Melanie Nathan – 8-12-10

Washington, D.C. – Leaders of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence today announced the organization’s endorsement of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) for election to the United States Senate.

“In less than two years on the job, Senator Gillibrand has already become a leader in the United States Senate, voting against the gun lobby’s extremist agenda and introducing strong, sensible legislation to make it harder for dangerous people to get dangerous weapons,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign. “We want the people of New York to know that we enthusiastically support Senator Gillibrand’s campaign for the U.S. Senate.”

Michael Wolkowitz, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Brady organization and a longtime New York City entrepreneur and activist, said Senator Gillibrand has shown a genuine commitment to reducing gun violence.

“She is someone that I consider a strong ally who I trust to do the right thing when it comes to strengthening gun laws in this country,” Wolkowitz said. “Senator Gillibrand is standing up to the gun lobby and fighting for the safety of New York families.”

“I am honored to have the support of the Brady Campaign,” Senator Gillibrand said. “The Brady Campaign has been at the forefront of the effort to rid our streets of illegal guns and keep our communities free of gun violence. I look forward to continue working together to make New York safe for our families for years to come.”

Some political observers and New York journalists questioned Gillibrand’s record on guns when she was appointed by New York’s Governor to fill the remainder of the term of former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, when Mrs. Clinton was confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of State.  But Helmke noted that she has established a solid record on sensible gun laws as a U.S. Senator, voting against extreme gun lobby amendments on numerous occasions, and teaming with Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) in authoring important legislation to combat illegal gun trafficking.

Two-thirds of guns used in gun-related crime in New York come from out of state. Senator Gillibrand and Congresswoman McCarthy’s legislation increases jail sentences for gun traffickers, straw purchasers and kingpins of criminal networks, and empowers law enforcement with the tools and resources they need to keep criminals behind bars, without infringing on the Constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners.

“On common sense gun laws, she truly represents the vast majority of New Yorkers,” Helmke said, “and she will be a strong voice for reducing gun violence in the years to come if she is returned to the United States Senate.

Melanie Nathan;  8-09-10

SAN FRANCISCO –  We have been receiving many a question on the appeal process and the current temporary stay of marriages, pending appeals.

An appeal hearing on California’s Proposition 8 case will likely not be held until early 2011, according to a briefing schedule posted Thursday by a federal appeals court in San Francisco.

Sponsors of the proposition are appealing a ruling in which U.S District Judge Vaughn Walker on Wednesday struck down the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban. A notice of appeal was filed minutes after Walker’s ruling. The briefing schedule, which was announced by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, does not set a date for hearing the appeal but provides for the final written brief to be filed in late December, suggesting a hearing will not be held until next year.

David Madden, a spokesman for the 9th Circuit, said the appeals court received the notice of appeal Thursday and set a standard briefing schedule under its normal appeals process. Proposition 8’s sponsors must file their opening brief by Nov. 12, and the plaintiffs must respond by Dec. 13. The initiative’s sponsors will then have the option of filing a reply two weeks later. The appeal will be heard by a three-judge panel, which will issue a written decision sometime after hearing arguments in the case. The judges on the panel have not been announced.

The appeal is on the substance of the decision and is separate from any possible appeals on the question of whether Walker’s ruling should be suspended during the appeal process. Walker on Wednesday issued a temporary indefinite stay suspending his ruling and thus blocking the resumption of gay and lesbian marriages in California.

Motions have been  from Attorney Jerry brown and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asking that California resume same-sex marriages immediately and that Judge Walker lift the Stay. on marriages starting immediately pending appeal.

The Judge ordered briefs by Friday on whether he should grant a longer-term stay during the appeals process. The temporary stay will remain in effect until he rules on those briefs. If Walker denies an extended stay, the Proposition 8 sponsors could appeal to the 9th Circuit.

In that event, the appeals court might set a different schedule for considering the stay issue. Proposition 8, enacted by a 52 percent majority of state voters in November 2008, amended the California state Constitution to read, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Walker said in a 136-page decision that the measure violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal treatment.

Lezgetreal has heard that Mayor Newsom is ready to open marriage licensing the moment the stay is lifted.  Many couples are at the ready waiting to add to the 18,000 already legally married.

Posted by melanie nathan

Posted by Melanie Nathan- 08-04-2010

List of Today’s Rally’s -

CALIFORNIA BIG CITIES

LOS ANGELES: 6 p.m. | West Hollywood Park | 647 N. San Vicente (There also is a gathering on Olvera St at 8 p.m.)

SAN DIEGO: March: 6 p.m. @ 6th & University | Rally: 7 p.m. @ LGBT Community Center | 3909 Centre St

SAN FRANCISCO: 5 p.m. | Castro & Market | March to City Hall | Rally: 6:45 p.m.

SACRAMENTO: 6 p.m. | Party | K & 21st | In the unlikely event Judge Walker rules against teh gay, there will be a march to the Capitol

SAN JOSE: 6 p.m. | Billy DeFrank Center

LONG BEACH: 6 p.m. | Bixby Park | Junipero & Cherry @ Broadway

CALIFORNIA

BAKERSFIELD: 5 p.m | Stockdale Hwy & Village Lane

CONCORD: 6 p.m. | Todos Santos Plaza

FRESNO: 7:30 p.m. | City Hall

INLAND EMPIRE (Rancho Cucamonga): 6 p.m. | Day Creek Blvd & Foothill Blvd

MARTINEZ: 6 p.m. | County Clerk | 822 Main St

MOUNTAIN VIEW: 6 p.m. | Caltrain Station & City Hall

NAPA: 6 p.m. | Veterans Memorial Park

ORANGE COUNTY (Santa Ana): 7 p.m. | Sasscer Park | 4th & Ross

PALM SPRINGS: 7 p.m. | Courthouse | 3255 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way

PITTSBURG: 7 p.m. | Community Presbyterian Church

PORTERVILLE: 5 p.m. | Henderson & Port

RICHMOND: 6 p.m. | City Hall

SAN LUIS OBISPO: 5:30 p.m. | Mission Plaza Amphitheater

SAN MATEO: 6 p.m. | 5th & El Camino Real

SANTA BARBARA: 7 p.m. | 632 Santa Barbara St

SANTA CRUZ: 5:30 p.m. | Diversity Center

SANTA ROSA: 7:30 p.m. | City Hall

UKIAH: 6 p.m. | Alex Thomas Plaza | 295 S. State St

VALLEJO: 5:30 p.m. | Ferry Terminal | Mare Island Way & Georgia St

WALNUT CREEK: 6 p.m. | City Hall

OTHER STATES

ANCHORAGE: 5:30 p.m. | City Hall

ATLANTA: 6 p.m. | 10th & Piedmont

AUSTIN: 5:30 p.m. | City Hall

BOSTON: 6 p.m. | Copley Square @ Copley T stop on Boylston St

BOULDER: 6:30 p.m. | Pride House

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA: 7 p.m. | Green & Wright

CHICAGO: 6 p.m. | Daley Plaza

CLEVELAND: 5 p.m. | Bounce/Union Station

DALLAS: 6 p.m. | Legacy of Love Monument | Cedar Springs Road & Oak Lawn

DENVER: 6 p.m. | Capitol | Lincoln between Colfax & 14th

EUREKA SPRINGS: 6:30 p.m. | 19 1/2 Spring St

HOUSTON: 6 p.m. | City Hall

MADISON: 5 p.m. | Johnson & State

NEW YORK CITY: 7 p.m. | New York City Supreme Court | 60 Centre St

PHOENIX: 5:30 p.m. | Cesar Chavez Plaza @ City Hall | March @ 6 p.m. to federal courthouse

PROVIDENCE (RI): 6:30 p.m. | federal courthouse | 1 Exchange St

ROCHESTER (NY): 5 p.m. | Liberty Pole Plaza

SALT LAKE CITY: 8 p.m. | Capitol

SAN ANTONIO: 6:30 p.m. | City Hall

TULSA: 7 p.m. | 621 E 4th St

WASHINGTON, DC: 6 p.m. | Bravo Bravo Restaurant | 1001 Connecticut Ave NW | In the unlikely event Judge Walker rules against teh gay, there reportedly will be a march to the White House

Send info and links to this disposable e-mail address rexsbc-prop8@yahoo.com. The address will die in 3.75 hours.

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Melanie Nathan – 7-30-2010 -Today may be a good day to do just that!  On Friday, July 30, 1993, peace and civil rights activist David Mixner, who had done more than any other gay person to help elect President Clinton, was arrested in front of the White House along with 26 others, including NOW President Patricia Ireland and gay activists Diane Abbitt, Mel White, and Roberta Bennett, protesting the conversion of the ban against gays in the military into DADT after months of being assured by administration shills such as George Stephanopoulos that the ban would be lifted.

Well, then came DOMA – and where are we now?

17 years later – LGBT rights indeed entered the back door,  – well hallelujah!  However did we forget to open the front?  LGBT rights are domained out at a price -highest price has been at cost to our LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS movement.  The lack-lustre approach to a requisite benchmark – a Universal GOAL.

LGBT rights now  morphed into a  cottage industry, celebrating fundraisers as if victory, as we continue to push along -chug-chug- for piecemeal legislation.

Support for LGBT rights as a Civil Rights Issue has been laid on the table for us, by the Mr. Julian Bond of the NAACP.  The Civil Rights pursuit – means an amendment to The 1964 Civil Rights Act, where we ask for inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity.  Its purely a non-discrimination clause.

While of course gay marriage will follow, and DOMA’s lack of constitutional validity will be more pure than it is now, it indeed takes the issues out of the rights.  In other words, Gay Marriage will no longer be an issue.  The closest we have seen to this idea is the recent promotion of the grass root generated American Equality Bill,  which seeks to Amend to effect such.

I would prefer to see simple language in the Civil Rights Act – similar to that in the South African Constitution. Plain and simple – the right thing to do.

When the Prop 8 judgment comes down soon and it is my feeling that it will favor NO on 8.  That in itself will speak to us as a minority, and albeit State and local, it sets a tone.  A minority lacking rights – we must be included in the Civil Rights Act.  This is different to the  quest for an Equal Protection Amendment, which is justified too for other reasons – because I personally do not view women as a minority.

After sexual orientation et al, finds its fair space in The Civil Rights Act, all will follow organically be it through legislation, the Courts, or even an omnibus such as the American Equality Bill.

Can it be done – well that is up to us. Its not up for critics to weigh up and down.  It IS the front door. Short of the front door, we are bait for marginalization.  It is a benchmark and critical to a unified movement.   trying to estimate its chances at success is completely irrelevant and harms the opportunity for a Dr. MLKesque  Civil Rights approach.

Is setting a benchmark a dramatic leap.  Well, yes and no.  Yes if you think its not possible to attain and no if you believe that man made it to the moon!

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

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On Friday, Charla Halverson, President of the Dane County Young Republicans, formally challenged Tammy Baldwin’s nomination papers. She chose to go toe to toe over this issue on the LezGetReal comment section, specifically engaging Dr. Paula Brooks in some specific banter related to the futility of their challenge. Ms Halverson published an email sent by Dr. Brooks to the Dane County Young Republicans under the heading “The Challenge Has Gotten A Lesbian Groups Feathers Ruffled.”

Dr. Brooks currently lives in Washington, DC. She is the publisher and managing editor of Lez Get Real. She has her Doctorate in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College. She has three Masters. Her first is from Gallaudet University and is a Masters in Linguistics. She has a Masters in Greek, Latin and Classical Archaeology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an Masters in Religious Studies from University of Dayton.

Here is Dr. Brooks, the editor of Lez Get Real to discuss this particular issue:

LGR: Dr. Brooks, LGR is now just shy of two years old, in that time, what groups have you taken on that have noticed your and your staff’s work here?

Dr. Brooks: Well if I understand your question right, we have not spared many from just criticism. We started calling out President Obama on his lack of action on LGBT issues as far back as March of 2009, and the HRC is never been spared, as you know. And we really see the efforts of Get Equal and Lt Dan Choi as more then counter productive. I like to think we know what is right and just what is not right.

LGR: Given that the title of the Young Republicans post regarding your email to them states that this small organization is a ‘group’, just how large an organization is LezGetReal?

