Thursday, January 22, 2009

GLBT DIGEST - January 22, 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.


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

-Ore. AG to investigate mayor's affair with teen
By WILLIAM McCALL
The state's attorney general agreed Wednesday to investigate claims made by the mayor of Portland that he lied to cover up a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old boy. Portland Mayor Sam Adams admitted this week that he lied to cover up his relationship with a teenage legislative intern because a potential mayoral candidate had spread rumors that Adams had sex with a minor.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012103087.html

-Colorado group lobbies in Wyoming on gay marriage
By BEN NEARY
A national conservative Christian group has begun a telephone lobbying campaign in Wyoming in support of a gay-marriage ban in the state Senate. Focus on the Family Action, of Colorado Springs, Colo., is pushing to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would stop the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012102554.html

-Defense for Canada polygamists cites gay marriage
By JEREMY HAINSWORTH
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Canada's decision to legalize gay marriage has paved the way for polygamy to be legal as well, a defense lawyer said Wednesday as the two leaders of rival polygamous communities made their first court appearance. The case is the first to test Canada's polygamy laws.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012102167.html

-Online-Porn Law Is Allowed to Die
High Court Won't Hear Bush Appeal
By Robert Barnes
The Supreme Court yesterday ended Congress's most recent attempt to protect children from sexually explicit and other objectionable material on the Internet. The court without comment refused to hear the Bush administration's attempt to save the Child Online Protection Act, which has
been challenged as unconstitutional since its passage in 1998 and which has never taken effect.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012101330.html?hpid=sec-nation


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

-New study claims 16% of Iranian men have had gay relationships
By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
A sociologist at an Iranian university has presented a new study that shows high levels of homosexual experiences among the country's population.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10807.html

-Polish MP disciplined after asking if former Prime Minister is gay
By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
A member of the ruling party in Poland is to be removed as the chair of a parliamentary committee after he publicly questioned if one of his political opponents is gay. Jaroslaw Kazcynski was Prime Minister from July 2006 until his Law and Justice party was defeated in the November 2007 election.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10817.html

-Court rules New Orleans can grant benefits to same-sex partners
By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
A homophobic Christian group has failed in its attempt to stop the city of New Orleans granting health benefits to the domestic partners of employees. The Alliance Defence Fund, who claim to "aggressively defend religious liberty," had appealed an earlier court ruling in favour of the city.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10811.html

-Gay judge reveals homophobic interrogation on his way to the bench
By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
The first High Court judge to be open about his homosexuality has revealed that he had to face questions about his sex life by a "special tribunal" of inquisitors when he applied to be a part-time recorder. "What followed was somewhat bizarre and depressing," Sir Adrian Fulford told a meeting about diversity in the law, The Times reports.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10810.html

-Amnesty highlights ongoing violence against trans people in Honduras
By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
A leading human rights group has said that transgender women who work as sex workers in Honduras are frequently attacked by clients or police officers. Three trans women have been killed in the last three months while working in the area of Comayagüela, near Palmira.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10809.html

-Advertising watchdog rejects investigation into whether God "probably" doesn't exist
By Tony Grew
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said that an athiest bus poster campaign does not break the advertising code. The ASA comments follow complaints led by Christain Voice, an anti-gay evangelical movement that claim that the advert's claim that God "probably" doesn't exist was misleading.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10793.html

-Comment: Gay bishop's eyewitness account of Obama's inauguration
By Comment
Gene Robinson, the Anglican Bishop of New Hampshire, has returned to blogging after a break of several months to share his experiences of the inauguration celebrations in Washington DC. His latest entry on Canterbury Tales From The Fringe relates a short exchange with controversial preacher Rick Warren, the view from the Presidential Platform and where Oprah was sitting. Not to mention Aretha Franklin's hat.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10783.html


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

-Sexual Dishonesty on the Rise at Catholic Seminaries
Michael Airhart | Truth Wins Out
Under pressure from the Vatican to deny the existence of homosexuality and to expel same-sex-attracted aspirants, Catholic seminaries are now telling the Vatican what it wants to hear: that "difficulties" regarding seminarian "homosexual behavior" (whatever that is) have been "largely overcome." Meanwhile, the prevalence of sexual abuse among priests remains poorly surveyed, as the Vatican falsely believes that the expulsion of gay celibate seminarians and the suppression of gay celibate priests will somehow cure priests and seminarians who are attracted not to men or women, but to kids. The report by the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education implies that more should be done to police seminarians' thoughts and routine daily behaviors, according to the National Catholic Reporter: Read more

-Why Do LGBT People Smoke Up to 200 Percent More than Straight People?
Michael A. Jones | Change.org
So we're a little more than three weeks into the New Year, and we imagine that a number of folks have "quit smoking" as one of their top resolutions for 2009. (Including, perhaps, our 44th President?) And though more and more locations are placing a ban on public smoking, cigarettes remain quite popular in LGBT circles. That's according to the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network, which estimates that LGBT people smoke anywhere from 35 to 200 percent more cigarettes than straight people. Further, the group estimates that between 35-40 percent of LGBT people smoke nationwide. Why is that? Karyn Haney, the openly lesbian project coordinator for Chicago's Howard Brown Health Center's "It's a Bitch to Quit" program, has a theory. Read more

-Why Ret. Gen. Colin Powell Owes American Soldiers an Apology
Scott Cohen | Daily Illini
Back in 1993, when Tom Hanks won an Academy Award for portraying a homosexual in Philadelphia, Colin Powell designed Don't Ask Don't Tell. For fifteen years, this policy has dictated that soldiers cannot display sexualities other than heterosexual in any way. If their non-heterosexual orientations are vocalized or displayed, they are dishonorably discharged, as has been the case for more than ten thousand soldiers. Before I get into the logistics of why DADT has failed, it is important to know that many see this as an atrocity to America's "principles" of non-discrimination. The policy states concisely that any inclination toward homosexual behavior "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability." This proves that, as many have argued, DADT is not about homosexuality. Rather, this policy seems to reflect the homophobia that has plagued America since the pilgrims plowed into Plymouth rock. American society has created a nation of people who are fearful of those who are - gasp - not attracted to members of the opposite sex! Read more


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

-Transgender model steals fashion show
By The Associated Press
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Rio closed its main fashion event of the year with less attention to the clothes than the model - a transgendered actress.
http://www.365gay.com/news/transgender-model-steals-fashion-show/

-Future of abstinence-only funding in limbo
By The Associated Press
With the exit of the Bush administration, critics of abstinence-only sex education will be making an aggressive push to cut off federal funding for what they consider an ineffective, sometimes harmful program.
http://www.365gay.com/news/future-of-abstinence-only-funding-in-limbo/

-Paper Trail: How to Come Out
While most publicists keep their clients in the closet, I've developed a reputation in Hollywood as the go-to guy for stars who decide to come out. The first celebrities I took out of the closet were Dick Sargent, Darren number 2 on Bewitched, and Sheila Kuehl, now an elected official in California and initially an actor on the 1960s TV sitcom The Loves and Lives of Dobie Gillis. Ironically, on a personal note, when I was 13, I came with my family to California for a cousin's wedding. Somehow my parents and I got in to see the filming of Bewitched, which was filmed without a live audience. It was just shot in a studio. The only Hollywood stars I met on that trip were Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, and Agnes Moorehead. Of those three, I ended up working with two of them, Montgomery and Sargent. Elizabeth always believed that Bewitched was the perfect metaphor for being in the closet. Anytime Samantha used her powers as a witch, she had to close the doors, pull the drapes, and make sure that no one could see what was happening. Today, Samantha might be able to come out of the closet herself and practice her witchcraft for all to see, but that's not how things were back then.
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid70585.asp


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

-Free the Senegal Nine
Senegal! Stop persecuting human rights defenders
On the 6 January 2009, nine men, most of them HIV/AIDS campaigners,were sentenced in Dakar, Senegal, to eight years imprisonment. They were charged with "indecent and unnatural acts" and "forming associations of criminals," following a late night police raid on the home of a HIV outreach worker on 19 December 2008. "The nine men received five years jail on mere suspicion of homosexuality," said Peter Tatchell of OutRage!
http://www.hrw.org/en/category/topic/lgbt-rights

-A new study by an Iranian University shows that 24% of Iranian women and 16% of Iranian men have had at least one homosexual experience. Parvaneh Abdul Maleki, a sociologist, who presented her findings in the "Third Conference on Well-being in the Family", also says that her research shows that 26% of women and 73% of men have admitted sexual self-satisfaction, an act that is considered a sin in Islam. This is the first time that the Iranian media have reported the occurrence of such a high percentage of sexual acts outside marriage. The media are usually not allowed to elaborate on sexuality, and the government imposes heavy punishments for any sexual relationship outside heterosexual marriage. The new research also shows the weak correlation between religiosity and sex outside marriage. According to the report, " 8.40% of those who masturbate, 4.16% of those who had same-sex relationships, 86.18% of those who had heterosexual relationships outside marriage, and 76.55% of those who have watched porn movies have said that they grew up in religiously conservative families.
http://www.ghatreh.com/news/?q=%D9%87%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%B3+%DA%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%8A

-Transgender human rights defender (name known to Amnesty International) (f)
Killed: Cintia Nicole Moreno (f), transgender human rights defender Jazmín Zelaya (f), transgender woman
Police officers are alleged to have beaten up a transgender woman, who is an HIV/AIDS campaigner and sex worker, after she refused to give them her money. They subsequently threatened her with death if she reported the incident. Her life is at risk. Three other transgender women, most recently Cintia Nicole Moreno on 8 January, have been killed in a nearby area in the last three months.

