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Express Gay News
http://expressgaynews.com/2007/11-15/news/localnews/4186.cfm
Florida trans activists express ENDA frustrations
House vote on job bias bill seen as hollow victory
By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Thursday, November 15, 2007
While many hailed the Nov. 7 passage of the Employment Non-discriminationAct in the U.S. House of Representatives as an important civil rightsmilestone for the GLBT community, Florida supporters of a version of ENDAthat would include protections for transgendered men and women said the votefell frustratingly short.
"I think it was extremely disappointing," said Karen Doering, senior counselfor the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Doering has been on the frontlines of the move to include gender identity and expression in the bill.
"It pointed to a failure of leadership," Doering said. "Nancy Pelosi had theopportunity to teach the scared freshmen members of Congress to becourageous and take appropriate action. Instead, she allowed the freshmen togive into fear."
The first-term congressmen, she said, gave in to an "irrational fear" that ayes vote would put them at risk of losing their seats come election time.
Across the state, transgender activists and supporters have been expressingtheir frustration with the decision.
"It's not ENDA, It's NONDA," said Madalynn Shepley, a Largo, Fla. restaurantmanager who lost her job in 2002 when she transitioned from a man to awoman. "Once again we were left off the bus."
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15272
Hate crimes bill in jeopardy over Iraq war dispute
Reid says Senate vote on ENDA unlikely this year
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | Nov 15, 12:10 PM
The fate of a gay- and transgender-inclusive hate crimes bill was calledinto question this week when gay-supportive members of the House ofRepresentatives threatened to vote against a defense authorization bill towhich the measure is attached.
As many as 20 House Democrats who are strong gay rights supporters indicatedthey might vote against the National Defense Authorization Act because itincludes provisions that support President Bush's efforts to continue theIraq war, Capitol Hill sources said.
At the same time, as many as 180 House Republicans and conservativeDemocrats who voted against a freestanding version of the hate crimes billin May threatened to vote against the Department of Defense authorizationmeasure this week unless the hate crimes provision were taken out,congressional insiders said.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was expected to join SenateDemocratic leaders Thursday morning in announcing a postponement of a voteon the entire bill until at least Dec. 1, when Congress returns from itsThanksgiving holiday recess, according to a knowledgeable congressionalsource.
The House and Senate were scheduled to vote on a final version of thecombined hate crimes-DOD authorization bill by Friday after a House-Senateconference committee made last-minute changes.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15241
Gov't to report alarming spike in HIV: sources
CDC numbers may be 50 percent higher than originally thought
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | Nov 14, 11:37 AM
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention is mulling over when torelease alarming new statistics showing that as many as 50 percent morepeople are being infected with HIV each year in the United States thanoriginally reported by the government.
According to AIDS advocacy groups familiar with the CDC, middle levelofficials at the disease prevention agency have quietly confided incolleagues in professional and scientific circles that the number of new HIVinfections now appears to be as high as 58,000 to 63,000 cases in the mostrecent 12-month period.
On its web site this week, the CDC left unchanged its longstanding estimatethat about 40,000 Americans per year become infected with HIV, a figure itsays has remained "relatively stable" for most of the past decade.
CDC officials have told leaders of AIDS advocacy groups that the new figuresare being withheld while they are subjected to a rigorous peer reviewprocess by an unidentified scientific journal, which is expected to publishthe findings within the next few months.
Others familiar with the CDC have said CDC would likely publish the new datain its own journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15282
Court throws out expansion of Pa.'s hate crimes law
Victory handed to conservative Christian group
HARRISBURG (AP) | Nov 15, 4:52 PM
A state court Thursday threw out language that expanded Pennsylvania's hatecrimes law to include crimes committed on the basis of the victim's sexualorientation and physical disabilities, ruling the legislative process thatled to is passage was unconstitutional.
Commonwealth Court's 5-1 ruling handed a victory to a conservative Christiangroup called Repent America, which filed a lawsuit in 2005 challenging theamendment of the state hate-crimes law in 2002.
Repent America founder and leader Michael Marcavage and others affiliatedwith the group argued that the amendment was passed unconstitutionallybecause it was inserted into legislation that was originally a billconcerning agricultural vandalism and crop destruction.
Judge James Gardner Colins wrote in the majority opinion that the finallegislation bore no resemblance to the original bill by the time it waspassed and signed into law by then-Gov. Mark Schweiker.
"We emphasize that no matter how salutary the purpose of a bill may be, itstill must comport with constitutionally mandated requirements for passage,"Colins wrote.
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Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-ed-enda15nov15,1,4231391.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Testing Bush's tolerance
Will the president's 'compassionate conservatism' include protecting gaysand lesbians from workplace bias?
November 15, 2007
In 1964, when Congress outlawed discrimination in employment on the basis ofrace, color, religion, gender or national origin, the idea of adding sexualorientation to the litany of improper motives was not so much unpopular asunthinkable. Fortunately, times have changed. Thanks in large part totrailblazing gay activists, public opinion has evolved to the extent that aban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation passed the Houselast week by a vote of 235 to 184.
Attitudes haven't changed enough, however, to make the EmploymentNon-Discrimination Act unnecessary. On the contrary, it deserves to be notonly approved but strengthened by the Senate. Then it should be signed byPresident Bush, whose claim to be a "compassionate conservative" is mockedby his administration's unconvincing arguments against the bill.
Although 20 states (including California, beginning in 2000) and theDistrict of Columbia have made it illegal to fire or refuse to hire someonebecause of sexual orientation, the majority of states don't offer suchprotection. Even if they did, the interstate nature of the economy wouldjustify closing a gap in the jurisdiction of the federal courts and theEqual Employment Opportunity Commission.
Paradoxically, the willingness of gay and lesbian Americans to be open abouttheir sexual orientation -- itself a consequence of the gay rightsmovement -- has made it easier for bigoted employers to identify them. Suchemployers sadly still exist, even at a time when a majority of Fortune 500companies provide benefits for the same-sex partners of their employees.
The House bill's enactment is far from assured, however. It has beencriticized both for being too narrow -- it deleted a provision that wouldhave banned discrimination against transgender workers -- and for being toobroad. The Senate could rectify the first omission when it takes up thebill. The argument that the bill sweeps too widely, however, is the moreominous obstacle because it is being used to justify a possible presidentialveto.
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Palm Beach Post
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/tcoast/epaper/2007/11/15/1115gayclub.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=77
Gay school club refuses offer to change name, end lawsuit
By RACHEL SIMMONSEN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2007
A lawsuit over the Gay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School could besettled if students agreed to change the name of the club, according tolawyers for the Okeechobee County School Board.
But a lawyer for the ACLU, which represents the club, said its membersalready have rejected the idea of changing the name.
"The students have made clear that the name of the club is important to thembecause it describes their mission," said Robert Rosenwald, a lawyer withthe American Civil Liberties Union. "From the beginning, the purpose of thisclub has been to prevent harassment and discrimination against gaystudents."
The club and its founder, Okeechobee High School graduate Yasmin Gonzalez,sued the school board last year, arguing it violated federal law by notallowing the Gay-Straight Alliance to meet on school grounds.
Attorneys for the school board have argued that the Gay-Straight Alliance isa "sex-based club" that violates a Florida statute requiring schools toteach abstinence "while teaching the benefits of monogamous heterosexualmarriage."
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Washington Post
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2007/11/where_are_they_now_this_week_m.html
Where Are They Now? This Week: Mark Foley
Occasionally we wonder where they are now, disgraced or ousted members ofCongress who have disappeared - or not - from the scene. In this week'sinstallment of our new feature "Where Are They Now" we first look at formerRep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), who will forever be remembered for his tawdryinstant messages to teenage male House pages.
Foley has been paying visits recently to Beverly Hills, where he was spottedjust last weekend. We figure he may be looking for a job in Hollywood.Because in addition to his cringingly ironic role as chairman of the HouseCaucus on Missing and Exploited Children, Foley - until he resigned on Sept.29, 2006 - also served as head of the Congressional Entertainment IndustriesCaucus. In that role, he cultivated lots of contacts in Hollywood.
Foley and his close associates won't say what jobs Foley is contemplatinguntil the former congressman can be sure he's cleared of any criminalliability. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is still investigatingcharges that Foley sent electronic messages to pages while he was inPensacola. The Justice Department investigation has fizzled out, though ittechnically remains open.
We're told Foley is quietly plotting a comeback in some form, political ornot. "He's talking about how to re-emerge publicly after the investigationis over," a source close to Foley tells the Sleuth.
The same source says Foley sometimes stays with one of his sisters who livesin the LA area. And in Palm Beach, Foley and his longtime partner, adermatologist, go to dinner parties where old friends "seem to be welcoming[Foley] back into the fold."
After he was nabbed in the page scandal, the last straw that cost HouseRepublicans their majority, Foley came out of the closet as a gay man. Heand his partner, Layne Nisenbaum - who, as you can see here, specializes incosmetic surgery - live in Palm Beach in a nice house on the IntercoastalWaterway. (Foley sold his house on Capitol Hill but still owns beachfrontproperty in St. Lucie County, Fla.)
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Blabbeando
http://blabbeando.blogspot.com/2007/11/nicaragua-sodomy-statute-disappears.html
Nicaragua: Sodomy statute disappears from the books
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
In a surprising and historic development when it comes to LGBT rights in theregion, gay Nicaraguans woke up yesterday to the news that consensual sexwith their partners will no longer be a crime as of March of 2008.
In adopting a new national civil code on Monday, the Nicaraguan NationalAssembly sidestepped the longstanding law that penalized sodomy betweenmembers of the same-sex with up to five years in prison by overwhelminglyvoting to approve a new civil code that simply did not mention it.
In doing so it removed the last anti-gay sodomy statute - not only inCentral America - but in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries (Ibelieve that Belize and Guyana are now the only countries in the continentthat still have such statutes and I invite others to correct me if that isnot the case).
Nicaragua's La Prensa reported on Tuesday that the elimination of the sodomystatute had been a surprise to most observers but not to representatives whowere involved in drafting the language of the new code.
The president of the Nicaraguan Parliament's Commission of Justice and LegalIssues, José Pallais, explained that legislators had sought to "modernize"the civil code by not using it to regulate behavior based on the State'smoral codes but by strictly addressing legal violations.
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Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-bornstein/enda-will-never-be-a-long_b_72576.html
ENDA Will Never Be a Long Term Solution for Anyone, Anyway
Posted November 14, 2007 | 10:19 AM (EST)
I know a lot of trannies are sad or pissed off that the EmploymentNon-Discrimination Act isn't going to pass with them included. I'm a tranny.I'm pissed off, too. But no legislation has ever been able to deal with theroot of the problem: You can't handle the impact of desire on a culturethrough the use of power politics or identity politics. No legislation canever change how people feel about the chaos of desire.
At best, and even in it's most complete form, ENDA would have mostlyprotected people who cleaned up well enough to get a job in the first place:straight-looking people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual.These are folks who mostly define themselves by their desires. Well, there'sa whole lot of other people whose lives are defined by their desires whowould never be helped by ENDA. Harmless people. Nice people. People whoserelationship to desire breaks the law nonetheless. LGBT doesn't even beginto include all of those folks. There's a whole lot of other letters thatneed protection from discrimination. You could start with these:
Q for Queer
S for Sadomasochists
G for Genderqueer
Q for Questioning
S for Sex Workers
K for Kinky
A for Allies
S for Swingers
P for Pornographers
A for Asexual
S for Sex Educators
P for Polyamorists
A for Adult Entertainers
I for Intersex
E for anyone Else who just plain likes sex
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/11-15/news/localnews/4187.cfm
Pro-gay rights candidate scores upset win in St. Petersburg
Opponent lost support when he came out for gay marriage ban
By PHIL LAPADULA
Thursday, November 15, 2007
The defeat of an anti-gay candidate in the Nov. 6 election for city councilin St. Petersburg, Fla., is being touted as a major victory for gay rightsefforts in the state.
Wengay Newton, who was endorsed by the gay rights group Equality Florida,defeated Gersham Faulkner by 600 votes in what activists described as anupset. Faulkner had raised substantially more money than Newton and hadreceived the endorsement of the St. Petersburg Times and several statelegislators and Democratic Party officials, according to Stratton Pollitzer,deputy director of Equality Florida. But two state legislators, Rep. RickKriseman and Rep. Bill Heller, withdrew their support for Faulkner when hecame out in favor of a proposed amendment to ban gay marriage and alsoexpressed his support for the state's antigay adoption ban, Pollitzer said.
Faulkner, who was an outreach coordinator for U.S. Rep. Cathy Castor(D-Fla.) during the 2006 campaign, stunned supporters when he met with alocal branch of the Stonewall Democrats and told them that he didn't agreewith the gay lifestyle and supported the state's law that prohibits gaypeople from adopting children. Faulkner also signed a petition to ban gaymarriage and said he would not march in the LGBT Pride parade in St.Petersburg, which runs right through his district, Pollitizer said.
"Folks were stunned when this happened," Pollitzer said. "But the communitywas able to make Mr. Faulkner pay a political price for his homophobia. It'sa great example of the strength of our community and fair-minded allies whenwe work together."
Newton thanked the gay groups for supporting his candidacy.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/11-15/view/friendfoe/4194.cfm
Friend & Foe
Thursday, November 15, 2007
FRIEND OF THE WEEK
Myers Park Baptist Church
Our Friend of the Week goes to Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.The gay-friendly church was kicked out of the Baptist State Convention ofNorth this week for welcoming gay and lesbian parishioners. Theconservative-dominated Baptist State Convention voted last year to ban allgay-friendly churches from the organization. One wonders how they define"gay friendly." If they find that there are gay people attending services ina church is that enough to get them booted out? Myers Park has stuck to itsprinciples despite the loss of funding from the Baptist State Convention.Two Myers Park leaders were even scheduled to speak at the convention. "It'simportant for our particular witness to be made," the Rev. StephenShoemaker, Myers Park's senior minister, told the Associated Press.