Dr. Brooks: Well as you know Bridg, at one time LGR was pretty much just you and me, and while we have grown, we are hardly a group. We are basicly 4 writers in DC, San Francisco, New York City and Vermont. Then we have about 7 others who also contribute to the site. So if that makes a group, well then we are a group.

LGR: Would you say that your feathers were ruffled?

Dr. Brooks: I am 4-11, deaf, and a lesbian. I know bullying, and what the YR of DC is doing is bullying, albeit they are trying to put a whole different spin on this. They use pretty words, and admirable jargon, but what they are doing is taking any chance they can of getting Rep Baldwin out of office and they have decided to manufacture an issue. If Baldwin should give out her address, they win because you can be sure in the hostile climate of Wisconsin, someone will look her up. If she doesn’t, they win because then they can run around yell she does not live in the district, and have their own little Birth Certificate controversy. I hate bullies and I told them as much.

LGR: You have met several politicians in your time in Washington, DC, and even attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama, have you met Rep. Baldwin at any time while you were there?

Dr. Brooks: No, unfortunately I have not.

LGR: Given that both you and Representative Baldwin are lesbians, does sexual orientation play any part in why you have sought through your writers to defend Baldwin? Given that she is the only open lesbian in the Congress, could that play a factor in wanting to keep her in her seat?

Dr. Brooks: No mostly I have a real low tolerance for Chicken Shit, and this is in my opinion Chicken Shit. This looks almost like the chicken shit that got pulled down in Mississippi on McMillian. Play the technicalities and obstruficate  facts to bash the gay. I feel if they don’t like her orientation, say hey we hate fags, but they know people look down on a plain talking bigot, so they go the David Duke pretty word way. This is just more of that I think.

Now I see the timing of this as very planned. They dumped this challenge on Friday so no one can get a direct answer from Baldwin all weekend. They wanted people to  chew on it before she could answer, but I am sure they never asked Baldwin about any of this before they did this.

LGR: Politically speaking, you are someone that has been described as center-right, why defend someone who is seen as being liberal?

Dr. Brooks: As you know, I am a small business owner. I hate taxes, government regulations drive me nuts, and I own a Glock. I could be a Republican if they would just let go of the haters in their party, but they need the money, and fell they need their vote. So I can’t support them. How could I? They want to deny me my rights.

LGR: There are several LGBT groups which are disappointed that the three openly lesbian or gay politicians- Reps Polis, Frank and Baldwin- have not managed to get a great deal of pro-LGBT legislation through Congress, is your site taking a more pragmatic view of the political landscape than those?

Dr. Brooks: I am disappointed with the progress on LGBT rights, but I work in DC and get the dynamic here. No matter who they put in office here, and no matter how much they say they will change the system, it will not happen. So you have to understand you can’t get everything you want all the time.

LGR: It is known that Rep. Baldwin has not listed her current residence inside her district in Wisconsin on her nomination papers, do you have any formal information regarding a cause for that?

Dr. Brooks: Not beyond what we have already found out.. no. However I have taken a step back and asked Melanie Nathan to contact Rep Baldwin’s office to ask her about just what is going on here. I am sure what we have is Baldwin broke up with her partner, and this bunch took advantage of the fact , thinking someone had to move out, and they are attempting to make hay out of that, but till Rep Baldwin gets back to us I can’t really comment.

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6- 3-2010  MELANIE  NATHAN

Council Member Williams, Brooklyn, NY

Yesterday, June 2^nd, Councilman Jumaane D. Williams joined other elected officials, community members, clergy and immigrant advocates for a 3-day fast to call for comprehensive immigration reform.

This initiative is part Councilman Williams’ greater effort to highlight the issues around immigration reform and assure the Caribbean voice is represented. Two weeks ago, Councilman Williams was arrested to bring more national attention to this issue. He continues to fight for immigration reform with Make the Road New York, which is sponsoring the fast, and we expect him to participate in additional rallies for immigrant justice.

Through this fast, Make the Road New York hopes to demonstrate their support and commitment to justice for immigrants. The 3-day fast will culminate with a rally at 11:00 am on Saturday, June 5^th at Judson Memorial Church (located at 55 Washington Square South). We expect other fasting elected officials (Congresswomen Nydia  M. Velazquez and Council Members Julissa Ferreras and Ydanis Rodriguez) and members of the community to join.

Lezgetreal spoke to a spokesperson at the  Councilman’s office. we asked if in his advocacy and fast he was supporting the inclusion of UAFA, the right for LGBT partners to sponsor a foreign partner or spouse.The Spokesperson said that she did not think that Council member Williams had taken a position on this issue.   I explained that this was an imperative aspect of comprehensive immigration reform and especially to ALL  New Yorkers.

I suggested it would be remiss not take a position and to put it out there , especially as the Catholic Bishops and Evangelicals  have said they will NOT support Immigration reform that includes and thereby recognizes gay and lesbian families.

The spokesperson was extremely receptive – and was pleased to provide an email address where I could send articles and the NYCLU Video of Carla and Britta, a couples featured on Lezgetreal, who are caught up in the inequity of the denial of immigration equality to same-sex couples.  I also sent them the testimony video of Shirley Tan and other important articles on the subject.

We now await the Council members response to the question, knowing that he is concerned about keeping families together:

‘Council member Williams, while you are conducting your hunger fast, please can you inform the LGBT community whether or not your advocacy is truly for comprehensive immigration reform; do you believe that same-sex  couples should be included with language such as that of UAFA (Uniting American Families Act) included as suggested by the Schumer, Reid Reform Framework?

UPDATE – LEZGETREAL is pleased to note that The Council Member’s office provided a most favorable statement  from Mr. Williams.

“For immigration reform to be truly comprehensive it must include all American families, including the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. The right to sponsor a loved one and/or family member is a right that belongs to ALL American citizens. By incorporating the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) into the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), LGBT citizens will be permitted to sponsor their permanent partners, which is the equivalent of the right heterosexual citizens currently have to sponsor their spouses.”

Thanks, Melanie Nathan’  nathan@privatecourts.com

The spokesperson said we would hear back  from the Council member in about three days.

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A few thousand people attended a ceremony, where the Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool, was ordained and consecrated on Saturday, making her the second openly gay bishop in church history and one of the first two female bishops in the Diocese of Los Angeles’ 114-year history.

The service was disrupted by a man and a young boy yelling for people to repent and calling homosexuality a sin. Nonetheless reports show it was a ‘joyous event.’

The Episcopal Church, which is the Anglican body in the United States, caused turmoil in the church in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Breakaway Episcopal conservatives have formed a rival church, the Anglican Church in North America.

Several overseas Anglicans have been pressuring Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world’s 77 million Anglicans, to officially recognize the new conservative entity.

In 2004, Anglican leaders asked the Episcopal Church for a moratorium on electing another gay bishop while they tried to prevent a permanent break in the fellowship.

In an interview with Reuters Television, Glasspool said she was ready to meet with critics. “I am a reconciling person and I will seek to reach out and engage with people who believe or think differently than I do, and to try to build a relationship with them,” she said. The ceremony also consecrated a second bishop suffragan, Diane Jardine Bruce.

Ordaining Glasspool may on the one hand fuel the fervent homophobia the LGBT community is subjected to in the USA, as the religious right will use this in their infiltration and gay agenda argument.  However on the other hand it provides positive visibility, as long as there are no major disasters in the next few days – you know what happens when the Earth shakes. It would be God’s anger at the New Bishop’s installation.

The Anglican Communion is the third-largest Christian denomination in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches.

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Why Jo-Vanni Roman should talk to the Gals at Lezgetreal:- What did Reker really do?

Lucien, a Young male escort,  was photographed accompanying Family Research Council co founder George Alan Rekers to Europe.  Rekers admits to hiring the undergraduate-age, blond escort for a European trip but denies any sexual conduct with the young man.

Rekers asserts it was purely to carry his baggage, but may well have to admit that Lucien turned out to BE THE BAGGAGE! The race was on with the Gay men Bloggers to find Lucien and lo and behold when the Advocate made contact, beating Joe from JMG, the young man refused to spill the beans. So we here at LGR offer young Mr. Roman a venue to tell the truth and also a good reason why he should.

The Advocate Reports, “Lucien,” the young man at the center of an emerging scandal involving one of the most influential leaders of the “ex-gay” movement, is known on his Facebook and MySpace profiles as Jo-vanni Roman.”  The Miami New Times broke the story in a Tuesday article, referring to the escort using the pseudonym “Lucien.” The story was quickly followed in the LGBT media and mainstream outlets, including CBS News and The Washington Post.

Advocate adds: “Despite his statement, Rekers intimated in a Tuesday message via Facebook to Joe.My.God blogger Joe Jervis that he had hired the escort as part of his ongoing Christian ministry. Rekers said he shared “scientific information on the desirability of abandoning homosexual intercourse” with the young man whom he had hired.  “Like Jesus Christ, I deliberately spend time with sinners with the loving goal to try to help them,” Rekers wrote.

In the New Times article Roman did not disclose details of the trip but described Rekers as a man who “honestly cares about taking care of kids.”

So  Lucien / Roman – The quest for truth is still in the air… That said LUCIEN, we here at lezgetreal respect your privacy; however what this Rekers has done has in effect not helped nor looked after any kids. He is the reason kids commit  suicide far too often. If he has practiced homosexual acts with you or anyone then he needs to be exposed. Because he is going around and making his living teaching that sex acts between men is an abomination and that gay people can be cured. This statement is a BIG cause of teen suicide. So why should kids think they can be cured when the guy saying it can be done, is himself not cured?

He has NOT looked after any kids. You see, he advocates for laws that discriminate against MY kids and tens of thousands of other kids.   So I suggest if you really want to help kids, give me a call and we will find a way to tell your story – placed under category – Come to the Gay Gals Page… “TRUTH.”

Rekers is a cofounder of the Family Research Council, along with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. He is a board member of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, a group promoting “ex-gay” reparative therapy, which is widely condemned by health organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association. Rekers is also a member of the American College of Pediatricians, which had submitted a friend-of-the-court brief opposing marriage equality in the federal challenge to Proposition 8, Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

In 2008, Rekers served as a paid expert witness in a lawsuit in which he defended Florida’s ban on adoption by gay people. According to Equality Florida, Rekers and a colleague were paid $87,000 for their testimony.

UPDATE: Unzipped is talking to Roman at this time 8.30 pm 5/5/10 you can follow at their site-

“I had NO idea who [George Rekers] was. Not until we got back from the trip,” said the most famous escort in America today. The shaggy-haired, 20-year-old blond, who was recently identified by The Advocate as Jo-vanni Roman, called me moments ago to announce that he was ready to tell his side of the story.

Unzipped: How are you doing?
Roman: I wasn’t sure how to handle it all at first, but now I understand how big of a story this is, that this guy was an anti-gay activist. My friends have been telling me about him.

Did you know someone was taking your picture in the airport?
No. Well, kind of. I didn’t really know they were taking it of us.

Then this teaser ends and Unzipped says ciao for the night see you tomorrow??

SO while we hang in abeyance waiting for the BIG did he do it answer I studied the much later released expose photo by Miami Herald and what is the first thing I notice?

Mr. Reker is the one handling the baggage – his and the Young escort’s as well.  Not only is Mr. Roman, the escort far away from the bags that Rekers asserts the young escort was hired to handle, but Mr. Reker is bending over the bags as if to say – here I am and I can take it. ….. Food for thought .urgh did I just say food. 

***

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

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More coming up…  GO TO http://blog.unzipped.net/2010/05/exclusive-george-rekers-rentboy-talks-to-unzipped-1.html

4-28-10 – Melanie Nathan

According to Lezgetreal sources, Judge Vaughn Walker has set a June date to hear closing argument in the case of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which challenged the legitimacy of Proposition 8, the anti-gay marriage voted in by California voters.

What is more noteworthy( and we are unable to verify this at this time,) is that we have received information to suggest that the date is set for JUNE 16th?

Whether inadvertent or not, this date will always be historic to the Lesbian and Gay community of California as it was the day of the month that Mayor Gavin Newsom opened same-sex marriage in San Francisco,  California, albeit for a short time only.

