GLBT DIGEST - May 30, 2009

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

The Right to Counsel, Weakened
In a troubling 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has significantly weakened the Sixth Amendment’s right to legal counsel. The decision came in the case of Jesse Montejo, a Louisiana man sentenced to death for murder based on incriminating statements that he made when the police questioned him without his lawyer present.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/opinion/30sat3.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

Bush-Clinton Policy Talk Strikes a Congenial Tone
By JIM RUTENBERG
TORONTO — Former President Bill Clinton really misses the presidency. “All of a sudden nobody plays a song,” he told an audience here on Friday, referring to “Hail to the Chief,” the anthem played at presidential events.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/us/politics/30bush.html?scp=4&sq=gay&st=cse


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

Obama court pick puts spotlight on Sen. Sessions
By BEN EVANS
Sen. Jeff Sessions has made a career of speaking out and voting against anyone he considers an activist liberal judge. Sonia Sotomayor was no exception the last time they crossed paths.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/30/AR2009053000761_pf.html

Northern Virginia Votes
Our endorsements in the contested House of Delegates primaries
AS THE NUMBER of Republican delegates in Northern Virginia dwindles, the Democratic primaries take on added importance; often the candidates who emerge have a clear path to Richmond. Here are our endorsements for the contested House of Delegates primaries in Northern Virginia on June 9.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/29/AR2009052903334.html

Divided Va. GOP Prepares to Pick Chairman
By Anita Kumar
Virginia Republicans ousted their controversial leader last month, but the beleaguered party still suffers from sharp divisions that could pose problems during the critical fall campaign.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/29/AR2009052903184_pf.html

GOD IN GOVERNMENT : The Best From This Week's Blog
Poll Shows Opposition to Gay Marriage
A Gallup poll released this week suggests that Americans are becoming increasingly supportive of civil rights for gay men and lesbians, but one area remains a major holdout: marriage.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/29/AR2009052903177.html

A Killer's Charmed life
Murdering his father with a hammer spawned surprisingly few complications in Bill Bond's avid pursuit of the good life. But that may finally be changing.
By Manuel Roig-Franzia
The killer at middle age lives in a stately, terra-cotta-colored Georgian colonial on the same Baltimore block as a former U.S. senator.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/22/AR2009052201289.html


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Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us

Gun Advocates See Reason to Be Wary of Nominee
By GARY FIELDS
Gun-rights advocates are using Judge Sonia Sotomayor's involvement in two Second Amendment cases as ammunition to challenge her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, threatening to draw the Obama administration into a debate over firearms laws that it has tried hard to avoid.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124364571646268287.html


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

Good news: El Nino may arrive by peak of hurricane season, suppress storm formation
By Ken Kaye
A growing number of tropical experts say El Niño might arrive by the peak of the hurricane season, August through October, and that might keep the number of powerful storms in check. Among them is Jeff Masters, chief meteorologist of The Weather Underground, an online weather website.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-el-nino-b053009,0,348538.story


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

Video | How to Shave Your Groin - Shaving tips from Gillette
In today’s Miami Herald:
Associated Press reports that Gillette is winning fans on YouTube with videos teaching men how to shave more than their cheeks and chins.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/05/video-how-to-shave-your-groin---shaving-tips-from-gillette.html


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

Cutié trades good graces
Alberto Cutié's exit from the Catholic Church is expected to attract more Hispanics to the Episcopal Church, and sour relations between the two.
BY JAWEED KALEEM
A day after celebrity priest Alberto Cutié left the Catholic church, there was a considerable buzz surrounding the small Biscayne Park congregation where he's to give his first sermon Sunday as a new member of the Episcopal church.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/front-page/story/1072731.html

Obama court pick puts spotlight on Sen. Sessions
By BEN EVANS
Sen. Jeff Sessions has made a career of speaking out and voting against anyone he considers an activist liberal judge. Sonia Sotomayor was no exception the last time they crossed paths. In 1997, she was nominated to the federal appeals court. Session, R-Ala., was a backbench senator demanding to know whether she had refused to join in a standing ovation for conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She said she had.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/v-print/story/1073213.html


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

Gay Marriage Debates vs. Wipeout!
Summer TV is here. So where’s the brainless fun? Coverage of the California supreme court's Prop 8 ruling or Wipeout!? Decisions.
By Dave White
Honestly, if this entire column could be about how great Wipeout! is -- and is there anything not to love about people getting knocked on their ass by low-tech obstacle course punishments in which they’re punched, thrown into icy water, and catapulted through the air past stuff that’s on fire? -- then I’d be way happier than I am right now. Instead I have to keep on talking about all the knuckleheaded fools parading endlessly across my TV screen telling me about why I don’t understand the true nature of marriage and how I shouldn’t be allowed to have one.
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid87093.asp

