2/6/10-by Paula Brooks
Two Iowa GOP State Representatives, Jason Schultz, and Matt Windschitl, this week, co-sponsored legislation which seeks to remove LGBT students from the 2007 Iowa Safe Schools Law that protects students from harassment and bullying in Iowa’s schools and the measure has been referred to the Iowa House Education Committee for consideration.

Iowa’s Safe Schools Law requires both public and private schools to establish policies prohibiting harassment and bullying against students by employees, school volunteers, or other students.

Sexual Orientation and Gender identity are currently covered under the Safe Schools Law, but the bill introduced by Schultz, and Windschitl would strike those protections.

Said Ryan Roemerman, Executive Director of Iowa Pride Network, “When our state is facing record budget deficits and unemployment, House Republicans feel their time is best spent picking on Iowa’s LGBT youth,” “There is no better example as to why we have this law, so youth in Iowa don’t grow up to be like these bigots.”

via Iowa Pride Network: House Republicans Seek to Bully Gay Students.

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1/29/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

Rosie O’Donnell is doing the media rounds as she promotes her new HBO special, “A Family is a Family is a Family: A Rosie O’Donnell Celebration.” She first made headlines, at least during promotions for her HBO special, when she announced on Oprah that lesbians can stay better friends after breakups than heterosexuals. Now, she is talking to LocateTV, with her son, Parker, by her side.

O’Donnell admits that she is not looking for a full time position on TV. Her family is her first priority. The interview shows a different side of O’Donnell, who is frequently over exposed. O’Donnell and her son show a genuine affection for each other and come off as very down to earth, despite their wealth and stardom. Parker says of his mother:  

LOCATETV: What’s your relationship with your mom? Does she know as much as maybe you thought she did a few years ago? (laughter) How do you guys get along?

PARKER: I’m going to get in trouble.

ROSIE: No, take it. Say the truth.

LOCATETV: Be honest now. (laughter)

PARKER: Well, me and mom have been close probably, yeah, since I was born. (laughter) Yeah. So I would probably say I talk to her a lot about a lot of stuff that’s going on. And she probably knows most of the stuff that she needs to know. (laughter)

 If you are interested in Rosie (not all of us are) you can read the rest of the interview here:

http://www.locatetv.com/blog/mamas-family-rosie-odonnell-style/

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1/24/10-by Melanie Nathan

ROSIE O'DONNELL- CREDIT: ABC/ DONNA SVENNEVIK

What is a family? Sometimes it’s a mom and dad and their kids. Or it might be kids with just a mom or dad. Or it could be kids who have more than one mom or dad. While the answer varies, all families share one vital ingredient: love.

A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY, A ROSIE O’DONNELL Documentary set to premier on HBO JAN. 31 (7:00-7:40 p.m. ET/PT), is a moving portrait of the remarkable diversity of families today that challenges stereotypes, highlighting same-sex parents, mixed-heritage families, single parents and stories of adoption. Children speak from the heart about parents, siblings, marriage and love in the exclusive documentary.

In the special, Rosie O’Donnell also talks with her daughter Vivienne Rose about how their family which includes sister Chelsea, brothers Parker and Blake and parents Rosie and Kelli came about. Following her recent separation from Kelli, O’Donnell reaffirms the importance of family in a talk with Vivienne Rose, saying, “Even though Mommy Kelli and I aren’t living in the same house anymore, we’re still a family. Family is forever. And family is love.”

In A FAMILY IS A FAMILY, kids offer touching, profound and often funny insights about what being a family means to them. Among those featured are: children with two fathers or two mothers; a girl whose mother and father adopted her in China; three brothers who live with their mother and grandmother; a pair of mothers who are getting married to make one big family; and families with adopted kids and children born through in-vitro fertilization.

Interspersed with these portraits are musical performances and animated interludes, including: reggae star Ziggy Marley, his mother Rita Marley and sister Cedella Marley performing “I Love You Too”; four-year-old Najorae and her father singing their original song “Love Is the Thing;” 11-year-old Martin and his seven brothers and sisters performing “Cario (My Love),” nine-year-old Joey singing “Raised on Love,” a song he wrote with his mom and dad; and folk musician Elizabeth Mitchell performing “Blue Clouds” with husband Daniel Littleton and seven-year-old daughter Storey.

O’Donnell’s tongue-in-cheek performance of “My Science Project” tells the animated story of a young girl whose class project describes the scientific way she came to be. And Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “Too Marvelous for Words” is accompanied by an animated sequence of a sperm in top hat serenading a glamorous egg.

The soundtrack of A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY also includes original songs written for the special, among them: “And Mom and Kid,” by They Might Be Giants, “My Family,” by Sweet Honey in the Rock and “A New Generation (Conner’s Theme),” by Charles Strouse. In addition to “Too Marvelous for Words,” classic recordings featured are “Baby Mine,” sung by Bonnie Raitt and Was (Not Was) and “A Bushel and a Peck,” performed by Doris Day.

A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY is directed and produced by Amy Schatz, whose credits include such award-winning HBO family productions as the “Classical Baby” series and the special “Goodnight Moon & Other Sleepy time Tales.” Some of the recordings are brought to animated life by Emmy(R)-winning animator Maciek Albrecht, whose previous HBO credits include the “Classical Baby” series and numerous other productions.

A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY: A ROSIE O’DONNELL CELEBRATION is executive produced by Rosie O’Donnell and Sheila Nevins for HBO Documentary Films; directed and produced by Amy Schatz; produced by Beth Aala and Sabina Barach; edited by Tom Patterson; directors of photography, Alex Rappoport and Joel Shapiro; animation by Maciek Albrecht; music supervisor, Linda Cohen; production executive, Susan Benaroya; supervising producer, Jacqueline Glover.

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San Francisco Posted by Melanie Nathan and reported by Gregg Cassin – (by Blackberry) Gregg is reporting from the court Room – I have kept the words as I have received them. This is a very moving and heart wrenching day. Thanks to the witness and his courage. here at LGR- we hope the Whitehouse is listening to the way we are treated in this country.   He must do more to undo the harm bestowed on our community by the allowances given the riligious right during the BUSH administration.  It is NOT only about economic, medical insurance and  foreign policy mess – its about the invalidity of an American Minority.  If President Obama issues an executive Order NOW for the repeal of DOMA – this would all change………. 

“i am here listeing to the testimony of a gay man and his coming out story to his parents.  and how they forced hi m as a child into reparative therapy…to avoid burning in hell forever……

this is in a courtroom in sf ca today.  the future of gay peoples lives ……..

The power of this testimony ws through tears.  every word spoken through tears.  the silence in the courtroom , the shaking of heads and the occasional sniffle as people listened.  we sat witnessing  a version of what so many of us went through.  the fear of being an outcaste, being disowned by those you rely on.

 his testimony …

my mother and father sent me to this center to change me from gay ….and i lived there from 14-16 yo.  when i would come home for a visit my mother would scream at me and tell me i was going to hell, that she wished she had had an abortion. that she wished that i had been retarded, with downes syndrome. she wished and told me…that i was dead.

in orde to survive i surrendered my self to childres protective services…. at 16.

they began a case of neglect against my parents

i gave up all that i had…alone at 16.

now we re listening to an expert social scientist…..

talking abtthe messages the gay community gets every day by society politics etc…..

example  how obama states that he is a fierce ally yet has taken no steps to promote the rights of gay/les people yet.

that a senator can compare homosexuality to bestiality and have it heard by a nation and the media and no outcries of injustice, prejudice, etc…..

that studies show that no class of people except undoc aliens (a distant second) has had more legislation directed towards them

We are looking at article that speaks of a conference call of 1700(!!!) MINISTERS, PREACHERS, CHURCH-LEADERS….to design a concerted effort to pass prop 8.  they are trying to establish the powerlessness of a class of peoople.  to have churches joining together to deny an entire class of people their  civil rights. (Referring to the Mahattan declaration)
 

Thanks to

Gregg

Gregg Cassin  

AIDS,Medicine & Miracles

“…life-changing empowerment programs for ALL people affected by HIV/AIDS…”

www.aidsmedicineandmiracles.org

For his extraordinary and unique reporting – for Melanie Nathan. 

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12/22/09- by Paula Brooks

Photo by Back2Stonewall.com

Lt. Dan Choi has been scheduled to be the keynote speaker at Iowa’s 5th Annual Governor’s Conference on LGBT Youth on February 18th, 2010 at Drake University.

Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq veteran fluent in Arabic, attracted national attention last March when he came out publicly on an episode of The Rachel Maddow Show.

Since coming out, Choi, has been notified by the Army that discharge proceedings have been brought up against him, even though Lt Choi was one only of only eight soldiers from his graduating class who majored in Arabic and personnel with language skills considered critical to the military’s mission worldwide.

This year’s conference is expected to attract hundreds of educators, parents, students, social workers, counselors, psychologists, policy makers, and others concerned about the safety of LGBT youth in Iowa.

In addition to Choi, Iowa Governor Chet Culver, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, and Congressman Leonard Boswell have also been invited to address the conference.

The 2010 Governor’s Conference is themed Proud to Change the World, Creating an Accepting Future. LGBT students and students from LGBT families have many different barriers that do not allow them to join such career fields as the military, politics, or business. While in school and at home, we often times teach our children that they can become whatever they want to and that they will change the world. It is important to address the different barriers facing LGBT students including discriminatory policies, homelessness, HIV risk, bullying and harassment, and suicide risk.

Workshop Topics this year will include HIV/Aids, Transgender Transitioning, Sexting/Social Networking, Raising a Transgender Child, Communities of Faith, LGBT Youth Homelessness, anti-bullying programs for schools, and several others related to LGBT youth and youth-serving professionals.

Exhibitor booths that will be available will include Iowa-based resources, organizations, and communities of faith, corporations, plus other important information for anyone working with students.

For more information or to register for the conference…. go to www.iowasafeschools.org

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Senator Dianne Feinstein permits Joriene to sit at her desk.

If you are able, and if you want your rights. Take your kids to D.C.   Show up at the doorstep of your Senator and Congressional representatives.  Take your children and let them speak.   Our Representatives want to hear our stories.   If you have a Republican Senator or Congress rep, go and see them and allow them to see who you are. Take photo album, children’s report cards, team participation, letters from your congregation denoting the acceptance of your family and your participation in your American Life..  You do not need an issue- you can show up and say- I want equality.  If you want to promote a particular issue. Search the web and see what grabs you.  Marriage Equality, Immigration, EMployment, Social Security, Hate Crime, Dont Ask Dont Tell.   Make sure you are polite – no MATTER what and make sure you  represent our community as best you can.   You can also push your State legislation for resolutions that represent your interests.  

This summer Shirley Tan and Jay Mercado took their twin boys to DC to plead their cause – our cause. Until we have 100% equality we all own each other’s causes. Posted by Melanie Nathan

Melanie Nathan Today, after reading  that Elizabeth Smart’s female captor, Wanda Barzee,  received a sentence of 15 years in prison, I decided to start a column in honor of a very brave spokesperson for women’s safety, young Elizabeth Smart, and after finding my first consumer related travesty I named the column LEZ BE SMART.  

 The entire article can be read here http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-elizabeth-smart18-2009nov18,0,6807810.story 

The idea came when I  looked up my new office location on  the National Sex Offender regisrty to find a competing bevy of sites all claiming to have the ultimate access and accuracy.  Punch in your zip and up pops the message – “we have found ten sex offenders in your area…. give us your credit card number and pay $$ and then we will show you who they are.”

Amazing how many sex offender registries sites are online, the  LEZ BE SMART amongst us find that all you need do is go to this website at the Justice Department and there will be no charge at all for the same information. 

http://www.nsopw.gov/Core/Conditions.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

In naming this  column Lez Be Smart Iplan on reporting on ALL consumer related matters, including matters of safety.

Posted by Melanie Nathan.

 Equality California is requesting that President Obama file a brief in the Federal Case against proposition 8.  I hope I can pursuade our valued readers to jump on this one.  One can go beyond the Petition and send the Whitehouse your own Stories. My child was personally impacted by Prop. 8 and I have vowed to keep republishing the story until such time as prop 8  is prop zero!  The story can be found on this site at: 
  ” HOW PROP 8 HURT MYCHILD”  -  

Exerpts  from the story: 

“Despite my promise to my daughter to keep hush, “I flew like a bat out of hell” to see the Principal, who, ironically an “out” lesbian, was not surprised to see me show up on the issue; she mentioned that I was the fourth parent to complain about this lack of discretion on the part of the teacher. I explained that my child was extremely conflicted in trying to reconcile her respect and admiration for her teacher with her love and pride for her family.” 

” The advertisement had clearly hurt my child; its viciousness was not something she had been subjected to before. What could be worse than adults lashing out like that at children? It was direct and personal and having heard it before, was not personally outraged as when I realized the irresponsibility and how damaging those lies were to my babies.”

“I have to show my child that our family is worth fighting for and that anything short of complete equality is simply not good enough.  I think this story illustrates the far reaching effects of de jure disqualification and the de facto reality of inequality. Whether we receive equal rights or not, nothing will derogate from the fact that we are here; us, our spouses and our kids and nothing can or will ever change that simple fact.”

Petition to President Obama:

The Obama administration was absent in yet another critical fight for the soul of our nation. His failure to speak out forcibly against Question 1 in Maine is unacceptable. Sign our petition. Then, ask everyone you know to do the same.

President Obama, I urge you to immediately file a brief in the federal court challenge to Prop 8 and ask the court to rule that it is unconstitutional to allow a majority to take away the rights of a minority.   www.eqca.org

 PLEASE HELP AND SIGN THE PETITION

8/21/09-by Paula Brooks
The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, against an up state New York School District on behalf of a student who says he has been continually harassed because he is gay.

The suit alleges that the Mohawk Central School District violated the students rights under the 14th Amendment; Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, and state human rights and civil rights laws, by failing to protect him from harassment, physical abuse and threats of violence from his fellow students, that the according to court documents harmed the his academic performance and mental health.

The plaintiff is seeking changes to school policies and practices to address the harassment, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.

The student, a 14 year-old boy simply called Jacob in court papers, claims while attending Gregory B. Jarvis Junior/Senior High School over the past two years he has endured escalating harassment for his sexual orientation and for not conforming to masculine stereotypes.

He also claims that he has suffered continually verbal assaults, has had his personal property defaced and broken, and he was regularly pushed and had things thrown at him. The suit as well says the student has been physically assaulted claiming, a student knocked Jacob down the stairs and sprained his ankle and another student brought a knife to school and threatened to kill him.

The suit also says that while district officials were aware of the harassment, they failed to formerly investigate, discipline students, or inform the student and his parents of their rights to file complaints under the school’s grievance procedures.
The suit names the Mohawk Central School District; Joyce Caputo, superintendent of schools; Edward Rinaldo, the school’s principal; and Cynthia Stocker, the district’s equal opportunity compliance officer as defendants.

“Jacob, like all students, has a right to be safe at school,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. “No child should live in fear because of their sexual orientation, or because they look or act differently than others. That the principal and other school officials would turn their backs on this vulnerable young man is unconscionable. What’s more, it’s illegal.”

The Students father, Robert Sullivan, says in the suit that he had called Principal Rinaldo regularly regarding these incidents and threats. Additionally, the student’s mother and stepmother also claim they spoke to Rinaldo several times over the phone and in person. Each time, Rinaldo promised to look into the harassment allegations, but he never reported to Jacob’s parents on any steps taken to investigate incidents, the outcome of any such investigations, and any subsequent corrective or disciplinary actions.

At a June 9, 2009 meeting, Rinaldo allegedly told Sullivan that he could not guarantee the boys safety at school and stated that the harassment would likely continue in the upcoming school year. Rinaldo and Sullivan agreed that for the plaintiff’s safety, he would not attend school for the remainder of the year except to take his final exams.
District policy requires the school’s equal opportunity compliance officer to interview all relevant persons involved in a harassment complaint, Yet the suit further claims that Cynthia Stocker, the compliance officer, interviewed neither Jacob nor his father about the incidents the, nor did she file reports on each incident as required by the policy. In addition, neither Stocker nor Rinaldo ever reported the harassment complaints to the proper authorities, in violation of the policy, claims the boy’s father.

“We didn’t want to file this lawsuit, but we had no other choice to keep our son safe,” said Robert Sullivan, Jacob’s father. “But this lawsuit goes beyond Jacob. We’re doing this for all of the kids out there who need help.”

Said NYCLU staff attorney Corey Stoughton, lead counsel on the case. “By behaving as though they were powerless to stop the threats and abuse, they not only discriminated against our client, but also violated their own policies and practices for preventing harassment and discrimination.”

The Mohawk Central School District is located in Herkimer County, NY, northwest of the State Capitol of Albany and is part of the Utica-Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

http://www.nyclu.org/node/2554
http://images.bimedia.net/documents/Jacob_Complaint.8.18.09.pdf
http://images.bimedia.net/documents/Affidavit_RobertSullivan_Jacob.pdf
http://images.bimedia.net/documents/Affidavit_Jacob.pdf

The national conversation about the dangers of medicating our children is heating up once again. Personally, I’ve always been wary of putting kids on drugs. Its just such a sensitive time for our bodies, and we’re growing so much, it just seems like an unnecessary risk to give these chemical cocktails to them. I mean, can you imagine growing up on pills from before you can even remember. Does that set you up to be dependent on Big Pharma for the rest of your life? Just my thoughts, I guess worries would be more correct to say.

This new study confuses me more than ever. The study shows a risk of sudden death because of really young kids taking these ADHD drugs, but then it says its not a reason to stop taking them. They say the test was too limited to be sure enough to stop the widespread use. While I definitely understand that no one should ever ever ever suddenly stop taking a prescription, it does make you wonder how we got to this point in our culture. When I was growing up, I thought it was a big time faux-pa to drug your kid. Everybody I knew was pretty hard set against it. How did this change-over happen? Anyway, here’s some info on the study:

By Salynn Boyles @ WebMD Health News

Is the problem in the prescribing and monitoring?

“On November 17, 2008, on the popular Furious Seasons website, Philip Dawdy reported that Zyprexa had killed 3,455 people between 1997 and early 2008, based on a review of an FDA staff document with a summary of adverse events in the agency’s database.

From 1993 through the first three months of 2008, 1,207 children on Risperdal suffered serious adverse events, including 31 who died, according to a report in the November 18, 2008 New York Times.

The deaths included a 9-year-old child, receiving Risperdal for the unapproved use of ADHD, who suffered a stroke twelve days after starting the drug. At least 11 of the deaths were in children whose treatment was for an unapproved use.” ~By Evelyn Pringle at CounterPunch.

And what really struck me as I researched this was the number of kids in the Foster Care System on these drugs. In state after state the numbers were upwards of 50%.

AJC.com writes:

“Children and teens taking ADHD stimulant medications were seven times more likely to die suddenly than their peers, the study found.

“What we found — to our surprise — is that even if you take out confounding factors, the association between stimulant use and sudden death was still significant,” said study author Madelyn Gould, a professor of clinical epidemiology in psychiatry at Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City. “I’m confident the association is real and significant, but it’s very rare.”

The researchers sifted through mortality data from 1985 through 1996, and found 564 cases of sudden death that occurred in children aged 7 to 19, and they compared them to 564 youths who had been killed as passengers in automobile accidents.

After ruling out factors such as a history of known cardiac problems; known causes of death, such as asthma or an accidental death; and other conditions, such as sickle cell anemia or cerebral palsy, Gould and her colleagues found only 10 sudden, unexplained deaths in children taking stimulant medications.

When they compared those 10 youths to age-matched controls who had died in car crashes, they found that the odds of sudden death were 7.4 times higher for children taking stimulant medications.

“Stimulants do increase blood pressure, and there have been reports of them changing heart rates,” noted Gould.

“This report is quite helpful,” said one of the authors of the accompanying editorial, Dr. Benedetto Vitiello, a psychiatrist and chief of the child and adolescent treatment intervention branch at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health. “It rings a bell for everyone to be more attentive and less cavalier about the use of these drugs.”

And then In my research on the foster kids angle of this, I was horrified to see this headline on MSNBC: AIDS VACCINE Tested On Foster Children from back in ‘05. Obviously, there are some wolves in the healthcare industry who see these poor kids as defenseless guinea pigs.

“The research was conducted in at least seven states — Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Colorado and Texas — and involved more than four dozen different studies. The foster children ranged from infants to late teens, according to interviews and government records.

Several studies that enlisted foster children reported patients suffered side effects such as rashes, vomiting and sharp drops in infection-fighting blood cells as they tested antiretroviral drugs to suppress AIDS or other medicines to treat secondary infections.

In one study, researchers reported a “disturbing” higher death rate among children who took higher doses of a drug. That study was unable to determine a safe and effective dosage.”

Sick. How is it that there are scientists who can carry out this kind of experimentation? I just can’t imagine ever doing that to a child. This is certainly not the way to help kids. I think the real problem with the “Healthcare” Industry is that they really seem more interested in paying off corporations than helping patients.

Again, I want to make it abundantly clear that it is critically important not to stop use of any prescription suddenly. Always consult your doctor if you feel the need to step of the medication safely. Suddenly stopping can even prove to be fatal, so please, just take the time to educate yourself, and talk with your doctor.

“Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.”~ Washington Post.

Mercury causes brain damage. I kind of figured somebody was saying something bad about corn syrup since all those adds saying how it was good for you and natural popped up. The FDA is a joke, and to prove it to yourself, here’s an experiment you can do at home:

“”Even at low levels methylmercury can harm the developing brain. The last thing we should intentionally do is add to it,” Wallinga added, in an MSNBC article also covering the story. I think we’ve seen the gutting of the FDA under the Bush administration, and we’re suffering the consequences. We should not be worrying about poison in our soda, salmonella in our tomatoes and spinach, and hormones in our milk.

Our way of creating, and safeguarding our food supply is changing dramatically day by day. Companies like Monsanto are now patenting living organisms, like the corn they are being forced to grow in Iraq. Monsanto, also an Obama supporter, has been destroying farmers around the world with their mutant GMO seed. Did you realize that you’ve probably already eaten Gentically modified food? Did you know they’re pushing hard just to get labels on beef from a GMO cow? I’ve got a container of organic milk in the fridge bragging right on the front label how there’s no cloned cow milk in it!

There is a lot to look into. But we all have a responsibility to ourselves, and our families to get involved in this issue. New laws are being written that hurt our agriculture, not help it. You can do something about it! Get in contact with your local representatives. I know we’re about to start knowing these guys on a first name basis, we have to contact them about so much stuff, but that’s what they’re there for!

On Thursday May 7th, I presented at an event co-hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, and Equality Arizona.

The goal of the presentation was to start a dialog in Arizona about how to improve the school situation for LGBT students and families.

A few months ago I wrote about Chris Quintanilla, a student in the Peoria High School District that had been told by his school that he could not wear a rainbow wristband that said “Rainbows are Gay.” After the ACLU got involved and wrote a letter to the district that matter was resolved favorably and Chris has been able to wear the wristband.

The problem is, the school never really wanted to deal with Chris’ sexuality. They wanted to try and hide it and make him conform to how everyone else looks and acts. Many of the students in attendance spoke of a similar problem at their school. The common theme with the students was that the teachers and administrators were not supportive or too scared to be supportive. Since in Arizona one can be fired for being gay many teachers are afraid of losing their jobs if they are assumed to be gay.

I had taught High School for a short time. Back in 1995 students at the High School asked me to help them establish a gay-straight alliance. I was more than happy to sponsor it. While that story should be it’s own post some day, I did gain valuable experiences that I could pass onto the students and empower them. I suggested that they try and get the teachers on board by treating it as a sexual harassment policy. All schools must treat name calling using fag, dyke, etc. as sexual harassment. If the teachers and administrators are failing to stop it and follow the necessary discipline procedures then they can be reprimanded.

Besides trying to give tips on empowering the students, I was able to share HRC’s latest program called Welcoming Schools.

The concept of the program is to start teaching diversity in the elementary schools. This includes teaching about all types of families. My daughter is in 1st grade. For the past two years during the first month of school they do projects about your family. This means each year she has to “come out” to her class that she has 4 mommies (I had her with my ex). This can create questions from the students.

How those teacher handles the conversations will be key in how my daughter is accepted by her peers. This is what the program is designed to do, give the teachers training and tools to be able to handle these types of discussions. The program also deals with bullies. We know that bullying happens very young so by having a program that educates teachers on what to do hopefully we can begin to improve the situation.

The program was well received. Thanks to some educators and board members in the audience I think we are going to try and bring the program to Arizona.

All the co-sponsors help to put on a great event and I hope we will see more of these events in the future.

Lezzymom has two kids and a wonderful partner. Her political commentary has appeared on C-Span and CSPAN.org. Visit her Lezzymom blog for more of her insights.

We have just had one of the biggest doses of fear since the re-election campaign of George W. Bush.

Riots exploding in Europe, the economy continuing it’s endless plunge, air force one and fighter jets terrorizing New York? I mean what is going on here? And then this Swine Flu stuff on top of it?

Remember the old system of constant reporting the color code of terror all day every day? Remember: “We don’t know when it’s going to happen, but it’s going to happen!” Remember that? Now it’s: “This wasn’t the big one, but next fall we’re going to have the greatest crisis human kind has ever faced! It’s coming!”

I am not trying to be one of these fear mongers. I am not trying to scare you into buying something, or doing something for my benefit. I am simply trying to say that this company that makes this stuff is criminal, and should not be trusted.

The company that has requested to make the swine flu vaccine is called Baxter.  On March 6th 2009 multiple sources, including the Times of India, reported that they sent out the virus H5N1 to labs instead of a regular human flu in several different countries. The scientists who discovered this were shocked that they were shooting up their lab rats with a virus capable of mutating into a global killer, especially since they had already been using a human flu strain on them. That kind of cross contamination would have had grave consequences like… creating a virus like swine flu.

Baxter is supposedly under investigation for this by the WHO, but they do not seem all that concerned. It is, at the very least, criminally negligent. Do not trust these guys with your health, I’m telling you. Do not let them scare you into vaccinating your kids.

There is no current vaccine that will work against Swine Flu. That includes Tamiflu (which is being reported to cause severe mental disorders in teens).

If you go to the WHO website, they advise you:

The best scientific evidence available today is incomplete but suggests that seasonal vaccines will confer little or no protection against influenza A(H1N1).

All the hype to go get flu shots is nonsense. History does repeat itself.

In 1976, the first outbreak of Swine Flue killed just one person, but the vaccine killed twenty-five, and sickened thousands more. Don’t believe me? How about congressman Ron Paul, he’s in the government, he should know right?

In 2006 the UK  announced plans to inoculate every person in the country with Baxter’s vaccines in the event of a pandemic. Here in the states, they’re running mass inoculation practice drills on children in Alaska.

Please remember parents, that there is NO LAW that can require you to have your children shot up with this stuff. Do not be bullied. Do not be coerced by fear tactics, or threats. Make your own decision, and never let anyone make it for you.

Jenime is an artist living in the SF bay area. You can watch her musings and ravings any time by visiting her channel on YouTube.

There is a blog for families online with imaginative stories for kids and their parents – Story Time Online.

The blog and stories are owned and published by a lesbian blogger you might all know and love… me! *wink* I thought I would let you all know about my story time blog, because I know that some of you have kids, and/or nieces and nephews. I myself am referred to as “Mommy” and “Auntie JuJu” by the kids in my family, and my blog with stories was created with them in mind. I have many kids in my life, and a lot of them are spread around the United States. Sometimes I don’t get to see them until they are taller than me, and by then I feel like I’ve missed my chance to impart knowledge. Hopefully this blog will help with that! Even if it doesn’t the stories I created are definately unique, very imaginative, and my kids love them. Well, I’m their mom so they have to love them! LOL

Anyhow, the best thing about Story Time Online is all the features!

Each story comes with a text version for the kids to practice reading, plus an audio version too! There are fun games, videos, and a radio player with children’s songs and lots more throughout the site. I try to post a new story each Tuesday, and there are a few different characters I’ve created with different learning themes in each story. There is also a Story Time Online social network for fans to discuss their favorite characters, get the latest crafts and activities, and a whole lot more!

The stories are created by me, a lesbian mom, but the characters are animals so children from all families can relate.

One major difference between my stories and others you will notice is that each character has a different living situation. Hopefully this blog will help to raise awareness in our youth that there are many different types of households out there, and they may learn a thing or two about self esteeem, listening to your elders, and making good life choices. I’ve always been a good story-teller, and hopefully by creating this blog I will have used that skill to make a positive change in the world.

So if you have young kids in your life, take some time to visit Story Time Online and let me know what you think.

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

There is a website with tools that are helping lesbian moms and their children to raise awareness of families like ours.

Buddy G: My Two Moms and Me is a cartoon especially for gay families with a website to match found at www.BuddyG.tv. I was able to watch a clip of the first episode of the Buddy G cartoon on the website, and I have to say I was excited to see another cartoon where families like mine are represented. I was even more excited when I found that the Buddy G TV website also offers printable cartoon pages, online jigsaw puzzles, and related videos for LGBT families. I printed out a few of the coloring pages right away, and slipped them into the pile of pages during coloring time, then put them on the fridge for the world to see. Since then, many visitors to my home have commented on the Buddy G coloring pages, and how cool they are. I feel like they walk away with a little more of a sense of how normal gay families really are.

When I ventured in to learn a bit more about Buddy G and how I could get the DVD, I found that Buddy G has received a lot of press and media attention, while promoting other two-mommy media such as the DVD Dottie’s Magic Pockets. I fell in like with Buddy G right away and he is now a friend of mine on MySpace. *smile* I learned from Donna, Margaux and Grayson, the family behind Buddy G, that one little girl carries the DVD in her backpack to prove to other kids that “there are lots of families like hers – they even have a cartoon!” This is awesome to know, because children of lesbian moms are being validated as equally as special as all the other children in the world since they are represented in a cartoon. The Buddy G DVD and website is great for showing children of lesbian moms that they are not the only children in the world with two moms, and helps to reinforce a positive view of LGBT families. Plus sharing the coloring pages with my nieces and nephews shows them that their Aunties aren’t the only ones with a two mommy family.

Here is what the Buddy G website says about how the show came to be:

We know we are a minority and that most kids have a mom and a dad, but for little guys like our son we thought wouldn’t it be grand if there were something more available to them. Something like a cartoon, like a Caillou with two moms or dads. The more we talked about it the more important it became. It was almost like, if we didn’t do something about it after we had this fantastic idea, then we were somehow being irresponsible parents. So out of that, “Buddy G” was born. It took longer, cost more and was way harder then we thought it would be, but we couldn’t be happier or more proud of the cartoon and the potential it represents. “Buddy G” has added incredible joy to our family and we hope he adds a little happiness to yours.