FOE OF THE WEEK
Arkansas Family Council
The right-wing group Arkansas Family Council wants to have Arkansas followin Florida's regressive footsteps regarding the gay adoption issue. But thegay adoption ban that the group is seeking to place on the 2008 electionballot is even more draconian than Florida's Anita Byrant-inspired law. Itwould ban gay or lesbian prospective parents from adopting children orserving as foster parents. Florida allows gay men and lesbians to serve asfoster parents. Arkansas' attorney general approved the wording of theinitiative this week. It seeks to reinstate a ban on gay foster parents thatwas struck down by Arkansas' highest court. After thorough backgroundchecks, adoption decisions should be made strictly on what's in the bestinterest of a child, not on what's in the special interests of religiousextremists.
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/11-15/view/editorial/4195.cfm
'Daytona Beach 9' are latest to fall prey to public sex sting
Media fuels right's new witch-hunt tactic with lurid, excessive coverage
By JESSE MONTEAGUDO
Thursday, November 15, 2007
MALE HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITY IN public bathrooms, for decades a fact of gaylife, became big news in 2007, thanks to the misadventures of conservativepoliticos like U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Florida state Rep. BobAllen (R-Merritt Island) and the (mostly unfounded) complaints of FortLauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle. Now come the "Daytona Beach 9," nine men whowere arrested for lewd behavior during a sex sting operation at a SearsDepartment Store bathroom in Daytona Beach on Nov. 1.
According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the accused include "a formerDaytona Beach city commissioner and a local high school teacher," whopromptly resigned from his job. "The reason that we did this sting is we allgo to the mall; our kids go into the bathroom," said Police Chief MikeChitwood, who could hardly contain his disgust. "That they could besusceptible to this type of behavior is absolutely a disgrace."
Please note that I refuse to name the Daytona Beach 9. In my opinion, thesemen have suffered enough already.
Public sex, especially sex in public toilets or "tearooms," has always beencontroversial, even within the GLBT community. Almost without exception,bathroom sex is male masturbatory or male homosexual, proof perhaps of themale's greater sex drive. It is not my intent, in writing this article, tocondone bathroom sex. In fact, due to its health, safety and legal hazards,I do not recommend it.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10185323
Waterloo adopts sexual orientation protections
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Published Thursday | November 15, 2007
WATERLOO, Iowa - It took four years of lobbying from human rights activistsand a change in state law, but members of Waterloo's gay and lesbiancommunity are now protected by city ordinance from discrimination.
City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to add "sexual orientation"to the list of classes protected from discrimination in the areas ofemployment, housing, education, public accommodations and credit practices.
Sexual orientation covers residents who are gay, lesbian, bisexual,transgender or perceived to be such. The ordinance previously barreddiscrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, religion, creed andnational origin.
"This is not condoning a lifestyle. It's condemning discrimination,"Councilman Reggie Schmitt said. "I supported it four years ago. I still do."
Members of the city's Human Rights Commission have been asking the councilto adopt the sexual orientation protections for nearly four years, but werenot able to gain enough support to bring it up for a vote.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=pressing_the_flesh&id=52451
Conservative coalition takes credit for wins at the polls
by Laura Kiritsy
associate editor
Wednesday Nov 14, 2007
Give the Coalition for Marriage and Family credit for good politicalstrategy. The coalition is an incarnation of www.VoteOnMarriage.org, thegroup that sponsored the anti-gay marriage amendment that was defeated inJune. Apparently recognizing that another amendment would be DOA on BeaconHill given the legislature's solid pro-equality super-majority, theCoalition for Marriage and Family apparently decided to lay some groundworkfor the future by getting involved in municipal elections across the statethis year. And they're claiming credit for some victories at the ballot boxon Nov. 6.
In a recent email to its membership, the coalition touted the victories of"pro-family" candidates like Tom Koch, a marriage amendment petition signerwho defeated incumbent Mayor William Phelan in Quincy, and Brockton'sincumbent Mayor Jim Harrington, who defeated Jass Stewart, an openly gay mandescribed as a "same-sex marriage activist ... who is 'married' to anotherman." Other victories included Catholic Citizenship Executive DirectorVictor Pap's election to the Weymouth Town Council, Greater MarlboroughMarriage and Family Chapter Co-Chair Paul Ferro's re-election to theMarlborough City Council, and anti-equality state Rep. Robert Correia'sdefeat of pro-equality state Rep. David Sullivan for mayor of Fall River.
"Through the grassroots activities of our Marriage and Family chapters aswell as our financial support for candidates, we are making a difference toelect pro-family candidates at the local level," the coalition email states."We're also building our grassroots network, an effort that is vital torecruiting pro-family legislative candidates in the future to defeatanti-family incumbent legislators."
Or, as a poster at the anti-gay blog www.KnowThyFacts.org recently opined ofthe elections, "The marriage issue is NOT over yet my friends. We're justseasoning people who will run pro-same-sex 'marriage' supporting politiciansout of the State House."
It's difficult to quantify how much involvement and impact the coalitionactually had on the races. According to an email distributed by theMassachusetts Family Institute, the coalition and its local chapters "wereimportant players in 13 races across the state, eleven of which resulted inpro-family victories." Coalition spokeswoman Lisa Barstow declined aninterview request to discuss the specifics of the coalition's electoralwork. "We're not inclined to discuss our specific strategy or the races wetarget," said Barstow in an email to Bay Windows. "Suffice it to say thatall politics is local, and we're doing the work that it takes on the groundto help get out the vote."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071113/NEWS01/711130315
Gay rights advocate dies
By Jill Nolin
November 13, 2007
Ken Baker, a lifelong advocate for gay rights and one of the founders of thestatewide gay rights organization Equality Alabama, died Sunday morning atage 50.
The cause of death is not yet known.
Unity United Church of Christ recently awarded Baker the Crystal Cross forhis advocacy work. He was recognized specifically for his role in startingEquality Alabama and Communities of Faith for Full Inclusion.
"He's sure going to be missed around here," said longtime friend andcolleague Lynn Shaw, who is a past president of the Montgomery Chapter ofParents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
"I just can't believe how everyone's going to go on and function because hewas involved in so many things."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6062.html
Comment: Evangelical has no place on equality commission
15th November 2007 10:35
Simon Barrow of Ekklesia has a silver tongue when it comes to making excusesfor the disgraceful behaviour of some of his co-religionists.
Now he comes out in defence of the Evangelical Alliance and its leader JoelEdwards, who has been appointed as a commissioner to the Equality and HumanRights Commission.
Give him time, says Simon, let's see how he behaves. He might change.
Well, I was one of those who objected to Joel Edwards' appointment and I didso after observing years of efforts by him and his organisation to retardgay rights.
Full protection against discrimination at work for gay people? Joel Edwardsopposed it.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6069.html
Italy gay protection law moves forward
15th November 2007 15:25
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
The justice committee of the lower house of the Italian parliament hasapproved the text of a new bill that will outlaw homophobic crime.
The measure is part of a larger legislative package designed to tackleviolence against women, children and old people and gender discrimination.
Yesterday the Minister for Equal Opportunities, Barbara Pollastrini, said:"every year, there are more women dying from violence than from diseases oraccidents."
Details about the provisions on homophobia are sketchy, but AKI news agencyreports that "homophobia will be punishable with a prison sentence of up tofour years" and "the bill makes it a crime to express 'reservations' againstindividuals on the basis of their sexual orientation."
The new legislation expands an 1993 anti-racism law.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/topix/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071115005064&newsLang=en&ndmConfigId=1000639&vnsId=41
New Report Estimates There Were 12.1 Million Adult GLBT Internet Users inthe US in 2007
November 15, 2007 12:00 PM Eastern Time
DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c74212) has announced theaddition of Gay and Lesbian Internet Users: The GLBT Community to theiroffering.
The gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender (GLBT) market in the US isestimated to number approximately 15 million with an annual purchasing powerof $660 billion. And many of them are online.
The Gay and Lesbian Internet Users report tracks the growth of atrend-setting marketing segment that has more disposable income anddiscretionary time than its heterosexual counterpart.
The GLBT community has embraced the Internet with vigor.
Gay and lesbian Internet users are very active on social networking sitesand blogs, regularly purchase goods and services online and conduct a gooddeal of their travel arrangements online.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.waynebesen.com/2007/11/exodus-drops-nutty-therapist-from.html
Exodus Drops Nutty Therapist From Referral List
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Recently, a bizarre NARTH therapist, Dr. James E. Phelan, has been postingto this site. Ex-Gay Watch has been following his strange actions, since hewrote a disquieting blog item about having "one-two drop kicked the hell outof" a man in the Columbus Marathon. It seems Phelan had heckled a gay group,one of many who had gathered alongside the road to cheer the runners on. Thevictim of his drop kick had protested this by allegedly shoving Phelan. Noone Ex-Gay Watch contacted remembered such an event so they can't confirmwhat happened. Phelan himself confided that the police had not beennotified.
After this disturbing incident, Ex-Gay Watch discovered that Phelan's namewas no longer appearing on the Exodus International referral list of ex-gayministries and therapists. He was listed there when this story broke lastmonth, but not now. Exodus has not yet responded to Ex-Gay Watch's requestfor more information.
Phelan posted a series of strange and belligerent rants on the Ex-gay Watchsite that are hardly befitting of a professional therapist. Based on histemperament, it appears that this man might be on the wrong side of thetherapy couch. Here are a few excerpts of his quotes:
"I may joke and get heated and talk shit..."
"I resigned from that board because I felt she was pressuring me to makeunnecessary apologies, and curve [sic] my language. I already have a motherand don't need another one."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6060.html
Singapore bans game over lesbian scene
15th November 2007 10:10
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
An X box game has been banned by state censors in Singapore because of alesbian love scene.
The authorities in the city state are among the most repressive in the freeworld. Computer games are not allowed to "feature exploitative or gratuitoussex and violence, or denigrate any race or religion."
The game, Mass Effect, will be launched across the world next week.
The deputy director of Singapore's Board of Film Censors said that becauseof "a scene of lesbian intimacy" the game has been "disallowed."
This is not the first time that lesbians have fallen foul of theauthorities.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=local&sc2=features&sc3=&id=52453
Boston Herald reporter's inflammatory comment sparks debate
by Sam Baltrusis
EDGE Northeast Regional Editor
Wednesday Nov 14, 2007
Michele McPhee, the Boston Herald?s ace crime columnist and host of a dailytwo-hour radio talk show on WTKK, made an on-air comment on Tuesday, Nov. 13that?s raising a few red flags within the GLBT community.
The tell-it-like-it-is reporter, who returned to her Boston roots in 2004after being the first female police-bureau chief at the New York Daily News,was chatting about the fashion industry?s penchant for thin models.
After stereotyping the sartorially inclined by saying the industry isdominated by gay men, she made an off-the-cuff retort that could beconstrued as equating pedophilia with being gay.
McPhee quips: "And who do homosexual men like? Little boys."
When questioned by EDGE, the director of corporate communications from 96.9FM?s Greater Media, Heidi Raphael, sent a prepared release.
"Michele?s comments were made in the context of a fashion industry thatdesigns women?s clothes for atypical body types," Raphael responds. "Sheregrets if her remarks were taken to mean anything else, as no other meaningwas intended."
When questioned by a local reporter at Boston Magazine, McPhee claims thequote is taken out of context. However, WTKK?s program director, GraceBlazer, has not released an audio clip of the questionable jab to either themedia or the public.
The radio personality currently holds court as the Herald?s tough-as-nailsfemale crime reporter. The role, made famous by the street smart MichelleCaruso who left in 1994 for a gig on the West Coast, has been a staple forthe One Herald Square tabloid.
While McPhee doesn?t have a history of spewing anti-gay venom, she does havea flair for inflammatory descriptions. In her Nancy Grace-style weeklycolumn, she regularly refers to alleged perpetrators as "maggots" and takesa strong editorialized stance in support of the status quo.
Critics aren?t convinced that the celebrated crime columnist and author of"Mob Over Miami" is a homophobe. However, they believe the on-air flub tapsinto a national debate.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
NBJC Joins
http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/nbjcoalition/hiphop.jpg
The Hip Hop Movement
Although hip hop hasn't always beeen lyrically kind in its treatment towardsthe LGBT community, efforts are now under way to find a common ground,create a crucial dialogue and to rally together around key community issues.
The National Black Justice Coalition is proud to announce that it isco-sponsoring and participating in the "Stop Hate Crimes and Police ViolenceYouth Rally and Concert" in Washington, DC on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007, 12noon till dark. Multiple hip hop acts will also perform throughout the day.
In attendance will be victims and family members of victims of policebrutality and hate crimes. They along with many others will gather for arally and concert at the Washington Monument. The purpose of the event is tomobilize youth against the snares of hate crimes, police brutality, andcommunity violence.
NBJC Board of Directors Vice Chair, Donna Payne will speak at the rallystressing the need for unity and collaborative work. Hence this comingSaturday will truly be an historic moment when NBJC officially joins forceswith the hip hop movement.
Since its inception, NBJC has strongly viewed Hip Hop as a beautiful artform of expression which spits truth to power and reminds us that there isstill much work to be done within our communities. Hip hop is indeed alightening rod of action and an effective tool for grassroots mobilization.
The National Black Justice Coalition stands committed to working with theHip Hop movement so that we can all live to see a violent free tomorrow!!!
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://www.lambdalegal.org/assets/images/home/90_superjudge.jpg>
America's courts are under attack.
What if there was a superhero to protect them? Well, now there is! MeetSuper Judge, your gavel-toting superhero!