Dean: Gay Marriage a "Nonissue" in 2010
Click the byline to view more stories by this author.By Julie Bolcer
Former Vermont governor Howard Dean told a gay rights group in Iowa on Thursday that same-sex marriage would be a “nonissue” in the state’s 2010 election. Dean, who recently ended a four-year tenure as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, addressed a reception held by the One Iowa organization in Des Moines.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid87106.asp


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

Most Americans Oppose Gay Marriage
Jeremy Ganz | PageOneQ
Depending on how you feel about same-sex marriage, the results of a Gallup poll released this morning might surprise you, or seem to state the obvious. The poll’s big finding is that 57 percent of Americans currently oppose making same-sex marriages legal – essentially the same number as last year. And support for those marriages appears to have stalled at 40 percent, after peaking at 46 percent in 2007. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7582/

Video: Gay Marriage Controversy in the US
BBC
Maine has become the latest US state to endorse gay marriage but gay rights campaigners face an uphill battle to have civil unions accepted across the country. A ban on gay marriage has recently been upheld in California, while national law decrees marriage can only be between a man and a woman. Philippa Thomas reports from Maine. Link
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7579/

Is It Ever OK for the Media to ‘Out’ Gay and Lesbian Politicians?
Los Angeles Times
That’s the provocative question The Times’ On the Media columnist James Rainey raises today. He notes that some journalists believe it’s their duty to reveal the sexual orientation of gay and lesbian officials who support policies that many in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community would oppose. Says Rainey: Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7576/

Utah to Allow Gay and Lesbian Mormon Marriages
Gather.com
Salt Lake City, UT - More than 7,600 gay and lesbian Mormons streamed into city and town halls across the state yesterday seeking licenses to marry, as Utah marked the first day of legalized same-sex Mormon marriage. Green River received 84 license applications from one gay man, while Cedar City accepted 119 from a lesbian. Logan received 62 applications from two gay men, in addition to the 427 accepted during its special first-in-the-state session that began shortly after midnight. Link
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7576/

IA: Culver: Gay Marriage Not a Major Issue
O.Kay Henderson | Radio Iowa
Governor Chet Culver says he doesn’t believe gay marriage will not be a “major political issue” in the 2010 election. Culver, a Democrat, intends to seek a second term as governor and Republican critics say Culver’s failure to do something to stop gay marriage from occurring in the state will be an issue with voters. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7575/

The Christian Right’s Worldwide Anti-Gay Crusade
Bill Berkowitz | Buzz Flash
Scott Lively, the founder of Abiding Truth Ministries and the author of the Holocaust revisionist anti-gay book, ‘The Pink Swastika,’ is taking his anti-gay crusade overseas and declaring war against the Southern Poverty Law Center. In between battling the homosexual menace in the U.S., hawking his notorious holocaust revisionist book “The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party,” and declaring war against the Southern Poverty Law Center for refusing to remove his Abiding Truth Ministries (http://www.abidingtruth.com) from its list of hate groups, Scott Lively president of “Defend the Family” — a service of Abiding Truth Ministries - has again taken his anti-gay crusade on the road. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7573/


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

Tortured and Killed in Iraq for Being Gay
Baghdad's Militias Are Carrying Out a Violent Crackdown on Iraq's Gay Community
Two gay men were killed in Baghdad's Sadr City slum, and police confirmed they found the bodies of four more men, all killed during a 10-day period after an unknown Shiite militia group urged a crackdown on homosexuals in the country.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=7448915&page=1

State Dept Mourns HIV Denier's Death;
U.S. Silent on Gay Iraqi Torture
This is a twisted tale, and I hope you'll bear with me through the many turns that eventually lead to Baghdad and the torture of gays. Let's begin with Thursday's State Department press briefing. On behalf of the United State government and people, spokesman Ian Kelly used 260 words to mourn the passing of longtime correspondent Lambros the Greek, who was also an HIV denier: This is a sad day for all of us here. We learned this morning that our long-time friend and colleague Lambros Papantoniou passed away. Lambros was a veteran member of our press corps family here and he was proud to say that he covered the State Department from Nixon to Obama. He loved his work here and we loved him.
http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2009/05/state-dept-mourns-hiv-deniers-death-u.html

