil field, thefirst major commercial oil contract here with a foreign company since the2003 U.S.-led invasion.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/28/AR2008082802200.html?hpid=moreheadlines

-Preparing for Mass Exodus As Gustav Gathers Strength
Determined to avoid the mistakes made when Hurricane Katrina devastated theGulf Coast, federal and state officials began preparations for massiveevacuations if it becomes clear that Tropical Storm Gustav will sweep overthe region with the same force as Katrina. Homeland Security SecretaryMichael Chertoff, in New Orleans to meet with Mayor C. Ray Nagin (D) andLouisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), said that as of Thursday afternoon, mostestimates projected that Gustav, which is expected to strengthen into ahurricane, would strike between Texas and Florida early next week, "with areal possibility of getting an impact in Louisiana."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/28/AR2008082800311.html?hpid=topnews


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

-Gov. Charlie Crist picks his first Supreme Court justice
Seizing an unprecedented opportunity to shape the Florida Supreme Court, Gov. Charlie Crist began Thursday wiping away the last remnant of Democratic power in Tallahassee by naming his first justice to a court best known for its decision in favor of Al Gore in the 2000 presidential recount. Crist, a Republican, handed conservatives a victory by choosing Lakeland appellate judge Charles Canady, 54, to an at-large seat on the seven-member court. Canady is the first of four selections Crist will make in coming months.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-flfjustices0829sbaug29,0,4452184.story


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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-GOP Weighs Delaying Convention For Gustav
Party Officials Say Storm's Potential Impact On Gulf Coast Being Considered Republican officials said yesterday that they are considering delaying thestart of the GOP convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul because of TropicalStorm Gustav, which is on track to hit the Gulf Coast, and possibly NewOrleans, as a full-force hurricane early next week.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/29/politics/washingtonpost/main4395188.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4395188

-U. of I. sticks with plan for John Edwards speech
Student group paid $65,000 before scandal made news
A University of Illinois student group has agreed to pay $65,000 to bringdisgraced former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards to speak atcampus this fall. The Illini Union Board, which arranges lectures, concertsand other events for students, signed a contract with Edwards before headmitted this month to an extramarital affair with a former campaign worker.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-uofi-edwards_29aug29,0,2414846.story

-Senate might decide Stevens' electoral future if convicted
If Ted Stevens is convicted in his federal trial next month, his name willstill appear as the Republican candidate for Senate on Alaska's Novemberelection ballot. And if the 84-year-old Stevens then wins his seventh fullterm and refuses to resign, it could fall to his colleagues to decidewhether he should be expelled
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/legislative/senate/2008-08-28-stevens-senate_N.htm?csp=34

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#####

FLORIDA DIGEST - August 29, 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.


~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

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

-Poll: Amendments too close to call [Anti-Gay Amendment 2 - could pass - is supported by 57%]
The tax-swap proposal to cut property taxes by an average 25 percent is in trouble in both the courts and with voters while the defense-of-marriage amendment is on the statistical cusp of passage or defeat.

Amendment 2, the proposal to define marriage as union only between a man and a woman, had 57-percent support statewide while 36 percent said they'd vote against it in a Mason- Dixon poll released Thursday. Constitutional amendments require 60-percent approval for passage, so the amendment's fate is within the poll's 4-percent margin of error. The issue will be determined by the 7 percent who said they're undecided.
"It demonstrates this is going to be a very, very close election," said John Stemberger, state chairman of Yes2Marriage.org the proposal's sponsor. "I'm very confident in where this race is going to end up," said Derek Newton, campaign manager for opponent Florida Red & Blue. "There's never been a poll on this amendment that showed it winning. This is pretty much its high-water mark."

Amendment 5, which would eliminate the state required portion of property taxes that supports schools, had only 39 percent support in the poll. Of those surveyed, 33 percent said they'd vote no while 28 percent were undecided. A Leon County judge earlier this month threw the proposal off the ballot as unconstitutionally unclear. The Florida Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments and make a final decision next week.Amendment 1 was a property-tax proposal passed by voters in January. Realtors supported both, in large part because they say passage of the two would be a boost to the state's moribund real-estate market.But Amendment 5 has to win in the Supreme Court to even allow voters a say. "The focus remains on the Supreme Court, though, for now," Sebree said. Sen. Mike Haridopolos, the lead opponent of Amendment 5 who says it's a sneak tax increase, is proceeding as if Amendment 5 will be on the ballot Nov. 4. The high percentage of undecided voters, Haridopolos said, shows the amendment is complex. "The more people learn about it, the more are against it."
http://floridacapitalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080829/CAPITOLNEWS/808290326


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ArtsUnited

ArtsUnited will feature the mixed media art work of local artists RobertTabor in a solo exhibitfrom September 8 through October 3, 2008 at theStonewall Library and Archives. The gallery is located at 1717 North AndrewsAvenue in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The exhibit opens with a reception tomeet the artist from 6:30 to 8:00 PM on Monday, September 8th. The exhibitand reception are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be servedat the reception. With a degree in Graphic Design and a unique look at life,Robert Tabor has developed his professional career in Boston, New York, LAand now South Florida. Robert's shoe sculptures take broken down high heelsand give them one last bit of respect as a one-of-a-kind art piece. His shoecreations communicate through sculpting clay, foams, fabrics, metals,acrylics, pearls, crystals, leathers and feathers. Funding for thisexhibit provided by ArtsUnited. For more information about ArtsUnited,contact: Chuck Williams 954-326-8219 www.artsunitedonline.org





~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-Tropical Storm Hanna strengthens as Gustav threatens Gulf Coast
Tropical Storm Hanna emerged in the western Atlantic on Thursday and isforecast to approach the Florida coast as a hurricane. However, initialforecasts can contain large errors and computer models are in disagreementwhere the system might be in five days. At 5 a.m. Tropical Storm Hanna waslocated about 245 miles north-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. Thestorm is moving toward the northwest near 14 mph with sustained winds of 50mph.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-hurricane-hanna,0,5749270.story

-Dike concerns could prompt lowering of Lake Okeechobee
Water level after Fay might strain 70-year-old dike
Lake Okeechobee rose so high, so fast after Tropical Storm Fay that federalwater managers may start dumping lake water to ease the strain on the agingdike that protects South Florida from flooding. Tropical Storm Fay'stwo-foot boost produced the biggest one-week rise on record and the ArmyCorps of Engineers is considering low-level releases, starting next week.Lowering the lake means sending water into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucierivers and out to sea.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flplakeo0829pnaug29,0,4437265.story