Learn how the government works while she leads you through Lambda Legal'snew Fair Courts Matter democracy-in-action guide. She'll take you on a tripthrough historic Supreme Court cases where the balance between right andwrong, equality and injustice, depended on having a fair and impartialcourt.
Super Judge will give you the tools you need to stand up against thepoliticians and extremist organizations who are threatening the very systemour country was founded upon. These groups are questioning the courts'authority to decide civil rights issues like LGBT rights, abortion or schoolprayer. They are trying to insert their political beliefs into the judicialsystem. Meanwhile, judges ruling in favor of fairness have been strong-armedwith threats of impeachment and other types of intimidation.
Join Our Superhero Squad!
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Gay & Lesbian Leadership
SmartBrier
http://www.smartbrief.com/index.jsp
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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Congress divided over hate-crimes protections in defense bill
A conference vote on the defense bill has been postponed until early nextmonth, after some members of both chambers balked at an amendment to theSenate version that would add sexual orientation to the groups covered bythe federal hate-crimes law. U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, one ofthe conferees, said the negotiators for both chambers would look for a"middle ground." The House earlier this year passed a stand-alone version ofthe gay-inclusive hate-crimes bill. The Hill (11/16)
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Keystone State's hate-crimes law overturned over procedural issue
A Pennsylvania court has overturned a law adding protections for sexualorientation and physical disabilities to the state's hate-crimes law becausethe provisions were substituted for a bill originally intended to addressagricultural crimes. The lawsuit was filed by Repent America, a conservativeChristian group. The state attorney general is considering whether to filean appeal; lawyers for the Senate and House did not comment for thisarticle. The Philadelphia Inquirer/Associated Press (11/15)
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Source: N.Y. governor links Senate majority change, marriage rights
A bill to equalize marriage rights would be a top priority in 2009 ifDemocrats were to gain control of New York's state Senate, Gov. EliotSpitzer reportedly told an audience at a private fundraiser on Wednesdaynight. However, the governor's spokeswoman said the only reference Spitzermade to the issue was in noting the state Assembly's passage of a marriagebill and that he did not comment on whether the marriage bill would be apriority in a Democrat-controlled state Senate. New York Post (11/16)
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Demographer: Gays in heartland could be 2008 election force
The increasing presence of LGBT people in so-called red states, coupled withgreater gay acceptance by the general public, could have a significantimpact on the 2008 elections, according to Gary J. Gates, a senior researchfellow at the UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute. USA TODAY (11/15)
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Out coach earns respect of Army cadets
OutSports.com profiles Lou Tharp, an openly gay, civilian coach of WestPoint's nationally ranked triathlon team who has been treated respectfullyby cadets and officers alike. Outsports.com (11/13)
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Hillary Clinton's White House run endorsed by Frank
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the only out man serving in Congress, hasjoined the only out woman, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in backing thepresidential run of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Frank said Clinton "isthe candidate best equipped to pass laws that will treat all Americans withdignity, fairness and equality no matter who they are or who they love." TheNation (11/14)
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Out ex-cop in race to become mayor of London
Out candidate Brian Paddick, the former deputy assistant commissioner ofLondon's Metropolitan Police, will challenge Mayor Ken Livingstone as theLiberal Democratic Party candidate in the 2008 election. A win by Paddickwould make London the biggest city in the world to be helmed by an outofficial. 365Gay.com (11/13)
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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Norway's massive Lutheran church may have just stepped into a judicial messof Biblical proportions. The Lutheran synod voted 50-34 to lift a 1997 banon relationship-oriented queer clergy. Great, right? Of course, except forthe fact that not all of the Norwegian bishops have to abide by the newrule:Norway's state Lutheran church on Friday lifted an outright ban onallowing those living in homosexual partnerships to serve in the clergy, butwill leave it up to each bishop to make individual decisions on whether toemploy them. Varying practices in 11 bishops' districts could triggerlawsuits on whether different employment practices in the same organizationviolate anti-discrimination and labor laws."This is food for the SupremeCount [sic]," said synod delegate Hans Petter Jahre, a special legal adviserto the national prosecutor.Gay lutheran Arne Groenningsaeter certainly didn'tmind the constitutional conundrum, telling the press, "Finally, I can getrid of the feeling of having a B-team membership in the church!" You sureare, Arne, you sure are.
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NY Gov. Spitzer said at a private fund-raiser that he wants aDemocratic-controlled state Senate to legalize equal marriage rights - ahighly divisive and controversial issue - as one of its first priorities in2009, a witness to the remarks told The New York Post. Spitzer pledged tohelp Democrats next November win the three Senate seats they need to gainthe majority. "One of the first things we're going to do when [SenateMinority Leader] Malcolm Smith is [majority] leader is gay marriage," thewitness recounted Spitzer as telling some 60 people who paid up to $10,000each to attend the event in Greenwich Village Wednesday night. "Everybodyapplauded when he said that," said the witness, who was among senators,Democratic activists and lobbyists at a fund-raising event for the SenateDemocratic Committee. It was held in the library of the elegant West 13thStreet home of HBO's "Oz" creator Tom Fantana.
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As a researcher on homosexuality, Li Yinhe, a sociologist focusing onsexology with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is leading the callfor legalizing gay marriage with many proposals and she is the interestrepresentative for the minority of homosexuals in China. "There are noextreme moral opponents against homosexuality in China, so it is easier forthe same sex lovers in China to claim their rights than in the Westerncountries, and China is always making progress,""said professor LiYinhe."About 90 percent of Chinese people believe that homosexuality willexercise no influence on job selections, which exceeds the number of 86percent in America. This is a noticeable progress and it may mean moretolerance towards homosexuality in China," said Professor Li Yinhe.Manyexperts believe that the tolerance of homosexuals has indicated progress insocial civilization in China. There are about 30 million homosexuals inChina, based on academic estimates. The higher a person's position in thesocial hierarchy, the more likely he or she will be tolerant; to accepthomosexuality is very common among white collar-workers with a good incomein China, said Li.
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Janet Reno Joins
Fairness for All Families Campaign
(Tallahassee) Janet Reno, the former US Attorney General and the only woman to ever hold that post, has joined the Fairness for All Families Campaign.
Reno, a longtime advocate for children and families, will serve on the Honorary Board for the Fairness campaign to defeat a proposed amendment to Florida Constitution that could strip away employee benefits for unmarried Floridians and their loved ones. The measure is slated for the November 2008 ballot.
Existing members of the campaign's Honorary Board of Directors include: U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz; former Department of Elder Affairs Secretary and past AARP President Bentley Lipscomb; Florida NAACP President Adora Obi Nweze; Howard Simon, Executive Director, Florida ACLU; Rev. Nancy Wilson, Worldwide Moderator, Metropolitan Community Churches; Mitch Cesar, Chairman, Broward Democratic Party; Joe Garcia, Chairman, Miami-Dade Democratic Party; Karl Dickey, Florida Libertarian Party Chair.
"We are extremely excited not only to have Attorney General Reno join the Fairness for All Families Campaign, but to also have her take on a leadership position as a member of our Honorary Board of Directors," said Barbara A. DeVane of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans and a member of the campaign's Oversight Committee. "This amendment will hurt all unmarried couples and every Floridian who cares about their future, and that of their loved ones, must stand up and oppose this discrimination."
The Fairness for All Families Campaign has amassed a coalition of nearly 200 organizations and community leaders representing seniors, business leaders, consumer groups and social justice organizations working together to oppose the effort to take away benefits and enshrine discrimination in Florida's constitution.
More than 8,000 public and private employers nationwide - including almost half of the Fortune 500 companies - offer health care benefits to employee's domestic partners or spouses.
The addition of Janet Reno to the Fairness for All Families Campaign comes at a time when editorial boards across the state are taking a strong stand against the amendment as "unnecessary" and 'harmful" to all unmarried Floridians including seniors, public employees and others who rely on domestic partnership benefits to protect their loved ones.
Fairness for All Families is a growing coalition that includes seniors, business leaders, consumer groups and social justice organizations who are joining together to oppose stripping away existing employee benefits while barring the passage of future measures to help Florida families.
Existing members of the campaign's Honorary Board of Directors include:
U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz; former Department of Elder Affairs Secretary and past AARP President BentleyLipscomb; Florida NAACP President Adora Obi Nweze; Howard Simon, Executive Director, Florida ACLU; Rev. Nancy Wilson, Worldwide Moderator, Metropolitan Community Churches; Mitch Cesar, Chairman,Broward Democratic Party; Joe Garcia, Chairman, Miami-Dade Democratic Party; Karl Dickey, Florida Libertarian Party Chair.
more....
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Friday, November 16, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
GLBT DIGEST November 15, 2007
**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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Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/other/sfl-flspnbaaround15sbnov15,0,6220681,print.story
LAKERS: Coach Phil Jackson said he deserved the reprimand he got from theNBA for making a sexual reference in a comment following the team's loss inSan Antonio. "We call this a 'Brokeback Mountain' game, because there's somuch penetration and kickouts," Jackson said. "It was one of those games."On Wednesday Jackson apologized . .. sort of: "If I've offended any horses,Texans, cowboys or gays, I apologize," Jackson said.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/111407ts.htm
Transsexual, Bar Settle Dispute Over Bathroom
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 14, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Scottsdale, Arizona) A human rights complaint against a Scottsdale barfiled after a transsexual was ejected for using the women's bathroom hasbeen resolved.
Michele de LaFreniere (pictured) agreed to drop the complaint after ameeting with Tom Anderson, owner of Anderson's Fifth Estate, ending amonthslong dispute.
Anderson agreed earlier this month to turn one of the bar's bathrooms into aunisex facility. But he refused to allow LaFreniere back into the building,calling her "disruptive".
After a meeting was set up between the two, Anderson now has lifted hisprohibition against LaFreniere. In return she has agreed to drop hercomplaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office.
The battle over the bathroom began when LaFreniere, who happens be the chairScottsdale's Human Relations Commission, was kicked out of the club forusing the women's washroom. (story)
more . . . . .
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/111407phelps.htm
Documents Provide Glimpse At Homophobic Church's Money
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 14, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Baltimore, Maryland) A federal judge in Baltimore on Wednesday unsealed thefinancial records of Rev. Fred Phelps' Westoboro Baptist Church but thedocuments reveal little about the anti-gay group's source of income.
The Baltimore Sun petitioned the court to unseal the records arguing thatsince they had been given to the jury, that awarded $10.9 million to thefather of a Marine at whose funeral the church had demonstrated, thematerial should be made available to the public.
The lawsuit targeted the church, Phelps and his daughters, ShirleyPhelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis.
The Sun reports that the records show the net assets of the church and thethree defendants is nearly $1 million.
The paper found that Phelps listed less than $1,000 in cash and a homevalued at $231,129 which he shares with his wife.
more . . . . .
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/111407local.htm
Local Gay Rights Advance In 3 States
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 14, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Washington) LGBT civil rights have taken a step forward in communities inthree states: Ohio, Maryland and Iowa.
Toledo, Ohio has become the first major city in that state to create adomestic partner registry. It will be available to same-sex couples andopposite-sex couples who cannot or chose not to marry.
Couples would have to prove they cohabitate, are financial interdependentand are over the age of 18 to register at city hall.
The registry would offer the same municipal benefits as married coupleshave. Registering would also serve as proof of a relationship for peoplewhose employers offer domestic partner health and insurance plans.
The measure was passed by city council on a 10-2 vote.
more . . . . .
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/111407leaf.htm
Maple Leaf Rookie's Nude Pictures Show Up On Net
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 14, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Toronto, Ontario) Toronto Maple Leaf forward Jiri Tlusty is saying littleabout pictures of him being kissed from behind by another man and othershots showing the teen hockey star in the nude that found their way onto theInternet.
The pictures were apparently taken while the Czech native was still playingfor the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds last season.
"I used poor judgment in this instance last season and I have learned avaluable lesson,'' Tlusty said in a statement released by the Leafs.
"`It will not happen again and I have no further comment.''
The photographs were posted on the Canadian gossip websiteisthishappening.com late last week but have since been removed.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Execution in Iran Halted: IGLHRC Cites Global Protest as Central
November 14, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Hossein Alizadeh, IGLHRC Communications Coordinator,212-430-6016
(New York, Monday October 10, 2007) - The International Gay and LesbianHuman Rights Commission has learned that the Iranian Chief Justice,Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, has nullified the impendingdeath sentence of Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizenfound guilty of multiple counts of anal rape (ighab), allegedly committedwhen he was 13 years old. The Iranian Chief Justice described the deathsentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees ofhigh-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land.
"This is a stunning victory for human rights and a reminder of the powerof global protest," said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive director,who on November 5 sent a letter in Persian and English asking that Iranianauthorities intervene to halt the execution.
The verdict in Mr. Mouloodzadeh's case was questionable from the outset.Although no one ever accused him of rape, the court declared otherwise.All parties involved in the case told the court that their statementsduring the investigation were either untruthful or coerced. Theinvestigation was also riddled with procedural irregularities.
Recognizing that the death sentence in this case violated bothinternational law and the Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran,IGLHRC took action. In addition to writing letters to the Iranianauthorities, IGLHRC issued an action alert on November 5, 2007, whichprompted other human rights advocates to similarly object. Activists fromaround the world responded by sending over 100 emails demanding animmediate halt to Makvan's execution. Other human rights organizations,including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Iranian QueerOrganization issued action alerts of their own.
"It is absolutely imperative that we halt the deplorable use of the deathpenalty to force social conformity," said Ettelbrick. "We hope thatMakvan's case and the profound rejection of the death penalty by theIranian Chief Justice sets the course for the future in Iran."
After a designated group of judges from the Chief Justice's officeformally nullifies the court's decision, the case will be sent to a localcourt for retrial.