-Cary Alan Johnson Appointed as IGLHRC's New Executive Director
The Board of Directors of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Cary Alan Johnson as the organization's next Executive Director. He succeeds outgoing Executive Director, Paula Ettelbrick, whose six-year term ends March 1, 2009.
http://www.iglhrc.org


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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

-Homosexuality, the animal kingdom, and same-sex marriage
A few weeks ago, I read an article about gay penguins at a zoo in Northern China that I thought was cute and meaningful. Apparently, the pair had been segregated from the colony for disturbing other couples during hatching time. They wanted to be parents so badly that they were trying to steal eggs from other couples by substituting them with rocks. Awww. /pat After protests from zoo visitors, they were given a chance to act as foster parents and were found to be the best parents out of the lot: In response, zookeepers gave the pair two eggs laid by an inexperienced first-time mother.
http://dotnetgoddess.blogspot.com/2009/01/homosexuality-animal-kingdom-and-same.html

-Stonewall Democrat Elected Highest-Ranking Democratic Official
Ray Buckle Elected Vice-Chair of DNC, President of State Party Chairs Today, the Stonewall Democrats congratulated board member and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair, the Hon. Raymond Buckley, upon his election as President of the Association of State Democratic Chairs. With his election, Buckley also becomes a Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee and the highest-ranking openly-gay official within the national Democratic party. Elected with an overwhelming 72% of the vote, Buckley will serve as ASDC President for the next two years. "The election of Raymond Buckley elevates another strong voice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans within the DemocraticParty," said Jon Hoadley, Executive Director of the Stonewall Democrats.

-The Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College
Conference (MBLGTACC) will hold its 17th annual conference Feb. 13-15, 2009 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
http://www.mblgtacc.org


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From Kate Kendall
National Center for Lesbian Rights - NCLR

-Last brief filed in Prop 8 legal challenge
Our legal team has been working around the clock to meet the California Supreme Court's expedited briefing schedule in our Prop 8 legal challenge. We missed holidays, weekends, and plenty of sleep, but the hard work paid off and we just filed our final brief (pdf) in the case. Today's brief highlights the extraordinary breadth of support for our argument that Proposition 8 is invalid. Those supporting our argument represent the full gamut of California's and the nation's civil rights organizations and legal scholars, as well as California legislators, local governments, bar associations, business interests, labor unions, and religious groups. [...] Professors from the many universities and law schools in California and across the country authored briefs urging invalidation of Proposition 8, including scholars from Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, University of California (Berkeley, Los Angeles, Hastings, Davis, Irvine), University of Southern California, University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, University of San Francisco, Loyola Law School, Santa Clara Law School, Chapman University, and Pepperdine University. [...] Next, we wait for the Court to schedule oral argument, which could happen as soon as March. We are confident in our argument, humbled by the support of such powerful allies, and hopeful that the promise of California's constitution will protect all Californians. We would like to pause and thank our partner, Equality California, and co-counsel, Lambda Legal, the ACLU, the Law Office of David C. Codell, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
www.nclrights.org/overturn8


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NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - January 22, 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.


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

-Kennedy Drops Bid for Clinton's Senate Seat, Citing Personal Reasons
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and DANNY HAKIM
Caroline Kennedy announced early Thursday that she was withdrawing from consideration for the vacant Senate seat in New York, startling the state's political world after weeks in which she was considered a top contender for the post.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/nyregion/22caroline.html?_r=1&hp

-The Guantanamo Docket: The Detainees
Of the 779 people who have been detained at the United States military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, 527 have been transferred and 247 remain remain, according to analysis by The New York Times of documents from the Department of Defense. In addition, five detainees died while in custody. This interactive database includes information about the detainees, thousands of pages of government documents and links to court records and news media reports.
http://projects.nytimes.com/guantanamo

-On Day One, Obama Sets a New Tone
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
President Obama moved swiftly on Wednesday to impose new rules on government transparency and ethics, using his first full day in office to freeze the salaries of his senior aides, mandate new limits on lobbyists and demand that the government disclose more information.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22obama.html?hp

-On Palestinian Question, Tough Choices for Obama
JERUSALEM - With the rule of Hamas in Gaza apparently unchallenged and its popularity growing in the West Bank, the new Obama administration faces an immediate policy choice: support a Palestinian unity government, as Egypt and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, want, or continue to isolate Hamas and concentrate on building up the West Bank as a political alternative to radical Islam.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/world/middleeast/22gaza.html?hp

-News Analysis: Scientists Welcome Obama's Words
By GARDINER HARRIS and WILLIAM J. BROAD
When he vowed in his Inaugural Address to "restore science to its rightful place," President Obama signaled an end to eight years of stark tension between science and government. But many of the Bush administration's restrictions on science, like those governing stem cell research, will take time to be removed. And whether the Obama administration entirely reverses its predecessor's strict controls over the government's main scientific agencies remains to be seen.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22science.html

-Taliban Fill NATO's Big Gaps in Afghan South
By DEXTER FILKINS
TSAPOWZAI, Afghanistan - The Taliban are everywhere the soldiers are not, the saying goes in the southern part of the country. And that is a lot of places.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/world/asia/22taliban.html?hp

-Death Sentences in Chinese Milk Case
By DAVID BARBOZA
BEIJING - A Chinese court sentenced two men to death and a top dairy company executive to life in prison on Thursday for endangering public safety in a tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children, according to state-run news media. Another man was given a suspended death sentence and eight other defendants received lengthy jail terms.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/asia/23milk.html?hp

-Pakistan Seizes Terror Suspect
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani forces arrested a Saudi Arabian man believed to have been involved in the July 7, 2005, bombing attacks in London, two Pakistani officials said Thursday. The Saudi, Zabi al-Taifi, was arrested with six other men in Khyber Agency, one of the lawless tribal districts along the border with Afghanistan. It was not immediately known what Mr. Taifi's alleged role in the London bombings involved.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/asia/23pstan.html?hp

-In Texas, a Line in the Curriculum Revives Evolution Debate
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
AUSTIN, Tex. - The latest round in a long-running battle over how evolution should be taught in Texas schools began in earnest Wednesday as the State Board of Education heard impassioned testimony from scientists and social conservatives on revising the science curriculum.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/education/22texas.html

-Study Finds New Evidence of Warming in Antarctica
By KENNETH CHANG
Antarctica is warming. That is the conclusion of scientists analyzing half a century of temperatures on the continent, and the findings may help resolve a climate enigma at the bottom of the planet. Some regions of Antarctica, particularly the peninsula that stretches toward South America, have warmed rapidly in recent years, contributing to the disintegration of ice shelves and accelerating the sliding of glaciers. But weather stations in other locations, including the one at the South Pole, have recorded a cooling trend. That ran counter to the forecasts of computer climate models, and global warming skeptics have pointed to Antarctica in questioning the reliability of the models.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/science/earth/22climate.html

-Judge Voids Illinois Law on Silent Time in Schools
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the state law requiring a moment of silence in public schools across Illinois is unconstitutional, saying it crosses the line separating church and state. "The statute is a subtle effort to force students at impressionable ages to contemplate religion," the judge, Robert W. Gettleman, said in his ruling.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/education/22illinois.html

-Op-Ed Contributor: Oaf of Office
By STEVEN PINKER
IN 1969, Neil Armstrong appeared to have omitted an indefinite article as he stepped onto the moon and left earthlings puzzled over the difference between "man" and "mankind." In 1980, Jimmy Carter, accepting his party's nomination, paid homage to a former vice president he called Hubert Horatio Hornblower. A year later, Diana Spencer reversed the first two names of her betrothed in her wedding vows, and thus, as Prince Charles Philip supposedly later joked, actually married his father.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/opinion/22pinker.html?ref=opinion