-Early voting becomes an issue
At a time of budgetary belt-tightening, it's worth asking whether state lawshould force counties to stage early voting for primary elections. Earlyvoting sites drew few voters prior to Tuesday's primary. Right before thedeadline, Broward statistics showed roughly 6 percent of the electorate usedearly voting conveniences. Just 11,000 or so voters opted for early votingin Palm Beach County.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-neweditearlyvoting,0,2895642.story


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-MASON-DIXON POLL: Crist job-approval rating slips from its high of 70%A poll shows Gov. Charlie Crist's popularity has fallen, though he hasincreased his support among Republicans.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/663529.html

-CAMPAIGN 2008: Israel, Rodstrom, Sobel won't be facing recounts
Officials confirmed that recounts won't be required in three close races.But the state is expected to order a machine recount of one judicial race.Broward Sheriff's candidate Scott Israel, County Commissioner John Rodstromand state Senate candidate Eleanor Sobel all won by margins just wide enoughto avoid recounts, county officials confirmed Thursday.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/top-stories/story/663527.html

-STRAIGHT TO THE POINT: The answer is No
State Farm Florida got it wrong. State regulators got it right. They dealt adecisive smack-down to the insurance company's brazen request for an average47.1 percent increase on its homeowners' policies.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/663556.html

-ENERGY: Extend solar tax credits
In Florida, companies are using one of the state's most abundant andreliable resources to generate clean energy and create green jobs: solarenergy. On July 22, the Florida Municipal Power Agency announced that itsigned a letter of intent with SunEdison for a 20-year power purchaseagreement that will provide 10 megawatts of power throughout the state.Along with clean, renewable energy, SunEdison will be bringing jobs toFlorida by installing, constructing, monitoring and operating the solarsystem.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/663551.html


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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Majority in Florida want to see offshore drilling
More than three in five Floridians now support drilling for oil of the state's coast, a change of heart both opponents and proponents attribute to high gasoline prices.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080829/GREEN/808290364/1002/NEWS01&GID=hSE0o5ScCvHpqZv9GuY40OLQ+mjwx0DG2+yJ/e/NsKs%3D

-Clinton impeachment prosecutor on Fla. high court
Appellate Judge Charles Canady, who as a congressman helped prosecutethen-President Bill Clinton at his 1999 impeachment trial, was appointedThursday to the Florida Supreme Court by Gov. Charlie Crist. Canady, now onthe 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland, will replace Justice RaoulCantero after his resignation takes effect Sept. 6. Crist has not yet filleda second high court vacancy. Justice Kenneth Bell also has resignedeffective Oct. 1.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080828/APN/808281116

-About Charles Canady
Age: 54
Legal background: Graduate, Yale Law School, 1979. Appointed to 2nd DistrictCourt of Appeal in Lakeland in 2002 by then-Gov. Jeb Bush.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-flfjusticesbox0829sbaug29,0,2086033.story?track=rss


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#####

Thursday, August 28, 2008

GLBT DIGEST - August 28, 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:

-H.I.V. Is Spreading in New York City at Three Times the National Rate, a Study Finds
The virus that causes AIDS is spreading in New York City at three times the national rate - an incidence of 72 new infections for every 100,000 people,compared with 23 per 100,000 nationally - according to a study released on Wednesday by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/health/research/28hiv.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=gay&st=cse&oref=slogin


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

-Poll: California voters oppose ban on gay marriage
A majority of California voters oppose a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage, though they are evenly split on the practice itself, according to a poll released Wednesday. The ballot question essentially will ask voters to prohibit the practice of same-sex marriage, which was approved this year by the California Supreme Court.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/28/AR2008082800152.html

--Lesbian activist Del Martin dies at 87
Pioneering lesbian rights activist Del Martin, who married her longtimepartner in June on the first day that California's same-sex couples gainedthat right, died Wednesday. She was 87. Kate Kendell, executive directorof the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said Martin died at a hospital,two weeks after a broken arm exacerbated existing health problems. Herwife, Phyllis Lyon, was with her.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082702295.html?hpid=moreheadlines


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Steve Rothaus
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/steve_rothaus/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Fort Lauderdale's Express Gay News becomes South Florida Blade
South Florida's only GLBT newspaper has re-launched as the South Florida Blade-with unprecedented response from the GLBT community and its advertisers. The new name, vibrant and redesigned publication is the result of extensive market research that called for an innovative way to present the news to the most affluent, fastest-growing target population in the region.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2008/08/fort-lauderdale.html


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

-At Jennifer Lopez Event, Rufus Wainwright Muses On Gay Politics
Wednesday afternoon at the Denver Art Museum, Jennifer Lopez, Capitol Fileand Viacom honored Marian Wright Edelman for her work with the Children's Defense Fund. Before the awards presentation began, the Daily Transom spied the singer Rufus Wainwright, wearing a plaid blazer, striped T-shirt and sandals.
http://www.observer.com/2008/style/jennifer-lopez-event-rufus-wainwright-muses-gay-politics

-Gay Republicans seek more inclusive party
No word on Log Cabin endorsement for McCain as GOP convention nears
With the Republican National Convention set to kick off on Monday, the Log Cabin Republicans still have yet to endorse a candidate.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=20690

-The Second Most Beautiful Girl in New York
Looking for love but finding lust in the city of men
A while back, a friend of mine boasted that he was spending time with a hot transsexual. Now, my friend-let's call him Ryan-is quite the ladies' man. Despite his perplexing androgynous style-tight jeans, guy-liner, the occasional wig-Ryan always shows up with a gorgeous young woman on his arm.
http://www.observer.com/2008/arts-culture/second-most-beautiful-girl-new-york


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

-First woman tapped for no. 2 spot in gay-friendly reform Jewish movement
The Union for Reform Judaism, the largest synagogue movement in North America, has named its first female vice president.
http://www.365gay.com/news/082808-female-rabbi-vp/

-Gay dad charged with kidnapping
A gay man involved in a bitter custody battle with his estranged husband has been arrested after stepping off a plane from Israel where he had fled with the son he and his former partner were raising.
http://www.365gay.com/news/082708-gay-kidnapping/

-Gay prisoners gain marriage rights in Calif.
Gay and lesbian inmates in California prisons will be allowed to marry under new guidelines tentatively approved by the California Department of Corrections.
http://www.365gay.com/news/082708-gay-prisoners/

-94 percent of Fortune 500 companies bar sexual orientation discrimination
The list of Fortune 500 companies providing written workplace protections on the basis of sexual orientation has grown to 471 Equality Forum, an LGBT civil rights organization, said Wednesday.
http://www.365gay.com/news/082708-fortune-500/

-Melissa Etheridge plays at the Democratic convention
Melissa Etheridge brought the audience to its feet at the Democratic National Convention a few minutes ago. She sang a medley of songs that started with God Bless America, wove in Give Peace a Chance and Times, They Are a Changin' until she exploded with Born in the USA.
http://www.365gay.com/blog/melissa-etheridge-plays-at-the-democratic-convention


