GLBT DIGEST - June 08, 2009

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

A Big Night for Broadway, and Especially for Billy
By PATRICK HEALY
Broadway productions with roots in the London theater dominated the 63rd annual Tony Awards on Sunday, with “Billy Elliot” winning best musical and nine other awards and “God of Carnage” picking up honors for best play, best director and best actress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/theater/theaterspecial/08tony.html?_r=1&scp=8&sq=gay&st=cse

A Deception, and a Reluctance to Ask Questions
By DAN FROSCH and JAMES DAO
The thick-muscled man with close-cropped hair who called himself Rick Duncan seemed right out of central casting as a prop for a Democratic candidate running against Bush administration policies last fall. A former Marine Corps captain who suffered brain trauma from a roadside bomb in Iraq and was at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks. An advocate for veterans rights who opposed the war. An Annapolis graduate who was proudly gay. With his gold-plated credentials, he commanded the respect and attention of not just politicians, but also police chiefs, reporters and veterans advocates for the better part of two years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/us/08phony.html?scp=6&sq=gay&st=cse

Footnotes
Compiled by STEVEN McELROY

The New York Neo-Futurists (nyneofuturists.org), the company behind the fast-paced production “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,” will present its third annual gay-pride show, “30 Gay Plays in 60 Straight Minutes.” This rapid-fire event will be performed on June 26 and 27 at the Kraine Theater in the East Village. Proceeds will benefit Marriage Equality New York to support that group’s efforts on behalf of gay marriage. ... “Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words,” the recurring show at the Triad Theater (158 West 72nd Street in Manhattan) presents actors and comedians reading from the memoirs of people including Elizabeth Taylor and Miley Cyrus.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/arts/08arts-006.html?scp=4&sq=gay&st=cse

Revisiting 1969 and the Start of Gay Liberation
By Sewell Chan
On Friday afternoon, officials from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and also to honor Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/nypl-stonewall-post/?scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse


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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
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Bette Midler marks her 100th show in Las Vegas
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY
The Associated Press
Bette Midler admits it takes a little work to keep her Las Vegas Strip show fresh - especially now that it's hit its 100th performance. The entertainer marked the 100th milestone of "The Showgirl Must Go On" at the Caesars Palace Colosseum on Sunday. In a recent interview, she said focus was the key to keeping her song-and-sass act from "becoming a little like groundhog day, not a lot like groundhog day, but a little."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/08/AR2009060801604.html

Activists Plan March On D.C. for Oct. 11
An activist who worked alongside slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk announced plans for a march on Washington this fall to demand that Congress establish equality and marriage rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/07/AR2009060702550_2.html

Supreme Court Turns Down 'Don't Ask' Challenge
By William Branigin
The Supreme Court today declined to hear a constitutional challenge to the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay people from serving in the U.S. military, a move that could effectively leave it to the Obama administration to resolve the long-controversial issue.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/08/AR2009060801368.html

Court rejects challenge to 'don't ask, don't tell'
By LARA JAKES
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed with the Obama administration and upheld Pentagon policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/08/AR2009060801769.html

DC pride festival honors gay rights pioneer Kameny
By GILLIAN GAYNAIR
Fresh off his doctorate from Harvard, Franklin Kameny had been a government astronomer for just five months when he was asked to meet with federal investigators. They said they had information that he was a homosexual. He was promptly fired.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/08/AR2009060800899.html


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

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today released the 2009 edition of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Directory of Services and Resources for the New York Metropolitan area.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/06/new-york-city-issues-2009-lgbt-directory-of-services-and-resources.html

In macho culture, gays find acceptance in Mexico City district
By MAIRYS JOAQUIN, McClatchy Newspapers
MEXICO CITY -- Bright neon lights twinkle from bars and clubs on the otherwise dimly lit streets of the Mexican capital's trendy Zona Rosa district. Same-sex couples embrace lovingly in public or hold hands without drawing so much as a raised eyebrow. Only one word describes this place, 21-year-old Antonio Flores said: freedom.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/06/in-macho-culture-gays-find-acceptance-in-mexico-city-district.html