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

-Calling a Time Out
By George McGovern
As you settle into the Oval Office, Mr. President, may I offer a suggestion? Please do not try to put Afghanistan aright with the U.S. military. To send our troops out of Iraq and into Afghanistan would be a near-perfect example of going from the frying pan into the fire. There is reason to believe some of our top military commanders privately share this view. And so does a broad and growing swath of your party and your supporters.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012102489.html

-By Switching Their Charters, Banks Skirt Supervision
By Binyamin Appelbaum
At least 30 banks since 2000 have escaped federal regulatory action by walking away from their federal regulators and moving under state supervision, taking advantage of a long-standing system that allows banks to choose between federal and state oversight, according to a Washington Post review of government records. The moves, known as charter conversions, highlight the tremendous leverage that banks hold in their relationships with government supervisors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012104267.html?hpid=topnews

-Born to Build Bridges
By David S. Broder
When Barack Obama declared in his inaugural address that a new era has begun and that "the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply," it sounded like empty rhetoric. Politicians always tend to inflate the historical importance of their own victories and forget that the large forces that shape our destiny are not subject to the whims of one election.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012103146.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

-With Ethiopian Pullout, Islamists Rise Again in Somalia
Moderates Seeking Power Face Challenges From Radical Militia, Others
By Stephanie McCrummen
NAIROBI -- The departure of the last Ethiopian tanks from Somalia's capital is ushering in a new phase of conflict in a nation known for clan warfare: a battle for power among militias flying Islamist banners.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012103763.html?hpid=moreheadlines

-Russian Tycoon Lebedev Buys London's Evening Standard
By Karla Adam
LONDON, Jan. 21 -- The Russian oligarch and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev signed a deal Wednesday to acquire a majority stake in the Evening Standard newspaper, London's largest regional newspaper. The paper's parent company, the Daily Mail and General Trust, said in a statement that the sale price was "a nominal sum" -- reported widely in the British media as 1 pound.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012103651.html?hpid=moreheadlines


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Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Obama and Guantanamo
Fighting terrorism is simpler when you're a candidate. Campaign promises are so much easier to adhere to when they're strictly hypothetical, as Barack Obama is discovering. The then-President-elect said 10 days ago on ABC that while he still plans to close Guantanamo, "it is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize" and that "many" of the enemy combatants are "very dangerous."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123258578172604569.html


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

-Religious group challenges school district policy
By The Associated Press
A Christian group has asked a judge to block a suburban Atlanta school district from charging religious organizations for the after-hours use of classrooms made available for free to other groups. Child Evangelism Fellowship has accused the Cobb County school system of violating the First Amendment because it is charging the group to hold after-school meetings in classrooms.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-rel-religion-briefs,0,5763014.story


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

-3 news agencies refuse to distribute Obama photo
By DAVID BAUDER
Three news agencies refused to distribute White House-provided photos of President Barack Obama in the Oval Office on Wednesday, arguing that access should have been provided to news photographers.
http://www.bradenton.com/439/story/1170902.html

-Poll: Inaugural boosts American hopes
By Susan Page
President Obama's inauguration has given a recession-battered nation a boost. By nearly 6-1, those surveyed Tuesday in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll say Obama's inauguration has made them feel more hopeful about the next four years, a far more positive response than the one President George W. Bush's swearing-in received in 2005.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-01-21-poll-_N.htm

-Dean Resigns; Kaine Is Now DNC Chair
By Perry Bacon Jr.
Former Vermont governor Howard Dean, five years ago a laughingstock after his infamous scream following his loss in the Iowa presidential primary, stepped down as chairman of the Democratic National Committee yesterday to thunderous applause as party members credited him with helping Democrats capture both houses of Congress and the White House during the past two election cycles.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012103474.html?hpid=topnews

-Holder confirmation hearing delayed a week
By Terry Frieden
The initial confirmation vote for Eric Holder, President Barack Obama's pick for attorney general, was postponed for a week Wednesday after a rancorous meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/justice.holder/index.html?eref=rss_politics&iref=polticker

-Senate confirms Clinton 94-2
By Klaus Marre
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State. The former first lady becomes the highest-profile member of President Obama's Cabinet. The two had battled for the Democratic nomination throughout the first half of the year but have since maintained that there is no bad blood remaining from the protracted primary.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senate-confirms-clinton-2009-01-21.html

-Clinton takes charges at State Department
By ANNE FLAHERTY
Hillary Rodham Clinton assumed her role as secretary of State on Thursday with a pledge to State Department employees that they would be at the leading edge of improving U.S. foreign relations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012200245.html

-IRAN: Wary Tehran press welcomes, warns Obama
The Iranian press voiced skepticism today about President Obama and his vow to change the way the U.S. does business in the Middle East. Typical were the sentiments of the conservative Jam-e-Jam daily, which praised the American people for their vote, but expressed doubt that anything would come of it. "The American people showed their true feelings by voting for Obama and have clearly announced that they want change," the paper said. "However, because of the nature of the political structures of America, it seems that Obama cannot do a lot."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/01/iran-wary-tehra.html

-Sources: Mitchell tapped for Mideast envoy
The Obama administration has asked former Sen. George Mitchell to be a special envoy to the Middle East, sources close to the administration and diplomats told CNN. In the final days of the transition, officials talked to Israeli, Palestinian and Arab diplomats about the choice, the sources said. Mitchell served as a Mideast envoy for the Bush administration, authoring a 2001 report that called for a halt to Israeli settlements and greater Palestinian efforts to crack down on terror. He also was a peace broker on Northern Ireland for President Bill Clinton. If named to the post, Mitchell would be one of several envoys who would work in the new administration. Sources say that Dennis Ross, a former Mideast peace envoy for several previous administrations, will be an envoy in charge of engaging Iran on a wide range of issues, including its nuclear program and its support for terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Former .N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who negotiated peace in the Balkans, is expected to become an envoy dealing with Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/21/sources-mitchell-tapped-for-mideast-envoy/#more-36772


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#####

FLORIDA DIGEST - January 22, 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.


~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

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

-Most Floridians OK with gays and lesbians adopting
A majority of Floridians believe it is OK for gays and lesbians to adopt children.
A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,370 Floridians showed 55 percent favor doing away with a state law that prohibits gays from adopting compared to 39 percent who want to keep the ban. Democrats and independent voters were in the majority favoring of eliminating the ban while Republicans and white evangelical Christians supported the law. But only 27 percent said gays should be allowed to marry while 35 percent favored civil unions and 31 percent said there should be no legal recognition of gay unions. Quinnipiac's poll released Thursday has an error rate of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/866745.html


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From GLCCSS - Ft. Lauderdale

-Florida AIDS Walk 2009
We're Team GLCC
On Sunday, March 15, we will participate in a 10-kilometer fundraising walkathon through Fort Lauderdale to address the AIDS crisis in our community. We'll be joined by thousands of others who understand that we need to take action now to halt the escalating spread of HIV/AIDS in south Florida.You can make a donation to our campaign right here. If you wish to make a donation by check, please send an email to our Team Captain, Rober Boo at rboo@glccsf.org so we can add you to our list of offline contributors. Your gift to this worthy cause is fully tax-deductible. Also, please bookmark this page below if you're interested in keeping track of our progress as we approach the March 15th fundraising deadline. We encourage you to browse the rest of this website so you can learn more about Florida AIDS Walk. Join Team GLCC
http://ahf.convio.net/site/TR/Events/General?team_id=2880&pg=team&fr_id=1060


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

-Fort Lauderdale mayoral candidate Earl Rynerson missing key word in campaign material, military says
By Brittany Wallman
Judging from the campaign signs dotting the landscape in Fort Lauderdale, voters might think there's an active-duty lieutenant colonel running for mayor. But there's not. Earl Rynerson, owner of CLAD Tile & Stone and a former San Francisco City Commissioner, remade his persona in his run for mayor. Following advice from his campaign manager, Mark Goodrich, Rynerson added his military title to campaign materials. "Lt. Colonel Earl Rynerson for mayor," his signs and literature read.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/fort_lauderdale/sfl-flbcolonel0122sbjan22,0,4110629.story



~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

From Scott Newton Campaign
Rally the Vote -20 days to election day
VOLUNTEERS AND SUPPORTERS - HOW ARE YOU RALLY'N THE VOTE?
Upcoming Scott appearances: TRY TO BE AT SOME OF THESE EVENTS!
...Today - Jan 22, 2009
Westside Association of Wilton Manors (WAWM) Quarterly Meeting and meet the Candidates
Pace Center for Girls - 2225 Andrews Avenue - 7:00 pm
...Jan 29, 2009 Eastside Meet & Greet -
Kiwanis Clubhouse - 2749 NE 14th Avenue - 7 - 9:00 pm
www.votenewton.com.


