Lez Get Real » Commentary

Who is Dr. Writ O’ Mandate Anti-Gay- Joshua Beckley, and Crew?

Melanie Nathan — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:32:45 +0000

Posted by Melanie Nathan; 09/01/10

In the wake of the AG Jerry Brown and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger request for the same-sex marriages to resume in California pending Ninth circuit appeal, a Conservative group has filed a Petition to compel the State of California to oppose the Prop 8 decision Appeal.

The new lawsuit is being filed by Pacific Justice Institute on behalf of Dr. Joshua Beckley, a minister in the Los Angeles area. The lawsuit is called an extraordinary writ of mandate and was filed with the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento. The writ asks the court to enforce Government Code Section 12512, which states that the Attorney General “shall defend” the state and its public officials against all legal challenges. At a minimum, the suit argues, this law requires Attorney General Brown to file a one-page Notice of Appeal of Judge Walker’s decision. Otherwise, the Attorney General can effectively veto ballot initiatives by simply refusing to defend them in court.

The lawsuit includes a sworn Declaration from former U.S. Attorney General and legal advisor to Governor Reagan, Edwin Meese III. Meese affirms that neither he nor Governor Reagan refused to defend duly-enacted laws based on personal disagreement with the laws. Former California Attorney General Dan Lungren has also publicly stated his belief that it is the attorney general’s duty to defend all state laws, regardless of his personal feelings or beliefs.

It is not often that I re-blog. But what follows is in effect a complete re-BLOG – this one was difficult to resist, being that I would not have had the knowledge or the license to phraseology and even the opinion expressed for that matter. But when my friend Derrick Mathis drew my attention to his piece I decided it would be interesting to re-Blog here on Lez Get Real to see what comments we could jointly receive.

By Derrick Mathis:

” I noticed that all of the numerous LGBT news related outlets and blogs who’ve covered the petitioning by the Pacific Justice Institute on behalf of Pastor Joshua Beckley of San Bernardino’s Ecclesia Christian Fellowship—-to force the state’s Governor and the AG to defend Prop 8— have failed to mention the ethnicity of Pastor Joshua Beckley. How odd…

NO PROB.’ WE’LL DO IT.

AFRICAN AMERICAN church minister Joshua Beckley, head of a BIG ASS BLACK CHURCH in San Bernadino, is the man behind this latest lawsuit on behalf of Prop 8. And as you may surmise from the photo below, he is VERY WELL connected in the state’s black political realm. Wait! Hold up! We originally noticed just the good Pastor Beckley and Assembly members Wilmer Amina Carter and Sandré Swanson in this picture. We didn’t see Karen Bass!

Well I may not have expressed this in this fashion, I decided to give voice to my fellow blogger Derrick Mathis on site RENWL.

Just how many black ministers of humongous black churches in Cali who are also front row and center leaders against LGBT equality is Bass tight with? Momma’s becoming a regular poster child for jive ass black politicians with an unquenchable fetish for holy homo hatin’ brothas.

We know she’s tight as hell with big baller Bishop Charles E. Blake of the West Angeles Christian Center—he’s the one NOM’s Maggie Gallagher waddled her fat ass to the hood to PERSONALLY HONOR for his outstanding work in the black community in helping to rob LGBTs of their rights. Yea, that’s just how fierce he is. And then there’s Rev. Fred Price of the Crenshaw Christian Center, another dear dear friend of Bass’s we understand and a staunch and vocal naysayer against gay marriage. Now apparently there’s this guy Beckley. With friends like Bass, dang who needs republicans or Mormons?

But politically sophisticated white gay folks like the local Stonewall Dem Clubs and Rick Jacobs of Courage Campaign, why they’ll drink Bass’s dirty bath water on command that’s how much they love her. So, ya know, we’ll turn our heads and look the other way too, just like all those really smart ‘n’ on the ball white gay folks in charge of white gayness do.

Getting back to Pastor Beckley—this isn’t the first time he has involved himself in a legal action against gay marriage in Cali. Back in 2004 in a case against the City and County of San Francisco for issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples (In Lockyer v. City and County of San Francisco) he was among a group of black church ministers calling themselves African American Pastors in California, who submitted a brief as amici curiae in support of the Defendant and Appellant (Attorney General Lockyer). You can see the amicus brief at the end of this post….. which can all be found at ….. http://renwl.org/news/prop-8/black-church-minister-behind-effort-to-force-state-defense-of-prop-8 ”

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In solidarity
Mel Nathan.

Legal group seeks to compel Calif to defend Prop 8 (sfgate.com)
Group Sues to Force AG Brown To Appeal Walker Ruling (lezgetreal.com)

Round 1: Heavy Weight Boxer Knocks Light Weight Fiorina Out for the Count

Melanie Nathan — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:53:18 +0000

By Melanie Nathan; 9/01/2010

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and Republican senatorial nominee Carly Fiorina delivered a spirited debate tonight at St, Mary’s, Moraga, Bay Area, California. Fiorina clearly on the defensive unable to lift her leg high enough to the tree with big Boxer, who sparred like a heavy weight, while deflecting the occasional light weight banter from her opponent.

Topics ranged from this year’s hot-button issues of the economy and immigration to the always-debatable subjects of gay marriage and abortion.

Yet no incumbent bloodshed over the biggest issue – relief for California’s struggling economy. Rather a pointed dagger at the heart of Fiorina’s tenure at HP where Boxer noted that the 30,000 jobs shipped abroad by Fiorina reflected the size of an entire Foster City; and with a payoff to Fiorina of $100Million.

Irony of Irony – that very money now being used to fund this very campaign!

“Each did her best to portray her opponent as out of touch with Californians’ needs. Fiorina cast Boxer as a 28-year officeholder with an unabashedly liberal, failed record that has been “devastating for this state.” Boxer defended her record while casting Fiorina as a failed “Wall Street CEO” who got rich while laying off thousands of workers and shipping their jobs overseas before being fired by her board of directors.” (Mercury news tonight)

When asked whether the war in Iraq was worthwhile and what lessons should be applied to Afghanistan, Boxer noted she was among 23 senators who voted against the Iraq war, yet she later voted for funding to protect troops and veterans; she said she wants a clear exit strategy for Afghanistan. Fiorina disingenuously admonished Boxer’s votes as being against the interests of troops several times. Yet Fiorina forgets she continues to tout the rhetoric of the very administration that got us into the war as well as tacitly endorsed the war through her silent acceptance thereof.

Fiorina, who has aired a campaign ad likening Boxer’s concern over climate change as a national security issue to worrying about “the weather,” refused to say despite the moderator’s insistence for a ‘yes or no’ answer– either during the debate or at the spin news conference afterward — whether she will support Proposition 23, which would roll back California’s landmark greenhouse gas emissions law. When Fiorina said she had not yet taken a position. Boxer jumped at her saying that she could not understand how Fiorina failed to take a position at this time on so important an issue; ”If you can’t take a stand on Proposition 23, I don’t know what you will take a stand on,” noting that the measure would cripple California’s burgeoning clean-energy economy and give other nations the lead.

Boxer jabbed “My opponent is kind of used to creating jobs in China and other places,” noting Fiorina is supported by the same oil and coal interests backing Prop. 23, and “They are hoping that I don’t make it.”

On many of the contentious issues, Fiorina said she would defer to the decision of California voters despite her personal views. She said she disagreed that the will of the voters could be overturned by a judge, referring to a recent federal ruling against Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that banned gay marriage in California.

“Whatever your views about gay marriage, I think many of us would conclude that when voters have such a clear decision, for that decision to be overturned by a single judge seems perhaps not appropriate,” said Fiorina, who favors civil unions for gays and lesbians but thinks marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman.

On immigration, Boxer has called for comprehensive reform while Fiorina has supported Arizona’s immigration law, blaming the federal government for failing to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

Asked about the status of children of undocumented immigrants, Fiorina said she supports the DREAM Act — bipartisan legislation providing such youths a path to citizenship through college studies or military service — but opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.

URGH no one ever asks about UAFA-The Uniting American Families Act – which could feasibly be introduced as a stand-alone bill together with the Dream Act.

Boxer insisted she has supported two bipartisan immigration bills in recent years, while Fiorina has called the battle for comprehensive reform “a distraction” from more important issues.

After the debate, Boxer said the two campaigns are working to schedule another faceoff.

Boxer wins on Knockout round 1.

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Fiorina Against Walker Ruling v. Boxer Supports Prop 8 Judgment (lezgetreal.com)
Senator Boxer Nurtures LGBT Support Through Prop 8 (lezgetreal.com)
Boxer vs. Fiorina: A Dead Heat in California Senate Race (time.com)
Boxer Leading Fiorina In Latest Polling, People Like Her Hair More Too (lezgetreal.com)

Nice Jewish Girls- By Rachel Wahba

RachelWahba — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:35:29 +0000

Rachel Wahba; September 01, 2010

Yes we were; nice Jewish lesbian feminist girls and we made a book. The first one of its kind – decades ago and it is still being used in Women’s Studies classes, to this day! And now, the Union of Orthodox Rabbis is proclaiming acceptance of gay and lesbian Jews.

Ok, so it’s the “love the sinner hate the sin” line perhaps, but for Orthodoxy to come out with a proclamation such as this one, we have something to celebrate. Something IS changing.

Gloria Greenfield was the driving force behind and in front of “Nice Jewish Girls” and with pen and her press (Persephone Press), she made sure we were a force to be seen and heard. Amazing, beautiful and unstoppable, she got us onstage to read our contributions.

We filled an auditorium somewhere in Boston, eight of us, facing a room full of beaming ‘Nice Jewish Girls’ and their non-Jewish lovers and friends. Outside the hall a group of self –proclaimed Preservers of Judaism were yelling at the women going in, and claiming our “Excommunication!”

Growing up a rare Jew in Japan; sent to Catholic missionary school, for lack of choice, I fully understand the idea of excommunication. We also knew Jews cannot be excommunicated!

So the taunts were laughable and we laughed!

The men in the black robes soon left with little impact on the magnificence of the evening and everything we believed it stood for. Our ‘Nice Jewish girl’ faces glowed, as we read our stories aloud – all about being Nice Jewish lesbians- to our non Jewish girlfriends and their friends.

We were so validated by what we had accomplished; the book, the stories, our lives, regardless of black gowned frowns. Unstoppable, our courage and energy took up all the space. There was no place left for the men to go but back to where they came from. Change happens. They may be singing a different tune today. Who knows?

And now the Orthodox Rabbinate have made an important – sensational- statement; Jews must accept all Jews, as a requirement of Torah, rather than rejection as professed by the men in black those decades ago – how nice for us ‘Nice Jewish Girls’ these 2.5 decades later.

Picture:- Left to right: front row: Evelyn Torton Beck,Adrienne Rich, Gloria Greenfield, Melanie Kaye Kantrowitz, Standing, left t o right: Savina Teubal, Josylyn Segal, Rachel Wahba, Irena Klepfisz.

The Book can be purchased at Amazon, in a new edition -( which excludes the original pictures.)

By Rachel Wahba

California State Senator Mark Leno on Marriage Equality / Prop 8

Melanie Nathan — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:04:38 +0000

: CA Sen. Mark Leno Picture by Melanie Nathan©

Posted by Melanie Nathan; September 01, 2010

Senator Mark Leno has lent his support to LGBT issues in the State of California’s legislature; what many outside California may not realize is the importance and impact of local leadership on the rest of the Country.

It is when one’s State Senator takes the time to fight for Resolutions pronouncing upon Federal legislation (e.g. Kevin de Leon CA State Assemblyman and Leno for Resolution AJR 15 that passed in California calling for the enactment of the Federal legislation by Congress of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA)) – and now this Article sent out today by Senator Mark Leno, that we realize – we may well underestimate the importance of the influence that local representatives can have on the National arena. After all when reading this all I could think about was the absurdity of the” Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) and the fact of its continued impact during this Congress consisting of a Democratic President and a Democratic majority in both houses.

Senator Mark Leno: “Nearly two years after the passage of Proposition 8 in California, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the divisive measure denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry is unconstitutional, violating both due process and equal protection rights. In a landmark decision, the first ever on this issue in federal court, Judge Vaughn Walker upheld justice and equality, concluding there is no rational basis for preventing marriage between same-sex couples.

In his 136-page decision, Judge Walker eloquently dispels the myths promoted by Prop 8, including that heterosexual couples are somehow better than same-sex couples and more deserving of the universal recognition of marriage and that families led by two parents of the same gender are inadequate. Walker’s decision echoes the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s 2004 findings when it ruled that there is no constitutional basis for denying same-sex couples marriage licenses and stated that by doing so we perpetuate a “destructive stereotype that same-sex relationships are inherently unstable and inferior to opposite-sex relationships and are not worthy of respect.” Do we really want our government determining that some people love better than others?

Based on overwhelming evidence presented at trial, Walker concluded that Prop 8 likely passed due to a “desire to advance the belief that opposite-sex couples are morally superior to same-sex couples” and that the proposition “enacts, without reason, a private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples.”

While public opinion in California and across the nation continues to shift more in support of marriage equality, the moral opinions of the masses should not dictate such important issues, especially when it involves fundamental rights. In 1948, California became the first state in the nation to end the ban on interracial marriage, although about 90 percent of Americans at that time opposed these unions. As with marriage for same-sex couples, the California Supreme Court’s 1948 decision was controversial at that time, even though that ban clearly trampled on the rights of targeted minority groups and violated equal protection laws.

In 2004, I had the distinct honor of marrying Marvin Burrows and his lifelong partner Bill Swenor during the short time period when San Francisco granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Marvin and Bill had met as teenagers in the 1950s, fell in love, and spent 51 years together as a couple.

One year after Marvin and Bill were married, Bill unexpectedly died of a heart attack. While the men were domestic partners, their marriage license from San Francisco had been invalidated. Because they were not legally married, Marvin was denied Bill’s pension, veteran and social security benefits and his health insurance suddenly ended. As a result of Bill and Marvin’s inability to have their half century relationship honored and validated with a marriage license, in the midst of grieving Bill’s death Marvin was now homeless. Why would we want to kick senior citizens to the curb for the crime of loving someone of the same gender? While Marvin turned his despair into action and became an outspoken advocate for marriage equality, Marvin and Bill’s tragic story demonstrates the cruel and unfair consequences of inequality.

While it’s likely that the legal challenge to Prop 8 will continue to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the current stay preventing same-sex couples from marrying is justice delayed and denied, Judge Walker’s ruling is a giant leap forward for marriage equality. It deflates the prejudiced stereotypes that have long demonized gay men and lesbians and relationships between same-sex couples and their families. It attacks the blatant lies and fears that were fostered by the supporters of Prop 8 during the 2008 campaign. It upholds the U.S. Constitution’s promise of equal protection under law and restates that this fundamental right cannot be denied to any one group of people, regardless of the electorate’s majority opinion.

Finally, the August 4 U.S. District Court decision reiterates a fact that opponents of Prop 8 and supporters of marriage equality have long asserted. Denying loving same-sex couples the freedom to marry unfairly promotes inequality and the perception of inferiority. In the words of Judge Walker, “opposite sex-couples are not better than their same-sex counterparts; instead, as partners, parents and citizens, opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples are equal.”

By Senator Mark Leno who represents the Third Senate District of California, which includes portions of San Francisco and Sonoma Counties and all of Marin County. He can be reached via the web at www.sen.ca.gov/Leno Senator.Leno@senate.ca.gov.

by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Jewel Doesn’t Like Your Lesbian Shoes

Natasia Rose — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:56:28 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

09/1/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

Singer/Songwriter Jewel has a new album to shill, so she went on Chelsea Lately to try and let someone who cares know. No, I don’t care about her music and chances are you haven’t cared since “Foolish Games” came out. “Why are you being so hard on, Jewel?” You are probably asking yourself. I know, I know, I never thought I would be lambasting Jewel either. I mean Jewel? Who cares!

Well, so she was blabbering about her album and about how she and her husband are backpacking around the country when she decided to tell the world that while she travels with her husband, she wears “lesbian shoes.” You know, like “ugly comfortable lesbian shoes.” Because lesbians wear ugly shoes. Girl, don’t insult my shoes. You don’t know me. I’m assuming that Jewel isn’t referring to lesbian shoes such as these pink, peeptoe, hidden platform Christian Louboutins that I have been wearing all summer. Because those would be a bitch to travel in.

Now THOSE are some hot lesbian shoes. Watch the clip below:

Pop Quiz: What Type of Lesbians Cause Cancer? (lezgetreal.com)
Jennifer Aniston on Cougar Town; Might Play Lesbian Pussycat (lezgetreal.com)
Margaret Cho Thinks Lesbians are Funny (lezgetreal.com)

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor -Rushed to Hospital Unresponsive

Melanie Nathan — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:49:33 +0000

: Cover of We’re Not Married

Posted by Melanie Nathan; 08-31-10-

- A Personal Memory

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, 93, has reportedly been rushed to a hospital after being found unresponsive by her husband.

Gabor’s husband, Prince Frederic Von Anhalt, called 911 Tuesday morning, and the actress was taken from her Bel Air home to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The television and film star had just finished one of several hospital stays in recent weeks after falling at her home and breaking her hip. She said she wanted to spend her final days at home after she returned from the hospital August 17, having received her last rites from a priest.

Gabor was born in Budapest in 1917 and followed her sister Eva to Los Angeles. After her debut in the 1952 film Lovely to Look At, she appeared in We’re Not Married! with Ginger Rogers, Moulin Rouge, and Death of a Scoundrel.

She was as well known for her off-screen persona as her film and television appearances. Gabor’s husband is her ninth, and she has been married to such notables as hotel magnate Conrad Hilton. Also of note was her three days spent behind bars when she slapped a Beverly Hills police officer in 1989 and was found to be driving with an expired license. Gabor was fined $13,000 in court costs.

I personally recall an encounter with GABOR when I was seconding my Cousin as a stylist back in the 80’s in Los Angeles. Zsa Zsa Gabor may be best remembered by most for her refusal to admit her age. That received a lot of press – as I recall her driver’s license may not have been correct.

Well she did the same when it came to the size of her clothing – we were trying to style her for a Vogue Magazine cover. However when she could not fit into the dress that my Cousin had provided, based on the information Zsa Zsa provided herself, – she threw her bra at my cousin and fired us from the job; yelling , “AND my name is not ZSA ZSA – it is MS. GABOR to yooooo DAHLING!”

I wish her well and a speedy recovery.

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

‘Unresponsive’ Zsa Zsa Gabor Rushed to Hospital (foxnews.com)
Zsa Zsa Gabor rushed back to hospital (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
Last Rites for Zsa Zsa Gabor (towleroad.com)

Fire Island with Senator Gilibrand & the State of LGBT Frustration

Melanie Nathan — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:01:16 +0000

: Lez Get Real EQUALITY MARCH

Melanie Nathan; 8-30-2010

Sen. Kirstin Gilibrand had pledged to fight for the LGBT community and has often spoken quite loudly for LGBT equality.

However the frustration of the LGBT community cannot abate for what remain mere words. At A Fire Island event this past weekend, a few donors strongly urged the Democratic party to do more on LGBT issues. According to Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out “While largely supportive of the senator’s work, there was palpable frustration with the pace in Washington for repealing Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell and passing ENDA.” http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2010/08/10833/

Andrew Tobias, treasurer for the democratic party, made the case for supporting democrats in the upcoming elections, warning of the dire consequences for LGBT equality if Republicans win the House, Senate or both.

“Still,” fellow blogger Besen asserts “think how much easier it would be to persuade LGBT voters to show up if ENDA had been passed or DADT repealed? The case AGAINST the more radical elements of the GOP is an easy one. However, the case FOR the Democrats is much more difficult and complicated to make. The Democrats have controlled Washington for two years and while there has certainly been progress on LGBT issues, the big prizes — other than hate crimes legislation — have so far been elusive.”

While this may be the case, it is my contention that very little pressure has been placed on our members in Congress even when President Obama has begged us to hold feet to fire.

The problem in my opinion is the self-marginalization that our community has succumbed to in response to the Bush ‘wedge issue’ political environment, preceded by the lets sneak in through the back door approach that followed Stonewall.

What we have done is carved a thinking that piecemeal legislation will serve us in the first place. To date, it clearly has failed us and until we set our own standards a lot higher it probably will continue to fail us.

ENDA is a misdirected absorption of resources that we can no longer afford. It has taken us off the path of a composite Civil Rights movement that should be seeking full equality for LGBT people under one Omnibus/ Civil Rights Amendment Bill.

Besen adds: “Fear will send many Democratic voters to the polls in November. However, scaring people into voting against the bad guys and Mama Grizzlies in the other party is not a long-term strategy. The Democrats, particualrly on LGBT rights, have to sharply define who they are, what they stand for and then fight like hell for their beliefs.”

I agree with Wayne on this, however find that our own community, save for a few voices, such as that of Todd Fernandez, Melanie Nathan, CD Kirven, and a handful more have yet to define what we truly stand for, in terms of a unified benchmark. See – http://lezgetreal.com/2010/07/the-launch-of-hope-finally-grassroots-find-feet-the-american-equality-bill/

Do we stand for equal employment rights – well of course we do; do we stand for equal marriage rights- well of course we do; do we stand for a repeal of DADT, well of course we do. But what the hell are we doing fighting for each such right separately – we should be a one goal stop minority, – and our quest – One Hundred Percent Equality on every issue in respect of which our Constitution purportedly stands at the helm.