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

- Romania Launches Gay-Friendly Website
Advocacy group Be an Angel Romania has been hard at work creating the first gay Internet channel in Romania, according to Agence France-Presse. Known for its large Orthodox community, Romania has inched its way toward fair treatment for gays, beginning with the 2001 decision to decriminalize homosexuality.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid60066.asp

-Birmingham Mayor Sued for Discrimination
A gay rights group in Alabama is filing a lawsuit against the mayor of Birmingham for not allowing city workers to hang banners supporting Gay Pride Week. Central Alabama Pride Inc. filed the federal suit, claiming that Mayor Larry Langford's actions violated workers' First Amendment rights,according to the Birmingham News.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid60122.asp

-Gay Youths Canvass Phoenix Against Prop. 102
A team of six gay and lesbian young adults trekked across Phoenix through blazing heat to raise awareness about Arizona's upcoming ballot initiative to constitutionally define marriage as between a man and a woman, aimed at banning same-sex marriage in the state. Temperatures during the week-long,96-mile pilgrimage averaged 105 degrees.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid60118.asp

-The Obama Camp Asks LGBT Dems For Help
Obama's highest ranking gay staffer implored LGBT delegates Wednesday to get involved in the election, one of several clear pushes by the campaign this week to tap the resolve of our community.
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid60136.asp

-New York Rate of HIV Infection Soars Above National Average
For the first time, the New York City health department has issued a study that is able to determine the number of new infections of HIV in a year. The study, which reports on 2006, is the most precise estimate ever of citywide HIV infections, according to the health department.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid60117.asp

-An Inclusive First Day at the DNC
From Sen. Ted Kennedy's reference to erasing barriers between gays and straights to Michelle Obama's gripping prime time address to the largest-ever LGBT caucus meeting, The Advocate brings you Day One at the DNC.
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid60027.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:

-Michelle Obama touts 'promise of equality'
Delegates applaud 'genuine' speech to gay convention audience
Michelle Obama won thunderous applause from gay activists and officials Tuesday when she said, "discrimination has no place in a nation founded on the promise of equality."
http://washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=20670

-Straight Americans Speak Up for Gay and Transgender Neighbors
Gay and transgender Americans are our neighbors" will be the simple message of faith leaders across the nation during the week of September 14-20, 2008.These religious leaders are part of Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights2008, a week that will spotlight fair-minded straight people around the country. In 2007, the project's inaugural year, nighttime vigils lit up 36 American cities in 25 states over seven days.
http://nationalgaynews.com/


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

-"Massachusetts, first in marriage equality"
They're doing the roll call on the floor of the Democratic National Convention, where each state says how many delegates are for Obama and how many for Clinton - and where they also triumphantly state what they think is wonderful about their state. What did Massachusetts say? After shout-outs to their sports teams, universal health care and education, they ended proudly with: "Massachusetts, the first state in marriage equality!"

-CA: Poll--Support is weak for same-sex ballot measure
Voters appear to be more tolerant of same-sex marriages than they were eight years ago when they overwhelmingly adopted a ballot measure to define marriage as between a man and woman. In a Public Policy Institute of California survey released Wednesday, 54 percent of likely voters said they opposed Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex marriage. The initiative has the support of 40 percent of voters.


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

-TV boss apologises for coverage of gay Olympic hero
The head of Olympics at American television network NBC has apologised for the way in which they reported the story of Matthew Mitcham.

-Slight fall in number of City candidates out in the workplace
An annual survey of attitudes towards homosexuality in the City of London has found that the country's financial heart has "slipped as a bastion of equality."

-Cambodian women discover beauty use for condom lubricant
A lubricant has become a popular acne cure among Cambodian women. Number One Plus is a water-based lubricant produced by health organisation Population Services International.

-Lindsay Lohan's father claims she is being "used" by Samantha
Fallen starlet Lindsay Lohan's oft-rumoured girlfriend DJ Samantha Ronson is planning to pen a tell-all and Lohan's father Michael Lohan is fuming about it.

-California gay marriage opponents seek religious coalition
Mormons, Jews, Sikhs and Hindu's are being asked to join forces to support an amendment to the state Constitution of California banning same-sex marriages.

-New rape law to acknowledge Korea's male and trans victims
An opposition MP in South Korea has proposed new legislation that would extend the definition of a rape victim to include men and transsexuals.


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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Over 25,000 Same Sex Couples in NY, 62% Outside Manhattan, Many Raising Children
New study by UCLA¹s Williams Institute shows nearly two-thirds of New York City's same-sex couples live outside of Manhattan including 92% of those raising childrenMedia Contact:
Gary Gates - gates@law.ucla.edu
Cathy Renna - cathy@rennacommunications.com

-US Military Keeping Secrets about Female Soldiers' 'Suicides'
Since I posted on April 28 the article "Is There an Army Cover Up of the Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers," the deaths of two more U.S. Army women in Iraq and Afghanistan have been listed as suicides-the Sept. 28, 2007,death of 30-year-old Spc. Ciara Durkin and the Feb. 22, 2008, death of25-year-old Spc. Keisha Morgan. Both "suicides" are disputed by the families of the women. Since April 2008, five more U.S. military women have died in Iraq-three in noncombat-related incidents. Ninety-nine U.S., six British and one Ukrainian military women and 13 U.S. female civilians have been killed in Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as probably hundreds of thousands ofIraqi women and girls. Of the 99 U.S. military women, 64 were in the Armyactive component, nine in the Army National Guard, seven in the ArmyReserve, seven in the Marine Corps, nine in the Navy and three in the Air Force. According to the Department of Defense, 41 of the 99 U.S. military women who have been killed in Iraq died in "noncombat-related incidents." Of the 99 U.S. military women killed in the Iraq theater, 41 were women of color (21 African-Americans, 16 Latinas, three of Asian-Pacific descent and one Native American-data compiled from the Web site www.nooniefortin.com).

-Michelle Obama Moves First Lady Role into the 21st Century
DENVER - Back in the dreary days just before the New Hampshire primary, an immigration activist had this to say about Barack Obama's candidacy and racial politics in America: the real test of the nation's evolution on race in the presidential race come when Americans wake up and realize that a President Obama delivers to the nation a black first lady. The White House redecorated by a black woman. The White House Christmas tree decorated at the direction of a black woman. State dinners presided over by a black woman - a black woman from the South Side of Chicago. I think my friend was onto something.

-Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits
Hillary Clinton knocked it out of the park Tuesday night. It was a speech defined by grace, feistiness, sly wit, generosity toward her former rival and by a powerful nod to the history her forewoman/bearers made -and which she carried forward with her unprecedented run for the presidency, winning more primaries and caucuses (23) than any woman in history. On the 88th anniversary of women winning the right to vote, Hillary Clinton powerfully linked the fight for women's rights and civil rights, and spoke for those who have been invisible-and for an America whose women, of all races, have defied the odds and fought for a fairer and freer world.

-CO: Transgender-Death Suspect Faces Hearing
A man accused of beating to death a transgender woman faces a preliminary hearing in September, where the prosecution's case against him will be mapped out. Also at the Sept. 18 hearing, a decision on bond for Allen Andrade, 31, of Thornton is expected.

-Interview with Rick Stafford
Rick Stafford, chair of the Democratic National Committee's LGBT Americans Caucus, spoke with the Blade about the clout gays have within the party, what might happen if John McCain wins the White House, and the divisions that remain between supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Washington Blade: The point of a convention, ultimately, is to rally the troops and get everyone to vote for the nominee in November. LGBT voters, by and large, are already there. What more are you hoping for?


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From Transgender Equality
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article

-Fired transsexual Clearwater city manager finalizes divorce
The former Largo city manager who was fired after her plans to have a sex change became public has finalized a divorce from her wife of 18 years.Court documents show that Susan Stanton, formerly known as Steven, must pay her ex-wife, Donna, $4,756 a month in alimony, plus another $799 in child support for their 15-year-old son. A judge signed off on the divorce settlement on Aug. 6. Stanton has not found a new job since being fired by the Largo City Commission in early 2007. The support payments will come from Stanton's retirement fund. Stanton's ex-wife also will receive 50 percent of any money Stanton receives from movies or books about her life.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0827transsexual,0,4061386.story

-My name is Jeremy Grey and I am a research assistant at the University of Minnesota. We are currently recruiting participants for a project looking at nontrans men who have sex with trans people. Our long-term goal is to develop an online resource to improve sexual health for trans people and their partners. You can find more information on our project website: http://www.allgenderhealth.org/.


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Forwarded from Gay Asylum - UK
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gayasylum/messages?o=1
Go to this link for the following articles - or contact Ray's List:

-Gay Iranian denied refugee status by UN
A gay couple who fled to Turkey from Iran may be separated after the United Nations accepted one man's case and denied the other. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is meant to protect and support refugees and assist in their return or resettlement. Kamal and Reza hoped could start a life together without the fear of being punished for their sexuality. Kamal has been told he will be recognised as a refugee but Reza received word earlier this week that he will not.

-Gay Asylum UK is about to launch an international petition for Kaml
One of the most important fundamental and ethical question that the world should be asking, especially in the LGBT community, is that of the UN decision, not to grant both members of a gay couple asylum. In regards to Kamal and Reza's asylum decision by the UN, in Turkey, one has to ask why the UN is being so hypocritical. Early last November the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke of her support for Equality for LGBT's. Louise Arbour made her comments after an historic meeting discussing the Yogyakata Principles. In her statement she said; "Human Rights principles, by definition, apply to all of us, simply by virtue of having been born human. " Just as it would be unthinkable to exclude some from their protection on the basis of race, religion, or social status, so too must we reject any attempt to do so on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. "Excluding lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons from equal protection violates international human rights law as well as the common standards of humanity that defines us all.


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Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:

-Turkish court lifts YouTube ban after online censorship protest
A court in Turkey has lifted a ban on YouTube, the video sharing website, after hundreds of sites voluntarily blocked themselves in protest at growing internet censorship. Access to YouTube had been blocked since May in the latest of a series of bans triggered by the posting of videos deemed insulting to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the modern Turkish state.Two previous bans have also been lifted but the latest decision comes after 412 web and blog sites, including the Turkish-English dictionary site, zargan.com, participated last week in an online protest.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/26/turkey.youtube


-Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Do Kill
Nobody wants to talk about gays in Iraq, much less who is killing them. When militiamen from the Mahdi Army came by the compact, two-story stone home in the Doura neighborhood of Baghdad, they weren't looking for Sunnis to harass. They were hunting gays. "Bring us your son's cell phone," one ordered the middle-aged man who came to the gate. They wanted to check if his son, Nadir, had been calling foreigners--and in fact he had only hours earlier called this reporter to set up a meeting, and he had repeatedly called a gay nongovernmental organization (NGO) in London. Fortunately, Nadir was ready for them and produced a "clean" phone he keeps for just such a threat. This time they left, but vowed to come back if they found any evidence he was gay--or was talking to undesirable foreigners. Now that Iraq's sectarian war has cooled off, it's open season on homosexuals and others whose lifestyles infuriate religious hardliners. Sometimes the act of reporting a story is revealing in itself--especially when it proves particularly difficult. This was the case when NEWSWEEK began looking intothe problems of Iraq's homosexuals after hearing reports of secret safe houses around Baghdad where many of them were taking refuge from the militias' self-appointed morality police. After weeks of inquiries, NEWSWEEK managed to find Nadir and persuade him to arrange a visit to one of the safe houses he helps run. Instead, the Mahdi militia rousted him the night before. Established in 2004, the militia is the armed wing of the organization led by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has been an implacable foe of the Maliki government. Terrified, Nadir contacted people at the London-based gay NGO that finances the safe house, and they instructed him to break off the visit.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/155656

-Call for Inquiries: LBT issues at 42nd CEDAW Session
Twice a year the Committee on implementation of the UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) meets to review how CEDAW is used and followed in a dozen of countries. The usual format is that the government of a country submits a report every four years about the situation of women regarding specific articles of the Convention. NGOs from the reporting country have an opportunity to submit an alternative or shadow report which critically assesses the government report and highlights issues which are left out from the state report, as well as makes recommendations for state action to address the issues raised in the NGOreport. The issues of lesbian, bisexual women and transgender people areusually left out from most general NGO reports and there is a practice of submitting separate reports by LGBT NGOs or other activists to the Committee to bring attention to the issues faced by LBT people.


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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

-Documentary 'Be Like Others' exposes Iran's "solution" for homosexuals
A disturbing documentary titled Be Like Others, exposes the twisted remedy Iran proposes for gay and lesbian people. Filmmaker, Tanaz Eshaghian, explores the world of sex change operations - all fully funded by the state,in an effort to make homosexuals conform to Iran's theocratic standards. ACBC article describes the homophobic agenda that lies behind this policy: (What the Eshaghian) film reveals is a culture so steeped in hatred of gays and lesbians that it deems a sex change preferable to simply accepting differences in sexual orientation.