OBAMA APPEASES RELIGIOUS RIGHT
by Doug Ireland
When candidate Barack Obama announced last summer during his campaign that he would expand President George W Bush's so-called 'faith-based initiatives' program, this bad news was greeted with moans of distress from those who believe in the separation of church and state. Among them: the Rev Jesse Jackson, who was caught on videotape whispering into an open TV microphone that Obama's proposal was so repugnant to him that he'd 'cut his nuts off' over it. When Obama rolled out his re-baptized 'Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships' in February, he refused to repeal the Bush executive order permitting discrimination by religious groups receiving federal funds. It was a Scud aimed squarely at nonbelievers. Remember, Congress has yet to pass a law protecting the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans communities against discrimination in employment. There is no constraint on church-sponsored programs from refusing employment to the sexually different.
http://www.guidemag.com/magcontent/invokemagcontent.cfm?ID=17D9F974-51F3-482C-A67AAD20B77440E0

Abdellah Taïa: Openly Gay Moroccan Writer Takes on Homophobia in the Muslim World
http://gayswithoutborders.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/abdellah-taia-openly-gay-moroccan-writer-takes-on-homophobia-in-the-muslim-world/

Gay Divorce Still Legal in California
By Robert Mackey
Gay and lesbian couples who took advantage of California’s brief fling with gay marriage last year to tie the knot, but now can’t stand the sight of one another, will be relieved to hear that gay divorce remains an option.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/gay-divorce-still-legal-in-california/?hp

Photos: Rainbow Pride in Russia
St. Petersburg
http://gaynews.ru/photo/section.php?&SECTION_ID=403

Other Russian cities:
http://gaynews.ru/photo/section.php?&SECTION_ID=404

Honduras: End Violence Against Transgender People
Government Should Prosecute Attackers and Prohibit Discrimination
Honduras should act to end an epidemic of violence against transgender people by investigating, prosecuting, and convicting those responsible, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The organization also called on Honduran authorities to repeal legal provisions on “public morality” and “public scandal” that give police excessive power and enable abuse. To read the Human Rights Watch report, “‘Not Worth a Penny’: Human Rights Abuses against Transgender People in Honduras,” please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/node/83449

Slideshow: To download photos of LGBT demonstrations and transgender victims of attacks in Honduras
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/not-worth-penny-abuses-against-transgender-people-honduras

NEWS FROM THE GREEN PARTY of England and Wales LGBT GROUP
Vast majority of Green Euro election candidates pledge to fight LGBT discrimination http://www.lgbtgreens.org.uk/

United States Exporting Homophobia
Despite the global recession, the U.S. is promoting and aggressively selling a costly product overseas: homophobia. Uganda, one of America's closest partners in Africa, is currently home to vicious and violent attacks on its citizens based solely on their sexual orientation and gender identity. The high cost in terms of individual privacy and freedom of expression is mounting daily. Regrettably, much of the inspiration and call for these attacks is coming directly from these shores.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/23-0


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

FULL LEGAL EQUALITY FOR LGBTQ AMERICANS
WHY NOT NOW?
Two weeks ago, a group of 24 thinkers, activists, and donors got together to discuss how to reach legal equality faster for LGBT Americans. The result was the creation of a document called The Dallas Principles. It includes a preamble, eight principles, goals, and a call to action. The following eight guiding principles underlie our call to action.
In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:
1.Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now. Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.
2.We will not leave any part of our community behind.
3.Separate is never equal.
4.Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.
5.The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.
6.Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.
7.Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.
8.Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
The first, and simplest, thing you can do is tell us you support The Dallas Principles by signing up at
www.TheDallasPrinciples.org

Congress slow to act on key LGBT-rights measures
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/pYlohixlhXeImXCibTdfBVFwNp

Iraqi gays thriving, says Baghdad blogger
A radically different view of life for gay Iraqis is on an Islamic web site and worth checking out:
http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2009/05/islam-online-iraqi-gays-thriving.html

ShanghaiPRIDE 2009: Mainland China's 1st Gay Pride held in Shanghai June 7-14th
http://shanghaipride.com/

America's 'Emerging Church:' Will a New Post-Evangelical Christianity
Reflect More Tolerant Views?
http://www.alternet.org/story/140321/america%27s_%27emerging_church%3A%27_will_a_new_post-evangelical_christianity_reflect_more_tolerant_views/

Watch Out Conservative America -- the Queer Base Is Getting Organized
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/www.alternet.org/140187/

Apologies from California/Wow, did we ever botch the gay marriage thing!
Sorry, world By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2009/05/29/notes052909.DTL

West Virginia: Sexual orientation part of proposed Kanawha schools policy
Kanawha County school board members said Thursday they may consider a student or employee's sexual orientation as part of the county's cultural-diversity policy.
http://wvgazette.com/News/200905210780

Bush v. Gore lawyers launch new same-sex marriage appeal
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/27/same.sex.marriage.court/index.html