Plain and simple – we are a CIVIL RIGHTS Movement and we demand our FULL Civil Rights. The ONLY way this can happen is via our inclusion (sexual orientation, et al,) in the Cvil Rights Statute.

While Wayne says that “prominent conservatives are speaking out in favor of marriage equality, the Dems have no more excuse to be timid. Whatever cover they felt they needed to be bold, they now have, thanks to Ken Mehlman, Ted Olson and even Glenn Beck.” I find little relevance with such assertion save to say marriage equality per se has served as nothing more than a red herring to detract form Civil Rights in general.

Marriage equality is a natural flowing concomitant of Full Civil Rights. We as a community have made the mistake of focusing only on Marriage, albeit a tremendously important fight and one that must continue. We can only continue in its fight for as long as we detract from its religious significance and focus our advocacy talking points on “We Demand our Equal Civil Rights Now!”

So to Fund raising and support for democrats I say we ought not hold back our dollars; we must continue to fund our friends, our only friends. When we can come out as a community with fully competent leadership at the helm of a ‘one stop’ movement, powerful enough to demand full equality and to hold our electeds accountable , maybe we will then found our true champions in Congress who will see less of the career risks and more of standing up for what is right.

Note: Written by Melanie Nathan, with Love and Respect for our Brothers at TWO (Truth Wins Out)- thanks for encouraging the conversation and for your amazing work.

Melanie Nathan
Private Courts Inc.
Mediation, Human Rights, & Advocacy
nathan@privatecourts.com

http://lezgetreal.com/2010/07/the-launch-of-hope-finally-grassroots-find-feet-the-american-equality-bill/

GLAA OF D.C. Candidate Ratings for 9/14 Primaries (lezgetreal.com)
Senator Boxer Nurtures LGBT Support Through Prop 8 (lezgetreal.com)
LGBT Equality: It’s the Economy, Stupid (gayrights.change.org)
Call to Congress: No More Friends, Senator Gillibrand – Only Advocates! (lezgetreal.com)
The Launch of Hope – Finally Grassroots Find Feet – THE American Equality Bill (lezgetreal.com)

Video: Marriage Equality’s Water Fountain?

Melanie Nathan — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:50:02 +0000

Posted by Melanie Nathan- August 30-2010

Marriage Equality can only mean full equality under the law! It is a legal contract between two people that ought to be available to all and any who choose it, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and race. Civil Marriage is NOT equal in the USA.

What do you think of the Wikepedia definition?

Wikepedia – Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found. Such a union, often formalized via a wedding ceremony, may also be called matrimony.

People marry for many reasons, including one or more of the following: legal, social, emotional, economical, spiritual, and religious. These might include arranged marriages, family obligations, the legal establishment of a nuclear family unit, the legal protection of children and public declaration of commitment.^[1]^[2]

Marriage practices are very diverse across cultures, yet almost every known society has had some form of marriage between a man and a woman. In some societies an individual is limited to being in one such couple at a time (monogamy), while other cultures allow a male to have more than one wife (polygyny) or, less commonly, a female to have more than one husband (polyandry). Some societies also allow marriage between two males or two females. Societies frequently have other restrictions on marriage based on the ages of the participants, pre-existing kinship, and membership in religious or other social groups.

The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved. In some societies these obligations also extend to certain family members of the married persons. Almost all cultures that recognize marriage also recognize adultery as a violation of the terms of marriage,^[3] and forbid incestuous marriages.^[4] In cultures that allow the dissolution of a marriage this is known as divorce.

Marriage is usually recognized by the state, a religious authority, or both. It is often viewed as a contract. Civil marriage is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution irrespective of religious affiliation, in accordance with marriage laws of the jurisdiction. If recognized by the state, by the religion(s) to which the parties belong or by society in general, the act of marriage changes the personal and social status of the individuals who enter into it.

Marriage Does Matter!
melanie nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Breaking First Release -THE AMERICAN EQUALITY BILL (lezgetreal.com)

GLAA OF D.C. Candidate Ratings for 9/14 Primaries

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:47:34 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

Melanie Nathan – August 29, 2010- Gay-supportive officeholders topped the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. (GLAA) candidate ratings for the September 14 primaries. Ward 1 Democratic Councilmember Jim Graham and At-Large Democratic Councilmember Phil Mendelson earned perfect scores of +10. Council Chairman Vincent Gray, running for Mayor, earned +8.5, well ahead of the man he is challenging in the Democratic primary, Mayor Adrian Fenty, who earned +4. Ward 6 Democratic Councilmember Tommy Wells earned +8.5. Ward 3 Democratic Councilmember Mary Cheh, unchallenged in the Democratic primary, earned a +7.5. Ward 5 Democratic Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. earned +6, well ahead of his challengers.

Openly Gay Candidates Marc Morgan in Ward 1 and Tim Day in Ward 5 have protested the rankings from the non-partisan Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, which rates candidates based on their records and questionnaire responses.

“Morgan sent out a statement today accusing GLAA of engaging in a ‘high school popularity contest,’” reported the Washington Post on Thursday.

The GLAA indicated that being Gay was not a factor that would earn overriding points.

The following are explanations of the individual ratings.

Mayor

Democrat and Council Chairman Vincent Gray earned +8.5. His strong score reflects his agreement with GLAA on all issues and his efforts in leading the Council in support of equal marriage rights, setting a tone and leading hesitant councilmembers by his example. Gray directed the solid legal work by the Counsel to the Council in support of marriage rights before the Board of Elections and Ethics (BOEE) and in court. He worked with Councilmember Jim Graham and other colleagues in 2007 to achieve a compromise on legislation to help adult businesses relocate after being displaced by the ballpark.

Democrat and incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty earned +4. Fenty disagrees with GLAA on a number of issues, and his record is mixed. While his administration led the exceptional legal fight to keep and defend our marriage rights; they also spent nearly two years obstructing the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage Act, which is now a model law protecting the rights and responsibilities of LGBT parents. We were struck by the numerous promises made four years ago that were promptly broken. GLAA was excluded from the selection process for the Chief of Police and the Director of the Office of Human Rights. Fenty has given short shrift to GLAA’s concerns about Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s disregard for civil liberties as demonstrated in her Neighborhood Safety Zone Initiative, which was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2009. The HIV/AIDS Administration made remarkable gains in the past year; but the administration tried to remove protections for transgender people, and has failed to enforce the non-discrimination laws that were passed. For nearly every positive step, we found a negative. Overall, Mr. Fenty has earned a positive rating.

We note that Mr. Gray and Mr. Fenty share some credit for designating the 1600 block of 17th Street NW as Frank Kameny Way. This honor is neither minor nor merely symbolic. It is a tribute to our community’s greatest hero.

Democrat Leo Alexander earned -3. Alexander is running an explicitly anti-gay and anti-marriage-equality campaign. He has been endorsed by the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and received a total of $2,950 in campaign donations from their overlapping anti-equality organizations. He also received $200 from Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum. He did not return a questionnaire.

Council Chairman

Democratic At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown earned +5.5 in his race for Chairman. Brown agrees with GLAA on nearly every issue, but offered limited substance in his questionnaire. He co-introduced the marriage equality bill and supported the marriage recognition bill before that; has marched with our community in response to hate crimes; and has a strong voting record in support of LGBT issues.

Democrat Vincent Orange earned +4.5. Orange is the most improved candidate in this election. For 8 years, Orange was the weakest member of the Council on GLAA’s issues. He railed against us on the nude dancing night clubs. He ignored GLAA’s concerns on domestic partner regulations and on the creation of the Office of GLBT Affairs. Four years ago he declared the other mayoral candidates morally unfit for office due to their support of marriage equality. He has also never before answered GLAA’s questionnaire. He has apologized several times for those statements and has atoned. He led the effort for the Democratic State Committee to take a position for marriage equality, and he has spent considerable time at the D.C. Center learning about their issues and concerns. He stated agreement with GLAA on nearly every issue, and showed a reasonable understanding of the issues.

Democrat Dorothy Douglas, who currently serves on the Board of Education, earned +2. She agrees with GLAA on many issues but lacks a record and showed a poor grasp of substance in her questionnaire responses.

Council At-Large

Democratic At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson earned a perfect +10 reflecting his extensive efforts in advancing the rights of LGBT people. Phil set the bar for the most extensive and detailed questionnaire demonstrating his in-depth knowledge of the issues and support of LGBT people in all areas. Phil is our greatest champion on the Council. He not only steered the marriage equality law through the council and greatly improved it. He wrote the marriage recognition bill, the domestic partnership parentage bill, a variety of domestic partnership laws, and personally testified before the Board of Elections and Ethics opposing four different ballot measures that would have banned marriages by same-sex couples. He carefully removed every obstacle in the law that would hinder our ability to defend marriage equality in court. More than anyone, Phil is responsible for the passage of the marriage law, and our ability to preserve it. Mendelson is a rare thing in this town in that he’s not all about himself. He set aside his personal ambitions to work on a quiet strategy that created dramatic advances in the rights of same-sex couples without seeking publicity or the credit that he richly deserved and earned.

Statehood-Green candidate David Schwartzman earned +6. Schwartzman is a thoughtful candidate who agrees with GLAA on every issue. He has a record of activism on the medical marijuana initiative and or human rights issues.

Democratic candidate Clark Ray earned +5.5. As Director of Parks and Recreation, he required departmental staff to take sensitivity training. He testified before the council hearing chaired by Phil Mendelson in favor of the marriage equality law. Ray’s embrace of Rev. Willie Wilson troubles us, given Wilson’s long and unrepentant record of vile homophobic and racist sermons and his action in blocking LGBT representation at the Millions More March. Ray agrees with GLAA on most issues, but his questionnaire does not demonstrate a solid understanding of the duties and function of the Council. His support for mandatory HIV testing in D.C. jails runs counter to the consensus of experts who have found mandatory approaches counterproductive, and ignores the highly effective voluntary testing program in the D.C. Department of Corrections which is touted as a national model by law enforcement, legal, and medical professionals.

Statehood-Green candidate Darryl Moch earned +5. Moch had a strong questionnaire agreeing with GLAA and demonstrating an understanding of the issues, but has no LGBT-related record that we are aware of.

Ward 1 Council

Democratic Councilmember Jim Graham earned a perfect +10. Graham has been a strong fighter for our rights and our community’s health for decades. GLAA has found him to be pragmatic and constructive. Graham excelled in helping gay businesses displaced by the baseball stadium — especially those offering nude dancing — to relocate. The legislation took considerable skill in negotiation and building support across the Council. The legislation is not the sort of thing that most politicians seek out, but we are especially grateful for the difficult work that Graham handled so deftly. Graham also led the effort to expand and advance the rights of transgender people in the District. In adding gender identity and expression to both the Human Rights Act and the Bias Crimes Act, Jim modernized and advanced D.C.’s civil rights laws, which remain models for the country. Graham was an early and outspoken supporter of marriage equality and worked with us to ensure a resounding victory.

Democrat Bryan Weaver earned +5.5. Weaver agreed with GLAA on most issues and showed a reasonable understanding of the issues. He has been supportive of LGBT rights in his campaign, but does not have an extensive record. We appreciate the letters endorsing marriage equality to the Council and the Board of Elections and Ethics representing his ANC.

Republican Marc Morgan earned +3. He agrees with GLAA on the issues but offered no substance in his questionnaire. We found only a minimal record.

Ward 3 Council

Democratic Councilmember Mary Cheh earned +7.5. She has been a strong advocate for LGBT rights, civil liberties, and marriage equality. She strongly opposed the appointment of Attorney General Peter Nickles, after he stated that he would not represent the people of the District, but instead only the Mayor. She spoke against Councilmember Yvette Alexander’s unsuccessful amendment to allow broad discrimination against LGBT people, and she pushed PEPCO to adopt domestic partner benefits.

Ward 5 Council

Democratic Councilmember Harry “Tommy” Thomas, Jr. earned +6. While he agrees with us on most issues, he opposed us on the club relocation bill, which let loose some very ugly anti-gay emotions from his constituents. However, he went out of his way to take a risk in supporting marriage equality. More than any other councilmember, Thomas risked his political future to do what he thought was right.

Democrat Tracey D. Turner earned +2. His questionnaire was often non-responsive and failed to demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues. He has no known record on LGBT issues.

Republican Tim Day earned +1.5. His questionnaire failed to show either a strong support of the issues or an understanding of them. He has no known record on LGBT issues.

Democrat Hunter Delano earned -2. He has been endorsed by NOM. He accepted $450 from them, and he attended the NOM bus tour rally at the Capitol. He did not return a questionnaire.

Ward 6 Council

Democratic councilmember Tommy Well earned +8.5. Wells is a consistent leader on our issues. He agrees with us on the issues and has a clear understanding of their complexities. He was very helpful on marriage equality, and a leader opposing vouchers, which largely fund religious schools outside of the protections of the Human Rights Act.

Democrat Kelvin Robinson earned -1. He was endorsed by NOM when he first ran for the At-Large Council seat. He said at the time that he thought there should be a vote on our right to marry. He refused to say how he would vote. After switching to the Ward 6 race he has not been endorsed again by NOM. He still opposes marriage equality, having recently repeated his call to place same-sex marriage rights on the ballot. He did not return a questionnaire.

GLAA rates candidates on a scale of -10 to +10, based on their answers to our questionnaire and their record on behalf of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. The questionnaire addresses a variety of issues on marriage and family, public health, public safety, human rights, youth, and protection for LGBT consumers and businesses. GLAA’s policy brief, questionnaire, and complete candidate responses are available online at www.glaa.org.

All candidates were provided with a copy of “Agenda: 2010,” GLAA’s policy brief on LGBT issues in Washington, D.C.

Ratings should not be interpreted as endorsements. GLAA does not endorse candidates in partisan elections.

GLAA has rated candidates for office in every D.C. primary and general election since 1971. Independent mayoral and council candidates will be rated prior to the general election.

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., founded in 1971, is a local, all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit political organization devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights in Washington, DC. We are the nation’s oldest continuously active GLBT civil rights organization.

Gay alliance set to make voice heard in elections (washingtontimes.com)

Wyoming Gay Couple – Con Exposed by LezGetReal

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:11:49 +0000

Melanie Nathan; August 29, 2010-

On Tuesday of last week, we were the first to report that we had uncovered suspect information and then proceeded to report the facts regarding the Lawsuit brought by the Gay Couple in Wyoming.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 13 by David Shupe-Roderick, 25, and Ryan W. Dupree, 21, is the first legal challenge in recent memory to Wyoming’s law defining marriage as being a contract solely “between a male and a female person.” The couple, who are representing themselves, filed the lawsuit after the Laramie County Clerk’s Office refused three times to issue them a marriage license. That’s unequal treatment, they said, and they’re asking U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson to stop the state from enforcing any laws that block gays and lesbians from access to civil marriage. “We determined that a lawsuit was the only possible way for them to get to recognize us as people,” Shupe-Roderick said. “I think it’s time that Wyoming lives up to its title. You know they call themselves the Equality State? Well, they’re not so equal.”

Lezgetreal investigated further and found that all was not as it seemed. We reported that the Plaintiff Shupe had in fact been involved in prior law suits that were suspect and revealed some startling details. Now more has come to light.

Shupe-Roderick, 25, served 4 years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary after he, his brother, and their two girlfriends left Cheyenne in a rental car in January 2004. When they didn’t return the rental car on time, the rental company contacted police. Two days later, Shupe-Roderick – then known as Gerald Shupe — was arrested in Arkansas after being pulled over for an illegal lane change.

After being sentenced, Shupe-Roderick unsuccessfully requested a reduction in his prison sentence on the grounds that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and wasn’t taking his prescribed medication when he took the rental car.

Lezgetreal has been contacted by parties close to source as well as information from local authorities and now received further verification through the investigation of other media outlets.

Gerald David Shupe-Roderick, aka Gerald Shupe, now asking to be called David- is currently being prosecuted for falsifying state documents. Last October, he applied to become a notary public, and he allegedly certified on his application form that he wasn’t a convicted felon.

The lawsuit also alleges Shupe-Roderick used a fake same-sex union certificate from Massachusetts to obtain a Wyoming driver’s license.

Shupe-Roderick has also been a plaintiff in court as frequently as he has been a defendant. Besides the gay marriage case, says the Billings Gazette. “He’s filed five other lawsuits in the past three years. In one, he accused prison guards of sexual misconduct, and in another, he accused a would-be business client of assault and breach of contract. He has also sought $16,398 in loans and debts from his former employers/roommates and asserted that Bank of America unlawfully refused to release $5,107 from his bank account. All of those cases were eventually dropped or dismissed.”

There is yet a fifth case is pending in federal court in which Shupe-Roderick is suing “Wyoming Child Support Services” — an apparent reference to the Wyoming Department of Family Services — for allegedly intercepting a $643 federal tax refund. Shupe-Roderick had previously paid child support to his ex-wife to support their 5-year-old son, but in 2009 he agreed to give up his parental rights in exchange for dropping all child support obligations.

It has also been alleged that Shupe has two other children with yet a second woman. Likely the Gay behavior of a man who is so upset he cannot marry a same-sex partner who he told LezGetReal he has known for a mere year! It would seem also that Dupree has a neurological problem and one can only wonder if Mr. Shupe, adept at lawsuits, is using the younger man, to further his personal agenda.

Shupe-Roderick and Dupree, 19, are now not answering our calls and e-mails – at first so willing to respond. Shupe told us he did not expect the attention this has received and that was only last Tuesday. I can only imagine how much more they have received since.

After granting several interviews to reporters, Lezgetreal being the first, on Monday, after news of the suit came out, the couple has stopped talking to reporters and gay-right activists.

On Tuesday, Shupe-Roderick said he and Dupree were prepared to handle the spotlight. But he said they were surprised that their lawsuit was receiving so much publicity. “I kind of assumed that it would just be a quiet lawsuit,” he said.

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

More to The Wyoming Lawsuit Story – Outing the Wyoming Plaintiff (lezgetreal.com)
Wyoming:- Marriage Equality Probably Does Not Need A Jailhouse Lawyer (lezgetreal.com)
More to The Wyoming Lawsuit Story Outing the Wyoming Plaintiff (pinkbananaworld.com)
Exclusive First Interview -Wyoming Gay Couple File Federal Lawsuit (lezgetreal.com)
Exclusive First Interview -Wyoming Gay Couple File Federal Lawsuit (topix.net)
WYOMING: Gay Couple Challenges Ban On Same-Sex Marriage (joemygod.blogspot.com)

Anti-Gay Gov Charlie Crist a Senatorial Disaster for Florida

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:11:24 +0000

: Crist and Palin Schmooze

Melanie Nathan; August 29, 2010 -

Gov Charlie Crist running as an independent for the US Senate Seat for Florida met his match today on CNN’s State of the Union. Run of the mill questions fueled the tough reality that this Governor is nothing more than slick politician who wants to rise in ranks, while refusing to commit to any real answers on important issues.

Except of course -the one and only commitment he was willing to make was about his views on LGBT rights and same-sex marriage equality.

When it comes to Gay and Lesbian, LGBTQI – forget any uncertainty- Crist is off the charts anti! Still this one has me stymied beyond repair, with Crist saying “ I am a live and let live kinda guy; I support a constitutional ban of gay marriage; and I think Government should stay out of the lives of the people.”

I certainly would not vote for someone who cannot – perhaps even predict – let alone commit to whom he will caucus with if elected. The question: “Governor will you caucus with the Democrats or the GOP? “ I cannot answer that? Until I have the honor to be elected! Then I will decide what is best for the people of Florida? ” mmm..

Okay Florida are you going to allow this patronizing slickster to get away with his Paterfamilias state of righteousness? Ed Henry, guest host on Candy’s Crawley’s State of the Union pushed hard but got little in answers yet much in revelation! This man is hiding his truth and he does not want to share it with voters. He wants you to close your eyes Florida and its hit or miss.

All said and done Crist is a self made disaster and whether pro gay or not, Floridians this is your worst nightmare! Imagine electing someone who refuses to state who he will caucus with – he wants you to TRUST him yet he will not commit to you.

These type of independents are in no man’s land – if he does not caucus he will not get into any of the all important power making committees.

Typical of the cake and eat it types, this candidate slipped and slid around what was originally his on record ever vocal support for one Sarah Palin – he believed she would make a great a great President – or so he said! Now Crist refuses to comment on whether or not he stands by those words from the Presidential election. “Do you think she will still be a good president?” asked Ed Henry “ It does not matter what matters, says Crist, “is not Alaska but Florida “ (huh?) “Can we assume no longer supporter of Sarah Palin?” “Whats important to me is the Sarah’s of Florida my issue are about Florida and I care about my fellow Floridians.”

Florida - in Solidarity !

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Crist Said Palin Could Be a Great President (politicalwire.com)

EMMY DAY: Climate Open Closet

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:12:49 +0000

Emmys Today – Melanie Nathan – 08-29-10

Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Lynch, , gay actors, actresses, writers, producers and directors have a multitude of nominations. In the Supporting Actor in a Comedy category, half of the nominees are gay, and a fourth is nominated for playing gay. The Advocate has done our homework in its countdown to the Emmys. ! A collective thanks in the coming out climate – mayby a few closet doors will open to reveal more..

