A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
On the 20th anniversary of Ryan White's death from AIDS, Elton John has written Ryan a letter. From the Washington Post, an excerpt:
Ryan, I wish you could know how much the world has changed since 1990, and how much you changed it. Young boys and girls with HIV attend school and take medicine that allows them to lead normal lives. Children in America are seldom born with the virus, and they no longer contract it through transfusions. The insults and injustices you suffered are not tolerated by society.
Most important, Ryan, you inspired awareness, which helped lead to lifesaving treatments. In 1990, four months after you died, Congress passed the Ryan White Care Act, which now provides more than $2 billion each year for AIDS medicine and treatment for half a million Americans. Today, countless people with HIV live long, productive lives. It breaks my heart that you are not one of them. You were 18 when you died, and you would be 38 this year, if only the current treatments existed when you were sick. I think about this every day, because America needs your message of compassion as never before.
After the deaths of Ryan White and his good friend Freddy Mercury, in 1992 Elton founded the Atlanta-based Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has since raised hundreds of millions of dollars for HIV/AIDS research. This Wednesday the foundation will host an event in Ryan White's honor in Indianapolis.
GetEQUAL sends us the above grid detailing the known (and unknown) DADT positions of Senators that serve on the Armed Services Committee. GetEQUAL: "These are very important targets to go after in the next 30 days with non-violent direct action and civil disobedience. It is of utmost importance that you contact ALL these Senators and express the importance of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell." They suggest using these talking points when calling the above Senators.
VIDEO: Members of GetEQUAL visit the offices of some Senators. (The audio doesn't kick in for a few seconds.)
From the Italian site Queerblog (Google translation):
Aurelia Frick, Minister of Justice of Liechtenstein, had promised that by summer 2010, the Principality will give itself a law that recognizes same-sex couples. Now the Government submitted the bill to Parliament which is expected to be treated de facto unions to heterosexual marriages as regards inheritance, social security, retirement pensions, immigration and naturalization, and other tax matters. Remain outside the law and adoptions that access to artificial insemination.
I am not certain whether this is a civil marriage bill, allowable on the same terms as heterosexual marriage, or if it is just the granting of limited rights to de facto couples.
Maryland: Pastor Jerry Darnell Bartley charged with molesting a 13 year old boy. Maine: Pastor Colin Haag and his wife arrested for kidnapping his wife's children from their biological father. Wisconsin: The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has filed a 55-page lawsuit against the Pope for shielding the crimes of pedophile priests. Tennessee: Father Bill Casey arrested for molesting a 10 year old boy. Brazil: Monsignor Luiz Marques Barbosa arrested on multiple counts of child molestation. Wisconsin: Pastor Leonard Van Vlaenderen charged with embezzling from his church. Indiana: Court rules that Father Francis Markey can be extradited to Ireland to face charges of child molestation. Alaska: Pastor Shawn Anthony Justice charged with 12 counts of sexual abuse of a female minor. Wisconsin: Pastor John West charged with conspiracy to sell heroin. Texas: Pastor Robert John Weber charged with ten counts of sexual assault on a 15 year old girl. Indiana: Pastor Ernest M. Beal Jr charged with stealing the trust funds of residents of the group home for mentally challenged adults that he manages. Illinois: Father Alejandro Flores charged with molesting an 8 year old boy. Flores is already in jail awaiting trial for molesting the boy's older brother. Ireland: Father Eugene Lewis charged with 11 counts of sexual assault on three pre-teen sisters. Belgium: Bishop Roger Vangheluwe has resigned after confessing to child molestation.
This Week's Winner Utah: Pastor Kris Lounsbury has been charged with two counts of rape and aggravated sexual abuse of a ten year old girl. Lounsbury was a GOP candidate for Congress in 2006, running on a platform of abolishing the income tax, deporting illegal immigrants, abolishing the United Nations, and fighting LGBT rights laws. In January 2009 he posted a recording of a sermon calling for imprecatory prayer curses against President Obama. In the linked clip, Lounsbury rails against the repeal of DADT, saying that "you have no idea how vicious, these homosexuals, can be."
