GLBT DIGEST - October 18, 2009

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

God vs. Gay? Black vs. White? Marriage Equality's False Divides
By Dennis W. Wiley and Robert M. Hardies
As the struggle for marriage equality moves to the nation's capital, the District of Columbia is debunking many of the myths surrounding this important human rights issue.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/16/AR2009101601977.html/

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

Yes, it was hate crime
Regarding the story of a Wilton Manors gay man stomped to death and how the police won't treat it as a hate crime: I am flabbergasted. According to the Sun Sentinel, "Police documents show Villanova's wallet and cell phone were stolen, while Cohen's cell phone and keys were taken. The attackers didn't take Cohen's wallet or other property, including a watch." That story and other news reports tell us how Mr. Cohen's brain was smashed in by the bottom of the suspects' feet. Either Cmdr. Rick Wierzbicki, who heads the Broward sheriff's Hate Crimes Task Force, isn't qualified for his position with the police department, or he's a wolf in sheep's clothing. Either way, he's wrong. Furthermore, as a gay man, I am appalled by our so-called gay leaders. There's more to leading a community than pressing the flesh in an attempt to gain political clout, more to being a leader than going to health department meetings and fighting for a single cause or standing up in front of a congregation each Sunday and providing a moral compass. If they won't fight for our safety, who will?
Jim Buresch, Fort Lauderdale
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-hate-crime-m101809pnoct18,0,2108802.story/

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

Photo gallery | 2009 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Miami Recognition Dinner
More than 700 people turned out Saturday night for the 13th annual National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Miami Recognition Dinner, held this year at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
Honorees this year:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/10/photo-gallery-2009-national-gay-and-lesbian-task-force-miami-recognition-dinner.html/

Censorship the wrong way to fight hatred, ACLU of Florida says of Buju Banton controversy
By HOWARD SIMON, executive director, American Civil Liberties Union of Florida
and ROBERT ROSENWALD, director, LGBT Advocacy Project, American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Miami
It is disheartening that some of our colleagues in the gay and lesbian equality movement have embraced censorship as a tactic to combat hate speech. In his Oct. 6 Other Views article, Songs of hate, George Byars calls on public officials to ban the Miami concert by Buju Banton and Beenie Man.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/10/censorship-the-wrong-way-to-fight-hatred-aclu-of-florida-says-of-buju-banton-controversy.html/

Belfast Telegraph: Call to boycott Daily Mail over 'vile slur' on Stephen Gately
From Saturday’s Belfast Telegraph:
By Ian Burrell
Saturday, 17 October 2009
More than 1,000 people complained to the Press Complaints Commission yesterday after an article in the Daily Mail newspaper that apparently linked the Boyzone singer's death to his homosexuality.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/10/belfast-telegraph-call-to-boycott-daily-mail-over-vile-slur-on-stephen-gately.html/

Miami Herald op-ed: Gay rights are human rights
BY JOANNA GROVER, jodygrover@aol.com
Imagine having only five minutes to say goodbye to your dying husband or wife of nearly two decades. Imagine being a 10-year-old girl and being physically blocked from saying a last, ``I love you,'' to your mother, who is just down the hall at the hospital. This may sound unconscionable, but it happened, just as described, to the Langbehn-Pond family at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/10/miami-herald-op-ed-gay-rights-are-human-rights.html/

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

Political Beat
Broward County Commissioner Ken Keechl, leading all commission candidates in fundraising, appears to be the only one paying for a campaign office. And that rent check is going to his partner -- as it did during his 2006 campaign. Keechl is paying $3,100 a month to rent a Wilton Manors office from Ted Adcock, according to his campaign finance report.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/story/1288230.html/

BUJU BANTON: Censorship the wrong way to fight hatred
It is disheartening that some of our colleagues in the gay and lesbian equality movement have embraced censorship as a tactic to combat hate speech. In his Oct. 6 Other Views article, Songs of hate, George Byars calls on public officials to ban the Miami concert by Buju Banton and Beenie Man. This is terribly short-sighted: Giving government the power to censor messages it thinks are dangerous never advances the cause of equality and freedom.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters/story/1287093.html/

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

Corvino: The other gay ballot battles
By John Corvino, columnist, 365gay.com
I’ve spent the last week traveling through rural Wisconsin for a series of diversity lectures at small technical colleges. Lecturing on gay issues at such venues can be eye-opening. It’s a big country out there, and while students today may be a good deal more gay-friendly than they once were, not everyone shares the views of a typical liberal-arts major at NYU or UC-Berkeley.
http://www.365gay.com/opinion/corvino-the-other-gay-ballot-battles/

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

Video: Stars and family mourn Stephen Gately at emotional funeral
Boyzone bandmates, friends, relatives and partner have paid an emotional tribute to Stephen Gately whose funeral was held today at St Laurence O'Toole Church in north Dublin.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/10/17/video-stars-and-family-mourn-stephen-gately-at-emotional-funeral/

Human rights groups oppose Uganda's proposed death penalty for homosexuality
Seventeen human rights groups have called for proposed new laws on homosexuality in Uganda to be scrapped immediately. The proposals could see gay people being executed.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/10/16/human-rights-groups-oppose-ugandas-proposed-death-penalty-for-homosexuality/

Man admits robbing men he met on gay chatlines
A man has admitted using gay chatlines to find men to rob. Adil Zahid, 27, from Walthamstow, pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery, one of false imprisonment and one theft of a motor vehicle.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/10/16/man-admits-robbing-men-he-met-on-gay-chatlines/