Gay, Gay friendly, an industry comes to life- or should we say would never have been but for our brothers and sisters; as I fondly remember my own Hollywood days, with an ex- a film Editor who chose to stay quiet for fear of no jobs. The irony- the closet was shut tight not only to the hetero colleagues but queer to queer too! Ah those were the 80’s and this be the 2010’s-

Best Comedy Series

Glee and Modern Family seem to be running neck and neck for the win, according to most predictions, with Glee eking out a win. Other nominees are Nurse Jackie, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, and The Office.

Best Drama Series

Mad Men and True Blood are both gay favorites and both nominated, and while both are deserving, Mad Men is the critical favorite. Still, some are predicting Lost will take the prize over the other nominees, including The Good Wife, Dexter, and Breaking Bad.

Best Comedy Actor

Glee’s Matthew Morrison scored a surprise nomination, but most predictions are giving this prize to The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons. Other nominees are Steve Carell for The Office, Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock, Tony Shalhoub for Monk, and Larry David for Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Best Comedy Actress

United States of Tara’s Toni Collette has won this prize before, but this year seems to be Edie Falco’s turn for the also gay-inclusive Nurse Jackie. Lea Michele of Glee will have to settle for a nod, as will Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the now-canceled New Adventures of Old Christine, Amy Poehler for Parks and Recreation, and Tina Fey for 30 Rock.

Best Supporting Actor Comedy

Packed with actors who are gay and actors who are playing gay, most predictions are handing this award to one of two nominees for Modern Family — Eric Stonestreet as deliciously over-the-top Cameron and Ty Burrell as his straitlaced brother-in-law. Glee’s Chris Colfer may be a dark horse. Other nominees are Jesse Tyler Ferguson for Modern Family, Neil Patrick Harris for How I Met Your Mother, and Jon Cryer for Two and a Half Men.

Best Supporting Comedy Actress

The best chance at a gay win goes to Jane Lynch as evil (if misunderstood) coach Sue Sylvester on Glee. Modern Family’s Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara will give her a run for her money, but Lynch has a solid lead. Other nominees are Holland Taylor for Two and a Half Men, Jane Krakowski for 30 Rock, and Kristen Wiig for SNL.

Best Supporting Drama Actress

As bisexual private investigator Kalinda on The Good Wife, Archie Panjabi was undoubtedly the breakout star of this TV season. But she has some stiff competition from the Mad Men girls, Christina Hendricks and Elisabeth Moss. Other nominees are Christine Baranski for The Good Wife, Rose Byrne for Damages, and the dark horse, Queer as Folk’s Sharon Gless for Burn Notice.

Jane Lynch, Glee and Modern Family Score Emmy Noms (lezgetreal.com)
Factbox: Primetime Emmy nominees in key categories (reuters.com)
62nd Annual Emmy Nominations Announced: “Out”-Standing Nominees (towleroad.com)
Watch The 2010 Emmys Live Feed Video (rightcelebrity.com)

President Obama Can you Please wish Gilad a Happy Birthday?

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:49:21 +0000

Melanie Nathan – August 28 2010;

JERUSALEM — Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem in the thousands in support of Gilad Shalit, marking the soldier’s 24th birthday and his fifth as a captive of Palestinian Islamists in the Gaza Strip.

He was a child when captured – surely there is a fiber of compassion – something that would show the world that these Palestinians could end this torture of a human life and find peace for a family who have done little more than love a son.

Shalit’s mother Aviva called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do everything he could to secure freedom for her son, who was seized by Gaza-based militants in a deadly cross-border raid in June 2006.

“You have the chance of freeing Gilad,” she told a gathering from a makeshift podium outside the premier’s residence. On August 3, the soldier’s father Noam appealed in an open letter to Palestinians in Gaza to pressure their Hamas rulers to agree to release his son in a prisoner exchange.

And where is America? Where is the outcry? There is no reason to hold a boy turned man; a child captured for what – to make little men look powerful? It is nothing more than an act of cowardice sustained by the continued oppression and a human right infraction that renders the Palestinian’s own case unworthy.

It is terrorists who capture and kidnap and threaten and abuse.

Hamas and other militant groups have demanded a swap involving hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including several top militants. Yes thousand for one. Gilad you rock! Happy Birthday you will come home.

Israel made its most recent offer late last year through a German mediator, but Hamas has yet to formally respond to the deal. Each side has blamed the other for the failure to reach an agreement.

On Saturday, Aviva Shalit said she would continue a sit-in in a tent outside the Netanyahu residence, begun two months ago, and would not return home until her son was free.

Both France and Britain marked the birthday of Shalit -- who also has French citizenship — by calling for his release. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a message read out by a French diplomat, said Paris was working hard for his freedom.

“Gilad is not a prisoner of war, for POWs have rights such as visits from humanitarian organisations or exchanges of mail with their loved ones. Gilad does not have these rights because he is a hostage,” Sarkozy’s message said. He denounced “this revolting way of treating a human being which provokes our collective indignation, in Israel, France and across the globe.”

Britain also used the occasion of Shalit’s birthday to condemn his “unjustifiable” detention. But where is President Obama? Can you please speak up Mr. President? Leader of the free world.

“The thoughts of many in Britain are with Gilad Shalit and his family as he spends his 24th birthday in captivity,” a Foreign Office spokesman said in London.

“His detention is unjustifiable and unacceptable. The British government demands his immediate and unconditional release.”

President Obama we await your response!

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Human Rights Watch: ‘never heard of Gilad Shalit’ (thejc.com)
Shalit’s parents begin long march (news.bbc.co.uk)
Britain demands Israeli soldier’s release (cnn.com)

Conservative UK Minister Crispin Blunt Comes Out

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 03:22:56 +0000

Melanie Nathan 08-28-10

London:- Conservative Crispin Blunt, who is prisons minister in the coalition government has disclosed that he is gay and that he has separated from his wife.

Blunt said he had “decided to come to terms with his homosexuality”. In a statement, he said the move was “difficult” for his family and hoped for their “understanding and support”.

He married Victoria Jenkins in September 1990 in Kensington and they have a son (born August 1994) and daughter (born March 1992). His niece is Golden Globe-award winning actress Emily Blunt^[. Blunt’s voting record in Parliament had previously been broadly unsympathetic towards gay rights.

He has been MP for Reigate since 1997, before which he served in the Armed Forces for many years. The 50-year old – a junior minister in the Department of Justice – has two children.

He announced his separation from his wife Victoria in a statement on the Conservative Home website, saying he had “explained the position” to his family. “There is no third party involvement but this is difficult for his immediate and wider family and he hopes for understanding and support for them,” the statement said.

As prisons minister, Mr Blunt is responsible for penal policy and finding savings in the prisons budget as part of this autumn’s departmental spending review.

He hit the headlines last month when he called for rules banning comedy gigs, parties and other recreational events being held in prisons to be relaxed – which No 10 immediately ruled out.

Apparently a local commented – everyone in the local party likes him and it’s a courageous thing to do. It’s really a private matter for him.

By Melanie Nathan
This pattern of anti-gay votes and campaigns leading right to the gay watering hole is becoming too much!

Tory prisons minister Crispin Blunt stuns MPs by revealing he’s gay… (topix.net)
BRITAIN: Anti-Gay Tory MP Crispin Blunt Leaves His Wife And Comes Out (joemygod.blogspot.com)
Tory MP Blunt reveals he is gay (bbc.co.uk)

Reclaiming the Civil Rights Movement; Who owns the DREAM?

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 02:19:09 +0000

Melanie Nathan; August 28 2010 -

If there is a claim to ownership of the civil rights movement can we please stake our claim? Today is the anniversary of the ‘I have a Dream Speech’ -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln memorial and it will always be remembered! Nothing can change what it was about or who it was for and yet in many ways all of us own it.

It belongs to America and American history.

However some say its been hijacked and others say its their domain… “They want to disgrace this day this is our day and we will not give it to them.” Says Sharpton of Beck! and We want to reclaim honor in America says Beck as he trespasses the turf on this day – impeaching the way!

No one group’s struggle can be measured against that of another; yet according to Glenn Beck it can and he is the victim! Now that slavery is done the “I have a Dream” moment belongs to King Beck? Or is it Beck the Messiah claiming the Jesus domain?

You may have noticed that LezGetReal has barely given – if any – time to Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck and their Rewriting History Rally. But now we must, in sharp contrast, give credence to Rev. Al Sharpton and the crowd of diverse thousands who may seem to have stood in counter to Beck who may have stood in counter to Sharpton – ok – it can be confusing. But if you are queer it ought not be. It ought to be damn clear!

In truth there is only ONE Civil Rights movement – the only one that can ever be – and it must remain all inclusive and as Sharpton noted – it belongs to no ONE group but to everyone. It belongs to America and it is an ongoing quest – for as long as there is any one group that is the subject of flagrant discrimination via legislation.

DOMA (The Defense of marriage Act) is the perfect example of legislated discrimination – as is the Don’t Ask Don’t tell Policy (DADT)

This week I watched Keith Olberman on the subject of Beck and also delighted in 2 Comedy Central pieces, by Jon Steward and Steven Colbert, respectively, on the topic of some omni-power-messianic idea orchestrated by Beck – that he is going to fill the shoes of “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the place of the I have a Dream Speech” and take back a rotten sordid America! Back from whom – for whom?

Well allow us to inform Mr. Glenn Beck – the only group without civil rights in this Country are us the Gay Lesbian (LGBTQI) people in the USA.

The rest who acquired such rights under the 1964 Civil Rights Act are now Beck’s victims - not the other way around as Beck tacitly imposes on the people he incites to hate – to perpetuate the racism that the Civil Rights Act did not cure – the hate that remains in the hearts of those who listen to beck, et al!

Beck is no victim- he just cannot not fit that mold.

Now the only overt leadership in this country that recognizes the LGBT plight as a civil rights issue and has had the courage to make the statement – is the African American leadership. Rev. Al Sharpton said today on CNN that LGBT equality is a civil rights issue. Julian Bond has stated the point in many speeches including in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for UAFA.

Now while we know racism is at an all time high in this Country, all this “we have a DREAM ownership claims” – is a slap in the face to all good Americans who see it in its totality – in its historic context and as a vortex for unity and the future of equality for all.

The only dream yet to be attained in this country, (besides the de facto riddance of racism and hate,) in so far as the LAW (de Jure) is concerned, is the dream as dreamed by same-sex and LGBT populace; LGBT people and their families, - to marry, to sponsor for immigration, to adopt, to serve, to work, to be included and protected fully under the federal law of the USA – ultimately an amendment to the Civil Rights Act, of 1964 that includes Sexual Orientation and Gender identity.

Thanks for your support to the American Equality Bill – and the Amendment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include Sexual orientation and Gender Identity. The Omnibus for all LGBT Equality legislation.

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@provatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda

Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally: Thousands Expected To Attend, Civil Rights Leaders Protest Event (huffingtonpost.com)
You: Beck, others exhort conservatives to action at Washington rally (latimes.com)
Thousands gather as Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin lead controversial Washington rally (telegraph.co.uk)

Don’t Count On Anything This Election Cycle

Bridgette P. LaVictoire — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:15:24 +0000

08/28/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Today, Glenn Beck held a rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, and despite what many people are trying to say, there were, perhaps, fifty thousand people there to actually see Beck and Sarah Palin. The majority of the people there were there as tourists. According to one eyewitness, beyond the end of the Vietnam Memorial, the majority of people were there to just see the normal touristy stuff.

In a sense, the entire thing is very realistically problematic for the Republican Party. Despite the fact that many generic ballot polls are showing Republicans sweeping the House and maybe the Senate in November, they probably will not because, in a very real way, there are three Parties functioning in this election and not two. The Tea Party Republicans seem to be not as likely to come out and vote for a Mainstream Republican candidate, and vice versa. In other words, many Mainstream Republicans will balk at voting for Sharron Angle, Rand Paul and Joe Miller while many Tea Party Republicans may balk at coming out to vote for Carly Fiorino and Mark Kirk.

Much of the furor that is going on over the Tea Party is fueled by billionaires David and Charles Koch. Their father founded the John Birch Society, which has been seen as nothing but a conspiracy laden group for the last fifty years. Their ideology borders on being pure anarchist, but they rarely ever say that. Much of what gets espoused is not about keeping the community of the United States intact, but rather making sure that the government fails and that the rich become very rich and everyone else is poor. But, I digress.

The Beck rally is actually something of a wonderful and ironic example of what the Tea Party is in reality. Rather than being a huge rally, it is just a loud voice in the see of babble. The Tea Party is the loudest voice in the room, but that does not mean it is nearly the majority, or even a fraction of a majority.

Right now, Tea Party candidates have only managed to win big in certain areas, and mostly in the South and South West. Meanwhile, in many places up North and along the West Coast, the Tea Party candidates are not winning, and sometimes not even showing up.

In Kentucky, the Republicans are actually at risk of losing a seat as Rand Paul pushes this neo-anarchist belief that the government should get out of everything, including mine safety because ‘who would work at an unsafe mine?’ Well, the people who have two choices- an unsafe mine or starvation. In Nevada, Sharron Angle is at risk of losing big because of crazy ideas like privatizing Social Security. What she never says is that this would end up obliterating Social Security and the safety net that many people require in older age, and for many on disability. People who would be starving to death without it. In Alaska, Joe Miller is busy pushing the idea of ending unemployment insurance.

People have been pushing this idea that the Republicans are going to win and win big in November, but the reality is not so simple. The generic ballots might be saying that they will, but the generic ballot polls are probably misleading.

There is an old caveat to polling about Congress. Everyone hates Congress, but they love their Congressional Delegation. Asking about the generic ballot is wonderful, but when you get into the actual races, it is a lot less certain. Somewhere between the Tea Party, the Social Conservatives and the Mainline Republicans all being at each others’ throats, I would not lay odds on anything at this point. A lot of how the Midterm Elections play out depends not upon the polls, but upon the Republican Party being able to unify, and that seems elusive at best.

ACLU Calls on Prison to Stop Degrading Women with Labia Searches

Melanie Nathan — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:09:29 +0000

Melanie Nathan; August 27 , 2010;

Ari Zavaras Leave Women's Labias alone!!!

DENVER – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado are calling on officials at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (DWCF) to immediately end a new type of degrading body cavity search in which correctional officers force prisoners to open their labia, and, according to some reports, even to pull back the skin of their clitorises.

“It is an honor and privilege to serve as the Executive Director of the Department of Corrections and to work with the 6700 corrections professionals who are dedicated to public, employee, and offender safety,” says Ari Zavaras, the head of the Colorado Department of Corrections in his message online. “In keeping our mission of public safety the Department of Corrections is committed to employing best practices and evidenced based programs to ensure that public funds entrusted to the Department produce the best results for all Coloradoans.”

(My comment – Public Funds to belittle and torture women? Zavaris you should be ashamed of your department !)

In a letter sent this week to to Zavaras, the ACLU says the searches – which occur even when guards have no particular reason to suspect concealment of contraband – raise grave concerns under the Fourth and Eighth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. In its letter, the ACLU says that while courts have upheld visual inspections of prisoners, forcing women to hold open their labia for inspection on a routine basis is gratuitous and constitutes unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain and humiliation.

“Given that prisoners at DWCF are already subjected to a strip search policy designed to uncover contraband, this new policy adds little to the search procedure other than additional humiliation and suffering,” said David Shapiro, staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project. “Prisoners have a constitutional right to be free from pointless and humiliating searches.”

Experts on mental health care in prison have estimated that as many as 80 percent of women who are in jail or prison have been the victims of domestic violence and physical abuse prior to their conviction, a reality that compounds the infliction of pain caused by the needless body cavity searches. According to the ACLU’s letter, courts have found that the previous sexual abuse suffered by many female prisoners increases the trauma caused by invasive strip searches and heightens the constitutional violation. Indeed, the ACLU has received letters in recent weeks from prisoners at DWCF who complain that being forced to comply with the new search policy – under the threat of being doused with pepper spray – exacerbates prior sexual trauma.

The ACLU’s letter also charges that body cavity searches also may have occurred after prisoner visits with their lawyers. Not only are the searches unwarranted after such visits because of the low probability that an attorney would ever agree to smuggle narcotics or weapons into a prison, but they also could deter prisoners from meeting with their lawyers, compromising legal representation.

The ACLU also asserts in its letter that DWCF’s new policy could jeopardize the safety of communities across the state of Colorado by undermining the rehabilitation of prisoners and compromising the Colorado Department of Corrections’ stated goal of “assist[ing] offenders’ successful re-entry into society” and “reduc[ing] the likelihood of future victims.” The ACLU’s letter charges that prisoners have refused visits from friends and family in order to avoid post-visit searches.

“The fact that these searches deter visits can have a devastating impact on prisoners’ families, especially for prisoners’ children, who can only see their mothers during visits,” said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado. “Also, exacerbating mental illnesses through traumatic body cavity searches decreases the likelihood of re-entry into the community and could well lead to higher rates of recidivism.”

A copy of the ACLU’s letter is available online at: www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/letter-colorado-department-corrections-challenging-degrading-body-cavity-search-pol

Colorado Prisoners Forced to Spread Labia for Cavity Search (womensrights.change.org)
“Labia Lifts” Terrorize Female Prisoners [Cruel And Unusual] (jezebel.com)

Tulare County – Recorder Online Publishes Anti-Gay Hate Letter

Melanie Nathan — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 04:59:49 +0000

Melanie Nathan ; August 27, 2010

Media ABUSE of Freedom of Speech

There was only one city in all of California where the City Council actually voted a resolution *in favor* of Prop 8; Porterville, Tulare County.

So when a letter appears today in the County Newspaper, we may well assume that by its very publication the Recorder and its editor are complicit in spreading hate and bigotery, albeit couched in the tacit notion of the First Amendment.

I know many an Editor who would refuse to give voice to such blatant distortions and yet this Publication now serves as the rah-rah for hate and anti-gay agenda.

This letter, entitled Society Should be Protected from Homosexuality” was published yesterday in the Recorder OnLine – “Your South County News source” -

“Editor,
The tragic and destructive spread of homosexuality across the country is a major evil of our time. The John Birch society reported that thousands of boys per year are stolen from their parents to feed homosexual pornography.

I recommend that American citizens study anti-homosexual books available at Christian book stores. And to read anti-homosexual books which are out of print.

W. Cleon Skousen in 1958, wrote a warning about the communist conspiracy. The book was called, “The Naked Communist.” The book warned that the communists would set out to turn America into a moral cesspool, including corrupting America with rampart homosexuality, flooding America with pornography and sexual anarchy, and thereby seeking to destroy the family institution.

Not every homosexual is a communist, but every communist supports the militant homosexual war against mankind. Why? Because it attacks the family. Homosexuality, as well as every kind of heterosexual immorality, is a destroyer of freedom.

Many homosexuals are basically decent men and women who took a wrong turn. The gospel of Jesus Christ says satan is the prompter of all sexual immorality, including homosexual perversion therefore homosexuality is wickedness. Society should be protected from it.

Sam Usher
Porterville”

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Does Ken Mehlman Fail His Barmitvah Covenant?

Melanie Nathan — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:48:21 +0000

Melanie Nathan – 8-27-10;

Suddenly Laura Bush loves Gay marriage, Elizabeth Haselhof has tea with Melissa and now supports same-sex marriage – then Rekers gets caught with rentboy and the right wing is exposed for its ex-gay fraud- and now we have the RNC remnant from the Bush Era, the actual architect of the anti-gay Republican hate campaign, co- creator of the wedge issue that targeted a minority community, used gays and lesbians as battle bullets, coming out as a homosexual?

My G-d what is the world coming to? I ask!

Ken Mehlman, who headed the Republican National Committee between 2005 and 2007, has come out in an interview with the Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder: Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview stating that he had grappled with this side of himself for over 43 years.

He agreed to answer a reporter’s questions, he said, because, now in private life, he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage and anticipated that questions would be asked about his participation in a late-September fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that supported the legal challenge to California’s ballot initiative against gay marriage, Proposition 8.

What a mindless mongrel if I may. You mean to tell me that this man was not having sex or fantasies of sex with men for the best part of those 43 years? Who was he fantasizing about not being able to marry? George W. Bush? Was there ever a rentboy between 2005 and 2007? Come out Come out wherever you are? Was there a suspicious mama? A phony fiance?

Is this guy short of money? Does he want to sell a book; I for one am not buying! Sorry Mehlman but you hurt my feelings, not to mention the harm to the LGBT community; and it will take a lot more than you “being happier” for me to get over it.

More and more years of Bush and his taking down of this country – and you did it in the name of us Queers?

Known as the Great Conciliator and a reputation for being most forgiving, I cannot wrap myself around your dishonorable conduct. Now that I find out he is Jewish too – I ask the big question. Oy Vey Why?

You knew exactly what you were doing and how it impacted millions of lives. You took an entire minority on the ride of its life, sacrificing your brethren like lambs to the slaughter.

“Here take this one’s rights while I continue to indulge in my CON-fusion!”