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Detroit News
http://detnews.com/
Go to this link for the following articles - or contact Ray's List:

-Gays make strides in legislative races by Deb Price
In 2000, after being elected to the Colorado State Board of Education,Internet entrepreneur and philanthropist Jared Polis saw up-close the failure of public schools to meet the needs of new immigrant and homeless young people.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080825/OPINION03/808250338/1031

=

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

NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - August 28, 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:

-Obama Wins Nomination; Biden and Bill Clinton Rally Party
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/us/politics/28DEMSDAY.html?hp

-Johnson's Dream, Obama's Speech
Barack Obama's speech - and in a way his whole candidacy - might not havebeen possible had President Lyndon Johnson's address to Congress in 1965 notbeen given.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/opinion/28caro.html?ref=opinion

-The Kerry Surprise
The instant reviews of the convention's third night are in. And theconsensus judgment in blogdom is that Joe Biden was good, but that JohnKerry - yes, that John Kerry - was better.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/the-kerry-surprise/index.html?ref=opinion

-McCain Has Made His Pick and Is Set to Tell on Friday
Senator John McCain has decided on his running mate, two Republicanstrategists in contact with Mr. McCain's campaign said Wednesday. He isexpected to reveal his choice at 11 a.m. Friday at a rally at a basketballarena in Dayton, Ohio.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/us/politics/28repubs.html

-A Bad Idea From the L.P.G.A.
The Ladies Professional Golf Association's new rule that requires athletesto prove that they are conversant in English is self-destructive.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/opinion/28thu4.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: Why Did Darryl Die?
Two years after a child died there, the Justice Department is conducting amuch-needed investigation of New York's Tryon Boys Residential Center, ajuvenile facility in upstate Fulton County. The investigation could take ayear or more to complete. But it has already shined a klieg light ondisastrous juvenile justice policies, not just in New York, but all acrossthe country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/opinion/28thu2.html?ref=opinion

-Russia Adopts Blustery Tone Set by Envoy
MOSCOW - Here is one measure of the aggressive shift in Russian foreignpolicy in recent weeks: Dmitri O. Rogozin, Russia's representative to NATO,a finger-wagging nationalist who hung a poster of Stalin in his newambassadorial office, is not sounding so extreme any more.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/world/europe/28moscow.html?hp

-U.S.-Pakistani Brainstorming on Border Violence
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff secretly convened a highly unusualmeeting of senior American and Pakistani commanders on an aircraft carrierin the Indian Ocean on Tuesday to discuss how to combat the escalatingviolence along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/washington/28policy.html?hp

-Attack on Police Bus Kills 6 in Pakistan
A car bomb apparently planted by Taliban insurgents blew up a police bus innorthwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least six policemen, securityofficials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/world/asia/29pstan.html?hp

-New Orleans Girds for Another Storm
An unsettling sense of the past repeating itself pervaded this city onWednesday as Tropical Storm Gustav crept this way through the Caribbean, twodays before Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/us/28storm.html

-As Arctic Sea Ice Melts, Experts Expect New Low
The National Snow and Ice Data Center has reported that sea ice in theArctic now covers about 2.03 million square miles. The lowest point sincesatellite measurements began in 1979 was 1.65 million square miles, lastSeptember.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/science/earth/28seaice.html


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

-Convention Cheat Sheet: Day 3
After two nights of mixed results, the third night of the DemocraticNational Convention delivered just what Democrats were looking for:reconciliation between the Obamas and the Clintons, an historic presidentialnomination, and a startling kiss.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/08/convention_cheat_sheet_day_3.html

-For Veteran Speaker, Challenge of a Lifetime
On anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, Obama willaccept nomination in a highly anticipated address.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082704005.html?hpid=topnews

-Kerry: I don't recognize my former friend, McCain
Sen. John Kerry, the one-time presidential nominee whose campaign crumbledunder attacks on his military service and consistency, told fellow Democratson Wednesday that he doesn't recognize Republican John McCain, a man he onceconsidered as a runningmate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703642.html?hpid=sec-politics

-Women at Center Stage
Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton have set the tone for the comingcampaign.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082702997.html

-Tough Decision Coming
Barack Obama is inching away from his party's orthodoxy on Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703021.html

-Charlie Wilson's Peace
Russia's invasion of Georgia has led to a more serious foreign policydiscussion in the presidential campaign. As tensions rise in the Caucasusand violence once again erupts in Afghanistan, we should recall the lessonswe learned from our response to earlier Russian adventurism. We mustrecognize now, as we learned years ago, that a strong military alone is notenough to ensure our long-term national security.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082702999.html

-Russia's Delusion
A flurry of presidential statements on Georgia mix lies with a dangerous newdoctrine. IN TIME WITH Russia's unilateral recognition of the independenceof the two Georgian provinces it invaded this month, President DmitryMedvedev issued a statement, penned an op-ed and granted an unusual flurryof interviews. His intent was to justify Moscow's latest provocation of theWest, which has been united in condemnation -- as was demonstrated yesterdayby a statement by the Group of Seven industrial nations. Instead Mr.Medvedev merely revealed the dangerously arrogant and reckless mood thatseems to have overtaken the Kremlin in recent weeks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082702996.html

-The Summer Gap
Poor children should not return to school already behind. A NEW SCHOOL YEARis beginning, and students are returning to classrooms with stories of howthey spent the summer. Many will talk of taking trips to historic places,having fun at summer camps or learning new skills. But an idyllic summer isa myth, not the norm, for most low-income children. For them, the end ofschool is the end of opportunity and a loss of academic skills that leads tothem entering September already behind their better-off peers. Efforts toclose America's achievement gap would be helped if more attention andresources were directed to these crucial summer months.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703001.html

-Only a Two-Page 'Note' Governs U.S. Military in Afghanistan
For the past six years, military relations between the United States andAfghanistan have been governed by a two-page "diplomatic note" giving U.S.forces virtual carte blanche to conduct operations as they see fit.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703628.html?hpid=sec-nation


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

-If Gustav threatens Gulf Coast, gas prices could start rising again
The brief respite for consumers at the gasoline pump may come to an abruptend if Tropical Storm Gustav slams into the petroleum-rich Gulf Coast andits numerous refineries, just as Americans begin packing up cars for theLabor Day weekend.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-flzgustavgas0828sbaug28,0,379735.story


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-BARACK OBAMA: Vision of a better America becoming a reality
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
He spoke of the promise before he spoke of the dream. In the first part ofthe momentous speech he gave at the Lincoln Memorial, the part schoolchildren don't memorize and pundits never quote, Martin Luther King, Jr.reminded a watching world that in writing the Constitution and theDeclaration of Independence, the founders were ``signing a promissory noteto which every American was to fall heir.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/660124.html

