GLBT DIGEST - September 08, 2009

**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:

Getting a Leg Up on the Sequined Competition
By JENNIFER 8. LEE
Antoine Ashley, 29, a dancer and model, has worked full time for three years as a drag queen known as Sahara Davenport. Originally from Gaithersburg, Md., he went to college in Dallas, where he started performing in drag before moving to New York. He does shows, but also works for Screaming Queens Entertainment, which hires drag queens out as “ambience girls” for corporate events and bar mitzvahs. Mr. Ashley’s companion also performs as a drag queen, Manila Luzon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/nyregion/08entry.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=gay&st=cse


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

A Catholic View Of Gay Marriage
As one of the 580,000 Catholics in the Washington Archdiocese, I object to the suggestion by Ronald Jackson, executive director of the D.C. Catholic Conference ["Wuerl Ups Opposition to Gay Marriage," Metro, Sept. 2] that we are all bigots. Many Catholics support the right of all people to marry, whether to a person of the opposite sex or to a person of the same sex. Church authorities should stick to the governance of religious wedding ceremonies and leave to civil authorities the responsibility of granting marriage licenses, a responsibility that should be exercised without discrimination.
MARK F. CLARK
Silver Spring
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/07/AR2009090702057.html

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

Gay women under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: Auto-Straddle blog interviews Lissa Young
From Auto-Straddle blog:
“After just being cleared to be a professor at West Point, I learned that I was being kicked out under DADT. And after 20 years in the military – from 1982 to 2002 – I was left with absolutely nothing: no pension, no salary, nothing. I wanted to be the dean of West Point, the first female graduate dean; that was my dream.” - Lissa Young, West Point ‘86
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/09/gay-women-under-dont-ask-dont-tell-auto-straddle-blog-interviews-lissa-young.html

Sidelines Cyclones win at North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance World Series championship
From Jennifer Morales at Sidelines Sports Bar: The Sidelines Cyclones, Sidelines Sports Bar’s sponsored softball team captured the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) World Series Championship. The win makes the Cyclones part of an elite few for Fort Lauderdale’s gay softball league as the C-Division’s National Champions! The 15-player team was one of forty-nine (49) C-Division competing teams, the largest amount of C-Division teams to ever compete at a World Series event. During the three-day competition, the Cyclones played like professionals, winning all seven of their games, going undefeated against competitors from Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Oklahoma City, Birmingham, Boston, and a coalition team from Norfolk, Richmond, and Greenville NC.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/09/sidelines-cyclones-win-at-north-american-gay-amateur-athletic-alliance-world-series-championship.html

Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce luncheon to be Thursday at Epic Hotel
From Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce:
MDGLCC FALL Luncheon Speaker Forum will be held on Thursday, September 10th @ the Brand New EPIC Hotel, 270 Biscayne Blvd., Way, Miami, from 11:30am to 1:30pm. Guest speakers include Irwin Jacobs, IBM Program Director of GLBT and International Programs in the Global Supplier Diversity organization; Laurie Overholser-Baad, Director of Taxation and Elder Services at Kane & Company CPA's; and Julien Sharp, M.S., Writer & Social Media Consultant and Founder of Stylo Creative Communications; each will present important information in the areas of Supplier Diversity Certification, US Individual and Corporate Tax Law Changes and, Social Marketing Tips and Strategies respectively. RSVP Required; $35 for members/$45 for potential members - discounted valet parking available.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/09/miami-dade-gay-lesbian-chamber-of-commerce-luncheon-to-be-thursday-at-epic-hotel.html

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

Woman Fined for Wearing Pants
An outspoken Sudanese journalist is in jail after refusing to pay a fine for wearing pants in public.
By Julie Bolcer
A Sudanese woman found guilty of violating her country’s decency laws by wearing pants in public was fined the equivalent of $200 on Monday, but a court in Khartoum spared Lubna Huseein (pictured, center) a whipping of 40 lashes.
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/09/08/Woman_Fined_for_Wearing_Pants/

SD Charger Accused of Beating Tila Tequila
By Advocate.com Editors
San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested Sunday and accused of choking and attacking his girlfriend, bisexual reality TV star Tila Tequila, as she tried to leave his home.
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/09/07/SD_Charger_Accused_of_Beating_Tila_Tequila/