What makes it all so much worse for me is that like me, Ken Mehlman is Jewish. While I can understand the pressures of a nice Jewish existence – including the expectations of his Momma Judith and Pappa Arthur, Ken Mehlman has not lived my ideal of what it means to be a good Jew- close to the Torah and its expectations of social justice – and WHAT ABOUT the mitzvoth!

He has not only betrayed the LGBT community but fueling the all white gay hating Christian existence certainly could not have served his Bar-mitvah covenant.

Go here to see Ken Mehlman on Charlie Rose – do not forget to throw up as in vomit. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/155

MelanieNathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Maggie Gallagher On Ken Mehlman (joemygod.blogspot.com)
Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Comes Out Of The Closet (lezgetreal.com)
Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Confirms in Interview: I’m Gay (towleroad.com)

Mehlman Might Be Out, But He Is Not Exactly Helping

Bridgette P. LaVictoire — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:49:52 +0000

08/26/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
It should not be much of a surprise to Ken Mehlman that he is not exactly getting a warm welcome with his announcement that he is gay. In fact, he fits the stereotype of the self loathing gay man who will go to what ever lengths necessary in order to hide his sexuality and even hurt others. This was the man who, as George W. Bush’s campaign manager, did his best to restrict the rights of lesbians and gays across the nation in order to get Republicans elected.

Mehlman did, at least, say that he is sorry, but it is going to take a lot of work for him to dig his way out of the hole he is in. He told The Atlantic “I can’t change the fact that I wasn’t in this place personally when I was in politics, and I genuinely regret that. It was very hard, personally. What I do regret, and think a lot about, is that one of the things I talked a lot about in politics was how I tried to expand the party into neighborhoods where the message wasn’t always heard. I didn’t do this in the gay community at all.”

Of course, maybe not helping Republicans no matter what their stance on homosexuality is would help assuage some of the problems that he is facing in the LGBT Community who, quite frankly, are doing their best to undo the damage that he has caused. Instead, he has donated over two thousand dollars to Missouri Republican Roy Blunt, who voted in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment- the preemptive attempt to enshrine bigotry into the US Constitution.

He has also donated more than two thousand to Senator John McCain, who recently flipped on the issue of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Now, McCain wants to ensure that lesbian and gay soldiers remain in hiding within the military. He donated a thousand to Ben Quayle, the son of former Vice-President Dan Quayle. The Congressional candidate in Arizona has not only attacked President Obama for being the “worst President in history” (funny, we thought that was George W.), and who has begun touting his opposition to marriage equality.

He has also donated to not quite out Illinois Senatorial candidate Mark Kirk, who recently voted against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and to Utah Republican Senator Robert Bennett, who did his absolute best to stop marriage equality in Washington DC. The list apparently goes on and on.

Perhaps Mehlman only just realized he needed to stop hiding.

Many lesbians, gays and transpeople would be more than willing to vote for the Republican Party if it were not for the fact that men such as Bennett, Quayle, McCain, Blunt and on are trying to pull their rights away. For many, it is more important to be lesbian, gay or transgender first and Democrat or Republican second. For men like Mehlman and the people at GOProud, it is more important to be Republican first and lesbian, gay or transgender second. In the end, what it means is that many of them are more than willing to be complicit in the oppression of their own people. While they may be acting as a bridge to help the Republican Party become less anti-LGBT, they need to remember what it means to be lesbian, gay and transgender.

Source

Kate Kendell of NCLR on Choosing Children’s 25th Anniversary

Melanie Nathan — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:24:50 +0000

: “Lets have kids dear!”

Posted by Melanie Nathan

Choosing Children

08.26.10

A letter from Kate Kendell:-

Twenty-five years ago, I was 25 years old and just starting law school at the University of Utah. I was parenting my daughter Emily, who was 4 years old with her mom, and my former partner, Lori. While it was uncommon for LGBT friends in our circle to be planning for parenthood, it did not occur to Lori or me that we were at the forefront of what would be termed the “gayby boom.”

Lori had been a single parent raising the then 1-year-old Emily when we met. We were just living our lives unaware of a sea-change that was just beginning when it came to issues of parenting and our community. While we were living that life, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Deborah “Chas” Chasnoff and her then life and work partner, Kim Klausner, were in the midst of writing, producing, and directing their groundbreaking film documenting this burgeoning movement. Choosing Children captured on celluloid the choice a growing number of lesbians and gay men were making, a choice that seemed both counter-intuitive and revolutionary: to become parents.

Up until this generation, most LGBT folks were parents because they had been in earlier heterosexual marriages or relationships and then divorced and come out, or vice-versa. In doing so many of them faced hostility from family and former spouses and countless numbers lost or gave up any hope for custody of their children.

Beginning in the early 1980s, a new kind of parenting began emerging. Led by lesbians, often in biological partnership with gay men, women began choosing to have children as lesbian-identified parents. Now, 25 short years later, the groundbreaking idea that lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender folks can also be parents seems, well, not so groundbreaking. In fact, it is now so commonplace that doing so is viewed by some in our community as assimilationist and pedestrian. Gotta love the march of progress.

But of course, what the fight for the right to be both LGBT and a parent is really about is the right to live a fulfilled and authentic life according to what gives joy and satisfaction to each of us. And in 1985 becoming a parent often meant rejection from both one’s family of origin and one’s chosen family in the lesbian or gay community. It also meant maintaining a pretense of heterosexuality or absolute legal vulnerability because almost every state prohibited openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from adopting, and few if any states provided any parental protections. It was a time of very little community or institutional support for you as a parent or for your child as the son or daughter of a queer parent.

Emily will be 30 next year. She is smart, lovely, creative, open-hearted, and generous. I can hardly believe I have a daughter who is near 30 years old. But then I also can hardly believe the progress we have made in the short time my oldest has been alive. Seeing Choosing Children again was inspiring for many reasons but most of all, it made me really stop and appreciate how far we have come and how much we owe those who blazed this trail uncertain of the terrain ahead of them. Filmmakers Chas and Kim, the parents featured in the film, our own founder Donna Hitchens—who provided legal expertise and commentary—did not intend to be pioneers, but they were, and we are all much better off because of the choices they made.

So please join us for the upcoming Choosing Children 25th Anniversary Screening and Reception, a film that is now a crucial and transformative story of our movement. Our evening together promises to be a celebration of how far we have come and a promise to not end our quest until every family is valued and safe.

Sincerely,

Kate Kendell

Choosing Children 25th Anniversary Screening and Reception

Groundbreaking Film Exploring the First Generation of LGBT Parents Celebrates 25th Anniversary

What: Choosing Children 25th anniversary celebration to raise funds to permanently preserve this historical film on DVD
When: 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, 2010 (Program begins at 7 p.m.)
Where: Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $25 (regular admission); $10 (student admission

Groundbreaking Film Exploring the First Generation of LGBT Parents Celebrates 25th Anniversary(lezgetreal.com)
Groundbreaking Film Exploring the First Generation of LGBT Parents Celebrates 25th Anniversary(pinkbananaworld.com)
Contacting My Sperm Donor – I Am A Kid who is All Right! (lezgetreal.com)

Liberal Gay Blogger Pulls A Dr. Laura

Bridgette P. LaVictoire — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:14:35 +0000

08/26/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Satire, stupidity, or crass racism. Ben Carver decided to amend the recently done graphic aimed at helping those people who will be attending Glenn Beck’s ‘rally’ in support of himself on 8/28. Instead of being sarcastic, Carver used the opportunity to be crass, possibly racist, and even to use homophobic slurs which, like it or not, actually obliterate the point he was trying to make, which is the racist and homophobic nature of the followers of Beck.

To make matters worse, he use the same crass and racist term a seventh time in defending himself against the meager criticism that did show up with regards to his graphic.

Carver stated in the caption to the ‘map’ of the DC metro (bottom of post as per request)

“What I haven’t seen yet is an attempt to provide them with a map of D.C. that explains the city in a language they understand. Being of southern descent and inclined to hospitality, I decided to make one tonight. I was inspired after coming home this evening and finding that my boyfriend had received a letter from the Heritage Foundation, a hysterical right-wing organization. He took this multiple page screed, corrected it in ink (both grammar and ideology), and sent it back to them in the mail. While I don’t see the benefit in his actions, I was inspired by his riteous anger.

“Welcome, you highly fed and lowly taught failures of the American education system. Despite your attempt to recreate the nazi party, I hope your trip to our fine city is a pleasant one.”

Of course, Carver decided to blast those who objected to his material by stating “I knew the message would be lost on those who lack the ability to think critically, whether a right-wing or left-wing ideologue. Ultimately, the tea partiers and the politically correct alike suffer from the same disease. They put emotion before thinking.”

Actually, even those of us who can think realize that what Carver was trying to do amounted to a stupid attempt to be sarcastic and all he did was edge over into being offensive. Well, perhaps tumbled over into being offensive. Fell of the cliff into the sea of offensiveness?

Carver went on to say “For the dull, let me explain: This is sarcasm. It’s intent is to show the smallness of thinking employed by those who choose to scapegoat others based on their fear of the world. Those who see enemies behind every corner and minimize the worth of others based on categories such as race, sexual orientation, religion, or political ideology.”

Perhaps one should point out that this is not sarcasm. Sarcasm requires more whit than Carver shows in what is, honestly, a simplistic attempt to be crude. Perhaps he should take some time out to read some of the best satirists in the English language such as Jonathan Swift, Terry Pratchett, and Oscar Wilde. Repeated use of racist and homophobic epithets does not make one’s work sarcastic. True sarcasm requires the ability to put together words which will be both cutting and witty. It requires subtlety, which is lacking in those who rely upon racist epithets in order to attempt humor.

Carver went on in his rather inane and rather unfortunate rant of a defense by stating “Someone recently asked me ‘If a black person who had their face bashed in while being called a n***** saw that, would it be OK?’. Typical of the type of person I’ve just described, but let me answer:

It is not ok to bash a black person in the face. It is not OK to call them or anyone else hateful names. One should also defer from using hateful words casually in common speech, as they are loaded. If said black person saw my image and was upset, I would tell them that I think it an outrage they were bashed in the face and that justice should be served.”

On the one hand, he makes a very persuasive point, it is not alright to bash a person- any person- in the face, nor is it alright to call them hateful names. It is, however, with this statement that Carver, unfortunately, shows just how far he is willing to tumble into the sea of offensiveness and even show some of his own racism: “This is all, of course, assuming that said oppressed black person wasn’t rational, and didn’t immediately love this image because of its riteous anger and corrective intention.”

While I have disagreed with the use of the terms ‘White Privilege’, ‘Straight Privilege’, and ‘Male Privilege’, I have always acknowledged the fact that there are inequities within the society with regards to oppressing groups and oppressed groups. When Keith Olbermann went after Dr. Laura Schlessinger recently for her on air rant, he did not go after her for her repeated use of a specific racist epithet. Rather, he went after her for the racism implicit in the rest of what she said.

Given that the rest of the public comments on this image are hardly what one would say are attacking Carver as a racist, one has to wonder where the defensiveness is coming from. Indeed, had Carver simply pointed out that, yes, he was using these words to make people uncomfortable and it was a deliberate choice, instead of going on a rant which showed an obvious bent towards racism, he may have come out of this whole debacle rather more intact.

“I realize that the humor and sadness of this comment is overshadowed by it’s irony. Debating rational thought with those who don’t have the capacity to understand what I’m saying. It’s in these times I feel most certain that we are all doomed. Jesus, take the wheel,” Carver concluded.

In truth, those of us who do have the capacity to understand are still offended because it is painfully obvious that Mr. Carver does not want to acknowledge his own racial issues as is shown by his rant in defense of his image.

C.D. Kirven, the co-founder of Get Equal Now, put out this statement

“No lie lives forever! It is a lie that my community does not suffer from the infection of racial discrimination. This truth is carried by people of color and is a part of our everyday existence as a member of the LGBT community. It is never and I repeat never appropriate to use the “N” word. I’m extremely hurt by the Tea Party map but unfortunately not surprised because of the overt racism that continues to go unaddressed. I request the blogger release a public apology and that other LGBT community leaders denounce this blogger’s use of the “N” word which is not uncommon. I’ve been ignored and mistreat by many in my community because I took a stand against racial injustice. But ignoring it only allows the hateful bigotary to infect the minds and poison the actions of future LGBT leaders. I don’t care how you feel about me but the use of this word by a gay White blogger is painful and no comments by readers calling him out on his racial ignorance is shocking. I’m hoping this incident is an eye opener for those who think we are a post racial community. I’m publicly requesting action from others to break the silence and to stop the silent approval of this type of language. I plead with those in the LGBT community who have experienced discrimination to understand my outrage. How can we join together and fight for LGBT rights if behind my back you call me the “N” word because you think I’m beneath you? The fact that this blogger chose to use that word to disrespect Glenn Beck is crazy but ultimately he only manages to insult thousands of Black people who are also apart of the LGBT community. I will be contacted and people will attempt to change the subject by pointing out how others are treated in the same manner but I will not be distracted from this insult because the use of this slur has been used for years by White Americans against Black Americans. We as a nation are still trying to heal from racial wounds around Sherry Sherrod and Dr. Laura. I urge the blogger to apologize for using it and others to focus on our community wide racial problem. This problem will not be resolved unless we talk about it and take active steps to end it. How can you ask for homophobia to end when you do nothing to stop the racism in the LGBT community? I ask all people of color in the LGBT community to join me in requesting GLAAD, HRC, Gay & Lesbian Taskforce, NBJC, Courage Campiagn, Equality orgainations by state, EAA, Get Equal and others to not only denounce this bloggers use of the “N” word but to begin to take action to address racism in the LGBT community. I tried to stop Shrley Q’s welfare queen black face performance on Juneteenth but recieved minimal support from LGBT leaders. We will not end homophobia in the hetrosexual community until racism in the LGBT community is acknowledged as a nationwide problem.”

(Author’s note, I have redacted the offensive term from the quote from Carver’s rant.)

Source Image can be seen on Carver’s site.

Update:

Upon request, the picture in question is this:

Murkowski Lining Up An Independent Run?

Bridgette P. LaVictoire — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:37:57 +0000

08/26/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Lost somewhere in the hype about the fact that Lisa Murkowski may have lost to Sarah Palin’s choice in the Republican Primary is the potential that she will chose to run as an independent. This is actually becoming something of the story of this election cycle. With Charlie Crist making the decision early to pull out of the Republican primary and run as an independent, the stage is already set for several establish candidates to run as independents instead of riding off into the sunset. So far, the only incumbent who has not decided to run for reelection as an independent is Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania, who lost out to Joe Sestak.

Murkowski is probably considering her run carefully, and waiting until the official results are in to make any kind of official announcement. Murkowski’s run could complicate matters for Joe Miller, Sarah Palin’s favorite. Where as Crist may end up splitting both the Republican and Democratic votes, it is likely that Murkowski will only end up splitting the Republican vote and end up propelling Scott McAdams, the Democrat in the race, into the Senate. Three way races are often hard to predict, as well. A lot depends upon local conditions and local candidates.

Miller’s election does, however, show part of the true agenda of the Tea Party, or at least the core of it. Rather than being a group which is only worried about economic issues and taxation, they are also strongly in favor of a repressive social agenda including making abortion under any circumstances illegal and banning same-sex marriage, and likely the rebanning of ‘homosexual acts’. This has been seen before, though. The Tea Party fueled social agenda has shown its ugly head in Texas, Virginia, and Arizona especially. In Texas, the TX GOP adopted a platform which called for the recriminalization of homosexuality. In Arizona, they have pursued an immigration law which not only violates the Constitution, but targets a specific group of people- Hispanics. And in Virginia, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has pursued his own attacks on abortion by trying to make all abortion clinics into mini-hospitals, which is impossible to do monitarily, and trying to ban all rights for the LGBT Community.

A third party or independent run for office may be in Murkowski’s cards. In truth, Alaska stands to lose a lot if Miller is elected. Right now, Murkowski is very influential and able to get a lot of money back to her home state, which gets almost six dollars back for every one dollar it sends to Washington.

No matter what happens, the next two months will be interesting.

Wyoming Marriage Equality Probably Does Not Need A Jailhouse Lawyer

Melanie Nathan — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 05:37:28 +0000

By Melanie Nathan; 08-25-2010

Yesterday Lez Get Real published a story about the gay couple who, upon being denied a marriage license in their home state of Wyoming, filed a law suit in the Federal Court last week, challenging the constitutionality of the Wyoming law that declares marriage to be between male and female, only.

The couple from Cheyenne David Shupe-Roderick, 25, and Ryan Dupree, 21, filed the lawsuit Aug. 13 after the Laramie County Clerk’s Office refused to issue them a marriage license.

In that article we questioned the competency of the Plaintiffs to self represent in a case as important as this, especially after reading the complaint, which we believed, would not adequately serve this lawsuit.

We contacted several LGBT legal minds and members of our LGBT community to get their feelings on the case. The general consensus was, not only should the couple NOT be self representing, but also should reconsider bringing their case at all, as the it may not be in the short term or long term interests of the national marriage equality debate and the current course of cases already before the Courts.

However In looking further into the matter, Lezgetreal uncovered information about the Plaintiff, David Shupe-Roderick; it appears that a perhaps seasoned Jailhouse lawyer may be taking on Wyoming marriage equality.

When I spoke yesterday to David Shupe-Roderick I was taken by his naivity – or so I thought! I really believed that only someone naive and ill prepared for reality would take on such an endeavor. However, Admittedly I was wrong.

There are two instances of Shupe-Roderick suing the Department of Corrections. See

No. 07-8087 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT 290 Fed. Appx. 164; 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 18588 August 25, 2008; where Shupe moved to dismiss an appeal as it involved his claims alleging discussion of personal information by prison staff, gender-based discrimination, inadequate mental health care, inadequate medical care, and excessive use of force. The motion to dismiss the case was granted. Yes Shupe was in prison apparently, and represented himself – with court documents stating – COUNSEL: GERALD DAVID SHUPE, Jr. (State Prisoner: 23153), Plaintiff – Appellant, Pro se.

Then yet another case where Shupe- Roderick appears to be Plaintiff in a Child support case, Shupe-Roderick v. Wyoming Child Support Services et al, Case Number -2:2010cv00033, under cause- 42:1983 Civil Rights Act.

We also uncovered information indicating that on May 28, 2010 Gerald D. Shupe-Roderick, 25, was arrested by the Cheyenne Police Department, for felony filing of false documentation http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/wyoming-tribune-eagle/mi_8203/is_20100528/blotters-briefs/ai_n53999280/

I sent an email with this links to Shupe today, but have yet to receive a response. I went out on a limb yesterday, sending e-mail to my numerous contacts to see if anyone would be willing to provide legal assistance to the Plaintiffs in the hope of avoiding a crush to marriage equality.

Now based on these facts, I must retract, noting that not only is it a bad idea to file in pro per, in a matter of this nature that impacts an entire minority population, or even to file at all in Wyoming at this time, but the emergence of these facts may serve to disqualify Mr Shupe, notwithstanding his right to equal treatment and remedies under the law, as the most appropriate face for marriage equality in Wyoming at this time.

While the motive of the couple may well be pure and their right to equal treatment profoundly innate, this lawsuit could pose a serious threat to marriage equality generally and it is my hope that this couple would re-consider how to approach their quest for equality – perhaps through withdrawal for the good of marriage equality in the long term.

As Shupe said, he did not expect the case to get this much attention and for that reason alone, he should consider consulting with the LGBT groups such as NCLR or LAMBDA Legal to check in and ascertain whether they should continue or not.

UPDATED: Since posting this Article last night, Lez Get Real has obtained the following comments from leaders in the LGBT Community:-

Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry:-

” Clearly this couple should have the freedom to marry, and every day they are denied marriage is unfair and wrong. But filing a lawsuit is only one way to challenge discrimination, and without careful groundwork and good timing, can actually set the cause and other couples back. The best way to maximize the chances of winning, in addition to smart and solid lawyering, is helping more people in Wyoming understand who their gay neighbors are, and why marriage matters, thereby creating a climate that encourages and empowers a court to do the right thing.”

Melanie Nathan
Nathan@privatecourts.com

Exclusive First Interview -Wyoming Gay Couple File Federal Lawsuit (lezgetreal.com)
Wyoming 20-Year-Olds Sue State Over Marriage Ban. They’re Doomed (queerty.com)
WYOMING: Gay Couple Challenges Ban On Same-Sex Marriage (joemygod.blogspot.com)
Gay Couple Challenges Wyoming’s Marriage Law (towleroad.com)

Under DADT, it’s a high price you pay for loving a sailor

Paula Brooks — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:44:06 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

8/25/10-by Paula Brooks

Loving a sailor is a high price to pay

Loving her truly is hard when she’s away

Its being alone with nothing to hold, its being young, yet feeling so old

Its having her whisper her love for you, its whispering back that you love her too

There comes a kiss and a promise for more, as her ship slowly pulls away from the shore

Reluctantly, painfully, letting her go

While your insides are dieing from wanting her so

Watching her leave with eyes full of tears

Standing alone with your hopes, dreams, and fears

Its sending a letter with the stamp upside sown

To a far away love in a far away town

Days go by slowly, how many have passed?

Then suddenly you realize its here at last

Remember she’s thinking of you everyday

She’s sad and she’s lonely while so far away

So love her and miss her and hold your head high

Be strong and have faith, wipe that tear from your eye

Your woman’s a seafarer, like that old ancient trader

Its a high price to pay for loving a sailor.