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

SAVE Dade continues to work with Jackson Health Systems to assure patient visitation rights for LBGT families
CONTACT: C.J. Ortuno
Executive Director
SAVE Dade
786-351-0656
cj@savedade.org
SAVE Dade continues to work with Jackson Health Systems to assure patient visitation rights for LBGT families. Despite the recent United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruling that Jackson Memorial Hospital had no obligation to allow visitors to see patients, and that that there was no obligation to provide patients’ families, healthcare surrogates, or visitors with access to patients in their trauma unit, SAVE Dade continues to work with the hospital to review and enhance its visitation policies.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/10798/

TWO Denounces Baseless Political Anti-Gay Smear Campaign Against Kevin Jennings
Wayne Besen
Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Americans Are Tired of the Politics of Personal Destruction, Says TWO
Truth Wins Out criticized the on-going smear campaign that anti-gay organizations and politicians are orchestrating against Kevin Jennings, who is serving as the Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/10796/

Unprecedented Civil Disobedience for Hemp Legalization
Phillip S. Smith, Drug War Chronicle \ AlterNet
Fresh from the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) annual convention last weekend in Washington, DC, a pair of real life farmers who want to be hemp farmers joined with hemp industry figures and spokesmen to travel across the Potomac River to DEA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, where, in an act of civil disobedience, they took shovels to the lawn and planted hemp seeds. Within a few minutes, they were arrested and charged with trespassing.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/10795/

53 House Republicans Call for Gay Appointee’s Removal
Gay Politics
53 House Republicans have signed on to a letter written by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) calling on President Obama to remove openly gay appointee Kevin Jennings from his post in the Department of Education. Jennings currently serves as Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/10794/

Wolfe: Stop the Witch Hunt in Washington
Chuck Wolfe \ Gay Politics
Right-wing, anti-gay lawmakers and talking heads are on a witch hunt. They’re trying to destroy the reputations and careers of openly gay and lesbian presidential appointees, and you don’t need a PhD in rocket science to figure out why.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/10791/

VA, Congress Share Blame for GI Bill Payments Delay
Tom Philpott \ Military.com
VA Secretary Eric Shinseki got a bipartisan hug from the House Veterans Affairs Committee Wednesday as lawmakers accepted his plan to fix Post-9/11 GI Bill payment delays, and blamed their own rush to enact the complex education benefit last year for some of the challenges VA now faces.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/10788/

MI: Kalamazoo Plays Host to Struggle Over Gay, Transgender Rights
David Alire Garcia \ Michigan Messenger
KALAMAZOO - With the constant din of volunteers talking and phones ringing behind him, City Commissioner David Anderson sat on a metal folding chair at campaign headquarters and explained his reluctant entry into the battle over a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance in this southwest Michigan city.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/10787/

Lindsey Graham Asked About Gay Rumors
Advocate
During the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor, Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, had some questions about Sotomayor’s rumored temper, claiming that his questions were valid even though there was no evidence that the rumors were true. So blogger Mike Stark of The Crooked Dope felt it was only fair to turn the tables on Graham and ask him about those anonymous rumors that he is gay.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/10786/

White House Says No to Antigay Referenda
Kerry Eleveld Advocate
In response to an inquiry from The Advocate, the White House sent the following statement regarding President Barack Obama’s position on same-sex relationship recognition voter referenda in Maine and Washington. “The President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same-sex couples, and as he said at the Human Rights Campaign dinner, he believes ‘strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away.’ Also at the dinner, he said he supports, ‘ensuring that committed gay couples have the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country.’”
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/10785/

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Dolphin Democratic Awards Reception
Saturday October 24th, 2009 6:30 PM
IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum
300 Gulf Stream Way
Dania Beach, Florida 33004
VIP Reception: 6:30 to 8:00 PM
Reception 6:30 to 8:00
Awards 8:00 to 11:00
Honorees:
Jamie Bloodworth Award- Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz
Trailblazer Award- Mayor Gary Resnick
Media Award(s)- Pompano Bill, Charles Perez, Steve Rothaus
Community Alliance Award- Broward Sheriff Bias Commission Chair -Commander Rick Wierzbicki
Political Alliance Award- Rep. Alcee Hastings
Volunteer Award- William Vayens
Community Service Award- Stonewall Library
Broward Leadership Award- Woman In Distress- EAGLE Campaign Ending Abuse Of Gays And Lesbians Everywhere
Distinguished Service Award- Linda Jain
Business Alliance Award- Hershey Group - Drew Hersey & New Moon -Carol Moran
Humanitarian Award- Barbara Stuart
Silent Aution: Throughout the Evening / Ending @ 8:45
Sponsorship Opportunities:
Gold Level - $2,500
Silver Level - $1,500
Bronze Level - $750
Individual Tickets - $75
VIP Reception Tickets - $150
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fund
Check out just some of our food & sprit providers
IN CHEF WE TRUST, Jets Pizza, Island City Bistro, Primavera Restaurant, Casa D' Angelo, Cafe Seville, J.Marks, Rosie's, Lola's on Harrison, Pier66/360 degree catering, Salad Creations, Snax/Fat Cat Catering, Jimmie's Chocolates, Java Boys, Croissant' Time, House of Hope, Wine Warehouse, New Moon, Sidelines, Boardwalk, Scandals, Divino Wines & Imports
Click here to purchase tickets: http://dolphindems.org/awards/
Or call 866-478-8262

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