You can read IGLHRC's action alert on our website:
http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/section.php?id=5&detail=797
Our Letter to the Iranian authorities is also posted on our websitein both English and Persian:
http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/section.php?id=5&detail=798
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From Peter Tatchell - UK
For two weeks, prior to issuing today's news release, I have been working ontrying to mobilise a defence campaign in the UK to try to save Makwan fromexecution in Iran.
Lots of people sympathise privately and agree that we should campaignagainst Makwan's death sentence. But hardly anyone wants to get involvedpublicly - not even those who supported the protests against the July 2005Mashhad hangings.
People are now too afraid of being denounced as a neo-con, racist, culturalimperialist, warmonger etc. - and are fearful of being accused ofexaggerating, defending rapists, imputing false gay identities to thevictims, pushing anti-Iran propaganda and so on.
They have seen the way Doug Ireland and I have been savaged and don't wantto suffer the same fate.
People here who once supported LGBTs in Iran now want to steer clear.
This is very sad for Iranian LGBTs.
Solidarity! Peter
Iran to hang man for sodomy
Despite witnesses withdrawing their allegations
"Confession" secured after ill-treatment in prison
Amnesty International calls for URGENT ACTION
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Speak Out About the U.S. HIV Travel Ban
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is consideringamending existing regulations that prohibit the entry of HIV-positive peopleinto the United States. Current U.S. immigration law bars HIV-positiveimmigrants, tourists, foreign students and business people from entering thecountry. The proposed amendment, initiated by President Bush on World AIDSDay 2006, would allow HIV-positive visitors to enter the country onshort-term business or tourist visas, allowing HIV-positive people to cometo the U.S. for short-term, nonimmigrant stays.
Though the odious and inhuman travel ban would still be in place, theamendment would allow HIV-positive people to enter the country without beingsubject to the complex, case-by-case process currently needed for an entrywaiver. Visitors would be expected to comply with conditions andrequirements to "minimize.the risk to public health." These conditions couldinclude, for example, having to take antiretroviral medications if medicallyappropriate and "avoiding behavior" that could transmit infection.
The DHS invites comments, recommendations, views and arguments from thepublic surrounding the proposed amendment. Comments must be received beforeDecember 6, 2007. You can submit comments online athttp://www.regulations.gov, or by mail sent to: Border Security RegulationsBranch, Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. (MintAnnex), Washington, DC 20229.
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Kintera.org
https://www.kintera.org/site/lookup.asp?c=nlI2IeN1JyE&b=3449865>
No double standard: Task Force calls on Senate Ethics Committee to treatVitter and Craig cases fairly
"There is no explanation for the diametrically opposed responses to thesetwo situations, other than hypocrisy tinged by homophobia. There are onlytwo ways to resolve this: drop the investigation into Sen. Craig orinvestigate the allegations surrounding Sen. Vitter."- From the Task Force's Nov. 13 letter to the Senate Ethics Committee
Yesterday, the Task Force called upon the Senate Ethics Committee for fairtreatment in the sex-related controversies involving Sens. Larry Craig andDavid Vitter. The committee has launched an investigation into Craig'sconduct, arising from his pleading guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conductcharges after his June arrest by an undercover police officer in a men'srestroom. The committee has refused to open a similar investigation intowhether Vitter violated the Senate Rules of Conduct by soliciting forprostitution.
Read the full letter
http://www.thetaskforce.org/Update/2007/42_07_1114/downloads/vitter_letter_11_13_07.pdf
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TheTaskForce.org
http://www.thetaskforce.org/Update/2007/42_07_1114/downloads/vitter_letter_11_13_07.pdf
SAGE and Task Force awarded $500,000 grant for LGBT aging advocacy
"This project will combine the Task Force's federal policy and researchexpertise, SAGE's unparalleled understanding of the needs of LGBT elders,and the energy of activists across the nation to shape a better future forall our seniors."
- Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman
Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) and the Task Force announcedthis week they have received a $500,000 grant from the Arcus Gay and LesbianFund to support a joint two-year national advocacy and policy effort aroundLGBT aging. For this new project, SAGE and the Task Force will collaborateon a series of ventures that push public policies that address LGBT agingconcerns and enhance support, protections and quality of life for LGBTseniors.
[ Read the press release
http://www.thetaskforce.org/press/releases/prARCUS_111307
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TheTaskForce.org
http://www.thetaskforce.org/press/releases/prGrant_111407
The 20th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change - Early birdregistration extended to Nov. 30
The Task Force announces an impressive lineup of keynote speakers at itsannual National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, to be held atthe Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, Mich.,Feb. 6-10, 2008. Registration for the 20th National Conference on LGBTEquality: Creating Change is now open and can be done online atwww.CreatingChange.org. The early bird registration rate of $250 has beenextended to Nov. 30.
Julian Bond (pictured), chairman of the NAACP and an outspoken proponent ofequality for all, addresses the conference on Feb. 7, and the Right ReverendV. Eugene Robinson, Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, will share his uniqueperspective on faith, equality and social change with Creating Changeattendees on Feb. 9. Internationally known comic and social commentator KateClinton will serve as the mistress of ceremonies. The conference will alsofeature the new Task Force Academy for Leadership and Action and 18 daylonginstitutes focused on a variety of topics. Don't miss out!
Read the full press release
http://www.thetaskforce.org/press/releases/prCC08_111307
Get details and register now
http://www.thetaskforce.org/events/creating_change/08_registration
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Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/15/virginia
When 'Not Gay' is 'Not OK'
We come from old Virginia,
Where all is bright and gay.
NOT GAY!
After a Cavalier touchdown, the marching band strikes up what, to anoutsider, sounds like "Auld Lang Syne." But, to its tune, students andalumni sing the "Good Old Song," its lyrics written by Edward A. Craighillin 1895, its mention of all being "bright and gay" a throwback to when "gay"meant "happy," the line a launching pad for what's since become a universitytradition of negating the word "gay" with gleeful (often drunken) shouts of"not gay!"
At the University of Virginia, steeped as it is in tradition, a student-ledcampaign this semester has applied peer pressure to encourage students torethink the ritual. "Essentially," said Stephen Leonelli, president of theQueer and Allied Activism group at Virginia, "we believe that itmarginalizes the gay community by creating an environment in which certainpeople who may or may not identify as gay do not feel welcome."
The campaign has sparked a fury of letters and opinion pieces in the studentnewspaper, The Cavalier Daily, with the latest opinion piece, on Wednesday,defending the "not gay" chant and criticizing a culture of politicalcorrectness and liberal groupthink. "I'm just expressing my religiouslyinformed political views that it's wrong to act homosexual," Alex Cortes, afirst-year student and the writer of "Not gay and proud of it," said in aninterview Wednesday.
But while Cortes described his participation in the "not gay" chant asideologically driven, those behind the campaign believe the bulk of thosechanting are following the crowd. This isn't the first time the cheer hassparked controversy: An earlier campaign six years ago to challenge thechant had been quite successful at stemming the shouts, at least fromstudents, said Lauren Tilton, the president of the Student Council. Butinstitutional memories at colleges are short - at least on the studentlevel - and, "We noticed that at one of the games that we thought the chantwas starting to come back a bit. So we decided to basically do somethingbefore it got much louder," Tilton said.
"It is student self-governance in action," said Carol Wood, a Virginiaspokeswoman, adding that while the administration has not been involved inthe issue, the students spearheading the campaign have its full support."With student self-governance it's really great to see the students takingthis action themselves."
more....
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Immediate Action Needed to Preserve Ryan White Funding Increases
Background
The FY 2008 Labor-HHS spending bill passed by both the House and Senate lastweek contained funding increases for the Ryan White Program, including PartA, Part B, and Part C. This is the first time in the last five years thatCongress has acted to give key components of the Ryan White Programmeaningful gains. Unfortunately, the president vetoed the bill yesterday.The House is expected to schedule a vote to override the President's veto oneither Thursday or Friday of this week.
Why This Is So Important
All of the work CAEAR Coalition and other groups have put into securing RyanWhite Program funding increases will be for nought if the override vote isnot successful. We must do everything we can to preserve these fundingincreases.
What You Need to Do
Call your House member and urge them to vote to override the president'sveto. Attached is a list prepared by the Coalition for Health Funding ofRepublican House members who they believe can be swayed to vote yes. If yourmember is on this list, it is especially important that you contact theiroffice and urge them to vote to override the president's veto. We also askthat you forward this alert to colleagues, friends, and family members whoare represented by a Member on this list so they can make calls as well. Ifyour member previously voted in favor of the conference bill, please thankthem for their support and ask them to continue to support the Ryan WhiteProgram by voting to override the veto. To find out how your Memberpreviously voted on this issue visit
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1075.xml.
To reach a House member, call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
The Family Equality Council (formerly the Family Pride Coalition) haslaunched an Adopt A Rainbow Action for November. Each rainbow you "adopt" isa pledge to volunteer one hour of time to a local/national fostering oradoption agency, tell one friend about the foster care system crisis, ordonate $10 to a related charity. Their goal is 1,140 rainbows (as the numberof children currently available for adoption in the U.S. is 114,000). Formore information, visit the Family Equality site. HRC is inviting members ofthe LGBT community who have adopted a child or children from foster care toshare your stories. They will select "a diverse group of family profilesfrom across the U.S." to feature on their Web site during National AdoptionDay, November 17.
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The road to civil rights equality is a long and bumpy one. The map showingus how to get there is torn and difficult to read. But this doesn't mean weshould cut the trip short and go back. In fact, it's more important thanever to keep moving forward, especially as regards family equality. Way backin the early 1990s, Hawaii was poised to become a global leader for familyequality. Then, ignorance, fear and lies overcame the simple truth that allfamilies deserve to be treated equally under the law. Civil rights equalitywas shamefully placed on the ballot as a Constitutional amendment relatingto same-sex marriage. The amendment, very shortly worded, does not actuallyprohibit same-sex marriage, rather it provides the legislature with thepower to define marriage. Under this amendment, the legislature may, but isnot required to, define marriage as solely between a man and a woman. And,while for the forseeable future, the legislature is unlikely to repeal thislaw, though they have the legal right to do so, there is growing momentumthat Hawaii should now take a big step towards family equality by passingcomprehensive civil unions legislation. Civil unions have been recognized asa reasonable compromise measure that provides protection for families, whileretaining a traditional definition for marriage. It could hardly beconsidered equal to marriage, because it is unrecognized at the Federallevel, and unequal to all those who are married or could become married.
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Earlier this week, we showed you a piece posted on Focus on the Family'swebsite, wherein an anti-gay activist was glowingly speaking about all ofthe wonderful benefits of marriage. And considering that both Focus on theFamily and the Family Research Council (the organization with whom theactivist was affiliated) work day and night to keep gays from entering intothe custom, we found it absolutely galling that they'd brag about all of thewonderful health and wealth benefits stemming from the unions that they'redenying to the homo set. In fact, it came across as quite cruel. Well today,Focus has upped the brazen and stone-hearted marriage ante by posting thefollowing rhapsodic portrait of nuptial stability on their CitizenLink site:Marriage Brings Stability, Economic Well-Being Heritage Foundation researchshows benefits of traditional families.
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=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/other/sfl-flspnbaaround15sbnov15,0,6220681,print.story
LAKERS: Coach Phil Jackson said he deserved the reprimand he got from theNBA for making a sexual reference in a comment following the team's loss inSan Antonio. "We call this a 'Brokeback Mountain' game, because there's somuch penetration and kickouts," Jackson said. "It was one of those games."On Wednesday Jackson apologized . .. sort of: "If I've offended any horses,Texans, cowboys or gays, I apologize," Jackson said.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/111407ts.htm
Transsexual, Bar Settle Dispute Over Bathroom
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 14, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Scottsdale, Arizona) A human rights complaint against a Scottsdale barfiled after a transsexual was ejected for using the women's bathroom hasbeen resolved.
Michele de LaFreniere (pictured) agreed to drop the complaint after ameeting with Tom Anderson, owner of Anderson's Fifth Estate, ending amonthslong dispute.
Anderson agreed earlier this month to turn one of the bar's bathrooms into aunisex facility. But he refused to allow LaFreniere back into the building,calling her "disruptive".
After a meeting was set up between the two, Anderson now has lifted hisprohibition against LaFreniere. In return she has agreed to drop hercomplaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office.
The battle over the bathroom began when LaFreniere, who happens be the chairScottsdale's Human Relations Commission, was kicked out of the club forusing the women's washroom. (story)
more . . . . .
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/111407phelps.htm
Documents Provide Glimpse At Homophobic Church's Money
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 14, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Baltimore, Maryland) A federal judge in Baltimore on Wednesday unsealed thefinancial records of Rev. Fred Phelps' Westoboro Baptist Church but thedocuments reveal little about the anti-gay group's source of income.
The Baltimore Sun petitioned the court to unseal the records arguing thatsince they had been given to the jury, that awarded $10.9 million to thefather of a Marine at whose funeral the church had demonstrated, thematerial should be made available to the public.
The lawsuit targeted the church, Phelps and his daughters, ShirleyPhelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis.
The Sun reports that the records show the net assets of the church and thethree defendants is nearly $1 million.
The paper found that Phelps listed less than $1,000 in cash and a homevalued at $231,129 which he shares with his wife.
more . . . . .
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/111407local.htm
Local Gay Rights Advance In 3 States
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 14, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Washington) LGBT civil rights have taken a step forward in communities inthree states: Ohio, Maryland and Iowa.
Toledo, Ohio has become the first major city in that state to create adomestic partner registry. It will be available to same-sex couples andopposite-sex couples who cannot or chose not to marry.
Couples would have to prove they cohabitate, are financial interdependentand are over the age of 18 to register at city hall.
The registry would offer the same municipal benefits as married coupleshave. Registering would also serve as proof of a relationship for peoplewhose employers offer domestic partner health and insurance plans.
The measure was passed by city council on a 10-2 vote.
more . . . . .