Sincerely,

Margaux, Donna and Grayson

I feel a sense of relief that there are people out there like Donna, Margaux and Grayson who are brave enough to fill the void in the LGBT community for two-mommy media, and provide tools to help lesbian moms and their children to raise awareness for LGBT families in a fun and positive way. It’s also good to know that the Buddy G website is expanding in the near future to provide even more Buddy G fun and games for the kids. If you are a lesbian mom, there are also fun things for you at the Buddy G website too! You can find videos and more for LGBT parents here. In the meantime, you can order the DVD below plus you can add Buddy G as your friend on MySpace here.

I am really looking forward to the expansion of the Buddy G TV website, and for other two mommy media products to provide awareness tools for their products such as coloring pages and online games for the children. Even something as simple as seeing a two mommy family on paper helps make the world more aware of how normal an LGBT family really is. Thanks Buddy G!.

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

MYTE is a social/support group at The Gay & Lesbian Center of Greater Long Beach for GLBT and questioning youth.

MYTE stands for Mentoring Youth Through Empowerment and is a group that is “committed to improving the quality of life for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth by providing a safe, affirmative environment for peer interaction and by enlisting informed, productive and positive role models.” The group is open to LGBTQ youth and straight allies between the ages of 13-18 and I ran into them while out and about over the weekend raising awareness for The LGBT Community Call to Action. My wife, the kids, and I took a drive over to The Center looking for a No on Prop 8 yard sign, and we were happy to see the MYTE youth group waving signs and passing out bumper stickers outside of The Center in efforts to raise awareness for the No on Prop 8 campaign. The Community Outreach Coordinator, Rikka Racelis, was a very gracious hostess to me and my family, and allowed us to hang out with the group and talk with them for a little while after they were done waving signs.

I was happy to see their generation getting involved in raising awareness for equality, and was proud of them as role models for my children.

They were eating pizza, and my children had some juice and cheese crackers. The group was planning to play a game of ‘Dance Dance Revolution’ and my children were suprised about that. When we left, my son said that he felt really comfortable there, which was nice since he is usually “bored” when we go new places. Overall it was a good experience, and in talking with Rikka Racelis I learned that the group gets together to raise awareness for issues affecting the GLBT community, but other activities include leadership training, academic mentoring, and career building. You can read more about the MYTE GLBT youth group here or visit their blog. You can also email Rikka Racelis at rikkar@centerlb.org for more information.

At The Center in Long Beach you can find:

The MYTE Drop-in Program
Open to youth ages 13-18
Monday – Thursday – 2:00 – 5:00 PM

The Coming Out Support Group
All ages welcome
Fridays, 7:00 – 9:00 PM

Alongside the MYTE program, The Center offers a wide variety of services for the GLBT community.

Here is a list of the services offered at The Gay & Lesbian Center of Greater Long Beach:

Information and Education
- Community help desk for referrals
- Housing and roommate postings, job postings and employment assistance,
- LGBT library, educational workshops, speaker’s bureau, community calendar
- CyberCenter providing eight state of the art computers for community use.
- Training in computer use.
- Financial Planning workshops

Health and Well Being
- Mental health services (counseling and referrals)
- Women’s Health
- Breast Cancer Screenings
- Men’s Health
- HIV testing
- “Coming out” support.
- Transgender support
- Legal counseling services
- Mentoring Youth Through Empowerment (MYTE Youth) program.
- HEAT – Health Education Action Team.
- HEAL grief support group meets the second Monday of every month

Social and Cultural Activities
- LGBT film festival, fun events, outings and classes.
- Art shows and other cultural seminars and workshops
- Marriage Equality
- Hate Crimes Hotline
(in cooperation with the Long Beach Human Dignity Office)
- Voter registration and education
- Diversity trainings and community outreach on LGBT issues

All of these services are critical resources for the GLBT community here in Southern California, and The Center depends on individual donations to operate.

There are many positive role models for our GLBT and questioning youth (and our straight allies!) to be found at The Center in Long Beach. My family and I are planning to take a trip there again when they have activities planned specifically for gay families. In the meantime, it’s great to know that the younger generation of GLBT community members have such great resources available to them when they have questions or need a little support. In order to help keep The Center in Long Beach a vibrant part of the community, you can make a donation online or if you are in the area you can help by volunteering time. Either way, the MYTE youth group and all other services offered by The Center are powerful tools for the Long Beach LGBT community, and me and my family are thankful to have them so close to home.

**Thank You to the MYTE Youth who allowed me to include their photo in this post, and to Rikka Racelis as well for her help and kindness during our visit.**

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.