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Howard Elfman
Candidate for Fort Lauderdale City Commission, District 2
You are invited!
Sunday, January 25- 5:00 - 7:00 PM
Pineapple Point Guesthouse & Resort
315 N.E. 16th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale
www.ElectHowardElfman.com


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

-Floridians like idea of increasing cigarette tax
Associated Press
More than seven of 10 Floridians say they want new taxes - at least on a pack of smokes. In a survey of 1,370 voters between Jan. 14-19, 71 percent told Quinnipiac University pollsters that they favored raising the tax on cigarettes by $1 a pack. Smokers, however, were against paying more by nearly 2-to-1, although half said they'd either quit or cut down if such an increase were approved.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-bn-0122poll,0,1140888.story

-Fresh vegetables from South Florida's fields to your dinner table
Here's where to get our area's flavorful harvest right out of the fields and how to make the most of it. Lucky you. You have more than an ocean and sandy beaches in your backyard. You have a vegetable garden that's filled dinner tables nationwide for decades. But now a national push toward eating locally grown produce is putting South Florida farmers in a starring role closer to home.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/food/sfl-fllocalfoodsbjan22,0,9606.story

-Guide to farmers' markets & u-pick farms around South Florida
Whether it's plucking tomatoes from the vine, picking strawberries from the fields or buying fresh produce from a stand, farmers' markets and u-pick farms remain a popular seasonal alternative to supermarkets in South Florida. Here are some popular farmers' markets and u-pick locations in our area. Many of these operate only during the winter season.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/lifestyle/sfl-farmersupick,0,5325042.story

-Ex-pastor pleads guilty to theft from Catholic church in Delray Beach
John Skehan pleads guilty to looting St. Vincent Ferrer; but his successor, Francis Guinan, chooses to go to trial Former Delray Beach pastor John Skehan pleaded guilty to stealing from his church, then sprinted away from reporters trying to question him Wednesday. His successor, the Rev. Francis Guinan, who also appeared in court Wednesday, plans to fight identical charges.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/delraybeach/sfl-flppriests0122pnjan22,0,4720043.story

-New Florida school grading system goes beyond FCAT
Broward, Palm school ratings dropped in test run
By Leslie Postal and Dave Weber
A tough new system to evaluate Florida's high schools could make it harder for them to earn good grades but may provide a more in-depth look at what is happening on their campuses.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/schools/sfl-flbgrades0122sbjan22,0,6452681.story

-Lawsuit alleges husband of Broward County mayor failed to repay $2 million in loans
Lawsuit was filed against spouse of Stacy Ritter
By Scott Wyman
A man at the center of a massive financial fraud case and his partner are claiming in a lawsuit that the husband of Broward County Click here for restaurant inspection reports Mayor Stacy Ritter failed to repay more than $2 million in loans.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbklenet0122sbjan22,0,7234528.story


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

-Meek & McCollum: most favored Senate candidates
By Michael C. Bender
The new Quinnipiac University poll out this morning shows Republican Gov. Charlie Crist (67 percent) and Democratic President Barack Obama (66 percent) with high approval ratings in the state, but more interesting is the initial ratings for potential U.S. Senate candidates. Among Democrats, 22 percent say they have a favorable opinion of U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Miami Democrat, above left, and only major candidate to have declared his intention to run. Fellow U.S. Reps. Ron Klein of Boca Raton scored a 15 percent approval among his party faithful while Allen Boyd of Monticello scored 13 percent.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/floridapolitics/entries/2009/01/21/meek_mccollum_most_favored_sen.html?cxntfid=blogs_q_florida_politics

-Political fight looms over legislative attempt to make Broward County sheriff nonpartisan
By Anthony Man
In a move that could boost Republican Sheriff Al Lamberti's chances of re-election in overwhelmingly Democratic Broward County Click here for restaurant inspection reports, state legislators are quietly attempting to make future elections for the office "nonpartisan," rather than Democratic vs. Republican contests. If proponents of the plan - led by state Rep. Jim Waldman, a Coconut Creek Democrat who supported Lamberti in last year's election - have their way, Broward voters would be asked in 2010 whether county sheriff's elections should be held without party affiliation starting in 2012.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbsheriff0122sbjan22,0,4012927.story

-Crist more popular than president?
Jim Ash
President Barack Obama should be pleased to know that a political honeymoon can last a long time. Just ask Gov. Charlie Crist. A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University shows the Republican governor is still riding sky-high approval ratings, and is as popular or more so in Florida than the newly inaugurated president.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20090122/NEWS01/901220308


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#####

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

GLBT DIGEST - January 21, 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:

-More Grins Than Grumbles at a Gay Ball
By Melena Ryzik
"I'm so tired of Rick Warren," Rufus Wainwright sang, tweaking the lyrics to his anthem "Going to a Town." ("I'm so tired of you, America.") "I'm so tired of California," he sang, earning a smattering of "woos" at the Human Rights Campaign's Out for Equality ball at the Mayflower Hotel on Tuesday night.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/more-grins-than-grumbles-at-a-gay-ball/?scp=2&sq=GAY&st=cse

-Few Protesters at Inauguration
By JOHN M. BRODER
Protesters, a fixture of every inauguration since President Nixon's in 1973, were few and scattered on Tuesday as Barack Obama assumed the presidency. It appeared there were far more vendors looking to make a buck selling Inaugural Chocolate Bars and Obama Incense than protesters seeking to make a statement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/21web-protests.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=GAY&st=cse


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

-Warren speaks of 'justice for all' at inauguration
No mention of marriage, gays made during invocation
By JOSHUA LYNSEN
Rev. Rick Warren spoke of "justice for all" but made no comment specific toward gay Americans during his invocation Tuesday at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Obama's choice of Warren for the inaugural invocation dismayed many gay advocates because Warren opposes gay marriage.
He backed Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in his home state of California.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=23556

-Robinson looks forward to meeting Warren
Gay bishop will meet evangelical pastor today
After delivering a prayer at Sunday's inauguration concert in Washington, New Hampshire's Episcopal bishop is expected to meet the pastor who will give the invocation at the presidential swearing-in ceremony. Obama's choice of the Rev. Rick Warren for the inaugural invocation dismayed many gay advocates because Warren opposes gay marriage. The tables turned when Obama asked New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, to lead prayers at Sunday's kickoff concert. Robinson told Foster's Daily Democrat that he looks forward to meeting Warren on Tuesday.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=23568

-Obama's gay plan for America
Within hours of taking office, Obama releases agenda for GLBT rights
By Dan Renzi
As the community questioned why Obama chose Rev. Rick Warren to speak at the inaugration-seemingly in conflict with his previous support of the gay community, as Warren is a noted homophobe-we thought it might have been a consolation to the religious right, in preparation for Obama's plans for GLBT equality.
http://www.floridablade.com/blog/index.cfm#23575


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

-Local progress in California reminds us that National politics isn't always where it's at
By Emma Ruby-Sachs
I know today is the end of George Bush and the beginning of Barack Obama. I can't tell you how happy this transition makes me. Even if Obama is a huge disappointment, letting Bush retire to the plains of Texas warms my heart.
http://www.365gay.com/blog/ruby-sachs-local-progress-in-california-reminds-us-that-national-politics-isnt-always-where-its-at/


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

-HBO Blames Robinson Snub on Miscommunication Within Obama's Team
HBO's failure to broadcast the Reverend Gene Robinson's invocation at the pre-inaugural celebration for President Obama at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday was due to a miscommunication within the Presidential InauguralCommittee, according to the cable network.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid71271.asp

- Kennedy Collapses, Byrd Wheeled Out of Presidential Luncheon
Massachusetts senator Edward Kennedy suffered a seizure at a 200-person luncheon honoring President Barack Obama. Paramedics arrived at the scene and escorted him out of the room. According to Fox News, Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of fellow Massachusetts senator John Kerry, helped Kennedy into a reclining chair. Last summer the senator was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Reverend Daniel Coughlin, who gave the benediction at the end of the luncheon, said Kennedy responded well to treatment and is being taken to the hospital.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid71270.asp


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

-Christian firefighter wins damages over refusal to work at Pride
A Roman Catholic firefighter has received damages and an apology from his employers after he was disciplined for refusing to work at a gay Pride event. Nine firefighers refused to work at Pride Scotia in Glasgow in June 2006 where they were supposed to be distributing fire safety leaflets.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10771.html

-Guatemalan trans rights advocate faces arrest warrant
A human rights group has questioned the decision of a public prosecutor in Guatemala to charge the director of transgender rights group with attempted murder. An arrest warrant has been issued for Jorge López.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10769.html