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/111407leaf.htm
Maple Leaf Rookie's Nude Pictures Show Up On Net
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 14, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Toronto, Ontario) Toronto Maple Leaf forward Jiri Tlusty is saying littleabout pictures of him being kissed from behind by another man and othershots showing the teen hockey star in the nude that found their way onto theInternet.
The pictures were apparently taken while the Czech native was still playingfor the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds last season.
"I used poor judgment in this instance last season and I have learned avaluable lesson,'' Tlusty said in a statement released by the Leafs.
"`It will not happen again and I have no further comment.''
The photographs were posted on the Canadian gossip websiteisthishappening.com late last week but have since been removed.
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Execution in Iran Halted: IGLHRC Cites Global Protest as Central
November 14, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Hossein Alizadeh, IGLHRC Communications Coordinator,212-430-6016
(New York, Monday October 10, 2007) - The International Gay and LesbianHuman Rights Commission has learned that the Iranian Chief Justice,Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, has nullified the impendingdeath sentence of Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizenfound guilty of multiple counts of anal rape (ighab), allegedly committedwhen he was 13 years old. The Iranian Chief Justice described the deathsentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees ofhigh-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land.
"This is a stunning victory for human rights and a reminder of the powerof global protest," said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive director,who on November 5 sent a letter in Persian and English asking that Iranianauthorities intervene to halt the execution.
The verdict in Mr. Mouloodzadeh's case was questionable from the outset.Although no one ever accused him of rape, the court declared otherwise.All parties involved in the case told the court that their statementsduring the investigation were either untruthful or coerced. Theinvestigation was also riddled with procedural irregularities.
Recognizing that the death sentence in this case violated bothinternational law and the Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran,IGLHRC took action. In addition to writing letters to the Iranianauthorities, IGLHRC issued an action alert on November 5, 2007, whichprompted other human rights advocates to similarly object. Activists fromaround the world responded by sending over 100 emails demanding animmediate halt to Makvan's execution. Other human rights organizations,including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Iranian QueerOrganization issued action alerts of their own.
"It is absolutely imperative that we halt the deplorable use of the deathpenalty to force social conformity," said Ettelbrick. "We hope thatMakvan's case and the profound rejection of the death penalty by theIranian Chief Justice sets the course for the future in Iran."
After a designated group of judges from the Chief Justice's officeformally nullifies the court's decision, the case will be sent to a localcourt for retrial.
You can read IGLHRC's action alert on our website:
http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/section.php?id=5&detail=797
Our Letter to the Iranian authorities is also posted on our websitein both English and Persian:
http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/section.php?id=5&detail=798
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From Peter Tatchell - UK
For two weeks, prior to issuing today's news release, I have been working ontrying to mobilise a defence campaign in the UK to try to save Makwan fromexecution in Iran.
Lots of people sympathise privately and agree that we should campaignagainst Makwan's death sentence. But hardly anyone wants to get involvedpublicly - not even those who supported the protests against the July 2005Mashhad hangings.
People are now too afraid of being denounced as a neo-con, racist, culturalimperialist, warmonger etc. - and are fearful of being accused ofexaggerating, defending rapists, imputing false gay identities to thevictims, pushing anti-Iran propaganda and so on.
They have seen the way Doug Ireland and I have been savaged and don't wantto suffer the same fate.
People here who once supported LGBTs in Iran now want to steer clear.
This is very sad for Iranian LGBTs.
Solidarity! Peter
Iran to hang man for sodomy
Despite witnesses withdrawing their allegations
"Confession" secured after ill-treatment in prison
Amnesty International calls for URGENT ACTION
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Speak Out About the U.S. HIV Travel Ban
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is consideringamending existing regulations that prohibit the entry of HIV-positive peopleinto the United States. Current U.S. immigration law bars HIV-positiveimmigrants, tourists, foreign students and business people from entering thecountry. The proposed amendment, initiated by President Bush on World AIDSDay 2006, would allow HIV-positive visitors to enter the country onshort-term business or tourist visas, allowing HIV-positive people to cometo the U.S. for short-term, nonimmigrant stays.
Though the odious and inhuman travel ban would still be in place, theamendment would allow HIV-positive people to enter the country without beingsubject to the complex, case-by-case process currently needed for an entrywaiver. Visitors would be expected to comply with conditions andrequirements to "minimize.the risk to public health." These conditions couldinclude, for example, having to take antiretroviral medications if medicallyappropriate and "avoiding behavior" that could transmit infection.
The DHS invites comments, recommendations, views and arguments from thepublic surrounding the proposed amendment. Comments must be received beforeDecember 6, 2007. You can submit comments online athttp://www.regulations.gov, or by mail sent to: Border Security RegulationsBranch, Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. (MintAnnex), Washington, DC 20229.
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Kintera.org
https://www.kintera.org/site/lookup.asp?c=nlI2IeN1JyE&b=3449865>
No double standard: Task Force calls on Senate Ethics Committee to treatVitter and Craig cases fairly
"There is no explanation for the diametrically opposed responses to thesetwo situations, other than hypocrisy tinged by homophobia. There are onlytwo ways to resolve this: drop the investigation into Sen. Craig orinvestigate the allegations surrounding Sen. Vitter."- From the Task Force's Nov. 13 letter to the Senate Ethics Committee
Yesterday, the Task Force called upon the Senate Ethics Committee for fairtreatment in the sex-related controversies involving Sens. Larry Craig andDavid Vitter. The committee has launched an investigation into Craig'sconduct, arising from his pleading guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conductcharges after his June arrest by an undercover police officer in a men'srestroom. The committee has refused to open a similar investigation intowhether Vitter violated the Senate Rules of Conduct by soliciting forprostitution.
Read the full letter
http://www.thetaskforce.org/Update/2007/42_07_1114/downloads/vitter_letter_11_13_07.pdf
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TheTaskForce.org
http://www.thetaskforce.org/Update/2007/42_07_1114/downloads/vitter_letter_11_13_07.pdf
SAGE and Task Force awarded $500,000 grant for LGBT aging advocacy
"This project will combine the Task Force's federal policy and researchexpertise, SAGE's unparalleled understanding of the needs of LGBT elders,and the energy of activists across the nation to shape a better future forall our seniors."
- Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman
Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) and the Task Force announcedthis week they have received a $500,000 grant from the Arcus Gay and LesbianFund to support a joint two-year national advocacy and policy effort aroundLGBT aging. For this new project, SAGE and the Task Force will collaborateon a series of ventures that push public policies that address LGBT agingconcerns and enhance support, protections and quality of life for LGBTseniors.
[ Read the press release
http://www.thetaskforce.org/press/releases/prARCUS_111307
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TheTaskForce.org
http://www.thetaskforce.org/press/releases/prGrant_111407
The 20th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change - Early birdregistration extended to Nov. 30
The Task Force announces an impressive lineup of keynote speakers at itsannual National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, to be held atthe Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, Mich.,Feb. 6-10, 2008. Registration for the 20th National Conference on LGBTEquality: Creating Change is now open and can be done online atwww.CreatingChange.org. The early bird registration rate of $250 has beenextended to Nov. 30.
Julian Bond (pictured), chairman of the NAACP and an outspoken proponent ofequality for all, addresses the conference on Feb. 7, and the Right ReverendV. Eugene Robinson, Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, will share his uniqueperspective on faith, equality and social change with Creating Changeattendees on Feb. 9. Internationally known comic and social commentator KateClinton will serve as the mistress of ceremonies. The conference will alsofeature the new Task Force Academy for Leadership and Action and 18 daylonginstitutes focused on a variety of topics. Don't miss out!
Read the full press release
http://www.thetaskforce.org/press/releases/prCC08_111307
Get details and register now
http://www.thetaskforce.org/events/creating_change/08_registration
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Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/15/virginia
When 'Not Gay' is 'Not OK'
We come from old Virginia,
Where all is bright and gay.
NOT GAY!
After a Cavalier touchdown, the marching band strikes up what, to anoutsider, sounds like "Auld Lang Syne." But, to its tune, students andalumni sing the "Good Old Song," its lyrics written by Edward A. Craighillin 1895, its mention of all being "bright and gay" a throwback to when "gay"meant "happy," the line a launching pad for what's since become a universitytradition of negating the word "gay" with gleeful (often drunken) shouts of"not gay!"
At the University of Virginia, steeped as it is in tradition, a student-ledcampaign this semester has applied peer pressure to encourage students torethink the ritual. "Essentially," said Stephen Leonelli, president of theQueer and Allied Activism group at Virginia, "we believe that itmarginalizes the gay community by creating an environment in which certainpeople who may or may not identify as gay do not feel welcome."
The campaign has sparked a fury of letters and opinion pieces in the studentnewspaper, The Cavalier Daily, with the latest opinion piece, on Wednesday,defending the "not gay" chant and criticizing a culture of politicalcorrectness and liberal groupthink. "I'm just expressing my religiouslyinformed political views that it's wrong to act homosexual," Alex Cortes, afirst-year student and the writer of "Not gay and proud of it," said in aninterview Wednesday.
But while Cortes described his participation in the "not gay" chant asideologically driven, those behind the campaign believe the bulk of thosechanting are following the crowd. This isn't the first time the cheer hassparked controversy: An earlier campaign six years ago to challenge thechant had been quite successful at stemming the shouts, at least fromstudents, said Lauren Tilton, the president of the Student Council. Butinstitutional memories at colleges are short - at least on the studentlevel - and, "We noticed that at one of the games that we thought the chantwas starting to come back a bit. So we decided to basically do somethingbefore it got much louder," Tilton said.
"It is student self-governance in action," said Carol Wood, a Virginiaspokeswoman, adding that while the administration has not been involved inthe issue, the students spearheading the campaign have its full support."With student self-governance it's really great to see the students takingthis action themselves."
more....
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Immediate Action Needed to Preserve Ryan White Funding Increases
Background
The FY 2008 Labor-HHS spending bill passed by both the House and Senate lastweek contained funding increases for the Ryan White Program, including PartA, Part B, and Part C. This is the first time in the last five years thatCongress has acted to give key components of the Ryan White Programmeaningful gains. Unfortunately, the president vetoed the bill yesterday.The House is expected to schedule a vote to override the President's veto oneither Thursday or Friday of this week.
Why This Is So Important
All of the work CAEAR Coalition and other groups have put into securing RyanWhite Program funding increases will be for nought if the override vote isnot successful. We must do everything we can to preserve these fundingincreases.
What You Need to Do
Call your House member and urge them to vote to override the president'sveto. Attached is a list prepared by the Coalition for Health Funding ofRepublican House members who they believe can be swayed to vote yes. If yourmember is on this list, it is especially important that you contact theiroffice and urge them to vote to override the president's veto. We also askthat you forward this alert to colleagues, friends, and family members whoare represented by a Member on this list so they can make calls as well. Ifyour member previously voted in favor of the conference bill, please thankthem for their support and ask them to continue to support the Ryan WhiteProgram by voting to override the veto. To find out how your Memberpreviously voted on this issue visit
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1075.xml.
To reach a House member, call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
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The Family Equality Council (formerly the Family Pride Coalition) haslaunched an Adopt A Rainbow Action for November. Each rainbow you "adopt" isa pledge to volunteer one hour of time to a local/national fostering oradoption agency, tell one friend about the foster care system crisis, ordonate $10 to a related charity. Their goal is 1,140 rainbows (as the numberof children currently available for adoption in the U.S. is 114,000). Formore information, visit the Family Equality site. HRC is inviting members ofthe LGBT community who have adopted a child or children from foster care toshare your stories. They will select "a diverse group of family profilesfrom across the U.S." to feature on their Web site during National AdoptionDay, November 17.
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The road to civil rights equality is a long and bumpy one. The map showingus how to get there is torn and difficult to read. But this doesn't mean weshould cut the trip short and go back. In fact, it's more important thanever to keep moving forward, especially as regards family equality. Way backin the early 1990s, Hawaii was poised to become a global leader for familyequality. Then, ignorance, fear and lies overcame the simple truth that allfamilies deserve to be treated equally under the law. Civil rights equalitywas shamefully placed on the ballot as a Constitutional amendment relatingto same-sex marriage. The amendment, very shortly worded, does not actuallyprohibit same-sex marriage, rather it provides the legislature with thepower to define marriage. Under this amendment, the legislature may, but isnot required to, define marriage as solely between a man and a woman. And,while for the forseeable future, the legislature is unlikely to repeal thislaw, though they have the legal right to do so, there is growing momentumthat Hawaii should now take a big step towards family equality by passingcomprehensive civil unions legislation. Civil unions have been recognized asa reasonable compromise measure that provides protection for families, whileretaining a traditional definition for marriage. It could hardly beconsidered equal to marriage, because it is unrecognized at the Federallevel, and unequal to all those who are married or could become married.
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Earlier this week, we showed you a piece posted on Focus on the Family'swebsite, wherein an anti-gay activist was glowingly speaking about all ofthe wonderful benefits of marriage. And considering that both Focus on theFamily and the Family Research Council (the organization with whom theactivist was affiliated) work day and night to keep gays from entering intothe custom, we found it absolutely galling that they'd brag about all of thewonderful health and wealth benefits stemming from the unions that they'redenying to the homo set. In fact, it came across as quite cruel. Well today,Focus has upped the brazen and stone-hearted marriage ante by posting thefollowing rhapsodic portrait of nuptial stability on their CitizenLink site:Marriage Brings Stability, Economic Well-Being Heritage Foundation researchshows benefits of traditional families.
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST November 15, 2007
**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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Blog.WashingtonPost.com
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/11/50_days_out_gop_race_continues.html
50 Days Out: GOP Race Continues to Confound
Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/15/2007
Fifty days before the Iowa caucuses, the Republican presidential raceremains remarkably wide open, with none of the candidates able to break fromthe pack.