In 1997 I met a sailor. To be more accurate I met and fell in love with a Naval Aviator.

My Naval Aviator often spoke of “compartmentalization”, and her need to put away all extraneous thoughts and emotions while she flew… and that was not surprising since part of her job was landing jet aircraft aboard the unstable flight deck of an aircraft carrier steaming at sea, which even under the best weather conditions and smooth seas, was an incredibly difficult and dangerous task.

I was and still am, very proud of the job My Naval Aviator did for her country, however the deployments to her carrier totally sucked for me, because as the civilian same-sex partner of a Naval Aviator I also found “compartmentalization” takes on a whole new meaning under Don’t’ Ask, Don’t Tell and indeed, there a high price you pay for loving your sailor …

With the Pentagon’s family survey now in the field, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), is releasing a letter each day this week from family members and spouses of former service members impacted by DADT.

Today’s letter from retired Chief Lee Quillian tells you what that “compartmentalization” entails and just how high a price you must pay if you happen to love a sailor and are a same-sex couple under DADT.

August 25, 2010

Hon. Jeh C. Johnson
General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group

General Carter F. Ham
Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe
Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group

Dear General Ham and Mr. Johnson:

I am a retired military sailor, living with a wonderful person who was fired because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).

Because of my experience with the military, I understand the life, the duty days, the underway time, the training cycles. Even the simple events of life at sea – how wondrous or disastrous mail call can be, depending on whether or not you get a letter; the whirlwind caused by the simple announcement of liberty call; and the sounds of the Navy – the bells, the whistles, the constant hum and different noises of shipboard living. These are just some of the various events and sometimes intense evolutions that occur around the universe called the United States Ship. I’ve been stationed on five of the best ships in the Navy. I speak the language, I know all the acronyms, and it’s an organization I’ve spent most of my closeted life in.

If my highly decorated and accomplished spouse had been able to stay in the Navy, her professional life would have included all of those same events mentioned previously, and more. She would have undoubtedly been stationed on board a ship of awesome capabilities. That ship would deploy, do training missions, visit foreign and domestic ports, and represent the world’s finest Navy. She would stand watch, hopefully in something better than a port and starboard rotation. If you don’t know what a port and starboard rotation is, just imagine working at your current job, six hours on, then take six hours off, then go back to work for six hours. Repeat 24/7 for the next 180 days.

She might even be sent on an Individual Augmentation (IA) to Iraq or Afghanistan while in her current assignment. During an Individual Augmentation, she would literally be loaned out to cover a critical needs job, however long that may be, in addition to her regularly scheduled deployment cycle.

I, however, would have to adhere to a strict set of rules when dealing with a deployment, whether it be an IA or ship deployment. Here are just some to think about – they reflect what life is like for military families under DADT:

· Set up an alternative e-mail account that wouldn’t show the gender of my name;
· Establish a very generic, genderless form of communications over e-mail;
· Never write “I love you” – or nothing that could indicate anything at all about the nature of our relationship;
· No access to the Ship’s Ombudsman – a point person for military families for all things very, very important relating to the ship and her crew;
· Create a plan for dropping her off at ship – making sure our goodbye or welcome is in secret;
· Never spending the remaining few hours on the ship like with the rest of families before a deployment;
· Worrying about how close to the pier I could be without raising suspicion;
· Before leaving home, be sure to say final goodbyes – no hugs and certainly no kisses allowed on or near the base;
· Not being able to participate in any family video postcards to the ship;
· Still trying to figure out how to deal with those pesky customs forms required when mailing anything to a “Fleet Post Office” – they require a name, so maybe use her parent’s name or the dog’s name;
· Don’t put anything too personal in care packages – those might arrive via barge, waterlogged and falling apart – therefore, they might be opened;
· As a result of the rough handling from a helicopter mail drop, any other boxes I send could be opened if damaged;
· Don’t get sick, seriously sick, and don’t get hurt while spouse is gone;
· Hope she doesn’t get hurt as no one would tell me – I can’t be listed as her next of kin in her service record without raising eyebrows;
· Remember to have her pack her personal cell phone and the charger for use six to nine months later – can’t use any of the ship’s communications, so the cell is the only way to coordinate a pickup upon return home;
· Knowing that when the other families are waiting at the pier, I wouldn’t be able to stand among them anxiously awaiting my sailor’s return.
This isn’t everything. It’s just a glimpse.

Sincerely,

Chief Petty Officer Lee Quillian, USN (Ret.)

CC: U.S. Sen. Carl M. Levin
Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee

U.S. Sen. John S. McCain
Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee

U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman
Member, Senate Armed Services Committee

Exclusive First Interview -Wyoming Gay Couple File Federal Lawsuit

Melanie Nathan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:38:53 +0000

Melanie Nathan, 8-24-10

Governor Frudenthal of Wyoming

A Wyoming gay couple is asking a federal judge to stop that state from enforcing any laws that prevent gays and lesbians from access to civil marriage.

David Shupe-Roderick and Ryan W. Dupree of Cheyenne have filed a federal lawsuit, on their own, and without legal representation; challenging a Wyoming law that defines marriage as existing only between a man and a woman.

In their suit they say the Laramie County Clerk’s Office refused to issue them a marriage license and as result violated the couples rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.

The Editors at Lezgetreal have read the brief filed by the Plaintiffs, who are self representing, and believe that this case could be treading on difficult water without the help of professional representation.

David was born and raised in Wyoming and told me that “this has been a long time coming for Wyoming. We had approached private lawyers who are unable to help us. There seems to be a lot of fear in Wyoming because this is the place where a very bad hate crime occurred. This is where Mathew Shepard was murdered. We believe we need to do this especially in his memory.”

We have already received hate mail when local groups found out what were doing. We fear for our physical safety and although my boss at the fast food restaurant where I am assistant manager thinks we are so brave, he also thinks we are stupid – because our safety is at risk. Ryan and I have been together for over a year. We want to get married. We do not want special treatment; we want our State to treat us the same way as other”

A group Wyoming Focus Group sent a hate letter to the Wyoming Press. Lezgetreal has obtained a copy of the letter. It says, that the lawsuit seeks to “molest the sanctity of marriage in Wyoming.” David notes that this was the more pleasant part of the letter.

The Wyoming law defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, and the couple has asked U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson to overturn the law.

Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg declined comment Tuesday, saying he hadn’t reviewed the lawsuit yet.

Wyoming pdf of complaint re marriage David & Ryan

Melanie Nathan Added:
IMPORTANT UPDATE; See
Wyoming:- Marriage Equality Probably Does Not Need A Jailhouse Lawyer (lezgetreal.com)

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Gay Couple Challenges Wyoming’s Marriage Law (towleroad.com)
Wyoming:- Marriage Equality Probably Does Not Need A Jailhouse Lawyer (lezgetreal.com)

Letter to SA Consul Re Corrective Rape of Lesbians

Melanie Nathan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:42:38 +0000

: National Assembly Building Cape Town

Melanie Nathan – 8-24-10

I wrote an article here on Lez Get Real a few days ago; August 21, 2010- and it received a wide net response. The offers of support prompted me to send a letter the South African Consul General in the USA, based in New York City. I believe there is another office in Los Angeles as well.

South Africa is known as the ‘Rape Capital’ of the world, with mind blowing statistics of around 500,000 rapes per year. This is a human rights catastrophe of untold proportion- with the HIV/AIDS ramification serving as the lethal weapon of mass destruction. Especially sinister is the flagrant finger flip to each and every victim, as the entire world cheered metaphorically on, aiding and abetting the somnolent South African Government, akin to perpetrators, like an Oudtshoorn ostrich with its head deeply embedded in the sand, while women continued to be raped day after day, each hour

South African Consulate
Mada Consul
Fikile Magubane
New York

via E-Mail
August 22, 2010

Dear Madam Consul,

We are a widely read LGBT publication / news magazine here in the USA. We have grave concerns about the treatment of women in South Africa,with special regard to the extremely high incidence of rape; and especially our lesbian sisters who seem to be subjected to the insiduous and disregarded hate crime termed “corrective rape.” Here is an article posted this weekend as a follow up to many written on this topic for our News Magazine. http://lezgetreal.com/2010/08/shockphoto-as-lesbian-warrior-tells-of-yet-another-corrective-rape-victim/

I have been in direct contact with the local authorities in South Africa regarding some of the reported atrocities – in some cases by victims directly to me here in the USA, noting - cases involving CT TECH and other students who are afraid to report the rapes; for fear of of repercussions, in coming out as lesbians.

Authorities in South Africa have informed me that the South African Government has no direct initiative/s regarding the prevention/ education/ victim support of lesbian “corrective rape” cases and that it is not acknowledged at all as an incidence of hate crime.

I had a recent report of bail of a mere R60.00 granted to an accused rapist – who knew his victim personally. The accused was caught in the act of the crime. The victim is currently terrified for her life, without police protection. This is the third time this victim has been raped for being a lesbian and is currently in the care of friends on suicide watch. There is no medical treatment or help available to the victims for fear of further retaliation.

We find this to be shocking and invite your comments on the subject as we plan on writing more reports about the victims and their needs.

Thank you for your kind attention to this very serious and complex issue.

Regards,

Melanie Nathan

MELANIE NATHAN
nathan@privatecourts.com

Rape Against Lesbians Reward Perpetrators (lezgetreal.com)
SA Corrective Rape Accused Bail set at $68.00 as Soccer Masks the Truth (lezgetreal.com)
OUTRAGE: South Africa – Brutal Rapist of Lesbian Released on Bail (lezgetreal.com)
Shock Photo as Lesbian Warrior Tells of yet Another Corrective Rape Victim (pinkbananaworld.com)
SA Corrective Rape Accused Bail set at $68.00 as Soccer Masks the Truth (pinkbananaworld.com)
OUTRAGE: South Africa Brutal Rapist of Lesbian Soccer Player Released on Bail (pinkbananaworld.com)

A Mom Says, Please Let My Son Be All He Can Be

Paula Brooks — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:29:06 +0000

8/24/10-by Paula Brooks

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the US Military policy that prevents gay and lesbian troops from serving openly, not only impacts the troops forced to serve under it, but also their families.

In a campaign corresponding with the Pentagon sending 150,000 surveys to the heterosexual spouses of service members, the SLDN has provided us with letters from those family members. Today’s letter is from Nancy S. Manzella, mother to Former Army Sgt. Darren Manzella.

August 24, 2010

Hon. Jeh C. Johnson

General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense

Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group

General Carter F. Ham

Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe

Co-Chair, Comprehensive Review Working Group

Dear General Ham and Mr. Johnson:

My name is Nancy Manzella and I have been a mother for 34 years. My husband and I live in rural Western New York where we have made our home at a grape vineyard and have raised three wonderful sons. We now have beautiful daughters-in-law and grandchildren. We are proud to say that we are the all American family.

I also was a military mom for six years. Our son, Darren Manzella, served two tours in the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Soldier in the United States Army. He was promoted to sergeant, was a team leader of a medical squad, and conducted more than 100 12-hour patrols in the streets of Baghdad, treating wounds and evacuating casualties of sniper fire and roadside bombs.

Darren was awarded the Combat Medical Badge, honoring him for treating American and Iraqi troops while under fire. He saved lives while putting his own in precarious situations by treating gunshot wounds to blast injuries and more. He was “out there” and our family knew he was in constant danger.

As anyone who is familiar with our military knows, service takes tremendous sacrifices, not only for those who serve, but for their loved ones they leave behind. Our family was always concerned for Darren’s safety, as all military families are for their sons and daughters in uniform. We were also concerned for him because he was openly gay while he served his second tour. We knew that anyone in a war zone was at risk of being harmed at any time, but we also understood that because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Darren was especially vulnerable. He could be fired, forced out of the Army, and potentially face harassment and abuse. The stress was incredible.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” not only affects the gay and lesbian service members’ lives, but also throws their loved ones, friends, and all family members’ lives into a stressful nightmare. We cannot get to them if they need us for support, as they are thousands of miles away. The ban impacts so many lives adversely. It causes unbearable stress on everyone concerned, especially with the constant fear that we may slip up, we might inadvertently “out” them even in a simple letter from home. The “All American Families” who have gay or lesbian service members serving are living with this stress every day.

As parents, this law offends us deeply. It tells us that our gay and lesbian children who are in uniform and putting their lives on the line every day, saving lives, are not good enough to serve their country. The law discriminates against family members, forcing fear and anguish into their lives. Our sons and daughters should be judged on their performance, loyalty to country and bravery, not their sexual orientation.

We need to support all American military families – straight or gay.

Our son was fired under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and I still believe to this day he would willingly serve his country again if this law ended. I can tell this discharge not only affected his military career, but caused him to question his self-worth. Under the law it doesn’t seem to matter how good you are at your job; how many lives you save or people you support; or how patriotic and dedicated you might be. If you happen to be gay or lesbian, this law says you are somehow “less than.”

The Army teaches honor and integrity and holds those values dear. Despite these values, the Army still isn’t allowed to let our gay and lesbian troops live up to that potential because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Under this law, troops are forced to be dishonest, to put integrity to the side, and to live in the closet – with their families closeted beside them – denying who they are.

They need the opportunity to “Be All That They Can Be.”

I am urging you to support the repeal of this unjust law. The values that we gave our kids, and the values the Army told Darren they believe, are really the values we should strive for. But until this law is gone, those values are undermined by unfairness, discrimination and prejudice. I realize that our country is in the midst of great change having to make many crucial decisions. I also understand that the Administration has “a lot on their plate” right now. I’m an American, too, and have many concerns about our country. But, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal cannot and should not be pushed down the road.

Sincerely,

Nancy S. Manzella

CC: U.S. Sen. Carl M. Levin

Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee

U.S. Sen. John S. McCain

Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee

U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman

Member, Senate Armed Services Committee

Groundbreaking Film Exploring the First Generation of LGBT Parents Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Melanie Nathan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:23:51 +0000

Posted by Melanie Nathan; August 23, 2010

Film Showing and Reception Set for Sept. 14, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO- Twenty-five years after its premier, the groundbreaking documentary “Choosing Children”—the first film to explore and chronicle the journey taken by lesbians and gay men to become parents after they came out—will return to the silver screen at the Herbst Theater on Sept. 14 to celebrate its 25^th anniversary.

The landmark film, produced by two Bay Area filmmakers, Academy Award winner Debra Chasnoff and Kim Klausner, was released in 1985, introducing viewers to the first generation of lesbians and gay men who chose to become parents after coming out, and contributed to an expanded definition of family that has since opened the doors for millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to become parents. “Before the early 1980s, it was just assumed that if you came out, you gave up the chance and the right to be a parent,” says Chasnoff. “But a small number of brave lesbians and gay men began to challenge that belief. With “Choosing Children” we wanted to share their stories with the world and inspire others that they, too, could redefine family for themselves.”

Chasnoff and Klausner conducted a nationwide search for lesbian-headed families that were navigating what was then a very new legal, political, and social terrain. Ultimately, they found six families who reflected some of the racial and ethnic diversity of our vibrant communities, and who had “chosen children” in different ways. Their stories provide an intimate look at the challenges and joys faced by this early generation of lesbian and gay parents in their quests to build their families—stories that are still fascinating and relevant today.

“Without the pioneering generation that we were able to capture in “Choosing Children,” none of us would have the rights or opportunities for creating families that we have today,” Klausner says. “It is almost beyond comprehension how much the political and social landscape has changed since we made the film.”

The film poignantly captures some of the important history that has contributed to today’s LGBT family rights victories, including the recent Proposition 8 decision by Judge Vaughn Walker here in California. It is partly why so many community groups are cosponsoring this evening celebration for LGBT families, our allies, prospective parents and others.

One of the arenas where the most significant advances have been made is the legal system.

“The legal advances we have made for our families are nothing short of breathtaking,” says National Center for Lesbian Rights Executive Director Kate Kendell. “These gains are largely due to this early generation of lesbians and gay parents, who charted a previously unseen path in order to become parents and raise children, becoming role models for LGBT people everywhere.”

Many Bay Area organizations are joining together for this community-wide screening and celebration to mark the 25th anniversary of Choosing Children, celebrate all the wonderful children LGBT people are now parenting, and raise funds to permanently preserve this historical gem on DVD. The restored 35 mm film print, courtesy of the OUTFEST Legacy Project and the UCLA Film Archive, was a huge hit at last summer’s Los Angeles Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

If you’ve never seen Choosing Children, here’s your chance to soak up a delightful piece of our cultural history. If you are planning on having children, you will be inspired by the courageous pioneers in the film who figured out how to bring kids into their lives, co-parent with a same-sex partner, and handle concerns from relatives and schools. If you saw the film “back in the day,” this will be a trip down memory lane (including a rarely heard song by Holly Near) and a special moment to marvel at how much progress we’ve made.

The 25^th Anniversary Screening and Reception includes a viewing, and remarks by Chasnoff, Klausner, and the Honorable Donna Hitchens, founder of the National Center for Lesbian Rights who is featured in the film, and dessert reception The event is presented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Groundspark, COLAGE, Frameline, Equality California, Our Family Coalition, and PFLAG to celebrate the advances our movement has made in family law and society, and to raise funds to permanently preserve this historical film on DVD.

TICKET and EVENT INFORMATION

“Choosing Children” 25^th Anniversary Screening and Reception

What: “Choosing Children” 25^th anniversary celebration to raise funds to permanently preserve this historical film on DVD
When: 6:30 p.m. on September 14, 2010 (Program begins at 7 p.m.)
Where: Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $25 (regular admission); $10 (student admission)

Learn more and order tickets

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Contacting My Sperm Donor – I Am A Kid who is All Right! (lezgetreal.com)

Lambda Analysis of the Meg Whitman Impact on Prop 8 Appeals

Melanie Nathan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:57:51 +0000

Melanie Nathan; August 23, 2010;-

Meg Whitman’s inarticulate Prop 8 response: - “The issue right now is, as I understand is ‘Will Proposition 8 have the appropriate support to actually make an appeal to the circuit court of appeals? And I think the governor, the attorney general today has to defend the constitution and has to enable the judicial process to go along and has to enable an appeal to go through. So if I was governor, I would give that ruling standing to be able to appeal to the circuit court;” emphasizes her lack of qualification for Governor, as she clearly has no grasp whatsoever on the law and how it works.

However she is danger personified and as a team with Cooley for Attorney General, potentially lethal to the California quest for marriage equality and the final demise of Prop 8.

While current California Governor Schwarzenegger and AG Jerry Brown (running as Whitman’s Gubernatorial opponent) have decided not to appeal on the state’s behalf, if Whitman wins could she make serious waves and actually impact Prop 8.

Lambda Legal’s Legal Director Jon Davidson, suggests that if Whitman is elected- she is only sworn in on January 3, a month after the December 6 hearing. However he points out that the Whitman and Cooley camps can always figure out some legal maneuvers to impact the federal Prop 8 case.

Davidson’s analysis:

“At the time of the oral argument that has been scheduled for the week of December 6th, even were Whitman or Cooley to have won the election, they will not have taken office – the new officeholders don’t take office until Jan. 3. 2011.

In addition, at that point, the time to file an appeal from Judge Walker’s ruling will have long passed. So, even were they to win, they would not be able to appeal Judge Walker’s ruling if Schwarzenegger and Brown do not – and they have indicated they will not. In addition, Whitman and Cooley would not be able to participate in the oral arguments as parties.

They might seek to file amicus (friend-of-the-court briefs). The deadline for filing such briefs is 7 days after the brief is due from the party you are supporting. Amicus briefs in support of the proponents of Prop. 8 are due September 24th.

It would be unusual for a candidate for political office to file an amicus brief on a measure that they might be in more of a position to weigh in on were they elected, though I guess it could happen.

If they get elected, Whitman and/or Cooley might also seek to file an amicus brief after their election or after they are sworn in, which would be after the oral argument. They would need to seek permission to file late. There is no way of knowing whether the Ninth Circuit judges hearing the case would grant such a request to file late.

Once the 3-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit issues its decision, a party may ask that the case be reheard by the original 3-judge panel or, in the alternative that it be heard ‘en banc’ by a group of 11 randomly-assigned judges out of the 27 judges on the Ninth Circuit. I believe the presiding judge on the Ninth Circuit — Judge Alex Kosinzki — would be on the en banc panel regardless, if en banc hearing is granted.

After that, there is a very rarely procedure where someone could ask for a hearing by all 27 judges on the Ninth Circuit. If no petition for rehearing and/or rehearing en banc is made, or if it’s made and denied, or if it’s granted, after it’s decided, then a party can ask the Supreme Court to hear the case.

If the Prop 8 proponents are denied standing and there has been no other appeal, they could at least appeal the denial of standing. If the Ninth Circuit denied standing but went on to reach the merits of the case against them, the Prop 8 proponents would presumably try to brief the merits as well as part of their standing appeal.

So all said and done; the LGBT community must fight for Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris to the offices of Governor and Attorney General respectively.

by Melanie Nathan
@oblogdeeoblogda
nathan@provatecourts.com

Picture: Prop 8 Plaintiffs

Lambda Legal Responds To Meg Whitman’s Planned Defense Of Proposition 8 (joemygod.blogspot.com)
Meg Whitman: I’ll Defend Prop 8 (joemygod.blogspot.com)
Judge Walker’s ruling today: NCLR Explains Same-Sex Couples in California May Not be Able to Marry On AUg 18 (lezgetreal.com)

Contacting My Sperm Donor – I Am A Kid who is All Right!