-DIPLOMACY: Helping Burma's nonviolent struggle
Once again, the news from Burma rings with echoes of despair. The latestmission from the international community has ended in embarrassment -- notfor the despotic generals who rule Burma (renamed Myanmar by itsillegitimate regime) -- but for the United Nations and its ineffectualefforts. It seems no one who matters wants to waste any more time meetingwith the U.N. envoy. Now, unconfirmed reports say the iconic leader of thepro-democracy opposition, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, may have starteda hunger strike. Once again, Burma stands like a conscience-searing mirageon the Asian horizon, reminding us of our failure to help the mostdesperate.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/661850.html


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Detroit News
http://detnews.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Gays make strides in legislative races by Deb Price
In 2000, after being elected to the Colorado State Board of Education,Internet entrepreneur and philanthropist Jared Polis saw up-close thefailure of public schools to meet the needs of new immigrant and homelessyoung people. Tapping into the inventiveness that made him rich in thee-commerce world, Polis founded two charter schools for immigrant andhomeless youth, and spearheaded the passage of a state constitutionalamendment to prevent cuts to K-12 education.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080825/OPINION03/808250338/1031


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Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-'Unprecedented' 2-Year Decline for U.S. Science Funds
The numbers will not surprise anyone who has closely tracked federal budgetdiscussions about science and technology in recent years. But that won'tmake the data released Friday by the National Science Foundation any morepalatable for those concerned about the American research enterprise.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/08/25/r_d


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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Dixie Turning Blue
Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's tepid keynote address to the Democraticconvention Tuesday night was little noted and will not be long remembered.But it was important in signaling new Democratic political hopes in theSouth.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3882/

-The GOP smear machine revs up
BARACK OBAMA can deliver a brilliant speech tonight, but its impact couldevaporate within days. John McCain and his allies have opened the 2008 SwiftBoating season. Four years ago, a smear outfit called Swift Boat Veteransfor Truth began trashing John Kerry's Vietnam War record. Kerry was neverthe same.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/08/28/the_gop_smear_machine_revs_up/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z

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

FLORIDA DIGEST - August 28, 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.


=
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

-DNC Convention Party - Watch Obama Accept Nomination
Tonight, Thursday, 8/28/2008 - 7:00 PM
Rosie's Bar and Grill - 2449 Wilton Dr. - Wilton Manors, FL
Join HRC South Florida at Rosie's on August 28, to watch as Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Party nomination for President. We will have food, drink specials and more! This event is open to the community, no No RSVP required, no ticket purchase required.
Questions? Email us at: HRCsfla@bellsouth. net


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Sweet Thursdays @ Halo Lounge
Grand Opening August 28th, 2008 and every Thursday their after - 7pm to 3am
1625 Michigan Avenue · South Beach, FL 33139
Pandora events presents an evening for fabulous and sexy women who lovewomen. We are bringing sexy back to South Beach. Sassy women, hipsters, edgygirls, sexy fashionistas and their friends are welcome. 7-9pm Happy Hourwith half priced drinks, complimentary hors d'oeuvres and music videos thenthe party kicks into full gear with DJ Jennie Foxx spinning the funkiestblend of 80s & 90s. VIP Tables are available with delicious bottle prices.21 and over with proper ID. No cover. For more information visitwww.pandoraevents.com or to reserve a table call 305.495.6969


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NEWS FROM "THE DEAN TEAM"
DEAN TRANTALIS SUPPORTERS COME "OUT"
FIRST FUNDRAISER A HUGE SUCCESS
Ft Lauderdale, FL (8/20/08) -- Neighbors curiously poked their heads aroundthe corner to see what all the excitement was Wednesday night at PineapplePoint Guesthouse in Victoria Park. Dozens of supporters gathered in thelush tropical paradise to hear what Dean Trantalis had to say. And theygave generously. The mayoral candidate bringing in several thousand dollarsat his first official fundraiser. The former City Commissioner spoke to hisconstituents for the first time as well. Trantalis addressed issues such ascrime, development and the environment. "What has happened in the threeyears since I've been gone, is the police and fire departments are totallydemoralized and over development on the beach is knocking at our door again.Huge high rises are appearing and crime is up as well. What's happening?"Trantalis asked. Trantalis telling supporters "We need someone who's goingto bring the city back." "Ladies and gentlemen" he said," I am back toserve you and make Ft. Lauderdale a better place." Wednesday's event drewsupporters from not just from the gay community, but neighbors andsupporters eager to hear his message. The candidate is holding more thantwo dozen fundraising events over the next few months. Trantalis is alsoplanning a ribbon cutting event for his Ft. Lauderdale campaign office inSeptember. To donate, supporters can go to Deanformayor.com and click oncontribute.

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White Party News
JENNIFER HOLLIDAY TO PERFORM AT WHITE PARTY AT VIZCAYA
Original Dreamgirl to be celebrity guest
Miami, FL; August 27, 2008 - White Party Miami today announced that theoriginal Broadway Dreamgirl Jennifer Holliday as the special guest performerat this years White Party at Villa Vizcaya Museum and Gardens on Saturday,November 29, 2008. Jennifer Holliday has been proclaimed by both criticsand fans alike as one of history's greatest Broadway legends. MissHolliday's show-stopping, heart-wrenching performance of the torch ballad"And I'm Telling You, I'm Not Going" in the smash hit Broadway musical,Dreamgirls, made her a household name and introduced her big soulful voiceto the world. White Party Week Miami is one of the oldest and largestHIV/AIDS benefits in the world this year celebrating 24 years. It is aweeklong festival of events beginning on Wednesday, November 26 and endingon Monday, December 1. For a full list of all the events during the week andto purchase tickets/passes, please visit http://www.whiteparty.org


~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-Gustav turns westward, S. Fla. not in 'cone'
Gustav stalled offshore Wednesday and poured more misery onto Haiti afterlandslides and flooding killed 23 people. Oil workers began leaving theirrigs and New Orleans drew up evacuation plans as forecasters warned thestorm could plow into the U.S. Gulf coast as a major hurricane.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-hurricane-gustav-2,0,5001907.story

-Broward voting results: Boring day, troubling delays
Yikes. If there was this much confusion and delay sorting out results from aprimary with just over 11 percent turnout in Broward, what's going to happencome Election Day? This wasn't a good beginning at all for the new paperballot system.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flbmayocol0828sbaug28,0,5714601.column

-Incumbents, women had their day at polls in Broward races
Two things are clear from this week's voting in Broward: It helped to be anincumbent. And in a race without an incumbent, it helped to be a woman.Gender was especially pronounced in three-way races with two men and onewoman. Unless there was an incumbent, the woman won.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbelection0828sbaug28,0,6816068.story

-Court approves payouts for improper Broward Sheriff's Office strip searches
More than 1,000 people improperly strip-searched by the Broward Sheriff'sOffice are about to get paid, taxpayers and insurance companies will get offcheaper than expected and lawyers will hit the jackpot.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbstripped0828sbaug28,0,567167.story

-Wilton Manors police chief appointed to Florida law enforcement department
WILTON MANORS - City police chief Richard E. Perez, 56, has been appointedto the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Standards andTraining Commission, Gov. Charlie Crist announced this week. Perez'responsibilities will be to establish uniform minimum standards, trainingand discipline for all law enforcement and correctional officers in Florida.The 19-member commission meets four times a year. Perez become WiltonManors police chief in January 2006. His four-year term on the statecommission begins immediately and ends August 1, 2012.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-0828-perez-chief,0,7252963.story


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-LAKE OKEECHOBEE: Corps to start draining swollen Lake Okeechobee
With Lake Okeechobee still rising, the Army Corps of Engineers will begin toslowly drain water to protect the levee.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/661805.html


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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Supreme Court moves up oral arguments on constitutional amendments
The Florida Supreme Court announced today it's moved up oral arguments onwhether two controversial constitutional amendments should be allowed on theNov. 4 ballot. Arguments had been set for Sept. 8; they'll now be heard nextWednesday, Sept. 3.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/08/supreme-court-1.html

-Three Hispanic judges trail in their Broward County races
Winning election in Broward County with a Spanish-sounding surname is nearlyimpossible, minority lawyers said Wednesday, pointing to all-but-completeelection returns that show three incumbent judges - all Hispanics - oustedfrom the bench.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbjudges0828sbaug28,0,409604.story?track=rss

-Crist speeds up voter registration for ex-felons; likely won't help in thegeneral
Gov. Charlie Crist is trying to make it easier for felons to vote. Cristissued an executive order today demanding that the Parole Commission includevoter registration applications with each restoration of civil rightscertificate mailed to former felons.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/floridapolitics/entries/2008/08/27/crist_speeds_up_voter_registra.html?cxntfid=blogs_q_florida_politics

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

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

GLBT DIGEST - August 27, 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:

-Arkansas: Vote on Gay Adoptions
A proposal intended to ban gay men and lesbians from becoming foster oradoptive parents was cleared for this fall's ballot. The measure wouldprohibit unmarried couples living together from fostering or adoptingchildren, and the state does not allow same-sex marriage or recognizesame-sex marriages conducted elsewhere. Secretary of State Charlie Danielscertified the proposal for the ballot after verifying that the ArkansasFamily Council Action Committee had submitted 85,389 valid signatures ofregistered voters. Jerry Cox, president of the committee, said: "Arkansasneeds to affirm the importance of married mothers and fathers. We need topublicly affirm the gold standard of rearing children whenever we can."Arkansas Families First is campaigning against the measure and has said itplans to sue to keep it off the ballot.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/us/26brfs-VOTEONGAYADO_BRF.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse&oref=slogin


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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
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-Given a greater voice at convention, people of faith challenge Democrats oncore issues
Religious leaders and people of faith who've been invited to the table atthis week's Democratic National Convention are not sitting quietly withtheir hands in their laps. The head of a large African-Americandenomination challenged the party on abortion. An Orthodox Jewish rabbiraised his voice about school choice. A thirty-something evangelicalChristian author warned against Democrats who mock believers.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-cvn-democrats-faith,0,2429858.story


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
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-GOP takes a hard line on abortion for its platform
Republicans went on record Tuesday with a reaffirmation of their hard lineon abortion and edged toward a more moderate stance toward climate change,reflecting the views of both John McCain and the conservative base. In itsplatform debate, the party stuck to its call for a constitutional amendmentbanning abortion despite McCain's opposition, and toughened alreadyuncompromising language on the issue.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/659611.html

-Let victims stay
Re the Aug. 15 letter Immigration debate, by Yeh Ling-Ling, about theJamaican lesbian spared deportation: As executive director of DiversityAlliance for Sustainable America, she should not talk dismissively aboutvictims and the abuse they suffer at the hands of their governments.Such problems are real in Jamaica. Amnesty International and a few otherorganizations are about the only ones addressing the problem of homophobiathere. Even when gay Jamaicans come to the United States to live free fromoppression, they still fear being ''outed'' when they return home to visit.Ling-Ling seems to believe that since she is in America she can now closethe door on others seeking freedom and democracy.
MARVA LIGHTBOURNE, Miami
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters/story/660135.html


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Steve Rothaus
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/steve_rothaus/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-LaFontaine loses race to become Florida's first openly gay state legislatorDespite raising significantly less than her two opponents, former DeerfieldBeach Commissioner Gwyn Clarke-Reed won a seat in the state House ofRepresentatives. The men who were also vying for House District 92, WiltonManors Mayor Scott Newton and Oakland Park accountant and activist MarkLaFontaine (pictured), traded jabs as the campaign wrapped up.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/


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

-Zimbabwe opposition: Mugabe will fail alone
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082700862.html?hpid=sec-world

-Adoption, marriage amendments rile gay delegates
Anti-gay measure newly certified for Arkansas
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=20680

-Dem convention features 2 out gay speakers
Baldwin talks health care; Tobias attacks Bush over economy
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=20677

-Interview with Rick Stafford
DNC's LGBT caucus chair talks about gay clout within party
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=20676

-Interview with Barney Frank
He spoke with Mark Segal about the convention, how the Democratic Party haschanged and what the LGBT community should expect from a new president.
http://pgnblogs.wordpress.com/2008/08/25/interview-with-barney-frank/


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

-Queercents: Ten money questions for Andrew Tobias
Answers to money questions from Democratic National Committee TreasurerAndrew Tobias.
http://www.365gay.com/features/queercents-andrew-tobias/

-Religious conservatives want dem. concessions for their vote
http://www.365gay.com/news/082708-religious-conservatives/

-Gay Paris mayor to seek French presidency
http://www.365gay.com/news/082608-paris-mayor/

-Olympics: NBC on not mentioning Mitcham is gay: "We can't cover
everything"
http://www.365gay.com/features/nbc-on-not-mentioning-mitcham-is-gay/

-Coroner: Gay man shot by police at San Diego pride "a homicide"
The death of a 37-year old gay man who was shot last month by San DiegoHarbor Police during a gay pride-related cruise was been ruled a homicideaccording to the county coroner's final report.
http://www.365gay.com/news/082608-pride-homocide/


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

-Hillary Shines on Day Two
Hillary Clinton had two objectives with her address to the DemocraticNational Convention Tuesday night: prove she's committed to electing BarackObama president, and persuade her primary voters to embrace the Democraticnominee too. She certainly accomplished the former.
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid60075.asp

-Mass. Voters May Decide Out-of-State Marriage Ban
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid60064.asp

-"Lesbian" Shirt Gets Woman Booted From Federal Building
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid60063.asp

-Study: Legal Status Helps Relationships Last Longer
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid60061.asp

-An Inclusive First Day at the Democratic Convention
From Sen. Ted Kennedy's reference to erasing barriers between gays andstraights to Michelle Obama's gripping primetime address to the largest-everLGBT caucus meeting, The Advocate brings you Day One at the DNC.
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid60027.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:

-Gay Beauty Contest Website Targeted by Vandals
Organisers of the Mr Gay Europe event have said they are the victims of ahomophobic online attack that has disabled their website. The hackers left"a message of hatred" and promised they would "never give up fightingagainst the site." "This is just horrible," Morten Ruda, President of theMr Gay Europe organisation, told PinkNews.co.uk. "At the moment we do ourvery best to recover all the articles and the photos on the site.