In contrast to George W. Bush's relentless march to his party's nominationin 2000, Republican candidates and campaign operatives express amazement atthe volatility of the GOP field and say the contest is more wide open thanat any time in memory. While there is no shortage of prominent names in therace, none has been able to unify the core of party regulars.
"We've never seen it where the party has been so strong in terms of numbersand potential but deflated in terms of vision and leadership," said JohnMcLaughlin, who is handling polling for former Sen. Fred Thompson's (Tenn.)presidential campaign.
McLaughlin's words were echoed in a number of conversations with topadvisers to the leading GOP presidential candidates and discussions withoperatives who are currently unaffiliated with a campaign. While it's clearthat the two co-frontrunners in the race are former New York City Mayor RudyGiuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, at least five men have aviable path to the nomination: Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, former ArkansasGov. Mike Huckabee and Arizona Sen. John McCain.
That fluidity stems from a number of factors, but two stand out -- majorflaws in the political makeup of the frontrunners and the fact that each ofthe early states has a different cast of frontrunners.
more . . . . .
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American Family Association
AFA ActionAlert - Please forward this email to your Friends and Family!
http://outbound.afa.net:80/track?type=click&mailingid=hotels_111407&message
id=hotels_111407&databaseid=1234&serial=1181233814&emailid=ken@kensherrill.com&userid=18175226&extra=&&&102&&&http://www.afa.net/newsweekgideons.htm
Hotels replace Gideon Bibles with "sex kits"
Now is the time to let the motel chains know that you want them to keep theGideon Bibles
The latest fad with some hotels is to replace their Bibles with "intimancykits." For instance, at New York City's trendy Soho Grand Hotel guests canenjoy a gourmet mini-bar, an iPod, a flat-screen TV and even the company ofa complimentary pet goldfish. But no Bible.
Parent company Accor Hotels decided to replace the Gideon Bibles with"intimacy kits." For Accor, providing travelers with sexual paraphernalia ismore important than the Bible. Accor Hotels owns several chains including:Motel 6, Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, All Seasons,Etap, Formule 1. While these chains are mostly located in Europe, Accor isexpanding to many U.S. markets.
Since 2001, the number of luxury hotels with Bibles in the rooms has droppedby 18 percent. The same companies that own these luxury hotels also own someof the typical hotels and motels you and I might use. For example, AccorHotels owns Motel 6. Without action now, it is simply a matter of timebefore other chains remove the Bibles.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/science/15primate.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Scientists Use Monkey Clones to Extract Stem Cells
By GINA KOLATA
November 15, 2007
Researchers in Oregon are reporting that they used cloning to produce monkeyembryos and then extracted stem cells from the embryos.
Not only is this the first time such cells have been produced in any animalother than a mouse, but the method, the researchers say, should also work inhumans. In 2004, South Korean researchers reported making stem cells fromcloned human embryos, but the claim turned out fraudulent.
"We hope the technology will be useful for other labs that are working onhuman eggs and human cells," the lead researcher of the group, ShoukhratMitalipov at Oregon Health and Science University in Beaverton, said in atelephone interview. "I am quite sure it will work in humans."
The monkey stem cells were genetically identical to an adult monkey, Semos,whose cells were cloned. They are a sort of universal cell that can, intheory, develop into any tissue or organ.
Medical researchers and patient advocacy groups have long hoped to use humanembryonic stem cells to study diseases and supply replacement cells to treatthem. So far, though, stem cell research has not yielded cures, and manyobstacles lie ahead.
more . . . . .
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/world/africa/15witches.html?hp
African Crucible: Cast as Witches, Then Cast Out
By SHARON LaFRANIERE
November 15, 2007
UIGE, Angola - Domingos Pedro was only 12 years old when his father died.The passing was sudden; the cause was a mystery to doctors. But not toDomingos's relatives.
They gathered that afternoon in Domingos's mud-clay house, he said, seizedhim and bound his legs with rope. They tossed the rope over the house'srafters and hoisted him up until he was suspended headfirst over the harddirt floor. Then they told him they would cut the rope if he did not confessto murdering his father.
"They were yelling, 'Witch! Witch!'" Domingos recalled, tears rolling downhis face. "There were so many people all shouting at me at the same time."
Terrified, Domingos told them what they wanted to hear, but his relativeswere not appeased. Ferraz Bulio, the neighborhood's traditional leader, saidseven or eight captors were dragging Domingos down a dirt path to the river,apparently to drown him, when he intervened.
"They were slapping him and punching him," he said. "This is the way peoplereact toward someone accused of witchcraft. There are lots of such cases."
more . . . . .
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Britain-Radical-Cleric.html?hp
Britain May Allow Extradition of Cleric
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 15, 2007
Filed at 6:52 a.m. ET
LONDON (AP) -- Radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri can be extradited to theUnited States to face trial on charges of supporting terrorism, a Britishcourt ruled Thursday.
Al-Masri has been charged with trying to establish a terrorist training campin Oregon, conspiring to take hostages in Yemen and facilitating terroristtraining in Afghanistan.
He is already serving a seven-year sentence in Britain for fomenting racialhatred and urging his followers to kill non-Muslims.
Senior District Judge Timothy Workman, presiding at City of WestminsterMagistrates Court, said the case would now be referred to Home SecretaryJacqui Smith for a final decision.
Al-Masri, who lost both arms below the elbows and an eye fighting the ovietoccupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, was arrested on a U.S. xtraditionwarrant in May 2004, but the process was put on hold while he stood trial inBritain and then appealed his convictions.
In January, the House of Lords denied al-Masri permission to make furtherappeals, clearing the way for extradition proceedings.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/opinion/15collins.html?ref=opinion
Op-Ed Columnist
What Happens in Vegas ...
By GAIL COLLINS
November 15, 2007
I'm sure you are excited about the big presidential candidate debatetonight. Nothing in the previous 25 dramatic clashes of the political titansthis season can come close to it. Although we did like that moment whenDennis Kucinich revealed that he had spied a U.F.O. at Shirley MacLaine'shouse.
This time, it's the Democrats - and Hillary Against the World! Everybody istalking about how, as Bill Clinton himself said last week: "Those boys havebeen getting tough on her lately." Two thoughts on that matter.
1) Who do you expect them to pile on? Mike Gravel?
2) We have never had anything approaching a female presidential front-runnerbefore. For much of our history, women were prohibited from even speaking inpublic. The first woman to run for president in this country, VictoriaWoodhull, almost got castrated for her uppityness. The first woman to runfor a major political party presidential nomination, Senator Margaret ChaseSmith of Maine, was reduced to handing out her muffin recipe in NewHampshire.
All of which is to say that Clinton doesn't deserve any special sympathy asthe political alpha dogs come after her, but give us a minute to adjusthere, will you?
more . . . . .
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/opinion/15thu3.html?ref=opinion
100-to-1 Rule
November 15, 2007
Editorial
Congress did a serious injustice when it imposed much tougher penalties ondefendants convicted of selling the crack form of cocaine - the kind mostoften used in impoverished, minority communities - than on those caughtselling the powdered form of the drug that is popular with more upscaleusers.
In what's known as the 100-to-1 rule, federal law mandates a 10-yearsentence for anyone caught with 50 grams of crack, about the weight of acandy bar. To get a comparable sentence, a dealer selling powdered cocainewould have to be caught with 5,000 grams, enough to fill a briefcase.
The federal crack statute was passed during the height of the so-calledcrack epidemic of the 1980s, when it was widely, but mistakenly, believedthat the crack form of the drug was more dangerous than the chemicallyidentical powdered form. Congress compounded the inequity by making crackcocaine the only drug that carries a mandatory minimum sentence forpossession, even for first-time offenders. Laws that were supposed to focusfederal efforts on locking up drug kingpins have swamped federal courts withsmall-time cases, many involving couriers and street-corner sellers.
The United States Sentencing Commission, the bipartisan body that setsguidelines for federal prison sentences, urged Congress to eliminate thesentencing disparity more than a decade ago. The commission recentlyestablished new guidelines that would provide more lenient sentencing forcrack offenses.
Only Congress can fix this problem, and fortunately lawmakers on both sidesof the aisle are finally recognizing that the crack laws are both grosslyunfair and counterproductive. Senator Joseph Biden, Democrat of Delaware, issponsoring a comprehensive bill that would wipe out the 100-to-1 disparity,do away with the mandatory minimum sentence for first-time offenders andopen up new treatment programs. It would restore fairness to the sentencingprocess. It would also take the federal focus off small-time users and placeit on the drug kingpins, which is where it belongs.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/us/15mukasey.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1195135886-7VYBRmtfF4POSuBfbP7Itg
Challenges Awaiting, Mukasey Takes Ceremonial Oath
By PHILIP SHENON
November 15, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 - In taking a ceremonial oath of office as the 81stattorney general of the United States, Michael B. Mukasey made no referenceat all Wednesday to the trouble he faces in assuming control of the JusticeDepartment for the last 14 months of the Bush administration.
He instead praised his new colleagues for the "great work that each of you,and all of you, were doing before I showed up here."
President Bush, in his own remarks at the ceremony, also said nothing aboutturmoil at the department, instead saluting Mr. Mukasey as an "outstandinglawyer and a fine leader" and saying he followed "in the footsteps of a fineman and a fine American, Al Gonzales."
But while Mr. Mukasey may not say so publicly, he has privately told hissupporters on Capitol Hill and elsewhere that he is fully aware thedepartment lost much of its credibility, both in legal circles and with thepublic, during Mr. Gonzales's tenure.
Mr. Mukasey, a retired federal judge from New York, is almost certain to beasked to make critical decisions soon on some of the most important legalissues facing the administration, including the harsh interrogation methodsused on some terrorist prisoners. It was Mr. Mukasey's unwillingness toanswer some questions about those techniques that nearly derailed hisnomination.
more . . . . .
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402525.html?hpid=topnews
Bomb Parts Clear Air Security in Tests
GAO Report Puts TSA on the Defensive
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A01
Undercover investigators carried all the bomb components needed to cause"severe damage" to airliners and passengers through U.S. airport screeningcheckpoints several times this year, despite security measures adopted inAugust 2006 to stop such explosive devices, according to a new governmentreport.
Agents were able to smuggle aboard a detonator, liquid explosives and liquidincendiary components costing less than $150, even though screening officersin most cases appeared to follow proper procedures and use appropriatescreening technology, according to an unclassified version of a report bythe Government Accountability Office, Congress's audit arm.
The report concludes that the Transportation Security Administration needsto adopt even more stringent security measures, despite "a significantchallenge in balancing security concerns with efficient passenger movement."
The report provoked sharp criticism of the TSA from members of Congress justdays before the start of an expected record Thanksgiving holiday travelweek. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which requestedthe investigation, plans a hearing on the subject this morning.
"These findings are mind-boggling," said the committee chairman, Henry A.Waxman (D-Calif.). "In spite of billions of dollars and the six years TSAhas had to deploy new technology and procedures, our airlines remainvulnerable. This is unacceptable. The American public deserves better."
more . . . . .
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402331.html?hpid=topnews
Clinton's Rivals Adopt More Partisan Approach
By Alec MacGillis and Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A06
Sen. Barack Obama began his campaign with calls for a less divisive kind ofpolitics, but now he sounds a more partisan tone. John Edwards, afterbuilding a campaign in part around ending poverty, has begun to lacerateSen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the perpetuator of a corrupt status quo inWashington.
As Clinton (N.Y.), the front-runner for the Democratic presidentialnomination, seeks to solidify her position atop the race, her main rivalsare reshaping the arguments for their candidacies and sparking a broaderdebate about the future of their party.
The shift has been most noticeable for Obama. While still talking about theneed for bipartisan consensus, he is putting himself forward as a forcefulstandard-bearer for Democrats and is suggesting that Clinton is toodefensive at a time when the party's prospects are on the rise.
"I'm so sick and tired of the Democratic Party being scared with what theRepublicans are going to do. And so we end up trying to act and couch whatwe say to make sure that we're seen as tough, not vulnerable to all theSwift-boating," Obama (Ill.) told voters last week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Headded: "I'm not afraid of these folks."
Edwards, meanwhile, is going further than before in casting his candidacy inopposition to a Washington he says Clinton personifies. On a recent swingthrough Iowa, the former senator from North Carolina did not mention theword "poverty" in several speeches, but he listed the industries from whichClinton had taken more money than any other candidate in either party.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402030.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
The Icebergs Ahead For the Democrats
By David S. Broder
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A25
As the Democratic presidential race finally gets down to brass tacks, twoissues are becoming paramount. But only one of them is clearly on the table.
That is the issue of illegal immigration. A very smart Democrat, a veteranof the Clinton administration, told me that he expects it to be a key partof any Republican campaign and that he is worried about his party's abilityto respond.
I think he has good reason to worry. The failure of the Democratic Congress,like its Republican predecessor, to enact comprehensive immigration reform,including improved border security, has left individual states and localcommunities to struggle with the problem. Some are showing a high degree oftolerance and flexibility. Others are being more punitive. But all of themare running into controversy.
I noticed a new Siena College Research Institute poll of registered votersin New York. It found heavy opposition to Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal topermit undocumented aliens to obtain driver's licenses; nearly two-thirdsopposed the latest version.
Moreover, the issue is part of a weakening of support for Spitzer, who nowhas an almost 2-to-1 negative job rating and, for the first time, anunfavorable image overall. Asked if they are inclined to support him forreelection in 2010, only 25 percent said yes, while 49 percent said theywould prefer an anonymous "someone else." It was just last year that Spitzerwas elected in a landslide. Spitzer announced yesterday that he wasabandoning the driver's license idea.
more . . . . .
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402031.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Front-Runners Who Can Still Be Tackled
By George F. Will
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A25
Americans say they are weary of political polarization and pugnacity. If so,the current situation in presidential politics is unstable: The leadingDemocratic and Republican candidates, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, arethe most polarizing and pugnacious candidates, respectively. Hence BarackObama and Mitt Romney might be stronger than national polls suggest.
