02/09/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
John Carroll University in Ohio was the scene of a student protest last week. Prior to the start of a basketball game, gay and lesbian students along with their allies staged a sit in to protest the university’s lack of LGBT bias protections in their official policies. While the draft community standards being worked up by the University includes protections for the LGBT Community within the university, the employment policies of the university do not. University officials stated that the employment policies are based specifically on state and federal laws which do not include sexual orientation or gender identity and expression protections. The reliance upon the state and federal laws to explain why those protections are not in the employment policies of the university is in conflict with a statement from John Carroll University. According to their statement: “Rather than rely on the limitations provided under current federal and state law, the university strives to achieve a much higher standard based upon its Jesuit and Catholic mission and teachings,”

John Carroll University is a Catholic College with a Jesuit core identity. According to the draft community standards “’they [gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people and those questioning their sexual identity] must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Ed., 2358)” The university was founded in 1886.

The protesters were eventually escorted from the court without incident and none of them were arrested. Video of the incident follows:

Mike Bickle, Preacher, Hater, Cult Leader, Scammer

 By Melanie Nathan, San Francisco, February 6, 2010 – The video below is from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO. It shows a young man named Jacob sharing his story of being set free from addictions to cocaine and heroine, as well as same-sex attractions.

When my dear friend Evan Hurst of  TWO (Truth Wins Out) uncovered this perplexing tribute to “Hate Who G-d Made You” he suggested we post it on our site too and I am grateful to Ev for the exposure.  I encourage our readers to go to TWO site to read the comments. Hopefully you will comment here too. This people must be exposed for the harm. 

Evan Hurst of TWO: “ Behold the power of  Fundamentalist Christian  delusion: – Jacob, I don’t know who you are, but these people are predators. Your sexuality is part of you, and it has nothing to do with your drug addictions. And you don’t beat addiction to drugs by exchanging it for a dependency on profit-based faux-spiritual experiences proffered by people who use your life as a way to get rich.

I could not have said better myself. Once you read and comment here and on Ev’s site, please join the WAR and visit the criminal abuserers directly at:-http://voiceofrevolution.askdrbrown.org/2010/02/06/responding-to-the-critics-ihop-testimony-on-deliverance-from-same-sex-attraction/  We are not victims of these sick and depraved bigot who clothe themselves in hate and greed.

The gay website Ex-Gay Watch declared the following in their post on the video:

“As a former charismatic, the type of religious experience shown in this video is very familiar to me. In this kind of heady, charged atmosphere, it is very easy to suppress one’s “sin” issues and live on a “victorious” spiritual plane – that is until the trappings of revivalist, Pentecostal worship aren’t there or just don’t work any more, and the subject is brought down to earth with a bump.

In this video from IHOP (International House of Prayer, not to be confused with the restaurant chain International House of Pancakes), a young man claims to have been delivered from homosexual attractions he has experienced since childhood. The odd behaviour and spasmodic movements (as well as the wailing, sobbing, shouting and laughter from the congregation) have been especially common in Pentecostal and charismatic churches since the mid-1990s, and are usually attributed directly to the Holy Spirit.”

 As The Kingdom of God on February 6th, 2010  Marcus French  tries to defend the crazy guy with these remarks….

“ Does this sound like someone getting rich of this young man? The idea is laughable! And I have personal knowledge that Mr. Bickle lives the same kind of lifestyle today, even with the ministry growing exponentially since 2001 (I wonder if Wayne Besen, head of Truth Wins Out, draws this kind of salary?). This same example could be multiplied throughout the IHOP leadership team, and well into most of the charismatic movement today (again, with a few exceptions). Rather than IHOP using this young man, they’ve simply set up an environment where people like him can come and experience the power of the living God through the gospel of Jesus Christ 24 hours a day (they have facilities open to the public around the clock with people praying continuously for America and the world). I pray that this young man builds on this experience in prayer and devotion to Jesus, yielding a life that is full of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”               

 WE UNCOVER  ……  the truth…………. is simply not so Mr. French your words mean nought  -   report on the indiscretions of Mike Bickle of IHOP.  See Part 1 here. Joanne Panettieri Editor, Kingdom Iconoclast …………. amongst many more such exposures…..   Mr. Bickle you are a Phony and we know it – stop abusing our kids NOW.  You are causing pain to those who would rather be left to live who they are. Further yet it is because of people like you and your inability to accept that G-d has chosen us to be who we are, that cause 100% of the suffering that youn gays and lesbians ought not to be going through.    

Bickle and IHOP – A CULT and look what they are doing to our kids….

 By Melanie Nathan, San Francisco, February 6, 2010
nathan@privatecourts.com
www.privatecourts.com
www.divorcemediators.us
www.oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com

02/03/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
There are political slogans that work. There are political slogans that fail. There are those political slogans that end up being the butt of jokes for ages to come. “Take Back Illinois” is bound for that final category. Republican Mark Kirk, who is running for President Obama’s old seat, has chosen this to be his slogan. It is a nice slogan. It is bound to help the Chicago and Illinois tourism industry as much as “Take Back Vermont” helped to boost the Vermont tourism industry. Given the economic outlook currently, that would be a very positive step. The problem is, as a slogan it is not really effective.

First of all, take back Illinois from whom? By choosing this slogan Mark Kirk has made it sound like he is trying to take back Illinois from some oppressive dictator. Perhaps he thinks that he is trying to take Illinois back from the orcish forces of Sauron instead of trying to run for elected office in the state of Illinois. Perhaps he is intending on storming the castle and rescuing the princess from the vile dragon and to take back the kingdom from the forces of evil rather than running to be one person among a hundred voting on legislation in the Senate.

A slogan like this might work if Kirk were running for governor. After all, he could argue that he is trying to take back Illinois from the forces of corruption found throughout the Illinois executive; however, is he planning on taking Illinois back from the United States or something?

Take Back Vermont was intended to try and build support to put an end to civil unions in the state. It had a clear objective, and a clear “enemy”, even if the majority of Vermonters thought that the slogan was silly. In the end, Take Back Vermont did more harm to their cause than help as people from outside the state bought souvenirs, and the people inside the state simply stopped buying from businesses which had that slogan up on their shops. In the end, many businesses in the state that supported Take Back Vermont folded because Vermont has enough of an LGBT Community coupled with a strong number of allies that those businesses simply ran out of customers.

Some slogans work. “Yes We Can” worked, at least until after the election. Seriously, however, Mark Kirk sounds like he’s trying to pick up Illinois and take it back home with him.

1/28/10-by Paula Brooks
The Roman Catholic primate of Belgium has equated homosexuality to an eating disorder…

According to Radio Netherlands Worldwide… Monsignor André-Joseph Léonard, the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, told a Belgian television station,”Homosexuality is not the same as normal sex in the same way that anorexia is not a normal appetite,” but Léonard did add that he would “never call anorexia patients abnormal.”

A few years ago, when Léonard was serving as Bishop of Namen, he caused a storm of controversy when he said that homosexuality was abnormal and nearly got himself prosecuted under Belgium’s Anti-Discrimination Act for slander.

That notwithstanding… or maybe because of it…Last week Pope Benedict XVI named Léonard as the successor to the the Roman Catholic Church’s top spot in Belgium.

Archbishop Léonard is also a well-known critic of abortion and stem cell research.

Hell I know this can’t be right…. because I am as lez as they come… and if Archbishop Léonard were right… my ass would not be nearly as big as it is…. Right?

via Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

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Last Friday, T.J. Burke broke into song in the New Brunswick’s provincial Legislative Assembly to make a point about a conservative opposition member being called out on a radio interview.

Born in California to Aboriginal (Tobique Nation) Canadians,  T.J. Burke has been a member of the Legislative Assembly since 2003 and a Cabinet Minister since 2006. He is married with 3 daughters and continues to practice law.

The song, “Pants on the Ground” was created and performed by civil rights activist Larry Platt, who performed it for the judges for American Idol, despite being a full 34 years too old to qualify for the competition.

The Reverend David Grisham of Amarillo, Texas has launched a drive to boycott the city of Houston, TX…

The reason?

Because apparently he is upset over the fact that the citizens of Houston voted a lesbian mayor into office and have allowed the largest Planned Parenthood facility to be built in the city.

Grisham says both these things are an abomination in the sight of God, and that those “seeking to preserve life and decency” in the state of Texas must confront Houston by imposing economic sanctions on the city….

Do you want a Texas version of San Francisco? Neither do we!

Do you want Texas to be the abortion capital of America? Neither do we!

Houston has elected an openly homosexual mayor and built the largest abortion clinic in the United States and you can do something about it!

While you may or may not be a resident of Houston and eligible to vote for mayor, you can vote with your dollar.

This is why we are calling on Christians everywhere to boycott the city of Houston.

We want to impose “economic sanctions” on Houston, Texas!

Please make your voice heard and join our cause. By signing the online petition you send Houston a message; That you are tired of babies being

murdered and the radical homosexual agenda being shoved down the throat of normal society.

Texas is a Christian state! Help keep it that way!

Don’t mess with Texas or Texas children.

Pastor,

David H. Grisham

Director, RepentAmarillo.com, RavenAmarillo.com

via About Us : Boycott Houston.

As part of his boycott, Grisham suggests that everyone stay away from Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city in the state of Texas, completely.

Grisham also says you should not buy anything at all in Houston, not fly through Houston or buy anything in the airports if can’t get a flight that goes around the city.

Rev Koresh… er I mean… Rev Grisham also says not do business with any companies based in Houston, which I suppose by extension of this reasoning means, you can not buy any gas for your car, since Houston is the operational headquarters of most US energy companies.

I also suppose this means you should stop paying income taxes, or watching any television that comes via Satellite since NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center is located in the city as well.

Oh…. And Grisham also thinks you should move away from Houston if you live here.

While Grisham’s initiative will likely garner a few followers, because nonsense like this always does, you can be pretty sure the city and citizens of Houston, along with its Big Lez mayor, will likely just move on with life and commerce without even noticing.

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Starting on January 1st, 2010, it will be illegal to offend religious folks in Ireland.

From blasphemy.ie

From [...] 1 January 2010, the new Irish blasphemy law becomes operational, and we begin our campaign to have it repealed. Blasphemy is now a crime punishable by a €25,000 fine. The new law defines blasphemy as publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defences permitted.

To make their point, the good people at Atheist Ireland have published 25 blasphemous quotes that could be punishable under this new law. The blasphemers quoted include Frank Zappa, Dermot Ahern, Bjork, Salman Rushdie, Ian Paisley, Mohammed and Jesus Christ.

While our ostensibly secular Republic of Ireland has been inundated with clerical sex abuse scandals, our government recenctly saw fit to introduce a law making it illegal to offend the church and its defenders.

“Home Rule is Rome Rule,” indeed.

12/23/09-by Paula Brooks
The medical and scientific consensus in the United States is that ex-gay conversion therapy is likely harmful and should be avoided because it may exploit guilt and anxiety, thereby damaging self-esteem and leading to depression and even suicide. However, the discredited idea that one can change from gay-to-straight, if they just try hard enough has been taken to a new level in Australia….

The Advocate is reporting today that an Australian father has been accused of forcing his teenage son to have sex with a prostitute — out of fear that he was gay and now may face rape charges.

According to The Morning Bulletin, a newspaper in Rockhampton, as the rest of the family celebrated Christmas 2007, Dear Old Dad allegedly took his son to a motel in North Rockhampton, Australia where he paid a prostitute to have sex with his son. He then left the room, but waited waited on a balcony till the deed was done and then demanded that the boy show him a used condom as proof he did the deed.

Detective Sergeant Christine Knapp said police first became aware of the situation when the father tried to report his son to authorities six months later, in May 2008, saying the boy was abusing his younger brother, after the  father called police and said he “tried to sort it out himself by taking his son to a prostitute” to no avail.

A Rockhampton magistrate decided yesterday that there was enough evidence to charge the father with rape.

“First [he] didn’t want to say anything to me,” the boy’s mother testified. “Then he told me his father took him to a motel room and there was a prostitute there. He wouldn’t talk, he just started crying.”

Exodus International argues that conversion therapy, specifically reparative therapy, may be a useful tool for decreasing same-sex desires and you can be sure the official “ex-gay” therapy groups will deny any connection with this incident – and technically that might be correct…. But I am sure dad got the basic idea from them….

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12/21/09-by Paula Brooks
It would seem that Tila Tequila is trying to make news again….

Tila Tequila has made another shocking announcement. Taking to her Twitter page on Sunday, December 20, the MTV reality TV star confirmed that she is currently expecting her brother’s baby. “I am going to become a SURROGATE MOTHER for my brother and his Wife!!…That is my xmas present to them. I’m pregnant!!!” she wrote.

Before coming out with the pregnancy posting, Tila has gushed about giving a present for her brother that would “CHANGE HIS LIFE AND MINE FOREVER!!!! ITS HUGE!” through her Twitter page as well. Nonetheless, she didn’t provide any further details about the due date of the baby and the reason why she decided to become a surrogate mother….(via Tila Tequila Pregnant With Brother’s Child)

Earlier this month Tila announced that she had gotten engaged to her lesbian partner, Johnson & Johnson heiress Casey Johnson just about two month after she took to her Twitter page to announce that she has decided to commit a suicide…. That was right after she accused her then boyfriend, NFL player Shawne Merriman, of choking her in September.

Every family has a character like Tila you know… For mine it is my Uncle Rusty, who swears that the Kennedy Assassination and the Obama Birth Certificate are all part of the same conspiracy.

But like most families, we don’t really like to talk about it much… and we certainly wouldn’t trust him with the well being of an unborn child for nine months…

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12/20/09-by Paula Brooks
Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, the commander of US Forces in northern Iraq, has released a new policy for his troops… it says if you get pregnant while in his command… you may also get a court martial to go along with that new little bundle of joy…

Military officials say the order was issued because Army policy requires a pregnant soldier to be removed from the war zone in Iraq within 14 days of learning they are pregnant … and that removing the pregnant soldier leaves a hole in the unit that makes it more difficult to complete the mission.

The rule governs all those serving under Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III, who commands Multi-National Division-North, including Balad, Kirkuk, Tikrit, Mosul and Samarra. According to the order, it is “applicable to all United States military personnel, and to all civilians, serving with, employed by, or accompanying” the military in northern Iraq, with few exceptions…. (via Stars and Stripes)

The new policy, outlined last month by Cucolo and released Friday by the Army, would apply to both female soldiers who become pregnant on the battlefield and the male soldiers who happen to impregnate them, even if married, with the general saying married soldiers in combat zones should either put their love lives on hold – or take precautions.

Married servicemembers are allowed to room together in Iraq.

“I’ve got a mission to do, I’m given a finite number of soldiers with which to do it and I need every one of them, ” said the general, “So I’m going to take every measure I can to keep them all strong, fit and with me for the twelve months we are in the combat zone.”

A well place Pentagon source told LGR yesterday, that for Cucolo it is a pretty “black and white” issue… but added the Pentagon is also “watching this one pretty carefully,” since this prohibition is “mine field” of legal, ethical and policy issues….

” Personally… Even though the JAG people have said this is legal… I think this one is probably going to come back to bite us in the ass at some point, if not legally, then in the form of some really terrible PR, ” said our source.

“Here you really have issues that go to the core of personal integrity: reproductive rights,” said Eugene Fidell, a professor of military law at Yale Law School in a Star and Stripes Article.

There are also issues of enforcement, Fidell said. The woman is immediately suspect once the pregnancy comes to light, but unless she identifies her partner, the male could go unpunished despite bearing the same culpability under the order.

It is the first time the US Army has made pregnancy a punishable offense and so far there are no reported cases where a pregnant woman or a baby’s father has been disciplined for disobeying the order that went into effect Nov. 4, 2009.

Now just saying here…. On a little note as to how this story just might have some relevance to the Military’s Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell policy… you could be pretty sure unintended pregnancies would not be a problem for openly serving gay and lesbian troops … That is if Gen. Cucolo had any under his command anyway …

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You cannot go platinum a gazillion times and get away with this one. However seems popular darling and singing sensation may well get her pass, at least from those who do not have a clue. But for this lesbian Jewish woman, there is no pass.  While the blogs ablaze with comments senseless, I wonder how no-one gets the “JH” on the T Shirt. This is a coincidence!  She never meant it as JH= “Jew Hater.”  She does not mean it , nope she is just too pretty to mean it, her voice is too good for her to mean it…even though she has her arm around a swastika bearing little Nazi.  Well seems no one has thought of  JH=“Jew Hunter.” Either way I demand an explanation and a heartfelt apology, unless of course she really does mean it! Then she can own it and kiss her career goodbye.

I saw a very sweet and much publicized interview with gay-ol-Ellen D. and Ms. Swift, just today.   Ellen perfect timing- kindly ask your celebrity friend if she aspires to Nazi ideals because if she does, that puts you Ms. DeGeneres in the  next available Gas chamber.    If its a joke – I am not sure its one any lesbian could appreciate, given so many were victims of Nazi genocide   …..

One  Blogger said:  http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2009/10/taylor-swift-poses-with-jew-hating-swastika-lover/  “But we really hope she doesn’t feel the same way about Nazis. The 19-year old singer was photographed at Katy Perry’s birthday party last week, with her arm some hateful loser wearing a Swastika-covered t-shirt. We’re gonna give Swift a pass here and assume she had no idea the guy to her left was donning the symbol of such hate, evil and genocide. But she might wanna be careful about who she poses alongside of in the future.” Say What?   A Pose too ….   

Blogged by MELANIE NATHAN, CEO of Private Courts, Inc. Consulting, mediation & private advocacy ; motivated by injustice, I blog about family law/mediation, politics, news and LGBT equality and anything that ‘tickles my fancy.’ Otherwise blogging as O-blog-dee-o-blog-da. Websites and blogs include: http://www.privatecourts.com; http://www.divorcemediators.us; www.oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com.

09/11/09 – From Freedom to Marry:

In celebration of the freedom to marry in Vermont officially beginning on September 1, 2009, Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s is symbolically renaming their iconic flavor ‘Chubby Hubby’ to: Hubby Hubby

In Vermont during the month of September go to your local scoop shop offering delicious Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and ask for the new special Hubby Hubby Sundae and spread the love.

With the launch of ‘Hubby Hubby’, Ben & Jerry’s is partnering with Freedom to Marry to raise awareness about why marriage equality matters and encourage nationwide support for the freedom to marry.

Join Ben & Jerry’s and Freedom to Marry in advancing awareness about marriage equality by taking any or all of these actions:
Show Your Love for Hubby Hubby
Talk (about marriage!) While Eating Ice Cream
Bring Hubby Hubby to Your State!
Check Out What’s Hot in Marriage
Learn More about Freedom to Marry

From Ben and Jerry’s website:

If you live in Vermont, or visiting, you’re invited to celebrate the pride-filled occasion with an all naturally fabulous union of Peanut Butter Cookie Dough ice cream, fudge and pretzels.

Enjoy our Hubby Hubby Sundae for the month of September in participating Vermont Scoop Shops!

To learn more about the issue in your state and take action, visit www.freedomtomarry.org

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09/10/09- by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
When the Community Issues Council, which include Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, FL, decided it was time to join with the American Family Association and boycott Pepsi products, they made the switch to Coca Cola. In doing so, they went from a relatively LGBT friendly company to a really LGBT friendly company. Coca Cola has consistently scored higher on the Human Rights Campaign’s list of LGBT friendly businesses.

The furor started when Pepsico donated money to groups such as PFLAG and the HRC. Furthermore, AFA is upset that Pepsico supports Pride Parades including the one that they do not sponsor in Atlanta, GA. For the record, Coca Cola sponsors the Pride Parade in Atlanta, GA. They do sponsor, via Frito Lay, Cleveland, Ohio’s pride parade.

Of course, the AFA and CIC are both furious with Pepsico over their diversity training, which is actually not quite as good as Coca Cola’s, and their work place support of LGBT individuals, which is not quite the same level of support as seen in Coca Cola Corp.

The CIC was formed to protect Judeo-Christian values, and to promote their beliefs in what those are, which typically relies more heavily upon the Christian and less on the Judeo side of that. According to their head, Terry Kempell who is a member of Bell Shoals Baptist, “This year, they [Pepsico] pumped millions of dollars into organizations that opposed California’s same-sex marriage ban, Proposition 8. There are a lot of corporations that have diversity programs, but Pepsi goes far beyond.” He also stated that they came to the United States for religious liberty and not sexual liberty. Also joining the boycott are Kings Avenue Baptist Church in Brandon and Plant City Church of God.

Kempell pointed to other boycotts such as the one against Kmart, Circle K, and Ford Motor Company as examples of how effective the boycott can be despite the fact that the only boycotts that actually worked were against 7-Eleven and Circle K. Even Ford only pulled back on their advertisements in LGBT magazines. The AFA stated that they were boycotting McDonalds they had a director on the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, but dropped the boycott after they received a memo ensuring their ‘neutrality’ in the culture wars. The director was not dropped, however.

In fact, the AFA has been boycotting Pepsico largely since the Madonna “Like a Prayer” tour in 1989 because they objected to the video. They never officially called off the boycott apparently.

It should be noted that, while Pepsi has made inroads into the Southern market, it is still dominated by Coca Cola, and that may be why the AFA, CIC and the three churches involved in this boycott are able to justify this. In Brunswick, GA, there is still the old Coca Cola distribution center. Coca Cola is available everywhere.

Including at Atlanta Pride.

Picture via Wikipedia
AFA Pepsi Boycott Pledge
Tampa Tribune Article Brandon Baptist Church Pulls Plug On Pepsi Products

8/24/09-By Paula Brooks
Memphis Police responded to a 911 hang-up call yesterday at the New Olivet Baptist Church where two women said they were assaulted because of their sexual orientation.

Monique Stephens and her partner, Yas Meen, say they were attending the service at the central Memphis church because they wanted to meet the church pastor, Rev. Kenneth Whalum Jr., who they had planned to support in an election for the city’s mayor this fall.

Whalum, who is also currently a member of the Memphis City Schools board, entered that city’s mayoral race last month after former Memphis mayor, Willie Herenton, resigned and forced a special election.

However, about an hour into service, Rev. Whalum called on the congregation to participate in expressions of “sanctified dance,” and congregants began to fill the aisle, with some dancing in the aisle while other laid on the floor praying.

As visitors new to the church, the couple decided to remain seated and watch.

Then according to Meem, Whalum then said, “this is my house and everybody does what I say. But two people won’t do what I say.”

It was at this point the couple claims Whalum and other church members began calling the pair “devil worshippers” while others taunted them with calls of “bitch” and threw oil on them.

Security guards soon surrounded the couple, reports say, and pushed them out of the church, breaking Stephens glasses in the process and leaving both woman with bruises and scratches from the altercation.

While Whalum has confirmed the couple was put out of the church, he said it was not because they were lesbians, but because the couple was “being disruptive, boisterous and speaking loud.”

Also according to Whalum, it took nearly 10 minutes to remove the women from the church. “They had to have some kind of agenda to come in church like that,”, and added, “If I put every lesbian out of church, we’d be putting people out of church all day long,” he said.

The church website says that, “The New Olivet Baptist Church is a church of compassion and refuge, reaching out to a lost and hurting world that needs salvation and purpose. The Lord has given Pastor Whalum an exhaustive vision for the New Olivet Church Family. It is one that is designed to minister to the needs of the total man – spiritually, physically, educationally and socially.”

No arrests were made in the incident.

http://www.olivetbc.com/
http://grand-divisions.blogspot.com/2009/08/female-couple-expelled-from-mayoral.html
http://www.memphisflyer.com/MemphisGaydar/archives/2009/08/24/lesbian-couple-expelled-from-kenneth-whalums-church
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/aug/24/2-women-claim-assault-at-new-olivet-baptist/

8/22/09-by Paula Brooks
Reports coming from Sweden are saying that a shortage of healthy sperm and a spike in demand from lesbian couples has caused a backlog of artificial insemination requests at Swedish fertility clinics, that is forcing couples seeking the procedure to look outside the country.

According to Sweden’s English language newspaper, The Local, the problem stems in part from a 2005 change in laws governing fertility treatment at Swedish hospitals. That change granted lesbian couples the right to receive fertility treatments that previously were only offered only to married women or those who were in registered heterosexual partnerships.

Inger Bryman, head of gynecology and reproductive medicine at Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska University Hospital said, “We had estimated an increase of around 25 couples per year after the law change. Now there are 90 couples in line.”

However, Swedish lesbians are not the only cause of the sperm shortages.

Swedish law allows children born from artificial insemination to learn their biological father’s identity once they turn 18. That fact has discouraged donors, thus adding to the crisis.

However, the major reason for the shortage say Swedish health officials is due to poor quality sperm, either related to deterioration while being frozen or to medical conditions.

Because all this, Bryman explained, the wait can be up to 18 months and her hospital is unable to comply with Sweden’s healthcare guarantee law, which says that patients must receive treatment within a reasonable amount of time and last spring, the hospital started an ad campaign to actively recruit new donors in an effort to reduce wait times.

With the sperm shortage, and wait times, many Swedish couples have now chosen to seek treatment in other countries, chiefly in Denmark or Finland.

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8/19/09-by Paula Brooks
If you decide speak to your mind and verbally take on Rep. Barney Frank you had better be on your game. Barney is a lot of things good and bad, but anyone who has ever watched him in action knows he can more than hold his own in a debate and rhetorically beat the crap out of any debate opponent who is not 100 percent on that game… and he does NOT suffer fools lightly.

Evidently a woman who attended Frank’s town hall meeting yesterday has not been paying attention to the Massachusetts Congressman’s career… Because she would have known carrying a picture of President Barack Obama defaced with a Hitler moustache and yelling at Barney that President Obama healthcare plans are “Nazi policy,” would probably not get the desired results…

Because most people who have followed Barney… Know by doing stuff like this… you can be sure Barney is going to verbally cut you, turn the tables… and possibly make you this weeks “things stupid people did” viral video, if you are not on your A-Game.

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08/18/09 – You may or may not have read about the recent incident that occurred when I tried to use the self serve computers at FedEx Kinko’s.

In my article I talked about how I went to a local FedEx Office to try to print out a contract for the Gay Ad Network and was blocked from viewing their website because it was filtered out as ‘pornography’.

At the time, knowing that I am a blogger and Executive Editor of this site, I knew how big of a problem this could be for the company; and so I wanted to give them an equal and fair opportunity to fix the problem before I posted any information on the incident.

I called FedEx as soon as I got home to register my complaint. During the call I received an apology and validation that what happened to me was wrong. My main concern was in having the filters fixed and making sure that this didn’t happen to anyone else. I was told that the company would contact me once they had reached a resolution.

I want to make it clear that I very well could have rained a media storm on FedEx Office over the incident that happened to me. Being the Executive Editor of this site gives me access to many media outlets and allies. I very well could have pursued the situation via various well known LGBT organizations who could have took this story way more public than I chose to.

My main reason for approaching the situation the way that I did in the end was to show the world exactly what happens to average, everyday LGBT individuals on a frequent basis. As any customer would, I gave the company 48 hours to respond to my customer complaint with a satisfactory resolution. When three days passed and there was no word from FedEx on the incident, I then posted an article on the situation, asking for other customers to register complaints as well.

However, time continued to pass, and one week later there had still been no word back from FedEx as to a resolution or any type of information relating to my complaint. I forced myself not to call and be a pesky customer and simply wait for a call back on my original complaint. I truly believe that if I had told the clerk right off the bat that I was the Executive Editor of a major LGBT news site, or told the woman on the phone that I was with the media, I would have gotten a much quicker fix to the problem.

Some readers did let me know that they were able to access their documents at other FedEx Office locations throughout the U.S. and so the outcome did look good. Yet, contacting the company with a customer complaint of discrimination was not enough to warrant a call back by them, so about one week after posting my article here I contacted FedEx via email to inquire about my original complaint.

Here is what I said to them in the email…

Re: Discrimination Complaint Made on July 31
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
To: fedexoffice.customerrelations@fedex.com

Dear FedEx Office,

My name is Julie Phineas. I made a complaint to your customer service phone number on July 31st and still have not heard back from your company with a resolution. I wrote a story on my blog about the situation which you can read here: http://lezgetreal.com/?p=20058. I have found since then that the problem I encountered was not an incident that was isolated to just one store. My main concern is in having your company implement a plan to update the filters on all self serve computers so that the word “gay” is not considered adult content. My experience was with just this word, but I suspect that words like “lesbian” and “transgender” might not pass your filters either which would be discriminatory, so that is something that needs to be evaluated as well.. I hope that there is a satisfactory resolution to this problem that I can report back to my readers and I truly thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

You can contact me with any questions at (### or ###)

Sincerely,

Julie Phineas

That prompted an auto response which let me know that my email had been received and would be responded to within 48 hours.

The next day I got this reply…

Response from FedEx Office Customer Relations
Thursday, August 13, 2009
From: “FedEx Office – Customer Relations”

August 13, 2009

Dear Ms. Phineas:

Thank you for your e-mail.

A third party automated monitoring system automatically blocks content
that could be potentially harmful to FedEx Office’s systems or
customers. Occasionally, content is incorrectly blocked by this
automated system. When this matter was brought to our attention, we
corrected the problem within hours. We also have adjusted some of the
settings to prevent similar content from being blocked in the future.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We regret any
inconvenience this may have caused our customers.

Alisa Nielsen
Customer Relations

I was very happy to receive this response, but disappointed that FedEx did not contact me to let me know a resolution had been made ‘within hours’ as they claim.

I am really glad that they took the initiative to fix the problem, but they weren’t really falling over themselves to make me happy. I am not saying that I expect that personally, I just know that in situations where you have disappointed a customer you should want to make that customer happy so they won’t take their negative opinion of your company around with them everywhere they go. FedEx kind of missed that lesson.

I did take a trip back to the same FedEx location where the incident occurred to reenact the situation and verify that the filters had in fact been fixed. I already knew that one reader (thanks Sue!) was able to verify that they had been in fixed in her location, but it was important to me to see if this location had been fixed as well.

I am happy to report that I was in fact able to access the very same forms I had been blocked from accessing before, and the Gay Ad Network is no longer considered pornography by the FedEx Office self-serve computer filters.

The clerk who initially told me that corporate wouldn’t have time for ’stuff like this’ was not on duty at the time. Although I would have loved to have had a conversation with her afterwards and get her thoughts on the matter at this point. I have to say I was very proud of myself for standing up and helping make a change in the world with this small victory.

I also feel very grateful to the people who wrote in, commented, and circulated this story. Thank you to Nerve, Back2Stonewall, and L.A. Metblogs for circulating the story to their readers, and thank you to FedEx office for updating their filters.

I hope that other corporations with similar services are able to take away a more sensitive attitude towards customer diversity and the needs of all communities of customers, not just those that are considered mainstream.

One very good resource for corporations and business owners is the International Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. You can also find some goood information about how you can become more sensitive to diveristy at work and more from the Out and Equal organization.

Thanks again to those who supported me through this situation, and also a BIG thank you to YOU, the readers, for without you this site wouldn’t exist.

I also want to mention, if something like this happens to you (no matter your orientation!), don’t stand for it. Don’t be afraid to register a complaint, write a letter or make a phone call; and if that is not enough to warrant a resolution, let us know and we’ll post your story here.

In addition, to help say thank you to FedEx for fixing their filters, please send an email to fedexoffice.customerrelations@fedex.com.

8/13/09 7:48 AM- by Paula Brooks

According to an Op-Ed piece in the Maine Time Record, Michael S. Heath, the executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, now The Maine Family Policy Council, thinks the plagues of Moses have fallen on the State of Maine

Heath says, the states potato crop is blighted, corn and fruit fields are withering and in one historic building in the state capitol of Augusta, rain flooded the basement, as water from another source poured down through the ceiling and extinguished a century-old chandelier.

All because, according to Heath, the elected officials in Maine passed a Marriage Equality law this past spring, and  “paid honor to evil and unnatural practices. Our leaders allowed a cloud of error to hide the light of reason, and then the rain began.”

He also tells residents in the Pine Tree State to beware, because “attacks on houses of worship are increasing in number and intensity”, and Maine’s version of “Stalin’s show trials” are about to begin if the states same-sex marriage law is not repealed.

“Clearly, it is not the homosexuals who are being discriminated against. It is the average citizen, the school teacher, the businessman, the pastor or physician who is being hauled before courts, fined and, in some cases, imprisoned,” said Heath.

On his blog last fall, Heath also blamed gays and lesbians in part for the economic meltdown, saying the financial crisis was a symptom of America’s sinful ways, including its approval of same-sex unions. Heath’s plan to fix our financial woes included Maine needing to amend its constitution to define Marriage and to “eliminate domestic partnerships and ignore pleas to create civil unions.” He also suggested, “If we did that in 2009… God would crack a smile.

Last week opponents of gay marriage in Maine submitted enough signatures to force a November public vote on marriage equality in that state…. So dig out the sunscreen and put on those Ray-Bans, because sunny days are sure to the returning to the rocky shores of Maine soon.

http://www.timesrecord.com/articles/2009/08/07/opinion/commentaries/doc4a7c5f23ccbf5201259148.txt

http://mikeheath.blogspot.com/2008/09/nation-will-right-itself-if-it-fixes.htm

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All I need are for some tasty waves, a cool buzz and I’m fine… Jeff Spicoli, Fast Times at Ridgemont High

There is a story coming off of Capitol Hill that is somewhat cryptic in its political context, but as surfer, I had to follow up on it…. Because you don’t get many surfing stories coming from Capitol Hill and as a long time surfer girl this really sounds likes a party in the making to me…

Seems Politico is reporting that arch conservative Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has invited openly gay Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Barney Frank and his partner, Jim Ready, to Southern California to catch a few tasty waves…

According to Politco…

Rohrabacher said he broached the idea with Frank at a function not long ago, after Ready had told him of their shared interest in hanging ten…. “We have them set up at surfers hotel,” says Rohrabacher, joking that Frank “will probably have to lie on the beach like a whale while the rest of us are in the water.”

It is pretty well known amongst surfing Capitol Hill types that Rohrabacher is the Big Kahuna of the Congressional Surfing Caucus, which also includes fellow California Republicans Brian Bilbray and Duncan Hunter…

And Rohrabacher is every bit a surfer dude that Jeff Spicoli could be proud of… he is a supporter of the medicinal use of marijuana and once stated, in true Spicoli fashion, that global warming could have been caused by “dinosaur flatulence.”

Frank and Rohrabacher have very little in common politically, so initially I was dooby… us dubious of the Politico report, but a quick check with Frank’s office today confirmed the story is true and Congressman Frank has accepted the offer.

Now in the course of my day job here on Capitol Hill, I regularly see Congressman Frank and he is a Barney far from the picture perfect image of a surfer, so I was relieved as a surfer and humanitarian when his staffer told me that the Honorable Rep from Massachusetts will probably be staying out of the line up and will not be doing any surfing, but it should be noted that the one thing Frank and Rohrabacher have in common politically….. Frank also supports of the medicinal use of marijuana.

Frank is co-sponsoring, along Rohrabacher, the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009 …. so maybe they plan to spend some time makin’ some pot laws, and having some food.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25852.html

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FedEx Kinko’s, which recently became FedEx Office, offers self-serve computer service to it’s customers through store locations worldwide.

On these self-serve computers customers are able to access the internet for a variety of reasons along with other basic computer functions such as printing or creating documents. The fee for using the self-serve computers is calculated by the amount of time you are on the computer plus a charge for any printing that is done. On Friday July 31, 2009 I entered the FedEx Office on Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance, CA to use their self-serve computer service. I needed to print out a contract with The Gay Ad Network, an internet advertising network for the gay and lesbian community. Upon attempting to visit the website www.gayadnetwork.com, I was blocked from viewing their website when the computer filter categorized The Gay Ad Network as “pornography”. The computer asked for an administrator password to bypass the filter if the site I was trying to view was not adult content.

The clerk at the counter made degrading statements about what I was trying to view once I told her I was trying to print out a document from The Gay Ad Network.

She told me that I “would not be able to look at that stuff here”. I showed her the email I had from the network, clearly showing her that there was no adult content involved, yet she assured me that because the word “gay” was in the content it was considered adult. I explained to the clerk that I felt I was being discriminated against, that it was equally offensive to me as if they had filtered out the word “hispanic”. I felt I should have had equal access to the internet to retrieve my business documents as any other customer in that store. The clerk refused to enter the password, saying “I don’t have the password”, “there is no password”, and “only the tech guys have the password” then offered to issue me a refund. She issued me a refund for the time I was connected to their self service computer, and while she did she felt it necessary to mention that “other customers would be offended” if I were allowed to view “site’s like that”. I asked her who I could contact to change the filters. There was a sign on the wall with contact information and I asked her if I should contact the store directly or the number on the wall. She told me “Oh, they don’t have time for stuff like that” and waved off my question with her hand.

When I returned home, I contacted the FedEx Customer Relations line and spoke with a woman who took an incident report and apologized profusely for what had happened at their Torrance location.

I explained to the woman on the phone that I felt discriminated against, and she said that she felt that I was right. She mentioned that there was in fact a password, and that the clerk should have entered the password after I showed her that the website I was trying to view was not adult content. However, I mentioned to this woman that I felt that these filters should not filter the word “gay” as “pornography”. I explained that I felt I should be able to walk into any of their locations and print out my business documents like anybody else, and I wanted to know if it was their policy as a company to filter gay websites or if this was an incident that was isolated to their Torrance store. The woman on the phone could not answer that question for me. She assured me that someone would return my call and let me know what their resolution was after some research.

I contacted Mark Elderkin, the head of the Gay Ad Network, at which point he confirmed that this is not the first time one of his publshers has encountered this particular problem with FedEx Kinko’s/FedEx Office.

This fact alone tells me that this was not an isolated incident, and it seems to be a company wide policy to filter gay websites as “pornography” from self-service internet usage on their computers.

If you disagree with the choice FedEx Office has made to automatically filter gay websites as “pornography” you can call 1.800.Go.FedEx (1.800.463.3339) or send an email to fedexoffice.customerrelations@fedex.com.

UPDATE:
To address some of the comments below:

-The location was 23325 Hawthorne Blvd. not 17252 Hawthorne Blvd.

-The woman on the phone said that someone would get back to me right after they contacted their Torrance store. It had been close to 72 hours since the incident when I reported this story, which I did in hopes of having others contact them as well. I have still not received a phone call back, yet I know that the phone calls and emails from readers of this story have helped raise awareness of the situation with FedEx Kinko’s/Office.

-My main intentions on reporting this story were to prevent this situation from happening to others. Allan in San Diego and Mark Elderkin (plus more) have confirmed it has in fact happened to others. As one person alone I, or any others, didn’t have much luck with changing the situation. I think that with the others who have contacted FedEx such as Geron, Tom P, and TRC have helped me bring this matter to the top of their priority list.

- I do not blame FedEx Kinko’s for their employee refusing to enter the password to bypass the filter. The way she talked to me was not in their hands at the time, but I sincerely feel that filter should not be there in the first place. Savvy technicians can program their software to do what they need it to and not what they don’t. I refuse to believe that FedEx Kinko’s doesn’t have the resources to implement a change in their software, as some commenters are insinuating. Filtering the word “gay” or any other word that segregates a particular community of people from their services is wrong.

-When talking with the woman on the phone, I asked her if this filtering problem was company wide or location specific. She “couldn’t answer that” question for me, and had to simply take an incident report. I was very happy that she apologized for the employees behavior, but was very disappointed that she avoided the issue of changing the filters. I told her that I really enjoy using their services and want to be able to continue to use them in the future. I also said that I wanted to know that I could walk into one of their locations and use their computers to print out my business documents like anyone else.

- To those who think I am just being a “whiner” – when/if FedEx Kinko’s changes their policy on those filters I will make just as much noise about it singing their praise. I’m not trying to get into a lawsuit, sue for money, or get anyone fired – I just want to see the filters changed (and perhaps some employee education). What’s right is right.

UPDATED UPDATE:

Please see my post with the resolution to this article here…

FedEx Fixes Filters on Self-Serve Computers

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