WaPo Ombudsman: NOM Profile "Fell Short"
By Julie Bolcer
A recent profile of NOM executive director Brian Brown in The Washington Post was unbalanced, says the newspaper's ombudsman, though he claims that the reporter holds no homophobic agenda.
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/09/07/WaPo_Ombudsman__NOM_Profile_Fell_Short/

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

Transgender activist runs for mayor of Idaho town
By The Associated Press
About a block from a street concert in downtown Nampa, Melissa Sue Robinson strolls with purpose into a trendy coffee shop - the unofficial liberal embassy of this sprawling Republican stronghold in southwest Idaho.
http://www.365gay.com/news/transgender-activist-runs-for-mayor-of-idaho-town/

Davis: Political Lessons from André Bauer
By Ali Davis, Contributing writer
I knew we were all in trouble back in June when André Bauer started to bring up how not gay he is in interviews. Bauer is the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, and when the news broke that Governor Mark Sanford had taken the longest and steamiest hike on the Appalachian Trail in the history of outdoorsmanship, Bauer began to edge his way into the national limelight.
http://www.365gay.com/opinion/davis-political-lessons-from-andre-bauer/

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

Gay man 'reported to police' for questioning MP Iris Robinson's views
Iris Robinson, the Northern Ireland MP who called homosexuality an "abomination", reportedly had a constituent questioned by police after he challenged her views. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13970.html

Lesbian author Sarah Waters on Booker Prize shortlist
Lesbian author Sarah Waters is one of six authors on the Booker Prize shortlist, which was announced today. Waters is on the list for her novel The Little Stranger. She has been shortlisted twice before, for her works Fingersmith and The Night Watch. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13974.html

'Gay cure' yoga guru to to set up centre on Scottish island
An Indian yoga guru who claimed the practice could cure homosexuality is to set up a yoga and meditation centre on a remote Scottish island. Swami Baba Ramdev recently said homosexuality was a "disease" but could be cured by yoga. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13967.html

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

A Cure for Love
Squamish Chief
Squamish – There’s a bride, a groom and the usual happy crowd of well-wishers. But this is no ordinary wedding. Ana and Brian are ex-gays – adherents to a controversial evangelical movement that purports to convert gay people into heterosexuals. Cure for Love goes inside the unusual Christian subculture and follows the lives of several young people whose homosexuality is at odds with their religious beliefs to fashion a nuanced critique of 21st century fundamentalism through their moving testimony.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9709/

Brain Plasticity and Sexual Orientation: Just Train It?
Dr. Warren Throckmorton | NARTH| Crosswalk
This article about brain plasticity by Neil and Briar Whitehead posted on Anglican Mainstream caught my attention for several reasons. Some relate to classes I teach but for this post, I am interested in discussion surrounding the main reason the Whiteheads wrote about neuroscience: sexual reorientation. I have a few questions.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9708/

LGBT Press Guide
Every few years I undertake what is an enormous “Labor of Love.” I bring out a directory of the entire world’s GLBT press published by Upstart Press. It is called “The Harris Guide.” (The very first edition which I compiled and edited was published by another company and they insisted on calling it “The Queer Press Guide.” Not much caring for the title and being told that directories worked best with a bland sounding title and having being blessed with the blandest last name imaginable - Harris - it became ”The Harris Guide.”)
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9707/

Coakley Makes It Official
Katie Zezima | The Caucus | New York Times
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley formally announced her candidacy for the Senate on Thursday, becoming the first official contender to enter the race for the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s seat.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9706/

Michigan Chamber Invites Controversial Keynote
BTL Staff | Pride Source
LANSING - Glenn Beck, the keynote speaker at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce’s September annual meeting, has said that he believes President Barack Obama is a “racist” (”Fox and Friends” July 28). It’s a move that is stirring up local activists and politicians, who are questioning the chamber’s choice of speaker in Beck. On “Fox and Friends,” Beck said Obama has “a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture. He has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist.” Beck also joked about poisoning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (YouTube, “Beck Jokes About Putting Poison in Pelosi’s Wine”) and believes Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor is also a racist. “I think she’s a racist,” he said. “I think she has decided things based on race.”
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9702/

With Sharp Satire, Enfant Terrible Challenges Czech Identity
DAN BILEFSKY | New York Times
PRAGUE: DAVID CERNY sends a rude text message to two bronze sculptures of naked, urinating men, which proceed to swivel their hips and move their protruding penises to trace his four-letter words into a pond shaped like a map of the Czech Republic.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9698/

=

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