Melanie Nathan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:54:14 +0000

By -Emily McGranachan; (Posted as Guest of Melanie Nathan)- August 22, 2010 -

The media is buzzing about the new film “The Kids Are All Right”, which premiered earlier this month. Its release was exciting for me because for the first time I saw characters who closely reflected my family’s makeup, though the rest of the story, not really. I too have two mothers and a sperm donor who I contacted when I turned eighteen. The outcome was different and far less drama surrounded my family when I was finally able to contact and meet my donor, though there were still plenty of surreal moments. The reaction to the film has been extremely varied, from people thrilled to see representation of a lesbian-headed household, to those who see the events depicted in the film as reinforcement of the notion that children need to know and live with their biological mother and father.

Growing up in Massachusetts through the marriage equality debate in 2004 and all subsequent movements, I have long been combating false beliefs that LGBTQ people should not get married or raise children. I have lesbian mothers and I have a sperm donor. This in no way has made me less of a person, daughter, woman, or friend. To me, what makes a good parent is dedication to raising and loving a child. The number, gender, or sexuality of the parents does not determine the ability to help a child grow into a compassionate and kind person. To tell the truth, I feel lucky to have grown up with the knowledge that my mother put a great deal of time, money, and thought into having me. I have never doubted that I am loved because I know how much my mother wanted to have a child and did everything she could to have me.

While I understand that some people believe that the married, heterosexual, biological family is the only valid familial model, I refuse to let this stereotype go unchallenged. I have two mothers, only one of whom is biological, and no father. Rather than somehow leaving a negative affect, my family has helped me become a more open, loving, passionate, and socially aware individual. Growing up I was surrounded by many wonderful adult role models, some of whom were male. Of course I thought about my sperm donor, who he was, why he donated, what it would be like to meet him. The reason for me was never about searching for a parent I had lost or a piece of me that was missing, it was about meeting and thanking the person who enabled Cathy and Nancy, my mothers, to become parents.

I had never met another person with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or even queer parent until I was thirteen. That summer my family went to Provincetown, Massachusetts for Family Week where I participated in workshops provided by COLAGE. COLAGE is the only national youth-driven network of children, youth, and adults with LGBTQ parents. I would not be writing this if I had never come to know COLAGE and the others with LGBTQ parents I met through COLAGE. That summer I found my center and my political voice. Through the years COLAGE has helped me become a better advocate for myself and my family. This summer I am an intern at COLAGE and I am assisting in the distribution of the Donor Insemination (DI) Guide. The DI Guide is part testimonials and part advice focusing on the questions and concerns of donor-conceived children and their families. I have been able to watch the DI Guide go from an idea to a tool for families.

It has been almost three years since I began the process of contacting my sperm donor. Four months after I turned eighteen I had the name and address of my donor and within the year I learned I had two half-sisters who shared the same donor. I think the most incredible part of meeting my donor and half-siblings was putting an end to the mystery. After years of playing around with different scenarios in my head, or coming up with the reasons that Harvey Fierstein was my donor, I lost mystique but gained very real new friends and family. Now family gatherings include my two sisters, two of their siblings, our collective six lesbian mothers, and our donor and his wife. Certainly we are still getting to know each other, but there is an undeniably authentic connection between all of us.

Along with identical chins, my half-sisters and I have followed very similar paths. One sister, who is four months older than me, was a sophomore at Smith College as I began my first year at Mount Holyoke College. The schools are both women’s liberal arts colleges and twenty minutes apart. Together we met our other donor sister in March 2009. It turned out that this new sister is from a town ten minutes from my own, that we have mutual acquaintances, and I had heard about her a year before I met her. At a drama festival at her high school I met a guy who had taken the girl in town with lesbian mothers to her senior prom the previous year. In my favorite “small world” story, my sister and I took the same guy to our senior proms. I do not look like anyone in my family, but I do look a lot like her. The photos, both of us wearing blue dresses, are just incredible. Thankfully, we did not both date “our” prom date.

Meeting my donor and my new extended family did not alter my relationship with my parents. They were completely supportive of my desire to contact my donor and they were with me when I met him. I did not begin this adventure to seek a father and, though my donor is a wonderful person and a part of my life now, he is not my father. I have two parents and that is enough for me, but I am thrilled to have him as part of my growing family. For some people, family is a rigid concept. For me, family is not limited by genetics or living in the same home. My family is filled with moms, grandparents, half-siblings, friends, cousins, and a sperm donor. It may seem unfamiliar to some, but this is my family and together we are more than all right.

-Emily McGranachan

Emily McGranachan ’12 – Love Makes a Family

Hometown: Georgetown, Massachusetts

Emily McGranachan found her voice at the age of 13 while attending the COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) Family Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Its “life-changing lessons” gave her “a sense of empowerment.”

As a resident of Massachusetts, McGranachan often heard people debate what rights her family should have. Now a guest speaker with the Freedom to Marry Tour, she has shared her story and “introduced people to a child of a same-sex household” on several radio stations nationwide.

McGranachan has also worked to encourage tolerance and activism on a local level, serving as president of her high school Civil Rights Team and as a volunteer at a family homeless shelter through Horizons for Homeless Children. “These children inspire me,” she said. “In return I do my best to teach them kindness and compassion by being a positive role model.”

COLAGE is an organization, created in 1989 by the children of several lesbians and gay men who felt a need for support. Though its membership is not necessarily LGBT-identified, COLAGE’s focus on the issues of LGBT parents’ families makes it a de facto part of the LGBT community. There are 52 COLAGE chapters in the United States of America, 2 chapters in Canada, and one European chapter. COLAGE is run and operated by children (of all ages) who have a lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) parent or parents. Older Colagers mentor younger members. They prepare them for any challenges that a child may have, having same sex parents. Members are open with each other and any topic can and is discussed. COLAGE teams each summer with Family Pride and holds its annual Family Week in Provincetown on Cape Cod. There, hundreds of gay families come to enjoy the summer and the kids attend COLAGE meetings and workshops.

COLAGE is based out of San Francisco, California and has small number of paid staff. Its executive director is Beth Teper who has a lesbian mom and today is an advocate for children who have same sex parents.

Confessions of a Sperm Donor: Hundreds of Kids (abcnews.go.com)
With the web, curiosity and luck, sperm donor siblings connect (cnn.com)
Gay Marriage’s Biggest Supporters: Children of Gay Parents (politicsdaily.com)
“The Kids Are All Right” on DADT (lezgetreal.com)

Judge Rules Against Antigay Grad Student

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:49:14 +0000

Melanie Nathan; August 22, 2010-

A federal judge has ruled against graduate student Jennifer Keeton, who refused to read material about counseling gays because, she asserted it would increase her exposure to a community that goes against her beliefs.

U.S. District Judge Randal Hall ruled that Augusta State University’s requirement was “academically legitimate.” His ruling allows the school to expel Keeton if she doesn’t follow the remediation plan. Reports the Editors at the Advocate.

The Judge said said the case “isn’t about pitting Christianity against homosexuality, but rather the constitutionality of the school’s requirement.

Psychologists have expressed that the ruling is appropriate – citing the fact that integral to the training of a Psychologist is to keep personal views separate from professional duties. One always has the right to refuse a client and refer them to someone else.

Alliance Defense Fund Has Anti-LGBT Grad Student Case In Michigan Tossed (lezgetreal.com)
Second ‘I don’t want to counsel gays’ lawsuit struck down by the courts (pinkbananaworld.com)
Judge Rules Against Antigay Grad Student (advocate.com)

Shock Photo as Lesbian Warrior Tells of yet Another Corrective Rape Victim

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 08:56:33 +0000

Melanie Nathan; 08-21-10-

Especially sinister is the flagrant finger flip to each and every victim, as the entire world cheered metaphorically on, aiding and abetting the somnolent South African Government, akin to perpetrators, like an Oudtshoorn ostrich with its head deeply embedded in the sand, while women continued to be raped day after day, each hour.

Through the games and festivities of Soccer World Cup 2010, the host Country and the world, cavorted with these criminals, dancing to goals and singing with each ring of cash registers ‘cachinging’ the sound of desperate cash, while the screams of our sisters faded with the romance of the stampede to win.

Since March of 2009, Lez Get Real has reported extensively on the insidious and endemic hate crime – in particular the calculated rape of lesbians, specifically in South African Townships, which has become known as “corrective rape.”

Lesbian Corrective Rape is a slogan attached to what is truthfully a brutal hate crime; the slogan is incongruous, yet reflects an abhorrent trend.

Drawing attention to oneself is an act of courage and one that cannot be emphasized enough, especially if the victim is one whose rape is termed “corrective rape” where the odds are that the victim could be re-victimized again and again.

Years ago, Lesbians would never have come forward to tell their stories, but now with the unrelenting support and tender care of an extraordinary human being, Ndumie Funda, a lesbian woman living in a South African Township, near Cape Town, women and lesbians are telling their stories, willing to be named, photographed and to stand up on our pages to say:- “This is what happened to me!”

I personally have developed a close relationship with this hero, who is unlike anyone I have ever met. An unrelenting tireless warrior, who despite the worst of odds has not given up, even through her own tragedies along the way – as she houses and cares for lesbian victims of corrective rape. ” They just keep coming in,” say Ndumie Funda co-founder of Lulekwe Sizwe, “It never stops.”

Ndumie touched me deeply when she helped Milicent Gaika, whose shocking photos were published by us, in the hope of drawing attention to this human rights travesty. More stories flooded in, of other victims, as well as the continued bravery of Funda, who formed a support organization, named for lovers and victims, who were murdered by these rapists.

Ndumie Funda, at one time housed 15 victims in a tiny two roomed shack in a Township near Cape Town. No running water – no amenities at all. The shack, flooded by heavy rains, housed the injured lesbian victims, who huddled together, trying to make doctors visits, police reports, bail hearings, with little bedding, no medication, no money for rent, food or transportation.

Here at Lez Get real, we publicized the stories and begged you to send a few dollars. I cannot say the money poured in, it was scarce. A few good people did send money. Wake Up America hosted a Radio Podcast sharing the plight and My cousin Judith, a struggling single mom in South Africa went at my request to visit Ndumie in the cabin.

Judy reported back saying, “Melanie it is very bad; they are desperate, its dire! “ She gave what she could and I am sure it was more than she could afford. I too sent my month’s mortgage – albeit a looming foreclosure in this awful economy. This is not something anyone of you can turn your back on any longer.

I became despondent, even with my power of publicity. Until I was contacted by a French reporter who wrote a story for a European Magazine. But still the group continued to suffer. I had nothing to send. I could only write.

Now there is another victim. Do we want to hear her story too? or Can we simply send our few dollars?

This week I received word of yet another victim and another shocking picture too horrible to publish – but yet we must! Because they have asked us to.

Luleke Sizwe is desperate for help as Ndumie Funda goes it alone again – with her note to me on Face Book as she now proudly displays her own campaign to raise money for our sisters :- at http://lulekisizwe.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/the-r10-campaign/ They are asking for R10.00 (a little over $3.00 US per donation)

Ndumie has found a way to get a website going. She once told me she would never give up and tonight she sent me this link to an article which has now appeared in mainstream press:-

Ndumie can be friended via Face Book at facebook.com/ndumie.funda

READERS AND FB UPDATE: Thanks for all the inquiries about where to send money…

DONATION DETAILS: TO DONATE – We need $3,000 per month and we could fully support this Group. If you can make a donation directly or send same c/o Melanie Nathan made out to PRIVATE COURTS INC. P.O. Box 1108 Woodacre, CA 94973, USA . The Latter would save on expensive bank transfer fees as I would send it all as one.

OR DIRECTLY to

Please make a direct transfer into Luleki Sizwe’s Bank Account:

Account Name: Luleki Sizwe LBT Women’s Project
Business transaction account 071362940
Branch code 024909
Swift code SBZA ZA JJ
STANDARD BANK

Please quote “R10 Campaign” on the deposit

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Rape Against Lesbians Reward Perpetrators (lezgetreal.com)
SA Corrective Rape Accused Bail set at $68.00 as Soccer Masks the Truth (lezgetreal.com)
South Afircan Town Holds First LGBT Film Festival – Will it Thwart Cultural Intolerance? (lezgetreal.com)
OUTRAGE: South Africa Brutal Rapist of Lesbian Soccer Player Released on Bail (pinkbananaworld.com)
Sout Africa; Shocking Photos of Corrective Rape Victim (oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com)
OUTRAGE: South Africa – Brutal Rapist of Lesbian Released on Bail (lezgetreal.com)
FIFA Misses Opportunity to Fight Corrective Rape in South Africa (womensrights.change.org)

My Patriots Pride, Nov 11-End the Silent Segregation in the U.S. Military

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 03:18:04 +0000

By Tracy Emblem: 08-21-10 - (Guest of Melanie Nathan)

In 1948 President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981 proclaiming that “there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.”

Following the President’s order, desegregation and integration of blacks in the armed service met with resistance despite being a major civil rights victory for African-Americans. For the next twenty years, our country went through similar desegregation, culminating in repealing the separate but equal laws and bans against interracial marriages which were enacted in several states.

Compare President Truman’s proclamation of equal opportunity and treatment in the military to today’s efforts to repeal the 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy imposed by Congress. This discriminatory practice is tantamount to silent segregation of gay and lesbian personnel and puts them at continued risk to lose their jobs and all of their benefits.

The Palm Center, a University of California, Santa Barbara-based think tank that studies controversial public policy issues reports that as of June 2009, twenty-five countries including many NATO members, allow military service by openly gay personnel. These countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

In February, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen told Congress they support repealing the ban. Later in May, the House of Representatives voted 234-194 to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by the end of the year.

Instead of employing sound leadership, the Pentagon is dragging its feet. A subjective “survey,” costing the U.S. taxpayers $4.4 million was e-mailed to non-deployed active service members. The survey asked biased assumptions such as:

If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed, how, if at all, will it affect your willingness to recommend to a family member or close friend that he or she join the military?

Have you been assigned to share bath facilities with an open bay shower that is also used by a Service member you believed to be homosexual?

If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and you are working with a Service member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would your job performance be affected?

Never mind that an individual’s sexual orientation has nothing to do with the quality of his or her job performance. Forget that gay and lesbian personnel have been serving side-by-side on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, the “survey” was intended to portray the gay and lesbian community as sexual predators. Completely missing from the survey were important questions which would help establish that the gay and lesbian service members are treated in a discriminatory manner. Some LGBT advocates say the survey was intentionally designed and distributed in a manner to provide credence to and justification for continuing the discriminatory policy.

It does not take a “survey” to enforce civil rights. The survey should not be used as justification to frame military policy where gay and lesbian personnel are already working side-by-side. In fact, desegregation should be much easier than it was almost 50 years ago because everyone is already working together, and on the battlefields, all blood is red, no matter whose blood is shed.

Since the “Don’t Ask” policy was enacted, over 13,500 service members have been discharged losing countless hours of training and talent. Its time we demand an end to a policy which forces men and women to lie so they can continue to “honorably” serve our country.

We are all Americans. On November 11, “My Patriots Pride” organization is calling upon LGBT Veterans and straight allies around the country to stand up and march against this discriminatory policy nationwide.

You can sign up for an event in your community at www.MyPatriotsPride.org

Tracy Emblem is an attorney and was a Democratic candidate for Congress in California’s 50th district, in North San Diego County. Emblem ran in the 2010 Democratic Primary but lost to Francine Busby. She continues her fight as an avid proponent of Civil Rights Rights for All. This is the third Article Tracy has written for Lez Get Real.

Dr. Laura is Out as Censored Bigot

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:09:53 +0000

By Melanie Nathan; August 21, 2010.

Dr. Laura came out after her appearance on Larry King. Yes, she went to dinner with a black friend and a gay friend. Guess what it is news.

Has she come out to say she has a “black friend” and “a gay friend?” NAH! Has she come out to say “they agree with her?” That they think Laura is a victim! A victim of censorship over use of the “N” word?

Quote Schlessinger , “I went out to dinner with three friends after Larry King. One of my friends who is gay is sitting there with another friend who is black, and he looks up and says, ‘I wonder what the media would do with this? You’re with a black guy and a gay guy.’ We laughed, because we all understand what this is really about — censoring a point of view.”

Advocate I love you sometimes – this is news indeed- look at me I am writing about it too. Come on Bloggers come out to play -?

So to the subject at hand censorship:-

If you were censored Laura – (note: no more of this doctor title shit from me! ) why did you see fit to apologize? Were you then apologizing for being a bigot that was censored? You are officially outed as a censored bigot! Woe betide!

I rest my case!

By Melanie Nathan -
nathan@privatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda
face me on Face Book too….

History:

Use of racial epithets by LAURA

On August 10, 2010, on a call with an African American woman who was seeking advice concerning her own interracial marriage, Schlessinger used the word “n word” 11 times, saying that mention of the term did not constitute racism. She told the caller that she had the right to say the word because black comedians and actors on HBO say it and cited a previous race-related comment made by her that was “funny” (and was made to her male African American bodyguard). She also claimed that African Americans voted for Barack Obama for President on the basis of skin color, as an example of blacks as well as whites making judgments based solely on skin color.^[32] A day later she apologized for doing the “wrong thing.”^[33]

The caller in question, Nita Hanson, who used the name “Jade”, responded by saying she has no interest in talking to Schlessinger further, and said she believed Schlessinger only apologized because she got caught. She also said, “It’s never okay to use that word.”

USE OF NUDE PHOTOS BY LAURA

In 1998, admittedly upset that he was snubbed by Schlessinger at an event, former radio mentor Bill Ballance sold nude photos of Schlessinger^[20] to media outlet Internet Entertainment Group (IEG).^[21] Schlessinger had posed for the photos while involved in a sexual relationship with Ballance in the 1970s. IEG, known for distributing a sex tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, purchased the photos and subsequently posted them on its website which were later leaked to the general public. Schlessinger initially denied that the photos were of her, but then claimed a copyright interest in them in court. Attempts to have the photos removed from various websites failed after a court ruling stated that IEG had legally acquired the rights to the material.

Dr. Laura Has Black Friend, Gay Friend (advocate.com)
Dr. Laura Quits Show Over N-Word Fallout (joemygod.blogspot.com)
Dr. Laura LOLs! (perezhilton.com)
Dr. Laura is Quitting Radio (lezgetreal.com)
Dr. Laura Has Dinner with Her Black and Gay Friends (towleroad.com)

Call to Congress: No More Friends, Senator Gillibrand – Only Advocates!

Melanie Nathan — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:36:59 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

Melanie Nathan August 21, 2010:

I have always Known Senator Gillibrand to be a great LGBT ally and one of the boldly upfront Senators; impressed by her meteoric significance belying her short time in the Senate. This sense, further endorsed when reading the

“My Lunch With Senator Gillibrand by: Clarknt67 , a Blogger on PamHouseBlend

—————————————————————————–

“We all got one question. A reporter asked her to address her Latino readerships’ frustration with Democrats’ sluggish advances toward immigration reform. Gillibrand assured her immigration reform was a priority and discussed different timelines and tactics for tackling it, including comprehensive and piece meal passage of existing bills, mentioning the DREAM Act by name.”

The Blogger followed up by asking A question the Senator has been asked by constituents in many instances; about LGBT inclusion in such efforts, and now asked in light of was concerned the coalition being gathered to pressure Congress which has outright expressed that LGBT inclusion was a “dealbreaker,” asking is “there a strategy around that?”
————————————————————————————-

Apparently according to Pam’s Blogger, there did not appear to be a strategy, at least one they’re ready to enunciate. “And to be fair, there does not yet seem to be, at least publicly, a firm strategy for reform in general. She answered by discussing the importance of winning the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” vote, and how recent court victories help move our issues inevitably forward. She did conclude, “We may not win this fight this time.”

The Blogger continued on PAMS, “Which, actually brighten my mood. I would prefer to hear hard truths from my allies, than be fed false hopes. Many of us tracking the Uniting American Families Act, S. 1328 and efforts for LGBT inclusion in comprehensive immigration reform recognize the long odds we face. The Senator is clearly a strong LGBT advocate, but she is but one woman of 535. If anyone can forgive being outvoted, it’s the gay community. I appreciate being spoken to as an adult who can read the same writing on the wall. I know she’s part of the solution, not the problem, she doesn’t have to tell me what I want to hear to stay in my good graces.”

———————————————————
Sadly another and probably one of many more lost opportunities – mollified through acceptance of status –quo – minus- 100% – but harsh reality is Broken Promises by a collective of those who ‘wouldst have Equality at heart.’ Where do we all think we are going to get with such complacency couched in patronization of and by our elected?

So many of us fail to ‘carpe diem’ as we fall prey to the overt congeniality and the ‘sacred word’ through our timid sense of the weight of the moment as perceived through that one single question – the very reverence of which becomes a reality – that even we, the casualty, fail to compute.

So I ask when these allies choose to become advocates, then to give me a call otherwise until such time I plan TO report the inadequacy. I refuse to remark at friendship in Congress – they are our representatives for goodness sake – no more friendship. Time to represent fully – and our LGBT basic rights are not for sale – it is a constitutional obligation – it is not a religious stake!