It will depend on availability of Counsel for that date

By restricting  the definition of marriage to only opposite-sex couples, the proposition overturned the California Supreme Court’s ruling of In re Marriage Cases that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. The wording of Proposition 8 was precisely the same as that which had been found in Proposition 22, which, as an ordinary statute, had been invalidated by the Supreme Court. California’s State Constitution put Proposition 8 into immediate effect the day after the election. The proposition did not affect domestic partnerships in California  or same-sex marriages performed before November 5, 2008.

In January 2010 SB 54 became law, which has the effect of recognizing foreign Jurisdiction marriages as valid for all purposes in the State of California (meaning Canada, Abroad and marriages concluded in other States are recognized as such in California for purposes of divorce, benefits etc., as long as it is not called a marriage.)

The campaigns for and against Proposition 8 raised $39.9 million and $43.3 million, respectively, becoming the highest-funded campaign on any state ballot that day and surpassing every campaign in the country in spending except the presidential contest.

If I were to put money on this horse I would say we will win!!!  I am saying that after June 16, 2010 we are going to get our inherent and existing – yet infringed- marriage rights back.  If I am wrong I will not apologize because I am entitled to believe in what is right!

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

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simplicity in the name of a movement

What happened to our LGBTQI movement?  Since 1970, post Stonewall, – Good question.  Nothing. We have a quest for gay marriage rights, we have a quest for social security, we have a quest for immigration equality, to serve in the army, to not have crimes committed against us because we are gay, we have a quest for employment equality and the list goes on.

We are denied many rights in many States under State Law

We are denied 1,137 rights on a Federal Level

For almost 40 years we have been rallying around organizations,  while they advance their ownership- of the future of our rights,which has ultimately turned into a cannibalization of our movement.

There is NO MOVEMENT eat has been chomped at and is now in pieces called DADT, ENDA, DOMA – What do we really want?Is it not complete equality – The color of my skin is GAY!

Environment:

• BAD:

We are stuck in a milieu of Republican obstructionists,
an election (midterm) about to happen
a majority in Congress
a President the victim of serious racial attacks and unprecedented disrespect
Catholic Bishops and Evangelicals impacting Congress and the separation of Church and State.

• GOOD:
• Is this any different from USA as usual?
• Well we have one advantage at this time -a majority in Congress.  (ah but the elections! Oh well that lasted a minute!

How does this comport?  The current environment  only precludes piecemeal legislation-and yet we forge on the same path to nowhere.

Our LGBT organizations have formed mostly around specific arenas of our struggle, which has actually wedged us all into compartments in our activism. There has been no Universal message for our movement.  Guess what? That is the tone the USA public has been hearing and so they are accepting the tone we have set.  Our own attitude by way of how we approach our rights- asking for a little at a time – reflects uncertainty and insecurity- it  has done little more than to make us look as if we believe we agree with our marginalization.

The closest endeavor to universal message is “marriage”  and that one is fraught with problems. Why? Because it sets us up for the religious arguments which have been working successfully against us and also for the “leave it to the States” excuse also working against us.

I believe all is not negative and I do not look back along the path of the past and say ‘oops we made a mistake.’  No, we did not; it was our path and it is done and it has gained a lot for us by way of visibility. There is so much more that is acceptable that was not and the marriage road has given us a good measure of legitimacy and won us many friends.

But what I am critical of, is our failure to take stock when we enter crossroads and I believe we are at one right now.

In other words we cannot go forward in the same direction, we must choose a left or right turn and then we can forge a new road. The left turn is = do something completely different and the right turn = do the same thing.

What we have going for us is a Volcano about to erupt and we must harness that energy in a way that will work.  The first little eruption can be noted by GET EQUAL’S push for Choi et al – chaining themselves to the White House fence in the hope of getting attention – because in truth that is all they may have accomplished and yet did not.  It caused more harm and the energy was not favorably harnessed. (see earlier posts)

So back to my point – the larva bubbling under are all of you who have “equality” as a middle name or in the fore of your mind and others of you who are of good conscience and allies.

So now it is time to utilize what is emerging from beneath – let us take the left turn here. The organizations and leadership can join in or they can crawl like tortoise to the finish line taking the right path.

The Left path is the PINK PRINT – it takes us right back to the beginning – what it does is it gives us the cement – the foundation for equality. If we have a Civil Rights Amendment to the ACT of 1964 – where we ask for one thing – not 100 things. Just one thing. If we pool everything we have into this one thing; hence the number  …1… significantly displayed on the PRINT… and ask for what we are entitled to  A CIVIL RIGHTS AMENDMENT to include the word “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” placed neatly next to the words “race and gender,” we would be setting the foundation for the Mansion to come….

After that our right to  equality is solidified and we cannot be denied anything thereafter.   What will fall will be an Omnibus to repeal all discriminatory law. We will not need ENDA and DADT will fall. As for UAFA – we will no longer have the problem as all the DHS will have to do will be to change their forms a little.

So Find me a champion. Find us a Senator and a member of the House.  Who wants to join this PINK PRINT? Who wants to have a one Goal Movement ?  For 40 years we have tried the other way and we are still begging for one piece of miserable legislation that a gay friendly President has yet to support to the point of passage.

What do we have to lose?

Our lives are no one’s priority – we must stop relying on those who do have a lot to lose  – we are gong to have to make sacrifices and do this from the bottom up – so to speak.  The leadership can follow. But please leadership, HRC,  et al, do not tell us to be patient while you fight for one piece at a time.

There IS no such thing as not possible. But it sure is not possible if you don’t not try.

Signing up for the Pink Print! One Goal – Mission Sexual Orientation and Gender ID as an amendment to the Civil Rights Act.

Melanie Nathan

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

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Last year, The California  Assembly Judiciary Committee in Sacramento held a hearing for a Resolution, AJR 15,  authored by Assembly member Kevin de Leon, CA -45, in support of UAFA, The Uniting American Families Act – (HR102 and the California State Senate version, S 424.)

I was privileged to testify at that hearing and pleased that the Assembly passed the resolution, (14-28 – with NO  Republican support,)  and now am delighted that within the next few weeks the Resolution will be heard in the California State Senate Judiciary Committee. I have been invited again to testify at this committee together with fellow victims of bi-national discrimination, Gina Caprio and Amos Lim – both activists with the Group Out-4-Immigration.

AJR 15 declares California’s disapproval of current US Immigration laws which forbids Same-Sex bi-national couples the opportunity from being able to sponsor their partners for immigration purposes.

According to the 2000 Census, at least 35,000 bi-national same sex couples currently live in the United States yet despite whether or not they are recognized as married by their State, they do not have legal authorization to sponsor their spouse or partner to permanently reside in the United States.  This number is significantly low, given that at that time the impact of people meeting and falling in love  over the internet was insignificant.  I have made up my own fuzzy math and belief that those numbers are closer to 99,000 – 200,000 at least.

This serious inequity has resulted in couples forcibly separated, unless the American of the pair choose to exile to a foreign Country. This is particularly impossible for those who would  have to give up businesses, mortgages, homes, jobs, pensions, the ability to work if language is a barrier,  and sometimes shared custody of children, simply to pursue their American right to happiness by having to exile abroad.   Some remain in the USA and their partners go into hiding, risking detention and unable to work; others exile and some suffer separation.

“By the passing of UAFA, The United States would join the more than 18 countries which already give full legal immigration rights and recognition to same sex couples,” says Gina Caprio in an Article on the San Francisco Examiner.

Thanks to the relentless and consistent efforts of Out-4-Immigration , with Tom Tierney at the helm of coordination, Cities around the country have been passing similar resolutions supporting the Uniting American Families Act. As of April 15, cities like Miami Beach, FL and Cambridge MA became the latest to join in support.

The coordination and work on the Resolution has been led by EQCA - who continue their efforts to ensure passage.

I will report further when we get the date to testify.

What you ca do:- 1. Please write your California State Senators and ask them to support this Resolution;  2. If you are interested in getting an action going to have a resolution passed in your own community please contact Tom T. via Out-4-Immigration

Picture: ©Melanie Nathan
In Picture Left to right: Gina Caprio, Amos Lim,  Assembly member Kevin de Leon (D), Melanie Nathan

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

My Story can be read at -  http://lezgetreal.com/?p=24121

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Tomorrow, Wednesday April, 14, 2010, I will be participating in a blog radio fund raiser to help of Millicent Gaika, the South African woman who after being brutally raped, is destitute. In a state of shock and trauma, she is unable to pursue her medical needs and the organization that has been helping her has exhausted all their funds.

Ndumi Funda , who lost her partner to such viscous rape, is one of the founding members of the the group, “Luleki ‘Isizwe Womyn’s Project,” which was born from what has now become systemic, the corrective rape of Township lesbians in South Africa.  Desperate for money they continue to help 8 victims who they are currently housing, not knowing how many more sisters may seek help, at any time.

In African culture names are not just names, they have deep meaning.  It connects the child to the family and community.  Because of this connectedness, the child’s duty is to live in harmony with this name.

This is What Ndumi has written  -

“So where does our name come from?

The first part of our name comes from Luleka Makiwane, who was a lesbian woman.  She lived openly and had no shame about her sexuality.  She was a strong and powerful woman, and even though she fought for lesbian women’s rights, she connected strongly to the struggles of the poor in general.  She worked tireless to fight against violence against all women.  This did not protect her though, and she was violated by her own cousin who raped her.  The reason he did it ‘was to prove that she was a woman, not a man.’    As a result of the rape she became a victim to HIV AIDS and died in 2005.  She spoke about her rape and status with many of the gay community to try and educate and bring awareness of sexual and sexuality abuse.

The second part of our name comes from Nosizwe Nomsa Bizana, who was a lesbian woman.  She too was raped, gang raped by five men, because of her sexuality.  Unfortunately as a result of the vicious rape, she succumbed to Cripto Meningitis in December 16, 2007. Her story is sad, the trauma of the rape silenced her in the beginning, and she could not share this with the community.  It took a while before she could share this experience with her mother and her partner at the time.  In the end, before she passed away she was happy to be involved in the HIV Booklets of Triangle Project and thus disclose her HIV status to the broader community.

There is a general belief that lesbian women are a low risk group in terms of sexually transmitted diseases and especially HIV/AIDS.  This opinion does not however take into consideration the high levels of rape, also called ‘corrective rape,’  that particularly township-based lesbians are exposed to and which puts them at risk for STI’s and HIV/AIDS.

The stories of Luleka and Nosizwe are not the only stories that we can tell.  There are many whose stories will most probably never be told or their lives being honored in the way which we are trying to do with our initiative.  Nonetheless, we have named our project as a means to celebrate and recognize the lives and contributions of these two lesbian women who have experienced great hardship and struggle when they were alive.  Yet they continued to fight and resist against homophobia and gender based violence in the communities that they lived in.

FOUNDING MEMBERS: Ndumie Funda /  Nozuko /  Olivia /  Nkulie /  Puleng / Pam 

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4-13-10, Melanie Nathan

An energized crowd of more than 700 people rallied at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and marched more than a mile to the Social Security Administration office in Hollywood today to demand an end to the unconscionable discrimination that deprives older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) taxpayers of more than $120 million in Social Security benefits every year.

Representative Linda Sanchez —a member of the House Subcommittee on Social Security—announced that she will author legislation to provide equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples and Rep. Judy Chu offered to co-author the bill. Other political and community leaders who spoke out at the event included Sen. Barbara Boxer, Rep. Laura Richardson, L.A. City Councilmember Paul Koretz, West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land, L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lorri L. Jean, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey and AIDS Community Action Foundation President Craig R. Miller.

“We now have quality, affordable health care coming to all. What good is the quality of our health care in America if Americans are not treated equally under all of our laws?” said Rep. Sanchez. “I look at this country—which is great but could be made better—and I see that there is still discrimination … I don’t think it’s right that Americans should be treated differently by the country they love because of who they love.”

Sanchez made the announcement at the Center’s McDonald/Wright building before the crowd marched down Hollywood Boulevard to the Social Security office on Vine Street. There, L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lorri L. Jean led the crowd in chanting and picketing to demand an end to the discrimination that hurts seniors like Alice Herman, a client of the Center’s Seniors Services department. Herman spoke about being denied benefits after the loss of her beloved wife, Sylvia, even though the two were legally married.

