**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:
-Iowa Court Voids Gay Marriage Ban
By MONICA DAVEY
Same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in Iowa by month's end, after a ruling on Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court that found unconstitutional a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/us/04iowa.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:
-Minister's Path of Miracles
The REV. SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ helped oversee a shift of Latino voters, disillusioned with the Republican Party over failed immigration reform, toward the Democratic Party in the November election. But the Assemblies of God minister is watching President Obama warily. He opposes abortion and backed last year's California referendum that banned same-sex marriage, which puts him at odds with the new president. At the same time, Rodriguez has joined with more liberal religious leaders to embrace social justice goals and global warming initiatives, as well as to seek common ground on abortion by focusing on reducing the number of procedures.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040302614.html
-To Live With 'The Love of My Life'
Thanks for the March 16 editorial "Separation Anxiety." When many people hear the word immigration, all they think about is illegal immigrants. I am a gay man in a five-year relationship with a foreign-born partner who is in this country legally. His visa expires next year, and we will have to go live in exile to remain together. All I want as a U.S. citizen is the same right that a heterosexual citizen has -- to sponsor the love of my life so we can live here together. This issue is really about the rights of U.S. citizens, not about immigration. For me and my partner, the clock is ticking.
DON GEORGE
Atlanta
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303587.html
-Iowa Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
Ban Violated Constitutional Rights, State Supreme Court Rules
By Keith B. Richburg
Iowa became the third state in the country and the first from the rural heartland to legalize same-sex marriage when its Supreme Court yesterday unanimously struck down the state's decade-long ban.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040300376.html
-Gays killed in Baghdad as clerics urge clampdown
By Wisam Mohammed and Khalid al-Ansary
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two gay men were killed in Baghdad's Sadr City slum, a local official said on Saturday, and police said they had found the bodies of four more after clerics urged a crackdown on a perceived spread of homosexuality.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/04/AR2009040400737.html
-Gay marriages expected to begin in Iowa April 24
By AMY LORENTZEN
Gay marriage, seemingly the province of the nation's two coasts, is just weeks away from becoming a reality in the heartland and apparently it will be years before social conservatives have a chance to stop it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/04/AR2009040400304.html
-Political Pullback for the Christian Right?
By Kathleen Parker
Is the Christian right finished as a political entity? Or, more to the point, are principled Christians finished with politics? These questions have been getting fresh air lately as frustrated conservative Christians question the pragmatism -- defined as the compromising of principles -- of the old guard. One might gently call the current debate a generational rift.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303026.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-On the anniversary of his death,Life magazine releases new photos of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Associated Press
Newly published photographs of the aftermath of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. languished for decades in Life magazine's archive before being published on the magazine's Web site this week. About a dozen black-and-white pictures that went online Thursday include scenes of King's associates meeting solemnly in the civil rights leader's motel room and standing on the balcony where he stood for the last time, and workers cleaning the last of the blood. Saturday marks the 41st anniversary of the assassination.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-martin-luther-king-anniversary-040409,0,223245.story
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Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Patti LaBelle to be grand marshal of Miami Beach Gay Pride parade
Big news from Miami Beach Gay Pride: Legendary singer Patti LaBelle agreed Friday to be grand marshal at the Ocean Drive parade on April 18. "Patti LaBelle will be grand marshal with [fashion designer] Richie Rich,'' said pride chairman Babak Movahedi, owner of Halo Lounge. "But she is the grand marshal." Babak Movahedi, pictured outside the lounge on Friday night, said that with a big star like LaBelle as grand marshal, people are sure to come to gay pride. "And hopefully, we will be bigger and better every year."
-Gallery | Artist Alexander Guerra's Plastique dolls at Score
Filthy Gorgeous Fridays at Score this week featured the Plastique dolls of Miami Beach artist Alexander Guerra and Papi Underwear. Here are pictures I took of Alex and his dolls.
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Iraqi police: 2 gay men killed in Baghdad slum
By SAMEER N. YACOUB
BAGHDAD -- The bodies of two gay men have been found in Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City after a leading cleric repeatedly condemned homosexuality, an Iraqi police official said Saturday. The killings come after Shiite cleric Sattar al-Battat repeatedly condemned homosexuality during recent Friday prayers, saying Islam prohibits homosexuality. Homosexual acts are punishable by up to seven years in prison in Iraq. The two men were believed killed Thursday by relatives who were shamed by their behavior, said the official.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/984178.html
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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Federal hate crimes bill introduced in House
Measure lets feds prosecute bias-motivated violence
By CHRIS JOHNSON
Legislation that would allow the federal government to prosecute bias-motivated violence against LGBT people was introduced Thursday in the U.S. House. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the legislation, H.R. 1913. As of Friday, the bill had 42 co-sponsors.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=24830
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-White House Responds To Iowa
By Kerry Eleveld
UPDATE: A White House spokesperson sent the following corrected statement in response to the Iowa court decision:
"The President respects the decision of the Iowa Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage. Although President Obama supports civil unions rather than same-sex marriage, he believes that committed gay and lesbian couples should receive equal rights under the law."
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid77464.asp
-Oprah, Lesbianism, and a Colonoscopy
Gays steaming it up at a Jersey sports bar, Oprah trendsetting with an episode on sudden lesbianism, and a bit too much info from Tyra Banks re: her colonoscopy
By Dave White
The gays are bringing the heartwarmth to the airwaves lately. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's sweeps.
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid77441.asp
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Man denies torching ex-lover
By 365gay Newscenter Staff
(London) A man accused of murdering his former lover by pouring gasoline over his head and then setting him on fire has told a jury he is innocent.
http://www.365gay.com/news/man-denies-torching-ex-lover/
-Lesbian mom wins deportation delay
By 365gay Newscenter Staff
Shirley Tan has won a temporary delay so that she can appeal the deportation order that would have torn her from her life partner and their 12-year-old twin sons.
http://www.365gay.com/news/lesbian-mom-wins-deportation-delay/
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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gay man killed and partner shot in Bradford
Police are seeking to trace a man after a gay couple were attacked at their home. Forty-four-year-old Neville Corby was shot dead in the "execution-style" attack, while his partner is recovering in hospital.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11886.html
-Uganda accuses UN of spreading homosexuality
Ugandan ethics minister James Nsaba Buturo has accused United Nations member countries of being involved in a covert mission to 'impose' homosexuality' on other nations. Speaking at a press conference today, he also said that Uganda will not bow to international pressure to adopt gay rights.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11890.html
-Gay adoption critic named as new Archbishop of Westminster
The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, a staunch opponent of gay adoption, has been named as the new leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Archbishop Nichols, 63, will take over from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor next month.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11858.html
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Saturday, April 04, 2009
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - April 04, 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:
-Pitchforks and Pistols
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Lately I've been consuming as much conservative media as possible (interspersed with shots of Pepto-Bismol) to get a better sense of the mind and mood of the right. My read: They're apocalyptic. They feel isolated, angry, betrayed and besieged. And some of their "leaders" seem to be trying to mold them into militias.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04blow.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
-Mr. Obama and Turkey
President Obama has wisely decided to visit Turkey during his first official trip to Europe. The United States needs Turkey's cooperation - in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as with Iran and efforts to broker Middle East peace. But there are also very worrying trends in Turkey's relationship with Europe and its internal politics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04sat1.html?ref=opinion
-Barack's Continental Coolness
By GAIL COLLINS
If nothing else, the president's trip overseas helped resolve the longstanding question of who can be more irritating, the Republicans or the French. Before we pursue that thought any further, let's agree that the Obamas wowed them in Europe. We were expecting a good reception, given the fact that the previous administration set the bar so low that Barack was able to get hysterical applause just by telling a crowd of students that Americans don't believe in torturing people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04collins.html?ref=opinion
-Getting Fuel Economy Right
The Obama administration has before it a rare opportunity to establish an aggressive - and unified - national standard for automobile fuel economy that could save consumers money at the pump, reduce oil dependency and greenhouse gases and help make America's car companies (or what's left of them after the present restructuring) more competitive.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04sat2.html?ref=opinion
-A Blow to Workers' Rights
When Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, it gave older Americans a broad right to sue for discrimination. But the Supreme Court has narrowed that right with a 5-to-4 ruling that union members cannot file lawsuits when their contracts call for arbitration of age-discrimination claims. The decision, which reversed the court's precedents, sets back antidiscrimination law significantly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04sat3.html?ref=opinion
-Can Obama Be a Majority of One?
By Robert Dallek
Perhaps the biggest surprise the Obama administration has faced in its first 100 days has not been the dismal state of the economy or the difficulties abroad with Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, but rather the grudging cooperation of the Democratic Congress.
http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/can-obama-be-a-majority-of-one/?ref=opinion
-Financial Industry Paid Millions to Obama Aide
By JEFF ZELENY
Lawrence H. Summers, the top economic adviser to President Obama, earned more than $5 million last year from the hedge fund D. E. Shaw and collected $2.7 million in speaking fees from Wall Street companies that received government bailout money, the White House disclosed Friday in releasing financial information about top officials.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/us/politics/04disclose.html?hp
-13 Shot Dead During a Class on Citizenship
By ROBERT D. McFADDEN
A gunman invaded an immigration services center in downtown Binghamton, N.Y., during citizenship classes on Friday and shot 13 people to death and critically wounded 4 others before killing himself in a paroxysm of violence that turned a quiet civic setting into scenes of carnage and chaos.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/nyregion/04hostage.html?hp
-Rejecting Aid, One Governor Irks His Own
By SHAILA DEWAN
For a millionaire, Gov. Mark Sanford has a reputation for frugality that borders on the extreme. Former employees say he has been known to require his staff to use both sides of a Post-it note. When Mr. Sanford was a congressman, he slept on a futon in his office and returned his housing allowance. And when, after he moved into the Governor's Mansion here, tax collectors declared his family's home on Sullivan's Island a secondary residence subject to a higher tax rate, he appealed and won.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/us/politics/04sanford.html?hp
-Times Co. Said to Consider Closing Boston Globe
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
The New York Times Company has threatened to close The Boston Globe unless labor unions agree to concessions like pay cuts and the cessation of pension contributions, according to a person briefed on the talks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/business/media/04globe.html?hp
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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Taking The Fight to The Cartels
By Josh Kussman and Brian C. Goebel
The Mexican government is in a fight to the death with powerful drug cartels, and the Obama administration's main focus appears to be preventing the violence from crossing our border. Yet allowing the cartels to win would be disastrous for the Mexican people and dangerous for the United States. U.S. strategy should be not just to bolster our borders but to help Mexico establish the rule of law and score a decisive victory against the cartels that both menace that country and threaten our own security and prosperity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303168.html
-Obama, Going Along to Get Along
By Jackson Diehl
Barack Obama has proved in the past few days that he can work smoothly and productively with a wide range of foreign leaders -- provided that he allows them to set the agenda.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301945.html
-Government vs. the Axles of Evil
By George F. Will
The Constitution enumerates three requirements for those who would be president (they must be natural-born citizens, at least 35 and a resident within the country for 14 years) and now the government's thrashing about in the economy imposes a fourth: Presidents must be able to speak pluperfect nonsense with a straight face, lest the country understand what the government is doing. Obfuscation serves political salvation when what the government is doing includes promising that if Chrysler will sell itself to Fiat, U.S. taxpayers will lend that Italian firm $6 billion.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303025.html
-New Words for War
President Obama tries out his own description of the 'global war on terrorism.'
SECRETARY OF STATE Hillary Rodham Clinton recently confirmed that the Obama administration has dropped the phrase "global war on terror." She didn't say why. "I think that speaks for itself. Obviously," was her elaboration. That raised a few obvious questions: Does the new administration believe the fight against al-Qaeda and other extreme Islamist groups doesn't amount to war? Is the threat to the U.S. homeland less, in President Obama's estimation, than that perceived by President George W. Bush? And does the United States still expect its NATO military allies to join in this newly unnamed, speaks-for-itself endeavor?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303589.html
-Last Holdout Governor Will Now Accept Stimulus Money
By Philip Rucker
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford backed down yesterday from his standoff with the White House over stimulus funding, becoming the last governor in the nation to officially announce that his state will accept economic recovery aid.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301776.html?hpid=topnews
-Tax-Haven Blacklist Stirs Nations
After G-20 Issues Mandate, Many Rush to Get Off Roll
By Anthony Faiola and Mary Jordan
LONDON April 3 -- One day after world leaders threatened tax havens with sanctions, a host of countries on a freshly published "list of shame" scrambled to get off it even as questions surfaced over China's maneuvers to exclude Hong Kong and Macau.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303394.html?hpid=topnews
-Gates Planning Major Changes In Programs, Defense Budget
Proposal Said to Move Focus To Counterinsurgency Efforts
By R. Jeffrey Smith and Ellen Nakashima
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to announce on Monday the restructuring of several dozen major defense programs as part of the Obama administration's bid to shift military spending from preparations for large-scale war against traditional rivals to the counterinsurgency programs that Gates and others consider likely to dominate U.S. conflicts in coming decades.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040304080.html?hpid=topnews
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Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
-World Waits on North Korea Missile Launch
By PETER SPEIGEL in Washington and EVAN RAMSTAD in Seoul
The first day of a five-day period set by North Korea to launch a rocket or missile passed Saturday with no action beyond a media statement from Pyongyang and a mistaken report from Japan that the rocket had been fired.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123880851776288993.html
-NATO Boosts Afghanistan Presence
More Trainers, Police, but No Additional Combat Troops
Associated Press
STRASBOURG, France -- European leaders pledged at NATO's 60th-anniversary summit Saturday to send thousands of soldiers and police to train Afghanistan's army and secure its coming elections, but they shied far from matching America's pledge to dispatch a large number of new combat forces.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123884203031989721.html
-Suspected U.S. Missile Attack Kills 13 in Pakistan
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD - A suspected U.S. drone fired at least one missile at a home in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing 13 people, intelligence officials and a resident said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123881661689289391.html
-For Governor, Aid Arrives Not a Moment Too Soon
By KATE LINEBAUGH
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has been trying to get the attention of Washington for years. She has it now, with the White House orchestrating a wide-ranging restructuring of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. Michigan is the state most deeply affected by the auto industry's overhaul, which is likely to involve plant closings, job cuts, lower wages and lost benefits. Even after waves of downsizing, Michigan has by far the highest number of auto jobs in the country, seven times more than No. 2 Ohio.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123880757279189005.html
-Arrest of U.S. Reporters Adds to the Tension
North Korea Has Detailed Little About the Situation and Has Issued Only Two Brief Statements About the Women
By EVAN RAMSTAD in Seoul and GEOFFREY A. FOWLER in San Francisco The vagueness surrounding North Korea's recent arrests of two U.S. journalists on its border with China is a hallmark of Pyongyang's relationship with the world and a powerful tool for dictator Kim Jong Il's authoritarian regime.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123881436135889291.html
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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Reconciliation is a fighting word in Congress
By Wes Allison
Only in the partisan food fight that is Congress these days could the term reconciliation mean "I win, and you lose." As the House and Senate debated their $3.5 trillion budget outlines this week, the rhetoric over taxes, spending and congressional priorities was often overshadowed in the Capitol by talk of a little-known but powerful parliamentary tool that has absolutely nothing to do with getting along.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/article989601.ece
-Don't dog Blue Dog Democrats
BY FROMA HARROP
There's trouble around the Democratic campfire. The party has the White House and solid congressional majorities. But what it doesn't have is everyone on the same page, strumming the same chords, singing the same tune.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/983710.html
-Reimagining Socialism: A Nation Forum
By Dave Zirin
Socialism's all the rage. "We Are All Socialists Now," Newsweek declares. As the right wing tells it, we're already living in the USSA. But what do self-identified socialists (and their progressive friends) have to say about the global economic crisis? In the March 23 issue, we published Barbara Ehrenreich and Bill Fletcher Jr.'s "Rising to the Occasion" as the opening essay in a forum on "Reimagining Socialism." TheNation.com will feature new replies to their essay over the coming weeks, fostering what we hope will be a spirited dialogue. I'll never forget interviewing Lester "Red" Rodney, the 96-year-old former sports editor of the Communist Party's newspaper, the Daily Worker. Speaking about the Great Depression, Rodney said, "People who weren't around during the 1930s can't fully grasp what it was like politically. If you weren't some kind of radical or socialist...you were considered brain-dead, and you probably were!"
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090413/zirin?rel=hp_currently
-Why Are Democrats Undermining Obama's Diplomatic Plans for Iran?
The Congress members calling for the U.S. to set a time table for Iran to suspend its uranium-enrichment program are missing the point.
Matthew Yglesias
Throughout a record-length presidential campaign, Barack Obama -- first in the primaries, and then in the general election -- stood firmly behind his view that the United States of America needs to make a serious effort at good-faith negotiations with Iran in order to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear activities and help stabilize the region. Now with the attempt to put that agenda in practice just barely beginning, efforts are already underway to quietly kill it. Consider a letter sent this weekend by a powerful group of House Democrats -- Steny Hoyer, Howard Berman, Ike Skelton, Silvestre Reyes, Henry Waxman, Gary Ackerman, and Robert Wexler. Any engagement, they argue, should come only with the agreement that Iran "must verifiably suspend its uranium enrichment program within at most a few months of the initiation of the discussions."
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=why_democrats_undermining_obamas
-The Big Takeover
The global economic crisis isn't about money - it's about power. How Wall
Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution
MATT TAIBBI
It's over - we're officially, royally fucked. No empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock, which is what happened as of a few weeks ago, when the buffoons who have been running things in this country finally went one step too far. It happened when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was forced to admit that he was once again going to have to stuff billions of taxpayer dollars into a dying insurance giant called AIG, itself a profound symbol of our national decline - a corporation that got rich insuring the concrete and steel of American industry in the country's heyday, only to destroy itself chasing phantom fortunes at the Wall Street card tables, like a dissolute nobleman gambling away the family estate in the waning days of the British Empire.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover
-Obama's humble America
By Sam Youngman
President Obama used his first full day in the arena of heavyweight international diplomacy to reveal an ambitious agenda and a new American humility. Even as the events in London were marred by violent riots and protocol hiccups, Obama enjoyed a day of meetings with traditional rivals and longtime enemies, the productivity of which surprised even some White House officials.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-humble-america-2009-04-01.html
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Pitchforks and Pistols
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Lately I've been consuming as much conservative media as possible (interspersed with shots of Pepto-Bismol) to get a better sense of the mind and mood of the right. My read: They're apocalyptic. They feel isolated, angry, betrayed and besieged. And some of their "leaders" seem to be trying to mold them into militias.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04blow.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
-Mr. Obama and Turkey
President Obama has wisely decided to visit Turkey during his first official trip to Europe. The United States needs Turkey's cooperation - in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as with Iran and efforts to broker Middle East peace. But there are also very worrying trends in Turkey's relationship with Europe and its internal politics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04sat1.html?ref=opinion
-Barack's Continental Coolness
By GAIL COLLINS
If nothing else, the president's trip overseas helped resolve the longstanding question of who can be more irritating, the Republicans or the French. Before we pursue that thought any further, let's agree that the Obamas wowed them in Europe. We were expecting a good reception, given the fact that the previous administration set the bar so low that Barack was able to get hysterical applause just by telling a crowd of students that Americans don't believe in torturing people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04collins.html?ref=opinion
-Getting Fuel Economy Right
The Obama administration has before it a rare opportunity to establish an aggressive - and unified - national standard for automobile fuel economy that could save consumers money at the pump, reduce oil dependency and greenhouse gases and help make America's car companies (or what's left of them after the present restructuring) more competitive.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04sat2.html?ref=opinion
-A Blow to Workers' Rights
When Congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, it gave older Americans a broad right to sue for discrimination. But the Supreme Court has narrowed that right with a 5-to-4 ruling that union members cannot file lawsuits when their contracts call for arbitration of age-discrimination claims. The decision, which reversed the court's precedents, sets back antidiscrimination law significantly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/opinion/04sat3.html?ref=opinion
-Can Obama Be a Majority of One?
By Robert Dallek
Perhaps the biggest surprise the Obama administration has faced in its first 100 days has not been the dismal state of the economy or the difficulties abroad with Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, but rather the grudging cooperation of the Democratic Congress.
http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/can-obama-be-a-majority-of-one/?ref=opinion
-Financial Industry Paid Millions to Obama Aide
By JEFF ZELENY
Lawrence H. Summers, the top economic adviser to President Obama, earned more than $5 million last year from the hedge fund D. E. Shaw and collected $2.7 million in speaking fees from Wall Street companies that received government bailout money, the White House disclosed Friday in releasing financial information about top officials.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/us/politics/04disclose.html?hp
-13 Shot Dead During a Class on Citizenship
By ROBERT D. McFADDEN
A gunman invaded an immigration services center in downtown Binghamton, N.Y., during citizenship classes on Friday and shot 13 people to death and critically wounded 4 others before killing himself in a paroxysm of violence that turned a quiet civic setting into scenes of carnage and chaos.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/nyregion/04hostage.html?hp
-Rejecting Aid, One Governor Irks His Own
By SHAILA DEWAN
For a millionaire, Gov. Mark Sanford has a reputation for frugality that borders on the extreme. Former employees say he has been known to require his staff to use both sides of a Post-it note. When Mr. Sanford was a congressman, he slept on a futon in his office and returned his housing allowance. And when, after he moved into the Governor's Mansion here, tax collectors declared his family's home on Sullivan's Island a secondary residence subject to a higher tax rate, he appealed and won.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/us/politics/04sanford.html?hp
-Times Co. Said to Consider Closing Boston Globe
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
The New York Times Company has threatened to close The Boston Globe unless labor unions agree to concessions like pay cuts and the cessation of pension contributions, according to a person briefed on the talks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/business/media/04globe.html?hp
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Taking The Fight to The Cartels
By Josh Kussman and Brian C. Goebel
The Mexican government is in a fight to the death with powerful drug cartels, and the Obama administration's main focus appears to be preventing the violence from crossing our border. Yet allowing the cartels to win would be disastrous for the Mexican people and dangerous for the United States. U.S. strategy should be not just to bolster our borders but to help Mexico establish the rule of law and score a decisive victory against the cartels that both menace that country and threaten our own security and prosperity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303168.html
-Obama, Going Along to Get Along
By Jackson Diehl
Barack Obama has proved in the past few days that he can work smoothly and productively with a wide range of foreign leaders -- provided that he allows them to set the agenda.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301945.html
-Government vs. the Axles of Evil
By George F. Will
The Constitution enumerates three requirements for those who would be president (they must be natural-born citizens, at least 35 and a resident within the country for 14 years) and now the government's thrashing about in the economy imposes a fourth: Presidents must be able to speak pluperfect nonsense with a straight face, lest the country understand what the government is doing. Obfuscation serves political salvation when what the government is doing includes promising that if Chrysler will sell itself to Fiat, U.S. taxpayers will lend that Italian firm $6 billion.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303025.html
-New Words for War
President Obama tries out his own description of the 'global war on terrorism.'
SECRETARY OF STATE Hillary Rodham Clinton recently confirmed that the Obama administration has dropped the phrase "global war on terror." She didn't say why. "I think that speaks for itself. Obviously," was her elaboration. That raised a few obvious questions: Does the new administration believe the fight against al-Qaeda and other extreme Islamist groups doesn't amount to war? Is the threat to the U.S. homeland less, in President Obama's estimation, than that perceived by President George W. Bush? And does the United States still expect its NATO military allies to join in this newly unnamed, speaks-for-itself endeavor?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303589.html
-Last Holdout Governor Will Now Accept Stimulus Money
By Philip Rucker
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford backed down yesterday from his standoff with the White House over stimulus funding, becoming the last governor in the nation to officially announce that his state will accept economic recovery aid.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301776.html?hpid=topnews
-Tax-Haven Blacklist Stirs Nations
After G-20 Issues Mandate, Many Rush to Get Off Roll
By Anthony Faiola and Mary Jordan
LONDON April 3 -- One day after world leaders threatened tax havens with sanctions, a host of countries on a freshly published "list of shame" scrambled to get off it even as questions surfaced over China's maneuvers to exclude Hong Kong and Macau.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040303394.html?hpid=topnews
-Gates Planning Major Changes In Programs, Defense Budget
Proposal Said to Move Focus To Counterinsurgency Efforts
By R. Jeffrey Smith and Ellen Nakashima
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to announce on Monday the restructuring of several dozen major defense programs as part of the Obama administration's bid to shift military spending from preparations for large-scale war against traditional rivals to the counterinsurgency programs that Gates and others consider likely to dominate U.S. conflicts in coming decades.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040304080.html?hpid=topnews
=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
-World Waits on North Korea Missile Launch
By PETER SPEIGEL in Washington and EVAN RAMSTAD in Seoul
The first day of a five-day period set by North Korea to launch a rocket or missile passed Saturday with no action beyond a media statement from Pyongyang and a mistaken report from Japan that the rocket had been fired.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123880851776288993.html
-NATO Boosts Afghanistan Presence
More Trainers, Police, but No Additional Combat Troops
Associated Press
STRASBOURG, France -- European leaders pledged at NATO's 60th-anniversary summit Saturday to send thousands of soldiers and police to train Afghanistan's army and secure its coming elections, but they shied far from matching America's pledge to dispatch a large number of new combat forces.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123884203031989721.html
-Suspected U.S. Missile Attack Kills 13 in Pakistan
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD - A suspected U.S. drone fired at least one missile at a home in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing 13 people, intelligence officials and a resident said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123881661689289391.html
-For Governor, Aid Arrives Not a Moment Too Soon
By KATE LINEBAUGH
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has been trying to get the attention of Washington for years. She has it now, with the White House orchestrating a wide-ranging restructuring of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. Michigan is the state most deeply affected by the auto industry's overhaul, which is likely to involve plant closings, job cuts, lower wages and lost benefits. Even after waves of downsizing, Michigan has by far the highest number of auto jobs in the country, seven times more than No. 2 Ohio.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123880757279189005.html
-Arrest of U.S. Reporters Adds to the Tension
North Korea Has Detailed Little About the Situation and Has Issued Only Two Brief Statements About the Women
By EVAN RAMSTAD in Seoul and GEOFFREY A. FOWLER in San Francisco The vagueness surrounding North Korea's recent arrests of two U.S. journalists on its border with China is a hallmark of Pyongyang's relationship with the world and a powerful tool for dictator Kim Jong Il's authoritarian regime.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123881436135889291.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Reconciliation is a fighting word in Congress
By Wes Allison
Only in the partisan food fight that is Congress these days could the term reconciliation mean "I win, and you lose." As the House and Senate debated their $3.5 trillion budget outlines this week, the rhetoric over taxes, spending and congressional priorities was often overshadowed in the Capitol by talk of a little-known but powerful parliamentary tool that has absolutely nothing to do with getting along.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/article989601.ece
-Don't dog Blue Dog Democrats
BY FROMA HARROP
There's trouble around the Democratic campfire. The party has the White House and solid congressional majorities. But what it doesn't have is everyone on the same page, strumming the same chords, singing the same tune.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/983710.html
-Reimagining Socialism: A Nation Forum
By Dave Zirin
Socialism's all the rage. "We Are All Socialists Now," Newsweek declares. As the right wing tells it, we're already living in the USSA. But what do self-identified socialists (and their progressive friends) have to say about the global economic crisis? In the March 23 issue, we published Barbara Ehrenreich and Bill Fletcher Jr.'s "Rising to the Occasion" as the opening essay in a forum on "Reimagining Socialism." TheNation.com will feature new replies to their essay over the coming weeks, fostering what we hope will be a spirited dialogue. I'll never forget interviewing Lester "Red" Rodney, the 96-year-old former sports editor of the Communist Party's newspaper, the Daily Worker. Speaking about the Great Depression, Rodney said, "People who weren't around during the 1930s can't fully grasp what it was like politically. If you weren't some kind of radical or socialist...you were considered brain-dead, and you probably were!"
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090413/zirin?rel=hp_currently
-Why Are Democrats Undermining Obama's Diplomatic Plans for Iran?
The Congress members calling for the U.S. to set a time table for Iran to suspend its uranium-enrichment program are missing the point.
Matthew Yglesias
Throughout a record-length presidential campaign, Barack Obama -- first in the primaries, and then in the general election -- stood firmly behind his view that the United States of America needs to make a serious effort at good-faith negotiations with Iran in order to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear activities and help stabilize the region. Now with the attempt to put that agenda in practice just barely beginning, efforts are already underway to quietly kill it. Consider a letter sent this weekend by a powerful group of House Democrats -- Steny Hoyer, Howard Berman, Ike Skelton, Silvestre Reyes, Henry Waxman, Gary Ackerman, and Robert Wexler. Any engagement, they argue, should come only with the agreement that Iran "must verifiably suspend its uranium enrichment program within at most a few months of the initiation of the discussions."
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=why_democrats_undermining_obamas
-The Big Takeover
The global economic crisis isn't about money - it's about power. How Wall
Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution
MATT TAIBBI
It's over - we're officially, royally fucked. No empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock, which is what happened as of a few weeks ago, when the buffoons who have been running things in this country finally went one step too far. It happened when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was forced to admit that he was once again going to have to stuff billions of taxpayer dollars into a dying insurance giant called AIG, itself a profound symbol of our national decline - a corporation that got rich insuring the concrete and steel of American industry in the country's heyday, only to destroy itself chasing phantom fortunes at the Wall Street card tables, like a dissolute nobleman gambling away the family estate in the waning days of the British Empire.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover
-Obama's humble America
By Sam Youngman
President Obama used his first full day in the arena of heavyweight international diplomacy to reveal an ambitious agenda and a new American humility. Even as the events in London were marred by violent riots and protocol hiccups, Obama enjoyed a day of meetings with traditional rivals and longtime enemies, the productivity of which surprised even some White House officials.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-humble-america-2009-04-01.html
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - April 04, 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~~
-Big Dog Saloon bought, to turn gay once more
Parking remains biggest obstacle for location
The latest word on the street is that the Big Dog Saloon on Wilton Drive has been sold to two guys from New Jersey who plan to open a, yes, gay bar. Of course they face the same possible curse of the other businesses on "The Drive", parking. There is a small parking lot behind the building that is shares with Simply Delish, but the popular eatery is open for breakfast and lunch only-meaning more parking for the new bar in the evening hours. Big Dog was once the location of The Otherside-Fort Lauderdale, which was the sister establishment to the famed lesbian bar, The Otherside in Atlanta. After that closed, it became Big Dog, a straight bar owned by two lesbians.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/news/localnews/5687.cfm
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Patti LaBelle to be grand marshal of Miami Beach Gay Pride parade
Big news from Miami Beach Gay Pride: Legendary singer Patti LaBelle agreed Friday to be grand marshal at the Ocean Drive parade on April 18. "Patti LaBelle will be grand marshal with [fashion designer] Richie Rich,'' said pride chairman Babak Movahedi, owner of Halo Lounge. "But she is the grand marshal." Babak Movahedi, pictured outside the lounge on Friday night, said that with a big star like LaBelle as grand marshal, people are sure to come to gay pride. "And hopefully, we will be bigger and better every year."
-Gallery | Artist Alexander Guerra's Plastique dolls at Score
Filthy Gorgeous Fridays at Score this week featured the Plastique dolls of Miami Beach artist Alexander Guerra and Papi Underwear. Here are pictures I took of Alex and his dolls.
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Drama unfolds at Wilton 26th Street Theatre
Show cancelled, unpaid actors claim they were 'suckers'
By J.W. ARNOLD
Sometimes the best drama at a theatre is found backstage. This was certainly the case last weekend at the new, but not-yet-opening Wilton 26th Street Theatre in Wilton Manors, as producers cancelled their premier musical production, leaving New York-based cast members stranded without paychecks or plane tickets home.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/news/localnews/5684.cfm
-Rock Hard donates to Tuesday's Angels
10% of sales from grand opening go to HIV/AIDS charity
By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Last Friday was the grand opening for Rock Hard, the "adult toy store" on Wilton Drive. But it was more than just a grand opening; it also doubled as a fundraiser for Tuesday's Angels, with 10% of all sales that evening donated to the Angels who provide emergency housing and utility payments to those living with HIV/AIDS. According to Erik Galiana, promotions director for Rock Hard, almost 400 people attended; the event raised $375 for the non-profit organization. "We want to thank all those people who showed up and helped raise money for Tuesday's Angels. It was a great event and were very pleased with the turnout," said Galiana.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/news/localnews/5686.cfm
-Pompano Bill: out and about once again
Photographer still wary of re-injury despite public appearances
By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
William Calceterra, a.k.a. Pompano Bill, has been out of the hospital for several weeks and has made a string of public appearances, throughout the community. The popular local events photographer was hospitalized last month for hip replacement surgery. He is still avoiding crowded places: "One fall and I could end up back in the hospital."