James Carville, political consultant and aphorist, says: Nothing validates acandidate to voters as much as other voters. If Romney wins Iowa and NewHampshire -- no Republican has ever won both -- and then Michigan, where hisfather was governor, he will reach South Carolina very validated indeed.
Giuliani has a double-digit lead in Florida, but if he wins the nominationafter starting the delegate selection events 0-4, he will do something notdone since prehistoric times. In 1952, Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson wasnominated by bosses, an extinct species, who would not countenance thecandidacy of Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver. The New York Times of May 11,1952, proclaimed: "Kefauver Wins Votes But Not Party Leaders."
Kefauver had won every primary except Florida's, where he narrowly lost notto Stevenson but to Georgia Sen. Richard Russell.
Giuliani's strategy might be shrewd. Before Florida votes on Jan. 29, only154 delegates will have been chosen. Florida, where Giuliani leads by 17points, will allocate 57. Seven days later, 20 states vote, includingCalifornia (173 delegates), where Giuliani has another double-digit lead.Romney's campaign serenely notes that in 2004, when John Kerry won Iowa andNew Hampshire, he shot from about 9 percent to 52 percent among Democrats.That is validation.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402082.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Simpson Ordered to Stand Trial In Nevada
Required Evidence Is Met, Judge Rules
By Karl Vick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A12
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 14 -- O.J. Simpson must be tried for kidnapping and armedrobbery for his role in a Sept. 13 confrontation in a Las Vegas hotel room,a Nevada judge ruled on Wednesday, binding over the former NFL star oncharges that could send him to prison for life a dozen years after escapingconviction in a celebrated murder case.
Judge Joe M. Bonaventure said prosecutors had presented far more than the"scintilla of evidence" required to put the case against Simpson and twoco-defendants before a jury.
"The defenses raised cannot be considered by this court," Bonaventure said."The state has met the burden as to the kidnapping charges. Similarly as tothe robbery charges."
Simpson was ordered to appear at an arraignment on 12 charges on Nov. 28,along with Charles Ehrlich and Clarence Stewart, two of the five men hebrought into Room 1203 of the Palace Station Hotel and Casino to recoverfootballs, photographs and other memorabilia that Simpson said had beenstolen from him.
"This is something that was totally expected by us," Simpson attorney YaleGalanter said after the hearing, noting the very low standard required at apreliminary hearing. "If there were a jury seated now, my client would be onhis way home."
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
Toledo City Council has approved an ordinance making Toledo the first largecity in Ohio to offer gay and other unmarried couples the opportunity toregister their relationship with city hall.Under the ordinance approved lateTuesday, couples who cannot or don't want to marry can register their"domestic partnership" with the clerk of city council.The purpose of theregistry is to create a centralized process that employers can use to verifyrelationships when they offer benefits that typically are offered forspouses and dependents.
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A long-running legal dispute about the constitutionality of same-sexmarriages in California came a step closer today to an expected finalresolution by the state Supreme Court sometime next year. Today was thedeadline for filing the final round of written briefs with the high court inSan Francisco. Court spokeswoman Lynn Holton said that step now clears theway for the next stage of the case, a hearing on oral arguments by lawyersfor groups supporting and opposing same-sex marriage. The court has not yetscheduled the hearing, but Holton said it is expected to take place "withina few months." After the hearing, the panel's seven members will have threemonths to issue a written decision.
--
This August marked the fifth anniversary of The New York Times opening itsweddings and celebrations pages to gay and lesbian couples. When the Gay &Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) first approached the Times inJuly 2002, only 27 states had a newspaper with an inclusive announcementpolicy. Following on its success in changing the policy at the Times, GLAADlaunched its Announcing Equality campaign to convince other papers to followsuit and to encourage gay and lesbian couples to announce their equality bysubmitting their wedding announcements. Today, every state in the union andWashington, D.C., has at least one paper with an inclusive policy for theirweddings and celebrations pages -- for a combined national circulation ofover 37 million in nearly 900 outlets, reaching almost 75 percent of totalnewspaper readers.
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Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/POLITICS/711150367/-1/rss
Decision 2008
Dems await vote ruling: Party members to cast ballot if Jan. 15 primary is
constitutional
Gordon Trowbridge and Charlie Cain / The Detroit News
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Michigan Democrats said Wednesday they will participate in the state's Jan.15 presidential primary -- if the election is ever held.
State Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer made the commitment in a letterto Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. But he attached conditions: Brewersaid Democrats would vote on Jan. 15 if a court ruling that deemed theprimary law unconstitutional is overturned, and he wrote that the commitmentdoes not waive the party's "state and federal constitutional rights" -- aphrase that could be read as an out-clause.
"It sounds as though there's an additional line to try to preserve somerights beyond the deadline. And who knows exactly what that means," said W.Alan Wilk, a partner at Lansing's Dykema law firm who specializes inelection law.
Some state Democrats have suggested they should opt out of the primary andhold party caucuses, perhaps on whatever date New Hampshire sets for itsprimary. Brewer and national Democratic Chairman Howard Dean have said theyare discussing a settlement that could avoid penalties for Michigan's earlycontest.
The filing came as the state Court of Appeals ruled it would hear argumentstoday in the lawsuit that has threatened to upend the primary, Michigan'sattempt to gain clout in the 2008 presidential race.
Wednesday's letter was delivered on the last day the parties were allowedunder the state's new primary law to opt out of the Jan. 15 contest. Thoughthey weren't required to formally signal their plans to participate, Landhad asked the parties to file letters of intent to pass along to the courtsas they hear arguments in the legal dispute. Republicans filed a similarletter Tuesday.
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Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-evangelicals15nov15,1,1071959.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Evangelical flocks on their own at the polls
Conservative Christian leaders are increasingly reluctant to get political,leaving a key Republican voting bloc divided. The trend may help Giulianibut hurt the GOP in the long term.
By Stephanie Simon and Mark Z. Barabak
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
November 15, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - A fundamental shift is transforming the religiousright, long a force in presidential politics, as aging evangelical leaderssplit on the 2008 race and a new generation of pastors turns away frompolitics altogether.
The result, in the short term, could be a boost for the centrist candidacyof former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, whose messy personal lifeand support for gay rights and legal abortion have not produced the unifiedopposition from Christian conservatives that many anticipated.
Over the longer term, the distancing of religious leaders from politicscould prove even more consequential, denying the GOP one of the essentialbuilding blocks it has used to capture the White House in five of the lastseven presidential races.
The shift is evident in this Rocky Mountain community at the heart of theevangelical movement.
"As far as me standing in the pulpit holding a voter guide, that's not goingto happen," said the Rev. Brady Boyd, 40, who leads a congregation of 10,000at New Life Church. He will use his position to teach the Bible tobelievers. "I won't use it to influence their vote," he said.
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[Send your comments about articles to rays.list@comcast.net]
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Blog.WashingtonPost.com
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/11/50_days_out_gop_race_continues.html
50 Days Out: GOP Race Continues to Confound
Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 11/15/2007
Fifty days before the Iowa caucuses, the Republican presidential raceremains remarkably wide open, with none of the candidates able to break fromthe pack.
In contrast to George W. Bush's relentless march to his party's nominationin 2000, Republican candidates and campaign operatives express amazement atthe volatility of the GOP field and say the contest is more wide open thanat any time in memory. While there is no shortage of prominent names in therace, none has been able to unify the core of party regulars.
"We've never seen it where the party has been so strong in terms of numbersand potential but deflated in terms of vision and leadership," said JohnMcLaughlin, who is handling polling for former Sen. Fred Thompson's (Tenn.)presidential campaign.
McLaughlin's words were echoed in a number of conversations with topadvisers to the leading GOP presidential candidates and discussions withoperatives who are currently unaffiliated with a campaign. While it's clearthat the two co-frontrunners in the race are former New York City Mayor RudyGiuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, at least five men have aviable path to the nomination: Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, former ArkansasGov. Mike Huckabee and Arizona Sen. John McCain.
That fluidity stems from a number of factors, but two stand out -- majorflaws in the political makeup of the frontrunners and the fact that each ofthe early states has a different cast of frontrunners.
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American Family Association
AFA ActionAlert - Please forward this email to your Friends and Family!
http://outbound.afa.net:80/track?type=click&mailingid=hotels_111407&message
id=hotels_111407&databaseid=1234&serial=1181233814&emailid=ken@kensherrill.com&userid=18175226&extra=&&&102&&&http://www.afa.net/newsweekgideons.htm
Hotels replace Gideon Bibles with "sex kits"
Now is the time to let the motel chains know that you want them to keep theGideon Bibles
The latest fad with some hotels is to replace their Bibles with "intimancykits." For instance, at New York City's trendy Soho Grand Hotel guests canenjoy a gourmet mini-bar, an iPod, a flat-screen TV and even the company ofa complimentary pet goldfish. But no Bible.
Parent company Accor Hotels decided to replace the Gideon Bibles with"intimacy kits." For Accor, providing travelers with sexual paraphernalia ismore important than the Bible. Accor Hotels owns several chains including:Motel 6, Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, All Seasons,Etap, Formule 1. While these chains are mostly located in Europe, Accor isexpanding to many U.S. markets.
Since 2001, the number of luxury hotels with Bibles in the rooms has droppedby 18 percent. The same companies that own these luxury hotels also own someof the typical hotels and motels you and I might use. For example, AccorHotels owns Motel 6. Without action now, it is simply a matter of timebefore other chains remove the Bibles.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/science/15primate.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Scientists Use Monkey Clones to Extract Stem Cells
By GINA KOLATA
November 15, 2007
Researchers in Oregon are reporting that they used cloning to produce monkeyembryos and then extracted stem cells from the embryos.
Not only is this the first time such cells have been produced in any animalother than a mouse, but the method, the researchers say, should also work inhumans. In 2004, South Korean researchers reported making stem cells fromcloned human embryos, but the claim turned out fraudulent.
"We hope the technology will be useful for other labs that are working onhuman eggs and human cells," the lead researcher of the group, ShoukhratMitalipov at Oregon Health and Science University in Beaverton, said in atelephone interview. "I am quite sure it will work in humans."
The monkey stem cells were genetically identical to an adult monkey, Semos,whose cells were cloned. They are a sort of universal cell that can, intheory, develop into any tissue or organ.
Medical researchers and patient advocacy groups have long hoped to use humanembryonic stem cells to study diseases and supply replacement cells to treatthem. So far, though, stem cell research has not yielded cures, and manyobstacles lie ahead.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/world/africa/15witches.html?hp
African Crucible: Cast as Witches, Then Cast Out
By SHARON LaFRANIERE
November 15, 2007
UIGE, Angola - Domingos Pedro was only 12 years old when his father died.The passing was sudden; the cause was a mystery to doctors. But not toDomingos's relatives.
They gathered that afternoon in Domingos's mud-clay house, he said, seizedhim and bound his legs with rope. They tossed the rope over the house'srafters and hoisted him up until he was suspended headfirst over the harddirt floor. Then they told him they would cut the rope if he did not confessto murdering his father.
"They were yelling, 'Witch! Witch!'" Domingos recalled, tears rolling downhis face. "There were so many people all shouting at me at the same time."
Terrified, Domingos told them what they wanted to hear, but his relativeswere not appeased. Ferraz Bulio, the neighborhood's traditional leader, saidseven or eight captors were dragging Domingos down a dirt path to the river,apparently to drown him, when he intervened.
"They were slapping him and punching him," he said. "This is the way peoplereact toward someone accused of witchcraft. There are lots of such cases."
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Britain-Radical-Cleric.html?hp
Britain May Allow Extradition of Cleric
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 15, 2007
Filed at 6:52 a.m. ET
LONDON (AP) -- Radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri can be extradited to theUnited States to face trial on charges of supporting terrorism, a Britishcourt ruled Thursday.
Al-Masri has been charged with trying to establish a terrorist training campin Oregon, conspiring to take hostages in Yemen and facilitating terroristtraining in Afghanistan.
He is already serving a seven-year sentence in Britain for fomenting racialhatred and urging his followers to kill non-Muslims.
Senior District Judge Timothy Workman, presiding at City of WestminsterMagistrates Court, said the case would now be referred to Home SecretaryJacqui Smith for a final decision.
Al-Masri, who lost both arms below the elbows and an eye fighting the ovietoccupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, was arrested on a U.S. xtraditionwarrant in May 2004, but the process was put on hold while he stood trial inBritain and then appealed his convictions.
In January, the House of Lords denied al-Masri permission to make furtherappeals, clearing the way for extradition proceedings.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/opinion/15collins.html?ref=opinion
Op-Ed Columnist
What Happens in Vegas ...
By GAIL COLLINS
November 15, 2007
I'm sure you are excited about the big presidential candidate debatetonight. Nothing in the previous 25 dramatic clashes of the political titansthis season can come close to it. Although we did like that moment whenDennis Kucinich revealed that he had spied a U.F.O. at Shirley MacLaine'shouse.
This time, it's the Democrats - and Hillary Against the World! Everybody istalking about how, as Bill Clinton himself said last week: "Those boys havebeen getting tough on her lately." Two thoughts on that matter.
1) Who do you expect them to pile on? Mike Gravel?
2) We have never had anything approaching a female presidential front-runnerbefore. For much of our history, women were prohibited from even speaking inpublic. The first woman to run for president in this country, VictoriaWoodhull, almost got castrated for her uppityness. The first woman to runfor a major political party presidential nomination, Senator Margaret ChaseSmith of Maine, was reduced to handing out her muffin recipe in NewHampshire.
All of which is to say that Clinton doesn't deserve any special sympathy asthe political alpha dogs come after her, but give us a minute to adjusthere, will you?