-MEPs demand end to foreign aid to Nigeria over gay marriage ban
The European Parliament's Intergroup on gay rights has responded to moves to criminalise same-sex marriage in Nigeria by calling for a suspension of EU aid.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10766.html

-Swedish MPs move to legalise gay marriage
A motion tabled in the Swedish parliament and backed by three of the four parties in the coalition government would legalise gay marriage.
"Regardless of sexual orientation, people in stable couple relationships have a need to manifest their feelings and their desire to live together," it reads.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10760.html

-Tom Hanks attacks Prop 8 Mormons as un-American
A Hollywood star who won an Oscar for his portayal of a gay man has hit out at opponents of same-sex marriage. Tom Hanks focused his comments on the Mormon church.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10758.html

-Four banned from football grounds for homophobic chants at Tottenham game
Eleven people have appeared at Portsmouth Magistrate's Court on charges of indecent chanting. The three accused under the age of 16 pleaded not guilty, along with four others.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10750.html

-Gay rights agenda now on White House website
By Tony Grew
The new administration in the United States has already posted a lengthy statement on gay rights on the White House website.
The redesigned site is intended to "serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world," said Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10751.html

-Malta's government accused of double standards on gay rights
By Tony Grew
An opposition MP in Malta has accused the government of ignoring the rights of gay people now they have been re-elected.
Evarist Bartolo of the Partit Laburista (Labour Party) said that at a pre-election meeting with Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) the government had said it was in favour of such an EU directive.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10734.html


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

-New White House Statement on Civil Rights
THE WHITE HOUSE - PRESIDENT BARAK OBAMA
http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/civil_rights
THE AGENDA · CIVIL RIGHTS
"The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen - they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs.. We have more work to do."
Barack Obama, Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007

-Activist's 'Railroad' Helps Gay Iranians
Lesley Ciarula Taylor | IMMIGRATION REPORTER | The Star
Not quite three years ago, Arsham Parsi was an Iranian refugee in Turkey.
Today, he is executive director of the Iranian Queer Railroad, trying to help 200 people down the same road he took to Toronto. "Every day, people escape, people come here," he said yesterday in his downtown apartment.
"It's constant, like a railroad, always moving." On a recent trip to Turkey, he secured refugee status from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for 45 Iranian gays, but they are awaiting interviews at the Canadian and U.S. embassies. Parsi, 28, is lobbying on to get them out of Turkey where temporary residents must pay a $200 fee every six months. "People in Turkey say they're not homophobic and I say, `You've living in Istanbul. When you leave Istanbul, it's different.' Gays have been beaten on the streets in Turkey and the police do nothing." Read more

-HBO Adds Robinson to Re-Broadcast
Chris Crain | Citizen Crain
For all those who suspected some grand conspiracy between the Obama transition team and HBO to exclude openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson from the broadcast of the (ironically named) "We Are One" event, rest easy:
The cable network said that it had not been advised about what would go where in the two-hour live telecast. . The omission caused a pile of headaches for HBO and the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which received an estimated $2 million to give HBO the exclusive rights to the concert.
Whew. And even double whew:
HBO said late Monday that it will include an opening prayer from an openly gay pastor in subsequent telecasts of the "We Are One" inaugural concert, whose original live telecast began after the pastor's invocation.
No doubt gay activists will be watching like hawks to make sure HBO follows through on its promise. Will they watch with the same level of scrutiny to make sure Obama and Congress move forwarrd on legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and Don't Ask Don't Tell, or enact federal civil unions? Link

-Separate is Not Equal According to the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission
JOANNA GROSSMAN | Findlaw
In December 2006, the New Jersey Legislature adopted a civil union law, permitting same-sex couples to enter into a legal alternative to marriage.
The legislature acted in the wake of a ruling from the New Jersey Supreme Court, holding that it did not violate the state constitution's guarantees of equal protection or due process for the state to exclude same-sex couples from marriage, as long as it offered them the benefits of marriage.
In its recently-released final report, however, the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission unanimously concluded that the alternative status is simply not as good. Rather, the report concludes, because the civil union alternative "invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children," the legislature and governor should change the law to permit same-sex couples to marry. Moreover, the Commission implored the state to act "expeditiously because any delay in marriage equality will harm all the people of New Jersey."
Though the national and international landscape on same-sex marriage is colorful, New Jersey provides a terrific case study of the many different stages, as well as the advances and setbacks for proponents, in the battle over same-sex marriage. Though the New Jersey Supreme Court has rejected same-sex marriage as a constitutional necessity, this latest development may set the stage, ultimately, for the legislative enactment of same-sex marriage in New Jersey. Read more

-Homosexual Portland Mayor Admits Past Relationship with Teen
Staff, Associated Press | CNSNews
Portland, Ore. (AP) - More than a year after denying it, the newly elected mayor of Portland has admitted having a sexual relationship with a male teenager in 2005.
Sam Adams, who is openly gay, acknowledged the relationship in a statement Monday, after the Willamette Week newspaper broke the story on its Web site.
In Washington, D.C., for the inauguration, Adams will cut his trip short to issue a public apology Tuesday afternoon in Portland, said Wade Nkrumah, his spokesman.
Adams, 45, said he and the teen were together in the summer of 2005, shortly after the teenager turned 18 in June, and when Adams was a city commissioner. The revelations come nearly a year and a half after Adams and the teen said rumors of a sexual relationship between them were false. Read more

-MI: Opponents of Kalamazoo City Ordiance are Fighting a Losing Battle Against Gay Rights
Julie Mack | MLive.com
The Kalamazoo City Commission has backed off, at least temporarily, on its new ordinance outlawing discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender individuals. But even if the commission doesn't come back with a reworked proposal any time soon, my sense is that ordinance opponents are on the wrong side of history.The tipping point has been reached on the issue of gay rights. Sure, California voters passed Prop 8 in November. Yes, President-elect Obama is hedging on supporting same-sex marriage. True, the American Family Association of Michigan was able to get 1,300 Kalamazoo residents to sign petitions protesting the new ordinance. Yet slowly but surely, in a two-steps-forward, one-step-back fashion, the pendulum in swinging in a direction favoring the gay-rights movement. Eighty-nine percent of Americans - 89! - believe gays should not face job discrimination, according to Gallup, the poll organization. Vice President Cheney's lesbian daughter bore a child in 2007 with little fanfare; truth be told, the pregnancy of Bristol Palin seemed far more scandalous. A local Methodist spoke in favor of the anti-discrimination ordinance Monday. The days are long gone when "homosexual" was just another word for deviant. Read more


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#####

NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - January 21, 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:

-Kennedy 'Feeling Well' After Seizure
By SCOTT SHANE
In a frightening moment on a day of celebration, Senator Edward M. Kennedy suffered a seizure Tuesday at a Congressional luncheon honoring President Barack Obama after his inauguration.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/21kennedy.html?hp

-Op-Ed Columnist: Radical in the White House
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
For one day, for one hour, let us take a bow as a country. Nearly 233 years after our founding, 144 years after the close of our Civil War and 46 years after Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, this crazy quilt of immigrants called Americans finally elected a black man, Barack Hussein Obama, as president. Walking back from the inauguration, I saw an African-American street vendor wearing a home-stenciled T-shirt that pretty well captured the moment - and then some. It said: "Mission Accomplished."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/opinion/21friedman.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: The (Now Silent) Guns of January
We are relieved that the guns and rockets are finally silent in Gaza. As President Obama was being inaugurated on Tuesday, Israel was withdrawing its troops after a 23-day assault intended to weaken Hamas and halt its rocket fire; Gazans were trying to come to terms with the overwhelming devastation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/opinion/21wed2.html?ref=opinion


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

-Obama takes power, urges unity vs. 'raging storms'
By JENNIFER LOVEN
Before a jubilant crowd of more than a million, Barack Hussein Obama claimed his place in history as America's first black president, summoning a dispirited nation to unite in hope against the "gathering clouds and raging storms" of war and economic woe.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012000174.html

-Hard Truths at the Outset
By David Ignatius
The great danger for Barack Obama, with his natural charm and grace, is that he will try to please everyone. But he began his presidency with no glad hands -- avoiding the easy applause lines and instead telling people things they might not want to hear.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012003500.html

-Courting Common Sense
Will the White House and Congress find a better way to nominate and confirm judges? MIGHT A NEW administration and Congress bring a new approach to the handling of judicial nominations? Might pettiness give way to rationality and fair-mindedness? Don't count on it. But in such a week, we can hope.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012003554.html


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Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Tax Issue Won't Derail Geithner
Senators Are More Concerned With How Treasury Nominee Will Help Fix Economy
By DEBORAH SOLOMON
Timothy Geithner will call for a comprehensive and aggressive approach to tackling the U.S. financial crisis when he appears Wednesday at hearings on his confirmation as Treasury secretary, while also trying to assure lawmakers that he simply erred by failing to pay some payroll taxes earlier this decade.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123249640035200279.html

-U.S. Stocks Set to Bounce
By STEVE GOLDSTEIN
U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a recovery from the previous day's selloff, with a flurry of earnings releases battling banking-sector woes for investors' attention.
Less than two hours before the start of trading, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 91 points higher at 8036. The S&P 500 futures gained 8.7 to 814.7, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 4.25 to 1151.75. Changes in futures do not always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123253762172302111.html


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

-America celebrates Obama, but reinvention is nothing new
BY LEONARD PITTS JR.
It begins before the sun does. Not yet 5 a.m. and there is at a suburban Metro station a line of people going out of the station and up the escalator and around the corner and down to the far, far end of the parking lot. In town, it's worse.
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard-pitts/obama/story/863628.html


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#####

FLORIDA DIGEST - January 21, 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.


~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~

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

-PFLAG opens in Fort Lauderdale
New chapter reaches out to large GLBT community in Broward Co. Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, PFLAG, has announced a new Fort Lauderdale chapter of the organization. Fort Lauderdale has been without a chapter of this international organization for a year despite there being active chapters in both Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties. "The now-defunct Fort Lauderdale chapter met in the Unitarian Universalist Church," said George Betts, PFLAG's Broward County Representative. "People stopped showing up and that chapter closed. This new chapter replaces the previous chapter." The new chapter will meet at the Sunshine Cathedral/MCC complex, 1480 S W 9th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale on the first floor of the meeting room building adjacent to the church. Meetings will be held monthly on the second Thursday of each month starting Jan. 15 from 7 to 9:00 p.m. and is open to all GLBT individuals along with their family, friends and allies. PFLAG's South Florida Coordinator, Carole Benowitz will be facilitating this first meeting,
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/1-14/news/localnews/5450.cfm



~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~

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

-Poll: Gov. Charlie Crist still has fans; U.S. Senate race a toss-up
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS
Florida's economy may be in the tank and its state budget in tatters but Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is still as popular as ever and the U.S. Senate race is a scramble among the barely-knowns, according to a new poll released Wednesday. Crist's approval rating is as high as President Barack Obama's, the Quinnipiac University poll of 1,370 voters found. The poll was conducted Jan. 14-19, just after the Florida Legislature completed its special budget-cutting session and stripped another $1.2 billion from the state budget to close the deficit.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/864809.html


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#####

GLBT DIGEST - January 20, 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:

-After Hookups, E-Cards That Warn, 'Get Checked'
By DAVID TULLER
Steve, a health care worker in his 30s, had been told more than once that he had been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection. So when it happened again, he was not upset - even though this time he learned about it through an anonymous online postcard, e-mailed by a man with whom he had had sex.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/health/20partners.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse

-Global Update
In Senegal, Where AIDS Efforts Are Often Praised, Prison for Counselors Is a Surprise
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Human rights organizations, health groups and some foreign governments have united in condemning Senegal for imprisoning nine local AIDS activists.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/health/20glob.html?scp=4&sq=gay&st=cse


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

-Pastor Rick's Evolution
By Sally Quinn
Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration has been characterized as -- at best -- a giant blunder. But it might turn out to be just another canny move from this supremely confident politician.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/19/AR2009011902374.html

-Portland mayor admits past relationship with teen
More than a year after denying it, the newly elected mayor of Portland has admitted having a sexual relationship with a male teenager in 2005. Sam Adams, who is openly gay, acknowledged the relationship in a statement Monday, after the Willamette Week newspaper broke the story on its Web site.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012000054.html


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

-Obama Has Chance to Shape U.S. Courts
Vacancies of Appellate Judges, Makeup in Congress Should Give New President
Sway Over How Laws Will Be Interpreted
By ASHBY JONES
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to have a speedy and significant impact on a number of federal courts of appeal, with the potential to lessen the conservative influence that several of these courts now wield. Given significant vacancies in some the nation's 13 federal appellate courts, Mr. Obama's appointments may shape the ways laws are interpreted across the country. "He really has an enormous opportunity," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia and expert on the federal judiciary. "At least initially, I don't see him having much trouble getting his seats filled."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123241772578496517.html

-Party Politics: An Impresario Hustles to Stage the Inaugural
Clumsy Eagle, Pesky Celebs Put Mr. Beliveau To the Test; Running Short of 'Chum'
By MONICA LANGLEY
Barack Obama was the least of Emmett Beliveau's worries on the eve of the biggest inaugural ever held. Five thousand portable toilets were on his mind.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123241676427996557.html


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

-MSPs hear objections to new homophobic hate crimes proposal
By Tony Grew
The Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee has heard evidence on proposed legislation that allows courts to impose tougher sentences for offences aggravated by the victim's disability, gender identity or sexualorientation. The Sentencing of Offences Aggravated by Prejudice (Scotland) Bill was proposed by Patrick Harvie, a Scottish Green MSP.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10729.html

-Obama looks to Lincoln in his inauguration address
By Tony Grew
An inauguration speech is the set piece of the American system of government. The new President, surrounded by the House, the Senate, military leaders, diplomats and watched by hundreds of millions of people on television, sets the tone for his administration.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10728.html

-Martin Luther King's dream "comes a step closer" with Obama
By Tony Grew
America's largest LGBT civil rights organisation marked the birthday of civil rights activist Martin Luther King yesterday with a message of hope for Barack Obama's administration.
Dr King's birthday is a federal holiday, a mark of his unique importance in modern American history.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10726.html

-Obama team "regrets" that gay bishop's prayer was not broadcast
By Tony Grew
A spokesman for the US Presidential Inauguration Committee has confirmed that a prayer by Bishop Gene Robinson was supposed to be televised as part of a celebration concert on Sunday.
Broadcaster HBO had been criticised for excluding the invocation by Bishop Robinson, who is one of the most prominent LGBT people in America.
There were accusations that he had been censored, as HBO began transmitting live from the We Are One concert ten minutes after the prayer.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10715.html

-Anger as gay bishop's inauguration prayer is left out of broadcast
By Tony Grew
A US broadcaster has been criticised for starting their live coverage of a concert in Washington DC celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama after the opening prayer led by an openly gay bishop. HBO's coverage started after Gene Robinson, Anglican Bishop of New Hampshire, had addressed the crowd of 500,000 in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10700.html


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NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - January 20, 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.


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

-More Moscow Murder
Two critics of Vladimir Putin take bullets in the head. ANOTHER RUSSIAN fighting for human rights and the rule of law has been murdered in Vladimir Putin's Moscow. Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer who defended Chechens brutalized by Russian troops and journalists who wrote about the abuses, was shot in the head yesterday by a masked man carrying a silencer-equipped pistol. An opposition journalist who tried to intervene, Anastasia Baburova, was also fatally shot in the head. This occurred in broad daylight, on a busy street in central Moscow less than half a mile from the Kremlin. It was another demonstration that assassinations are a dominating feature of political life under Mr. Putin's regime.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/19/AR2009011902604.html

-On First Full Day, Obama Will Dive Into Foreign Policy
By Michael D. Shear and Karen DeYoung
President-elect Barack Obama will plunge into foreign policy on his first full day in office tomorrow, finally freed from the constraints of tradition that has forced him and his staff to remain muzzled about world affairs during the 78-day transition.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/19/AR2009011902726.html?hpid=topnews


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

-Plans to close Gitmo anger 9/11 victims' families
By BEN FOX
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- Plans to close Guantanamo are not sitting well with the Sept. 11 victims' relatives who sat stunned while two alleged terrorists declared they were proud of their role in the plot.
The U.S. military brought relatives of three Sept. 11 victims to Guantanamo to observe pretrial hearings in the case of five men charged in the plot who could get the death penalty if convicted.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/862098.html


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FLORIDA DIGEST - January 20, 2009

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

-CORAL RIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
New Coral Ridge pastor vows to take politics out of pulpit
William Graham Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of evangelist Billy Graham, has been asked to take the helm at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale.
BY JAWEED KALEEM
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/861948.html


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Monday, January 19, 2009

GLBT DIGEST - January 19, 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.


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

-Marriage Ban Donors Feel Exposed by List
By JESSE McKINLEY
In many ways it is a typical map, showing states, highways, cities and streets. But also dotting the online display are thousands of red arrows, marking spots from Bryn Mawr, Pa., to Jamacha, Calif., identifying the addresses of donors who supported Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage in California.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/us/19prop8.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=GAY&st=cse


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

-Gay rights advocates protest outside Warren church
Gay rights supporters marched outside the church of evangelical pastor Rick Warren, protesting his selection as an inauguration speaker.
About 100 protesters waved rainbow flags Sunday and voiced their displeasure at Warren for his opposition to gay marriage and at President-elect Barack Obama for choosing him to give the invocation at Tuesday's ceremony.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/19/AR2009011900778.html

-The Stars Align, With Egos in Check
Celebrity-Studded Concert Offers Heady Mix of History & Hollywood
By Richard Leiby and DeNeen L. Brown
Some things we learned yesterday at the "We Are One" concert, the official welcoming celebration for Barack Obama at the Lincoln Memorial: Jamie Foxx does a pretty spot-on Obama impersonation; wiseacre Jack Black can look completely serious when he's paying homage to Theodore Roosevelt's conservation achievements; Garth Brooks can somehow pull off a medley of "American Pie," "Shout" and "We Shall Be Free"; and musical superstars seem okay with singing in trios -- at least in the case of Usher, Shakira and Stevie Wonder, who did a rousing version of "Higher Ground" that had the president-elect and his wife, Michelle, on their feet and dancing.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/18/AR2009011802447.html


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

-Pastor who opposes gay marriage urges crowd to follow example of Martin Luther King
By ERRIN HAINES
The impending inauguration of the nation's first black president is a huge step toward realizing Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of racial equality, but there is still work to be done, King's nephew told a large crowd Monday at the church where the civil rights leader once preached.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-king-holiday-atlanta,0,3702638.story


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

-Gay men's chorus sings at Inaugural opening concert
Backed by The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, Josh Groban performs with Heather Headley, right, during the We Are One: Opening Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Sunday.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/


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

-California Dems push gay rights in wake of Prop. 8 vote
By Aurelio Rojas
Democratic lawmakers are moving forward with legislation expanding rights and recognition for gays and lesbians in California while the state Supreme Court considers the fate of same-sex marriage. Assembly Bill 103 by Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, would allow two people, including same-sex couples, who co-own a home to avoid having their property tax reassessed and raised when one dies.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/860688.html


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

-Google takes a stand for gay marriage
Company files legal brief, to support keeping marriages legal
By Dan Renzi
From the site vnunet.com, which we have no idea how we found but we're glad we did: Google has filed an amicus brief in several legal challenges to Proposition 8, which make gay marriage illegal in California.
http://www.floridablade.com/blog/index.cfm#23533

-'Error' caused gay bishop's TV blackout
Robinson's inaugural prayer came before broadcast began
By LOU CHIBBARO JR
Gay Episcopal Bishop Eugene Robinson's opening prayer at President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural celebration Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial was not televised due to an unspecified "error," according to a spokesperson for the inaugural committee.
"We had always intended and planned for Rt. Rev. Robinson's invocation to be included in the televised portion of the program," Josh Earnest, director of communications for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, said in a statement.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=23545

-Where was Gene Robinson?
By Rebecca Armendariz
Complaints that openly gay bishop Gene Robinson's speech was cut out of broadcasts of the We Are One concert abound on the gay blogosphere today.
AfterElton.com reached out to HBO for comment, and HBO responded that the Obama team is responsible for the edit, and not the network.
http://www.floridablade.com/blog/index.cfm?blog_id=23535

-Gay band refines performance for inauguration
LGBA members practice marching, songs
By CHRIS JOHNSONMembers of the Lesbian & Gay Band Association practiced playing their instruments and marching in lockstep Monday in an effort to refine their performance for their parade appearance on Inauguration Day.
The band, which is slated to be the first gay contingent to march in a presidential inaugural parade, had its dress rehearsal at St. Elizabeth's, a federally operated psychiatric hospital, and marched around the facility's grounds.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=23552

-Black pastor asks gays to 'move beyond' Prop 8 furor
Forbes says dialogue more important than blame
By AMY CAVANAUGHIn the aftermath of last year's vote to ban gay marriage in California, Rev. James Forbes Jr. is calling for an end to the hunt for "somebody to blame" for the passage of Proposition 8. Forbes, a senior minister emeritus of the interdenominational Riverside Church in Manhattan, said that "society seems always to need somebody to blame," but people should resist that urge.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=23550

-Frank talks gay rights at inauguration event
Wins award Sunday at People's 'Gayla'
By JOSHUA LYNSEN
Adorned in tuxedoes and cocktail dresses, a few hundred people laughed and danced their way toward equality Sunday at the People's Inaugural LGBT Gayla.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=23541


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

-The celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
By Jennifer Vanasco
One thing that Obama's people have always done well is using spectacle to impart a sense of myth. They certainly did that today with the kickoff ceremony - really a concert - at the Lincoln Memorial.
There were Marines. Gospel choirs. Two (two!) live bald eagles. A lot of songs about America. And a wall of American flags that parted over and over again to reveal blockbuster musical artists like Mary J. Blige, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks (one of the best performances of the afternoon - even the press corps was dancing) and Beyonce.
http://www.365gay.com/blog/vanasco-the-celebration-at-the-lincoln-memorial/

-Bye, bye, Bush
By Lisa Neff
Time to say bye, bye to George W. Bush. As he leaves for Texas, do you think he's thinking, "Mission accomplished"?
http://www.365gay.com/opinion/neff-bye-bye-bush-2/

-Will Obama Prosecute?
By Emma Ruby-Sachs
Today and tomorrow it is all about hope. Still, there has been a lot of chatter about the not so inspiring past. And many, including Speaker Pelosi, are hoping for a little retribution.
http://www.365gay.com/blog/ruby-sachs-will-obama-prosecute/


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

-Bishop Robinson Talks Obama on Rachel Maddow
Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show Wednesday night and discussed President-elect Obama, the Rick Warren controversy, and other topics with the MSNBC host. Robinson, the gay bishop of New Hampshire, will give the opening invocation at Obama's inaugural festivities this Sunday and said -- once again -- that he's disappointed in the incoming president's selection of Warren to conduct a prayer on Inauguration Day.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid70846.asp


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

-Lesbian Congresswoman to serve as honorary inauguration co-chair
By Tony Grew
President-elect Barack Obama has named the only out lesbian in Congress as one of 16 honorary co-chairs for his inauguration tomorrow.
Tammy Baldwin will be seated "in the Obama family-and-friends box across from the White House during the parade, along with her partner Lauren Azar, a member of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission," reports WisPolitics.com.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10694.html

-Corporations and trade unions condemn California's ban on gay marriage
Major corporations and groups representing Mexican-Americans, Christians, and African-Americans have filed friend of the court briefs in California in support of gay marriage.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10693.html

-Gene Robinson: God, we give you thanks for your child Barack
By Staff Writer
Yesterday Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, led prayers at the start of a free outdoor celebration concert in Washington DC.
The opening Inaugural event was held at the Lincoln Memorial, and international stars such as U2 and Beyonce took part. Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States when he takes the oath of office tomorrow at noon.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10648.html

-Nigerian MPs vote to ban "immoral" gay marriages
By Tony Grew
The House of Representatives in Nigeria has voted unanimously in favour of a new legislation banning same-sex marriage.
The bill "prohibits marriage between persons of same gender, solemnisation of same and other matters related therewith."
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10640.html

-Analysis: Obama's comprehensive support for gay equality
By Tony Grew
What can lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans Americans expect from the new President of the United States?
Barack Obama, who will take the oath of office tomorrow afternoon at noon (5pm GMT), is the most gay-friendly politician to lead America.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10636.html

-South African gay couple plan legal action after wedding refusal
By Felicity Baker
A gay couple in South Africa were allegedly told they could not get married because their relationship was "not normal," it has been reported.
Alexander Bruce, 25, and Jaco van der Walt, 19, had decided to marry after being together for a year and had gone to the Home Affairs office for an initial appointment on December 17th.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-10633.html


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

-Rick Warren's African Allies Tied to Massacres, Sex-Slavery, Forced Labor, Concentration Camps
Bruce Wilson | Talk 2 Action
Critics of Barack Obama's choice to include Rick Warren in the upcoming January 20, 2008 presidential inauguration ceremony have focused on the celebrity evangelist's religious beliefs and at least one report has traced his ties to reactionary African religious leaders. Media coverage of Rick Warren has failed to note, however, his friendship and alliance with two African presidents accused of perpetrating terrorism and massive human rights violations including massacres and assassinations, mass-rape, slave labor, sex slavery, large scale concentration camps, and the use of child soldiers.
A December 12, 2008 UN report charges Warren's African allies, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and Uganda's President Youwerie Museveni, with continuing to fuel the conflict in the Congo by supporting the renegade army of Laurent Nkunda, whose recent military offensive has created hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Rwanda and Uganda have been indicted, in a series of consecutive United Nations reports presented to the UN Security Council, released between 2001 and 2003 [see this UN page for all 5 reports], for repeatedly invading and violating the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of The Congo, and supporting renegade armies in that country, in order to loot the Congo's immense natural wealth. The more than one decade long running conflict has claimed an estimated 5.4 million civilian lives. Read more

-UT: Good Proposals for Gay Rights?
Daily Herald | Herald Extra
A group called Equality Utah, an advocate for gay rights, is pushing a series of legislative measures under what it calls its Common Ground Initiative. The group says the proposals will provide fairer treatment for gays, transgendered people and others.
. One measure calls for a change in state policy to allow state employees to add another adult to their health care coverage. Advocates say this will ease the health care crisis by allowing more people to get health insurance.
It's an administrative change, so it doesn't need an act by the Legislature, though of course lawmakers must approve anything that would impact the budget. And this year, elected officials may be leery of adding any expenses.
. In the Legislature, Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck and Sen. Scott McCoy, both D-Salt Lake, are backing the Support Forever Homes for All Children Act. It would allow unmarried couples, gay or straight, to be considered for adoption.
The measure would give priority to married couples, but would allow authorities to consider an unmarried couple of any orientation. Advocates say this measure would give children a chance of being adopted by a couple if no married couples are available. Read more

-Gay Marriage Still Linchpin Issue for Evangelicals
James Kirchick / Politico.com | Detroit News
Last month, the National Association of Evangelicals fired the Rev. Richard Cizik as its vice president for governmental affairs. As one of the Christian right's top lobbyists in Washington, Cizik promoted the cultural conservative position on issues ranging from abortion to prayer in school.
He's been one of the most prominent figures in the religious right since its ascendance as a national political force three decades ago, and the reason for his firing from the umbrella organization representing some 45,000 churches portends much about the "culture wars."
In a post-election interview with Terry Gross on National Public Radio's "Fresh Air," Cizik stated his support for gay civil unions. "I'm shifting, I have to admit," he said when asked about same-sex marriage. "In other words, I would willingly say I believe in civil unions. I don't officially support redefining marriage from its traditional definition, I don't think."
Cizik's couching of his support for civil unions - a position shared by at least half of the American electorate, including an increasing number of evangelicals - within his opposition to gay marriage was not a sufficient hedge to save his skin. "He no longer represents the view of evangelicalism," concluded Tom Minnery, a senior vice president of Focus on the Family. Try as Minnery might to make it sound as though evangelicals speak with one voice on a range of issues, serious fissures are beginning to emerge among this vital electoral constituency. Read more

-Warren Taps Right-Wing Lawyer for Inaugural Defense
Kyle | Right Wing Watch
We've written a few posts about the lawsuit brought by Michael Newdow, the American Humanist Association, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and others seeking to remove the phrase "so help me God" from the oath of office during the Inauguration. Among the defendants in the case are Chief Justice John Roberts, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Major General Richard J. Rowe Jr., the Reverend Rick Warren and the Reverend Joe Lowery.
Now it looks like Warren has tapped a lawyer to represent him in court - a lawyer from the right-wing Pacific Justice Institute:
Kevin Snider, Chief Counsel of Pacific Justice Institute, will appear in federal court Thursday in Washington, D.C. to defend Pastor Rick Warren against a lawsuit seeking to halt prayers at the inauguration of Barack Obama . At his request, PJI Chief Counsel Kevin Snider will appear in court tomorrow and ask a federal judge to allow the time-honored inaugural prayer to proceed.
If you are not familiar with the Pacific Justice Institute, maybe you are familiar with this video of PJI President Brad Dacus proclaiming that failure to pass Prop 8 was akin to failing to stand up to the Nazis: Read more

-Mike Huckabee: Affably Anti-Gay
Kyle | Right Wing Watch
A.J. Jacobs has a interesting profile of Mike Huckabee in Esquire on how this funny and seemingly nice former presidential candidate is, at heart, a militantly anti-gay culture warrior.
Jacobs reports that Huckabee is utterly charming and the "most likable politician I've ever met" . until he joins Huckabee for a book-signing and fundraiser for the right-wing New Jersey Family Policy Council where the theme is "no compromise on gay marriage" and Huckabee proclaims that gays getting married will lead to polygamy and bestiality and likens homosexuality to alcoholism:
We say the Pledge of Allegiance. We eat our chicken and baby carrots. We listen to a series of speeches with phrases like "swamp of moral decay" and "assault on the sacred institution of marriage." One man says that given the choice between winning the White House and winning the three anti-gay-marriage propositions, he'd choose to lose the White House . more.

-Jim Carrey's Hot Gay Role!
PlanetOut
In the aftermath of all those Mormon dollars supporting Prop 8, the Utah-based 2009 Sundance Film Festival was in the queer spotlight last month after calls by some in the gay community for a boycott of the uber queer-friendly event.
That boycott message was countered by immediate and effusive objections, and expressions of Sundance support, from such venerable queer film luminaries as: producer Christine Vachon, distributor Marcus Hu and director Gregg Araki (see Araki's eloquent piece in the current print issue of The Advocate) or, since that isn't available online, you could read my Bay Area Reporter Guest Opinion piece, "Yes On Sundance."
With the festival getting underway from January 15 - 25 in Park City, Utah there are bound to be some picketers outside the Cinemark-owned Holiday Village Cinema (one of the main venues at Sundance). But community leaders -including the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Outfest who both made official announcements of support for Sundance - seem to have moved on towards focusing on the films themselves and embracing the festival for being the longtime champion of LGBT cinema that it is. Read more


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

-Effort to surmount polarizing debates backfires on pastor
Rick Warren arrives in Washington this week in the midst of the culture war he has spent years trying to transcend.
The California pastor, who wrote the best-selling hardcover book in US history and built up from scratch one of the largest churches in the nation, is widely considered the most visible and successful champion of a new form of political engagement for evangelicals, one that is less partisan, and concerned about more issues, than the abortion-and-gays-focused religious right associated with Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/01/19/warren_scrutiny_suggests_culture_war_hasnt_disappeared/


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

-HUMANISTS PROTEST ABOUT RELIGIOUS-BASED ANTI-GAY LEGISLATION IN NIGERIA
Humanists in Nigeria have condemned the vote by the country's House of Representatives banning same sex marriage.
The Bill "for an Act to prohibit marriage between persons of the same gender, solemnization of same and other matters related therewith" has been passed unanimously by the Lower House of the country's Parliament. All the members who spoke in favour of the Bill condemned such marriage, saying that it was immoral, against African tradition and God's design for human beings. One noted that this was a sign of moral decadence in any given society and went against God's purpose of creating the institution of marriage. He stressed that such acts as stated in both the Islamic and Christian religions were ungodly. Another member argued "it is against my faith to have same sex marriage. It is against our penal code to even engage in activities between man and man, as well as woman and woman. It is time for us at to think back and look at the scourge of HIV/AIDS. The greatest means of transmitting this disease is through the act of sodomy".
http://www.pinktriangle.org.uk/


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Truth Wins Out - TWO
by Wayne Besen
http://www.truthwinsout.org/

-TWO Urges Team Obama To Explain Why Bishop Gene Robinson Was Bumped From
HBO's Inauguration Broadcast
Warren Gets Prime Time, Robinson Gets No Time, Says TWO Truth Wins Out today urged the Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) to explain why openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson was excluded from a Home Box Office airing of inauguration festivities. He gave his sermon on Sunday, but HBO did not air it, leaving America wondering why he was bumped from the broadcast. Additionally, Robinson's microphone wasn't turned on until his prayer was nearly over, so the crowd was also unable to hear him.
http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/why-ws-bishop-gene-robinsonbumped-from-hbo%E2%80%99s-inauguration-broadcast/

-Dr. Phil's Poison Pill
In 38 years, I've only once dressed in drag. It was my senior year of high school and my friend Alex's father was out of town. While gone, he placed Alex in charge of his clothing shop, which was in a small hotel mini-mall. I swung by one evening to keep him company. Business was slow and we were looking for creative ways to pass the time. [...] I'm confused as to why people are still "confused" about transgender Americans. For years, they have said that the birth sex on the outside does not match the opposite sex they believe is on the inside. Modern science confirms that sexuality has as much to do with what is inside our heads as what is between our legs. This concept is not rocket science, nor is it difficult to understand. There is nothing homogeneous about our species, and this includes sexuality and gender. Unfortunately, talk show hosts are still using this issue for cheap laughs or to boost ratings. The latest example is the annoying and supremely talentless Dr. Phil. The talking (very large) head had an opportunity to educate the public by presenting the latest science.
http://www.waynebesen.com/2009/01/dr-phils-poison-pill.html


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