Vermont program helps students explore gender
By WILSON RING
Like plenty of other high school students, a group of about a dozen Vermont teenagers trundled into a youth center one day every week this spring to participate in an after-school program. But their program was different; it focused on gender.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/06/vermont-program-helps-students-explore-gender.html


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

Supreme Court actions on Monday
The Associated Press
On Monday, the Supreme Court:
- Ruled that judges must step aside from cases when large campaign contributions from interested parties create the appearance of bias. The high court on a 5-4 vote sent back to the West Virginia Supreme Court a case where a judge remained involved in a lawsuit filed against the company of the most generous supporter of his election.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1087550.html

Britain's far right wins first 2 seats in EU vote
By JILL LAWLESS
LONDON -- A British far-right party won its first-ever parliamentary seats in European Union elections as the extreme right advanced in several countries across the continent on a volatile mix of apathy, anger and economic uncertainty.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1087317.html


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

Gay Homeowners in Pride Flag Dispute
By Julie Bolcer
An Arizona couple in dispute with their property owners association charges that homophobia lies behind an order to remove a gay pride flag from their home, according to the Associated Press. Steven and Zeniff Vanderran, residents of Queen Creek southeast of Phoenix, say they were told to remove the rainbow flag from their home in August, after receiving a complaint from the Cambria Ocotillo Home Owners Association. They say that their previous management company approved the same flag for display in 2003.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid88784.asp


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

RachelWatch: All Hail to the Queen
By Ali Davis, Contributing writer
Feds Step Up
Rachel started us off with an update on the investigation of Dr. George Tiller’s murder, then noted that the American Life League was commemorating the sanctity of all human life in their own superclassy special way: By planning national birth control protests on the day of Tiller’s memorial service.
http://www.365gay.com/living/rachelwatch-all-hail-to-the-queen/


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

Gordon Brown's reshuffle results in three openly gay cabinet figures
Openly gay MP Ben Bradshaw has been appointed as the new culture secretary, replacing Andy Burnham, who is to become health secretary. The latest reshuffle means that there will be three openly gay figures in the cabinet.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12734.html

LGBT group claims Iraq is waging a 'campaign of violence and murder' against gays
An Iraqi gay group has said it has evidence the Iraqi government is involved with militia groups advocating violence and murder towards gays. Iraqi LGBT also described a statement from the Baghdad US Embassy as "offensive and insulting".
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12729.html


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

It’s Good to be Able to Relate to Others
LEONARD PITTS JR. | lpitts@miamiherald.com | Miami Herald
A few words about identity politics. That’s the knock on Sonia Sotomayor, who was nominated to the Supreme Court last week by President Obama. If confirmed, Sotomayor, who is Puerto Rican, will be the first Hispanic to sit on the nation’s highest tribunal.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7980/

Homosexual in Charge of School ‘Safety’ Draws Opposition
World Net Daily
A coalition of Christian organizations has launched an effort to have Kevin Jennings, the founder of the pro-homosexual GLSEN organization who has been appointed in president Obama’s administration to oversee the nation’s “safe schools” program, booted from office. “The American Family Association of Pennsylvania is repulsed by the idea that Jennings, who has a twisted idea of safety, will help make official policy for our nation’s school children,” the organization said. “Parents should be VERY concerned with Kevin Jennings’ appointment.”
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7979/

Opinions on Same-Sex Marriage Shifting in Michigan
Ed Brayton | Michgan Messenger
6/8/09 12:35 AM
The Detroit Free Press reports on a new poll that shows a remarkable and significant shift in public opinion in Michigan over the issue of same-sex marriage. In 2004, a state constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage passed with 59% of the vote, but if that vote were held today it would be much closer:
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7977/

HIV Challenge African-American Community
Peggy O’Farrell | pofarrell@enquirer.com | Cincinnati.com
Bishop Victor Couzens knows people don’t expect to hear about some things in church come Sunday morning. Like sex, for example, and condoms and the importance of HIV testing.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7976/

Is Rick Warren Scared of George Stephanopoulos?
Time
ABC’s “This Week” began Sunday with this announcement from a slightly miffed George Stephanopoulos: “For those of you tuning in this morning expecting to hear from Pastor Rick Warren, we were too. But the pastor’s representatives canceled moments before the scheduled interview, saying that Mr. Warren is sick from exhaustion.”
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/7975/

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