Here's another story about how restrictions on free speech ultimately get used to quell political debate and silence certain opinions, no matter what the intentions were in developing those restrictions.
In a press release, Pride Toronto co-chair Jim Cullen wrote that all messages must "support the theme of the 2010 festival, celebrating '30 Years of Pride in Toronto.'"
People immediately thought the new policy was meant to keep Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) out of the parade, although some people thought it was about homocons as well (they're always the victim). A Facebook group called "Don't Sanitize Pride" was created and thousands joined. The Pride committee's spokesperson refused to say why the policy was put in place.
Waymon pointed me to another Christian music singer who's gay, former American Idol contestant R.J. Helton. He came out in 2006 after his first Christian album and his run on Idol. Here's his performance of "Blessing," a song about a Christian coming out to his parents. It's a little Idoly for me, but I'm not the target audience.
As we approach the time when Congress will consider the Department of Defense Authorization bill, a critical order of business is to secure the votes we need in the Senate Armed Services Committee for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT).
To do so, HRC has identified senators in six key states (FL, IN, MA, NE, VA & WV) for grassroots and grasstops lobbying. We have two dozen organizers on the ground in those states, and are engaged in events, post cards drives, phone calls, visits to in-district offices, op-eds from veterans and opinion leaders, and other earned media. The Voices of Honor Tour, a successful collaboration with our allied groups, has held events in 30 cities so far. In these key states we have:
Generated almost 10,000 postcards to senators;
Placed over 4,000 phone calls to senators; and
Identified over 300 veterans to do in-district lobby visits or attend our May 11 Lobby Day.
HRC is also meeting with House leadership to discuss strategies for moving DADT repeal this year and we continue to exert pressure on the White House to take a visible leadership role as we enter this critical period. We are hopeful about moving repeal, and aware that a handful of votes in the Senate could determine the outcome. If you have not done so already, please take action and learn more about how to help.
Our steadfast advocacy of an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act has not wavered as well. Along with LGBT coalition groups and congressional leaders, we are putting the pieces in place to pass an inclusive ENDA in the House and hope to have news to share in the coming weeks. After you've taken action on DADT, don't forget to also visit www.passENDAnow.org to let Congress know fair workplaces are a critical issue for our country.
As we press ahead on those two fronts I want to add one more item to your to-do list. We celebrated last week when the President issued a memorandum requiring hospitals accepting federal funds to respect families' wishes regarding who is at a sick or dying patient's bedside. When fully implemented, the memorandum will help to avert the tragedies that many same-sex couples and their children face in their times of greatest need.
But the policy is not in force yet. Now, the Department of Health and Human Services must issue regulations. To ensure that your family is protected today, you must have documents expressing your intentions regarding visitation, as well as a health care proxy and living will to ensure that those who know you the best can make medical decisions on your behalf in an emergency.
Another great resource is the Healthcare Equality Index, our groundbreaking nationwide report on healthcare facilities' policies affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. This index was a key resource in our efforts with the White House on this memorandum and you can use it to find out the policies of your nearest hospital. The next edition of the Healthcare Equality Index is due to be released in early June.
After running for 69 years, the venerable Archie comic has added a gay character.
"We're trying to reflect society and we're just trying to show Riverdale is a diverse place," says Dan Parent, the artist-writer behind the series. Kevin Keller makes his debut in September in "Veronica" No. 202, on sale in September, as a hunky new kid who catches the raven-haired vixen's eye. Though Veronica is used to getting her way, she's finally run up against a boy who's immune to her charms. Cue the hijinks. Parent says he hopes the positive message will offend as few people as possible, but adverse conservative reaction "was not a reason not to do the story." Archie Comics Co-CEO Jon Goldwater said in the few hours since the official announcement his voice mail has been overwhelmed with messages - mostly in support of the company's decision.
Freepers react: -Wow, those faggots are really taking over. -An extremely marginal and diseased viewpoint. -Giving the Arabs yet another reason to seek nuclear weapons... -Maybe the new character will get himself some JugHead.
Westboro Baptist Church has announced on their website (NFSW) that they will be picketing the graduation ceremony of Constance McMillen's high school in Mississippi.
WBC will picket the graduation of Itawamba Agricultural High School to remind the parents, teachers and students of this nation that God said "Thou shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind, it is abomination." Leviticus 18:22. This generation has been raised to believe that they can live for the devil and still go to heaven, that God has no standards and the biggest lie of all - that God loves everyone. The parents of Fulton, MS feign outrage that a filthy dyke wants to parade her "girlfriend" around at their night of fornication called a prom. They had a duty to teach their children what the Lord requires of them. They shirked this duty. The Lord repays them to their face by sending dykes, burning in their lusts, to tyrannize them. "For this cause God gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change their natural use which is is against nature." Romans 1:26
While we've seen many moving examples of young people protesting the presence of Westboro, it will be very interesting to see how the people of Constance's hometown react to this. Encouragingly, a Facebook group against the picket has already appeared.
Rosie O'Donnell hosted Mike Huckabee on her SiriusXM show yesterday to grill him about his recent outrageous "children are not puppies" statement of opposition to gay adoption. Wonk Roomhas the transcript. Good stuff, listen to this.
Steve Marshall › Daniel Orey: A FaceBook friend of mine, Daniel Orey, got married a few years ago. He ran into some problems because a state-sanctioned, committed, same-sex marriage is not an acceptable lifestyle for Baha’is, according to his NSA...
Today's Caption This photo is extra special. Taken during the National Equality March, it shows Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry very excited to be arguing with an elderly gay guy.
Three high school girls in Kentucky have been charged with kidnapping and attempting to murder an openly lesbian classmate by pushing her off of a cliff. The attack took place on the Day Of Silence, which some students at the school observed as the anti-gay Day Of Truth, as instructed by Christian hate groups.
Cheyenne Williams, 18, of McKee, signed a sworn criminal complaint Monday, saying she was abducted on Friday by Corinne M. Schwab, 18, of Sandgap; Ashley N. Sams, 18, of Annville; and a 17-year-old girl who was not identified because she is a juvenile. Williams told police she was attacked as a result of her sexual orientation, state police Detective Joie Peters said. The criminal complaint says the girls unlawfully restrained and tried to cause Williams' death. The intent was to "accomplish or advance the commission of a felony and to inflict bodily injury or to terrorize" Williams. The complaint, which was signed by George Hays, the Jackson County attorney, does not provide any other details. Hays declined to comment. State police issued a news release Tuesday that says Williams was "taken against her will to the Flat Lick Falls area" where she was assaulted and that the other three girls "attempted to push her over a cliff, which could have resulted in serious physical injury or death." Williams was able to escape and get to safety, the report says.
Police say they don't yet have proof that that attack was motivated by the victim's sexual orientation.
State police Detective Joie Peters, who is investigating, said it appears the incident began as a practical joke but got out of hand, escalating to the point that Williams sustained minor injuries. Peters said he was not minimizing the incident but has not uncovered evidence it constituted a hate crime. Peters said he would present evidence to a grand jury for a decision on what charge correctly fits the facts of the case. The grand jury could indict the girls on the same charges, a lesser charge such as assault or decline to indict them.
The victim's mother says that the attack was spurred by student dissent to the national Day Of Silence. Christian groups across the country had encouraged students to actively oppose the Day Of Silence in their schools.
Johnson said she has no clue why the other girls would try to hurt her daughter. As for the timing, however, she noted that the alleged attack happened Friday, the day of a national observance for people who have faced bullying or harassment because of their sexual orientation. The attack stemmed from that, Johnson said. Crawford said he understood some students were wearing tags or stickers in support of the observance, while others were wearing stickers in opposition that said something like "Gay is not the way." Superintendent Ralph Hoskins directed that students in both groups not to display the stickers because he didn't want the situation to escalate, Crawford said.
50 years ago the Democratic Party was saddled with a bigoted Southern Governor, George Wallace of Alabama. Wallace was famous for his fervent opposition to desegregation. He even ran for president four times on a racist platform.
George Wallace repeatedly lashed out at black Americans, and at his first inauguration said, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. He believed that blacks were not equal.
Now the Republican Party has its own 21st Century George Wallace, another Southern Governor who has also run for president, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.
During a recent interview with the College of New Jersey's the Perspective, Governor Huckabee, you compared the relationships of gay Americans to that of drug use, incest and polygamy.
As if that comment was not enough, you went on to ridicule gay parents and gay foster parents with a snide and nasty comment, "Children are not puppies. This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?"
You have caused tremendous pain by your widely covered comments, even to people whom you know well, like former Vice President Dick Cheney. His younger daughter, Mary and her partner Heather Poe have a three year old son and another baby on the way. Are you referring to Dick Cheney's grandchildren as "puppies?
Governor Huckabee, you represent the absolute wrong direction for the Republican Party.
Take a look at what real Republican leaders have had to say about gay and lesbian civil rights.
President Ronald Reagan At the end of a meeting with gay and lesbian leaders in his Los Angeles office, Reagan smiled and said, "Don't think we can allow something like that to happen here in California." He was denouncing the Briggs Initiative, Proposition 6, which he opposed and would have permitted the firing of gay teachers in California.
President Gerald Ford told Detroit News columnist Deb Price in a telephone interview "I think they (same-sex couples) should be treated equally. Period," he said. "...I have a longstanding record in favor of legislation to do away with discrimination."
Senator Barry Goldwater said, "To see the party that fought communism and big government now fighting the gays, well, that's just plain dumb."
Governor Huckabee, you set a prisoner free, who later murdered 4 police officers in cold blood
When you were Governor of Arkansas, you commuted the sentence of Maurice Clemmons after only 11 years of his 108 year prison sentence.
After Clemmons was paroled in 2000, he was in and out of jail for the next nine years. During that period he beat up two police officers, molested two very young girls, and raped another. On November 29, 2009 he brutally gunned down four police officers, execution style, in Lakewood, Washington while they were having breakfast.
I have known far too many victims of violent crime, whose loved ones were murdered -- their lives destroyed forever.
Remember Willie Horton?
Former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis allowed convicted murderer Willie Horton a weekend furlough from prison. Horton was supposed to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of 17-year-old Joey Fournier.
Instead, Horton escaped during his furlough and remained a fugitive for almost a year. On April 3, 1987, Horton terrorized a Maryland couple in their home. He twice raped Angie Miller, after pistol-whipping, knifing, binding, and gagging her fiancé, Cliff Barnes. This went on for hours, until Barnes managed to escape and call police.
I know this tragedy too well. I ran the Committee for the Presidency 22 years ago that let the world know how a Governor's actions forever destroyed another family. I worked with Cliff and Angie (Miller) Barnes (they later married) and Donna Fournier Cuomo (Joey's sister), the crime victims of Willie Horton. I helped them tell their stories.
Governor Huckabee, I would hope that you would treat all Americans as equal. Follow the lead of President's Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Senator Barry Goldwater, and not emulate Governor's Wallace and Dukakis.
You owe the millions of gay and lesbian families in this country an apology.
Insiders are reporting that People Magazine is about to feature the coming out of a "Hollywood celebrity."
People Magazine allegedly has the exclusive and the celeb is booked on several major talk shows that week including "The View." PR powerhouse Howard Bragman, who has successfully -- some might add brilliantly -- orchestrated several celeb outings in the past decade talked about his next coming out project at the GLAAD Media Awards red carpet Sunday (Apr. 17). Bragman -- the coming out king of Hollywood -- doesn't want to speculate on who it will be (that would kind of ruin his well-planned surprise, wouldn't it) but In the past he's helped NFL defensive lineman Esera Tuaolo, LPGA star Rosie Jones, WNBA star Sheryl Swoops and retired NBA center John Amaechi come out. He also orchestrated the plans for former "Party of Five" Mitchell Anderson, "Married with Children" co-star Amanda Bearse and aided Dick Sargent of "Bewitched" fame to come out on Entertainment Tonight.
My vote is on Queen Latifah. Of course, Johnny Weir (who isn't "Hollywood" but has a TV show) is repped by Bragman and he does have a book coming.
On the 20th anniversary of Ryan White's death from AIDS, Elton John has written Ryan a letter. From the Washington Post, an excerpt: 