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/news/localnews/5691.cfm
-Vacation nightmare at Jackson Memorial
Lesbian kept from dying wife
By JANICE LANGBEHN
The following is an excerpt of Janice Langbehn's speech from a Lambda Legal fundraising event in Fort Lauderdale. On February 18, 2007, Lisa Pond-my partner of nearly 18 years-and three of our four adopted children were in Miami, on board the R Family Cruise, preparing to set sail. Before leaving port, Lisa suddenly collapsed while watching the children play basketball. The kids carried her back and banged on the stateroom door, saying "Mommy was hurt!"
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/view/editorial/5694.cfm
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Cold weather heading to South Florida for next week
It's hot, but mid-week may see low 50s before warmth returns
By Ken Kaye
Ready for a hot-and-cold roller coaster ride? Although it wasn't the record-breaking heat forecasters had expected, South Florida still saw abnormally steamy temperatures in the upper 80s Friday. By the middle of next week, the mercury may plunge into the low 50s - a drop of about 35 degrees, tantamount to a shift from summer to winter in a matter of days. It's the result of an unusually potent cold front expected to arrive Monday night.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-hot-and-cool-weather-b040409sbapr04,0,2972011.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Florida facing a busy political year in 2010
By BETH REINHARD
T ry wrapping your mind around this: There could be five statewide offices up for grabs in the nation's largest swing state in 2010. U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez is retiring. If Gov. Charlie Crist seeks his Senate seat -- which seems likelier by the day -- then Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum are expected to run for governor. Which leaves two open Cabinet spots -- make that three, since term limits are pushing out Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson.
http://www.miamiherald.com/423/story/983833.html
-Florida legislative measures would allow insurance rates to rise
Insurance bills will likely mean higher rates for policyholders, but possibly lower hurricane risk for the state.
BY BEATRICE E. GARCIA
Lawmakers have begun work on two major property insurance bills that aim to fix current problems in Florida's insurance market. One certain result: higher rates for homeowners, especially those covered by Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run insurer.
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/983575.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-FL about to lose $ millions for kids
By Gary Fineout
Florida could miss out on millions in federal aid that would benefit children unless it makes changes to the KidCare program. The Florida Health Policy Center has concluded in a new report that the state could draw down additional federal money under the reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, passed by Congress and signed into law in February by President Barack Obama.
http://www.floridahealthnews.org/index.cfm/go/public.articleView/article/11502
-Fees or taxes? In Florida's Legislature, it depends on the party
By Steve Bousquet
Democrats in the Legislature have argued for years that the state does not collect enough tax revenue to provide adequate services to people in Florida. So, for years, Democrats have pushed various new taxes, such as applying the sales tax to Internet sales, reviving the intangibles tax on savings, eliminating the ability of businesses to shelter their Florida profits elsewhere, and closing sales tax exemptions.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/article989490.ece
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
-Big Dog Saloon bought, to turn gay once more
Parking remains biggest obstacle for location
The latest word on the street is that the Big Dog Saloon on Wilton Drive has been sold to two guys from New Jersey who plan to open a, yes, gay bar. Of course they face the same possible curse of the other businesses on "The Drive", parking. There is a small parking lot behind the building that is shares with Simply Delish, but the popular eatery is open for breakfast and lunch only-meaning more parking for the new bar in the evening hours. Big Dog was once the location of The Otherside-Fort Lauderdale, which was the sister establishment to the famed lesbian bar, The Otherside in Atlanta. After that closed, it became Big Dog, a straight bar owned by two lesbians.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/news/localnews/5687.cfm
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Patti LaBelle to be grand marshal of Miami Beach Gay Pride parade
Big news from Miami Beach Gay Pride: Legendary singer Patti LaBelle agreed Friday to be grand marshal at the Ocean Drive parade on April 18. "Patti LaBelle will be grand marshal with [fashion designer] Richie Rich,'' said pride chairman Babak Movahedi, owner of Halo Lounge. "But she is the grand marshal." Babak Movahedi, pictured outside the lounge on Friday night, said that with a big star like LaBelle as grand marshal, people are sure to come to gay pride. "And hopefully, we will be bigger and better every year."
-Gallery | Artist Alexander Guerra's Plastique dolls at Score
Filthy Gorgeous Fridays at Score this week featured the Plastique dolls of Miami Beach artist Alexander Guerra and Papi Underwear. Here are pictures I took of Alex and his dolls.
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Drama unfolds at Wilton 26th Street Theatre
Show cancelled, unpaid actors claim they were 'suckers'
By J.W. ARNOLD
Sometimes the best drama at a theatre is found backstage. This was certainly the case last weekend at the new, but not-yet-opening Wilton 26th Street Theatre in Wilton Manors, as producers cancelled their premier musical production, leaving New York-based cast members stranded without paychecks or plane tickets home.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/news/localnews/5684.cfm
-Rock Hard donates to Tuesday's Angels
10% of sales from grand opening go to HIV/AIDS charity
By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Last Friday was the grand opening for Rock Hard, the "adult toy store" on Wilton Drive. But it was more than just a grand opening; it also doubled as a fundraiser for Tuesday's Angels, with 10% of all sales that evening donated to the Angels who provide emergency housing and utility payments to those living with HIV/AIDS. According to Erik Galiana, promotions director for Rock Hard, almost 400 people attended; the event raised $375 for the non-profit organization. "We want to thank all those people who showed up and helped raise money for Tuesday's Angels. It was a great event and were very pleased with the turnout," said Galiana.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/news/localnews/5686.cfm
-Pompano Bill: out and about once again
Photographer still wary of re-injury despite public appearances
By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
William Calceterra, a.k.a. Pompano Bill, has been out of the hospital for several weeks and has made a string of public appearances, throughout the community. The popular local events photographer was hospitalized last month for hip replacement surgery. He is still avoiding crowded places: "One fall and I could end up back in the hospital."
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/news/localnews/5691.cfm
-Vacation nightmare at Jackson Memorial
Lesbian kept from dying wife
By JANICE LANGBEHN
The following is an excerpt of Janice Langbehn's speech from a Lambda Legal fundraising event in Fort Lauderdale. On February 18, 2007, Lisa Pond-my partner of nearly 18 years-and three of our four adopted children were in Miami, on board the R Family Cruise, preparing to set sail. Before leaving port, Lisa suddenly collapsed while watching the children play basketball. The kids carried her back and banged on the stateroom door, saying "Mommy was hurt!"
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-2/view/editorial/5694.cfm
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Cold weather heading to South Florida for next week
It's hot, but mid-week may see low 50s before warmth returns
By Ken Kaye
Ready for a hot-and-cold roller coaster ride? Although it wasn't the record-breaking heat forecasters had expected, South Florida still saw abnormally steamy temperatures in the upper 80s Friday. By the middle of next week, the mercury may plunge into the low 50s - a drop of about 35 degrees, tantamount to a shift from summer to winter in a matter of days. It's the result of an unusually potent cold front expected to arrive Monday night.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-hot-and-cool-weather-b040409sbapr04,0,2972011.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Florida facing a busy political year in 2010
By BETH REINHARD
T ry wrapping your mind around this: There could be five statewide offices up for grabs in the nation's largest swing state in 2010. U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez is retiring. If Gov. Charlie Crist seeks his Senate seat -- which seems likelier by the day -- then Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum are expected to run for governor. Which leaves two open Cabinet spots -- make that three, since term limits are pushing out Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson.
http://www.miamiherald.com/423/story/983833.html
-Florida legislative measures would allow insurance rates to rise
Insurance bills will likely mean higher rates for policyholders, but possibly lower hurricane risk for the state.
BY BEATRICE E. GARCIA
Lawmakers have begun work on two major property insurance bills that aim to fix current problems in Florida's insurance market. One certain result: higher rates for homeowners, especially those covered by Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run insurer.
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/983575.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-FL about to lose $ millions for kids
By Gary Fineout
Florida could miss out on millions in federal aid that would benefit children unless it makes changes to the KidCare program. The Florida Health Policy Center has concluded in a new report that the state could draw down additional federal money under the reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, passed by Congress and signed into law in February by President Barack Obama.
http://www.floridahealthnews.org/index.cfm/go/public.articleView/article/11502
-Fees or taxes? In Florida's Legislature, it depends on the party
By Steve Bousquet
Democrats in the Legislature have argued for years that the state does not collect enough tax revenue to provide adequate services to people in Florida. So, for years, Democrats have pushed various new taxes, such as applying the sales tax to Internet sales, reviving the intangibles tax on savings, eliminating the ability of businesses to shelter their Florida profits elsewhere, and closing sales tax exemptions.
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/article989490.ece
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Friday, April 03, 2009
GLBT DIGEST - April 03, 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.
=
Des Moines Register
Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman
The Iowa Supreme Court this morning upheld a Polk County judge's 2007 ruling that marriage should not be limited to one man and one woman. The ruling, viewed nationally and at home as a victory for the gay rights movement and a setback for social conservatives, means Iowa's 5,800 gay couples can legally marry in Iowa beginning April 24. There are no residency rules for marriage in Iowa, so the rule would apply to any couple who wanted to travel to Iowa. Shelly Wolfe and Melisa Keeton, who waited for word of the ruling outside the Polk County Recorder's Office, immediately called their pastor anyway to make plans.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090403/NEWS/90403010
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From Lambda Legal
Iowa Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry
What a thrilling day! The Iowa Supreme Court ruled this morning that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry in Iowa. This historic decision fulfills the Iowa Constitution's promises of liberty and equality. We are so proud of the courageous plaintiffs and their families who stood up for love, dignity and equal treatment under the law. The Iowa Supreme Court is the fourth state high court to rule that excluding same–sex couples from civil marriage is unconstitutional, after Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut. In their powerful unanimous decision, Justice Cady wrote: "We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification." Lambda Legal filed this case in 2005 on behalf of six same–sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Iowa, and on behalf of three of their children. Dawn and Jen BarbouRoske of Iowa City are one of our wonderful plaintiff couples. They have been together more than 18 years and have two children, McKinley and Breeanna. After Jen delivered McKinley eight weeks early, they realized that Dawn could be prevented from being with their daughter in the hospital because she was not legally related to either Jen or the baby. Because they were not married, they had to leave their daughter in the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital to seek the help of an attorney. This experience drives home just how important it is to be able to marry. In the coming days, we will provide more analysis about the decision, and will soon make available a fact sheet with basic information about getting married in Iowa. Check our website periodically for more information. We look forward to talking with you more about this case and its impact. Monday, April 6 at 3:00 pm EST (2:00 pm CST) we will host a members–only teleconference featuring the architect of the case, Lambda Legal Senior Staff Attorney Camilla Taylor, and her colleague on the case Senior Counsel Ken Upton. This victory has meaning beyond Iowa — it sends a positive message to the whole country about standing up for the values of equality and fairness and family. Winning an important ruling like this re–energizes us at Lambda Legal for the fights ahead and reminds us how lucky we are to be working together for justice and dignity for LGBT people and people with HIV. Thank you for all your support.
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-At the End of Life, Denial Comes at a PriceLike the rest of us, doctors struggle to talk about dying. These conversations with patients occur haltingly, awkwardly and often not at all. But a study published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests just how costly that silence may be, both in health care dollars and in patients’ suffering. A team of investigators, led by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, interviewed 603 patients with advanced cancer. They asked the patients, who had about six months left to live, whether their doctors had discussed their wishes for end-of-life care. The majority — 69 percent — said those conversations had not taken place. And in the last week of life, those patients who had talked with their doctors wound up with medical bills that were on average 36 percent lower — $1,876 compared to $2,917 — than those of patients who did not have end-of-life conversations with their doctors.
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/at-the-end-of-life-denial-comes-at-a-price/?scp=7&sq=gay&st=cse
-Women Erased in Israel, Flogged in Pakistan and Restricted in Afghanistan
The news this week has been bad for supporters of women’s rights in at least three parts of the world. On Friday, The Associated Press reported that Israeli newspapers “aimed at ultra-Orthodox Jewish readers” digitally manipulated a photograph of the new Israeli government, to remove two female cabinet ministers, Limor Livnat and Sofa Landver. The photograph was taken at an official ceremony welcoming the new Israeli leadership on Wednesday at the residence of the president of Israel, Shimon Peres. Two versions of a photograph of members of the new Israeli government, posing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres (both seated) on Wednesday, April 1 in Jerusalem. The image at top is the original, the one below was the digitally altered version that appeared in the Israeli ultra-orthodox newspaper Yated Neeman.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/setbacks-for-women-in-israel-pakistan-and-afghanistan/?scp=10&sq=gay&st=cse
-The report starts with scenes we filmed of a man accused of having gay sex being flogged in public, followed by the now-famous mobile phone footage of the young woman being held down and beaten outside her home for alleged adultery.
http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/2009/04/03/pakistan-tracing-the-flogging-footage/
-Mobile phone footage of a teenage girl being flogged publicly in Pakistan’s
Swat Valley is now circulating widely
http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/2009/04/03/pakistan-tracing-the-flogging-footage/
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Vermont House gives final approval to gay marriage
The Vermont House has given final approval to a bill that would legalize gay marriage in the state. But the 94-52 vote for final passage on Friday falls short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override a veto promised by Gov. Jim Douglas. The state Senate is expected to concur with the House action on Monday. The governor's office says he will then veto the bill quickly. Legislative leaders say they could bring the bill up for veto-override votes in the House and Senate as early as Tuesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040302833_pf.html
=
Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-Moscow Pride Organizers Ask Spain and Slovenia to Help Solve Freedom of Assembly Issue
Moscow authorities hinted they will ban Slavic Pride march on Eurovision final day
Spain is presiding in the Council of Europe until 12 May when it will pass the rotating presidency to Slovenia, few days before the forth Moscow Pride. Russian activists said they will host their forth Moscow Pride on May 16th, the day when the Eurovision Song Contest Final will be held in the Russian Capital.
-Mumbai: The upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the world wide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) movement may not have anything in common but keeping in mind the fact that homosexuality is illegal in over 80 countries with India being one of them, international pressure groups are urging that the rights of this marginalised community be seriously addressed this election season. On Wednesday, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) with a coalition of four countries in the South Asian region, where homophobia and discriminatory laws against homosexuality is rampant, chaired their first meeting in the city. Countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India in coalition with SIDA will work collectively to ensure that rights of this minority community are looked after seriously.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/coalition-to-work-for-rights-of-lgbt-community-in-south-asia/442099/
-Romania: Civil Code Sub-Committee Bans Homosexual Couples From Adopting Kids
http://www.mediafax.ro/engleza/civil-code-sub-committee-bans-homosexual-couples-from-adopting-kids.html?6966;4129223
=
Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia will be celebrated this year again on May 17th. Like every year, the “IDAHO” (as it is usually called), will see actions and initiatives take place in many countries and contexts and on many different issues. All these activities and initiatives are a very strong signal to all, decisions makers, public opinion, civil rights movements, human rights defenders, etc… throughout the world that our fights for our Rights as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, intersex, etc… is vibrant ! The Day provides all different kind of actors with a very powerful opportunity to express their demands and to advocate for their case. The Day has already been officially ecognized by Mexico, Costa Rica, France, the UK, Belgium, the European Parliament, etc.... and the list keeps getting longer every year. This provides a forceful argument to engage initiatives even in contexts where authorities might not be supportive.
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-European Parliament backs new anti-discrimination directive
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/019-53201-091-04-14-902-20090401IPR53200-01-04-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
Des Moines Register
Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman
The Iowa Supreme Court this morning upheld a Polk County judge's 2007 ruling that marriage should not be limited to one man and one woman. The ruling, viewed nationally and at home as a victory for the gay rights movement and a setback for social conservatives, means Iowa's 5,800 gay couples can legally marry in Iowa beginning April 24. There are no residency rules for marriage in Iowa, so the rule would apply to any couple who wanted to travel to Iowa. Shelly Wolfe and Melisa Keeton, who waited for word of the ruling outside the Polk County Recorder's Office, immediately called their pastor anyway to make plans.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090403/NEWS/90403010
=
From Lambda Legal
Iowa Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry
What a thrilling day! The Iowa Supreme Court ruled this morning that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry in Iowa. This historic decision fulfills the Iowa Constitution's promises of liberty and equality. We are so proud of the courageous plaintiffs and their families who stood up for love, dignity and equal treatment under the law. The Iowa Supreme Court is the fourth state high court to rule that excluding same–sex couples from civil marriage is unconstitutional, after Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut. In their powerful unanimous decision, Justice Cady wrote: "We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective. The legislature has excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification." Lambda Legal filed this case in 2005 on behalf of six same–sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Iowa, and on behalf of three of their children. Dawn and Jen BarbouRoske of Iowa City are one of our wonderful plaintiff couples. They have been together more than 18 years and have two children, McKinley and Breeanna. After Jen delivered McKinley eight weeks early, they realized that Dawn could be prevented from being with their daughter in the hospital because she was not legally related to either Jen or the baby. Because they were not married, they had to leave their daughter in the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital to seek the help of an attorney. This experience drives home just how important it is to be able to marry. In the coming days, we will provide more analysis about the decision, and will soon make available a fact sheet with basic information about getting married in Iowa. Check our website periodically for more information. We look forward to talking with you more about this case and its impact. Monday, April 6 at 3:00 pm EST (2:00 pm CST) we will host a members–only teleconference featuring the architect of the case, Lambda Legal Senior Staff Attorney Camilla Taylor, and her colleague on the case Senior Counsel Ken Upton. This victory has meaning beyond Iowa — it sends a positive message to the whole country about standing up for the values of equality and fairness and family. Winning an important ruling like this re–energizes us at Lambda Legal for the fights ahead and reminds us how lucky we are to be working together for justice and dignity for LGBT people and people with HIV. Thank you for all your support.
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-At the End of Life, Denial Comes at a PriceLike the rest of us, doctors struggle to talk about dying. These conversations with patients occur haltingly, awkwardly and often not at all. But a study published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests just how costly that silence may be, both in health care dollars and in patients’ suffering. A team of investigators, led by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, interviewed 603 patients with advanced cancer. They asked the patients, who had about six months left to live, whether their doctors had discussed their wishes for end-of-life care. The majority — 69 percent — said those conversations had not taken place. And in the last week of life, those patients who had talked with their doctors wound up with medical bills that were on average 36 percent lower — $1,876 compared to $2,917 — than those of patients who did not have end-of-life conversations with their doctors.
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/at-the-end-of-life-denial-comes-at-a-price/?scp=7&sq=gay&st=cse
-Women Erased in Israel, Flogged in Pakistan and Restricted in Afghanistan
The news this week has been bad for supporters of women’s rights in at least three parts of the world. On Friday, The Associated Press reported that Israeli newspapers “aimed at ultra-Orthodox Jewish readers” digitally manipulated a photograph of the new Israeli government, to remove two female cabinet ministers, Limor Livnat and Sofa Landver. The photograph was taken at an official ceremony welcoming the new Israeli leadership on Wednesday at the residence of the president of Israel, Shimon Peres. Two versions of a photograph of members of the new Israeli government, posing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres (both seated) on Wednesday, April 1 in Jerusalem. The image at top is the original, the one below was the digitally altered version that appeared in the Israeli ultra-orthodox newspaper Yated Neeman.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/setbacks-for-women-in-israel-pakistan-and-afghanistan/?scp=10&sq=gay&st=cse
-The report starts with scenes we filmed of a man accused of having gay sex being flogged in public, followed by the now-famous mobile phone footage of the young woman being held down and beaten outside her home for alleged adultery.
http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/2009/04/03/pakistan-tracing-the-flogging-footage/
-Mobile phone footage of a teenage girl being flogged publicly in Pakistan’s
Swat Valley is now circulating widely
http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/2009/04/03/pakistan-tracing-the-flogging-footage/
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Vermont House gives final approval to gay marriage
The Vermont House has given final approval to a bill that would legalize gay marriage in the state. But the 94-52 vote for final passage on Friday falls short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override a veto promised by Gov. Jim Douglas. The state Senate is expected to concur with the House action on Monday. The governor's office says he will then veto the bill quickly. Legislative leaders say they could bring the bill up for veto-override votes in the House and Senate as early as Tuesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040302833_pf.html
=
Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-Moscow Pride Organizers Ask Spain and Slovenia to Help Solve Freedom of Assembly Issue
Moscow authorities hinted they will ban Slavic Pride march on Eurovision final day
Spain is presiding in the Council of Europe until 12 May when it will pass the rotating presidency to Slovenia, few days before the forth Moscow Pride. Russian activists said they will host their forth Moscow Pride on May 16th, the day when the Eurovision Song Contest Final will be held in the Russian Capital.
-Mumbai: The upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the world wide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) movement may not have anything in common but keeping in mind the fact that homosexuality is illegal in over 80 countries with India being one of them, international pressure groups are urging that the rights of this marginalised community be seriously addressed this election season. On Wednesday, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) with a coalition of four countries in the South Asian region, where homophobia and discriminatory laws against homosexuality is rampant, chaired their first meeting in the city. Countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India in coalition with SIDA will work collectively to ensure that rights of this minority community are looked after seriously.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/coalition-to-work-for-rights-of-lgbt-community-in-south-asia/442099/
-Romania: Civil Code Sub-Committee Bans Homosexual Couples From Adopting Kids
http://www.mediafax.ro/engleza/civil-code-sub-committee-bans-homosexual-couples-from-adopting-kids.html?6966;4129223
=
Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia will be celebrated this year again on May 17th. Like every year, the “IDAHO” (as it is usually called), will see actions and initiatives take place in many countries and contexts and on many different issues. All these activities and initiatives are a very strong signal to all, decisions makers, public opinion, civil rights movements, human rights defenders, etc… throughout the world that our fights for our Rights as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, intersex, etc… is vibrant ! The Day provides all different kind of actors with a very powerful opportunity to express their demands and to advocate for their case. The Day has already been officially ecognized by Mexico, Costa Rica, France, the UK, Belgium, the European Parliament, etc.... and the list keeps getting longer every year. This provides a forceful argument to engage initiatives even in contexts where authorities might not be supportive.
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-European Parliament backs new anti-discrimination directive
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/019-53201-091-04-14-902-20090401IPR53200-01-04-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
GLBT DIGEST - April 03, 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:
-Early Alarm for Church on Abusers in the Clergy
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
The founder of a Roman Catholic religious order that ran retreat centers for troubled priests warned American bishops in forceful letters dating back to 1952 that pedophiles should be removed from the priesthood because they could not be cured.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/us/03church.html?hpw
-Vermont: House Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Vermont House has advanced a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry. The bill has already cleared the Senate. It passed the House in a 95-to-52 vote, enough for approval but not enough to override a promised veto by Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/us/03brfs-HOUSEPASSESS_BRF.html?scp=4&sq=gay&st=cse
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Iowa Supreme Court to release gay marriage ruling
By AMY LORENTZEN
The Iowa Supreme Court was expected to release a much-anticipated ruling Friday on whether the state's gay marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040300376.html
=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
-Sequins? What Sequins? Canada's New Spin on Triple Loops
Figure Skaters Have a Tough Time Pitching The Sport's Muscle; 'Show the Masculinity'
By CHRISTOPHER LAWTON
Vaughn Chipeur says he has "to pound it out" every day to keep up with the competition. He endures two grueling practice sessions a day, six days a week. He's suffered a groin injury and his feet are sometimes wrecked after a tough workout.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123870938255484175.html
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Daughter of transgender mother sends good wishes to those attending gender identity workshop
An e-mail from K. Warren:
The Brain God Gave Me: A Fictional Memoir Based Upon the True Life Story of Roxie HowardI am the daughter of a transgender parent, although I don't live in Fl anymore I came across your article. I believe I have a book that you or others may even find help with. My mother wrote it, "The Brains god Gave Me," by Roxie Howard. I have always stood by my mother and accepted her, no matter what. Family members other than myself have "disappeared" and wanted nothing to do with us. Although her book hasn't sold many copies it has yet to have a bad review. A mother who has a gay son actually read the book and told my mother it helped her understand her son. I hope you take the time to look at the book, it is currently on Amazon. I have lobbied with my mother and others in D.C. I have never judged, I was taught by a great mother, someone who was there for me no matter what, that judging others is wrong. People are who they are. I wish you much luck with your workshop in Miami
Health and Happiness,
K. Warren
-Care Resource in Broward designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center
An e-mail from Care Resource, South Florida's largest AIDS service agency:
Care Resource
JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW....
April 2, 2009
This is a second communication in an ongoing series of news items updating you on our agency, Care Resource. This time, I am particularly pleased to announce that Care Resource was recently designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center for its Broward office location and operations, effective March 1, 2009. A little over a year ago now, we applied for this designation to expand our work and mission in the community to provide primary medical health care to underserved individuals in our service area. Our application proposed to serve all those from adolescents to the elderly, with of course, a continued special focus on our current work with those affected by HIV, but also to expand our services overall to the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, and Transgender Community in particular. This application was the result of a strategic planning process undertaken by our Board the year prior. This effort focused on (among other things), what our current strengths and opportunities were to grow our work in the community where we perceived there may be unmet needs. When we applied, we learned initially (last summer) that we actually received a "grant rating" of 94 out of 100 possible points, and while we felt very good about that score, it was just under the level needed to be funded and designated at the time, due to financial constraints on the overall monies available, and the very high number of applicants. It was explained however, that if more monies were to become available in the same year, we still might receive an award. More . . . .
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Ultimate Fighting President Apologizes for Antigay Slur
By Julie Bolcer
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White has apologized for a profanity-laced video blog in which he used an antigay slur. White posted the video on Wednesday to comment on a story that he disliked by mixed martial arts reporter Loretta Hunt of Sherdog.com. The story was critical of new UFC restrictions on how backstage credentials are issued to fighters' agents and managers.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid77333.asp
=
365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-eHarmony now loves gay people. Really.
By Kate X Messer
It's true. After a court settlement in November, 2008, online dating giant eHarmony is coming out with Compatible Partners, a new website offering gay and lesbian members the same chance to find love as heterosexual customers.
http://www.365gay.com/living/eharmony-now-loves-gay-people-really/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gay adoption critic named as New Archbishop of Westminster
The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, a staunch opponent of gay adoption, has been named as the new leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Archbishop Nichols, 63, will take over from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor next month.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11858.html
-Slimming World backs down over competition gay ban
Slimming World, the weight loss company, has said it will allow gay couples to enter its Mr & Mrs slimming competition after members complained to PinkNews.co.uk. Jean-Paul Ravenk and his partner were barred from entering the competition, as were Rob Perry-Griffiths and his partner.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11864.html
-Gays and lesbians 'more likely to vote Tory'
Gay and lesbian voters are now more likely to vote Tory rather than Labour, a poll has suggested. The survey of 1,800 gay men and women, found 30 per cent said they intend to vote Conservative at the next general election.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html
=
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Active Ingredient in Marijuana Kills Brain Cancer Cells
Yahoo News
HealthDay Reporter by Alan Mozes
New research out of Spain suggests that THC - the active ingredient in marijuana - appears to prompt the death of brain cancer cells. The finding is based on work with mice designed to carry human cancer tumors, as well as from an analysis of THC's impact on tumor cells extracted from two patients coping with a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. Explaining that the introduction of THC into the brain triggers a cellular self-digestion process known as "autophagy," study co-author Guillermo Velasco said his team has isolated the specific pathway by which this process unfolds, and noted that it appears "to kill cancer cells, while it does not affect normal cells." Read more
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Early Alarm for Church on Abusers in the Clergy
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
The founder of a Roman Catholic religious order that ran retreat centers for troubled priests warned American bishops in forceful letters dating back to 1952 that pedophiles should be removed from the priesthood because they could not be cured.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/us/03church.html?hpw
-Vermont: House Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Vermont House has advanced a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry. The bill has already cleared the Senate. It passed the House in a 95-to-52 vote, enough for approval but not enough to override a promised veto by Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/us/03brfs-HOUSEPASSESS_BRF.html?scp=4&sq=gay&st=cse
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Iowa Supreme Court to release gay marriage ruling
By AMY LORENTZEN
The Iowa Supreme Court was expected to release a much-anticipated ruling Friday on whether the state's gay marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040300376.html
=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
-Sequins? What Sequins? Canada's New Spin on Triple Loops
Figure Skaters Have a Tough Time Pitching The Sport's Muscle; 'Show the Masculinity'
By CHRISTOPHER LAWTON
Vaughn Chipeur says he has "to pound it out" every day to keep up with the competition. He endures two grueling practice sessions a day, six days a week. He's suffered a groin injury and his feet are sometimes wrecked after a tough workout.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123870938255484175.html
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Daughter of transgender mother sends good wishes to those attending gender identity workshop
An e-mail from K. Warren:
The Brain God Gave Me: A Fictional Memoir Based Upon the True Life Story of Roxie HowardI am the daughter of a transgender parent, although I don't live in Fl anymore I came across your article. I believe I have a book that you or others may even find help with. My mother wrote it, "The Brains god Gave Me," by Roxie Howard. I have always stood by my mother and accepted her, no matter what. Family members other than myself have "disappeared" and wanted nothing to do with us. Although her book hasn't sold many copies it has yet to have a bad review. A mother who has a gay son actually read the book and told my mother it helped her understand her son. I hope you take the time to look at the book, it is currently on Amazon. I have lobbied with my mother and others in D.C. I have never judged, I was taught by a great mother, someone who was there for me no matter what, that judging others is wrong. People are who they are. I wish you much luck with your workshop in Miami
Health and Happiness,
K. Warren
-Care Resource in Broward designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center
An e-mail from Care Resource, South Florida's largest AIDS service agency:
Care Resource
JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW....
April 2, 2009
This is a second communication in an ongoing series of news items updating you on our agency, Care Resource. This time, I am particularly pleased to announce that Care Resource was recently designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center for its Broward office location and operations, effective March 1, 2009. A little over a year ago now, we applied for this designation to expand our work and mission in the community to provide primary medical health care to underserved individuals in our service area. Our application proposed to serve all those from adolescents to the elderly, with of course, a continued special focus on our current work with those affected by HIV, but also to expand our services overall to the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, and Transgender Community in particular. This application was the result of a strategic planning process undertaken by our Board the year prior. This effort focused on (among other things), what our current strengths and opportunities were to grow our work in the community where we perceived there may be unmet needs. When we applied, we learned initially (last summer) that we actually received a "grant rating" of 94 out of 100 possible points, and while we felt very good about that score, it was just under the level needed to be funded and designated at the time, due to financial constraints on the overall monies available, and the very high number of applicants. It was explained however, that if more monies were to become available in the same year, we still might receive an award. More . . . .
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Ultimate Fighting President Apologizes for Antigay Slur
By Julie Bolcer
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White has apologized for a profanity-laced video blog in which he used an antigay slur. White posted the video on Wednesday to comment on a story that he disliked by mixed martial arts reporter Loretta Hunt of Sherdog.com. The story was critical of new UFC restrictions on how backstage credentials are issued to fighters' agents and managers.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid77333.asp
=
365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-eHarmony now loves gay people. Really.