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/opinion/15thu3.html?ref=opinion
100-to-1 Rule
November 15, 2007
Editorial
Congress did a serious injustice when it imposed much tougher penalties ondefendants convicted of selling the crack form of cocaine - the kind mostoften used in impoverished, minority communities - than on those caughtselling the powdered form of the drug that is popular with more upscaleusers.
In what's known as the 100-to-1 rule, federal law mandates a 10-yearsentence for anyone caught with 50 grams of crack, about the weight of acandy bar. To get a comparable sentence, a dealer selling powdered cocainewould have to be caught with 5,000 grams, enough to fill a briefcase.
The federal crack statute was passed during the height of the so-calledcrack epidemic of the 1980s, when it was widely, but mistakenly, believedthat the crack form of the drug was more dangerous than the chemicallyidentical powdered form. Congress compounded the inequity by making crackcocaine the only drug that carries a mandatory minimum sentence forpossession, even for first-time offenders. Laws that were supposed to focusfederal efforts on locking up drug kingpins have swamped federal courts withsmall-time cases, many involving couriers and street-corner sellers.
The United States Sentencing Commission, the bipartisan body that setsguidelines for federal prison sentences, urged Congress to eliminate thesentencing disparity more than a decade ago. The commission recentlyestablished new guidelines that would provide more lenient sentencing forcrack offenses.
Only Congress can fix this problem, and fortunately lawmakers on both sidesof the aisle are finally recognizing that the crack laws are both grosslyunfair and counterproductive. Senator Joseph Biden, Democrat of Delaware, issponsoring a comprehensive bill that would wipe out the 100-to-1 disparity,do away with the mandatory minimum sentence for first-time offenders andopen up new treatment programs. It would restore fairness to the sentencingprocess. It would also take the federal focus off small-time users and placeit on the drug kingpins, which is where it belongs.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/us/15mukasey.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1195135886-7VYBRmtfF4POSuBfbP7Itg
Challenges Awaiting, Mukasey Takes Ceremonial Oath
By PHILIP SHENON
November 15, 2007
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 - In taking a ceremonial oath of office as the 81stattorney general of the United States, Michael B. Mukasey made no referenceat all Wednesday to the trouble he faces in assuming control of the JusticeDepartment for the last 14 months of the Bush administration.
He instead praised his new colleagues for the "great work that each of you,and all of you, were doing before I showed up here."
President Bush, in his own remarks at the ceremony, also said nothing aboutturmoil at the department, instead saluting Mr. Mukasey as an "outstandinglawyer and a fine leader" and saying he followed "in the footsteps of a fineman and a fine American, Al Gonzales."
But while Mr. Mukasey may not say so publicly, he has privately told hissupporters on Capitol Hill and elsewhere that he is fully aware thedepartment lost much of its credibility, both in legal circles and with thepublic, during Mr. Gonzales's tenure.
Mr. Mukasey, a retired federal judge from New York, is almost certain to beasked to make critical decisions soon on some of the most important legalissues facing the administration, including the harsh interrogation methodsused on some terrorist prisoners. It was Mr. Mukasey's unwillingness toanswer some questions about those techniques that nearly derailed hisnomination.
more . . . . .
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402525.html?hpid=topnews
Bomb Parts Clear Air Security in Tests
GAO Report Puts TSA on the Defensive
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A01
Undercover investigators carried all the bomb components needed to cause"severe damage" to airliners and passengers through U.S. airport screeningcheckpoints several times this year, despite security measures adopted inAugust 2006 to stop such explosive devices, according to a new governmentreport.
Agents were able to smuggle aboard a detonator, liquid explosives and liquidincendiary components costing less than $150, even though screening officersin most cases appeared to follow proper procedures and use appropriatescreening technology, according to an unclassified version of a report bythe Government Accountability Office, Congress's audit arm.
The report concludes that the Transportation Security Administration needsto adopt even more stringent security measures, despite "a significantchallenge in balancing security concerns with efficient passenger movement."
The report provoked sharp criticism of the TSA from members of Congress justdays before the start of an expected record Thanksgiving holiday travelweek. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which requestedthe investigation, plans a hearing on the subject this morning.
"These findings are mind-boggling," said the committee chairman, Henry A.Waxman (D-Calif.). "In spite of billions of dollars and the six years TSAhas had to deploy new technology and procedures, our airlines remainvulnerable. This is unacceptable. The American public deserves better."
more . . . . .
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402331.html?hpid=topnews
Clinton's Rivals Adopt More Partisan Approach
By Alec MacGillis and Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A06
Sen. Barack Obama began his campaign with calls for a less divisive kind ofpolitics, but now he sounds a more partisan tone. John Edwards, afterbuilding a campaign in part around ending poverty, has begun to lacerateSen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the perpetuator of a corrupt status quo inWashington.
As Clinton (N.Y.), the front-runner for the Democratic presidentialnomination, seeks to solidify her position atop the race, her main rivalsare reshaping the arguments for their candidacies and sparking a broaderdebate about the future of their party.
The shift has been most noticeable for Obama. While still talking about theneed for bipartisan consensus, he is putting himself forward as a forcefulstandard-bearer for Democrats and is suggesting that Clinton is toodefensive at a time when the party's prospects are on the rise.
"I'm so sick and tired of the Democratic Party being scared with what theRepublicans are going to do. And so we end up trying to act and couch whatwe say to make sure that we're seen as tough, not vulnerable to all theSwift-boating," Obama (Ill.) told voters last week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Headded: "I'm not afraid of these folks."
Edwards, meanwhile, is going further than before in casting his candidacy inopposition to a Washington he says Clinton personifies. On a recent swingthrough Iowa, the former senator from North Carolina did not mention theword "poverty" in several speeches, but he listed the industries from whichClinton had taken more money than any other candidate in either party.
more . . . . .
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402030.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
The Icebergs Ahead For the Democrats
By David S. Broder
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A25
As the Democratic presidential race finally gets down to brass tacks, twoissues are becoming paramount. But only one of them is clearly on the table.
That is the issue of illegal immigration. A very smart Democrat, a veteranof the Clinton administration, told me that he expects it to be a key partof any Republican campaign and that he is worried about his party's abilityto respond.
I think he has good reason to worry. The failure of the Democratic Congress,like its Republican predecessor, to enact comprehensive immigration reform,including improved border security, has left individual states and localcommunities to struggle with the problem. Some are showing a high degree oftolerance and flexibility. Others are being more punitive. But all of themare running into controversy.
I noticed a new Siena College Research Institute poll of registered votersin New York. It found heavy opposition to Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal topermit undocumented aliens to obtain driver's licenses; nearly two-thirdsopposed the latest version.
Moreover, the issue is part of a weakening of support for Spitzer, who nowhas an almost 2-to-1 negative job rating and, for the first time, anunfavorable image overall. Asked if they are inclined to support him forreelection in 2010, only 25 percent said yes, while 49 percent said theywould prefer an anonymous "someone else." It was just last year that Spitzerwas elected in a landslide. Spitzer announced yesterday that he wasabandoning the driver's license idea.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402031.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Front-Runners Who Can Still Be Tackled
By George F. Will
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A25
Americans say they are weary of political polarization and pugnacity. If so,the current situation in presidential politics is unstable: The leadingDemocratic and Republican candidates, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, arethe most polarizing and pugnacious candidates, respectively. Hence BarackObama and Mitt Romney might be stronger than national polls suggest.
James Carville, political consultant and aphorist, says: Nothing validates acandidate to voters as much as other voters. If Romney wins Iowa and NewHampshire -- no Republican has ever won both -- and then Michigan, where hisfather was governor, he will reach South Carolina very validated indeed.
Giuliani has a double-digit lead in Florida, but if he wins the nominationafter starting the delegate selection events 0-4, he will do something notdone since prehistoric times. In 1952, Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson wasnominated by bosses, an extinct species, who would not countenance thecandidacy of Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver. The New York Times of May 11,1952, proclaimed: "Kefauver Wins Votes But Not Party Leaders."
Kefauver had won every primary except Florida's, where he narrowly lost notto Stevenson but to Georgia Sen. Richard Russell.
Giuliani's strategy might be shrewd. Before Florida votes on Jan. 29, only154 delegates will have been chosen. Florida, where Giuliani leads by 17points, will allocate 57. Seven days later, 20 states vote, includingCalifornia (173 delegates), where Giuliani has another double-digit lead.Romney's campaign serenely notes that in 2004, when John Kerry won Iowa andNew Hampshire, he shot from about 9 percent to 52 percent among Democrats.That is validation.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402082.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Simpson Ordered to Stand Trial In Nevada
Required Evidence Is Met, Judge Rules
By Karl Vick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A12
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 14 -- O.J. Simpson must be tried for kidnapping and armedrobbery for his role in a Sept. 13 confrontation in a Las Vegas hotel room,a Nevada judge ruled on Wednesday, binding over the former NFL star oncharges that could send him to prison for life a dozen years after escapingconviction in a celebrated murder case.
Judge Joe M. Bonaventure said prosecutors had presented far more than the"scintilla of evidence" required to put the case against Simpson and twoco-defendants before a jury.
"The defenses raised cannot be considered by this court," Bonaventure said."The state has met the burden as to the kidnapping charges. Similarly as tothe robbery charges."
Simpson was ordered to appear at an arraignment on 12 charges on Nov. 28,along with Charles Ehrlich and Clarence Stewart, two of the five men hebrought into Room 1203 of the Palace Station Hotel and Casino to recoverfootballs, photographs and other memorabilia that Simpson said had beenstolen from him.
"This is something that was totally expected by us," Simpson attorney YaleGalanter said after the hearing, noting the very low standard required at apreliminary hearing. "If there were a jury seated now, my client would be onhis way home."
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
Toledo City Council has approved an ordinance making Toledo the first largecity in Ohio to offer gay and other unmarried couples the opportunity toregister their relationship with city hall.Under the ordinance approved lateTuesday, couples who cannot or don't want to marry can register their"domestic partnership" with the clerk of city council.The purpose of theregistry is to create a centralized process that employers can use to verifyrelationships when they offer benefits that typically are offered forspouses and dependents.
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A long-running legal dispute about the constitutionality of same-sexmarriages in California came a step closer today to an expected finalresolution by the state Supreme Court sometime next year. Today was thedeadline for filing the final round of written briefs with the high court inSan Francisco. Court spokeswoman Lynn Holton said that step now clears theway for the next stage of the case, a hearing on oral arguments by lawyersfor groups supporting and opposing same-sex marriage. The court has not yetscheduled the hearing, but Holton said it is expected to take place "withina few months." After the hearing, the panel's seven members will have threemonths to issue a written decision.
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This August marked the fifth anniversary of The New York Times opening itsweddings and celebrations pages to gay and lesbian couples. When the Gay &Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) first approached the Times inJuly 2002, only 27 states had a newspaper with an inclusive announcementpolicy. Following on its success in changing the policy at the Times, GLAADlaunched its Announcing Equality campaign to convince other papers to followsuit and to encourage gay and lesbian couples to announce their equality bysubmitting their wedding announcements. Today, every state in the union andWashington, D.C., has at least one paper with an inclusive policy for theirweddings and celebrations pages -- for a combined national circulation ofover 37 million in nearly 900 outlets, reaching almost 75 percent of totalnewspaper readers.
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Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/POLITICS/711150367/-1/rss
Decision 2008
Dems await vote ruling: Party members to cast ballot if Jan. 15 primary is
constitutional
Gordon Trowbridge and Charlie Cain / The Detroit News
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Michigan Democrats said Wednesday they will participate in the state's Jan.15 presidential primary -- if the election is ever held.
State Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer made the commitment in a letterto Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. But he attached conditions: Brewersaid Democrats would vote on Jan. 15 if a court ruling that deemed theprimary law unconstitutional is overturned, and he wrote that the commitmentdoes not waive the party's "state and federal constitutional rights" -- aphrase that could be read as an out-clause.
"It sounds as though there's an additional line to try to preserve somerights beyond the deadline. And who knows exactly what that means," said W.Alan Wilk, a partner at Lansing's Dykema law firm who specializes inelection law.
Some state Democrats have suggested they should opt out of the primary andhold party caucuses, perhaps on whatever date New Hampshire sets for itsprimary. Brewer and national Democratic Chairman Howard Dean have said theyare discussing a settlement that could avoid penalties for Michigan's earlycontest.
The filing came as the state Court of Appeals ruled it would hear argumentstoday in the lawsuit that has threatened to upend the primary, Michigan'sattempt to gain clout in the 2008 presidential race.
Wednesday's letter was delivered on the last day the parties were allowedunder the state's new primary law to opt out of the Jan. 15 contest. Thoughthey weren't required to formally signal their plans to participate, Landhad asked the parties to file letters of intent to pass along to the courtsas they hear arguments in the legal dispute. Republicans filed a similarletter Tuesday.
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Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-evangelicals15nov15,1,1071959.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Evangelical flocks on their own at the polls
Conservative Christian leaders are increasingly reluctant to get political,leaving a key Republican voting bloc divided. The trend may help Giulianibut hurt the GOP in the long term.
By Stephanie Simon and Mark Z. Barabak
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
November 15, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - A fundamental shift is transforming the religiousright, long a force in presidential politics, as aging evangelical leaderssplit on the 2008 race and a new generation of pastors turns away frompolitics altogether.
The result, in the short term, could be a boost for the centrist candidacyof former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, whose messy personal lifeand support for gay rights and legal abortion have not produced the unifiedopposition from Christian conservatives that many anticipated.
Over the longer term, the distancing of religious leaders from politicscould prove even more consequential, denying the GOP one of the essentialbuilding blocks it has used to capture the White House in five of the lastseven presidential races.
The shift is evident in this Rocky Mountain community at the heart of theevangelical movement.
"As far as me standing in the pulpit holding a voter guide, that's not goingto happen," said the Rev. Brady Boyd, 40, who leads a congregation of 10,000at New Life Church. He will use his position to teach the Bible tobelievers. "I won't use it to influence their vote," he said.
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