-Openly Gay DNC Treasurer Addresses Convention
Andy Tobias, the openly gay treasurer of the Democratic National Committeespoke to thousands assembled in Denver's Pepsi Center at the DemocraticNational Convention. Focusing his speech on the economy, Tobias explainedhow historically Democrats have brought a better economy than Republicans.The line that garnered the most cheers, however, had nothing to do withbudgets and deficits, but with Tobias's call for civil rights and equaltreatment for all. "As a gay man, I yearn for a president who believes inequal rights for all Americans," he said.

-New Lesbian Detective Show Being Considered By Networks
When the L-Word debuted in 2004, networks were astounded that the newtelevision series did so well at capturing a diverse television audience inaddition to its anticipated gay following. Since the L-Word's successtelevision networks have attempted to replicate the Lesbian story line intovarious television shows.

-Mass A.G. OKs Anti-Gay Ballot Measure
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley on Monday approved the wordingof a ballot measure that would reinstate a law used to bar out-of-statesame-sex couples from marrying in the Bay State. Coakley saidMassResistence had met the requirements to begin collecting the 33,000 validsignatures needed to put the issue to voters in 2010. Coakley went out ofher way to say she does not necessarily support the reinstatement measure.

-NBC Censors Sexual Orientation Of Openly Gay Gold Medalist Diver
According to OutSports.com, of the 10,708 athletes at the Olympics thisyear, just 10 have identified themselves publicly as being gay. Of the 10,Australian diver Matthew Mitcham is the only male gay athlete. Yesterday,Mitcham won the gold in the in the 10m platform diving event, scoring anupset over the Chinese team, which was heavily favored to win. But as MaggieHendricks at Yahoo's Olympics blog notes, NBC never mentioned Mitcham'sorientation:

-Remembering the Legacy of Matthew Shepard
Ten years ago this year, the nation was ravaged by a series of bias and hatecrimes, including the tragic murder of a University of Wyoming student namedMatthew Shepard. Today his legacy and story lives on. Stop The Hate(www.stophate.org), an educational initiative of Campus Pride, dedicates2008-09 to the memory of all victims of hate and has partnered with theMatthew Shepard Foundation to host two national trainings this Fall andSpring to prevent bias and hate crimes on college campuses. More informationonline at www.stophate.org under Events.

-So, Science Proves You CAN Tell A Gay Just By Looking!
A psychologist has spent ages doing a study that proves that you can tell agay from a non-gay, just by looking. Sort of. Well, some of the time. A bit.Nicholas Rule's study, published in last month's Journal of ExperimentalSocial Psychology, involved the researcher getting 15 undergrads, showingthem pictures of men, and asking them they thought said men were gays.

-Obama Loses Gay Media King
PAUL Colichman, the William Randolph Hearst of the gay media, is notsupporting Barack Obama for president. But that doesn't mean he's backingJohn McCain. "I'm a die-hard Democrat," he tells Page Six. But Colichmanwas also a die-hard Hillary Clinton supporter. He and Harry Thomasonproduced a documentary, "The Hunting of the President: The 10-Year Campaignto Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton."


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

-MA: Anti-gay marriage group stays out of latest petition drive
The group that has led opposition to gay marriage says it will notparticipate in a petition drive to block out-of-state, same-sex couples frombeing married in assachusetts. The Massachusetts Family Institute said"there is no winning on this ssue" because thousands of marriages will havetaken place before the proposed allot question could go to voters inNovember 2010.

-AZ: Voters to be told gay vows already banned
Capitol Media Services via Arizona Daily Star
Arizona voters will be told when they go to the polls that it already isillegal for gays to marry in this state. Secretary of State Jan Breweragreed late Tuesday to dd that fact to the description of Proposition 102that will appear on the November allots. Approval would add a
same-sex-marriage ban to the state constitution.

-ID: "Hallmark stores refuse to sell company's own wedding cards"
A manager says seven Hallmark greeting card stores in the Treasure Valley[Idaho] will not carry the company's new same-sex marriage cards. CassiJacobsen, an assistant manager for the Jordan's Hallmark store in Nampa'sKarcher Mall, says the family that owns the seven area stores has decidedagainst carrying the new line of greeting cards. She said the owners wereout of town and not immediately available for comment.


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

-Gay online TV channel to launch in Romania
Romanian gays are to get their own online TV channel dedicated to the 'lifeand problems of the gay community' this autumn.

-The Gay Olympics: Matthew and the women
Matthew Mitcham has a somewhat dubious honour to accompany his richlydeserved gold medal in diving. He appears to be the only out gay man to havecompeted at the Beijing Olympics.

-"No credible threat" to Obama after assassination plot foiled
A possible assassination attempt on presumptive Democratic Presidentialnominee Barack Obama may have been foiled quite by accident.

-Ricky Martin "elated" after birth of twins via surrogate mother
Latin superstar Ricky Martin is the proud father of twin boys via asurrogate mother, his representatives have announced.

-Exhibition reveals official fears over gay characters in the theatre
A new exhibition will be pay tribute to the postwar period of transformationin theatre which saw writers 'coming to terms with life.'


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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

-Republican U.S. Senator Busted Using Hookers. Wants To Pay Legal Bills With Campaign Money.
Republican U.S. Senator Busted Using Hookers. Wants To Pay Legal Bills WithCampaign Money. Three Republicans On Federal Election Commission Don't See AProblem With This. As you may know, Senator David Vitter of Louisiana wasimplicated in the D.C. Madam case and has admitted that he committed a "veryserious sin." Not only is he still serving as a United States Senator fromLouisiana, but now he wants to use his campaign money to pay legal billsrelated to his being subpoenaed in the case. This guy just can't leave wellenough alone.
http://www.myreferenceframe.com/politics/us-senator-busted-using-hookers-wan


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