“At the time I was burying Sylvia and grieving her loss, I had to look for a place to live as fast I as could,” says Herman, who was left “a heartbeat away” from living in her car because she could no longer afford to live in the home they shared. Had Sylvia been a man, Herman would have been entitled to receive her spouse’s larger Social Security payments. “This has got to change,” she said.

Herman’s story inspired Jean to speak out on the issue of discrimination in Social Security benefits.

“We must stop the discrimination heaped upon our elders just when they are suffering profound grief after losing a partner,” Jean says. “They shared their lives for 20, 30 even 40 years—and paid into Social Security with every paycheck just like everyone else. But they are cheated out of survivor benefits because their relationships are not recognized by the Social Security system.”

At Rock for Equality, it was announced that “What Kind of Planet Are We On?”—an online video that tells the story of a lesbian alien who is denied Social Security benefits—triumphed in YouTube’s 4^th Annual DoGooder Awards. The video, which won the Best Innovation in Video category, was featured at the top of the YouTube homepage, where it reached hundreds of thousands with its message about the need to stop discrimination in Social Security benefits. By Sunday afternoon the video, which is featured at www.youtube.com/nonprofitvideoawards, had been viewed more than 350,000 times.

The Center partnered with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in coalition with the AIDS Community Action Foundation, to launch Rock for Equality.

“Same-sex couples are being systematically short-changed by unfair Social Security policies, costing our families $2 billion in the past decade alone,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. “The shock of this inequity comes at one of the most vulnerable times in our lives: when we lose our partner. Social Security was created to protect all Americans in their later years, but this hasn’t been the case for our families. We thank Rep. Linda Sanchez for committing to author legislation to end this unfairness once and for all.”

President Barack Obama has stated his opposition to Social Security discrimination against same-sex couples, and last week Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed a resolution (introduced by Koretz and fellow Councilmember Bill Rosendahl and unanimously approved by the city council) calling on the federal government to end discrimination in Social Security benefits. Last week the city of West Hollywood passed a similar resolution.

At the rally, Craig R. Miller, Rock for Equality producer and president of the AIDS Community Action Foundation, noted the connection between the health of LGBT people and the government’s discrimination.

“There is an inextricable link between the ongoing HIV epidemic and matters of self-esteem, equal recognition of committed relationships, and a positive view of one’s future,” said Miller.  “We are unwilling to see yet another generation of kids grow up bombarded with messages from their own government that they are less than, that their relationships are less than, and that in the future, their Social Security, their fare share of our country’s social safety net, shall be less than that of other Americans.”

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law has determined that, on average, the lack of eligibility for Social Security Survivors benefits alone has cost the surviving partners of same-sex couples $5,700 per year. LGBT Americans are denied other benefits as well. With more than 1 million Americans living in same-sex couples and an aging generation of Baby Boomers, hundreds of thousands of taxpayers are cheated by this unfair system every day. This discrimination is estimated to have cost the LGBT community more than $2 billion in the last decade alone.

About the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center: Since 1971 the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has been building the health, advocating for the rights and enriching the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.  Our wide array of services and programs includes: free HIV/AIDS care and medications for those most in need; housing, food, clothing and support for homeless LGBT youth; low-cost counseling and addiction-recovery services; essential services for LGBT-parented families and seniors; legal services; health education and HIV prevention programs; transgender services; cultural arts and much more. Visit us at: www.lagaycenter.org.

About the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force: The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.  Visit us at: www.thetaskforce.org.

About AIDS Community Action Foundation: Founded in 2004, AIDS Community Action Foundation (ACAF) is dedicated to reinvigorating the response of government, media, the private sector, non-profit organizations, and the public at large to the Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic in the United States.  ACAF is committed to engaging in and/or supporting at the community level organizing, advocacy, fundraising, and education efforts designed to create greater public pressure toward alleviating the human suffering caused by HIV/AIDS. Visit us at www.aidscaf.com .

About MZA Events: Rock for Equality was created and is being produced by MZA Events.  MZA was founded in 1984 by Craig R. Miller and his organization of activists. Miller is the originator of the AIDS Walk movement and has produced hundreds of events throughout the United States, generating more than $400 million for major AIDS organizations and other charities confronting public health and social justice issues. Visit us at: www.mzaevents.com.

By Melanie Nathan
@oblogdeeoblogda
nathan@privatecourts.com

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Billions of dollars have been spent treating the consequences of child abuse and maltreatment. Very little has been spent on prevention and many would rather look the other way. But child abuse and maltreatment is a societal problem and preventing it requires universal support. Child abuse is also often a vicious cycle. Typically, abusers have histories of abuse in childhood.

On April 1st, President Barack Obama said:

Our children are our most valuable resource, and they need our support to thrive and grow into healthy, productive adults. During National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we renew our unwavering commitment to protecting children and responding to child abuse, promoting healthy families, and building a brighter future for all Americans.

Every child deserves a nurturing family and a safe environment, free from fear, abuse, and neglect. Tragically, sexual, emotional, and physical abuse threaten too many children every day in communities across our Nation. Parents, guardians, relatives, and neighbors all share a responsibility to prevent these devastating crimes, and our government plays a critical role as well.

My Administration is committed to helping future generations succeed. We are focused on engaging parents in their children’s early learning and development, ensuring the safety and well-being of all families, and creating opportunities for all Americans. We are also partnering with Federal, State, and local agencies to better coordinate early childhood services and improve the lives of young children and their families.

Together, we can ensure that every child grows up in a safe, stable, and nurturing environment, free from abuse and neglect. I encourage all Americans to visit: www.ChildWelfare.gov/Preventing to learn what they can do to stop child abuse in their communities.

As the publisher of Lez Get Real, I am joining the President and calling upon our government officials, educators and religious leaders to halt this epidemic of child abuse by significantly increasing their investment in prevention and as an acknowledgment to this commitment, I will be displaying blue ribbons on my posts.

The color blue was chosen to represent the bruised, battered bodies and scared souls of the victims and I am requesting that my fellow contributors to this site and those on other LGBT news and opinion sites to join me in displaying this support for those innocent ones who have been harmed.

On Tuesday, I am also inviting everyone to dedicate two minutes of silence at noon to remember those most affected by child abuse.

Thank You.

Paula S Brooks
Publisher and Executive Editor
Lezgetreal.com

Paula’s Quote of The Day:

“There is no more fundamental test of a society than how it treats its children.”~ Ronald Reagan

4-6-10; Melanie Nathan;

Many  websites are springing up to expose Meg Whitman for who she is; and while this is indeed a great way to counter her Goliath $200,000,000 AD- Campaign, it is useless until we all pitch in and help it to go viral. The LGBTQI community has the power to defeat her blast of billionaire wind.  Should Meg get to seat her tuchus in the Governor seat, rest assured every equality bill will stand more chance of being auctioned off on E-Bay than signed by the power hungry wicked witch of the West.

One such website is BLINDED BY  H8…..

In March 2010, she pulled ahead in the polls both for the Republican Party’s nomination for Governor of California, and in a hypothetical match-up between herself and the assumed Democratic nominee, Jerry Brown.  The newest site we have noticed is “Blinded by H8″

As former CEO of eBay, Meg Whitman amassed a personal fortune of over a billion dollars, and she isn’t shy about spending it.  Breaking campaign spending records set in all previous state elections, Meg Whitman has used her nearly unlimited financial resources to control the message of the gubernatorial campaign, buying television airtime that has garnered her close to a 50 point lead over her closest competitor for the Republican primary.

With the nomination for the Republican Party all but a foregone conclusion, she can now put that spending power towards the biggest prize: Chief Executive of the State of California.  Her blind ambition reflects her inability to see past her own inborn hatred of those different from herself.  This is a forum to counter her omnipresent message, an alternative to the echo-chamber that supports Meg Whitman.

As someone who willingly puts her own personal beliefs ahead of the needs of California families, Meg Whitman must be stopped.  She has no experience in government, no accountability to the people, and no qualms about spending whatever money is necessary to win.  Meg Whitman:  Bad for Families.  Bad for California.  Blinded by H8.

Just think, Meg is going to use our dollars which we spent on E-Bay to veto every piece of equality and gay supportive legislation.   We as a community must go for the jugular on this one. She cannot be allowed to win.   My eye is on Face Book as each and every one of my EQUALITY identified buddies do their magic…  Let’s go Viral on MEG!!!!!

P.S.  Judge the woman by the friends she keeps …   Stars of the Horror Movie -  “REPUBLICANS  RULE”  – Romney,  Steele and McCain

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/11/local/me-whitman11

By Melanie Nathan.

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The celebration includes a Hebrew language LGBT film series, theatrical and musical performances by prominent Israeli artists, cooking demonstrations, art exhibitions, literary readings, and panels discussions on LGBT culture in Israel and Zionist perspectives.

This Thursday April 8 a local anti-Israel group called QUIT (”Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism”)will be protesting outside the Roxie Theater (16th and Valencia Streets, San Francisco) where the festival will have its opening night films.

This is no time to be bringing  Israel’s political debates or American foreign policy into our LGBT  cultural explorations.  We are   fighting our own struggle here , in the USA – for Equality.    Our struggle is not one that has anything to do with Israel’s policies.  Separate issue, wrong place – I say please quit  QUIT!

Israel is one of the few Countries that treats its Queers with respect and dignity enacting pro gay laws in the Knesset and providing for full equality under the law, notwithstanding its religious basis.

The USA   is a Country that has a reprehensible discrimination record against the LGBT community.  I say QUIT should quit!

This festival is truly a gift and should be supported for what it is.  As an out Jewish lesbian I am grateful for Israel’s  Knesset.  It serves as a shining example and provides hope to us here in the US as we look up to its record on equality.

We are calling supporters of  LGBT equality to turn out and show support for ISRAEL as a country that fully supports LGBT equality. The right wing or religious views in Israel have not hampered equality there as it has done here.

However, my wife, Dorit Nathan-Israel,  who is Israeli disagrees with me completely (here we are -James and Mary) and says that QUIT has ever right to protest – that is their view and this is a legitimate venue to express it.   This, she says, is a human rights issue too, for them and so it is fair for them to be there. She says Quit should not Quit but supporters on the other side of the issue should come out to express heir views as well.

However, Dear Wife, because this post is mine…. I have the last word…. and it goes like this..

So San Francisco we are a Queer first CITY .… when it comes to our needs and right now our need is Equality which will only be engendered through acceptance.  This cultural event moves the discussion toward acceptance and so we are obligated to support it.   When we have full acceptance and full equality here in the USA, then we can afford to protest other issues should we choose.

To QUIT I say this – QUIT! Join the fight for Equality dear brothers and sisters and then we can talk more….

“Out in Israel” is, sponsored in part by the Israeli Consulate, the San Francisco and East Bay Federations, JCRC, BlueStarPR, and Congregation Sha’ar Zahav.

More information can be found about festival at http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=67384

Post dedicated to my beloved Granny Rosie, of  blessed memory,  on this what would have been her birthday.

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
Picture above: My Wedding at Congregation Rodef Sholom
Married by rabbi Stacy Friedman

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Melanie Nathan, reporting 3-29-2010.

We wrote an article on March 26th questioning the actions of Liberty Council and now have received word that our questions are well founded, in light of a  new brief recently submitted to the Vermont Court by Liberty.

In the brief Liberty Council attorneys challenge the right of the Vermont Supreme Court to do what it did which was to recognize Janet Jenkins as a legal parent of IMJ: “Regardless of the parentage label attached to Jenkins’ status by this Court or the trial court, the fact is that Jenkins is not the biological or adoptive parent to IMJ.”

Liberty Counsel then goes on to cite the Declaration of Independence and point out that “… there comes a time when government abuses require the people to throw off abusive government.”

GLAD has been representing Janet Jenkins at the appellate level in Vermont, and has informed us that it has been a long, difficult journey for the now legal custodial parent, Janet Jenkins.

A spokesperson for GLAD informed me today that if Liberty Council attorneys are assisting Ms. Miller,  this would be a very serious professional breach, for which attorneys can be disbarred.

They also said Liberty Council attorneys go much further in their language in this Brief  and by virtue of the wording itself, it is my opinion that it is evident that the lawyers of Liberty Council are indeed assisting Lisa Miller.

GLAD’s Spokesperson said,“ As lawyers we were shocked by the language in this brief.  In essence the brief is saying  ‘We don’t believe in your authority as a Supreme Court.”

Further, as previously asked, how can attorneys purport to act without a client? Where is the person providing the instruction? Surely these are ethical practice questions. How can attorneys purport to speak on behalf of a client who they purport to have no contact with?

As a writer with a strong legal background, I too must conclude that this is one of the most egregious and astounding documents I have ever seen filed into a Court of Law. I think its actionable on so many fronts.

This has gone far beyond a gay straight mother custody issue. This is now an example of where church fundamentalism has seriously crossed the most sacred of boundaries, masking their defiance behind the legitimacy of legal practice and the associated BAR that governs such practice.

Lezgetreal is a labor of love and if we had the resources we would be knocking on many doors right now. That said, we would love for someone in the mainstream media with deep investigative pockets to 1) find Lisa and 2) take a good hard look at Liberty Counsel.

M-J SUPREME COURT BRIEF 03-08-10

Melanie Nathan

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

In defiance of State Law:
LIBERTY COUNCIL: Mailing Address: PO Box 540774, Orlando, FL 32854. Telephone: 800-671-1776. Email: Liberty@LC.org

Thomas Road Baptist Church www.trbc.org 1 Mountain View Drive Lynchburg, VA 24514-0003 (434) 239-9281

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Melanie Nathan -March 25, 2010 ;   Human Rights Campaign reports that “Among the many federal rights and benefits denied to same-sex couples by the combination of marriage inequality and the federal Defense of Marriage Act is access to continued health care coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).  COBRA ensures that an employee and his or her spouse and dependent children can keep their employer-provided health insurance for a limited period after a qualifying event – usually the employee leaving or, particularly these days, losing his or her job.  The employee and his family usually pay for those benefits out of pocket, including additional administrative costs to the former employer, but that health insurance is still often cheaper than a plan in the individual market.  During the economic downturn, Congress has created subsidies to help families defray those costs.” Brian Moulton in Human Rights Campaign Post.

Unfortunately, same-sex couples and their families have neither the guarantee of continued coverage nor access to those subsidies.  Even if an employer offers domestic partner health benefits, as more and more companies do every day, they do not have to provide continued coverage of those benefits under COBRA.  And even if a fair-minded employer does so, a former employee’s domestic partner cannot be eligible for the COBRA subsidy.  So, yet again, despite being equally affected by economic hardships, same-sex couples are not equally protected by safety net programs like COBRA.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)  to the rescue – introducing a bill, the’ Equal Access to COBRA Act of 2010,’  that would help address this inequality and ensure that domestic partners currently covered by employer health plans have access to COBRA benefits.   This is one example of why any one incumbent who is up for reelection and who is LGBT legislation proactive MUST receive the support  the  entire LGBT community Across the Country.   This is another example of why DOMA must be repealed as soon as possible.

DO you think Carli Fiorina Would introduce this kind of Legislation or even support it in Congress.   I am going to call her  to ask the question and will get back here with the BIG update – Warning: Please Do Not Hold Your Breath

We at LGR applaud Senator Boxer for keeping her eye on the ball for us.  It would seem that HRC has been at the helm of this introduction.  While we are grateful for that,  this is yet another example of more time on more piecemeal legislation.   I would rather see an OMNIBUS Bill for all equality legislation or more simply put, THE HOT pursuit of  Rep. Jerold Nadler’s Respect for Marriage Act which will repeal DOMA.

By the way- the New health Care Bill does not help Domestic Partners who are discriminated under the Tax Code;  that means same-sex DP’s must pay tax on the health care benefit received through a partner’s work, as if it is income.    Again DOMA must Go!!!

STILL In solidarity:

by Melanie Nathan, EMAIL

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“A Great Unfinished Business, Until Today”; Now let us move on to CIR, Repeal of DOMA and DADT:

Melanie Nathan, 3-21-10 , 10.50 EST. Today an historic vote in the US House of Representatives will lead to Passage of  landmark Health Care reform.  When the votes hit 216, the House erupted and Speaker Pelosi walked elegantly into the history books, not only is she the first woman speaker, but THE speaker who got Health Care reform through vote and victory.

Today while  it seems as if the Immigration Reform March failed through little or no, albeit much deserved  TV coverage; there is a deep irony in such failure and that is what caused it to fail may hail its success – YES the day was usurped by visuals of the Congress hedging its bets on historic passage of Health Care Reform, and the fact that such was passed in the House and likely to pass in the Senate, yields a victory so enormous for President Obama, that he WILL now win Immigration Reform.  When The President’s message resounded through screens on the Mall, the people knew that they would be next. Today’s victory places capital and power sturdily in the hands of this US President.

The Republicans in the House called it ‘the arrogance of Washington’ and suggested  the Democrats  used trickery, speaking only about money and cost; the Democrats say this reform is imperative and spoke to the impact from an humanity standpoint.

My Congresswoman, Lynn Woolsey, California, spoke tonight, in the House,  with her  perfunctory  message, “ Being a woman IS a preexisting condition!” ( reiterated by Speaker Pelosi) That is going to change with this health care reform.  She reminded us that pregnancy could be a preexisting condition, that even injuries from domestic violence could be considered preexisting conditions.

What the Republicans seem to resent is the fact that the will of the people was to elect the democrats on the ticket that included health care reform. How could anyone in their right mind suggest voting no on the basis of “not good enough,” especially those that prompted the water down.

Those of you who voted NO will be held responsible when you are reminded in years henceforth of the positive impact of the changes, when lives are saved, and the preexisting amongst us survive and live longer to tell this tale.

Now enough – let us move on to more business – and let us realize that we MUST be partisan.  We must fight a partisan fight from day one on Immigration reform, on repeal of DOMA, DADT, and  enactment of ENDA. Bi-partisanship must now come from the Republican side. We should not chase them to get them on board. This is the only way they will hopefully come up with suggestions to forward legislation, rather than attacks to thwart it.

Recipe for success of future legislation:

Ingredients:

2 cup of –  Learn from mistakes

3 cups of  - forget the ideal of bipartisanship

1 cup of  - clarity through public outreach and education

3 cups of  - early explanation to American people

2 cups of – early talking points and Public Service Announcements

Instructions:

Obama, and Democrats mix all of the above from day one of the endeavor;

Push at the start and until the end; remain strong and resolute

Change the fairness doctrine in media broadcasting and revoke licenses of cable channels which term ‘news’ for talking point commentary, speculation and non sourced lies.

The Lesson: From the lesson of Health Care Reform, we have learnt that Bi-partisanship, in a climate of hate and greed is an oxymoron.
Republicans have the audacity to complain that this is not bipartisan legislation.   Lest we forget that there would be no legislation at ALL if it were to be bi-partisan.

Thanks to Partisanship no one is no longer un-insurable!
Thanks to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her extraordinary leadership
and To President Obama

Acknowledging Great Leadership of late Senator Ted Kennedy
“A Great Unfinished Business, Until Today”
Victoria Kennedy plans to issue a Statement tonight

Written to supporters – I am sure I am not the only one who received this letter at 2.00 am Eastern today.

Melanie — 3-22-10

For the first time in our nation’s history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for decades to reach this moment. Tonight, thanks to you, we are finally here.

Consider the staggering scope of what you have just accomplished:

Because of you, every American will finally be guaranteed high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Every American will be covered under the toughest patient protections in history. Arbitrary premium hikes, insurance cancellations, and discrimination against pre-existing conditions will now be gone forever.

And we’ll finally start reducing the cost of care — creating millions of jobs, preventing families and businesses from plunging into bankruptcy, and removing over a trillion dollars of debt from the backs of our children.

But the victory that matters most tonight goes beyond the laws and far past the numbers.

It is the peace of mind enjoyed by every American, no longer one injury or illness away from catastrophe.

It is the workers and entrepreneurs who are now freed to pursue their slice of the American dream without fear of losing coverage or facing a crippling bill.

And it is the immeasurable joy of families in every part of this great nation, living happier, healthier lives together because they can finally receive the vital care they need.

This is what change looks like.

My gratitude tonight is profound. I am thankful for those in past generations whose heroic efforts brought this great goal within reach for our times. I am thankful for the members of Congress whose months of effort and brave votes made it possible to take this final step. But most of all, I am thankful for you.

This day is not the end of this journey. Much hard work remains, and we have a solemn responsibility to do it right. But we can face that work together with the confidence of those who have moved mountains.

Our journey began three years ago, driven by a shared belief that fundamental change is indeed still possible. We have worked hard together every day since to deliver on that belief.

We have shared moments of tremendous hope, and we’ve faced setbacks and doubt. We have all been forced to ask if our politics had simply become too polarized and too short-sighted to meet the pressing challenges of our time. This struggle became a test of whether the American people could still rally together when the cause was right — and actually create the change we believe in.

Tonight, thanks to your mighty efforts, the answer is indisputable: Yes we can.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

by Melanie Nathan
Private Courts™
nathan@privatecourts.com
http://visualcv.com/melnathan

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SHMIRSHKY: THINK INSIDE THE BOX- A SMALL BOOK WITH A BIG STORY Reaching out is IN. Suffering in silence is Out.

Got a vagina? Know someone who does? Chances are you have a wife, girlfriend, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, sister, daughter, friend, mentor, coworker, or boss who has one. Whether you’re a forty-five-year-old woman in perimenopause or an eighteen-year-old guy who thinks his mom is in need of an exorcism, Shmirshky is for you.

Shmirshky is the first menopause book of its kind. Unlike other books that are dry and mired in confusing medical terms, Shmirshky is an intimate, humorous read—smart, fact-filled, and full of love. With the knowledge and compassion of a trusted girlfriend, author E serves up a soulful account of persevering through the difficult stages of perimenopause and menopause. Publication date: March 1, 2010. Hardcover, $25. For books and further information, visit shmirshky.com.

“Shmirshky” is a term you won’t find in any other menopause book. It comes from E’s unique, often hilarious vernacular: she calls the vagina (and anyone who has one) a shmirshky (pronounced shmersh-key). “Vagina is such an awkward medical term,” she says. “All the women I know have a pet name for it. My BFF Marcia called it shmirshky. I am a shmirshky, a shmirshky who has struggled with PM&M [perimenopause and menopause].”

Shmirshky is not your mother’s menopause book. “In fact, chances are she never had one. If you think menopause is a shitty experience, then Shmirshky is your pooper-scooper.”

Shmirshky is open and honest at a time when many women want to keep their feelings hidden. For some, the PM&M experience can be overwhelming and frightening. “You may feel like an alien swooped down, took over your body, and jumbled up your mind and personality—not to mention your hips, your boobs, and your waist,” E says.

Shmirshky had its beginnings as a simple journal. E’s initial writings were intended as a gift to her daughter. That journal morphed into a small book with a big story. Edited by her twenty-seven-year-old son (who now knows more about PM&M than he ever imagined!), Shmirshky affords readers an honest, personal connection that further squashes the stigma of PM&M.

Don’t hide your shmirshky under a bush! Shmirshky empowers women to take charge. E helps her readers learn how to interpret the symptoms of PM&M, research and interview doctors, understand the necessary tests, and reach out to loved ones for support. Treating the symptoms of PM&M is not a one-size-fits-all situation. As E says, “Too bad they can’t administer hormone therapy through a pair of heels.”

“Every woman needs to read this book,” says Dr. Joseph F. Kennedy. “With great humor, some of which had me howling with laughter, E concisely and intelligently illustrates some of the diverse experiences women may have during the perimenopausal and menopausal years.”

At Your Cervix! You can visit us at shmirshky.com for a sneak peek before the site goes live on March 1, 2010. Shmirshky.com readers can connect, comment, and share their own unique experiences as well as stay in touch with the shmirshky movement.

E is for everyone. E is not a doctor, scientist, or celebrity. “After all the women I’ve talked to and all the research I’ve done, I realized that this isn’t just my story, we all share pieces of the same story.” She says, “I hope this book brings women a little bit of the three L’s: love, laughter, and learning.”

Publication date: March 1, 2010, Hardcover with book jacket; 150 pages, Published by Shmirshky Universal / www.shmirshkyuniversal.com  Library of Congress Control Number: 2009908410 ISBN: 978-0-615-29455-1

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ELLEN SARVER DOLGEN

Ellen Sarver Dolgen is active in promoting health and wellness in America. She currently serves on the Community Advisory Board of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. She was a founding member of Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, on the founding board of Angel Charity for Children, and on the board for San Diego Hospice. Ellen has served on boards, committees, and chaired numerous events for Brandeis University, the Heart Ball, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Brewster Auxiliary, and the Handmaker Home for the Aging. Ellen’s lifelong commitment to philanthropy through board representation, fundraising, and event organization continues with her founding of Shmirshky Universal and her goal to help women all over the world.

Ellen’s background includes public relations, fundraising for national political campaigns, legislative lobbying, investment advising, hotel operations, not-for-profit fundraising, and cultural and community leadership. In her prior professional life she was the National Deputy Treasurer of the 1980 Carter-Mondale reelection campaign; was a member of Berman and Associates, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm; served as National Finance Coordinator for U.S. Senator Henry M. Jackson’s 1976 bid for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination; and worked for the national United Jewish Appeal in New York City. Ellen served on the National Finance Committee of Obama for America (2008 presidential campaign) and currently serves on the National Finance Committee for the Democratic National Committee. During her college years she worked as director of public relations for Interstate Motel Corporation in Tucson, Arizona, while attending the University of Arizona. She was subsequently a founding chairperson of the University of Arizona’s Office of Cultural Affairs Advisory Board and served on the Arizona State Workmen’s Compensation Fund Investment Committee.

Ellen is currently founder and president of Shmirshky Universal and is a principal of Dolgen Ventures along with her husband, David. Ellen lives in Coronado, California, and has two children, Sarah and Jack.

Shmirshky Competition: 

See You Tube:  Meet the author http://www.youtube.com/shmirshky

Write a no holds barred  250-500 word review of the Book “ Shmirshky” by E.

Submissions by 4/1/10  Results by 4/10/10 (Subject to extension depending on amount of entries.

PRIZES:
First: Amazon Kindle, Value $250.00
Second:Table Book Prize, Value $80.00

The first 4 to enter competition and commit to a review, receive a free Book.

Books can be purchased at http://www.shmirshky.com/

and use of code word  LEZGETREAL  will generate a 20% discount,

Judges shall be Announced at Time of competition result -announcement

Competition closed to Editors of LGR, Employees, friends and family of Published by Shmirshky Universal / www.shmirshkyuniversal.com and PR Professionals and Agents associated therewith.

Cut and Paste the following and then e-mail to Nathan@privatecourts.com:

“I the undersigned hereby commit to a 250-500 word review of the book “ Shmirshky”   If I am one of the first 4 entrants, I shall receive a free Book , Shmirshky by E, to review.

If I am not one of first four, then I shall decide whether or not to purchase a copy of the book whereupon I may or may not review the book Shmirshky.

Books can be purchased for a discount at AMAZON and using code word “lezgetreal “ will prompt discounted price.

Winning entry will be published and on Lez-Get-Real web site and may be used for oromotional purposes by Author of S or Publisher.  Copyright of review shall be owned by Lezgetreal.  The Author and Publisher shall also have the right to the use of quotations therefrom, upon agreement of Lez-Get-Real.  Participant hereby grants exclusive copyright ownership and full and unconditional right to print and publish competition entry to Lez-Get-Real, its agents and assigns, on line at www.lezgetreal.com and at any venue in the sole discretion of Lez-Get-Real.

I declare I am over 21 years of age.

Name: ________________________________________________
Address : _____________________________________________
E-mail __________________________________________________
Telephone: ______________________________________________

I am over 18 years of age : ______________
I agree to rules of Competition:__________________

I hereby Agree that the copyright to the review a  submitted  shall belong exclusively to Lezgetreal, and its assignees.”

Competition ends and last entry shall be post marked or e-mails  dated by April, 01, 2010, midnight.    Competition results shall be announced and winner reviews published on April 10, 2010. On site Lezgetreal.

All results shall be final.
Lez-Get-Real reserves the right t extend competition date/s’

Questions – email nathan@privatecourts.com

Welcome to WikiMeg – where we can all participate to counter the obscene spending of Meg Whitman  in the name of  her ego and at the expense of our LGBTQI equality.

by Melanie Nathan – Posted on 08 March 2010.  This morning the website “Level the Playing Field 2010″ launched www.WikiMeg.com, the first open source, political research site of its kind – open to all, by all and for all.  At “Level The Playing Field 2010,{ the organizers  are embarking on a bold new experiment in democracy.

“We hope the WikiMeg space will serve as a digital laboratory for free speech. It’s based on the idea that by harnessing the collective brainpower of millions of Californians, we can help level the playing field against Meg Whitman’s $200 million television campaign. ” say the organizers.

I personally have been nauseated by the thought that one person can dedicate and may spend  that much money to a self serving endeavor that in essence will cost us, our LGBT community, much more than money can buy -  our progress.  I am sick at the thought that she will pay that much money to be elected into a position for which, in my opinion,  she is entirely unqualified. What makes matters worse is that she is using the money we spent selling and buying on E-bay – the biz from which she fed.

Further, I am  throwing up - from an LGBT perspective; imagine this billionaire spending her own $200 million dollars so that she can attain the governorship of California, to effectively veto any LGBT necessary legislation and hence our progress in California.  We all know that what happens in California impacts the whole country and for us in the queer community.

Soon California State Senate will hear testimony to promote AJR15, a California Resolution in support of UAFA.  There will be a proposition on ballot to to rid us of Prop 8 – we need our Jerry Brown – not a Meg-a-Million!

Even worse, now vomiting, at the thought of how $200 million dollars could be effectively used by way of a donation to our State – to help the homeless, the hungry, the foreclosed and you know the rest of it.

So as I try to recover from my very explicit and graphic sick episode, I realize we do have hope thanks to LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD 2010. Participating in the experiment looks like a lot of fun.   Lets get our detective and Paparazzi hats on and more importantly the hat bearing “Citizen for true Democracy” and do  our ‘intelligence’ justice.

I implore our readers here at LGR to pass this message along.  This brilliant idea from  Level the Playing Field, and I quote from the site:

“We are asking everyone and anyone with factual information to share – from laid off eBay workers and those frustrated with Whitman’s eBay policies towards sellers to shareholders to regular voters – to help us fully vet Meg Whitman’s job application.

And as the campaign goes forward, we’re asking you to help us track what she says, where she says it and make sure it is correct. And if not, we’ll – well, you actually – will call her on it.

Help shed light on the choices Whitman made and the values she demonstrated over a lifetime in the corporate boardroom. Together we can get to the bottom of what Whitman is hiding by refusing to release her income tax returns as nearly every other gubernatorial candidate has done for the last 30 years.

Of course, free speech and civil discourse go hand in hand. We are asking all those participating in WikiMeg to help set an example for how virtual tools can promote genuine democracy. Please be respectful to others. Be factual and always hyperlink to your source. If you are the source of first-hand information, say who you are and how you know what you know.

Here’s how it works:

All pages on the site are open for public editing and the community of users will also review them. If you have information that you would like to share about Meg Whitman, please feel free to edit the pages where the information is categorized or to post new information.

Each page has its own discussion tab where comments and thoughts can be left in a threaded discussion style forum. Live chat is also available for real time conversations.

The initial categories are eBay Stories, Meg History, Meg Sightings, Meg’s Campaign and Videos.

Thanks for participating in the democratic process. Have fun and good hunting”

Go to – http://www.leveltheplayingfield2010.com/

Melanie Nathan

By Melanie Nathan of Private Courts, Inc;    a Conflict Resolution & Advocacy Firm

nathan@privatecourts.com      @oblogdeeoblogda  www.privatecourts.com
www.visualcv.com/melnathan

Melanie Nathan, is known for her outspoken writing and advocacy for bi-national same-sex couples who suffer discrimination under the current US immigration law. Her widely read column is exclusive to LezGetReal, where she highlights stories of couples in crisis. Click here to See the Bi-National Column: Passage of UAFA

Photo: Meg Whitman and Friend Mitt Romney – a case of Le Cage ….

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,

The set up at LezGetReal is not conducive to that kind of manipulation; however, a group of roughly three to four individuals have tried to “flood” the comment pages of this newsblog with comments supporting Lisa Miller and spreading allegations which have been proven false by the courts already.

“The flood of protests “by this handful of people often rely upon an interview given by Lisa Miller to the fundamentalist blog Life Site. Unfortunately, Life Site is very unreliable when it comes to the information that it posts as being accurate. A recent case of a woman threatening to kill a anti-abortion rights activist was distorted by Life Site in order to make it seem as if the woman who threatened to kill this young lady was going in for an abortion when it was never proven to be the case.

The allegations leveled by Lisa Miller were, indeed, investigated by the courts, and proven to be a baseless attempt to slander Janet Jenkins and garner sympathy with those helping to prevent Isabella from seeing her mother. By not following the orders of Judge William Cohen, Lisa Miller has lost custody of Isabella, and now faces a very real possibility of jail time. A wide variety of parents’ rights groups have come out in support of Judge Cohen’s orders, and the feeling among many women even in Virginia is that Lisa Miller should hand over custody of Isabella at this point since she has refused to follow the court’s orders.

Support for Jenkins comes from the fact that the law is very much on her side, something that the courts in Virginia and Vermont have stated, and the Federal Courts. Even the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear this case based upon federal law governing custody battles. There exists a very real probability that, should this case continue back to the Federal level, that it will pit the laws governing child custody and custodial abduction against the Defense of Marriage Act. It is likely that, given the importance of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction And Enforcement Act, backed up by the Constitution, that the Supreme Court would end up striking down the Defense of Marriage act before undermining parental rights and the authority of every judge and court in the country.

“The flood of comments” have had little effect in the debate largely because the news organizations reporting upon this case are reporting on the facts and not the allegations. Those using the comments are trying to bypass the journalistic integrity of the news organizations by posting these unproven and unfounded allegations by Miller in the comments pages. Often times, far more people have come forward to counter the points attempted to be made by those trying to flood the system. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to spot that those flooding the forums of those stories reporting on this custody battle are a small hand full of people who are posting.

Many Fundamentalist sites which have, in the past, supported Lisa Miller have started pulling back on their support because there is now the very real risk that they could be seen as supporting a fugitive, and that supporting Miller could end up undermining their own political and social platforms. In the end, the support of Lisa Miller has, despite a belief that it would hurt the LGBT Community, has undermined many of the Fundamentalist groups which have most vocally supported her.

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The tactics being employed are not dissimilar to those used by the Teabag Protesters during the August health care reform debate.

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by Melanie Nathan.

What are feed links you ask?

Let me tell you…

A feed link is the link that you need to subscribe to a syndicated website, like this blog.

Recently, we created a list of feed links for each and every section of our site!

What that means for you is that you can now subscribe to our main feed and/or any one of our feeds by section.

For instance, if you only want to receive the latest news you can subscribe to our News section feed. If you wanted to keep up to date on the latest in Relationships Rights, you could subscribe to that section’s feed, etc. etc.

Isn’t that a good feature to have on our site? I hope that you think so!

If not, that’s okay too; but if you are excited about this new feature like I am you can find the link to this new page at the top of our site or to make it easy for you, you can find the link to our new feeds list HERE.

In any case, thank you for being a reader of LezGetReal and we hope enjoyed this bit of news and have a great rest of your day!

Sincerely,

Julie Phineas
Executive Editor
LezGetReal.com

Organizations like the Lambda Community Center, Immigration Equality, the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the ACLU and other organizations are looking to expand their operations and hire employees to help them do it.

The Gay Girls Jobs job board filters through all jobs posted online and displays the jobs that are considered “lesbian friendly”.

You can search for jobs that are full-time, part-time, contract, seasonal, permanent, temporary, volunteer, or internships. Jobs can be found in a variety of industries with a wide array of occupations to choose from.

Lesbian friendly employers can post jobs directly to the Gay Girls Jobs job board for just $5 for a 45 day posting.

Jobs posted directly to our board are displayed above those that have been filtered from the internet, and are also syndicated via our Gay Girls Jobs RSS Feed.

If you are a gay girl looking for employment or an employer offering lesbian friendly employment, be sure to take a look at Gay Girls Jobs to see if we have what you need.

Here are the links:

Gay Girls Jobs: Job Board

Gay Girls Jobs: Post a Job

Gay Girls Jobs: RSS Feed

If you want to start your own job board you can do so by visiting www.jobamatic.com.

Thanks for being a reader of this blog and feel free to come back by any time.

Sincerely,

LezGetReal.com

In the first move to the grid on GoDaddy we lost about 100 votes from our current poll… the question for that poll is “Where do you fall on The Kinsey Scale?”

The Kinsey Scale is something that measures the level of your ’sexual fluidity’. Oprah talked about sexual fluidity, living without labels, and The Kinsey Scale on a recent show (which highlighted celesbian Jackie Warner).

The levels of the scale are this…

Please visit our homepage at www.LezGetReal.com to vote in our poll or re-cast your vote over in the main sidebar.

Let us know what level of sexual fluidity you think you find yourself at. The results to this and all our polls can be found in the Polls/Surveys section of our site.

Thanks for standing by and being patient through our transition, and we hope you like the new look.

Sincerely,

LezGetReal.com

We’ll be back online before you know it!

Sincerely,
LezGetReal.com

It may be a gloomy June for some, but here at LezGetReal we are making upgrades and preparing for an exciting rest of the year here with you. Today you will notice that our site is a bit jumbled and out of sorts, but that is only because we are making our site better for you!

Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted, but for now just enjoy your day.

Thanks for reading and we’ll see you online again soon!

Sincerely,

Lez Get Real

Are you a single gay girl looking for love?

If so then you might want to check out GayGirlsDating.com, it’s our new dating site! Partnering with LDate we bought our own “Private Label Dating Site” so that we can help connect the single gay girls we know to other single gay girls from around the world.

GayGirlsDating.com is one of our newest Founding Sponsors as well, and earns revenue for our writers.

If you’re a single gay girl who is looking for love, you can join our dating site for free, and then there is an option to upgrade to premium membership to connect with other single gay girls in your area.

Be sure to visit www.GayGirlsDating.com and sign up today!

Doing so supports our site and helps our writers keep bringing you their gay girl’s view.

Thank you and best wishes in your search for love!

I wanted to pop in and let you know what’s up with us over here at LezGetReal lately.

Last week we were working hard to bring you our best, and in doing so we crashed another server.

We’ve got to stop doing that!! LOL

Honestly though, we are so thankful to all of you who come by and read our site. Thanks to your links to us and readership we have experienced a lot more traffic then we anticipated which just forces us to take things up a notch!

So the past few days we have been optimizing and you may have noticed errors, long loading, and/or widgets out of place.

Well… we’re done doing all of that now and can get back to business as usual and you can expect to see us focusing our attention on bringing you the latest and best from our gay girls from around the world.

(We hope that the new server we are on can keep up!)

Stay well and thank  you so much for reading our site.

Sincerely,

Julie Phineas
Executive Editor
LezGetReal.com

You might not even be able to tell, but for a short while now we have been quickly and quietly making behind the scenes changes here at LezGetReal.

Over the short course of time since we started this website, it has evolved to a work of art that has made an impact in many lives.

We work with many different people on a variety of tasks, and our main objective is always to be as helpful as we can.

We have a mission to make a difference in this world, to make positive changes and significant impact in society for those who need it.

We are fighters for equality, justice, and security in the lives of not just the LGBT community but for all people.

As you might imagine, this is quite a large task to take on, and many, many times have we wanted to throw in the towel.

But we are not quitters over here at LGR, and have been persistent enough to bring things to this point…

Today is a special day for us because now we can bring you our best!

We have brought on some new writers and some have gone on their own way; we have moved many of our articles from our old site, and some have been left behind; we have incorporated some our old layout into our new site, but for the most part that’s been left behind as well.

We have been so quiet because we have been organizing, expanding, and warming up; but now we want you to brace yourself for the new us!

Be sure to subscribe to our feed or sign up for an email subscription using the box below so you don’t miss any of the awesome articles and information our exclusive team has to bring you.

Thank you thank you thank you for being a reader of our blogsite.

All the best!

Sincerely,

LezGetReal.com

The project is called Skulls and Crossbones and recently issued a call for submissions by authors online. However, a majority of the submissions have been created by male authors, rather than a balance of the genders.

Lesbian author Andi Marquette, who has written books such as State of Denial and Land of Entrapment, is an Executive Editor on the project and shared the news with LezGetReal, asking us if we knew any women who would be interested in submitting a story. Of course, we know a lot of women, but most of them are gay.

Andi tells LGR that lesbians are more than welcome and encouraged to enter submissions, which are due by September 1, 2009.

The pirate anthology aims to become a collection of short stories that feature women pirates in any setting and any time period. Although the focus of the story “cannot be a romantic hook-up or sex/erotica”, stories featuring adventure, intrigue, antiheroines/heroines, something to be accomplished/overcome, battles, vengeance, trickery, thievery, “and/or assorted banditry” are encouraged.

Original and previously published stories will be taken under consideration and each contributor will receive one print copy as well as one ebook copy of the anthology.

You can find complete details and submission guidelines for Skulls and Crossbones here.

Final selections will be made by October 1, 2009, with publication tentatively slated for January 2010

If you have questions, you can contact the Skulls and Crossbones project team through pirateanthology@gmail.com.

Today is the annual Blog Reader Appreciation Day hosted by The Other Mother and if you have a blog there is still time to tell your readers how much you appreciate them.

I can personally say that we sincerely appreciate the readers of LezGetReal. Without our readers there is no purpose to the site at all. This blog was made for YOU and we hope that you are enjoying it so far! We have tried to put together a comprehensive and all inclusive website using our blog, and for the most part we think we’ve succeeded.

We do realize however that there is still a long way to go before we have reached our ultimate goal.

Our goal is to make a positive change in this world and without our readers this would simply not be possible. You are the ones who carry the messages we deliver  into your lives, and we hope that we have been able to help some of you live better lives as a result of reading this blog. It’s a very real aspect of why we do what we do, and that being said you should know how much we appreciate that our readers take the time to stop their day and pay attention to what we have to share. First things are always first, and the first thing to us is always our readers.

So in the spirit of Blog Reader Appreciation Day we here at LezGetReal.com are saying THANK YOU to all of our readers very, very much!!

Have you noticed our new look? We hope you like it!

When we launched in September of 2008, we were a very plain looking site without many features and only a handful of writers. As we grew and added features, some of you may remember that we had a blog roll and link lists on our homepage. As we have evolved to over 1200 posts and 40 some writers, we have gone to a new format and you may have noticed that the links and blog roll are gone.

This is why…

We are moving to a new way of doing things! I know new ways of doing things are not always welcomed but hey I’m the Executive Editor and I approve this message, haha.

So this is what we’re going to do…

In order to give everyone a fair chance at being linked on our site, you can either take a look at paid advertising, or (drumroll please!) take part in our Freebies.

We have come up with the following ‘No Cost Solutions’ for being linked on LezGetReal:

News Tips
Send us your press releases! We report on news that is relevant to the LGBT community or that includes lesbians in some manner. Although we can’t guarantee that your story will be covered, there is no cost to send us your news so it is worth a try.

Event Reports
Send us tickets to your show! We report on events we have attended that are of interest to our lesbian readers. Coordinate with us before sending tickets and to arrange an interview and photo op.

Featured Lesbian
We are always looking for real lesbians to feature for our weekly column. If you would like to be considered for this feature, simply send us your photo with a short biography of yourself with any links to profiles or websites where our readers can find more of you if desired. Although we can’t guarantee that you will be featured, there is no cost to send us your bio so it is worth a try.

Lesbian Owned
We are always looking for lesbian owned websites and blogs to feature for our weekly column. If you would like to be considered for this feature, simply send us your link with a logo or banner to use if we are able to feature your site. Preferred size is 200 x 200. Although we can’t guarantee that your site or blog will be featured, there is no cost to send us your link so it is worth a try.

Free Sample
Product Placement
Send us a free sample of your product or service if you feel it is relevant to the LGBT community or of interest to our lesbian writers. We make every effort to forward product samples to the most compatible writer for the product. Writers will usually give honest reviews of your product within a few weeks of receiving the sample, although there is no guarantee that your product will be reviewed. Coordinate with us before sending samples for best results.

Video Report
Product Placement
Send us your relevant product for our writers to wear or display during a Video Report. We make every effort to forward product samples to the most compatible writer for your product, but cannot guarantee that your product will be used. Coordinate with us before sending samples for best results. Product sent for product placement can not be used in our Sponsored Video Reports.

Another way to get a link or banner on our site is to revenue share with us.

We are a member of a variety of affiliate programs because we use affiliate ads to fill in our ad spaces that have not yet been purchased. We love to revenue share with relevant websites!

Affiliate programs that are especially relevant to our readers might also earn a Sponsor Spotlight post.

If you have an affiliate program and would like for us to consider using your advertisements as fill-ins, simply send us the link for where we can participate. We are currently members of Commission Junction , Share a Sale , Link Share , and Share Results.

So there you have it.

There are many options for you to be linked or featured on our site, and if you are a lesbian who feels like you have much more to contribute, you might consider becoming a writer for our site as well.

In any case, please contact me, Julie Phineas to participate or ask questions.

We really appreciate your readership and thank you for taking the time to read this post!

]]> http://lezgetreal.com/2009/04/looking-for-our-blog-roll/feed/ 1 http://lezgetreal.com/2009/03/site-news-subscription-drive-and-new-sponsorship-options/ http://lezgetreal.com/2009/03/site-news-subscription-drive-and-new-sponsorship-options/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:00:20 +0000 ~Julie Phineas~ http://lezgetreal.com/?p=7305 We have come a long way since we launched our site last September!

If you’ve been with us since the beginning, you might remember how our site first started out, using the Blogger.com platform with only a handful of writers. We were very limited there, but did our best to bring you the best of what we had to offer from the perspective of a lesbian. Now, as I write this post to you, we have had over 300,000 page views to our little blogsite!

Since our server crashed last month, we moved over to our new platform and our new look.

It’s taken us some hard work to get our posts and features moved over… we had over a thousand posts to move! In the process, our subscription information was interrupted, and I am happy to report that we are back online completely and now holding a Subscription Drive, plus we are officially open to accept Sponsorships as well!

You’ll want to make sure to subscribe to our site at this time so you are on our list to receive the latest and find out about exclusive opportunities.

Speaking of opportunities, if you are a lesbian business owner, or have a product that you think our readers would be interested in, now that we are open for sponsorships, you have the opportunity to get your offer out there. We have text links, sponsored videos, and product placement solutions so be sure to visit our advertising page for more information if that is something that interests you. In any case we sincerely hope that you are enjoying LezGetReal, and if you have any comments or questions for us, you can find our contact form on our About page here.

Thank you for reading our blogsite, and we hope you’ll take the time to subscribe.

Here is the link for those who are interested in subscribing via email.

Enjoy and thanks again!

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

]]> http://lezgetreal.com/2009/03/site-news-subscription-drive-and-new-sponsorship-options/feed/ 1 http://lezgetreal.com/2009/03/show-support-for-the-aidslifecycle-event/ http://lezgetreal.com/2009/03/show-support-for-the-aidslifecycle-event/#comments Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0000 Lezgetreal http://lezgetreal.com/?p=800 LezGetReal.com and Dyke Drama Online are proud to share with you that our very own Niki Hutson is participating in this years AIDS/LifeCycle Event!

Please show your support by visiting her page on the AIDS/LifeCycle website where you can make a donation to her cause and provide much needed financial assistance; plus keep tabs on Niki Hutson and her progress throughout the event. AIDS/LifeCycle is the only AIDS fundraising cycling event in California organized and co-produced by the beneficiaries.

With your help, fundraising efforts will enable The San Francisco AIDS Foundation to continue providing leadership to prevent new HIV infections and to develop a ground-breaking prevention program and bold policy initiatives.

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation refuses to accept that HIV transmission is inevitable. Together we can do our part to support the Foundation and its clients. Side by side we CAN realize a world free of HIV and the human suffering it causes. Any amount you can give is greatly appreciated, even $10. If you have already donated, THANK YOU! If you haven’t, please consider even a small donation, every bit helps.

Niki is the west coast half of the DykeDrama duo. She is a tech geek in the Silicon Valley, where she lives with her partner and their pre-teen son. You can find out more about her and Dyke Drama at dykedramaonline.com. Yay for Gay!

Join us on Saturday as I re-cap all the L Word Season 6 episodes throughout the day, which lead up to the final episode that is set to air on Sunday March 8th on Showtime.

I have purposely kept myself from watching the show since episode 4 so that I can bring you fresh reaction to the events leading up to the final episode of the last season of the popular lesbian drama series.

If life has gotten in the way, or for some other reason you have not been able to follow the show, you can get the scoop on episodes 1 through 7 all day Saturday 03/07, and get my predictions for the final episode airing Sunday 03/08.

L Word Lovers… this one is for Y*O*U.
xoxo

The LezGetReal.com L Word Marathon is Sponsored By:

The following are comments were made by our followers on twitter.com.

@penguirl John Madden’s secret identity? Captain Obvious.

@ntinaz76 is wondering if the Cards are falling apart

@azravenwood Geez, the Cardinals are acting like idiots

@Luvologist Is it me or is this game boring as hell. The NFL needs to go back to having the Super Bowl the week after the championship game.

@J_Bradley The Cards are beating themselves with all these penalties.

@MCBrennan Ten yard penalty against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for having too many letters in his surname. You hate to see that, Al.

@meowable watching superbowl at hamburger marys

@nakedbard @J_Bradley yes, the Steelers could send their moms out to play and the Cards might still lose with those flags

@debontherocks Don’t use a VP Debate 08 Bingo list as a drinking game for the Superbowl. Not even one Maverick, I’m cold sober, and I feel sad for America.

@wishfulwriter FINALLY! Cards make a play WITHOUT fouling!

@marlaerwin Dude, you never heard of fair catch?

@carnellm Is Madden gay? “big strong hands”, “penetration”, “explosion” just too much

@LaBarceloneta Man, if the Cards come up with another TD, everybody’s gonna be KUNG FU FIGHTING! (do-da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooo!)

@J_Bradley What a shift in the momentum.

@geraldsaunders Cardinals are doing The Safety Dance – Are they wearing their hats?

@LaBarceloneta Whenever I hear “Special Teams” I think “Oh..that explains the helmet.”

@veronicaeye TD Cards!! They have to win cuz that will leave my Cubs as THE team of futility.

@quoththeravyn stops pretending not to care about this game thang.

@AlohaArleen yeEEEOw!!! GOcardinals!!!

@irobyn and will it be the underdog AZ? i’m thinking so…but, who knows?

@heathr 49 seconds in football is like 3 months in a gay relationship: a long time.

@LaBarceloneta I should not care this much about a sporting event. HOLY CRAP!

@wishfulwriter NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

@ohchicken pittsburgh! that was lovely!

@wishfulwriter I’m dying over here. Tell me the Steelers didn’t JUST DO THAT.

@AlexaRPD Now the Steelers are ahead. What a game!

@saintchick ok i give. i really wanted to see the cards pull it out. i’m a sucka for an underdog!

@RobinJP 4-point game is killer right? cards have to get a touchdown .. yikes.

@irobyn does pittsburg have it? i’m thinking that AZ is going to do something spectacular!

@HistKB come on Cardinals! 22 seconds is like an hour in football. this game has proved that.

@wishfulwriter I am SWEATING. Fifteen seconds. Come on Cardinals.

@simplyn2deep I wish the clock could have run out when the Cards were ahead and there was 2 mins left #superbowl

@HistKB A flag? is there hope?

@leapingwoman the dominant words in the room are “holy crap!” #superbowl

LezGetReal Steelers Win 27 – 23

@LaBarceloneta Wow. Just…wow.

@J_Bradley Very happy for Mike Tomlin, I really like his style.

@simplyn2deep I like Ben Rothlessburg and all, but I really wanted the Cards to win. good game anyway #superbowl

@RobinJP so did the hairiest team win?

@fantasyvsreal OMFG!!!! HOW INCREDIBLE!!!!!

Thanks to all of our amazing followers on twitter.

If you are on twitter please follow Lez Get Real. If you aren’t familiar with twitter it’s a social networking site that allows you to update life in 140 characters or less.

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

The following are comments from our followers on Twitter.com

@J_Bradley Countdown to the not-so-super Super Bowl with Keith Olbermann.

@sarahdopp Proud of myself for finally noticing that the Superbowl’s on

LezGetReal Twitter Poll – Who are you pulling for to win the #superbowl?

@ntinaz76 @lezgetreal GO CARDS!

@simplyn2deep @lezgetreal Cardinals for the win!

@J_Bradley I’d go country for Faith Hill!

@urbanphish @lezgetreal we are eating chips and dip, mini corn dogs, sandwiches, and bagel bites tonight!

@simplyn2deep man talking about penetration just doesn’t sound right! #superbowl

@MCBrennan John Madden seems unduly obsessed with getting penetration. Well, there’s another recurring nightmare to discuss with my therapist.

@simplyn2deep NOOOOOOOO steelers got first blood!

@lacomandante Face, Pittsburgh!

@fantasyvsreal BWAAHAHAA they have WIRELESS here!!! Cards offense is CAVING!! I SO predicted that!!! BWAHAHAHAHAAH

@apeywoo how many superbowl commercials are going to involve removing women’s clothes? (dorritos, godaddy…)

LezGetReal Hard to go wrong with Danica Patrick

@LaBarceloneta @lezgetreal Yeah, but I’ll bet the German girl’s a top too. Could get violent.

@WorldHarmony @lezgetreal I like Patrick but I’m tired of her being a sex object in those GoDaddy ads. Sigh

@RobinJP Madden: ‘pass on running downs’ and ‘run on passing downs’ .. what am I missing?

@msceo8 watching the superbowl…more like, it’s watching me. just can’t get into football. but i need to, since my 7 y/o loves it and plays well

@NSpirit I love watching touchdown drives unfold.

@LaBarceloneta “He gets good penetration because he jumps early” No, football isn’t homoerotic. Why?

@simplyn2deep cat thinks I’m crazy for yelling go go go haha #superbowl

LezGetReal The President is having a Super Bowl Party. Who is invited http://twurl.nl/il33fi

@leapingwoman @bipolarturtle the gals watching here want to know what food is being served at Obama’s #superbowl party!
@NSpirit Yes TOUCHDOWN! Superbowl history!

@saintchick damn that play was fraking awesome

@madamminnie Unbelievable run by Harrison! But geez Cards! Take the man down! WTH?

@simplyn2deep not much of a Bruce fan. don’t think I’m going to watch the half time show #superbowl

Half time Cardinals 7 Steelers 17

Thanks to all of our followers for sharing your Super Bowl stories with us.

That links you to the Lez Get Real social network. You can also click on the tab that says ‘Connect’ to visit our social network as well. I’ve talked about the social network here on the blog before, and so for those of you who are keeping tabs I wanted to let you know that our social network got a makeover! When we started LezGetReal.com there weren’t many posts or features to our site. Now you can find our top features from the main site over on the LGR social network.

Rather than sorting through the posts on the main site you can now find features like the LGR Video Report, Featured Lesbian of the Week, A Gay Girl’s View and more all in one convenient place when you visit the main page of our social network.

Of course there are still exclusive discussion groups for lesbians on our social network, and as a matter of fact we’ve added even more of them for you. There are now over 100 discussion groups there! We’ve got over 100 members right now but that’s not enough for us. We need more lesbians to talk to, discuss the issues with, and share funny finds with too.

Come on over and join us if you haven’t already; be sure to tell your friends, and you know we’ll see you there!

Keep up the good work I was forwarded one of your videos and I just wanted to thank you for all your work.

You make our community stronger.

Take care,
Bridget McManus

Thank YOU Bridget!

We love your video blog on After Ellen and your No On Prop 8 video was hilarious! We are looking forward to more from you in the near future and if there is anything we can do for you please let us know – we are big fans!

**To find out more about Bridget McManus**
Visit her page on MySpace
Watch her on Lunch with Bridgette at After Ellen
Watch her on Lunch with Bridgette on the LOGO channel
Watch her on The Jam at PeopleJam.com

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

Our President-Elect is none other than Barack Obama, the first African-American man elected to become President of The United States in the history of the country. This is an historical event, and you can bet that you’ll get the “Gay Girl’s View” on the Inauguration. We’ve got our very own Paula Brooks in town and armed with press credentials to get you up close and personal with what’s going on in Washington D.C. as the town and the world prepares for the big day. Please continue to join us for more from The Gay Girl in D.C., Paula Brooks, and her inside scoops on what’s happening in the nation’s capitol.

Paula Brooks lives in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. You can visit her Blogger profile here.

LezGetReal.com is committed to bringing you the best lesbian content from real lesbians online. Our featured columnists are ready and excited to answer your questions about sex, fashion, business, and other aspects of your lesbian life. You can always reach out to our writers through our contact page, but you can send your questions in and have them answered on our blog by using the email addresses below…

Send your questions to The Sex Slog here.
Send your questions to Lez Ask the Butch here.
Send your questions to Lez Ask the Femme here.
Send your questions to Lez Be Fashionable here.
Send your questions to Lez Get Down to Business here.
Send your questions to Queer Eye for The Lez World here.

We are looking forward to your questions and hope to see you visit again soon.

Sincerely,

All of Us @ LezGetReal.com

The RDN is a network of outreach organizations and individuals that are dedicated to helping members of the LGBT community through tough times. We have been working hard to bring you A Gay Girl’s View of the World, and share our experiences and insights with you. Now, we are using our voice to make an impact on the LGBT community through the creation of The Rainbow Dragon Network.

We’ve found that members of the LGBT community have unique issues and concerns and we aim to help by providing a directory of organizations dedicated to helping LGBT individuals and their families; as well as a social networking website that will allow those in need to communicate with others who might be in a similar situation.

You might find yourself in need of legal advice, adoption resources, employment, financial assistance, etc. There are organizations available for these specific needs and we hope we can connect you with them if you are in need. Volunteers from LezGetReal.com created The Rainbow Dragon Network in response to the many lesbians who come to us in need. The program expanded to include the entire LGBT community and our motto is “Don’t Tread on Me”.

*If you are an LGBT individual in need, please be sure to visit the main website for information on outreach organizations that can help you.

*If you are an LGBT individual and would like to participate in helping others in the LGBT community, we invite you to join our social network and share your advice and insights with those in need.

*If you lead an LGBT outreach organization and would like to be included as a resource for the LGBT community please contact us at therainbowdragon@yahoo.com.

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

I hope so because it’s just about here!

We’ve been working hard to bring you “A Gay Girl’s View of The World” and it will only get better in the new year!

We’ve found that the most popular posts on this blog so far have been on articles where we’ve touched a nerve with anti-gays, such as the Yes on Prop. 8 Blog Roll and Sei’s insights on a recent hate crime. On posts like these you can usually find us being barraged with slurs and hate, but we love it when truth is brought to light and we have no problem speaking truth so you can best believe that 2009 will only bring more hard hitting commentary alongside our general topics and featured columns such as The Sex Slog, Lez Ask the Butch and more.

We are also rolling out new columns for your reading pleasure so be sure to keep an eye out for those in ‘09!

You’ll still find real lesbians sharing articles, photos, videos, podcasts, and everything lesbian related, but you can expect that in 2009 we are definately going to take it up a notch. We want to thank you for being with us in this exciting time, and for reading along with us in 2008. We hope that you continue to enjoy everything here on LezGetReal.com, and we look forward to bringing you the best of ourselves as we share “A Gay Girl’s View of The World” with you in 2009!

Have a Safe and Happy New Year from The LGR Family!

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

The newest member of the LGR Writers Family is none other than our favorite muff-munching animated celesbian comic, and she is pulling out all the stops from here on out!!

You can look forward to exclusive, crude, and downright hilarious videos, sound bytes, photos and more direct from Lizzy the Lezzy herself, right here on LezGetReal.

She already shares her sexual insights with us from her website, MySpace page, and blog. Now, you can find Lizzy the Lezzy insights and webisodes, games and more right here on LezGetReal.com.

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

MY CONDOLENCES TO PAULA

Girl Afraid, taken from a Smiths song, is in love with Flickr and obsessed with You Tube.