On behalf of the National Council for Research on Women, I would like to invite you to our annual conference, "Igniting Change: Activating Alliances for Social Justice." The conference will be held on June 10-12, 2009 at the CUNY Graduate Center(365 Fifth Avenue, New York City).
http://www.ncrw.org/events/conference2009/

Perú: Action Alert-Protest Discriminatory New Law to Ban Gay Police
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=legpiaINNrJI3qIG5ZJCIDMKiwDRuyCe

Omaha: 'I'm a boy-girl,' says 8-year-old
Now that Ben has had his final day at a west Omaha Catholic school, he gets to give away the last of his boy clothes — his school uniform — and live full time as the person inside: Katie. This decision seems like a no-brainer for parents who at first presumed their prancing, pink-loving son who squirreled away cousins’ girl toys was gay. That was before he told them he had a girl heart, a girl soul and was, in fact, a girl.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10636013

The big gay shrug/Sorry, enemies of gay marriage. Prop 8 or no, you've already lost
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2009/05/27/notes052709.DTL

Public Sex Memo from incoming NYC Health Commishoner
Policy Regarding Bathhouses and Other Commercial Sex Venues
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19176537&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=590556&rfi=6

Transgendered in Prison
Marisa Mauro, Psy.D.
During my first week of work at the prison I spotted a beautiful inmate with dark flowing hair, impeccably arched eyebrows, and a trim figure sitting on the bench amongst muscled and tattooed men with her legs primly crossed. Confused I'd turned to a nearby colleague for answers, "I didn't know we accepted female inmates," I half stated and half asked. "We don't," she replied matter-of-factly and then paused to look up at me questioningly. Her furrowed brow showed bewilderment but her eyes gave away her amusement.
http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/take-all-prisoners/200905/transgendered-in-prison

Will Hollywood play a bigger role in California's next round of fighting over same-sex marriages? That was the question for many in showbiz Tuesday after California's Supreme Court upheld the state's ban on such nuptials, approved by a narrow majority of voters in November.
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=bio&peopleID=1169

Obama delays on Federal Funding for Needle Exchange HIVPrevention
""The Administration says no. Responding by email, Jeff Crowley, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy said that the President has no plans to abandon needle exchange, but is simply not moving on the issue yet. "The President is looking forward to working with Congress and the American people to build support for this change," says Crowley, "and his Administration is committed to moving forward to address the federal ban on syringe exchange programs as a part of a national HIV/AIDS strategy."
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1898073,00.html?xid=newsletter-daily

Reflecting on The Way to Win Marriage Rights from the Perspective of Roe v. Wade
http://blogs.law.columbia.edu/genderandsexualitylawblog/2009/05/21/reflecting-on-the-way-to-win-marriage-rights-from-the-perspective-of-roe-v-wade/


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Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender marriages thrive
Glenn A. LeCarl
glennalecarl@embarqmail.com
This spring my life-partner and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary together. While some might say that 10 years of marriage is no big deal — even in this age of high divorce rates — clearly it is a milestone year, and especially for a gay couple like us. I should note from the start that I do not place marriage in quotation marks, as though ours somehow doesn't measure up; our marriage is different in some ways and very much the same in others, but it is certainly not less. We know what a precious gift we have in each other.Our love and commitment, in fact, are as strong and vital as in the best heterosexual marriages, often more so. Why? Because like all successful lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) marriages, ours thrives despite formidable odds, any one of which would crush many heterosexual marriages. Little wonder LGBT friends and acquaintances tell us our 10 years is actually twenty, even 30 — in straight years.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090527/OPINION05/905270305/1006/OPINION/Lesbian++gay++bisexual+and+transgender+marriages+thrive


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

Teleconference on Transgender Health and HIV: June 5 at 1:00 pm ET
A teleconference, "Transgender Health and HIV," will take place Friday, June 5 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm ET. The training, hosted by the AETC National Resource Center, will include:
* An overview of the transgender community, common issues faced, and culturally appropriate terminology;
* Discussion on current epidemiology of HIV in trans communities;
* Description of specific interventions HIV clinicians and staff can use to improve health outcomes for transgender patients related to prevention interventions, mental health, and general health care.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ncfxklRnAvQv_2b0dIW7JMsw_3d_3d


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Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus' Summer Conference - Key West
Alot of you have probably gotten this exciting announcement of the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus' Summer Conference, but I just want to make sure every one saves the dates of July 17-19. We are going to Key West and this will be a weekend not to miss!!! Every night's a party in Key West and they will be rolling out the red carpet for us in a big way. Register early at the link below, as we expect to sell out very quickly. Michael A. Albetta
President, Dolphin Democrats
http://www.floridaglbtdemocrats.org/


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