By Kate X Messer
It's true. After a court settlement in November, 2008, online dating giant eHarmony is coming out with Compatible Partners, a new website offering gay and lesbian members the same chance to find love as heterosexual customers.
http://www.365gay.com/living/eharmony-now-loves-gay-people-really/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gay adoption critic named as New Archbishop of Westminster
The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, a staunch opponent of gay adoption, has been named as the new leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Archbishop Nichols, 63, will take over from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor next month.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11858.html
-Slimming World backs down over competition gay ban
Slimming World, the weight loss company, has said it will allow gay couples to enter its Mr & Mrs slimming competition after members complained to PinkNews.co.uk. Jean-Paul Ravenk and his partner were barred from entering the competition, as were Rob Perry-Griffiths and his partner.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11864.html
-Gays and lesbians 'more likely to vote Tory'
Gay and lesbian voters are now more likely to vote Tory rather than Labour, a poll has suggested. The survey of 1,800 gay men and women, found 30 per cent said they intend to vote Conservative at the next general election.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11848.html
=
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Active Ingredient in Marijuana Kills Brain Cancer Cells
Yahoo News
HealthDay Reporter by Alan Mozes
New research out of Spain suggests that THC - the active ingredient in marijuana - appears to prompt the death of brain cancer cells. The finding is based on work with mice designed to carry human cancer tumors, as well as from an analysis of THC's impact on tumor cells extracted from two patients coping with a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. Explaining that the introduction of THC into the brain triggers a cellular self-digestion process known as "autophagy," study co-author Guillermo Velasco said his team has isolated the specific pathway by which this process unfolds, and noted that it appears "to kill cancer cells, while it does not affect normal cells." Read more
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - April 03, 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:
-Shelters slowly adapt to help transgender homeless
By DIONNE WALKER
Twelve years heading the Salvation Army's downtown homeless shelter had done little to prepare Janeane Schmidt for the recent night when a soft-spoken biological male transitioning into a female walked in. Schmidt didn't want to refuse someone in need. Having seen few such cases, however, and with limited space that winter night, she wasn't sure where to place the transgender woman. The shelter has space for homeless men and women but not anyone in between.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/v-fullstory/story/982297.html
=
Join Safe Schools for Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade
We hope that you will join us for this historic event. Following are some important details concerning the parade: Everyone participating with SSSF needs to arrive by 10 am at 5th and Ocean. Look for the SSSF banner. All SSSF participants need to complete and hand in a Release Form. SSSF will have release forms on hand the morning of the parade or participants can bring their own. This form must be submitted by 10:30 am to the SSSF Parade Contact. Youth under the age of 18 will have to have parents/guadians sign the form also. Each person who hands in a release form will receive a wrist band. Only those with a wrist band will be permittted to participate in the parade. The parade will start at noon sharp. Please remember to bring the following: Sunscreen, Water, and Snacks. There are several shops and restaurants where you can get a quick bite while waiting for the parade to start. After the parade, thre will be a Pride Festival throughout the afternoon with booths from various community organizations, and SSSF and Pridelines will be sharing a booth, so plan to spend some fun time at the festival after the parade. For questions, please email us at safe@safeschoolssouthflorida.org
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Summer heat arrives in April
Ken Kaye
South Florida could see record heat today with temperatures in the low to mid-90s. That would be about 10 degrees above normal, the National Weather Service in Miami said. "It's going to be a very, very warm day," meteorologist Joel Rothfuss said. The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, breezy conditions and a 20 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-heat-returns-b040309pnapr03,0,2310005.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Shelters slowly adapt to help transgender homeless
By DIONNE WALKER
Twelve years heading the Salvation Army's downtown homeless shelter had done little to prepare Janeane Schmidt for the recent night when a soft-spoken biological male transitioning into a female walked in. Schmidt didn't want to refuse someone in need. Having seen few such cases, however, and with limited space that winter night, she wasn't sure where to place the transgender woman. The shelter has space for homeless men and women but not anyone in between.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/v-fullstory/story/982297.html
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Join Safe Schools for Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade
We hope that you will join us for this historic event. Following are some important details concerning the parade: Everyone participating with SSSF needs to arrive by 10 am at 5th and Ocean. Look for the SSSF banner. All SSSF participants need to complete and hand in a Release Form. SSSF will have release forms on hand the morning of the parade or participants can bring their own. This form must be submitted by 10:30 am to the SSSF Parade Contact. Youth under the age of 18 will have to have parents/guadians sign the form also. Each person who hands in a release form will receive a wrist band. Only those with a wrist band will be permittted to participate in the parade. The parade will start at noon sharp. Please remember to bring the following: Sunscreen, Water, and Snacks. There are several shops and restaurants where you can get a quick bite while waiting for the parade to start. After the parade, thre will be a Pride Festival throughout the afternoon with booths from various community organizations, and SSSF and Pridelines will be sharing a booth, so plan to spend some fun time at the festival after the parade. For questions, please email us at safe@safeschoolssouthflorida.org
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Summer heat arrives in April
Ken Kaye
South Florida could see record heat today with temperatures in the low to mid-90s. That would be about 10 degrees above normal, the National Weather Service in Miami said. "It's going to be a very, very warm day," meteorologist Joel Rothfuss said. The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, breezy conditions and a 20 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-heat-returns-b040309pnapr03,0,2310005.story
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
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Thursday, April 02, 2009
GLBT DIGEST - April 02, 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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Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Obama chooses 'anti-gay activist' Tony Dungy for faith-based advisory council, says People For the American Way
According to media reports today, the White House has invited anti-gay activist and retired NFL Coach Tony Dungy to join its Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Dungy actively campaigned for an anti-gay ballot initiative in Indiana that banned same-sex couples from being civilly married. "President Obama was given a mandate to bring people together," said Tanya Clay House, Director of Public Policy at People For the American Way. "But his selection of Tony Dungy is extremely divisive. Dungy campaigned specifically to discriminate against a particular group of people, and he's been closely aligned with the far-right Indiana Family Institute." More . . . . .
-Sweden allows same-sex marriage
From BBC News: Sweden will allow gay couples to be legally married from next month. Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to recognise same-sex marriage, becoming the fifth country in Europe to do so. To read the complete article, click here.
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Vermont gay marriage bill in hands of state House
The Associated Press
A bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Vermont is in the hands of state House lawmakers. Last month the state Senate overwhelmingly approved similar legislation.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/980645.html
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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Could new moderate Senate group threaten LGBT bills?
Group might 'splinter the Democratic majority'
By CHRIS JOHNSON
The formation of a moderate Democratic working group in the U.S. Senate is raising questions about whether the group could obstruct the advancement of pro-LGBT legislation. Dan Pinello, who's gay and a government professor at the City University of New York, said he doesn't think the group's formation is "a good sign for LGBT rights."
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=24798
-Conn. gay marriage advocacy group to shut down
An advocacy group that was a major player in Connecticut's gay marriage debate has decided to close its doors at the end of 2009. Leaders at "Love Makes a Family" say the 10-year-old group wants to conclude its work on a victorious note in the wake of last fall's state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. The Hartford-based group was formed in 1999 to lobby for legislation letting gay couples legally adopt in Connecticut. It later grew into a statewide coalition of people and organizations supporting gay marriage. Only Connecticut and Massachusetts have legalized gay marriage. Several other states have laws to either recognize same-sex civil unions or domestic partnerships.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=24793
-A test case on same-sex fairness
Shirley Tan is a 43-year old Pacifica homemaker and mother of twin seventh-grade boys. Tan also wears an ankle bracelet assigned by immigration agents after a dawn raid on her home two months ago. Barring a legal miracle, she faces likely deportation to the Philippines on Friday. That result would devastate her family and friends. But her case also touches off two flashpoint issues - immigration law and same-sex marriage - that are combining in a way that shows the unfairness of this country's laws.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/31/EDB216Q4D8.DTL
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-ACLU: Fred Phelps-motivated law unconstitutional
By The Associated Press
A lawsuit challenging Michigan's law restricting funeral protests was filed Wednesday on behalf of a couple who were pulled over and arrested during a procession for a friend killed in Iraq because their van bore signs critical of then-President George W. Bush.
http://www.365gay.com/news/aclu-fred-phelps-motivated-law-unconstitutional/
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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gay couple barred from entering slimming competition
A gay couple who joined Slimming World have been barred from entering the company's annual Mr & Mrs competition. Jean-Paul Ravenk and his partner of 19 years joined the weight loss scheme in November 2007. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11836.html
-Ugandan activists refute allegations of 'gay recruitment'
Gays and lesbians in Uganda have denied embarking on "recruitment drives" to attract people to homosexuality. According to LGBTI Ugandans, Christian and government leaders are running a campaign to project gays 'recruiting' children into homosexuality by giving them money. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11839.html
-Clementine Ford comes out
Cybil Shepherd's daughter, Clementine Ford, has come out. The L Word guest star was pressed by Advocate.com to clear up the "confusion" that had been sparked when Diva magazine implied that Ford had officially come out and had an affair with co-star Katherine Moennig. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11838.html
-Microsoft 'homophobia' tribunal ends in settlement
A gay games developer who sued Microsoft over alleged homophobic abuse has reached a settlement with the company. Jamie Durrant, 38, orginally sued the corporation for £45,000 for 'hurt feelings' and lost pay. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11840.html
-West Midlands police launch gay crime survey
West Midlands police have set up an online survey to ask LGBT people to contribute their views on their safety and how they feel police respond to hate crimes. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11837.html
-Sweden approves same-sex marriage
Six of the seven parties in Swedish parliament have backed a proposal to introduce a gender-neutral marriage law. The proposal passed today with a 261 to 22 vote and 16 abstentions. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11834.html
-Policeman jailed over underage gay sex
A former PC who was a lesbian and gay liasion officer has been jailed for two and a half years for sexual activity with a 15-year-old boy. Mark Brigham, 38, formerly of the Metropolitan Police, met the 15-year-old at a party in August. The teenager's family had asked Brigham to give him advice as he had just come out. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11831.html
-ITV comedy Moving Wallpaper investigated for 'transphobic' comments
Ofcom has received more than 50 complaints about an episode of ITV comedy Moving Wallpaper over alleged transphobia. The complaints focus on an episode aired on 20th March, in which trans character Georgina was mocked by other characters. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11828.html
-Conservatives attempt to derail plans to lift US military gay ban
A conservative group has said that allowing gays to serve openly in the US military could threaten national security. A letter urging President Barack Obama to preserve the gay ban was leaked to the Palm Center, a research institute at the University of California. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11827.html
-God Hates Fags church raises money for LGBT support group
Members of Westboro Baptist Church, who chant slogans such as "fags burn in hell", have unintentionally raised money for a gay rights group. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11826.html
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Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-CMC Seeks Advice on DADT Policy
Dan Lamothe - Staff writer | Marine Times
Commandant Gen. James Conway is polling his generals on the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In a March 13 "P4" - personal-for message to all 82 of his general officers, Conway asks four questions, including this one: "How strongly should we, as an institution, challenge the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy?" The other questions covered in the e-mail, which came under the subject line, "2009 UPDATE FOR THE COMMANDANT," covered priorities at a time of "dwindling budgets," seabasing and a general question about "any topic that you think is important and should influence the course and speed of the Corps." Responses are due by April 10. Read more
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-To: Fellow Citizens of Uganda
Over the past few weeks, very serious allegations of 'recruitment' into homosexuality, have been leveled against Homosexual Citizens of Uganda by various people and institutions. We have been accused of accepting huge amounts of money for the so called 'recruitment' drives , by the Family Life Network (FLN). We affirm that we are homosexual. That means that we are different in sexual orientation from most of our fellow Ugandans. That does not make us criminals. We, like all other Ugandans, are responsible and law abiding citizens. Homosexual Ugandans do not condone or support recruitment of people into homosexuality at any level. We strongly and fiercely condemn it. We know that sexual orientation is not changeable. We are homosexuals and cannot hange. In the same way, we cannot change heterosexuals into homosexuals. We cannot recruit. WE CANNOT, DO NOT, HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER 'recruit'. We can only deduce that those leveling these claims aim to inflame the public against us, a minority group.
http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1101378359458&ea=kenneth.sherrill%40hunter.cuny.edu&a=1102534460875
-National Religious Leadership Roundtable responds to endorsement of policy changes by the council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America regarding same-gender relationships
The National Religious Leadership Roundtable, convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, responded to the announcement by the church council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) directing the churchwide assembly in August to approve the â?oSocial Statement on Human Sexuality,â? implement it, and direct the removal of the policy that prohibited service in ministry by those in committed, same-gender relationships. Also, the church council reaffirmed its recommendation to the August assembly on rules to govern its activities by defeating a motion that would have required a super-majority of the voting members to pass not only the social statement but also any matters that came before the assembly on any related subject. oThe Social Statement on Human Sexuality acknowledges what we have known for the last 30 years, that we Lutherans are not of one mind on issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusion. Still, this document recognizes that LGBT people are, and always have been, part of the great diversity of Godâ?Ts creation â?" finally.
http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=mmK6JjMVIkJXJlL&s=5eIDLQPtEhIMJPNqFkE&m=jkLTL7OQLpKaH>,
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HeartStrong
http://www.heartstrong.org
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-We are happy to announce our upcoming outreach/educational trip to Texas. It begins May 1. This is our 35th outreach/educational trip since 1998. It's almost unbelievable that we have made 35 trips around the US encompassing more than 380,000 miles. They say everything is bigger in Texas. That may be true but for HeartStrong our budget for Texas is definitely smaller than usual. We have worked diligently to make sure that our costs are low. Money is tight for everyone and we want to make sure that HeartStrong's use of your sacrifically given donations is used prudently. [...] We have created a special donation link for you to make donations to help us reach our goal of $5,000.00. Just click on this link and you will be taken to PayPal where you can make a secure online donation to HeartStrong. You don't have to have a PayPal account to do this. We're trying to make this very easy for everyone to participate. If everyone who reads this would just donate $3.00 each, we would reach our goal.
Marc Adams
Founder/Executive Director
http://heartstrong.org/HeartStrong/texas2009.html
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The White House Will Listen to People Living with HIV/AIDS at AIDSWatch
Washington, D.C.: On Monday, April 27, 2009, the newly appointed Director of the Office on National AIDS Policy (ONAP), Jeffrey Crowley, will speak directly with people living with HIV/AIDS at this year's AIDSWatch. Mr. Crowley will discuss his office's plans to develop a National AIDS Strategy. The development of a National AIDS Strategy is the first opportunity in almost a decade for people with HIV/AIDS to share their thoughts and concerns directly with the President of the United States and his Administration about domestic HIV/AIDS policies and priorities. This meeting will provide the space for people living with HIV/AIDS to share their recommendations for the National AIDS Strategy and discuss their successes and concerns related to Federal HIV/AIDS programs. This meeting is a signal that the Obama Administration has heard community concerns about being left out of planning and implementation processes. A group of people living with HIV/AIDS will facilitate the discussion and solicit questions and comments from people living with HIV/AIDS for the Office of National AIDS Policy.
Attend AIDSWatch this year to make sure YOUR voice is heard about:
Ø A comprehensive, coordinated, and outcome-driven National AIDS Strategy
Ø Providing substantive increases for domestic HIV/AIDS initiatives;
Ø Expand access to affordable, quality, and comprehensive HIV treatment and care for all persons living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. This includes passing the Early Treatment for HIV Act, changes to the Medicare prescription drug benefit, and addressing high-costs incurred through private insurance.
Ø Replace proven ineffective HIV prevention strategies with robust evidence-based initiatives; and
Ø Repeal stigmatizing and out-dated policies that impede efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat HIV.
If you have not done so already, register for AIDSWatch 2009 today!
https://www.kintera.org/AutoGen/Register/Register.asp?ievent=301514&en=rwIVI6NYLhLQKfNYIbLQLfM5KuJbKkMWJjJXJeOWIhJ0KfO3LAJ
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Letter from Michael Moore
"We the People" to "King of the World": "YOU'RE FIRED!"
Nothing like it has ever happened. The President of the United States, the elected representative of the people, has just told the head of General Motors -- a company that's spent more years at #1 on the Fortune 500 list than anyone else -- "You're fired!" I simply can't believe it. This stunning, unprecedented action has left me speechless for the past two days. I keep saying, "Did Obama really fire the chairman of General Motors? The wealthiest and most powerful corporation of the 20th century? Can he do that? Really? Well, damn! What else can he do?!" This bold move has sent the heads of corporate America spinning and spewing pea soup. Obama has issued this edict: The government of, by, and for the people is in charge here, not big business. John McCain got it. On the floor of the Senate he asked, "What does this signal send to other corporations and financial institutions about whether the federal government will fire them as well?" Senator Bob Corker said it "should send a chill through all Americans who believe in free enterprise." The stock market plunged as the masters of the universe asked themselves, "Am I next?" And they whispered to each other, "What are we going to do about this Obama?"
MichaelMoore.com
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Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-Uganda: We do NOT recruit
Yesterday at 10:00 a.m., the Ugandan LGBTI community held a press conference at the Metropole Hotel in Kampala to refute recent allegations that its members recruit youth into homosexuality and receive lots of money from international donors for this practice. About 10 media houses were in the conference hall half an hour before the start of the briefing. Representatives from the slandered LGBTI community walked in at 10:00 a.m. promptly. A panel of 3 LGBTI human rights defenders, Kasha Jacqueline (Freedom and Roam Uganda), David Kisule (Sexual Minorities Uganda) and Victor Mukasa (International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission) stood up to address the nation.
http://iglhrc.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/we-do-not-recruit/
-The Swedish Parliament has just voted YES to a new law on gender neutral marriages. From May 1 2009 Swedish gays and lesbians can marry if they want to.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=24&art_id=nw20090401170556301C626382
-Moscow: Two organisers of Moscow Gay Pride were arrested yesterday by police in Ryazan , a city located 200 km southeast of Moscow . Nikolai Baev and Irina Fet were detained in the city centre and charged with "propaganda of homosexuality to minors", an offence that carries a fine. The two were later released from custody on the promise that they would appear in Court.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-IGLHRC to Secretary Clinton: New AIDS Czar Must Include LGBT
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have been denied access to HIV services funded with U.S. foreign assistance, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) said today in a letter to Secretary of State Clinton. IGLHRC called for a more inclusive approach to sexual and reproductive health policy overseas, and the appointment of a Global AIDS Coordinator prepared to promote LGBT health and rights. "In recent years, U.S. policy has by and large neglected the needs of LGBT people worldwide," said Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC's Executive Director. "The Obama administration should use this moment of great change to bring U.S. HIV funding overseas into harmony with our stated commitments to science, human rights and inclusion."
http://www.iglhrc.org/binary-data/ATTACHMENT/file/000/000/247-1.pdf
-Lesbian makes history by winning mayor's job in Zurich
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/pijUhixlhWfXoHCibTdfBVSIjs
-U.S. judge rules for teen girls in "sexting" case
A U.S. judge on Monday barred a Pennsylvania prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three teenage girls caught with sexually suggestive pictures of themselves on their cell phones. U.S. District Judge James Munley said he was issuing a restraining order on Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick because his proposed action would violate freedom of speech and parental rights. The ruling came after the American Civil Liberties Union sued Skumanick on behalf of the girls and their families.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE52U0CX20090331
-Will the California Supreme Court Strike Down Prop 8, or "Willy-Nilly Disregard" Its Duty?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-wolfson/will-the-california-supre_b_180720.html
-The latest issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine is now online at
www.gayandlesbianhumanist.org.
-We are writing to ask for your participation in Campus Pride's
National LGBT College Climate Survey - GO ONLINE and register to WIN A FREE RSVP CRUISE or $500 CASH!
The National LGBT College Climate Survey is a comprehensive assessment to document annually the experiences of students, faculty, staff, and administrators who identify as LGBT at America's colleges and universities. The annual assessment examines emerging issues, trends and changing demographics of LGBT people in higher education.
http://www.campuspride.org/research
-On 'nakation,' forget worries and clothes
(CNN) -- There's something about being naked that makes a person forget a layoff, pay cut or a shrunken retirement account. At least that's how the promoters of nude travel see it. The economic recession is "doing us a lot of favors, maybe because there's the idea that if you've lost the shirt off your back, you should go nude," said Erich Schuttauf, executive director of the American Association for Nude Recreation. He added: "You go to a [nudist resort] and when you take off all your clothes, all the cues that tie you to the workaday world -- the ties, the suits and everything -- when that's gone, your body says it's time to relax. You get in that mode faster."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/03/24/naked.travel.recession/index.html
-Recession hits transgenders
Transgender people are 'disproportionally impacted' by the economic downturn, a study says.
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-03-27/lifestyle/recession-hits-transgenders-hard
-EU shows east-west divide on homophobia
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Despite considerable advances in recent years, the social situation for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and transgendered (LGBT) people throughout the European Union remains a problem, particularly in the east, according to a major new survey. Discrimination, bullying, harassment and attacks occur across the EU. Politicians in a number of eastern member states seem to side with or turn a blind eye to perpetrators, while the ability of victims to report crimes is undermined by lack of police training, leading to significant underreporting, according to a 160-page report on the social aspects of homophobia from the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency.
http://www.ilga-europe.org/
-Britain could allow abortion advice, condom ads
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090326/hl_afp/healthbritainfertilitylawmediaethics_20090326133030
-Nigerian gay rights activists have told the country's lawmakers that a new bill to outlaw same sex marriage would lead to widespread human rights abuses. The new law would mean prison sentences for gay people who live together, and anyone who "aids and abets" them. The plea by activists was made to a public committee of the National Assembly which is discussing the bill. It is already illegal to have gay sex in Nigeria but the new law would extend police powers to arrest suspects. "This bill is not necessary, we see no reason why people should be criminalised," Rashidi Williams, 23, of the Queer Alliance of Nigeria told the committee.
-ESPN journalist LZ Granderson was honored with the Outstanding Digital
Journalism Article award for his piece, "Gay Athletes Are Making Their Mark." In a much broader sense, ESPN - the worldwide leader in sports reporting - has begun doing just that. Rybka calls LZ Granderson, an openly gay television analyst and writer for ESPN.com's Page Two, "probably the most visible gay man in sports today." His presence helps raise LGBT awareness with readers, viewers, even network staffers.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=granderson/080218
-Tyra Banks, Suze Orman Honored at 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Presented by IBM
http://www.glaad.org/media/release_detail.php?id=5097
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Truth Wins Out - TWO
by Wayne Besen
http://www.truthwinsout.org/
-Jamaica: A Killer Vacation
This week, I joined San Francisco organizer Michael Petrelis and Box Turtle Bulletin editor Jim Burroway in launching an international boycott against Jamaica (www.boycottJamaica.org). While the island appears laid back, gays are under attack. Forget business as usual. Instead, we should stop doing business with a country that is proud of its persecution against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Our goal is to turn Jamaica into a pariah state, as long as GLBT people live in a state of terror. This means no more subsidizing the anti-gay slaughter by drinking Myers Rum and Red Stripe Beer. It requires skipping that Carnival Cruise to Jamaica -- so your money won't support murder.
http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/jamaica-a-killer-vacation/
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Soulforce
http://www.soulforce.org/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-Soulforce: NATIONAL CALL FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ISSUED - NEW WEBSITE SEEKS
TO EDUCATE PUBLIC AND TRAIN ORGANIZERS NATIONWIDE
In response to the growing equality movement in California and across the country, community organizers are issuing a call for the use of nonviolent civil disobedience to further the cause. This call comes at a time when the equality movement is energized surrounding the upcoming California Supreme Court decision on the validity of Proposition 8. Soulforce is collaborating with individual organizers and groups, including Join the Impact, to issue this call. Jeff Lutes, Soulforce Executive Director, drafted the call to action which has been signed already by several community leaders, including Cleve Jones, who is the founder of the NAMES/AIDS Memorial Quilt, and was a historical consultant on the Academy Award winning film MILK. Working closely with other leaders, Soulforce organizer Chris Hubble created a new website, www.nonviolence4equality.org to assist in educating the public on nonviolent civil disobedience. The website launched Monday and is designed to help community members learn about the philosophy, practice and history of nonviolent strategies and connect with others locally who are interested in organizing nonviolent civil disobedience.
http://www.soulforce.org/sendstudio/link.php?M=35882&N=670&L=2017&F=H
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Gay & Lesbian Leadership SmartBrief
Marine generals are asked views on military gay ban
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway reportedly has set an April 10 deadline for the 82 generals under his command to indicate their views on whether their branch of the military should oppose the gay ban. A spokesman, saying the question was posed in a private e-mail between the Conway and his officers, declined further comment.
MarineCorpsTimes.com
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Leading Catholic Asks Obama to Rethink Abortion
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_notre_dame/2009/03/31/198171.html?s=al&promo_code=7D3C-1
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Forwarded from Michael Emanuel Rajner
merajner@gmail.com
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-U.S. Rep Alcee Hastings commemorates legacy of AIDS activist
Pedro ZamoraIn an effort to create greater public awareness of HIV/AIDS, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, has introduced a resolution commemorating the life and legacy of Pedro Zamora. Zamora, a Cuban-American gay man was living in Miami, when he became infected with HIV at the age of 17. He was an AIDS activist for several years before he sent a letter to MTV's The Real World. Zamora was cast for The Real World: San Francisco in 1994 and died of AIDS the day after the season ended. [...] Hastings' resolution comes as the made-for-tv movie
http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/407573/moviemain.jhtml
-Pedro premieres at 8 p.m. today [April 1] on MTV, mtvU, LOGO and MTV Tr3s,
with subtitles in Spanish. Here's the trailer for the movie:
http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/346716/pedro-the-movie.jhtml#movieId=1606095
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
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Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Obama chooses 'anti-gay activist' Tony Dungy for faith-based advisory council, says People For the American Way
According to media reports today, the White House has invited anti-gay activist and retired NFL Coach Tony Dungy to join its Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Dungy actively campaigned for an anti-gay ballot initiative in Indiana that banned same-sex couples from being civilly married. "President Obama was given a mandate to bring people together," said Tanya Clay House, Director of Public Policy at People For the American Way. "But his selection of Tony Dungy is extremely divisive. Dungy campaigned specifically to discriminate against a particular group of people, and he's been closely aligned with the far-right Indiana Family Institute." More . . . . .
-Sweden allows same-sex marriage
From BBC News: Sweden will allow gay couples to be legally married from next month. Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to recognise same-sex marriage, becoming the fifth country in Europe to do so. To read the complete article, click here.
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Vermont gay marriage bill in hands of state House
The Associated Press
A bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Vermont is in the hands of state House lawmakers. Last month the state Senate overwhelmingly approved similar legislation.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/980645.html
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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Could new moderate Senate group threaten LGBT bills?
Group might 'splinter the Democratic majority'
By CHRIS JOHNSON
The formation of a moderate Democratic working group in the U.S. Senate is raising questions about whether the group could obstruct the advancement of pro-LGBT legislation. Dan Pinello, who's gay and a government professor at the City University of New York, said he doesn't think the group's formation is "a good sign for LGBT rights."
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=24798
-Conn. gay marriage advocacy group to shut down
An advocacy group that was a major player in Connecticut's gay marriage debate has decided to close its doors at the end of 2009. Leaders at "Love Makes a Family" say the 10-year-old group wants to conclude its work on a victorious note in the wake of last fall's state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. The Hartford-based group was formed in 1999 to lobby for legislation letting gay couples legally adopt in Connecticut. It later grew into a statewide coalition of people and organizations supporting gay marriage. Only Connecticut and Massachusetts have legalized gay marriage. Several other states have laws to either recognize same-sex civil unions or domestic partnerships.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=24793
-A test case on same-sex fairness
Shirley Tan is a 43-year old Pacifica homemaker and mother of twin seventh-grade boys. Tan also wears an ankle bracelet assigned by immigration agents after a dawn raid on her home two months ago. Barring a legal miracle, she faces likely deportation to the Philippines on Friday. That result would devastate her family and friends. But her case also touches off two flashpoint issues - immigration law and same-sex marriage - that are combining in a way that shows the unfairness of this country's laws.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/31/EDB216Q4D8.DTL
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-ACLU: Fred Phelps-motivated law unconstitutional
By The Associated Press
A lawsuit challenging Michigan's law restricting funeral protests was filed Wednesday on behalf of a couple who were pulled over and arrested during a procession for a friend killed in Iraq because their van bore signs critical of then-President George W. Bush.
http://www.365gay.com/news/aclu-fred-phelps-motivated-law-unconstitutional/
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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gay couple barred from entering slimming competition
A gay couple who joined Slimming World have been barred from entering the company's annual Mr & Mrs competition. Jean-Paul Ravenk and his partner of 19 years joined the weight loss scheme in November 2007. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11836.html
-Ugandan activists refute allegations of 'gay recruitment'
Gays and lesbians in Uganda have denied embarking on "recruitment drives" to attract people to homosexuality. According to LGBTI Ugandans, Christian and government leaders are running a campaign to project gays 'recruiting' children into homosexuality by giving them money. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11839.html
-Clementine Ford comes out
Cybil Shepherd's daughter, Clementine Ford, has come out. The L Word guest star was pressed by Advocate.com to clear up the "confusion" that had been sparked when Diva magazine implied that Ford had officially come out and had an affair with co-star Katherine Moennig. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11838.html
-Microsoft 'homophobia' tribunal ends in settlement
A gay games developer who sued Microsoft over alleged homophobic abuse has reached a settlement with the company. Jamie Durrant, 38, orginally sued the corporation for £45,000 for 'hurt feelings' and lost pay. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11840.html
-West Midlands police launch gay crime survey
West Midlands police have set up an online survey to ask LGBT people to contribute their views on their safety and how they feel police respond to hate crimes. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11837.html
-Sweden approves same-sex marriage
Six of the seven parties in Swedish parliament have backed a proposal to introduce a gender-neutral marriage law. The proposal passed today with a 261 to 22 vote and 16 abstentions. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11834.html
-Policeman jailed over underage gay sex
A former PC who was a lesbian and gay liasion officer has been jailed for two and a half years for sexual activity with a 15-year-old boy. Mark Brigham, 38, formerly of the Metropolitan Police, met the 15-year-old at a party in August. The teenager's family had asked Brigham to give him advice as he had just come out. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11831.html
-ITV comedy Moving Wallpaper investigated for 'transphobic' comments
Ofcom has received more than 50 complaints about an episode of ITV comedy Moving Wallpaper over alleged transphobia. The complaints focus on an episode aired on 20th March, in which trans character Georgina was mocked by other characters. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11828.html
-Conservatives attempt to derail plans to lift US military gay ban
A conservative group has said that allowing gays to serve openly in the US military could threaten national security. A letter urging President Barack Obama to preserve the gay ban was leaked to the Palm Center, a research institute at the University of California. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11827.html
-God Hates Fags church raises money for LGBT support group
Members of Westboro Baptist Church, who chant slogans such as "fags burn in hell", have unintentionally raised money for a gay rights group. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11826.html
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Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-CMC Seeks Advice on DADT Policy
Dan Lamothe - Staff writer | Marine Times
Commandant Gen. James Conway is polling his generals on the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In a March 13 "P4" - personal-for message to all 82 of his general officers, Conway asks four questions, including this one: "How strongly should we, as an institution, challenge the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy?" The other questions covered in the e-mail, which came under the subject line, "2009 UPDATE FOR THE COMMANDANT," covered priorities at a time of "dwindling budgets," seabasing and a general question about "any topic that you think is important and should influence the course and speed of the Corps." Responses are due by April 10. Read more
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-To: Fellow Citizens of Uganda
Over the past few weeks, very serious allegations of 'recruitment' into homosexuality, have been leveled against Homosexual Citizens of Uganda by various people and institutions. We have been accused of accepting huge amounts of money for the so called 'recruitment' drives , by the Family Life Network (FLN). We affirm that we are homosexual. That means that we are different in sexual orientation from most of our fellow Ugandans. That does not make us criminals. We, like all other Ugandans, are responsible and law abiding citizens. Homosexual Ugandans do not condone or support recruitment of people into homosexuality at any level. We strongly and fiercely condemn it. We know that sexual orientation is not changeable. We are homosexuals and cannot hange. In the same way, we cannot change heterosexuals into homosexuals. We cannot recruit. WE CANNOT, DO NOT, HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER 'recruit'. We can only deduce that those leveling these claims aim to inflame the public against us, a minority group.
http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1101378359458&ea=kenneth.sherrill%40hunter.cuny.edu&a=1102534460875
-National Religious Leadership Roundtable responds to endorsement of policy changes by the council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America regarding same-gender relationships
The National Religious Leadership Roundtable, convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, responded to the announcement by the church council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) directing the churchwide assembly in August to approve the â?oSocial Statement on Human Sexuality,â? implement it, and direct the removal of the policy that prohibited service in ministry by those in committed, same-gender relationships. Also, the church council reaffirmed its recommendation to the August assembly on rules to govern its activities by defeating a motion that would have required a super-majority of the voting members to pass not only the social statement but also any matters that came before the assembly on any related subject. oThe Social Statement on Human Sexuality acknowledges what we have known for the last 30 years, that we Lutherans are not of one mind on issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusion. Still, this document recognizes that LGBT people are, and always have been, part of the great diversity of Godâ?Ts creation â?" finally.
http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=mmK6JjMVIkJXJlL&s=5eIDLQPtEhIMJPNqFkE&m=jkLTL7OQLpKaH>,
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HeartStrong
http://www.heartstrong.org
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-We are happy to announce our upcoming outreach/educational trip to Texas. It begins May 1. This is our 35th outreach/educational trip since 1998. It's almost unbelievable that we have made 35 trips around the US encompassing more than 380,000 miles. They say everything is bigger in Texas. That may be true but for HeartStrong our budget for Texas is definitely smaller than usual. We have worked diligently to make sure that our costs are low. Money is tight for everyone and we want to make sure that HeartStrong's use of your sacrifically given donations is used prudently. [...] We have created a special donation link for you to make donations to help us reach our goal of $5,000.00. Just click on this link and you will be taken to PayPal where you can make a secure online donation to HeartStrong. You don't have to have a PayPal account to do this. We're trying to make this very easy for everyone to participate. If everyone who reads this would just donate $3.00 each, we would reach our goal.
Marc Adams
Founder/Executive Director
http://heartstrong.org/HeartStrong/texas2009.html
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The White House Will Listen to People Living with HIV/AIDS at AIDSWatch
Washington, D.C.: On Monday, April 27, 2009, the newly appointed Director of the Office on National AIDS Policy (ONAP), Jeffrey Crowley, will speak directly with people living with HIV/AIDS at this year's AIDSWatch. Mr. Crowley will discuss his office's plans to develop a National AIDS Strategy. The development of a National AIDS Strategy is the first opportunity in almost a decade for people with HIV/AIDS to share their thoughts and concerns directly with the President of the United States and his Administration about domestic HIV/AIDS policies and priorities. This meeting will provide the space for people living with HIV/AIDS to share their recommendations for the National AIDS Strategy and discuss their successes and concerns related to Federal HIV/AIDS programs. This meeting is a signal that the Obama Administration has heard community concerns about being left out of planning and implementation processes. A group of people living with HIV/AIDS will facilitate the discussion and solicit questions and comments from people living with HIV/AIDS for the Office of National AIDS Policy.
Attend AIDSWatch this year to make sure YOUR voice is heard about:
Ø A comprehensive, coordinated, and outcome-driven National AIDS Strategy
Ø Providing substantive increases for domestic HIV/AIDS initiatives;
Ø Expand access to affordable, quality, and comprehensive HIV treatment and care for all persons living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. This includes passing the Early Treatment for HIV Act, changes to the Medicare prescription drug benefit, and addressing high-costs incurred through private insurance.
Ø Replace proven ineffective HIV prevention strategies with robust evidence-based initiatives; and
Ø Repeal stigmatizing and out-dated policies that impede efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat HIV.
If you have not done so already, register for AIDSWatch 2009 today!
https://www.kintera.org/AutoGen/Register/Register.asp?ievent=301514&en=rwIVI6NYLhLQKfNYIbLQLfM5KuJbKkMWJjJXJeOWIhJ0KfO3LAJ
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Letter from Michael Moore
"We the People" to "King of the World": "YOU'RE FIRED!"
Nothing like it has ever happened. The President of the United States, the elected representative of the people, has just told the head of General Motors -- a company that's spent more years at #1 on the Fortune 500 list than anyone else -- "You're fired!" I simply can't believe it. This stunning, unprecedented action has left me speechless for the past two days. I keep saying, "Did Obama really fire the chairman of General Motors? The wealthiest and most powerful corporation of the 20th century? Can he do that? Really? Well, damn! What else can he do?!" This bold move has sent the heads of corporate America spinning and spewing pea soup. Obama has issued this edict: The government of, by, and for the people is in charge here, not big business. John McCain got it. On the floor of the Senate he asked, "What does this signal send to other corporations and financial institutions about whether the federal government will fire them as well?" Senator Bob Corker said it "should send a chill through all Americans who believe in free enterprise." The stock market plunged as the masters of the universe asked themselves, "Am I next?" And they whispered to each other, "What are we going to do about this Obama?"
MichaelMoore.com
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Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-Uganda: We do NOT recruit
Yesterday at 10:00 a.m., the Ugandan LGBTI community held a press conference at the Metropole Hotel in Kampala to refute recent allegations that its members recruit youth into homosexuality and receive lots of money from international donors for this practice. About 10 media houses were in the conference hall half an hour before the start of the briefing. Representatives from the slandered LGBTI community walked in at 10:00 a.m. promptly. A panel of 3 LGBTI human rights defenders, Kasha Jacqueline (Freedom and Roam Uganda), David Kisule (Sexual Minorities Uganda) and Victor Mukasa (International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission) stood up to address the nation.
http://iglhrc.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/we-do-not-recruit/
-The Swedish Parliament has just voted YES to a new law on gender neutral marriages. From May 1 2009 Swedish gays and lesbians can marry if they want to.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=24&art_id=nw20090401170556301C626382
-Moscow: Two organisers of Moscow Gay Pride were arrested yesterday by police in Ryazan , a city located 200 km southeast of Moscow . Nikolai Baev and Irina Fet were detained in the city centre and charged with "propaganda of homosexuality to minors", an offence that carries a fine. The two were later released from custody on the promise that they would appear in Court.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-IGLHRC to Secretary Clinton: New AIDS Czar Must Include LGBT
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have been denied access to HIV services funded with U.S. foreign assistance, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) said today in a letter to Secretary of State Clinton. IGLHRC called for a more inclusive approach to sexual and reproductive health policy overseas, and the appointment of a Global AIDS Coordinator prepared to promote LGBT health and rights. "In recent years, U.S. policy has by and large neglected the needs of LGBT people worldwide," said Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC's Executive Director. "The Obama administration should use this moment of great change to bring U.S. HIV funding overseas into harmony with our stated commitments to science, human rights and inclusion."
http://www.iglhrc.org/binary-data/ATTACHMENT/file/000/000/247-1.pdf
-Lesbian makes history by winning mayor's job in Zurich
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/pijUhixlhWfXoHCibTdfBVSIjs
-U.S. judge rules for teen girls in "sexting" case
A U.S. judge on Monday barred a Pennsylvania prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three teenage girls caught with sexually suggestive pictures of themselves on their cell phones. U.S. District Judge James Munley said he was issuing a restraining order on Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick because his proposed action would violate freedom of speech and parental rights. The ruling came after the American Civil Liberties Union sued Skumanick on behalf of the girls and their families.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE52U0CX20090331
-Will the California Supreme Court Strike Down Prop 8, or "Willy-Nilly Disregard" Its Duty?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-wolfson/will-the-california-supre_b_180720.html
-The latest issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine is now online at
www.gayandlesbianhumanist.org.
-We are writing to ask for your participation in Campus Pride's
National LGBT College Climate Survey - GO ONLINE and register to WIN A FREE RSVP CRUISE or $500 CASH!
The National LGBT College Climate Survey is a comprehensive assessment to document annually the experiences of students, faculty, staff, and administrators who identify as LGBT at America's colleges and universities. The annual assessment examines emerging issues, trends and changing demographics of LGBT people in higher education.
http://www.campuspride.org/research
-On 'nakation,' forget worries and clothes
(CNN) -- There's something about being naked that makes a person forget a layoff, pay cut or a shrunken retirement account. At least that's how the promoters of nude travel see it. The economic recession is "doing us a lot of favors, maybe because there's the idea that if you've lost the shirt off your back, you should go nude," said Erich Schuttauf, executive director of the American Association for Nude Recreation. He added: "You go to a [nudist resort] and when you take off all your clothes, all the cues that tie you to the workaday world -- the ties, the suits and everything -- when that's gone, your body says it's time to relax. You get in that mode faster."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/03/24/naked.travel.recession/index.html
-Recession hits transgenders
Transgender people are 'disproportionally impacted' by the economic downturn, a study says.
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-03-27/lifestyle/recession-hits-transgenders-hard
-EU shows east-west divide on homophobia
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Despite considerable advances in recent years, the social situation for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and transgendered (LGBT) people throughout the European Union remains a problem, particularly in the east, according to a major new survey. Discrimination, bullying, harassment and attacks occur across the EU. Politicians in a number of eastern member states seem to side with or turn a blind eye to perpetrators, while the ability of victims to report crimes is undermined by lack of police training, leading to significant underreporting, according to a 160-page report on the social aspects of homophobia from the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency.
http://www.ilga-europe.org/
-Britain could allow abortion advice, condom ads
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090326/hl_afp/healthbritainfertilitylawmediaethics_20090326133030
-Nigerian gay rights activists have told the country's lawmakers that a new bill to outlaw same sex marriage would lead to widespread human rights abuses. The new law would mean prison sentences for gay people who live together, and anyone who "aids and abets" them. The plea by activists was made to a public committee of the National Assembly which is discussing the bill. It is already illegal to have gay sex in Nigeria but the new law would extend police powers to arrest suspects. "This bill is not necessary, we see no reason why people should be criminalised," Rashidi Williams, 23, of the Queer Alliance of Nigeria told the committee.
-ESPN journalist LZ Granderson was honored with the Outstanding Digital
Journalism Article award for his piece, "Gay Athletes Are Making Their Mark." In a much broader sense, ESPN - the worldwide leader in sports reporting - has begun doing just that. Rybka calls LZ Granderson, an openly gay television analyst and writer for ESPN.com's Page Two, "probably the most visible gay man in sports today." His presence helps raise LGBT awareness with readers, viewers, even network staffers.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=granderson/080218
-Tyra Banks, Suze Orman Honored at 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Presented by IBM
http://www.glaad.org/media/release_detail.php?id=5097
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Truth Wins Out - TWO
by Wayne Besen
http://www.truthwinsout.org/
-Jamaica: A Killer Vacation
This week, I joined San Francisco organizer Michael Petrelis and Box Turtle Bulletin editor Jim Burroway in launching an international boycott against Jamaica (www.boycottJamaica.org). While the island appears laid back, gays are under attack. Forget business as usual. Instead, we should stop doing business with a country that is proud of its persecution against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Our goal is to turn Jamaica into a pariah state, as long as GLBT people live in a state of terror. This means no more subsidizing the anti-gay slaughter by drinking Myers Rum and Red Stripe Beer. It requires skipping that Carnival Cruise to Jamaica -- so your money won't support murder.
http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/jamaica-a-killer-vacation/
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Soulforce
http://www.soulforce.org/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-Soulforce: NATIONAL CALL FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ISSUED - NEW WEBSITE SEEKS
TO EDUCATE PUBLIC AND TRAIN ORGANIZERS NATIONWIDE
In response to the growing equality movement in California and across the country, community organizers are issuing a call for the use of nonviolent civil disobedience to further the cause. This call comes at a time when the equality movement is energized surrounding the upcoming California Supreme Court decision on the validity of Proposition 8. Soulforce is collaborating with individual organizers and groups, including Join the Impact, to issue this call. Jeff Lutes, Soulforce Executive Director, drafted the call to action which has been signed already by several community leaders, including Cleve Jones, who is the founder of the NAMES/AIDS Memorial Quilt, and was a historical consultant on the Academy Award winning film MILK. Working closely with other leaders, Soulforce organizer Chris Hubble created a new website, www.nonviolence4equality.org to assist in educating the public on nonviolent civil disobedience. The website launched Monday and is designed to help community members learn about the philosophy, practice and history of nonviolent strategies and connect with others locally who are interested in organizing nonviolent civil disobedience.
http://www.soulforce.org/sendstudio/link.php?M=35882&N=670&L=2017&F=H
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Gay & Lesbian Leadership SmartBrief
Marine generals are asked views on military gay ban
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway reportedly has set an April 10 deadline for the 82 generals under his command to indicate their views on whether their branch of the military should oppose the gay ban. A spokesman, saying the question was posed in a private e-mail between the Conway and his officers, declined further comment.
MarineCorpsTimes.com
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Leading Catholic Asks Obama to Rethink Abortion
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_notre_dame/2009/03/31/198171.html?s=al&promo_code=7D3C-1
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Forwarded from Michael Emanuel Rajner
merajner@gmail.com
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-U.S. Rep Alcee Hastings commemorates legacy of AIDS activist
Pedro ZamoraIn an effort to create greater public awareness of HIV/AIDS, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, has introduced a resolution commemorating the life and legacy of Pedro Zamora. Zamora, a Cuban-American gay man was living in Miami, when he became infected with HIV at the age of 17. He was an AIDS activist for several years before he sent a letter to MTV's The Real World. Zamora was cast for The Real World: San Francisco in 1994 and died of AIDS the day after the season ended. [...] Hastings' resolution comes as the made-for-tv movie
http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/407573/moviemain.jhtml
-Pedro premieres at 8 p.m. today [April 1] on MTV, mtvU, LOGO and MTV Tr3s,
with subtitles in Spanish. Here's the trailer for the movie:
http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/346716/pedro-the-movie.jhtml#movieId=1606095
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - April 02, 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:
-Global Leaders Meet in Bid to Resolve Rift on Economic Plan
By MARK LANDLER and DAVID E. SANGER
LONDON - Britain predicted on Thursday that world leaders would bridge their differences on steps to recover from the deepest global economic downturn since World War II, as President Obama and his counterparts from more than 20 industrial and developing countries began a day of talks here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/world/europe/03summit.html?_r=1&hp
-China Vies to Be World's Leader in Electric Cars
By KEITH BRADSHER
TIANJIN, China - Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/business/global/02electric.html?hp
-Toll Discounts for In-State Residents Draw Constitutional Challenge
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Is E-ZPass helping states violate the Constitution? Massachusetts and Rhode Island use electronic toll systems to charge their residents less than out-of-staters at some bridges and tunnels. Now two new lawsuits filed in federal courts say the practice is unconstitutional.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/02ezpass.html?hpw
-Jury Gets Case of Fired Professor
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
After a four-week trial, a jury in Denver is deliberating the case of Ward L. Churchill, a former University of Colorado professor who says he was fired because of an essay he wrote in which he called victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks "little Eichmanns."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/02churchill.html?hpw
-The Forgotten Rich
The Senate budget debate began this week against a backdrop of war and recession, rising unemployment and surging foreclosures, runaway health care costs and diminishing insurance coverage - to name just a few of the nation's big problems. But for Senator Blanche Lincoln, Democrat of Arkansas, and Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, the most pressing issue is clear: America's wealthiest families need help. Now.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02thu1.html?ref=opinion
-The People Have Mumbled
By GAIL COLLINS
We were so excited about that special Congressional election in upstate New York. Finally, a chance to find out whether the nation really approves of what Barack Obama has been doing!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02collins.html?ref=opinion
-With the Downturn, It's Time to Rethink the Legal Profession
By ADAM COHEN
The economic downturn is hitting the legal world hard. American Lawyer is calling it "the fire this time" and warning that big firms may be hurtling toward "a paradigm-shifting, blood-in-the-suites" future. The Law Shucks blog has a "layoff tracker," and it is grim reading. Top firms are rapidly thinning their ranks, and several - including Heller Ehrman, a venerable 500-plus-lawyer firm founded in 1890 - have closed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02thu4.html?ref=opinion
-At Stake Are More Than Banks
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
As world leaders gather in London for the Group of 20 summit meeting, the most wrenching statistic is this: According to World Bank estimates, the global economic crisis will cause an additional 22 children to die per hour, throughout all of 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02kristof.html?ref=opinion
-America Agonistes
By ROGER COHEN
LONDON - Pax Americana, unlovely but effective, has endured for more than 60 years, the consequence of the post-war development of the United States as a European and Asian power. It has averted the worst, but it is safe to say that it is closer to the end than the beginning of its life.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02iht-edcohen.html?ref=opinion
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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Obama, Medvedev Pledge Cooperation
Leaders Open Talks on Arms-Control Treaty
By Michael D. Shear and Scott Wilson
LONDON, April 1 -- President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced the start of negotiations Wednesday on a new strategic arms-control treaty that would cut each nation's long-range nuclear arsenal further than previous agreements, inaugurating what both men indicated would be a more pragmatic relationship than the one their predecessors pursued.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040100242.html?hpid=topnews
-Recession Taking Emotional Toll, New Poll Finds
People Spending Less, Stressing More
By Jennifer Agiesta
Consumers are keeping their wallets in their pockets and feeling increasingly anxious because of the recession, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Many report putting off big-ticket spending that could benefit the hard-hit automotive and travel industries, while also cutting out everyday indulgences such as dining out.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040102954.html?hpid=topnews
-Todd Palin: $150K on clothes 'out of our control'
The Associated Press
The husband of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says the Republican Party's lavish spending on her wardrobe during the presidential campaign was "out of our control." In the May issue of Men's Journal, Todd Palin was asked about the more than $150,000 that the Republican National Committee spent on clothes, accessories and beauty services for the GOP vice presidential nominee. He defended his wife, saying she was focused on preparation for her debate with Joe Biden.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040102302.html?hpid=sec-politics
-1 in 5 Medicare patients readmitted within month
By STEPHANIE NANO
One in five Medicare patients end up back in the hospital within a month of discharge, a large study found, and that practice costs billions of dollars a year. The findings suggest patients aren't told enough about how to take care of themselves and stay healthy before they go home, the researchers said. A few simple things _ like making a doctor's appointment for departing patients _ can help, they said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040102977.html?hpid=sec-health
-The Stevens Case
Its shocking reversal says more about the Justice Department than about the former senator. TED STEVENS should be jumping for joy. The Justice Department Wednesday announced that it would ask a judge to dismiss the conviction of the former Alaska Republican senator, who was tried last year on charges of failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts from an Alaska oil services firm and its former chief executive, among others. The government also announced that it would not seek to retry Mr. Stevens, 85, who lost a reelection bid last November.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040102976.html
-Obama's Muscle Moment
By David S. Broder
Last week's edition of the Economist, the shrewd British journal, had a lead editorial expressing serious misgivings about Barack Obama. "His performance has been weaker than those who endorsed his candidacy, including this newspaper, had hoped," it said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103040.html
-Rolling Out Obamanomics
By David Ignatius
As President Obama takes his seat at the Group of 20 summit in London today, the world's leaders will be curious what economic philosophy he represents. Is this the same America that celebrated go-go capitalism and resisted regulation of global financial markets, or is it a chastened nation? Is America still from Mars, to use the shorthand of the Bush years, or has it moved to Venus?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103041.html
-Disturber of the Peace
'Yes, We Can' Meets Conservative Europe
By Robert Kagan
French President Nicolas Sarkozy posed the essential question a few weeks ago when he asked, "Does Europe want peace, or does it want to be left in peace?" Well, as Groucho Marx said, when asked if he was a man or mouse: "Put a piece of cheese on the floor, and you'll find out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103060.html
-How a 'G-2' Would Hurt
By Dennis C. Wilder
At this week's Group of 20 summit, President Obama must reaffirm to the world that Washington has no intention of forming or even moving toward an exclusive "G-2" relationship with China. It is, of course, important that the United States deepen the constructive and candid ties established between Chinese President Hu Jintao and former president George W. Bush. The Obama administration's willingness to build on that record is heartening, and it is in the interest of all nations that we broaden the U.S.-China relationship. We will, however, pay a heavy price with our long-term friends and allies in Asia by referring to increased economic cooperation with China as a new G-2.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103039.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Bernie Madoff Scandal
By Arlene Satchell
Feds seize Madoff's Palm Beach home, Fort Lauderdale yacht
"It's not an April Fools' joke,'' U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden said of the Madoff property seizure that was ordered on March 23 by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-bernie-madoff-yacht-bn040109,0,7775930.story
-Florida Senate debates sweeping property insurance measure
Julie Patel and Josh Hafenbrack
A sweeping measure that would increase property insurance rates for most Florida home and condominium owners got its first public debate today. Sen. Garrett Richter, the bill's sponsor, postponed its first vote amid biting questions from fellow Republican senators.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-florida-senate-insurance-c040109,0,1186684.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Begin discussion on legalizing drugs
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
lpitts@miamiherald.com
Maybe we should legalize drugs. I come neither eagerly nor easily to that maybe. Rather, I come by way of spiraling drug violence in Mexico that recently forced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to acknowledge the role America's insatiable appetite for narcotics plays in the carnage. I come by way of watching Olympian Michael Phelps do the usual public relations song and dance after being outed smoking weed, and knowing the whole thing was a ritualized farce. Most of all, I come by way of personal antipathy: I don't like and have never used illegal drugs. But yeah, I'm thinking maybe we should legalize them.
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard-pitts/story/978041.html
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-New sugar deal: Crist announces 72,500 acres for $533 million
By MICHAEL C. BENDER, PAUL QUINLAN and SUSAN SALISBURY
Gov. Charlie Crist still proposes buying a huge swath of U.S. Sugar Corp.'s farmland to save the Everglades.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/local_news/epaper/2009/04/01/0401sugar.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-House takes second crack at bonuses
By Silla Brush
The House approved a bill on Wednesday evening that seeks to limit bonuses at firms receiving bailout money, but delegates the Treasury secretary to determine unreasonable pay standards.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/house-takes-second-crack-at-bonuses-2009-04-01.html
-The Man Who Ate the G.O.P.
by Michael Wolff
In an ailing radio industry, with a graying audience and a pro-government landscape, Rush Limbaugh should be shuffling off into irrelevancy. Instead, his ever more outrageous attacks have everyone debating whether he's the G.O.P.'s de facto leader, while the party shapes its ideology to fit his needs.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/05/rush-limbaugh200905
-"No" Worries
Republicans let Obama goad them into releasing a budget. Maybe they shouldn't have.
By Christopher Beam
Watching congressional Republicans elaborately introduce their second alternative budget-this time with numbers-it was hard not to see them as victims of a cruel prank.
http://www.slate.com/id/2215144/
-A Food-Safety Savior?
By Caroline Smith DeWaal
An expert has five key questions for HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius. With yet another food recall in the news (this time it's pistachios), Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, now poised to take the helm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will undoubtedly face tough questions at her confirmation hearings about the failed safety record of products like peanut butter, pet food, spinach and tomatoes. The Food and Drug Administration, which is a part of HHS, has responsibility for oversight of the lion's share of the food supply and as such, touches every American three times each day like clockwork, at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/190219
-Dems Investigating Bush Administration Role In AIG Collapse
A House oversight panel is investigating the role Bush administration officials and regulators played in the collapse of American International Group. The first step of the investigation begins Thursday, House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Towns (D-N.Y.) tells the Huffington Post, when the committee hears testimony from former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/01/dems-investigating-bush-a_n_181868.html
-Obama's humble America
By Sam Youngman
President Obama used his first full day in the arena of heavyweight international diplomacy to reveal an ambitious agenda and a new American humility. Even as the events in London were marred by violent riots and protocol hiccups, Obama enjoyed a day of meetings with traditional rivals and longtime enemies, the productivity of which surprised even some White House officials.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-humble-america-2009-04-01.html
-Here, There, Everywhere
by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
Why Obama challenges not only his entrenched adversaries, but also his natural allies. The great mystery of the Obama administration's economic agenda is whether its signature marriage of boldness and caution will prove to be a Goldilocks recipe that gets things just right, or a Rube Goldberg approach of unimaginable complexity and uncertain purpose.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=ae228038-830a-4ba3-98ec-af77da1dcbe6
-Momentum grows among Dems for using rules to avoid filibuster
By Walter Alarkon and Jared Allen
Momentum among Democrats is growing to use special budget rules to push major healthcare reform this year through the Senate with a simple majority. Two possible members of a House-Senate conference committee, which is likely to have the final say on the rules' use, on Tuesday refused to rule out the use of reconciliation instructions that would include an overhaul of the nation's healthcare system in a final budget resolution.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/momentum-grows-among-dems--for-using-rules-to-avoid-filibuster-2009-03-31.html
-Is Merit Pay a Distraction in the Fight for Meaningful Education Reform?
Dana Goldstein
Merit pay is the hot topic in education policy. But the history of American education reform suggests we should be skeptical of single-faceted solutions to multifaceted problems. Merit pay is hot. Every few years something like this happens in education policy. Support for one or another reform method -- small schools, or uniforms, or reducing class size -- turns into a litmus test for whether or not an educator, advocate, or writer really supports education "reform"; whether, in the perennial question of education reformers and policy makers everywhere, a person truly "puts children first."
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=is_merit_pay_a_distraction_in_the_fight_for_meaningful_education_reform
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Global Leaders Meet in Bid to Resolve Rift on Economic Plan
By MARK LANDLER and DAVID E. SANGER
LONDON - Britain predicted on Thursday that world leaders would bridge their differences on steps to recover from the deepest global economic downturn since World War II, as President Obama and his counterparts from more than 20 industrial and developing countries began a day of talks here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/world/europe/03summit.html?_r=1&hp
-China Vies to Be World's Leader in Electric Cars
By KEITH BRADSHER
TIANJIN, China - Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/business/global/02electric.html?hp
-Toll Discounts for In-State Residents Draw Constitutional Challenge
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Is E-ZPass helping states violate the Constitution? Massachusetts and Rhode Island use electronic toll systems to charge their residents less than out-of-staters at some bridges and tunnels. Now two new lawsuits filed in federal courts say the practice is unconstitutional.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/02ezpass.html?hpw
-Jury Gets Case of Fired Professor
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
After a four-week trial, a jury in Denver is deliberating the case of Ward L. Churchill, a former University of Colorado professor who says he was fired because of an essay he wrote in which he called victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks "little Eichmanns."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/02churchill.html?hpw
-The Forgotten Rich
The Senate budget debate began this week against a backdrop of war and recession, rising unemployment and surging foreclosures, runaway health care costs and diminishing insurance coverage - to name just a few of the nation's big problems. But for Senator Blanche Lincoln, Democrat of Arkansas, and Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, the most pressing issue is clear: America's wealthiest families need help. Now.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02thu1.html?ref=opinion
-The People Have Mumbled
By GAIL COLLINS
We were so excited about that special Congressional election in upstate New York. Finally, a chance to find out whether the nation really approves of what Barack Obama has been doing!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02collins.html?ref=opinion
-With the Downturn, It's Time to Rethink the Legal Profession
By ADAM COHEN
The economic downturn is hitting the legal world hard. American Lawyer is calling it "the fire this time" and warning that big firms may be hurtling toward "a paradigm-shifting, blood-in-the-suites" future. The Law Shucks blog has a "layoff tracker," and it is grim reading. Top firms are rapidly thinning their ranks, and several - including Heller Ehrman, a venerable 500-plus-lawyer firm founded in 1890 - have closed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02thu4.html?ref=opinion
-At Stake Are More Than Banks
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
As world leaders gather in London for the Group of 20 summit meeting, the most wrenching statistic is this: According to World Bank estimates, the global economic crisis will cause an additional 22 children to die per hour, throughout all of 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02kristof.html?ref=opinion
-America Agonistes
By ROGER COHEN
LONDON - Pax Americana, unlovely but effective, has endured for more than 60 years, the consequence of the post-war development of the United States as a European and Asian power. It has averted the worst, but it is safe to say that it is closer to the end than the beginning of its life.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02iht-edcohen.html?ref=opinion
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Obama, Medvedev Pledge Cooperation
Leaders Open Talks on Arms-Control Treaty
By Michael D. Shear and Scott Wilson
LONDON, April 1 -- President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced the start of negotiations Wednesday on a new strategic arms-control treaty that would cut each nation's long-range nuclear arsenal further than previous agreements, inaugurating what both men indicated would be a more pragmatic relationship than the one their predecessors pursued.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040100242.html?hpid=topnews
-Recession Taking Emotional Toll, New Poll Finds
People Spending Less, Stressing More
By Jennifer Agiesta
Consumers are keeping their wallets in their pockets and feeling increasingly anxious because of the recession, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Many report putting off big-ticket spending that could benefit the hard-hit automotive and travel industries, while also cutting out everyday indulgences such as dining out.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040102954.html?hpid=topnews
-Todd Palin: $150K on clothes 'out of our control'
The Associated Press
The husband of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says the Republican Party's lavish spending on her wardrobe during the presidential campaign was "out of our control." In the May issue of Men's Journal, Todd Palin was asked about the more than $150,000 that the Republican National Committee spent on clothes, accessories and beauty services for the GOP vice presidential nominee. He defended his wife, saying she was focused on preparation for her debate with Joe Biden.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040102302.html?hpid=sec-politics
-1 in 5 Medicare patients readmitted within month
By STEPHANIE NANO
One in five Medicare patients end up back in the hospital within a month of discharge, a large study found, and that practice costs billions of dollars a year. The findings suggest patients aren't told enough about how to take care of themselves and stay healthy before they go home, the researchers said. A few simple things _ like making a doctor's appointment for departing patients _ can help, they said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040102977.html?hpid=sec-health
-The Stevens Case
Its shocking reversal says more about the Justice Department than about the former senator. TED STEVENS should be jumping for joy. The Justice Department Wednesday announced that it would ask a judge to dismiss the conviction of the former Alaska Republican senator, who was tried last year on charges of failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts from an Alaska oil services firm and its former chief executive, among others. The government also announced that it would not seek to retry Mr. Stevens, 85, who lost a reelection bid last November.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040102976.html
-Obama's Muscle Moment
By David S. Broder
Last week's edition of the Economist, the shrewd British journal, had a lead editorial expressing serious misgivings about Barack Obama. "His performance has been weaker than those who endorsed his candidacy, including this newspaper, had hoped," it said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103040.html
-Rolling Out Obamanomics
By David Ignatius
As President Obama takes his seat at the Group of 20 summit in London today, the world's leaders will be curious what economic philosophy he represents. Is this the same America that celebrated go-go capitalism and resisted regulation of global financial markets, or is it a chastened nation? Is America still from Mars, to use the shorthand of the Bush years, or has it moved to Venus?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103041.html
-Disturber of the Peace
'Yes, We Can' Meets Conservative Europe
By Robert Kagan
French President Nicolas Sarkozy posed the essential question a few weeks ago when he asked, "Does Europe want peace, or does it want to be left in peace?" Well, as Groucho Marx said, when asked if he was a man or mouse: "Put a piece of cheese on the floor, and you'll find out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103060.html
-How a 'G-2' Would Hurt
By Dennis C. Wilder
At this week's Group of 20 summit, President Obama must reaffirm to the world that Washington has no intention of forming or even moving toward an exclusive "G-2" relationship with China. It is, of course, important that the United States deepen the constructive and candid ties established between Chinese President Hu Jintao and former president George W. Bush. The Obama administration's willingness to build on that record is heartening, and it is in the interest of all nations that we broaden the U.S.-China relationship. We will, however, pay a heavy price with our long-term friends and allies in Asia by referring to increased economic cooperation with China as a new G-2.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103039.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Bernie Madoff Scandal
By Arlene Satchell
Feds seize Madoff's Palm Beach home, Fort Lauderdale yacht
"It's not an April Fools' joke,'' U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden said of the Madoff property seizure that was ordered on March 23 by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-bernie-madoff-yacht-bn040109,0,7775930.story
-Florida Senate debates sweeping property insurance measure
Julie Patel and Josh Hafenbrack
A sweeping measure that would increase property insurance rates for most Florida home and condominium owners got its first public debate today. Sen. Garrett Richter, the bill's sponsor, postponed its first vote amid biting questions from fellow Republican senators.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-florida-senate-insurance-c040109,0,1186684.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Begin discussion on legalizing drugs
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
lpitts@miamiherald.com
Maybe we should legalize drugs. I come neither eagerly nor easily to that maybe. Rather, I come by way of spiraling drug violence in Mexico that recently forced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to acknowledge the role America's insatiable appetite for narcotics plays in the carnage. I come by way of watching Olympian Michael Phelps do the usual public relations song and dance after being outed smoking weed, and knowing the whole thing was a ritualized farce. Most of all, I come by way of personal antipathy: I don't like and have never used illegal drugs. But yeah, I'm thinking maybe we should legalize them.
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard-pitts/story/978041.html
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-New sugar deal: Crist announces 72,500 acres for $533 million
By MICHAEL C. BENDER, PAUL QUINLAN and SUSAN SALISBURY
Gov. Charlie Crist still proposes buying a huge swath of U.S. Sugar Corp.'s farmland to save the Everglades.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/local_news/epaper/2009/04/01/0401sugar.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-House takes second crack at bonuses
By Silla Brush
The House approved a bill on Wednesday evening that seeks to limit bonuses at firms receiving bailout money, but delegates the Treasury secretary to determine unreasonable pay standards.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/house-takes-second-crack-at-bonuses-2009-04-01.html
-The Man Who Ate the G.O.P.
by Michael Wolff
In an ailing radio industry, with a graying audience and a pro-government landscape, Rush Limbaugh should be shuffling off into irrelevancy. Instead, his ever more outrageous attacks have everyone debating whether he's the G.O.P.'s de facto leader, while the party shapes its ideology to fit his needs.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/05/rush-limbaugh200905
-"No" Worries
Republicans let Obama goad them into releasing a budget. Maybe they shouldn't have.
By Christopher Beam
Watching congressional Republicans elaborately introduce their second alternative budget-this time with numbers-it was hard not to see them as victims of a cruel prank.
http://www.slate.com/id/2215144/
-A Food-Safety Savior?
By Caroline Smith DeWaal
An expert has five key questions for HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius. With yet another food recall in the news (this time it's pistachios), Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, now poised to take the helm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will undoubtedly face tough questions at her confirmation hearings about the failed safety record of products like peanut butter, pet food, spinach and tomatoes. The Food and Drug Administration, which is a part of HHS, has responsibility for oversight of the lion's share of the food supply and as such, touches every American three times each day like clockwork, at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/190219
-Dems Investigating Bush Administration Role In AIG Collapse
A House oversight panel is investigating the role Bush administration officials and regulators played in the collapse of American International Group. The first step of the investigation begins Thursday, House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Towns (D-N.Y.) tells the Huffington Post, when the committee hears testimony from former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/01/dems-investigating-bush-a_n_181868.html
-Obama's humble America
By Sam Youngman
President Obama used his first full day in the arena of heavyweight international diplomacy to reveal an ambitious agenda and a new American humility. Even as the events in London were marred by violent riots and protocol hiccups, Obama enjoyed a day of meetings with traditional rivals and longtime enemies, the productivity of which surprised even some White House officials.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-humble-america-2009-04-01.html
-Here, There, Everywhere
by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
Why Obama challenges not only his entrenched adversaries, but also his natural allies. The great mystery of the Obama administration's economic agenda is whether its signature marriage of boldness and caution will prove to be a Goldilocks recipe that gets things just right, or a Rube Goldberg approach of unimaginable complexity and uncertain purpose.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=ae228038-830a-4ba3-98ec-af77da1dcbe6
-Momentum grows among Dems for using rules to avoid filibuster
By Walter Alarkon and Jared Allen
Momentum among Democrats is growing to use special budget rules to push major healthcare reform this year through the Senate with a simple majority. Two possible members of a House-Senate conference committee, which is likely to have the final say on the rules' use, on Tuesday refused to rule out the use of reconciliation instructions that would include an overhaul of the nation's healthcare system in a final budget resolution.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/momentum-grows-among-dems--for-using-rules-to-avoid-filibuster-2009-03-31.html
-Is Merit Pay a Distraction in the Fight for Meaningful Education Reform?
Dana Goldstein
Merit pay is the hot topic in education policy. But the history of American education reform suggests we should be skeptical of single-faceted solutions to multifaceted problems. Merit pay is hot. Every few years something like this happens in education policy. Support for one or another reform method -- small schools, or uniforms, or reducing class size -- turns into a litmus test for whether or not an educator, advocate, or writer really supports education "reform"; whether, in the perennial question of education reformers and policy makers everywhere, a person truly "puts children first."
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=is_merit_pay_a_distraction_in_the_fight_for_meaningful_education_reform
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - April 02, 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~~
From Gay American Heroes
Please join us Saturday April 4, 2009 -4-7pm
From 4 to 7 pm at the Wine Warehouse.
Located at 1301 E. Oakland Park Blvd. - Oakland Park, FL 33334
With special guest, Stuart Milk
Tickets $20.00
Please call Kevin at 954 465 8521
For Tickets or more infomation.
=
Lambda Legal
As a generous supporter of Lambda Legal you and a guest are invited to attend Take The Power: A Life and Financial Planning Symposium Your choice of time/location:
EITHER
Wednesday, April 22nd - 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
ArtServe - 1350 East Sunrise Blvd.
Auditorium Room
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304
Continental breakfast provided
OR
Wednesday, April 22nd - 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
University of Miami School of Law
1311 Miller Drive - Room E-352
Coral Gables, FL 33146
Dessert and coffee provided
Co-sponsored by UM OutLaws
There is no charge for these events; however, advance RSVPs are required RSVP to Rick Hill at rhill@lambdalegal.org or 786-473-6126 (please be sure to include which program you plan to attend)
=
"Outlet! Plugging Young Women into the Arts!"
A young women's conference with a day of uplifting and educating workshops reaching out to youth lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning from our tri-county community. With such guest speakers as Dani Campbell and special performances by Drag it Out and so much more. Like so many other great things that are happening in the non-profit world, we too need PRESS, and an OUTLET of our own for this information to plug into our LBT and supporting allies. Attached is the PRESS RELEASE, and poster! Please have a look and let us know if/how you can contribute to our voice being heard in the public! Thank you on behalf of the Young women's steering committee!
Saturday, April 18
Sunserve - 1480 SW 9 Ave - Ft. Lauderdale
Tabatha Mudra
954 * 612 * 4489
Tm@TabathaMudra.com
www.TabathaMudra.com
=
GLCCSF - Ft. Lauderdale
News & Events - In this issue:
In This Issue
GLCC FLEA MARKET - SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 8:00AM - 2:00PM
STONEWALL LIBRARY GRAND OPENING - APRIL 23
MIAMI/FORT LAUDERDALE GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL - APRIL 24 - MAY 3
"THE ANDREWS BROTHERS" - RISING ACTION THEATRE - OPENS APRIL 3 - MAY 17
COMING THIS SUMMER...WEB BASED CENSUS OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY
http://www.localendar.com/public/glccsf
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Everglades Restoration Plan Shrinks
By DAMIEN CAVE
The Everglades have become yet another victim of the shrinking economy. Gov. Charlie Crist announced Wednesday that Florida would significantly scale back its $1.34 billion deal to restore the Everglades by buying 180,000 acres from the United States Sugar Corporation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/02everglades.html?hpw
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Florida House to look at raising a variety of fees
BY MARC CAPUTO
Is a $2 surcharge on rental cars a tax? The question will be answered Thursday at the House Tourism and Economic Development Appropriations Committee, which will vote on the most robust package of fees in the Legislature: $837.9 million. The fees, ranging from fines on drunken drivers to increases for motor vehicle tags, will largely help supplement the general-revenue budget. But the rental surcharge worth about $100 million to the state could have trouble.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/980531.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Meek rakes in $1.5 mil for Senate bid
Posted by Beth Reinhard
When a candidate arranges a conference call with reporters to announce a quarterly fundraising total, it's usually a big one. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, did not disappoint, announcing that he collected $1.49 million in the first three months of his campaign.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/04/meek-rakes-in-14-mil-for-senate-bid.html
-Gelber raises $400,000 for Senate
Posted by Beth Reinhard
State Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach collected $400,000 in the first three months of his U.S. Senate campaign. "Given that Dan has been in legislative session in Tallahassee non-stop and most of his campaigning has been on weekends, we feel pretty good about that number,'' said Gelber's senior advisor, Steve Schale. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami announced earlier today that he raised $1.49 million. Will fence-sitting donors wait and see what Gelber can do after the legislative session ends May 1? "It's going to be a long race,'' Schale insisted.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/04/gelber-raises-400000-for-senate.html
-Crist seems to acknowledge cig tax coming
Posted by Alex Leary
Gov. Charlie Crist says he's still opposed to a cigarette tax increase, but he sounds increasingly resigned to one coming from the Legislature. As long as the deal excludes cigars. "I'm not particularly fond of any taxes, user fees may be a different item, so we'll see how it progresses in the House and Senate," Crist told reporters. "They have a tough job, our members. We've already cut over $7 billion over the past two years. ... We know that we have to be in balance."
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/03/crist-seems-to-acknowledge-cig-tax-coming.html
-Penny gas tax could kill clean energy bill
Posted by Shannon Colavecchio
Much-anticipated legislation to encourage clean and renewable energy in Florida appears in danger of dying, but not because of concerns over the inclusion of nuclear energy. Instead, a penny gas tax threatens to squelch the "20 by 2020" proposal, one of Gov. Charlie Crist's legislative priorities. Bill sponsor Sen. Jim King, chair of the chamber's energy and utilities committee, said the penny tax on fuel is necessary to ensure that the renewable and clean energy legislation is actually implemented. It would generate roughly $90 million a year, half to go into a trust fund for helping to develop renewable energies, and half to go into general revenue.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/03/penny-gas-tax-could-kill-clean-energy-bill.html
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
From Gay American Heroes
Please join us Saturday April 4, 2009 -4-7pm
From 4 to 7 pm at the Wine Warehouse.
Located at 1301 E. Oakland Park Blvd. - Oakland Park, FL 33334
With special guest, Stuart Milk
Tickets $20.00
Please call Kevin at 954 465 8521
For Tickets or more infomation.
=
Lambda Legal
As a generous supporter of Lambda Legal you and a guest are invited to attend Take The Power: A Life and Financial Planning Symposium Your choice of time/location:
EITHER
Wednesday, April 22nd - 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
ArtServe - 1350 East Sunrise Blvd.
Auditorium Room
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304
Continental breakfast provided
OR
Wednesday, April 22nd - 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
University of Miami School of Law
1311 Miller Drive - Room E-352
Coral Gables, FL 33146
Dessert and coffee provided
Co-sponsored by UM OutLaws
There is no charge for these events; however, advance RSVPs are required RSVP to Rick Hill at rhill@lambdalegal.org or 786-473-6126 (please be sure to include which program you plan to attend)
=
"Outlet! Plugging Young Women into the Arts!"
A young women's conference with a day of uplifting and educating workshops reaching out to youth lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning from our tri-county community. With such guest speakers as Dani Campbell and special performances by Drag it Out and so much more. Like so many other great things that are happening in the non-profit world, we too need PRESS, and an OUTLET of our own for this information to plug into our LBT and supporting allies. Attached is the PRESS RELEASE, and poster! Please have a look and let us know if/how you can contribute to our voice being heard in the public! Thank you on behalf of the Young women's steering committee!
Saturday, April 18
Sunserve - 1480 SW 9 Ave - Ft. Lauderdale
Tabatha Mudra
954 * 612 * 4489
Tm@TabathaMudra.com
www.TabathaMudra.com
=
GLCCSF - Ft. Lauderdale
News & Events - In this issue:
In This Issue
GLCC FLEA MARKET - SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 8:00AM - 2:00PM
STONEWALL LIBRARY GRAND OPENING - APRIL 23
MIAMI/FORT LAUDERDALE GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL - APRIL 24 - MAY 3
"THE ANDREWS BROTHERS" - RISING ACTION THEATRE - OPENS APRIL 3 - MAY 17
COMING THIS SUMMER...WEB BASED CENSUS OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY
http://www.localendar.com/public/glccsf
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Everglades Restoration Plan Shrinks
By DAMIEN CAVE
The Everglades have become yet another victim of the shrinking economy. Gov. Charlie Crist announced Wednesday that Florida would significantly scale back its $1.34 billion deal to restore the Everglades by buying 180,000 acres from the United States Sugar Corporation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/02everglades.html?hpw
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Florida House to look at raising a variety of fees
BY MARC CAPUTO
Is a $2 surcharge on rental cars a tax? The question will be answered Thursday at the House Tourism and Economic Development Appropriations Committee, which will vote on the most robust package of fees in the Legislature: $837.9 million. The fees, ranging from fines on drunken drivers to increases for motor vehicle tags, will largely help supplement the general-revenue budget. But the rental surcharge worth about $100 million to the state could have trouble.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/980531.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Meek rakes in $1.5 mil for Senate bid
Posted by Beth Reinhard
When a candidate arranges a conference call with reporters to announce a quarterly fundraising total, it's usually a big one. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, did not disappoint, announcing that he collected $1.49 million in the first three months of his campaign.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/04/meek-rakes-in-14-mil-for-senate-bid.html
-Gelber raises $400,000 for Senate
Posted by Beth Reinhard
State Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach collected $400,000 in the first three months of his U.S. Senate campaign. "Given that Dan has been in legislative session in Tallahassee non-stop and most of his campaigning has been on weekends, we feel pretty good about that number,'' said Gelber's senior advisor, Steve Schale. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami announced earlier today that he raised $1.49 million. Will fence-sitting donors wait and see what Gelber can do after the legislative session ends May 1? "It's going to be a long race,'' Schale insisted.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/04/gelber-raises-400000-for-senate.html
-Crist seems to acknowledge cig tax coming
Posted by Alex Leary
Gov. Charlie Crist says he's still opposed to a cigarette tax increase, but he sounds increasingly resigned to one coming from the Legislature. As long as the deal excludes cigars. "I'm not particularly fond of any taxes, user fees may be a different item, so we'll see how it progresses in the House and Senate," Crist told reporters. "They have a tough job, our members. We've already cut over $7 billion over the past two years. ... We know that we have to be in balance."
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/03/crist-seems-to-acknowledge-cig-tax-coming.html
-Penny gas tax could kill clean energy bill
Posted by Shannon Colavecchio
Much-anticipated legislation to encourage clean and renewable energy in Florida appears in danger of dying, but not because of concerns over the inclusion of nuclear energy. Instead, a penny gas tax threatens to squelch the "20 by 2020" proposal, one of Gov. Charlie Crist's legislative priorities. Bill sponsor Sen. Jim King, chair of the chamber's energy and utilities committee, said the penny tax on fuel is necessary to ensure that the renewable and clean energy legislation is actually implemented. It would generate roughly $90 million a year, half to go into a trust fund for helping to develop renewable energies, and half to go into general revenue.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/03/penny-gas-tax-could-kill-clean-energy-bill.html
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
GLBT DIGEST - April 01, 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.
=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
-A Gay Dating Site, Brought to You by the New Jersey AG
By Ashby Jones
It doesn't exactly have the feel of a match made in heaven. But because of a court order, it's happening nonetheless. On Wednesday, the dating site eHarmony will roll out a gay matchmaking service, called Compatible Partners (a name that strikes us, frankly, as more suitable for a roommate or pet-finding service than a dating site).
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/03/31/a-gay-dating-site-brought-to-you-by-the-new-jersey-ag/
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-This computer worm is no April Fool's joke
Personal computers and laptops already infected with Conficker could automatically be linked to the servers operated by the hackers. Cyber security experts are warning that a new variation of Conficker, a fast-spreading computer worm also known as Downadup, could attack millions of computers on Wednesday -- April Fool's Day. Personal computers and laptops already infected with Conficker could automatically be linked to the servers operated by the hackers.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-computer-worm-conficker-0330,0,7417346.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gays, lesbians face wide harassment in Europe
The Associated Press
BRUSSELS -- Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals face widespread harassment, bullying and discrimination across Europe, according to an EU report released Tuesday. That harassment and discrimination occurs "in all areas of social life," from schools to the workplace to health care centers, the report by the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency said. Agency Director Morten Kjaerum said the investigation found gays and lesbians continue to face assault and other physical attacks due to their sexual orientation despite EU rules meant to guarantee equality in the 27-nation bloc.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/976343.html
=
365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Vt Gov flooded with mail over gay marriage veto threat
Some called him a homophobe. Some accused him of spreading hatred. Some thanked him, or applauded him for showing "backbone" in the face of pressure from gay rights advocates.
http://www.365gay.com/news/vt-gov-flooded-with-mail-over-gay-marriage-veto-threat/
-Widespread LGBT harassment throughout Europe
By 365gay Newscenter Staff
(Brussels) Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals face widespread harassment, bullying and discrimination across Europe, according to an EU report released Tuesday.
http://www.365gay.com/news/report-widespread-lgbt-harassment-throughout-europe/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-BNP use Jesus for new ads
The British National Party is using a picture of Jesus in its latest advertising campaign, saying that Christian leaders are 'shunning the word of God' on issues such as sodomy.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11809.html
-Gay firefighter 'killed himself after 15 years of bullying at work'
A man is seeking damages from a fire service after his civil partner killed himself after allegedly suffering 15 years of homophobic bullying and harassment at work. The man, who cannot be named, committed suicide on January 28th, days before his hearing was due to start.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11804.html
-Equality watchdog under pressure as three executives quit
The Equality and Human Rights Commission, chaired by Trevor Phillips, has lost its chief executive and two commissioners in the last week. Nicola Brewer, the chief executive, has left to begin a new job, although her new position has not yet been disclosed.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11807.html
-Zurich elects lesbian mayor
Zurich has elected its first female and first openly lesbian mayor, Corine Mauch. A member of the centre-left Social Democrats, Mauch has been elected with a lead of 11,000 votes over her opposition following the surprise resignation of previous incumbent Elmar Ledergerber late last year.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11801.html
-Bishop of Rochester to resign
The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir Ali, has announced his intention to resign from his post to help Christians living in Islamic areas. The bishop, who has been outspoken on the topic of homosexuality, is 59 and was expected to serve until the age of 70.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11800.html
-Obama administration delays changes to military gay ban
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said that the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy regarding gay and lesbian service members is unlikely to be changed any time soon.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11794.html
-Iraqi gays face execution claims pressure group
A UK group the promotes LGBT rights in Iraq claims that the government is preparing to execute scores of people for being gay.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11806.html
=
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-CA: First Gay, Openly Partnered Man Ordained Into Priesthood
The first openly gay and partnered man in the Diocese of San Diego has been
ordained into the priesthood. On March 21, All Souls' Episcopal Church, ordained Rev. Thomas Wilson, who has served as a deacon there for the past six months. "For us the issue was 'Is he duly called to be a priest? And was he living a godly life?'" the rector, or head priest, of All Souls' Church, Rev. Mike Russell said. "We were all able to say 'yes' to that." Rev. Russell is a leading voice for inclusion of all people in the Episcopal Church, and the ceremony drew clergy and lay people from throughout Southern California. Read more
-CA: Spike in Hate Crimes Keeps Us Aware
Gay & Lesbian Times
A three-fold spike in homophobic hate crimes in Santa Clara County over the past year is being blamed on the fallout over Proposition 8, the voter measure than banned same-sex marriage in California. More than half of all hate crimes reported in the county south of San Francisco were directed at the GLBT community. Last year, 56 percent of hate crimes were designated as homophobic. The year before, it was 15 percent. As staggering as these numbers are, GLBT-rights activists said they are not surprised by the report. Locally, the Deputy District Attorney in charge of hate crimes told the Gay & Lesbian Times that generally there is not a rise in hate crimes when an issue such as same-sex marriage is brought into the public's discourse. A hate crime is defined by law as "a criminal act committed, in whole or in part" because of the victim's actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Read more
-The Laughing Cure
Jennifer Vanasco | Independent Gay Forum
University of Chicago students recently showed us how protests against hate should be done.
When the Westboro Baptist Church - the cult-like organization led by Fred Phelps - trooped to campus to declare Obama the anti-Christ (he taught at the law school), they were carrying their usual array of hateful signs. These, of course, included the slogan that seems to be their favorite: God Hates Fags. Now, there's no arguing with Fred Phelps or his family. People have tried various tactics - yelling back; talking respectfully; being aggressively friendly and saying things like, "God loves me, but God bless you!"; singing songs like "We Shall Overcome"; and, one of my favorites, standing in front of them with giant angel wings so that no one can see their rabid posturing. When the Westboro Church came to Harvard, for example, signs said "Cambridge Pride," and "Jesus loves me, this I know - for God made me so." But Chicago students tried something else. Making fun of the Phelpses. Read more
-New Efforts Made to Fight Anti-Gay Bullying
Steve Weinstein | EDGE Editor-In-Chief | EDGE Boston
No matter how many strides we've taken toward visibility and acceptance, homophobia still runs rampant among teenagers. Campaigns on several fronts are under way to fight what remains a huge problem. Read more Cases like Lawrence King, the California student shot to death in his school last year, highlight the problem. King was not afraid to be out, and ultimately it was his self-presentation that inflamed so much hatred in his killer, Brandon McInerney. Many more, however, suffer because of the most subtle variant in behavior. Debra Chasnoff interviewed teens across the country for her new documentary "Straightlaced: How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up." She found that teens-whether straight, gay or just perceived as gay-have to maintain the stricted self-discipline at all times. "Just about everybody was aware of how a person cannot be perceived as gay," she says about her extensive teen-age sources. "In terms of how they dress, activities they participate in, how much affection to show their friends-they constantly need to prove their heterosexuality." Read More . .
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-Log Cabin Republicans - Recognition
The American Association of Political Consultants ("AAPC") honored Log Cabin Republicans with its highest award for Best Use of Web Animation/Web video in a State Ballot Measure Campaign on Sunday. The "Republicans Against 8" campaign which sought to galvanize opposition to Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative that sought to ban same-sex marriage in the state, capitalized on the organizational, fundraising, and viral marketing opportunities of the World Wide Web. The campaign featured two videos directed by Dustin Lance Black who recently was honored with a Best Screenplay OscarR for "MILK," the biopic of slain politician Harvey Milk. Terry Hamilton, Chair of the Log Cabin Republicans commented, "It is an honor to receive this kind of national recognition for all of the hard work that went into the fight for equality for all Californians. When our organization made the decision to put itself on the front lines of the fight against Proposition 8, we knew that for our unique message to be heard, we needed to distinguish ourselves from the dozens of other groups fighting against Prop 8. The use of web video proved to be an enormously successful part of our strategy."
http://www.logcabin.org
-To watch Republicans Against 8's award-winning videos, visit:
http://youtube.com/RepublicansAgainst8
-Inside Higher Education
A number of universities have expanded health care benefits in recent years to cover sexual reassignment surgery for transgender students and employees, a move some see as an obligation for institutions with nondiscrimination policies that cover the population.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/30/trans
-Australian commission releases amazing report on gender diversity -
Polymorphous Perversity
http://polyperversity.blogspot.com/2009/03/australian-commission-releases-amazing.html
-Judge Sees 'Serious' Issues in Cellphone Photos Case
SCRANTON, Pa. - A federal judge said at a hearing on Thursday that "serious constitutional issues" were raised in a lawsuit filed by three teenage girls and their mothers against a county district attorney who threatened to arrest the students on pornography charges after seminude photographs of them appeared on other students' cellphones. "It seems like the children seemed to be the victims and the perpetrators here," the judge, James M. Munley, told a lawyer for the district attorney, George P. Skumanick of Wyoming County. "How does that make sense?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/us/27sextext.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y
-Confederate defenders seek to honor their history. Many who cherish the modern New South decry the campaign as reminder of slavery's legacy. 'This is a new day,' a Georgia legislator says.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-southern-pride29-2009mar29,0,2829655.story
-Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp in partnership with Towson University
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=b2b2c3c3-2610-40ed-9ef2-b4e7636cf972
-Gay adoption raises an issue still unmined
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/974384.html
-Rethinking the Movement for LGBT Equality
Does the recession offer an opportunity to rethink the overall strategy for LGBT equality by merging some of our organizations into a more powerful force?
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/03/rethinking_the_movement_for_lgbt_equalit.php#comments
=
Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-EU shows east-west divide on homophobia
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Despite considerable advances in recent years, the social situation for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and transgendered (LGBT) people throughout the European Union remains a problem, particularly in the east, according to a major new survey. Discrimination, bullying, harassment and attacks occur across the EU. Politicians in a number of eastern member states seem to side with or turn a blind eye to perpetrators, while the ability of victims to report crimes is undermined by lack of police training, leading to significant underreporting, according to a 160-page report on the social aspects of homophobia from the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency. Even in those member states where attitudes are more tolerant and anti-discrimination laws stricter, there are areas where homophobia is more prevalent, such as in secondary schools and within sports culture, the study says. http://euobserver.com/9/27881
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
-A Gay Dating Site, Brought to You by the New Jersey AG
By Ashby Jones
It doesn't exactly have the feel of a match made in heaven. But because of a court order, it's happening nonetheless. On Wednesday, the dating site eHarmony will roll out a gay matchmaking service, called Compatible Partners (a name that strikes us, frankly, as more suitable for a roommate or pet-finding service than a dating site).
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/03/31/a-gay-dating-site-brought-to-you-by-the-new-jersey-ag/
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-This computer worm is no April Fool's joke
Personal computers and laptops already infected with Conficker could automatically be linked to the servers operated by the hackers. Cyber security experts are warning that a new variation of Conficker, a fast-spreading computer worm also known as Downadup, could attack millions of computers on Wednesday -- April Fool's Day. Personal computers and laptops already infected with Conficker could automatically be linked to the servers operated by the hackers.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-computer-worm-conficker-0330,0,7417346.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gays, lesbians face wide harassment in Europe
The Associated Press
BRUSSELS -- Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals face widespread harassment, bullying and discrimination across Europe, according to an EU report released Tuesday. That harassment and discrimination occurs "in all areas of social life," from schools to the workplace to health care centers, the report by the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency said. Agency Director Morten Kjaerum said the investigation found gays and lesbians continue to face assault and other physical attacks due to their sexual orientation despite EU rules meant to guarantee equality in the 27-nation bloc.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/976343.html
=
365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Vt Gov flooded with mail over gay marriage veto threat
Some called him a homophobe. Some accused him of spreading hatred. Some thanked him, or applauded him for showing "backbone" in the face of pressure from gay rights advocates.
http://www.365gay.com/news/vt-gov-flooded-with-mail-over-gay-marriage-veto-threat/
-Widespread LGBT harassment throughout Europe
By 365gay Newscenter Staff
(Brussels) Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals face widespread harassment, bullying and discrimination across Europe, according to an EU report released Tuesday.
http://www.365gay.com/news/report-widespread-lgbt-harassment-throughout-europe/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-BNP use Jesus for new ads
The British National Party is using a picture of Jesus in its latest advertising campaign, saying that Christian leaders are 'shunning the word of God' on issues such as sodomy.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11809.html
-Gay firefighter 'killed himself after 15 years of bullying at work'
A man is seeking damages from a fire service after his civil partner killed himself after allegedly suffering 15 years of homophobic bullying and harassment at work. The man, who cannot be named, committed suicide on January 28th, days before his hearing was due to start.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11804.html
-Equality watchdog under pressure as three executives quit
The Equality and Human Rights Commission, chaired by Trevor Phillips, has lost its chief executive and two commissioners in the last week. Nicola Brewer, the chief executive, has left to begin a new job, although her new position has not yet been disclosed.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11807.html
-Zurich elects lesbian mayor
Zurich has elected its first female and first openly lesbian mayor, Corine Mauch. A member of the centre-left Social Democrats, Mauch has been elected with a lead of 11,000 votes over her opposition following the surprise resignation of previous incumbent Elmar Ledergerber late last year.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11801.html
-Bishop of Rochester to resign
The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir Ali, has announced his intention to resign from his post to help Christians living in Islamic areas. The bishop, who has been outspoken on the topic of homosexuality, is 59 and was expected to serve until the age of 70.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11800.html
-Obama administration delays changes to military gay ban
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said that the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy regarding gay and lesbian service members is unlikely to be changed any time soon.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11794.html
-Iraqi gays face execution claims pressure group
A UK group the promotes LGBT rights in Iraq claims that the government is preparing to execute scores of people for being gay.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11806.html
=
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-CA: First Gay, Openly Partnered Man Ordained Into Priesthood
The first openly gay and partnered man in the Diocese of San Diego has been
ordained into the priesthood. On March 21, All Souls' Episcopal Church, ordained Rev. Thomas Wilson, who has served as a deacon there for the past six months. "For us the issue was 'Is he duly called to be a priest? And was he living a godly life?'" the rector, or head priest, of All Souls' Church, Rev. Mike Russell said. "We were all able to say 'yes' to that." Rev. Russell is a leading voice for inclusion of all people in the Episcopal Church, and the ceremony drew clergy and lay people from throughout Southern California. Read more
-CA: Spike in Hate Crimes Keeps Us Aware
Gay & Lesbian Times
A three-fold spike in homophobic hate crimes in Santa Clara County over the past year is being blamed on the fallout over Proposition 8, the voter measure than banned same-sex marriage in California. More than half of all hate crimes reported in the county south of San Francisco were directed at the GLBT community. Last year, 56 percent of hate crimes were designated as homophobic. The year before, it was 15 percent. As staggering as these numbers are, GLBT-rights activists said they are not surprised by the report. Locally, the Deputy District Attorney in charge of hate crimes told the Gay & Lesbian Times that generally there is not a rise in hate crimes when an issue such as same-sex marriage is brought into the public's discourse. A hate crime is defined by law as "a criminal act committed, in whole or in part" because of the victim's actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Read more
-The Laughing Cure
Jennifer Vanasco | Independent Gay Forum
University of Chicago students recently showed us how protests against hate should be done.
When the Westboro Baptist Church - the cult-like organization led by Fred Phelps - trooped to campus to declare Obama the anti-Christ (he taught at the law school), they were carrying their usual array of hateful signs. These, of course, included the slogan that seems to be their favorite: God Hates Fags. Now, there's no arguing with Fred Phelps or his family. People have tried various tactics - yelling back; talking respectfully; being aggressively friendly and saying things like, "God loves me, but God bless you!"; singing songs like "We Shall Overcome"; and, one of my favorites, standing in front of them with giant angel wings so that no one can see their rabid posturing. When the Westboro Church came to Harvard, for example, signs said "Cambridge Pride," and "Jesus loves me, this I know - for God made me so." But Chicago students tried something else. Making fun of the Phelpses. Read more
-New Efforts Made to Fight Anti-Gay Bullying
Steve Weinstein | EDGE Editor-In-Chief | EDGE Boston
No matter how many strides we've taken toward visibility and acceptance, homophobia still runs rampant among teenagers. Campaigns on several fronts are under way to fight what remains a huge problem. Read more Cases like Lawrence King, the California student shot to death in his school last year, highlight the problem. King was not afraid to be out, and ultimately it was his self-presentation that inflamed so much hatred in his killer, Brandon McInerney. Many more, however, suffer because of the most subtle variant in behavior. Debra Chasnoff interviewed teens across the country for her new documentary "Straightlaced: How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up." She found that teens-whether straight, gay or just perceived as gay-have to maintain the stricted self-discipline at all times. "Just about everybody was aware of how a person cannot be perceived as gay," she says about her extensive teen-age sources. "In terms of how they dress, activities they participate in, how much affection to show their friends-they constantly need to prove their heterosexuality." Read More . .
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-Log Cabin Republicans - Recognition
The American Association of Political Consultants ("AAPC") honored Log Cabin Republicans with its highest award for Best Use of Web Animation/Web video in a State Ballot Measure Campaign on Sunday. The "Republicans Against 8" campaign which sought to galvanize opposition to Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative that sought to ban same-sex marriage in the state, capitalized on the organizational, fundraising, and viral marketing opportunities of the World Wide Web. The campaign featured two videos directed by Dustin Lance Black who recently was honored with a Best Screenplay OscarR for "MILK," the biopic of slain politician Harvey Milk. Terry Hamilton, Chair of the Log Cabin Republicans commented, "It is an honor to receive this kind of national recognition for all of the hard work that went into the fight for equality for all Californians. When our organization made the decision to put itself on the front lines of the fight against Proposition 8, we knew that for our unique message to be heard, we needed to distinguish ourselves from the dozens of other groups fighting against Prop 8. The use of web video proved to be an enormously successful part of our strategy."
http://www.logcabin.org
-To watch Republicans Against 8's award-winning videos, visit:
http://youtube.com/RepublicansAgainst8
-Inside Higher Education
A number of universities have expanded health care benefits in recent years to cover sexual reassignment surgery for transgender students and employees, a move some see as an obligation for institutions with nondiscrimination policies that cover the population.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/30/trans
-Australian commission releases amazing report on gender diversity -
Polymorphous Perversity
http://polyperversity.blogspot.com/2009/03/australian-commission-releases-amazing.html
-Judge Sees 'Serious' Issues in Cellphone Photos Case
SCRANTON, Pa. - A federal judge said at a hearing on Thursday that "serious constitutional issues" were raised in a lawsuit filed by three teenage girls and their mothers against a county district attorney who threatened to arrest the students on pornography charges after seminude photographs of them appeared on other students' cellphones. "It seems like the children seemed to be the victims and the perpetrators here," the judge, James M. Munley, told a lawyer for the district attorney, George P. Skumanick of Wyoming County. "How does that make sense?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/us/27sextext.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y
-Confederate defenders seek to honor their history. Many who cherish the modern New South decry the campaign as reminder of slavery's legacy. 'This is a new day,' a Georgia legislator says.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-southern-pride29-2009mar29,0,2829655.story
-Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp in partnership with Towson University
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=b2b2c3c3-2610-40ed-9ef2-b4e7636cf972
-Gay adoption raises an issue still unmined
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/974384.html
-Rethinking the Movement for LGBT Equality
Does the recession offer an opportunity to rethink the overall strategy for LGBT equality by merging some of our organizations into a more powerful force?
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/03/rethinking_the_movement_for_lgbt_equalit.php#comments
=
Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-EU shows east-west divide on homophobia
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Despite considerable advances in recent years, the social situation for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and transgendered (LGBT) people throughout the European Union remains a problem, particularly in the east, according to a major new survey. Discrimination, bullying, harassment and attacks occur across the EU. Politicians in a number of eastern member states seem to side with or turn a blind eye to perpetrators, while the ability of victims to report crimes is undermined by lack of police training, leading to significant underreporting, according to a 160-page report on the social aspects of homophobia from the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency. Even in those member states where attitudes are more tolerant and anti-discrimination laws stricter, there are areas where homophobia is more prevalent, such as in secondary schools and within sports culture, the study says. http://euobserver.com/9/27881
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - March 31, 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:
-N. Korea to Try U.S. Journalists
By CHOE SANG-HUN
SEOUL - Two American journalists detained in North Korea will be indicted and tried on charges of perpetrating "hostile acts" against the Communist state, a crime punishable by years in a labor camp, the North's state-run news agency reported on Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/world/asia/01korea.html?_r=1&hphttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/world/asia/01korea.html?_r=1&hp
-One Roadblock Too Many for G.M.
By WILLIAM J. HOLSTEIN
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S stunning decision to demand that Rick Wagoner resign as chairman and chief executive of General Motors was based on the wrong set of premises and raises the prospect that the administration will intervene too deeply in the automaker, seriously jeopardizing a transformation effort that has come a long way in the right direction.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31holstein.html
-U.S. Decides to Release Detainee at Guantánamo
By WILLIAM GLABERSON
The Justice Department announced Monday that the administration had decided to release a detainee at the prison at Guantánamo Bay, a Yemeni doctor who the Bush administration once claimed had taken part in an anthrax program of Al Qaeda.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/us/politics/31gitmo.html?hpw
-Paying in Full as the Ticket Into Colleges
By KATE ZERNIKE
In the bid for a fat envelope this year, it may help, more than usual, to have a fat wallet. Facing fallen endowments and needier students, many colleges are looking more favorably on wealthier applicants as they make their admissions decisions this year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/education/31college.html?hp
-Haiti's Woes Are Top Test for Aid Effort
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Paul Collier, a leading poverty guru, spent a recent morning here waxing positive about how the world's economic freefall might prove the perfect moment for Haiti to sell more exports like T-shirts and mangoes to Americans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/world/americas/31haiti.html?hpw
-The Last Best Chance for Detroit
President Obama struck an acceptable compromise on Monday between two unappealing options: letting General Motors and Chrysler go bankrupt right away or giving them tens of billions of dollars more while hoping for the best. Instead, he decided to finance their operations for just a matter of weeks while forcing them to come up with a better plan to overhaul their businesses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31tue1.html?ref=opinion
-Car Dealer in Chief
By DAVID BROOKS
Some companies are in the steel business, some are in the cookie business, but General Motors is in the restructuring business. For 30 years, G.M. has been restructuring itself toward long-term viability. For all these years, G.M.'s market share has endured a long, steady slide. But this has not stopped the waves of restructuring. The PowerPoints have flowed, and always there has been the promise that with just one more cost-cutting push, sustainability nirvana will be at hand.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31brooks.html?ref=opinion
-Evolutionary Semantics, Texas-Style
The Texas Board of Education gave grudging support last week to teaching the mainstream theory of evolution without the most troubling encumbrances sought by religious and social conservatives. But the margins on crucial amendments were disturbingly close, typically a single vote on a 15-member board, and compromise language left ample room for the struggle to continue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31tue3.html?ref=opinion
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Blame for Downturn Not Fixed on Obama
6 in 10 Back His Handling of Economy
By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz
The number of Americans who believe that the nation is headed in the right direction has roughly tripled since Barack Obama's election, and the public overwhelmingly blames the excesses of the financial industry, rather than the new president, for turmoil in the economy, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033003415.html?hpid=topnews
-Insurgent Threat Shifts in Pakistan
Assault on Police Academy Indicates Risk Has Moved Beyond Tribal Areas
By Pamela Constable
KABUL, March 30 -- The brazen occupation of a Pakistani police academy Monday by heavily armed gunmen near the eastern mega-city of Lahore was the latest indication that Islamist terrorism, once confined to Pakistan's northwest tribal belt, now threatens political stability nationwide.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033000098.html?hpid=topnews
-Clinton Calls Years of Afghan Aid 'Heartbreaking' in Their Futility
By Glenn Kessler
THE HAGUE, March 30 -- The billions of dollars spent in U.S. aid to Afghanistan over the past seven years have been largely wasted, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002479.html?hpid=topnews
-House Democrats Plan to Introduce Greenhouse-Gas Bill
By Juliet Eilperin
Key House Democrats will unveil legislation Tuesday that aims to cut the nation's greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, according to sources familiar with the bill who asked not to be identified.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/03/30/house_democrats_plan_to_introd.html?hpid=moreheadlines
-Palin's Political Problems Persist
By Chris Cillizza
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin continues to suffer growing pains as she attempts to build a national political operation in hopes of positioning herself as a viable presidential candidate in 2012. The latest bump in the road comes in the form of a Politico article -- headlined "Staff Infection: Allies Rip Palin Team" -- that features any number of juicy quotes that all point to one fundamental problem: there appears to be a significant disconnect between Palin's official governor's staff and the group of advisers that have grown up around her new leadership PAC.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/eye-on-2012/palins-problems-continue.html?hpid=sec-politics
-Building Russian-U.S. Bonds
By Dmitry A. Medvedev
MOSCOW -- It is hard to dispute the pessimistic assessments of the Russian-American relationship that prevailed at the end of last year. Unfortunately, relations soured because of the previous U.S. administration's plans -- specifically, deployment of the U.S. global missile defense system in Eastern Europe, efforts to push NATO's borders eastward and refusal to ratify the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. All of these positions undermined Russia's interests and, if implemented, would inevitably require a response on our part.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002443.html
-Detroit Dissonance
Tough Love for Carmakers, Pillows for Wall St.
By Eugene Robinson
Through a series of logical decisions, the Obama administration has maneuvered itself into an illogical and uncomfortable place. The president is telling Detroit to shape up or die while at the same time politely asking Wall Street, whose recklessness and greed caused this economic crisis, if it would be so kind as to accept another heaping helping of taxpayer funds.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002442.html
-Israel's New Government
Will the Obama administration accept Binyamin Netanyahu's dodge on Palestinian statehood? TODAY the Israeli parliament will probably approve a new government that, from Washington's point of view, looks problematic. Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu had a rocky relationship with the Clinton administration when he last held the post in the late 1990s. His new coalition is dominated by nationalists and religious fundamentalists; his choice for foreign minister has proposed stripping Arabs of citizenship unless they pledge their loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state. Arab leaders are sounding the alarm about a coalition that, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat charged on the opposite page Saturday, exemplifies "some of the worst traditions in Israeli politics."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002768.html
=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Bibi and Barack Can Unite on Iran
Israel's new government is an 'obstacle' only to unrealistic goals.
By YOSSI KLEIN HALEVI
Enemies of the American-Israeli alliance could not have conjured a scenario more fraught with potential for misunderstanding. In Washington, a new president is reaching out to the Muslim world, including Iran. In Jerusalem, the government about to take office represents the disillusionment of the Israeli public with 15 years of failed peace talks. For President Barack Obama, power is a means to encourage the rational self-interest of opponents. For Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, power is the means of defending his people from irrational hatred. Mr. Obama's mandate is for change; Mr. Netanyahu's is for survival.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123846458281572307.html
-A Showdown on Voting Rights
In Texas Case, a Divide Over How Far Minorities Have Come
By JESS BRAVIN
Don Zimmerman got elected to the local utility board in 2002. One of his goals was to move the polling station from a neighbor's inconveniently located garage to an elementary school three blocks away. His effort barely registered among the 3,500 residents of Mr. Zimmerman's suburb, Canyon Creek. But it turned out to have much broader ramifications. It prompted a case now before the Supreme Court that could bring the biggest change in election law since 1965, when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123820648702763441.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Key points for car buyers in Obama's plan
Key points
Three ways the government hopes to jump-start car buying: The government will protect consumer warranties from General Motors and Chrysler vehicles. Congress and the Obama administration are considering using parts of the economic stimulus package to give consumers a "generous credit" when they replace older, less fuel-efficient cars and buy new vehicles. Consumers who purchase new cars between Feb. 16 and the end of the year may be able to deduct the cost of any sales and excise taxes on their annual income taxes filed with the Internal Revenue Service.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-auto-bailout-box-c033109sbmar31,0,2565318.story
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Obama Officials Think Krugman Is Naive: Newsweek's Evan Thomas
Newsweek's Evan Thomas, who has the big cover story on the rather prickly relationship between the White House and Paul Krugman, offered a rather surprising insight into the relationship between the two. Speaking to MSNBC on Monday, the longtime magazine scribe said that the Obama administration is not "too crazy about Krugman" (no surprise, considering how much criticism Krugman has laid on the White House's economic policies) and that, in private, they "think he is naïve."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/30/obama-officials-think-kru_n_180702.html
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Insurers shun those taking certain meds
By JOHN DORSCHNER
Trying to buy health insurance on your own and have gallstones? You'll automatically be denied coverage. Rheumatoid arthritis? Automatic denial. Severe acne? Probably denied. Do you take metformin, a popular drug for diabetes? Denied. Use the anti-clotting drug Plavix or Seroquel, prescribed for anti-psychotic or sleep problems? Forget about it.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2009/03/29/0329meds.html
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-N. Korea to Try U.S. Journalists
By CHOE SANG-HUN
SEOUL - Two American journalists detained in North Korea will be indicted and tried on charges of perpetrating "hostile acts" against the Communist state, a crime punishable by years in a labor camp, the North's state-run news agency reported on Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/world/asia/01korea.html?_r=1&hphttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/world/asia/01korea.html?_r=1&hp
-One Roadblock Too Many for G.M.
By WILLIAM J. HOLSTEIN
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S stunning decision to demand that Rick Wagoner resign as chairman and chief executive of General Motors was based on the wrong set of premises and raises the prospect that the administration will intervene too deeply in the automaker, seriously jeopardizing a transformation effort that has come a long way in the right direction.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31holstein.html
-U.S. Decides to Release Detainee at Guantánamo
By WILLIAM GLABERSON
The Justice Department announced Monday that the administration had decided to release a detainee at the prison at Guantánamo Bay, a Yemeni doctor who the Bush administration once claimed had taken part in an anthrax program of Al Qaeda.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/us/politics/31gitmo.html?hpw
-Paying in Full as the Ticket Into Colleges
By KATE ZERNIKE
In the bid for a fat envelope this year, it may help, more than usual, to have a fat wallet. Facing fallen endowments and needier students, many colleges are looking more favorably on wealthier applicants as they make their admissions decisions this year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/education/31college.html?hp
-Haiti's Woes Are Top Test for Aid Effort
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Paul Collier, a leading poverty guru, spent a recent morning here waxing positive about how the world's economic freefall might prove the perfect moment for Haiti to sell more exports like T-shirts and mangoes to Americans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/world/americas/31haiti.html?hpw
-The Last Best Chance for Detroit
President Obama struck an acceptable compromise on Monday between two unappealing options: letting General Motors and Chrysler go bankrupt right away or giving them tens of billions of dollars more while hoping for the best. Instead, he decided to finance their operations for just a matter of weeks while forcing them to come up with a better plan to overhaul their businesses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31tue1.html?ref=opinion
-Car Dealer in Chief
By DAVID BROOKS
Some companies are in the steel business, some are in the cookie business, but General Motors is in the restructuring business. For 30 years, G.M. has been restructuring itself toward long-term viability. For all these years, G.M.'s market share has endured a long, steady slide. But this has not stopped the waves of restructuring. The PowerPoints have flowed, and always there has been the promise that with just one more cost-cutting push, sustainability nirvana will be at hand.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31brooks.html?ref=opinion
-Evolutionary Semantics, Texas-Style
The Texas Board of Education gave grudging support last week to teaching the mainstream theory of evolution without the most troubling encumbrances sought by religious and social conservatives. But the margins on crucial amendments were disturbingly close, typically a single vote on a 15-member board, and compromise language left ample room for the struggle to continue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31tue3.html?ref=opinion
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Blame for Downturn Not Fixed on Obama
6 in 10 Back His Handling of Economy
By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz
The number of Americans who believe that the nation is headed in the right direction has roughly tripled since Barack Obama's election, and the public overwhelmingly blames the excesses of the financial industry, rather than the new president, for turmoil in the economy, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033003415.html?hpid=topnews
-Insurgent Threat Shifts in Pakistan
Assault on Police Academy Indicates Risk Has Moved Beyond Tribal Areas
By Pamela Constable
KABUL, March 30 -- The brazen occupation of a Pakistani police academy Monday by heavily armed gunmen near the eastern mega-city of Lahore was the latest indication that Islamist terrorism, once confined to Pakistan's northwest tribal belt, now threatens political stability nationwide.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033000098.html?hpid=topnews
-Clinton Calls Years of Afghan Aid 'Heartbreaking' in Their Futility
By Glenn Kessler
THE HAGUE, March 30 -- The billions of dollars spent in U.S. aid to Afghanistan over the past seven years have been largely wasted, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002479.html?hpid=topnews
-House Democrats Plan to Introduce Greenhouse-Gas Bill
By Juliet Eilperin
Key House Democrats will unveil legislation Tuesday that aims to cut the nation's greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, according to sources familiar with the bill who asked not to be identified.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/03/30/house_democrats_plan_to_introd.html?hpid=moreheadlines
-Palin's Political Problems Persist
By Chris Cillizza
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin continues to suffer growing pains as she attempts to build a national political operation in hopes of positioning herself as a viable presidential candidate in 2012. The latest bump in the road comes in the form of a Politico article -- headlined "Staff Infection: Allies Rip Palin Team" -- that features any number of juicy quotes that all point to one fundamental problem: there appears to be a significant disconnect between Palin's official governor's staff and the group of advisers that have grown up around her new leadership PAC.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/eye-on-2012/palins-problems-continue.html?hpid=sec-politics
-Building Russian-U.S. Bonds
By Dmitry A. Medvedev
MOSCOW -- It is hard to dispute the pessimistic assessments of the Russian-American relationship that prevailed at the end of last year. Unfortunately, relations soured because of the previous U.S. administration's plans -- specifically, deployment of the U.S. global missile defense system in Eastern Europe, efforts to push NATO's borders eastward and refusal to ratify the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. All of these positions undermined Russia's interests and, if implemented, would inevitably require a response on our part.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002443.html
-Detroit Dissonance
Tough Love for Carmakers, Pillows for Wall St.
By Eugene Robinson
Through a series of logical decisions, the Obama administration has maneuvered itself into an illogical and uncomfortable place. The president is telling Detroit to shape up or die while at the same time politely asking Wall Street, whose recklessness and greed caused this economic crisis, if it would be so kind as to accept another heaping helping of taxpayer funds.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002442.html
-Israel's New Government
Will the Obama administration accept Binyamin Netanyahu's dodge on Palestinian statehood? TODAY the Israeli parliament will probably approve a new government that, from Washington's point of view, looks problematic. Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu had a rocky relationship with the Clinton administration when he last held the post in the late 1990s. His new coalition is dominated by nationalists and religious fundamentalists; his choice for foreign minister has proposed stripping Arabs of citizenship unless they pledge their loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state. Arab leaders are sounding the alarm about a coalition that, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat charged on the opposite page Saturday, exemplifies "some of the worst traditions in Israeli politics."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/30/AR2009033002768.html
=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Bibi and Barack Can Unite on Iran
Israel's new government is an 'obstacle' only to unrealistic goals.
By YOSSI KLEIN HALEVI
Enemies of the American-Israeli alliance could not have conjured a scenario more fraught with potential for misunderstanding. In Washington, a new president is reaching out to the Muslim world, including Iran. In Jerusalem, the government about to take office represents the disillusionment of the Israeli public with 15 years of failed peace talks. For President Barack Obama, power is a means to encourage the rational self-interest of opponents. For Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, power is the means of defending his people from irrational hatred. Mr. Obama's mandate is for change; Mr. Netanyahu's is for survival.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123846458281572307.html
-A Showdown on Voting Rights
In Texas Case, a Divide Over How Far Minorities Have Come
By JESS BRAVIN
Don Zimmerman got elected to the local utility board in 2002. One of his goals was to move the polling station from a neighbor's inconveniently located garage to an elementary school three blocks away. His effort barely registered among the 3,500 residents of Mr. Zimmerman's suburb, Canyon Creek. But it turned out to have much broader ramifications. It prompted a case now before the Supreme Court that could bring the biggest change in election law since 1965, when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123820648702763441.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Key points for car buyers in Obama's plan
Key points
Three ways the government hopes to jump-start car buying: The government will protect consumer warranties from General Motors and Chrysler vehicles. Congress and the Obama administration are considering using parts of the economic stimulus package to give consumers a "generous credit" when they replace older, less fuel-efficient cars and buy new vehicles. Consumers who purchase new cars between Feb. 16 and the end of the year may be able to deduct the cost of any sales and excise taxes on their annual income taxes filed with the Internal Revenue Service.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-auto-bailout-box-c033109sbmar31,0,2565318.story
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Obama Officials Think Krugman Is Naive: Newsweek's Evan Thomas
Newsweek's Evan Thomas, who has the big cover story on the rather prickly relationship between the White House and Paul Krugman, offered a rather surprising insight into the relationship between the two. Speaking to MSNBC on Monday, the longtime magazine scribe said that the Obama administration is not "too crazy about Krugman" (no surprise, considering how much criticism Krugman has laid on the White House's economic policies) and that, in private, they "think he is naïve."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/30/obama-officials-think-kru_n_180702.html
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Insurers shun those taking certain meds
By JOHN DORSCHNER
Trying to buy health insurance on your own and have gallstones? You'll automatically be denied coverage. Rheumatoid arthritis? Automatic denial. Severe acne? Probably denied. Do you take metformin, a popular drug for diabetes? Denied. Use the anti-clotting drug Plavix or Seroquel, prescribed for anti-psychotic or sleep problems? Forget about it.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2009/03/29/0329meds.html
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - March 31, 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~~
Sunshine Cathedral - Ft. Lauderdale
The Future of Peace in the Middle East
This exciting series concludes on Wednesday, April 1. The previous speakers will gather on a panel to discuss together the various topics they have spoken on individually. They will interact with one another and take questions from the audience. The panel discussion will be moderated by Pastor Durrell Watkins. There is no charge for this event. It begins at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, April 1 in the Graham/Fasana Chapel. - 1480 SW Ninth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
http://www.sunshinecathedral.org/
-Do you watch Sharing the Light online? Sharing the Light is a webcast that we record 2-4 times each month and post to www.sunshinecathedral.org, Youtube.com, Facebook.com, and Myspace.com. I hope you'll watch the webcasts and feel free to pass along to any of your friends who might appreciate it. Click Sharing the Light to view the program.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=SunshineCathedral&view=videos
=
Arts United and Stonewall Library & Archives
Ft. Lauderdale: Nationally Prominent Authors Headline Gay Literary Festival Andrew Holleran, Karin Kallmaker and Felice Picano are featured among the dozens of gay and lesbian authors who will be participating in the first annual Gay and Lesbian Literary Arts (GALLA) Festival, April 24 and 25, 2009, in Fort Lauderdale. The two-day festival will include free workshops, seminars, panels, presentations and a book fair at the new Stonewall Library & Archives and ArtServe facilities.
Andrew Holleran is one of the most preeminent writers of post-Stonewall gay literature, who along with Felice Picano and Edmond White, founded the influential Violet Quill, a gay writers' group that first met in 1980. Holleran is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking novel Dancer from the Dance. Picano founded two publishing companies, the Seahorse Press and Gay Presses of New York, and is the author of numerous short stories, memoirs, non-fiction works and novels, including the award-winning Like People in History. Karin Kallmaker, a renowned author of lesbian romance novels, has published over two dozen books, including the Lammy and Goldie Award winning 18th & Castro. Additional gay and lesbian authors include Jeffery Beam, Johnny Diaz, E. Robert Dunn, G. Winston James, Paul Lisicky, KG MacGregor, Philip Smith, and Linda Villarosa just to name a few. Festival goers will also have two opportunities to socialize with their favorite authors. The GALLA Festival Committee will host a Cocktail Reception with the Authors on Friday, April 25th at the Embassy Suites host hotel in Fort Lauderdale. An exclusive Dinner with the Authors will be held Saturday night at the Embassy Suites. Space is limited, and tickets are required. The GALLA Festival is not just for fans of non-fiction and poetry. The schedule includes presentations on a wide variety of topics such as writing memoirs, writing for teens, and writing for the stage and screen. Editor and Publisher of Alyson Books, Don Weise will discuss the current state of gay and lesbian publishing and will offer tips on how to edit your book. John Cloud, staff writer of Time magazine will be featured on a panel about gay journalism. Chris Whitesell, winner of four daytime Emmy Awards, will discuss his work on "General Hospital" and as Head Writer on "Days of Our Lives" and reality television writer/editor Keith Hoffman will discuss his work in that emergent genre. The GALLA Festival is produced by ArtsUnited and Stonewall Library & Archives. Funding for the festival has been provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council, the John C. Graves Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Broward, and the Broward County Library Division with support from the Broward Library Foundation. The Festival is also sponsored by the South Florida Blade and 411 Magazine. The Embassy Suites is the Host Hotel. Room reservations may be made by calling (954) 527-2700. The GALLA Festival workshops, presentations and book fair are free and open to the public. Seating is limited and pre-registration is recommended. Tickets for the Cocktail Reception with the Authors on Friday, April 24 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, are $25. An Unabridged Festival Pass, which includes priority registration, the Cocktail Reception, and Dinner with the Authors, is $125. Registration and tickets are available at www.GALLAfestival.org or by calling Stonewall Library at 954-763-8565.
PRESS CONTACT FOR PHOTOS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Keith Clark - Executive Director, ArtsUnited, Inc.
1350 East Sunrise Blvd. #145
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
954 568-1154 P
954 551-5273 C
keithclark@aol.com
=
Sol Theatre Project
The Vagina Monologues - April 11-26
http://www.SolTheatre.com
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber mixer on April 15 to celebrate Miami Beach Gay Pride
From the Miami Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15th - An evening of Art, Networking and...PRIDE! Join MDGLCC, artist extraordinaire Noel, Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and the City of Miami Beach Commissioners, on Wednesday, April 15th, at SkyBar at the Shore Club Hotel, for an evening celebrating the first Miami Beach Gay Pride event. Doors open at 7 PM...
-Broward attorney discusses estate planning for same-sex couples
Plantation attorney Nicole Molder, who specializes in estate planning, has a blog called Florida Parents' Page. This weekend, she posted an item important to gay families, Same-sex couples: special considerations for estate planning.
-Helmsley Hotel tax-free promotion not just for 'the little people'
What were they thinking?
-Gay group sues Jackson Memorial
STEVE ROTHAUS
Janice Langbehn became a national gay-rights symbol two years ago when a worker at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital wouldn't allow her to be with her dying partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond. Lambda Legal, a national gay group, has sued JMH on behalf of Langbehn and the couple's children. At a Lambda Legal sponsors' reception Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Langbehn met the Jacksonville man whose life was saved as a result of Pond's sudden death from a brain aneurysm: Jerry Lawrence who received Pond's heart two days after she died. ''This is the best outcome I could hope for,'' Langbehn said Saturday upon meeting Lawrence and his wife, Maxine. ``Lisa is inside of him.'' Langbehn, who lives in Seattle with her children, Danielle, 15, David, 13, and Katelyn, 12, also attended a Lambda Legal fundraiser Sunday at Bonnet House Museum and Gardens in Fort Lauderdale. The group honored Tony Timiraos, who is the chief financial officer of Broward Community Foundation and a Lambda Legal national leadership council member.
http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/people/story/976204.html
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Congresswoman's fight against cancer commendable
THE ISSUE: Debbie Wasserman Schultz confronts breast cancer.
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is no pushover. That was evident long before she revealed that she had seven cancer-related surgeries last year, while never missing a day of work. But now that Wasserman Schultz has made public her successful battle against breast cancer - which included a double mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and the removal of two ovaries - she deserves to be commended for her courage and determination. That she endured such a herculean feat while also raising three young children, and serving her district in Congress, is nothing less than incredible.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editajjschultzpnmar25,0,4655887.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Lawmakers consider new taxes on tobacco
Senators announced a bipartisan push to hike the price of all tobacco products $1 to cover Florida's costs for smoking-relating illness.
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS
Tobacco-related illnesses cost Florida taxpayers $1.25 billion a year and to offset the cost, two lawmakers are proposing a new state tax on every form of tobacco, from cigarettes to cigars and snuff.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/976122.html
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-One-dollar tax hike would only make smokers better at dodging it, study says
By JANE MUSGRAVE
Cigarette smokers have long been pariahs. Soon, if some state lawmakers get their way, they will be poor pariahs or, possibly, tax-dodging pariahs.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/29/0329cigtax.html
-GOP leaders balk at censuring Crist as critic questions his party loyalty
By GEORGE BENNETT
Republican leaders are frowning at a Boynton Beach activist's effort to get the Palm Beach County GOP to censure Gov. Charlie Crist for embracing President Obama's stimulus plan and showing insufficient partisan zeal in campaigns and appointments. County Republican Executive Committeeman Steven Ledewitz, who drew applause but was ruled out of order when he raised the censure idea at February's GOP powwow, plans to offer another censure resolution at this week's party parley.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/29/a1b_palmbeachpolitics_0330.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Group attempts to roll marijuana into state constitution
by Michael C. Bender
An Orlando woman announced today that she's launching an effort to let voters to decide whether to include medical marijuana laws in the state constitution. She's planning to put the question on the 2010 ballot.
http://www.postonpolitics.com/2009/03/group-attempts-to-roll-marijuana-into-state-constitution/
-How to Teach the Teachers
Many Urban Schools Turning to Mentors To Give New Teachers a Better Shot of Success
By AMANDA PAULSON
Johanna Klinsky remembers her teacher training ruefully. She loved the theory she learned, but her only classroom experience was 10 weeks of student teaching, which did nothing to prepare her for the chaos she would encounter as a teacher in an inner-city Chicago school.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=7190542&page=1
-Florida Legislature questions Gov. Charlie Crist's hands-off approach
By Steve Bousquet
Gov. Charlie Crist's policy of disengagement is testing the limits of lawmakers' patience and raising questions about his leadership. As the legislative session nears the midway point, Crist keeps at a safe distance from the politically turbulent talk of painful budget cuts and higher taxes swirling about him.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/gubernatorial/article987897.ece
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Sunshine Cathedral - Ft. Lauderdale
The Future of Peace in the Middle East
This exciting series concludes on Wednesday, April 1. The previous speakers will gather on a panel to discuss together the various topics they have spoken on individually. They will interact with one another and take questions from the audience. The panel discussion will be moderated by Pastor Durrell Watkins. There is no charge for this event. It begins at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, April 1 in the Graham/Fasana Chapel. - 1480 SW Ninth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
http://www.sunshinecathedral.org/
-Do you watch Sharing the Light online? Sharing the Light is a webcast that we record 2-4 times each month and post to www.sunshinecathedral.org, Youtube.com, Facebook.com, and Myspace.com. I hope you'll watch the webcasts and feel free to pass along to any of your friends who might appreciate it. Click Sharing the Light to view the program.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=SunshineCathedral&view=videos
=
Arts United and Stonewall Library & Archives
Ft. Lauderdale: Nationally Prominent Authors Headline Gay Literary Festival Andrew Holleran, Karin Kallmaker and Felice Picano are featured among the dozens of gay and lesbian authors who will be participating in the first annual Gay and Lesbian Literary Arts (GALLA) Festival, April 24 and 25, 2009, in Fort Lauderdale. The two-day festival will include free workshops, seminars, panels, presentations and a book fair at the new Stonewall Library & Archives and ArtServe facilities.
Andrew Holleran is one of the most preeminent writers of post-Stonewall gay literature, who along with Felice Picano and Edmond White, founded the influential Violet Quill, a gay writers' group that first met in 1980. Holleran is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking novel Dancer from the Dance. Picano founded two publishing companies, the Seahorse Press and Gay Presses of New York, and is the author of numerous short stories, memoirs, non-fiction works and novels, including the award-winning Like People in History. Karin Kallmaker, a renowned author of lesbian romance novels, has published over two dozen books, including the Lammy and Goldie Award winning 18th & Castro. Additional gay and lesbian authors include Jeffery Beam, Johnny Diaz, E. Robert Dunn, G. Winston James, Paul Lisicky, KG MacGregor, Philip Smith, and Linda Villarosa just to name a few. Festival goers will also have two opportunities to socialize with their favorite authors. The GALLA Festival Committee will host a Cocktail Reception with the Authors on Friday, April 25th at the Embassy Suites host hotel in Fort Lauderdale. An exclusive Dinner with the Authors will be held Saturday night at the Embassy Suites. Space is limited, and tickets are required. The GALLA Festival is not just for fans of non-fiction and poetry. The schedule includes presentations on a wide variety of topics such as writing memoirs, writing for teens, and writing for the stage and screen. Editor and Publisher of Alyson Books, Don Weise will discuss the current state of gay and lesbian publishing and will offer tips on how to edit your book. John Cloud, staff writer of Time magazine will be featured on a panel about gay journalism. Chris Whitesell, winner of four daytime Emmy Awards, will discuss his work on "General Hospital" and as Head Writer on "Days of Our Lives" and reality television writer/editor Keith Hoffman will discuss his work in that emergent genre. The GALLA Festival is produced by ArtsUnited and Stonewall Library & Archives. Funding for the festival has been provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council, the John C. Graves Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Broward, and the Broward County Library Division with support from the Broward Library Foundation. The Festival is also sponsored by the South Florida Blade and 411 Magazine. The Embassy Suites is the Host Hotel. Room reservations may be made by calling (954) 527-2700. The GALLA Festival workshops, presentations and book fair are free and open to the public. Seating is limited and pre-registration is recommended. Tickets for the Cocktail Reception with the Authors on Friday, April 24 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, are $25. An Unabridged Festival Pass, which includes priority registration, the Cocktail Reception, and Dinner with the Authors, is $125. Registration and tickets are available at www.GALLAfestival.org or by calling Stonewall Library at 954-763-8565.
PRESS CONTACT FOR PHOTOS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Keith Clark - Executive Director, ArtsUnited, Inc.
1350 East Sunrise Blvd. #145
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
954 568-1154 P
954 551-5273 C
keithclark@aol.com
=
Sol Theatre Project
The Vagina Monologues - April 11-26
http://www.SolTheatre.com
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber mixer on April 15 to celebrate Miami Beach Gay Pride
From the Miami Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15th - An evening of Art, Networking and...PRIDE! Join MDGLCC, artist extraordinaire Noel, Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and the City of Miami Beach Commissioners, on Wednesday, April 15th, at SkyBar at the Shore Club Hotel, for an evening celebrating the first Miami Beach Gay Pride event. Doors open at 7 PM...
-Broward attorney discusses estate planning for same-sex couples
Plantation attorney Nicole Molder, who specializes in estate planning, has a blog called Florida Parents' Page. This weekend, she posted an item important to gay families, Same-sex couples: special considerations for estate planning.
-Helmsley Hotel tax-free promotion not just for 'the little people'
What were they thinking?
-Gay group sues Jackson Memorial
STEVE ROTHAUS
Janice Langbehn became a national gay-rights symbol two years ago when a worker at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital wouldn't allow her to be with her dying partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond. Lambda Legal, a national gay group, has sued JMH on behalf of Langbehn and the couple's children. At a Lambda Legal sponsors' reception Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Langbehn met the Jacksonville man whose life was saved as a result of Pond's sudden death from a brain aneurysm: Jerry Lawrence who received Pond's heart two days after she died. ''This is the best outcome I could hope for,'' Langbehn said Saturday upon meeting Lawrence and his wife, Maxine. ``Lisa is inside of him.'' Langbehn, who lives in Seattle with her children, Danielle, 15, David, 13, and Katelyn, 12, also attended a Lambda Legal fundraiser Sunday at Bonnet House Museum and Gardens in Fort Lauderdale. The group honored Tony Timiraos, who is the chief financial officer of Broward Community Foundation and a Lambda Legal national leadership council member.
http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/people/story/976204.html
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Congresswoman's fight against cancer commendable
THE ISSUE: Debbie Wasserman Schultz confronts breast cancer.
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is no pushover. That was evident long before she revealed that she had seven cancer-related surgeries last year, while never missing a day of work. But now that Wasserman Schultz has made public her successful battle against breast cancer - which included a double mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and the removal of two ovaries - she deserves to be commended for her courage and determination. That she endured such a herculean feat while also raising three young children, and serving her district in Congress, is nothing less than incredible.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editajjschultzpnmar25,0,4655887.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Lawmakers consider new taxes on tobacco
Senators announced a bipartisan push to hike the price of all tobacco products $1 to cover Florida's costs for smoking-relating illness.
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS
Tobacco-related illnesses cost Florida taxpayers $1.25 billion a year and to offset the cost, two lawmakers are proposing a new state tax on every form of tobacco, from cigarettes to cigars and snuff.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/976122.html
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-One-dollar tax hike would only make smokers better at dodging it, study says
By JANE MUSGRAVE
Cigarette smokers have long been pariahs. Soon, if some state lawmakers get their way, they will be poor pariahs or, possibly, tax-dodging pariahs.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/29/0329cigtax.html
-GOP leaders balk at censuring Crist as critic questions his party loyalty
By GEORGE BENNETT
Republican leaders are frowning at a Boynton Beach activist's effort to get the Palm Beach County GOP to censure Gov. Charlie Crist for embracing President Obama's stimulus plan and showing insufficient partisan zeal in campaigns and appointments. County Republican Executive Committeeman Steven Ledewitz, who drew applause but was ruled out of order when he raised the censure idea at February's GOP powwow, plans to offer another censure resolution at this week's party parley.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/29/a1b_palmbeachpolitics_0330.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Group attempts to roll marijuana into state constitution
by Michael C. Bender
An Orlando woman announced today that she's launching an effort to let voters to decide whether to include medical marijuana laws in the state constitution. She's planning to put the question on the 2010 ballot.
http://www.postonpolitics.com/2009/03/group-attempts-to-roll-marijuana-into-state-constitution/
-How to Teach the Teachers
Many Urban Schools Turning to Mentors To Give New Teachers a Better Shot of Success
By AMANDA PAULSON
Johanna Klinsky remembers her teacher training ruefully. She loved the theory she learned, but her only classroom experience was 10 weeks of student teaching, which did nothing to prepare her for the chaos she would encounter as a teacher in an inner-city Chicago school.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=7190542&page=1
-Florida Legislature questions Gov. Charlie Crist's hands-off approach
By Steve Bousquet
Gov. Charlie Crist's policy of disengagement is testing the limits of lawmakers' patience and raising questions about his leadership. As the legislative session nears the midway point, Crist keeps at a safe distance from the politically turbulent talk of painful budget cuts and higher taxes swirling about him.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/gubernatorial/article987897.ece
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Monday, March 30, 2009
GLBT DIGEST - March 30, 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.
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gay adoption raises an issue still unmined
BY JACKIE BUENO SOUSA
A recent conversation with a friend went something like this: ''Homosexuality isn't normal,'' he said. ``It goes against nature.'' ''How do you figure?'' I asked. ``As far as we know, homosexuality always has existed. Wouldn't that indicate that it's perfectly natural?'' ''No, it's not,'' he replied. ``Imagine if we were all homosexuals. Then what would happen to the human race?''
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/974384.html
-Miami Beach residents get the OK to fly the Pride Flag
It's among the most basic of American rights: the freedom to fly a flag. But in Miami Beach -- home to one of the largest gay communities in the country -- residents and businesses only recently got the go-ahead to fly the rainbow-striped Pride Flag. And only after receiving a city permit. ''The problem is the businesses just went out and bought a flagpole and in an expression of their pride, put up the flag,'' said City Commissioner Victor Diaz, who said a number of business owners have since been slapped with fines and taken their flags down. Flying any flag in the right of way without a permit is a violation of city code.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/974462.html
-California politician plans fundraiser in Aventura
One of California's most colorful politicians running for governor in 2010 is holding a fundraiser in Aventura April 5 that could draw gay marriage supporters in South Florida. Gavin Newsom is the San Francisco mayor who drew nationwide attention when he started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples in 2004. But his jubilant comment that gay marriage was coming ''whether you like it or not'' was played up by opponents of same-sex marriage, and last fall Californians voted to ban it.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/974460.html
-About lies, libel, same-sex lovers
BY EDWARD WASSERMAN
Here's a question: Since being gay has lost much of the stigma it once had among heterosexuals in this country, should a celebrity who is falsely reported to have same-sex lovers still be able to sue for libel? And are courts perpetuating the idea that homosexuality is bad if they accept the argument that labeling somebody as gay is defamatory? The answer to both questions is Yes, according to a provocative column by Gabriel Arana published recently on Slate.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/edward-wasserman/story/974346.html
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gates: No rush to end DADT
By The Associated Press
Don't expect any change soon to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy about gays in the military. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says both he and President Barack Obama have "a lot on our plates right now." As Gates puts it, "let's push that one down the road a little bit."
http://www.365gay.com/news/gates-no-rush-to-end-dadt/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Tyra scores at the 20th GLAAD Media Awards.
The New York leg of the 20th annual GLAAD Media Awards saw Tyra Banks pick up one of the top honours of the night. Presented the Excellence in Media Award by gay singer-songwriter Clay Aiken, Tyra received official recognition of her efforts to advance the gay community.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11795.html
-Comment: False hope - LGBT rights in the Middle East
Omar Hassan explores the issue of LGBT rights in a Middle East ruled by conservatism.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11793.html
-Australian broacaster "censored" lesbian kiss on Home and Away
The Australian broadcasting network Seven have allegedly censored a lesbian kiss due to be shown during its soap opera Home and Away.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11792.html
-'High number' of gay and bisexual domestic violence victims in Northern Ireland
The gay and bisexual community in Northern Ireland is suffering from disproportionate rates of domestic violence, an official report has claimed. The paper, published this week by the Northern Ireland Policing Board, concluded that a high percentage of those experiencing domestic violence are gay or bisexual men and women.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11786.html
=
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-TX: Equality Texas Pushing Employment Nondiscrimination Bill
John Wright | News Editor | Dallas Voice
AUSTIN -Lobby Day has come and gone, but Equality Texas says it needs continued participation from members across the state in order to advance pro-LGBT legislation during this year's session. The statewide advocacy group was circulating an online petition this week aimed at securing a committee hearing on a bill that would prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/ expression. By Wednesday afternoon, March 25, 1,116 people had signed the petition, and the group was hoping to reach 2,000 signatures. The petition will be delivered to Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, who chairs the House Committee on State Affairs, where the bill has been referred. The bill is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Mike Villarreal of San Antonio. Read more
-TX: Kendell:? 'We're Going to Lose'
John Wright | News Editor | Dallas Voice
A veteran civil rights attorney who's closely involved with the case told Dallas Voice this week she thinks there's a 98 percent chance the California Supreme Court will uphold Proposition 8, the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. "We're going to lose," said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit challenging Prop 8. "I think it was very clear from the oral arguments that the court intends to uphold Prop 8," Kendell added. "I've never seen a court so unequivocally telegraph their thinking." Kendell was in Dallas on Wednesday, March 25 to speak at the North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce's 4th Anniversary Dinner & Business Excellence Awards. In an interview afterward, Kendell said she expects the California Supreme Court to issue its ruling in the Prop 8 case by late April or early May. Read more
-States Consider Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients
Tom Breen | Visit article original @ The Associated Press Truthout
Charleston, West Virginia - Want government assistance? Just say no to drugs. Lawmakers in at least eight states want recipients of food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing. The effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse. Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing. Read more
-This Will Only Hurt a Little Bit.More
Scott Schoettes | Lambda Legal
How would you feel if you were asked to entrust your medical care to a person who seemingly did not want to touch you? Whatever thoughts and feelings that question conjures for you are likely akin to how our client, Melody Rose, felt after she sought treatment from a surgeon at the Fond du Lac Regional Clinic in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Although some uncomfortable interactions with a doctor might be chalked up to a less-than-reassuring bedside manner, there was no doubt about the message this doctor was sending: he explicitly told Rose that he did not want to perform surgery on her because of the risk he thought her HIV posed to his surgical team. Rose, who was incarcerated at a correctional facility at the time, suffered from increasingly frequent and painful symptoms as a result of problems related to her gallbladder. The doctor treating Rose for her HIV recommended that she have her gallbladder removed in order to alleviate those problems, and through her primary care doctor at the prison, he referred Rose to a healthcare facility where they could do so in what is considered a fairly routine surgical procedure. That is where Rose encountered the surgeon who discriminatorily refused to perform the needed surgery because of Rose's HIV status. One of the last things Melody Rose expected to hear that day was that she would not be treated because of the risk her surgery purportedly presented to the doctor. Yet that is exactly the message Rose was processing as she returned - stunned, shunned and demoralized - to the Taycheedah Correctional Institution. Equal access to health care has always been a priority for Lambda Legal's HIV Project. Being treated fairly by health care providers is important for everyone, but it is especially important for people living with HIV - which is one of the primary reasons we decided to join the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW) in representing Rose when the case was brought to our attention by ARCW's Director of Legal Services, Peter Kimball. Read more
-DE: Two Big Wins for Gay Rights Advocates
DOVER - Gay rights advocates gained two victories Thursday in the state Legislature - the Senate's defeat of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and the House's passage of a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. More than 1,000 demonstrators wearing white T-shirts with the slogan "One Man, One Woman - That's Marriage" rallied on the steps of Legislative Hall as, inside, both chambers engaged in lengthy debates colored by accusations of discrimination past and present. Senate Bill 27, the defeated constitutional amendment, sought to make an existing state law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman more difficult to overturn. But many members of the Senate voiced concern that amending the constitution was unnecessary and even inappropriate. Read more
-Gingrich's Gay Fascism
Michael A. Jones | Change.org
If only Newt Gingrich could have been a one-hit wonder. Instead, the former Speaker of the House is stirring the pot with a potential 2012 bid for President, and the formation of a new group - Renewing American Leadership. What is the goal of Renewing American Leadership? To combat gay and secular fascism. Much as we'd like to be kidding, here's Gingrich on Fox News: There is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. So in order to combat this gay fascism, Gingrich's new organization is looking to build and strengthen coalitions between economic conservatives and religious conservatives. According to Bill Berkowitz over at Buzz Flash, Gingrich will be taking his new organization to an influential group of conservative pastors that were among the leaders of the Bush re-election campaign of 2004, and Gingrich is planning on releasing a film about the late Pope John Paul II's role in taking down the Soviet Union. Read more
-SoulForce Update
Spring 2009 Catholic Action
Soulforce Spring 2009 Catholic ActionNow that the United States has signed on the United Nations Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity - a reversal of the Bush administration stance on the statement currently backed by 66 UN member states - renewed energy must focus on the Vatican's refusal to support the measure.
This April we are asking the Vatican's ambassador to the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, to work with us in doing just that. And we are excited to invite you to join with us in many ways.
* You can add your or your organization's name to the growing list of people who have endorsed the statement of support. Text and contact information here.
* Locally, you can join in with a solidarity action in April where you live, either by becoming a local leader yourself or participating in one of the following cities and regions:
* Los Angeles, CA
* Durham, NC
* New Haven, CT
* Little Rock, AR
* Detroit, MI
* Orlando, FL
* Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN
* Phoenix, AZ
* Turtle Creek, PA
* Central Ohio
* Denver, CO
Find more information here about local solidarity actions.
* And we need you on the ground in New York City! We have many events and actions taking place there, including possible direct action at the office of the Archbishop and in the five boroughs. Please register and we can begin the conversation about how you would like to participate.
Read more details, register, and find contact information at www.soulforce.org/catholic-action
We look forward to working with you this April! All are welcome!
=
Become a legend! Attend the first Miami Beach Gay Pride!
The First Annual Miami Beach LGBT Pride
April 18, 2009 - Ocean Drive - Miami Beach
http://frontpage.jumponmarkslist.com/events/sobe_pride/index_1.htm
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gay adoption raises an issue still unmined
BY JACKIE BUENO SOUSA
A recent conversation with a friend went something like this: ''Homosexuality isn't normal,'' he said. ``It goes against nature.'' ''How do you figure?'' I asked. ``As far as we know, homosexuality always has existed. Wouldn't that indicate that it's perfectly natural?'' ''No, it's not,'' he replied. ``Imagine if we were all homosexuals. Then what would happen to the human race?''
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/974384.html
-Miami Beach residents get the OK to fly the Pride Flag
It's among the most basic of American rights: the freedom to fly a flag. But in Miami Beach -- home to one of the largest gay communities in the country -- residents and businesses only recently got the go-ahead to fly the rainbow-striped Pride Flag. And only after receiving a city permit. ''The problem is the businesses just went out and bought a flagpole and in an expression of their pride, put up the flag,'' said City Commissioner Victor Diaz, who said a number of business owners have since been slapped with fines and taken their flags down. Flying any flag in the right of way without a permit is a violation of city code.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/974462.html
-California politician plans fundraiser in Aventura
One of California's most colorful politicians running for governor in 2010 is holding a fundraiser in Aventura April 5 that could draw gay marriage supporters in South Florida. Gavin Newsom is the San Francisco mayor who drew nationwide attention when he started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples in 2004. But his jubilant comment that gay marriage was coming ''whether you like it or not'' was played up by opponents of same-sex marriage, and last fall Californians voted to ban it.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/974460.html
-About lies, libel, same-sex lovers
BY EDWARD WASSERMAN
Here's a question: Since being gay has lost much of the stigma it once had among heterosexuals in this country, should a celebrity who is falsely reported to have same-sex lovers still be able to sue for libel? And are courts perpetuating the idea that homosexuality is bad if they accept the argument that labeling somebody as gay is defamatory? The answer to both questions is Yes, according to a provocative column by Gabriel Arana published recently on Slate.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/edward-wasserman/story/974346.html
=
365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gates: No rush to end DADT
By The Associated Press
Don't expect any change soon to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy about gays in the military. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says both he and President Barack Obama have "a lot on our plates right now." As Gates puts it, "let's push that one down the road a little bit."
http://www.365gay.com/news/gates-no-rush-to-end-dadt/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Tyra scores at the 20th GLAAD Media Awards.
The New York leg of the 20th annual GLAAD Media Awards saw Tyra Banks pick up one of the top honours of the night. Presented the Excellence in Media Award by gay singer-songwriter Clay Aiken, Tyra received official recognition of her efforts to advance the gay community.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11795.html
-Comment: False hope - LGBT rights in the Middle East
Omar Hassan explores the issue of LGBT rights in a Middle East ruled by conservatism.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11793.html
-Australian broacaster "censored" lesbian kiss on Home and Away
The Australian broadcasting network Seven have allegedly censored a lesbian kiss due to be shown during its soap opera Home and Away.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11792.html
-'High number' of gay and bisexual domestic violence victims in Northern Ireland
The gay and bisexual community in Northern Ireland is suffering from disproportionate rates of domestic violence, an official report has claimed. The paper, published this week by the Northern Ireland Policing Board, concluded that a high percentage of those experiencing domestic violence are gay or bisexual men and women.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11786.html
=
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-TX: Equality Texas Pushing Employment Nondiscrimination Bill
John Wright | News Editor | Dallas Voice
AUSTIN -Lobby Day has come and gone, but Equality Texas says it needs continued participation from members across the state in order to advance pro-LGBT legislation during this year's session. The statewide advocacy group was circulating an online petition this week aimed at securing a committee hearing on a bill that would prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/ expression. By Wednesday afternoon, March 25, 1,116 people had signed the petition, and the group was hoping to reach 2,000 signatures. The petition will be delivered to Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, who chairs the House Committee on State Affairs, where the bill has been referred. The bill is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Mike Villarreal of San Antonio. Read more
-TX: Kendell:? 'We're Going to Lose'
John Wright | News Editor | Dallas Voice
A veteran civil rights attorney who's closely involved with the case told Dallas Voice this week she thinks there's a 98 percent chance the California Supreme Court will uphold Proposition 8, the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. "We're going to lose," said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit challenging Prop 8. "I think it was very clear from the oral arguments that the court intends to uphold Prop 8," Kendell added. "I've never seen a court so unequivocally telegraph their thinking." Kendell was in Dallas on Wednesday, March 25 to speak at the North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce's 4th Anniversary Dinner & Business Excellence Awards. In an interview afterward, Kendell said she expects the California Supreme Court to issue its ruling in the Prop 8 case by late April or early May. Read more
-States Consider Drug Tests for Welfare Recipients
Tom Breen | Visit article original @ The Associated Press Truthout
Charleston, West Virginia - Want government assistance? Just say no to drugs. Lawmakers in at least eight states want recipients of food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing. The effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse. Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing. Read more
-This Will Only Hurt a Little Bit.More
Scott Schoettes | Lambda Legal
How would you feel if you were asked to entrust your medical care to a person who seemingly did not want to touch you? Whatever thoughts and feelings that question conjures for you are likely akin to how our client, Melody Rose, felt after she sought treatment from a surgeon at the Fond du Lac Regional Clinic in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Although some uncomfortable interactions with a doctor might be chalked up to a less-than-reassuring bedside manner, there was no doubt about the message this doctor was sending: he explicitly told Rose that he did not want to perform surgery on her because of the risk he thought her HIV posed to his surgical team. Rose, who was incarcerated at a correctional facility at the time, suffered from increasingly frequent and painful symptoms as a result of problems related to her gallbladder. The doctor treating Rose for her HIV recommended that she have her gallbladder removed in order to alleviate those problems, and through her primary care doctor at the prison, he referred Rose to a healthcare facility where they could do so in what is considered a fairly routine surgical procedure. That is where Rose encountered the surgeon who discriminatorily refused to perform the needed surgery because of Rose's HIV status. One of the last things Melody Rose expected to hear that day was that she would not be treated because of the risk her surgery purportedly presented to the doctor. Yet that is exactly the message Rose was processing as she returned - stunned, shunned and demoralized - to the Taycheedah Correctional Institution. Equal access to health care has always been a priority for Lambda Legal's HIV Project. Being treated fairly by health care providers is important for everyone, but it is especially important for people living with HIV - which is one of the primary reasons we decided to join the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW) in representing Rose when the case was brought to our attention by ARCW's Director of Legal Services, Peter Kimball. Read more
-DE: Two Big Wins for Gay Rights Advocates
DOVER - Gay rights advocates gained two victories Thursday in the state Legislature - the Senate's defeat of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and the House's passage of a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. More than 1,000 demonstrators wearing white T-shirts with the slogan "One Man, One Woman - That's Marriage" rallied on the steps of Legislative Hall as, inside, both chambers engaged in lengthy debates colored by accusations of discrimination past and present. Senate Bill 27, the defeated constitutional amendment, sought to make an existing state law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman more difficult to overturn. But many members of the Senate voiced concern that amending the constitution was unnecessary and even inappropriate. Read more
-Gingrich's Gay Fascism
Michael A. Jones | Change.org
If only Newt Gingrich could have been a one-hit wonder. Instead, the former Speaker of the House is stirring the pot with a potential 2012 bid for President, and the formation of a new group - Renewing American Leadership. What is the goal of Renewing American Leadership? To combat gay and secular fascism. Much as we'd like to be kidding, here's Gingrich on Fox News: There is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. So in order to combat this gay fascism, Gingrich's new organization is looking to build and strengthen coalitions between economic conservatives and religious conservatives. According to Bill Berkowitz over at Buzz Flash, Gingrich will be taking his new organization to an influential group of conservative pastors that were among the leaders of the Bush re-election campaign of 2004, and Gingrich is planning on releasing a film about the late Pope John Paul II's role in taking down the Soviet Union. Read more
-SoulForce Update
Spring 2009 Catholic Action
Soulforce Spring 2009 Catholic ActionNow that the United States has signed on the United Nations Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity - a reversal of the Bush administration stance on the statement currently backed by 66 UN member states - renewed energy must focus on the Vatican's refusal to support the measure.
This April we are asking the Vatican's ambassador to the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, to work with us in doing just that. And we are excited to invite you to join with us in many ways.
* You can add your or your organization's name to the growing list of people who have endorsed the statement of support. Text and contact information here.
* Locally, you can join in with a solidarity action in April where you live, either by becoming a local leader yourself or participating in one of the following cities and regions:
* Los Angeles, CA
* Durham, NC
* New Haven, CT
* Little Rock, AR
* Detroit, MI
* Orlando, FL
* Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN
* Phoenix, AZ
* Turtle Creek, PA
* Central Ohio
* Denver, CO
Find more information here about local solidarity actions.
* And we need you on the ground in New York City! We have many events and actions taking place there, including possible direct action at the office of the Archbishop and in the five boroughs. Please register and we can begin the conversation about how you would like to participate.
Read more details, register, and find contact information at www.soulforce.org/catholic-action
We look forward to working with you this April! All are welcome!
=
Become a legend! Attend the first Miami Beach Gay Pride!
The First Annual Miami Beach LGBT Pride
April 18, 2009 - Ocean Drive - Miami Beach
http://frontpage.jumponmarkslist.com/events/sobe_pride/index_1.htm
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - March 30, 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~~
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Lambda Legal unites Janice Langbehn with man who received late partner's heart
Janice Langbehn made national news two years ago when she wasn't allowed to be with her dying partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital. Lambda Legal later sued JMH on behalf of Langbehn and the couple's children. Saturday night at a Lambda Legal sponsors' reception in Fort Lauderdale, Langbehn met the Jacksonville man whose life was saved as a result of Pond's sudden death from a brain aneurysm: Jerry Lawrence, who received Pond's heart two days after she died. "This is the best outcome I could hope for," Langbehn said Saturday upon meeting Lawrence and his wife, Maxine. "Lisa is inside of him."
-Leonard Pitts Jr. wins another GLAAD award
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) on Saturday night awarded Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. it's GLAAD Media Award as outstanding newspaper columnist. Pitts previously won in 2003, the year before he won a Pulitzer Prize. Here's GLAAD's news release from the New York awards (a complete list of winners is at the bottom). Two more award dinners this year come later:
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Experts: UF voters swayed recent elections
The Associated Press
Experts say high turnout among University of Florida students had helped sway recent elections - and that the increased participation isn't an aberration. UF political science professor Dan Smith says the "Obama experience" has altered how young people participate in politics.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/974523.html
-State news of national interest
The Associated Press
EAST - Former Mayor Anthony Williams withdrew his application to join the Order of Malta after members of the Catholic service society complained he shouldn't be allowed to join because he supports abortion rights and protections for gay unions. Williams's critics used Internet blogs to voice their concerns, but order president Noreen Falcone said anonymous postings with incomplete information were unfair to Williams and his sponsors.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/974498.html
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Broward School Board considers cutting area offices
The Broward School Board today is expected to consider Superintendent Jim Notter's proposal to cut the school district's area offices from four to three. The switch would save the district about $4.1 million, according to a committee made up of district administrators, The Miami Herald reports. The committee has proposed keeping four areas but housing them in two offices instead of four.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/broward-school-board-offices-b033009,0,5891421.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Lambda Legal unites Janice Langbehn with man who received late partner's heart
Janice Langbehn made national news two years ago when she wasn't allowed to be with her dying partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital. Lambda Legal later sued JMH on behalf of Langbehn and the couple's children. Saturday night at a Lambda Legal sponsors' reception in Fort Lauderdale, Langbehn met the Jacksonville man whose life was saved as a result of Pond's sudden death from a brain aneurysm: Jerry Lawrence, who received Pond's heart two days after she died. "This is the best outcome I could hope for," Langbehn said Saturday upon meeting Lawrence and his wife, Maxine. "Lisa is inside of him."
-Leonard Pitts Jr. wins another GLAAD award
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) on Saturday night awarded Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. it's GLAAD Media Award as outstanding newspaper columnist. Pitts previously won in 2003, the year before he won a Pulitzer Prize. Here's GLAAD's news release from the New York awards (a complete list of winners is at the bottom). Two more award dinners this year come later:
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Experts: UF voters swayed recent elections
The Associated Press
Experts say high turnout among University of Florida students had helped sway recent elections - and that the increased participation isn't an aberration. UF political science professor Dan Smith says the "Obama experience" has altered how young people participate in politics.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/974523.html
-State news of national interest
The Associated Press
EAST - Former Mayor Anthony Williams withdrew his application to join the Order of Malta after members of the Catholic service society complained he shouldn't be allowed to join because he supports abortion rights and protections for gay unions. Williams's critics used Internet blogs to voice their concerns, but order president Noreen Falcone said anonymous postings with incomplete information were unfair to Williams and his sponsors.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/974498.html
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Broward School Board considers cutting area offices
The Broward School Board today is expected to consider Superintendent Jim Notter's proposal to cut the school district's area offices from four to three. The switch would save the district about $4.1 million, according to a committee made up of district administrators, The Miami Herald reports. The committee has proposed keeping four areas but housing them in two offices instead of four.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/broward-school-board-offices-b033009,0,5891421.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Sunday, March 29, 2009
GLBT DIGEST - March 29, 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.
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Moran Endorsed by Ebbin, Young Dems
Anita Kumar
Del. Adam P. Ebbin, the highest-ranking openly gay elected official in Virginia and the only openly gay member of the General Assembly, endorsed Democrat Brian Moran for governor. Ebbin cited Moran's long-term commitment to fighting discrimination and his opposition to the Virginia marriage amendment, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman and was passed by voters in 2006.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2009/03/post_169.html
-The Pope May Be Right
By Edward C. Green
When Pope Benedict XVI commented this month that condom distribution isn't helping, and may be worsening, the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, he set off a firestorm of protest. Most non-Catholic commentary has been highly critical of the pope. A cartoon in the Philadelphia Inquirer, reprinted in The Post, showed the pope somewhat ghoulishly praising a throng of sick and dying Africans: "Blessed are the sick, for they have not used condoms."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032702825.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gay marriage fight returns
Northeast again is front in battle over same-sex weddings
By John Curran
Two states in New England already allow same-sex marriage, and legislators in three more are considering it. To some, the push is emblematic of a live-and-let-live ethic and gradual acceptance of gay relationships after Vermont's groundbreaking civil unions law took effect in 2000.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/nationworld/sfl-flagay0329sbmar29,0,296410.story
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Washington Blade examines compensation paid to leaders of the LGBT rights movement
The Washington Blade has just published a great article about how much money is paid to the leaders of the nation's largest gay organizations: Craig Shniderman, executive director of Food & Friends, which provides meals and nutritional services for homebound people with HIV/AIDS in the Washington, D.C. area, had the highest salary among the heads of the nation's most prominent LGBT advocacy groups and groups that provide AIDS-related services in Los Angeles, New York and D.C.
-Miami Beach Gay Pride parade committee meets at SAVE Dade headquarters
Miami Beach Gay Pride will be celebrated April 18 on Ocean Drive. A highlight: a noon parade with floats sponsored by dozens of community groups. The pride parade committee met Saturday at SAVE Dade's office in Legion Hall in Northeast Miami.
=
SF Jamaican Consul to Meet Gays at City Hall;
Bars Boycott Myers's Rum, Red Stripe Beer
Under the enormous rainbow flag hung on the large pole at Harvey Milk Plaza, today at high noon, a handful of homosexual human rights advocates gathered to launch the Boycott Jamaica campaign over the escalating violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and HIV poz persons in Jamaica. At the event, Supervisor Bevan Dufty delivered the incredible news: He had arranged a meeting at his City Hall office with the honorary consul of Jamaica for San Francisco, Dr. Newton Gordon, DDS.
http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2009/03/sf-jamaican-consul-to-meet-gays-at-city.html
=
Boycott Jamaica Logo to be printed (and used)
http://clintonfein.com/images/boycott-jamaica-print.jpg
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Moran Endorsed by Ebbin, Young Dems
Anita Kumar
Del. Adam P. Ebbin, the highest-ranking openly gay elected official in Virginia and the only openly gay member of the General Assembly, endorsed Democrat Brian Moran for governor. Ebbin cited Moran's long-term commitment to fighting discrimination and his opposition to the Virginia marriage amendment, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman and was passed by voters in 2006.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2009/03/post_169.html
-The Pope May Be Right
By Edward C. Green
When Pope Benedict XVI commented this month that condom distribution isn't helping, and may be worsening, the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, he set off a firestorm of protest. Most non-Catholic commentary has been highly critical of the pope. A cartoon in the Philadelphia Inquirer, reprinted in The Post, showed the pope somewhat ghoulishly praising a throng of sick and dying Africans: "Blessed are the sick, for they have not used condoms."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032702825.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gay marriage fight returns
Northeast again is front in battle over same-sex weddings
By John Curran
Two states in New England already allow same-sex marriage, and legislators in three more are considering it. To some, the push is emblematic of a live-and-let-live ethic and gradual acceptance of gay relationships after Vermont's groundbreaking civil unions law took effect in 2000.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/nationworld/sfl-flagay0329sbmar29,0,296410.story
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Washington Blade examines compensation paid to leaders of the LGBT rights movement
The Washington Blade has just published a great article about how much money is paid to the leaders of the nation's largest gay organizations: Craig Shniderman, executive director of Food & Friends, which provides meals and nutritional services for homebound people with HIV/AIDS in the Washington, D.C. area, had the highest salary among the heads of the nation's most prominent LGBT advocacy groups and groups that provide AIDS-related services in Los Angeles, New York and D.C.
-Miami Beach Gay Pride parade committee meets at SAVE Dade headquarters
Miami Beach Gay Pride will be celebrated April 18 on Ocean Drive. A highlight: a noon parade with floats sponsored by dozens of community groups. The pride parade committee met Saturday at SAVE Dade's office in Legion Hall in Northeast Miami.
=
SF Jamaican Consul to Meet Gays at City Hall;
Bars Boycott Myers's Rum, Red Stripe Beer
Under the enormous rainbow flag hung on the large pole at Harvey Milk Plaza, today at high noon, a handful of homosexual human rights advocates gathered to launch the Boycott Jamaica campaign over the escalating violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and HIV poz persons in Jamaica. At the event, Supervisor Bevan Dufty delivered the incredible news: He had arranged a meeting at his City Hall office with the honorary consul of Jamaica for San Francisco, Dr. Newton Gordon, DDS.
http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2009/03/sf-jamaican-consul-to-meet-gays-at-city.html
=
Boycott Jamaica Logo to be printed (and used)
http://clintonfein.com/images/boycott-jamaica-print.jpg
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - March 29, 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:
-Spanish Court Weighs Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-Era Officials
By MARLISE SIMONS
LONDON - A Spanish court has taken the first steps toward opening a criminal investigation into allegations that six former high-level Bush administration officials violated international law by providing the legal framework to justify the torture of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, an official close to the case said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/world/europe/29spain.html?_r=1&hpw
-Obama Will Face a Defiant World on Foreign Visit
By HELENE COOPER
President Obama is facing challenges to American power on multiple fronts as he prepares for his first trip overseas since taking office, with the nation's economic woes emboldening allies and adversaries alike.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/washington/29global.html?hp
-European Court Seems to Rankle Kremlin
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
MOSCOW - Fed up with the brazen string-pulling and favor-trading in the corrupt Moscow courts, a judge named Olga B. Kudeshkina went public, criticizing the system in numerous interviews as little more than a legal bazaar - "an instrument," as she put it, "for settling political, commercial or simply personal scores."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/world/europe/29russia.html?hpw
-Vast Spy System Loots Computers in 103 Countries
By JOHN MARKOFF
TORONTO - A vast electronic spying operation has infiltrated computers and has stolen documents from hundreds of government and private offices around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama, Canadian researchers have concluded.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/technology/29spy.html?hp
-Speaking Freely, Biden Finds Influential Role
By MARK LEIBOVICH
When President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. meet for their standing Friday lunch engagement, Mr. Obama always picks the cuisine - a subtle break from previous administrations in which the president and the vice president typically ordered off a menu, and a reminder, if any was needed, about who is in charge.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/us/politics/29biden.html?hp
-A Boy Living in a Car
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
CAP HAITIEN, Haiti: As America's unemployment rate rises, those paying the severest price aren't necessarily in Detroit or Miami. One of the newest street children here in this northern Haitian city is a 10-year-old boy whose father was working in Florida but lost his job and can no longer send money home. As a result, the family here was evicted, the mother and children went separate ways to improve their odds of finding shelter, and the boy found refuge in an abandoned wreck of a car.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/opinion/29kristof.html?ref=opinion
-Mother Nature's Dow
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
While I'm convinced that our current financial crisis is the product of both The Market and Mother Nature hitting the wall at once - telling us we need to grow in more sustainable ways - some might ask this: We know when the market hits a wall. It shows up in red numbers on the Dow. But Mother Nature doesn't have a Dow. What makes you think she's hitting a wall, too? And even if she is: Who cares? When my 401(k) is collapsing, it's hard to worry about my sea level rising.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/opinion/29friedman.html?ref=opinion
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-A Ritual Slowly Unravels In India
Alarm Grows as More Sikh Youths Give Up Turbans
By Rama Lakshmi
CHANDIGARH, India -- Text messaging with one hand and holding a cup of milky tea in the other, spiky-haired Amandeep Singh Saini, 27, recalled the year-long battle he waged against his traditional Sikh parents to cut his hair.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801901.html?hpid=artslot
-Swiss Talk Tough In Banking Battle
Blacklist Threat Looms Over Tax Havens
By Craig Whitlock
BERN, Switzerland -- This country may be politically neutral, but the Swiss are girding for battle to protect one of their most cherished values: banking secrecy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801801.html?hpid=topnews
-The Big Idea: Want to Fight Terrorists? Try Mocking Them.
By Carlos Lozada
With the Taliban regaining strength and Osama bin Laden still on the loose, President Obama announced a new strategy Friday to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In addition to new funding for Pakistan's democratic institutions and more U.S. troops to train the Afghan security forces, here's another anti-terrorism tactic the president might consider: Make al-Qaeda boring.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032701452.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
-Afghanistan's Karzai Endorses Obama Plan
By Pamela Constable
KABUL, March 28 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that he was in "full agreement" with President Obama's newly announced strategy for Afghanistan, saying it was "exactly what the Afghan people were hoping for" and promising to "work very closely" with the United States to implement the plan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801727.html?hpid=topnews
-Delay in Immigration Raids May Signal Policy Change
By Spencer S. Hsu
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has delayed a series of proposed immigration raids and other enforcement actions at U.S. workplaces in recent weeks, asking agents in her department to apply more scrutiny to the selection and investigation of targets as well as the timing of raids, federal officials said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801751.html?hpid=moreheadlines
-Look to Beijing
By Zachary Karabell
A hundred years ago, London would have made sense as the spot where the world's leaders should gather, as they will this week, to grapple with a spreading economic crisis. The city was the early 20th century's nexus of finance and power, and Britain straddled the globe as the only true superpower. But we're in the 21st century now, and the G20 heads of state should not be plotting in the shadow of Big Ben. They should be sitting across from Mao's Tomb, near the Forbidden City, in the meeting halls off Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032701451.html
-Welcome to America, the World's Scariest Emerging Market
By Desmond Lachman
Back in the spring of 1998, when Boris Yeltsin was still at Russia's helm, I led a group of global investors to Moscow to find out firsthand where the Russian economy was headed. My long career with the International Monetary Fund and on Wall Street had taken me to "emerging markets" throughout Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, and I thought I'd seen it all. Yet I still recall the shock I felt at a meeting in Russia's dingy Ministry of Finance, where I finally realized how a handful of young oligarchs were bringing Russia's economy to ruin in the pursuit of their own selfish interests, despite the supposed brilliance of Anatoly Chubais, Russia's economic czar at the time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/25/AR2009032502226.html
-Teach the Kids, and the Parents Will Follow
By Jay Mathews
Like most principals, Dave Levin believed that parental support was essential to a school's success. So when many families pulled their kids out of his struggling South Bronx charter school after its first year, he thought he was in trouble.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032700958.html
=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Iran's Renewed Border Dispute With Iraq Threatens to Hinder U.S. Efforts
By GINA CHON
BAGHDAD -- Iranian officials have resurrected a decades-old sea-border dispute with Iraq, raising tensions that could become a stumbling block to Washington's recent outreach to Tehran. The spat -- over territory through which most of Iraq's oil exports pass -- is part of a diplomatic chill from Tehran that Iraqi officials say began this year because of Baghdad's pact with Washington that formalized the U.S. troop presence.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819885211962021.html
-Zardari Moves to Ease Pakistan Political Crisis
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's president said his party would help the opposition return to power in a key province, moving to end a political crisis threatening to hobble his U.S.-allied government's efforts against Islamist militants.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123825226696665269.html
-Texas Opens Classroom Door for Evolution Doubts
By STEPHANIE SIMON
The Texas Board of Education approved a science curriculum that opens the door for teachers and textbooks to raise doubts about evolution. Critics of evolution said they were thrilled with Friday's move. "Texas has sent a clear message that evolution should be taught as a scientific theory open to critical scrutiny, not as a sacred dogma that can't be questioned," said Dr. John West, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a Seattle think tank that argues an intelligent designer created life.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819751472561761.html
-Thousands Rally Ahead of G-20
Associated Press
LONDON -- Thousands of people marched through European cities Saturday to demand jobs, economic justice and environmental accountability, kicking off six days of protest and action planned in the run-up to the G-20 summit next week in London. In London, more than 150 groups threw their backing behind the ``Put People First" march. Police said around 35,000 attended the demonstration, snaking their way across the city toward Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. Protest organizers said they wanted leaders from the world's top 20 economies to adopt a more transparent and democratic economic recovery plan.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123827967744966041.html
-Mr. Obama's Surge
He'll need some of Bush's fortitude to resist the crossfire from left and right.
President Obama unveiled his strategy for the war in Afghanistan yesterday, and there is much to like in it. Our main question -- and, we suspect, the world's -- is whether the new Commander in Chief is really prepared to devote the resources and political capital that his plan will need to succeed.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819872705562003.html
-Obama Taps Three Nominees for Treasury Posts
President Barack Obama Saturday named three more nominees for positions at the U.S. Treasury: Helen Elizabeth Garrett, assistant secretary for tax policy; Michael S. Barr, assistant secretary for financial institutions; and George W. Madison, general counsel. All are subject to Senate confirmation. Ms. Garrett is vice president for academic planning and budget at the University of Southern California and was a member of President George W. Bush's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, which issued its report in November 2005. She also serves as chair of the finance committee of the national governing board of Common Cause. Mr. Barr currently teaches Financial Institutions, International Finance, Transnational Law, and Jurisdiction and Choice of Law at the University of Michigan law school. He was a deputy assistant Treasury secretary during the Clinton administration. Mr. Madison is former executive vice president and general counsel of TIAA-CREF, the financial-services firm.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123826564538565461.html
-Obamanomics Isn't About Big Government
The president's focus is on improving human capital.
By ROBERT B. REICH
Twenty-eight years ago, Ronald Reagan used the severe economic downturn of 1980-82 to implement an economic philosophy that not only gave force and meaning to a wide range of initiatives but also offered a way back to sustained economic growth. Is there a similarly powerful animating idea behind Obamanomics?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819895769662043.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-From Antarctic base to Great Pyramids, lights dim worldwide for Earth Hour 2009
RUPA SHENOY
From an Antarctic research base and the Great Pyramids of Egypt to the Empire State Building in New York and the Sears Tower in Chicago, illuminated patches of the globe went dark Saturday for Earth Hour, a campaign to highlight the threat of climate change. Time zone by time zone, nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries joined the event sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund to dim nonessential lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The campaign began in Australia in 2007 and last year grew to 400 cities worldwide.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-earth-hour,0,717975.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Paying higher taxes no fun -- but necessary
By CARL HIAASEN
If you're rich and think nobody loves you anymore, meet Rep. John Boehner. He's the House minority leader from Ohio who is anchoring the opposition to President Barack Obama's proposed tax hikes on households making more than $250,000 a year.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/971601.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-No VacancyReading the tea leaves of the Supreme Court's retirement prospects.
By Dahlia Lithwick
Court watchers can't take their eyes off the Supreme Court right now, obsessively scrutinizing every judicial cough or comment for hidden evidence of illness or depression or looming retirement plans-in the manner of wild-eyed New Yorkers on the hunt for a rent-controlled apartment. Attention largely centers on Justice John Paul Stevens, who turns 89 in three weeks, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, just turned 76, who recently underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. Only two weeks ago, Ginsburg made headlines again when she told a Boston audience the justices haven't posed for a court photo featuring a new justice in a while, "but surely we will soon." Even more speculation is focused on Justice David Souter, 69, who famously pines for a return to his New Hampshire home. Souter claims to have the world's best job in the world's worst city, and in a very rare public appearance last month, he described the beginning of each court's term as the start of a "sort of annual intellectual lobotomy."
http://www.slate.com/id/2214735/
=
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#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Spanish Court Weighs Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-Era Officials
By MARLISE SIMONS
LONDON - A Spanish court has taken the first steps toward opening a criminal investigation into allegations that six former high-level Bush administration officials violated international law by providing the legal framework to justify the torture of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, an official close to the case said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/world/europe/29spain.html?_r=1&hpw
-Obama Will Face a Defiant World on Foreign Visit
By HELENE COOPER
President Obama is facing challenges to American power on multiple fronts as he prepares for his first trip overseas since taking office, with the nation's economic woes emboldening allies and adversaries alike.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/washington/29global.html?hp
-European Court Seems to Rankle Kremlin
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
MOSCOW - Fed up with the brazen string-pulling and favor-trading in the corrupt Moscow courts, a judge named Olga B. Kudeshkina went public, criticizing the system in numerous interviews as little more than a legal bazaar - "an instrument," as she put it, "for settling political, commercial or simply personal scores."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/world/europe/29russia.html?hpw
-Vast Spy System Loots Computers in 103 Countries
By JOHN MARKOFF
TORONTO - A vast electronic spying operation has infiltrated computers and has stolen documents from hundreds of government and private offices around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama, Canadian researchers have concluded.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/technology/29spy.html?hp
-Speaking Freely, Biden Finds Influential Role
By MARK LEIBOVICH
When President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. meet for their standing Friday lunch engagement, Mr. Obama always picks the cuisine - a subtle break from previous administrations in which the president and the vice president typically ordered off a menu, and a reminder, if any was needed, about who is in charge.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/us/politics/29biden.html?hp
-A Boy Living in a Car
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
CAP HAITIEN, Haiti: As America's unemployment rate rises, those paying the severest price aren't necessarily in Detroit or Miami. One of the newest street children here in this northern Haitian city is a 10-year-old boy whose father was working in Florida but lost his job and can no longer send money home. As a result, the family here was evicted, the mother and children went separate ways to improve their odds of finding shelter, and the boy found refuge in an abandoned wreck of a car.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/opinion/29kristof.html?ref=opinion
-Mother Nature's Dow
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
While I'm convinced that our current financial crisis is the product of both The Market and Mother Nature hitting the wall at once - telling us we need to grow in more sustainable ways - some might ask this: We know when the market hits a wall. It shows up in red numbers on the Dow. But Mother Nature doesn't have a Dow. What makes you think she's hitting a wall, too? And even if she is: Who cares? When my 401(k) is collapsing, it's hard to worry about my sea level rising.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/opinion/29friedman.html?ref=opinion
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-A Ritual Slowly Unravels In India
Alarm Grows as More Sikh Youths Give Up Turbans
By Rama Lakshmi
CHANDIGARH, India -- Text messaging with one hand and holding a cup of milky tea in the other, spiky-haired Amandeep Singh Saini, 27, recalled the year-long battle he waged against his traditional Sikh parents to cut his hair.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801901.html?hpid=artslot
-Swiss Talk Tough In Banking Battle
Blacklist Threat Looms Over Tax Havens
By Craig Whitlock
BERN, Switzerland -- This country may be politically neutral, but the Swiss are girding for battle to protect one of their most cherished values: banking secrecy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801801.html?hpid=topnews
-The Big Idea: Want to Fight Terrorists? Try Mocking Them.
By Carlos Lozada
With the Taliban regaining strength and Osama bin Laden still on the loose, President Obama announced a new strategy Friday to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In addition to new funding for Pakistan's democratic institutions and more U.S. troops to train the Afghan security forces, here's another anti-terrorism tactic the president might consider: Make al-Qaeda boring.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032701452.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
-Afghanistan's Karzai Endorses Obama Plan
By Pamela Constable
KABUL, March 28 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that he was in "full agreement" with President Obama's newly announced strategy for Afghanistan, saying it was "exactly what the Afghan people were hoping for" and promising to "work very closely" with the United States to implement the plan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801727.html?hpid=topnews
-Delay in Immigration Raids May Signal Policy Change
By Spencer S. Hsu
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has delayed a series of proposed immigration raids and other enforcement actions at U.S. workplaces in recent weeks, asking agents in her department to apply more scrutiny to the selection and investigation of targets as well as the timing of raids, federal officials said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801751.html?hpid=moreheadlines
-Look to Beijing
By Zachary Karabell
A hundred years ago, London would have made sense as the spot where the world's leaders should gather, as they will this week, to grapple with a spreading economic crisis. The city was the early 20th century's nexus of finance and power, and Britain straddled the globe as the only true superpower. But we're in the 21st century now, and the G20 heads of state should not be plotting in the shadow of Big Ben. They should be sitting across from Mao's Tomb, near the Forbidden City, in the meeting halls off Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032701451.html
-Welcome to America, the World's Scariest Emerging Market
By Desmond Lachman
Back in the spring of 1998, when Boris Yeltsin was still at Russia's helm, I led a group of global investors to Moscow to find out firsthand where the Russian economy was headed. My long career with the International Monetary Fund and on Wall Street had taken me to "emerging markets" throughout Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, and I thought I'd seen it all. Yet I still recall the shock I felt at a meeting in Russia's dingy Ministry of Finance, where I finally realized how a handful of young oligarchs were bringing Russia's economy to ruin in the pursuit of their own selfish interests, despite the supposed brilliance of Anatoly Chubais, Russia's economic czar at the time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/25/AR2009032502226.html
-Teach the Kids, and the Parents Will Follow
By Jay Mathews
Like most principals, Dave Levin believed that parental support was essential to a school's success. So when many families pulled their kids out of his struggling South Bronx charter school after its first year, he thought he was in trouble.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032700958.html
=
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Iran's Renewed Border Dispute With Iraq Threatens to Hinder U.S. Efforts
By GINA CHON
BAGHDAD -- Iranian officials have resurrected a decades-old sea-border dispute with Iraq, raising tensions that could become a stumbling block to Washington's recent outreach to Tehran. The spat -- over territory through which most of Iraq's oil exports pass -- is part of a diplomatic chill from Tehran that Iraqi officials say began this year because of Baghdad's pact with Washington that formalized the U.S. troop presence.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819885211962021.html
-Zardari Moves to Ease Pakistan Political Crisis
Associated Press
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's president said his party would help the opposition return to power in a key province, moving to end a political crisis threatening to hobble his U.S.-allied government's efforts against Islamist militants.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123825226696665269.html
-Texas Opens Classroom Door for Evolution Doubts
By STEPHANIE SIMON
The Texas Board of Education approved a science curriculum that opens the door for teachers and textbooks to raise doubts about evolution. Critics of evolution said they were thrilled with Friday's move. "Texas has sent a clear message that evolution should be taught as a scientific theory open to critical scrutiny, not as a sacred dogma that can't be questioned," said Dr. John West, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a Seattle think tank that argues an intelligent designer created life.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819751472561761.html
-Thousands Rally Ahead of G-20
Associated Press
LONDON -- Thousands of people marched through European cities Saturday to demand jobs, economic justice and environmental accountability, kicking off six days of protest and action planned in the run-up to the G-20 summit next week in London. In London, more than 150 groups threw their backing behind the ``Put People First" march. Police said around 35,000 attended the demonstration, snaking their way across the city toward Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. Protest organizers said they wanted leaders from the world's top 20 economies to adopt a more transparent and democratic economic recovery plan.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123827967744966041.html
-Mr. Obama's Surge
He'll need some of Bush's fortitude to resist the crossfire from left and right.
President Obama unveiled his strategy for the war in Afghanistan yesterday, and there is much to like in it. Our main question -- and, we suspect, the world's -- is whether the new Commander in Chief is really prepared to devote the resources and political capital that his plan will need to succeed.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819872705562003.html
-Obama Taps Three Nominees for Treasury Posts
President Barack Obama Saturday named three more nominees for positions at the U.S. Treasury: Helen Elizabeth Garrett, assistant secretary for tax policy; Michael S. Barr, assistant secretary for financial institutions; and George W. Madison, general counsel. All are subject to Senate confirmation. Ms. Garrett is vice president for academic planning and budget at the University of Southern California and was a member of President George W. Bush's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, which issued its report in November 2005. She also serves as chair of the finance committee of the national governing board of Common Cause. Mr. Barr currently teaches Financial Institutions, International Finance, Transnational Law, and Jurisdiction and Choice of Law at the University of Michigan law school. He was a deputy assistant Treasury secretary during the Clinton administration. Mr. Madison is former executive vice president and general counsel of TIAA-CREF, the financial-services firm.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123826564538565461.html
-Obamanomics Isn't About Big Government
The president's focus is on improving human capital.
By ROBERT B. REICH
Twenty-eight years ago, Ronald Reagan used the severe economic downturn of 1980-82 to implement an economic philosophy that not only gave force and meaning to a wide range of initiatives but also offered a way back to sustained economic growth. Is there a similarly powerful animating idea behind Obamanomics?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819895769662043.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-From Antarctic base to Great Pyramids, lights dim worldwide for Earth Hour 2009
RUPA SHENOY
From an Antarctic research base and the Great Pyramids of Egypt to the Empire State Building in New York and the Sears Tower in Chicago, illuminated patches of the globe went dark Saturday for Earth Hour, a campaign to highlight the threat of climate change. Time zone by time zone, nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries joined the event sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund to dim nonessential lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The campaign began in Australia in 2007 and last year grew to 400 cities worldwide.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-earth-hour,0,717975.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Paying higher taxes no fun -- but necessary
By CARL HIAASEN
If you're rich and think nobody loves you anymore, meet Rep. John Boehner. He's the House minority leader from Ohio who is anchoring the opposition to President Barack Obama's proposed tax hikes on households making more than $250,000 a year.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/971601.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-No VacancyReading the tea leaves of the Supreme Court's retirement prospects.
By Dahlia Lithwick
Court watchers can't take their eyes off the Supreme Court right now, obsessively scrutinizing every judicial cough or comment for hidden evidence of illness or depression or looming retirement plans-in the manner of wild-eyed New Yorkers on the hunt for a rent-controlled apartment. Attention largely centers on Justice John Paul Stevens, who turns 89 in three weeks, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, just turned 76, who recently underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. Only two weeks ago, Ginsburg made headlines again when she told a Boston audience the justices haven't posed for a court photo featuring a new justice in a while, "but surely we will soon." Even more speculation is focused on Justice David Souter, 69, who famously pines for a return to his New Hampshire home. Souter claims to have the world's best job in the world's worst city, and in a very rare public appearance last month, he described the beginning of each court's term as the start of a "sort of annual intellectual lobotomy."
http://www.slate.com/id/2214735/
=
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#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - March 29, 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~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-PrideFest theme celebrates Compass' move to city
JASON PARSLEY
Thousands of people will descend on Lake Worth from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for the 16th annual PrideFest of the Palm Beaches organized by Compass, the gay and lesbian community center of the Palm Beaches. The festival will feature more than 150 gay-owned and/or gay-friendly businesses, churches, nonprofit groups, government agencies and entertainers. Between 10,000 and 12,000 people are expected to attend. As usual one of the major highlights of the two-day event will be Sunday's parade that starts at 11:30 a.m. at South L Street and Lucerne Avenue, and will make its way down Lake Avenue to Bryant Park.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/news/thingstodo/sfl-fllwfpride0324lwfmar24,0,4729244.story
-PrideFest in Lake Worth puts gay pride on display
Annual parade is Sunday in Lake Worth
By Maria Herrera
The 16th PrideFest of the Palm Beaches was as much about pride as it was about reaching out to the gay and lesbian community.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-032809-lakeworth-pridefest,0,5958346.story
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Luxury hotels are replacing what remains of Fort Lauderdale's notorious Spring Break past
Story by Liz Doup
If this hotel could talk, it might hiccup. Or belch. Heaven knows, enough beer has flowed through it. Over the decades, Spring Breakers have flocked to the Tropic Cay Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale restaurant clean? - Click Here., and no wonder.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/fort_lauderdale/sfl-flospringbreak0329sbmar29,0,3484009.story
-Florida teachers face tough fight for raises amid faltering economy
Fiscal uncertainty keeps Broward's in limbo for now
By Kathy Bushouse
It's a tough time for Florida schoolteachers to get pay raises. With the economy in recession and school budgets tightening, at least 14 districts around the state are locking horns with teachers unions over pay.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-flbteacherpay0329sbmar29,0,319668.story
-Florida jobless rate hits 9.4 percent in February, up from 5.2 percent a year ago
The unemployment level is the highest since April 1976, Rebecca Rust, chief economist for the Agency for Workforce Innovation, said in a press conference.
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/careers/sfl-jobless-february-florida-032609,0,1827216.story
-Michael Mayo: Civil War in Tallahassee pits pragmatists against pious
Michael Mayo
Just as there are two Floridas - the buckled-down Bible Belt north and the anything-goes liberal heathen south - this year there are two Florida Legislatures. There's the House, which is opposed to sin, taxes and new taxes on sin.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-flbmayocol032909sbmar29,0,3359847.column
-Florida teachers face tough fight for raises amid faltering economy
Fiscal uncertainty keeps Broward's in limbo for now
By Kathy Bushouse
It's a tough time for Florida schoolteachers to get pay raises. With the economy in recession and school budgets tightening, at least 14 districts around the state are locking horns with teachers unions over pay. "That's way, way, way more than normal," said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the state's teachers union. "Usually, in any given budget year, you will have an impasse at one or two [school districts], not 14."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-flbteacherpay0329sbmar29,0,319668.story
=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Teachers need to redirect fight for raises to Tallahassee
By MYRIAM MARQUEZ
I n a $5.5 billion budget, is there wiggle room to find $72 million to pay Miami-Dade County's teachers, custodians, schools police and bus drivers the raises they were promised? Taxpayers haven't a clue, the United Teachers of Dade union points out, because the school district won't open some of its books.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/973209.html
-Ample evidence Florida's feeling effects of climate change
BY GEORGIA TASKER
Maybe the fish are on to something. Don Hammond, who catches, tags and releases dolphin-fish (also known as mahi-mahi), says those Florida natives are being hooked in some unusual places.
http://www.miamiherald.com/540/story/971605.html
=
Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Once a power couple, Kevin and Mary McCarty pay for ill-gotten gains
By TONY DORIS
Through the wife's county commission votes, she and her husband profited for a decade or more. On Friday, both paid a price. At a 10:30 a.m. hearing, former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty pleaded guilty to conspiring to deprive the public of her honest services. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 4 to as much as five years in prison. At 3 p.m., a federal judge sentenced Kevin McCarty, ex-chairman of the South Florida Water Management District, to eight months in prison, forfeiture of the couple's $272,000 in ill-gotten gains and a $5,000 fine. He's scheduled to enter prison near Miami on May 4.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/27/0327mccarty.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Florida Legislature awaits Crist's word on budget
By Steve Bousquet
Gov. Charlie Crist's policy of disengagement is testing the limits of lawmakers' patience and raising questions about his leadership. As the legislative session nears the midway point, Crist keeps at a safe distance from the politically turbulent talk of painful budget cuts and higher taxes swirling about him.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/gubernatorial/article987897.ece
-It's hard to fire a teacher, even if they are bad
By Ron Matus
By the spring of 2007, Roy Sachse's boss had had it. In a span of 18 months, a co-worker accused Sachse of cussing her out. A confiscated note suggested he wanted to meet a 14-year-old girl behind a Dumpster. A parent said he threatened to pull another girl's pants down. Away from work, police arrested Sachse (pronounced SAX-see) on a charge of stealing a $5.95 sandwich - an arrest he was supposed to tell his boss about within 48 hours, but investigators said he did not.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/article987898.ece
-Anti-Evolution Bill Still A Fruitless Exercise
By WILLIAM MARCH and CATHERINE DOLINSKI
A bill aimed at undercutting acceptance of evolution in Florida science classes, which kicked up a fuss but didn't pass in the Florida Legislature last year, apparently is going nowhere this year. A Senate version of the bill has yet to receive a committee hearing and has no companion bill in the House.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/mar/28/na-anti-evolution-bill-still-a-fruitless-exercise/news-politics/
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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
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-PrideFest theme celebrates Compass' move to city
JASON PARSLEY
Thousands of people will descend on Lake Worth from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for the 16th annual PrideFest of the Palm Beaches organized by Compass, the gay and lesbian community center of the Palm Beaches. The festival will feature more than 150 gay-owned and/or gay-friendly businesses, churches, nonprofit groups, government agencies and entertainers. Between 10,000 and 12,000 people are expected to attend. As usual one of the major highlights of the two-day event will be Sunday's parade that starts at 11:30 a.m. at South L Street and Lucerne Avenue, and will make its way down Lake Avenue to Bryant Park.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/news/thingstodo/sfl-fllwfpride0324lwfmar24,0,4729244.story
-PrideFest in Lake Worth puts gay pride on display
Annual parade is Sunday in Lake Worth
By Maria Herrera
The 16th PrideFest of the Palm Beaches was as much about pride as it was about reaching out to the gay and lesbian community.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-032809-lakeworth-pridefest,0,5958346.story
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
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-Luxury hotels are replacing what remains of Fort Lauderdale's notorious Spring Break past
Story by Liz Doup
If this hotel could talk, it might hiccup. Or belch. Heaven knows, enough beer has flowed through it. Over the decades, Spring Breakers have flocked to the Tropic Cay Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale restaurant clean? - Click Here., and no wonder.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/fort_lauderdale/sfl-flospringbreak0329sbmar29,0,3484009.story
-Florida teachers face tough fight for raises amid faltering economy
Fiscal uncertainty keeps Broward's in limbo for now
By Kathy Bushouse
It's a tough time for Florida schoolteachers to get pay raises. With the economy in recession and school budgets tightening, at least 14 districts around the state are locking horns with teachers unions over pay.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-flbteacherpay0329sbmar29,0,319668.story
-Florida jobless rate hits 9.4 percent in February, up from 5.2 percent a year ago
The unemployment level is the highest since April 1976, Rebecca Rust, chief economist for the Agency for Workforce Innovation, said in a press conference.
By Marcia Heroux Pounds
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/careers/sfl-jobless-february-florida-032609,0,1827216.story
-Michael Mayo: Civil War in Tallahassee pits pragmatists against pious
Michael Mayo
Just as there are two Floridas - the buckled-down Bible Belt north and the anything-goes liberal heathen south - this year there are two Florida Legislatures. There's the House, which is opposed to sin, taxes and new taxes on sin.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-flbmayocol032909sbmar29,0,3359847.column
-Florida teachers face tough fight for raises amid faltering economy
Fiscal uncertainty keeps Broward's in limbo for now
By Kathy Bushouse
It's a tough time for Florida schoolteachers to get pay raises. With the economy in recession and school budgets tightening, at least 14 districts around the state are locking horns with teachers unions over pay. "That's way, way, way more than normal," said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the state's teachers union. "Usually, in any given budget year, you will have an impasse at one or two [school districts], not 14."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-flbteacherpay0329sbmar29,0,319668.story
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
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-Teachers need to redirect fight for raises to Tallahassee
By MYRIAM MARQUEZ
I n a $5.5 billion budget, is there wiggle room to find $72 million to pay Miami-Dade County's teachers, custodians, schools police and bus drivers the raises they were promised? Taxpayers haven't a clue, the United Teachers of Dade union points out, because the school district won't open some of its books.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/973209.html
-Ample evidence Florida's feeling effects of climate change
BY GEORGIA TASKER
Maybe the fish are on to something. Don Hammond, who catches, tags and releases dolphin-fish (also known as mahi-mahi), says those Florida natives are being hooked in some unusual places.
http://www.miamiherald.com/540/story/971605.html
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Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Once a power couple, Kevin and Mary McCarty pay for ill-gotten gains
By TONY DORIS
Through the wife's county commission votes, she and her husband profited for a decade or more. On Friday, both paid a price. At a 10:30 a.m. hearing, former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty pleaded guilty to conspiring to deprive the public of her honest services. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 4 to as much as five years in prison. At 3 p.m., a federal judge sentenced Kevin McCarty, ex-chairman of the South Florida Water Management District, to eight months in prison, forfeiture of the couple's $272,000 in ill-gotten gains and a $5,000 fine. He's scheduled to enter prison near Miami on May 4.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/27/0327mccarty.html
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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Florida Legislature awaits Crist's word on budget
By Steve Bousquet
Gov. Charlie Crist's policy of disengagement is testing the limits of lawmakers' patience and raising questions about his leadership. As the legislative session nears the midway point, Crist keeps at a safe distance from the politically turbulent talk of painful budget cuts and higher taxes swirling about him.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/gubernatorial/article987897.ece
-It's hard to fire a teacher, even if they are bad
By Ron Matus
By the spring of 2007, Roy Sachse's boss had had it. In a span of 18 months, a co-worker accused Sachse of cussing her out. A confiscated note suggested he wanted to meet a 14-year-old girl behind a Dumpster. A parent said he threatened to pull another girl's pants down. Away from work, police arrested Sachse (pronounced SAX-see) on a charge of stealing a $5.95 sandwich - an arrest he was supposed to tell his boss about within 48 hours, but investigators said he did not.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/article987898.ece
-Anti-Evolution Bill Still A Fruitless Exercise
By WILLIAM MARCH and CATHERINE DOLINSKI
A bill aimed at undercutting acceptance of evolution in Florida science classes, which kicked up a fuss but didn't pass in the Florida Legislature last year, apparently is going nowhere this year. A Senate version of the bill has yet to receive a committee hearing and has no companion bill in the House.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/mar/28/na-anti-evolution-bill-still-a-fruitless-exercise/news-politics/
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