If Senator Gillibrand and other Representatives cannot adhere to the most basic of their Constitutional obligations – then I say all we have left is the “nothing left to lose attitude” – in whatever form they may take!

For now – to me it represents to hell with piecemeal and let us find a brave and valid advocate who is willing to lead on the American Equality Bill.

UAFA Revisited by Activists – Failure to Engage Opposition (lezgetreal.com)
ELizabeth Gilbert: to Lobby for Uniting American Families Act (lezgetreal.com)
Activists Calling for Stronger Proactive Counter Catholic Bishop Action (lezgetreal.com)
SCREAM: President Obama Act Now for Binational Same Sex Couples (lezgetreal.com)
The Carrot Dangles as Political Expediency Controls Immigration Reform at Expense of UAFA Equality (lezgetreal.com)
My Lunch With Senator Gillibrand (pinkbananaworld.com)
Gay groups urge passage of immigration reform including provisions for same-sex partners (miamiherald.typepad.com)

Islam is not What you Think? “Three Things About Islam You Must Know”

Melanie Nathan — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:34:15 +0000

Posted by Mel Nathan; 8-20-10 ; From someone who knows nothing about ISLAM- at all. I am having a difficult time fully understanding this Video explanation of Islam. The narrator compares Bible and Torah’s aptitude” for interpretation to the Quran’s “requirement” to be read literally. This could be construed as an anti-Islam piece of work – or …..? Please comment.

Do these three points take you by surprise…. Welcome a discussion…

LGBT Interest – The narrator says that Q’uran requires action against homosexuality – is that an interpretation?

Mary Cheney is a Self-Loathing Hypocrite

Natasia Rose — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:12:10 +0000

08/18/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

: Image via Wikipedia

Yeah, I said it. I would say it to her face, to her father’s face, to her partner’s face. Mary Cheney, daughter of ex VP Dick Cheney and partner to Heather Poe and mother to children being raised by two dogs…I mean women. Raw Story is reporting that Mary donated $500 to a republican candidate who wants to ensure that same sex marriage never happens.

Cheney gave $500 on April 1 to Kelly Ayotte, a Republican 2010 Senate candidate from New Hampshire, according to the election records database Newsmeat. Ayotte is seeking to fill the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Judd Gregg.

Ayotte told the Concord Monitor last August that she is “against same-sex marriage and believes marriage is between a man and a woman,” the paper reported.

The New Hampshire news station WMUR 9 also notes Ayotte opposes same-sex marriage. “Support traditional marriage,” reads her stance on the issue, as defined by “one man, one woman.” Three of the other four Republican hopefuls have expressed similar views. [Source]

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Mary is a millionaire, she doesn’t need the benefits that marriage equality affords. She can take care of her partner, ensure her partner has health care, ensure her partner will be taken care of should anything happen to her, ensure that her child and property will go to Heather if anything happens to her, etc. So she doesn’t care about lesbians who are struggling, lesbians who have lost their jobs during the economic downturn who can’t put their partner on their health insurance or make sure that they will gain ownership of their property should the worst occur. She is selfish, she is homophobic, she is a snake.

Mary: You are a horrible excuse for a human being.

Prop 8 is Defeated: A Look Back at How it Affected One Couple (lezgetreal.com)
President Obama: Glad Prop 8 is Repealed, Still Believes in Separate But Equal (lezgetreal.com)
Lady Gaga Celebrates Prop 8 Victory with a Song (lezgetreal.com)
Perez Hilton Starts Mass Tweeting @BarackObama for Marriage Equality (lezgetreal.com)

White House Fails Miserably to Appease on LGBT Issues

Melanie Nathan — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:57:53 +0000

Melanie Nathan – August 17, 2010.

This Blogger is Fuming With the White House – accusing Bloggers of being too critical

Last week, The Equality Federation met with the White House Staff on LGBT Issues. It appears the White House is consoling our community with:

1. DADT “probably later” (employment for 15,000, out of 30 million of us).
2. ENDA is too hard.
0. UAFA didn’t even come up it appears.

Here at Lez Get Real, I have been talking about CIVIL RIGHTS for a year now. Its not even in the White House Lexicon – not to mention the current puny shove off we have now received; yet another slap across the face! Inadvertently Mr. president you Staff have made the case for an Civil Rights Amendment. That is the only way to FULL equality.

Todd Fernandez, who has joined me to plead for our community to take Equality to the next and imperative level of a demand for our Civil Rights through an Omnibus Amendment to the Civil Rights Act, and he asserts “our Equal CIVIL RIGHTS is a missing dream – somehow overlooked by a mixed-race President and our entire movement!!!???”

According to reports of the meeting, one Administration official said: “When you are frustrated, you should speak out and hold our feet to the fire.”

Well yes Sir; and then to have the gall to criticize the gay bloggers who are doing just that – yours truly included!

When Brian Bond, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and liaison to the LGBT community, took questions from the audience, he expressed frustration at the often intense criticism levied, particularly by bloggers, against an administration that is “99 percent supportive of your issues.

As far as I am concerned we have only just began Mr. Bond.

This Gay Blogger says: – Quite frankly I do not see the support of our issues. Where is the action? They can support our issues for the next 10 years – Hooray! That’s it? Thank you and no thanks.

I say the White House has just dug its grave with the Gay community. We will now accept nothing less than our FULL CIVIL RIGHTS. This Blogger is willing to go to word –war with the White House – CIVIL RIGHTS are our demands!

Gay and Lesbian Bloggers have a right to be angry – we will get the crowds shouting!We are doing as you say – Holding your feet to the fire! Show us the burn or it will get hotter!

To hell with ENDA -DADT and DOMA your dangling carrots for what? For stand alone bills – legislation - To Hell with business as usual – piecemeal is over! . This is a call for the Big Guns - No more flailing piecemeal for them to throw back at us with now -then never then- maybe’s!!! I am sick of my rights being your TOY Mr. President! You have a duty to uphold the Constitution and you are failing us plain and simple.

We need to have you all call the White House and tell them NOW about the American Equality Bill. They do not even know this grassroots piece of legislation is in existence.

This Lesbian Blogger is ANGRY!

Please PRINT AND MAIL, or FAX (WH FAX: 202-456-2461) this flyer:

http://bit.ly/PleaseFileAEBmailer

To:

BRIAN BOND
Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Liaison to the LGBT Community
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

For free on-line fax: faxzero.com, or rapidfax.com (both can be done online without a landline phone).

If you want to complain directly about this pathetic agenda for our equality call:

BRIAN BOND: 202-456-1414. WH switchboard will put you to his voice mail.

They won’t know what the American Equality Bill is yet – but they’ll figure it out.

They don’t seem to know what Civil Rights are either.

Let’s remind them.

The American Equality Bill Project (ACT ON PRINCIPLES)

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda
Senior Political Editor
Lezgetreal

White House aide meets with LGBT media – no news, lotsa spin (pinkbananaworld.com)
Launching of The American Equality Bill a ” Amending the Civil Rights Act (topix.net)
The Launch of Hope – Finally Grassroots Find Feet – THE American Equality Bill (lezgetreal.com)
The New LGBT Civil Rights Movement is Taking to the Streets (lezgetreal.com)
A July Day to Remember – While We Seek Basic Civil Rights (lezgetreal.com)

MELANIE NATHAN
nathan@privatecourts.com

STAY Could Be Good News Fast Track For Prop 8 Appeals

Melanie Nathan — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:43:33 +0000

: Uphold the Constitution NOW

Melanie Nathan: August 16, 2010.

But we want marriage now – in terms of our current constitutional right.

Ninth Circuit has granted the stay yes we are angry BUT the good new it expedites the appeal and the entire process…

“Filed order (EDWARD LEAVY, MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS and SIDNEY R. THOMAS) Appellants’ motion for a stay of the district court’s order of August 4, 2010 pending appeal is GRANTED.

The court sua sponte orders that this appeal be expedited pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 2. The provisions of Ninth Circuit Rule 31-2.2(a) (pertaining to grants of time extensions) shall not apply to this appeal.

This appeal shall be calendared during the week of December 6, 2010, at The James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, California. The previously established briefing schedule is vacated. The opening brief is now due September 17, 2010. The answering brief is due October 18, 2010. The reply brief is due November 1, 2010. In addition to any issues appellants wish to raise on appeal, appellants are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing. See Arizonans For Official English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 66 (1997). IT IS SO ORDERED. [7441574] (JS)“

The Ninth Circuit has asked for opening briefs by September 17th and that parties must discuss why the appeal should not be dismissed due to lack of standing. Also, the schedule for the briefs are similar to what Plaintiff attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies requested. And oral arguments should begin by the end of this year.

So it’s not what we wanted, at this time, and yes we were headed for the aisle on Wednesday; but at least we will be closer to getting the journey’s conclusion. I for one believe in the unconstitutionality of the Prop 8 Vote, just as as Judge Walker ruled in his Judgment which overturned the the 2 % of Californians who were swayed by Gay Hate dollars – (and Only at that moment in TIME-) that Gays and lesbians should be denied their rights.

The stunning legal team for the equal right to marry include the brilliant lawyers of the City & County of San Francisco. We have a fact-based district trial court decision that overwhelmingly explains why Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. And we know that are winning. Actually may I opine – we have won – they just have us on hold; pending appeal. (URGH – it really should be the other way around. Are they afraid of another 18,000 of us? What harm have we done. Probably lower divorce rate than our heterosexual counterparts.)

The good news in California is we are now on the Fast track; NCLR’s Shannon Minter: The delay is very hard on couples, but the case now positioned about as strongly as it possibly could be for our side.”

What the hell can they come up with to change this – because if the do it would open the door to a State proposition vote where I bet a lot more than 2% of Californians would love to Vote against the right to bear arms – I mean after all – look at all those automatic weapons out there – they are killing our kids – what could be more harmful than that?

“I am extremely disappointed that couples will have to wait even longer to get married. It’s unfair and unfortunate. But I am confident that we will restore the right to marry once and for all,” says Geoff Kors of EQCA (Equality California) who does well to express his disappointment that marriages are on hold at this time.

I cannot accept that same-sex marriages would be stayed during the period of time where a Court of such esteem has held it unconstitutional. It should be the other way around. We should be allowed to marry pending a different outcome, from a non-expedited process!!

Kors explains, “This means that, regrettably, same-sex couples will have wait longer to get married and are still being denied their fundamental right to do so.

This is not the end – far from it. The appeals process still needs to play out, and the court is expediting the process. The case is expected to be heard in December.

We need to work together to do what it takes to ensure a favorable outcome.
Here’s what you can do:

Email the Governor and Attorney General and urge them to stand strong against the attacks they are receiving from anti-LGBT groups.

Make a donation to elect a governor and attorney general who will refuse to defend Prop. 8 in court.

Volunteer in your area. We are building on the majority support we have, which is so critical to winning marriage back, either in the court or at the ballot box.

Imagine if President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Team Democrat would come out now and have the courage to repeal The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that restricts marriage between one man and one women, on a Federal level.

It would be an imperative correction of a bad bad mistake, at this point. Senator Feinstein of California had the courage to VOTE no on DOMA. Congressman Barney Frank believes DADT and ENDA should be repealed before he signs on to Congressman Jerold Nadler’s House repeal Bill – The Respect for Marriage ACT.

Wake up and shake things up AMERICA – Now is the time. No DOMA and we can sponsor our bi-national spouses for immigration; we can stop the exile of our citizens and The FEDS will show the STATES that it can get rid of legislated inequality via repeal legislation.

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts

BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Court Grants Stay Of Prop 8 Overturn Pending Appeal (joemygod.blogspot.com)
Federal Appeals Court Grants Stay of Prop 8 Decision (towleroad.com)
Ninth Circuit Issues Interim Stay in SSM Case (volokh.com)
Ninth Circuit: Marriages on Hold (advocate.com)
Judge Walker’s ruling today: NCLR Explains Same-Sex Couples in California May Not be Able to Marry On AUg 18 (lezgetreal.com)
Prop 8 Plaintiffs File Motion With Ninth Circuit, Jerry Brown Once Again Pushes For Same-Sex Marriages To Resume (towleroad.com)
Prop 8: Will the Real Appellants Please Stand Up (towleroad.com)
Video: LGBT Clergy Protest against NOM in Clayton, MO (lezgetreal.com)

Servicemembers United Celebrates End of DADT Survey With Humor

Bridgette P. LaVictoire — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:09:24 +0000

08/16/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Servicemembers United has decided to celebrate the conclusion of the Pentagon’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell survey with a bit of humor. The questions are rather absurd and designed to show a great deal of homophobia. One question actually asks:

8. One of your senior NCOs is one of the lesbian woman kind of homo-sexuals. She tells you that you need to bring your physical fitness test score up before she can recommend you for promotion. She offers to work out with you at the gym to help you achieve this goal. What do you do?

Women can be homo-sexual? I thought that was just temporary because they ain’t never had no man.

I would use the opportunity to seduce her away from “the lesbian lifestyle” with my overpowering aura of masculine charm and lots of Axe body spray.

I would try to bribe her with an Indigo Girls bootleg I got from my cousin at Sarah Lawrence.

I would take her advice and work with her to advance my career in the military, because my world-view is not based on porno movies and Larry the Cable Guy jokes.

I should mention that trying to bribe, say, me with an Indigo Girls bootleg would probably get the soldier written up on attempted bribery, and an attempt to seduce me would probably result in sexual harassment charges. Oh, and Axe body spray smells like someone crossed a baboon’s backside and a ghoul’s foot.

Question ten of the survey asked about living on base, and one of the answers was “I would simply pack up my family’s belongings and move off-post, into one of the many lovely communities that surround most military bases.” Well, I use to live in one of those lovely neighborhoods that sprawls around Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA, and I am lesbian, so. . .

Survey

Slate Thinks ‘True Blood’ Encourages “Gay Panic”

Natasia Rose — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:22:18 +0000

: Image by jambled via Flickr

08/16/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

By now you have all heard the tale of the homophobic offensive guard for the Philedelphia Eagles, Todd Herremans, who tweeted some anti-gay statements regarding the popular HBO show, True Blood. Specifically, he said: “Not a fan of how they get u hooked with the 1st 2 seasons then bring on a barrage of homosexuality.” Those damn vampires and their gayness! It’s so much worse than the whole “living on blood” thing. Am I right or am I right? … Or am I right?

Anyway, so the online queer community called Herremans out on his BS and he apologized. But Jason Zinoman, a writer over at www.Slate.com wrote an article today entitled, “True Blood’s “Barrage of Homosexuality” with the subtitle, “Was the Philadelphia Eagles’ Todd Herremans on to something?” Say what, dude? No way was Herreman onto something. Zinoman goes on to lavish us with his insights, which include that True Blood is trying to insight a gay panic riot in their straight male viewership. Because straight men are scared of the gays! Beware of the gays bro. Gays are cool as long as they don’t hit on me, right, dude? Zinoman writes:

The writers clearly enjoy making their audience feel uncomfortable. The excess of gore and the violent sex are designed to shock. They haven’t recently introduced homosexuality, as Herremans would have it, although you could make the case that there has been something of a barrage lately. And this season, the show’s fluid sexuality has a pointed dramatic purpose that invites and even encourages this kind of gay panic.

Maybe the show wants to make people uncomfortable, but it also wants to turn them on. There is a lot of sex in True Blood, hot sex, gay sex, lesbian sex, non-consensual sex, rough sex, etc. People like sex. People like sex and violence. I’m pretty sure HBO isn’t trying to gross out the bros, bro. Zinoman has a theory about how True Blood creates this homosexual panic. First, they get their straight male audience to get cool with a male character. There are tits involved, the straight male is like, dude maybe this vamp is coolio. Then BAM that cool vampire becomes a GAY vampire. But it’s too late because the dude bro has made a connection with the character and seeing this character have ‘the man sex’ freaks him out.

Last week, what bothered Herremans was surely the sex between Talbot and Eric. Straight male audiences surely identified with the confident alpha dog Eric, perpetually surrounded by adoring topless strippers. It was a shock to hear him explain that, when he said it’s been a long time since he’s “done this,” he was referring to vampires, not men.

DON”T YOU SEE HOW HBO IS MANIPULATING YOU, DUDE BROS! Zinoman writes:

True Blood performs a similar trick by getting straight male audiences invested in scenes of gay sexuality. Herremans’s tweet shows that it worked.

Wow. Sooo, True Blood showing the gay sex to freak out dude bro’s everywhere, instead of creating and telling a unique, compelling story that gets millions of viewers to tune in every week. Who knew?

Am I being too hard on dude bro Zinoman’s entry? Maybe. Recently, Slate has become kind of a weird place with feminist bloggers (and my personal favs) such as Hanna Rosin defending a Cornell scientist who used vibrators on young female children as well as a Cornell report that said partial female circumcision was okay, defending the doctor who gave out “anti-lesbian” pills to women pregnant with female children and attacking Jezebel.com. I used to love Slate, but what the hell is in their water coolers lately?

You can read the original Slate article here: http://www.slate.com/id/2264098/

Ps. You can also read, “How Black People Use Twitter,” Maybe their headline writer quit?

The Real L Word Recap: Episode 9 (lezgetreal.com)
The Real L Word Recap: Episode 8 (lezgetreal.com)
The Real L Word Recap: Episode 7 (lezgetreal.com)

FRC’s Perkins Still Fuming Over Walker Verdict, Angry With Obama For Not Appealing DOMA Case

Bridgette P. LaVictoire — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:03:18 +0000

08/16/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
The Family Research Council wants people to know that they are opposed to any attempt to redefine marriage, and, thus, help inch this nation closer to a theocracy where heterosexual privilege trumps all other sexualities. Of course, this also means that they are trying to lie through their teeth in the latest missive from flaming bigot Tony Perkins. Apparently, going into court without an argument based upon law or secular reasoning leads to “shocking” things like, oh, losing the case. According to Perkins:

Many who support marriage and believe that it is defined as the union of one man and one woman, were shocked when Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, decided to single-handedly throw out Proposition 8, California’s voter-approved constitutional amendment defining marriage.

Just because someone votes for something does not make it legal, constitutional, or even right. Of course, the fact that Judge Walker made his ruling based upon the merits of the case rather than upon the religious rationale that people like Perkins and George Rekers advance, which is biased in the extreme, tends to really gall men like Perkins who know that their biases are based on irrational ideology and not rationality.

Throughout the trial, Judge Walker revealed his bias against the amendment itself. He discarded constitutional arguments in favor of whatever “facts” were presented by opponents of marriage and also refused to recuse himself even though he is openly homosexual. His poorly-developed ruling reflects his prejudice towards both religion and marriage. The judge even states in his decision that “religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians.”

The fact that those defending Prop 8 pulled all but a couple of witnesses, and all of them pointed back to research done by former FRC member George Rekers, well, that’s an inconvenient thing to consider. The fact that they could not produce any fact based, peer reviewed, and accurately done research only lead to further problems for the supporters of Prop 8. The fact that Walker’s ruling was actually so well crafted that those who read it without the prejudices that Perkins has felt that it would be almost impossible for an appellate court to over turn his ruling on appeal. Additionally, no one asked that he recuse himself because he is gay, but had someone done that, then the opponents of Prop 8 could have been justified in demanding that his replacement recuse himself for being straight.

As Judge Walker’s decision is appealed to higher courts, another case in Massachusetts challenged the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Defense of Marriage Act merely defines marriage — for federal purposes — as being between one man and one woman, and protects states from having to change their state definitions. Not surprisingly, a liberal court in Massachusetts — after a weak defense from the Obama Justice Department — ruled DOMA unconstitutional. Amazingly, the federal government appears to be dragging its feet as they contemplate whether or not to EVEN APPEAL the decision! If the Department of Justice does not appeal, it is unlikely outside defenders of marriage will even be allowed to defend marriage in court.

Judge Walker’s ruling will probably not be appealed, or at least not successfully because none of the parties who are named in the suit seem willing to appeal, and those like the FRC and the Alliance Defense Fund have no standing and were allowed to argue this case only on the good graces of Walker. He could very well have denied their motion to defend this case. The FRC may want to count their blessings on that one since, if it does go to the Supreme Court, the case could result in it being declared that all such amendments are unconstitutional.

The Department of Justice is supposed to vigorously defend statutes passed by Congress, not to roll over to appease President Obama’s political base. Please sign our petition asking the Justice Department to either file an appeal or get out of the way and allow others to take up the case!

Actually, the DoJ has a right to determine what exactly they should do. If this continues upwards, and many LGBT Americans want it to, well, it could result in DOMA being partially struck down.

In some ways, it seems like the Obama Administration is more worried about what will happen to marriage if it gets to the Supreme Court and the opinions of men like Perkins than they are about the LGBT Community.

Montreal Orthodox Rabbis latest Signatories for Gay & Lesbian Acceptance

Melanie Nathan — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:01:28 +0000

Melanie Nathan August 15, 2010

Three Montreal rabbis became the latest signatories yesterday of a statement by already signed by Orthodox Rabbis in the US calling for the acceptance of Jewish gay men and lesbians into synagogues.

The document is the result of a debate between Orthodox rabbis, educators, mental health professionals and gay Jews worldwide. The full title is “Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community”.

Signed by 150 Orthodox rabbis worldwide before reaching Canada, speaking to CBC News, Adam Scheier, Rabbi of the Shaar Hashomayim Congregation and president of the Montreal Board of Rabbis said: “We have wonderful members of our community in our congregation who are gay, and come to us anticipating and expecting to be welcomed into our community.”

According to the Montreal Gazette, the statement begins: “All human beings are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect (kevod haberiyot).”

It continues, “Embarrassing, harassing or demeaning someone with a homosexual orientation or same-sex attraction is a violation of Torah prohibitions that embody the deepest values of Judaism.”

The document also states that the issue of whether or not sexual orientation is genetic or environmentally generated is irrelevant when it comes to how LGBT people should be treated.

Though the document is generally agreed to be progressive, dissenting voices have complained that it does not include discussion of gay marriage. This omission may seem short of dealing with the hottest issue however that is not what the tone of the document requires- rather that it is incumbent upon Jews to treat each other with acceptance and to be welcoming, impacting dignity and respect.

The first statement tacitly applies to relationships, albeit no mention of the physical acts of sex, which seems irrelevant for the purpose of the acceptance. relationships are also to be respected. I believe in time orthodox Rabbis will marry same sex couples to fully welcome them as equal Jews.

U.S. Orthodox Rabbis Urge Community to Accept Gays, Lesbians BT (lezgetreal.com)
Are Orthodox Jews Coming Around On Homosexuality? (queerty.com)
150 Orthodox Rabbis sign pro-gay statement (pinkbananaworld.com)
Orthodox attitudes to gay people shift | Mordechai Beck (guardian.co.uk)
Orthodox rabbis sign statement supporting homosexuals (jta.org)

by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Gay Bar to Be Built Across from the Ground Zero Mosque?

Melanie Nathan — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 06:17:14 +0000

Clipped from: Carnal Nation (share this clip)

Melanie Nathan ; 8-14-10

Opponents of Cordoba House, the Islamic cultural center planned for erection a few blocks away from where the World Trade Center once stood, have come up with a new way to strike back at the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque”: they want to build a gay bar right across the street. That’ll show Al-Qaeda!

Fox News commentator Greg Gutfeld started it this Monday with a post on his blog, The Daily Gut:

I’m announcing tonight, that I am planning to build and open the first gay bar that caters not only to the west, but also Islamic gay men. To best express my sincere desire for dialogue, the bar will be situated next to the mosque Park51, in an available commercial space.

This is not a joke. I’ve already spoken to a number of investors, who have pledged their support in this bipartisan bid for understanding and tolerance.

As you know, the Muslim faith doesn’t look kindly upon homosexuality, which is why I’m building this bar. It is an effort to break down barriers and reduce deadly homophobia in the Islamic world.

From www.dailygut.com (share this quote)

Considering the attitude of modern conservatives towards gays, and especially toward the kinds of gays who might go out cruising at a bar on a regular basis, it’s amazing to watch the enthusiasm that Gutfeld’s fellow conservatives are showing for building a gay bar. On Liberty Pundits, Melissa Clouthier says that such a bar would be a “Mecca of tolerance,” and lists several names suggested by conservative Twitterers:

Al Gayda — Chuck_Dizzle

The Velvet Sword, Jihard and/or Dome of the Cock — AceofSpades

United 69 — Iowahawkblog

Ba’ath House — DuchessRebecca

From libertypundits.net (share this quote)

Her own contribution is to refer to the theoretical bar as “Ground Queero.”

On National Review Online, Stephanie Gutmann all but cackles with glee at the idea:\

This being New York, Gutfeld’s developers will have to fight their way through a forest of zoning regulations and community opposition. The same people who signed off on a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero will have fits over drinking and dancing. To counter this, I propose that Gutfeld use the same tactics as the Cordobites: Make a complete 360 and say, “A gay bar? Whoever said anything about that? This is a refreshment and recreation center. What do you mean ‘Why this location’? We just happen to like this location. Why, I find your questioning of our intentions insulting and homophobic.”

From www.nationalreview.com (share this quote)

This may mark the first time that NRO has acknowledged homophobia as a bad thing, which suggests the question: will any of these people support gay marriage if we tell them it’ll really piss off the Muslims?

Source: Carnal Nation (http://clp.ly/11bgV)

Fox Host Greg Gutfeld: I Plan To Open A Muslim Gay Bar Near Ground Zero Mosque (joemygod.blogspot.com)
Greg Gutfeld: I’m Opening Gay Bar Next To Mosque (huffingtonpost.com)
Gutfeld’s Stunt: A Ground Zero Gay Bar (littlegreenfootballs.com)
Greg Gutfeld Outlines His Islamic Gay Bar Plans On Last Night’s Red Eye (mediaite.com)

ELizabeth Gilbert: to Lobby for Uniting American Families Act

Melanie Nathan — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:13:06 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

Melanie Nathan – August 14, 2010

Best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert will join Immigration Equality in lobbying Congress for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), reports ON TOP Magazine.

My question is – will it be for UAFA as a stand alone or for the inclusion of UAFA into Immigration Reform. Maybe Immigration Equality sees that the choo choo train to reform ought to be via the equality Bill, UAFA, alone instead of through Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

“Gilbert, whose film adaptation of Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts opened nationwide on Friday, is half of a binational couple herself. She chronicled her experience in her follow-up book Committed.

Immigration Equality has been lobbying for passage of the UAFA, a bill that would allow gay Americans to sponsor an immigrant partner for citizenship. Currently, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) forbids any federal agency from recognizing married gay couples, reports OUT.

However their report fails to note that for the past year and two months Immigration Equality has taken UAFA out of the realm of a stand-alone Bill with over 120 Sponsors in Congress and spent its time and resources on the currently nowhere journey through a very controversial crash course with Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). UAFA is an equality amendment to the Immigration & Naturalization Act.that would include committed permanent partners instead Immigration Equality has pursued the idea of including UAFA in CIR – and cost desperate bi-national couples another year- in limbo – with no guarantee of inclusion, and constant same-old promises.

The House CIR Bill by Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D -IL) specifically excluded UAFA and although Gutierrez has since said in public and the press that he believes NOW (flip flop) that Uniting American Families Act should be included in CIR – there is no amendment or action yet in sight.

From the Senate side – we have yet to see more than a framework for the Bill, which does include mention of UAFA.

Immigration Equality assured its supporters over a year ago the CIR was imminent, yet all we have from the Senate and Chuck Schumer is yet another a campaign motivated promise in the form of a framework, clearly a rushed direct response to the recent Arizona Immigration debacle.

Gilbert will apparently join IE September 30 to talk to lawmakers about the inequity, reports IE.

As an avid activist myself for UAFA – I am hoping that Gilbert will be a proponent for an immediate stand-alone Bill for UAFA and that while we have a majority in congress, Gay and Lesbian couples should be given priority treatment under an equality banner rather than waiting for (yes the much needed) immigration reform for all.

“In addition to being unjust and cruel and unconscionable,” Gilbert said in June, “these laws [separating LGBT families] are stupid because they are taking away some of the best and brightest minds and prospects out of the country … they are forced to do nothing but fight for their lives. And they are in a fight for their lives. And I am proud to be part of that fight; I’m humbled and honored to be part of that fight.”

Elizabeth Gilbert’s life story, the best-selling author, who traveled millions of miles in what ended up being a search for her own, centered self, caused a sensation with her diary of personal discovery, also known as Eat, Pray, Love.

The book, which became a sort of holistic prescription for self-empowerment via self-fulfillment, was passed from person to person and ended up – in a life-changing moment amidst a story full of such karmic twists – in the hands of Oprah Winfrey.

At its peak, Love was at the top of the best-sellers’ list, and was hailed by millions as the holy text for embodying “la dolce vita.” (I learned about it when a friend sent me a Barnes & Noble gift certificate, and proclaimed, “Use this to buy Eat, Pray, Love!”) Readers have debated its place in the lexicon of feminist literature . . . organized book clubs to swoon over its lush storylines . . . and spent more than a few hours daydreaming about throwing caution to the wind, and following in Gilbert’s footsteps, in pursuit of a more perfect union (with themselves).

In short order, the book’s title – Eat, Pray, Love – became a mantra for the masses. And now, it has become a Hollywood blockbuster, too.

Beginning today, movie-goers are expected to flock to theaters to see Gilbert – played by screen icon Julia Roberts – eat, pray and love her way across Italy, India and Indonesia. But when the film stops rolling, another inspiring and empowering chapter in Gilbert’s life will just be beginning: Her selfless work on behalf of lesbian and gay immigrant families.

Continue reading this article at HuffingtonPost.com . . .

So now we are still no where and Bi national couples wait desperately. By September 30th I know two American citizens who will have already exiled for other countries, one who would have had life threatening major heart surgery without his partner at his side, and probably another 100 e-mails from 2nd class American residents and citizens.

by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
www.privatecourts.com

@oblogdeeoblogda

Elizabeth Gilbert: In Her Own Words (observer.com)
‘Julia Roberts Doppleganger’: ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ Author Elizabeth Gilbert On Good Morning America (huffingtonpost.com)
Kudos to Elizabeth Gilbert (gaypatriot.net)
Steve Ralls: Engage, Lobby, Love: Elizabeth Gilbert’s Passionate Advocacy for LGBT Immigrant Families (huffingtonpost.com)
Eat, Pray, Love … and Fight For LGBT Families (gayrights.change.org)

Dr. Laura ‘N’ Word Tirade Reminiscent of her Anti-Gay Ways

Melanie Nathan — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 07:22:53 +0000

Melanie Nathan: August 13, 2010

Anti-Gay Laura Schlessinger, now apparently a racist too? Someone should strip that mean spirited ego centric piece of dangling doo-doo apology for a human of her doc-tatorship – or whatever the hell it is she has placed before her name “DR.” She is Dr. NO or NO Dr.!

Who would have dreamed it? “DON’T NAACP ME” asserted ‘the better than thou’ Schlesinger, in a tirade exposing her for exactly who she is – an angry bigot – no more no less… or maybe more – time will tell. “I thought once we had a Black President the attempts to demonize whites hating blacks would stop. But it has not I don’t get it. Its hasn’t and It’s all about power: She ranted on after the shocked caller, a self described “black woman married to a white man” called for advice about being treated with disrespect through racist remarks perpetrated by family and friends.

The conversation went haywire when Schlesinger challenged the caller ‘s gripe and proceeded to throw out three consecutive “N’” words – what is this woman thinking. No surprise to me. I have listened to her show and am astounded by her popularity. She berates most of her callers anyway with her condescending pernicious soliloquies - all in an attempt to elevate her sorry nothingness to an attempted something-ness.

Goodness, who sponsors this trash?

Read/ hear audio - you be the Judge. I think she should be banned off the air- if they did it to The guy with the cowboy hat – why not do it to the woman with the wig?

After a break, the caller said she was appalled by Schlessinger’s use of the word. “Oh, then I guess you don’t watch HBO or listen to any black comedians,” she said. “My dear, the point I am trying to make…we’ve got a black man as president and we’ve got more complaining about racism than ever. I think that’s hilarious.” Schlesinger and the caller then got into an exchange about the use of the word:

CALLER: Is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?
DR. LAURA: It depends how it’s said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it’s ok.
CALLER: But you’re not black, they’re not black, my husband is white.
DR. LAURA: Oh, I see, so a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can’t do much about that.
CALLER: I can’t believe someone like you is on the radio spewing out the n***** word, and I hope everybody heard it.
DR. LAURA: I didn’t spew out the n***** word!
CALLER: You said “n*****, n*****, n*****” and I hope everybody heard it.
DR. LAURA: Yes they did, and I’ll say it again: n*****, n*****, n***** is what you hear on HBO.
[Crosstalk]

DR. LAURA: Why don’t you let me finish a sentence? Don’t take things out of context. Don’t NAACP me, leave them in context. “If you’re that hypersensitive about color and don’t have a sense of humor, don’t marry outside of your race,” Schlesinger said after hanging up with the caller.

She apologized the next day, opening her show with an apology.

“Yesterday, I did the wrong thing,” she said. “I didn’t intend to hurt people, but I did. And that makes it the wrong thing to have done. I was attempting to make a philosophical point, and I articulated the “n” word all the way out – more than one time. And that was wrong. I’ll say it again – that was wrong.”

Schlessinger said she “was so upset [she] could not finish the show.”

“I pulled myself off the air at the end of the hour,” she said. “I had to finish the hour, because 20 minutes of dead air doesn’t work. I am very sorry. And it just won’t happen again.” Boo Hoo Laura Remember your an-gay days – when you said the following and now you want us to believe YOU ARE NOT a Bigot.

And so it should not get her outa here! She is NOT qualified to Counsel a fly!

According to various sources, Dr. Laura Schlessinger has said or written the following anti-gay slurs, which promoted the website - http://www.stopdrlaura.com/laura/

“A huge portion of the male homosexual populace is predatory on young boys.”

“If you’re gay or lesbian it’s a biological error.”

“I call homosexual practices deviant.”

“The First Amendment is not the 11th Commandment. Its protection does not extend to ALL speech.”

“When we have the word ‘homosexual,’ we are clarifying the dysfunction, the deviancy, the reality.”

“….[reparative] therapies which have been successful in helping a reasonable number of people become heterosexual.” 7

“…I believe that homosexual behavior is deviant; that when homosexuals adopt children, these children are intentionally robbed of a necessary mom and dad…”

“I’m sorry, hear it one more time perfectly clearly: If you’re gay or a lesbian, it’s a biological error that inhibits you from relating normally to the opposite sex. The fact that you are intelligent, creative and valuable is all true. The error is in your inability to relate sexually intimately, in a loving way to a member of the opposite sex – it is a biological error.” Quoted from Dr. Laura’s Website, 1998-DEC-8

ON MATTHEW SHEPARD

“You know what was largely responsible for that guy’s [Matthew Shepard's] death? Those two guys who killed him did not go out looking for a homosexual to kill that night. They were shooting pool. He went to the bar. He left with two guys he thought he was gonna have sex with. He got murdered. How many women has that happened to? How many women have left bars thinking they were gonna get some action with some guy who raped and murdered and tortured and murdered them?

Far more women than homosexual men have ended up dead that way, I would guess. Is that a hate crime against women? I think so but they specifically picked the woman who was willing to leave for sex. If Matthew hadn’t been willing to leave for sex, he might still be alive. That certainly doesn’t make him responsible for his own death but when you put yourself into a situation of going off to have anonymous sex with people you meet at a bar, what kind of person is gonna leave with you? Usually scum…. This was a terrible tragedy but it’s also one that might have been avoided if he had simply gone home with his friends instead of thinking he was gonna get a little.” – Dr. Laura radio show, April 16, 1999 (quoted by CBSC).

By the way – her apology weights low against the extent of the Tirade. “I should not of said that” in no way excuses the lengthy and non stop verbosity of the rant. Its not as if she said mere words – here insensitivity and her lack of basic sense outweighs her nebulus apology. Fire her- its about time!

Dr. Laura: ‘Sure wish I hadn’t said that’ (capitolhillblue.com)
Dr. Laura apologizes for using N-word (cnn.com)
“Dr. Laura Apologizes For Using N-Word On Radio Show (AUDIO)” and related posts (stupidcelebrities.net)
Radio host Dr. Laura apologizes for N-word use (ctv.ca)
Dr. Laura apologizes for saying N-word on air (abclocal.go.com)
Dr. Laura Schlessinger N-word Rant: Drops N-bomb, Then Apologizes (nowpublic.com)
America , Back To Its Racially-divided ROOTS? (dave-lucas.blogspot.com)
Dr. Laura Apologizes For N-Word, But She’s Still A Racist [Race Matters] (jezebel.com)

Replacing Vice-President Biden And Press Secretary Gibbs Could Really Help Obama

Bridgette P. LaVictoire — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 23:21:51 +0000

08/13/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Sometimes, one has to wonder if the people over at a particular news organization is reading this site. David Gewirtz has posited that it would be a stellar strategy for President Barack Obama to replace Vice-President Joseph Biden with now Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. While President Obama is certainly not popular with the Left right now, the reality is that the Republicans are not exactly popular right now either. Currently, they are running on repealing Healthcare Reform and Wall Street Reform. While neither law is exactly stellar, there appears to be little impetus to repeal these particular pieces of legislation right now due to the fact that people hate the current healthcare system and loathe Wall Street.

Replacing Biden, though, is something that has been mentioned on LGR before, as has a possible move of Secretary Clinton to either the Vice-Presidency or the Secretariat of Defense. In truth, the real reason behind Gewirtz’ idea seems to be summed up in his last sentence “Plus, there’d be Bill [Clinton]. Every election’s tons more fun with Bill involved.” There is a certain longing for the ‘good ol’ days’ of President Bill Clinton which has not been matched by President Barack Obama.

Now, unlike his former rival John McCain, Hilary Clinton has done absolutely no campaigning against Obama, and remained silent on domestic issues. The reality is that Obama has been very timid in voicing his rationale and in pushing for true reform because he seems afraid of upsetting people. Obama is too much of a compromiser and not enough of a leader. His kind of President is great for times when partisanship is low, bi-partisanship is high, and the nation is not in any form of crisis- let alone two wars, a deep economic recession, and an unprecedented man-made ecological disaster.

If anyone should go, it is not Biden, though he is not exactly a strong member of the ‘team’, but rather Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. While President Obama may feel the need to put loyalty over ability, Gibbs has done far too much to harm the Obama Administration and very little to help it. While this may sound cynical, President George W. Bush did make a good decision in having an attractive blonde woman as his press secretary. While Dana Perrino may not have been the best in terms of being truthful, or being honest, at least she did a decent job of putting an attractive face on the last Administration. She could also stay on message, which is something that Gibbs seems incapable of doing as he has repeatedly shown, including his recent attack on the “Professional Left”.

Replacing Biden would be a good idea. He is not exactly the most photogenic person in the world, and certainly not good at staying on message. Obama needs people who can get his message out. Right now, Obama has shown a surprising lack of ability to engage in discourse and debate in any real manner, and he appears to be the only one among the public faces of his Administration who has any real ability to debate without going off message or being unable to connect to the audience.

Replacing Biden would be a good idea, whether or not he should be replaced with Clinton. Gibbs should also be replaced, preferably with someone who is more adept at his job than he is.

Video: LGBT Clergy Protest against NOM in Clayton, MO

Melanie Nathan — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:35:49 +0000

Melanie Nathan – August 13, 2010

Video by RachelLeeProductions

Protesters stood together to say that equal rights and same sex marriage does matter.

NOM has issued a statement regarding Prop 8 and Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling -

National Organization for Marriage Releases Statement Responding to Lift of Stay on Same Sex Marriages in California

(Washington, D.C.) – In light of the decision by Judge Vaughn Walker to lift the stay on same sex marriages in California following his ruling to overturn Proposition 8, Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage offered the following response:

“When a lower judge makes an unprecedented ruling, that totally overturns existing Supreme Court precedent, the normal thing for that judge to do is to stay his decision, and let the higher this issue. He doesn’t even want hcourts decide in an orderly fashion that respects the rule of law, if he’s right, or if he’s way off-base. Judge Walker’s ruling is more evidence he is not a neutral referee, he’s an activist on is ruling ignoring Supreme Court precedent and imposing gay marriage against the expressed wishes of the electorate appealed to the Ninth Circuit. Walker feels that that only the state politicians who were against Prop 8 have standing to appeal and the over 7 million California voters who supported Prop 8 shouldn’t be able to even present their position to a higher court. It’s outrageous. The People are supposed to be sovereign, not the politicians. This stay order will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit and if necessary to Justice Anthony Kennedy, and I think it is a tactical mistake on Judge Walker’s part to display his injudicious zeal–once again–before Kennedy’s eyes.”

If readers would like to interview Brian Brown – be polite… hehehe! But Please Pass along this message while you are at it. “The people of California are planning Proposition 8B- the one where we are sure more than 52% of Californians will Vote to have the right to bear arms struck down, OUT- because we think automatic weapons in the streets are very dangerous.”

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of NOM, please contact Mary Beth Hutchins, mhutchins@crcpublicrelations.com, (x105), or Elizabeth Ray, eray@crcpublicrelations.com, (x130) at 703-683-5004.

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda

Breaking News: California Gay Marriages Start Now – Judge Walker Lifts Stay (lezgetreal.com)

Prop 8 is Defeated: A Look Back at How it Affected One Couple

Natasia Rose — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:23:32 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

08/12/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

Anne and Liz got married in California in the brief interval when same sex marriage was legal and before Prop 8 was passed. After Prop 8 passed and their union remained valid while their friends were denied that right, really struck a chord with them. They are two women who weren’t content to be happy as long as they got theirs, they wanted everyone to be able to experience the joy of marriage.

Today, it was announced that same-sex couples in California will be allowed to marry from August 19th onward. This couple’s story is powerful in that it reminds us of what we have suffered and how far we still have to go. Although Prop 8 is gone, we still have a long road ahead of us. Watch the moving video by OURscene tv below:

For more LGBT themed videos, check out www.ourscenetv.com

Lady Gaga Celebrates Prop 8 Victory with a Song (lezgetreal.com)
President Obama: Glad Prop 8 is Repealed, Still Believes in Separate But Equal (lezgetreal.com)

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by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda