Living: April 2010
National Faith Leaders Speak Out Against TheCall Uganda & Lou Engle
Filed by Waymon Hudson | April 30, 2010 2:00 PM |DC Agenda has moving and powerful video coverage of the press conference held by national faith leaders in Washington DC to protest Lou Engle and TheCall's planned anti-gay rally in Uganda. Especially moving is the personal story of the gay...Read More
[PIC] Liberal Teabaggers Emerge
Filed by Bil Browning | April 30, 2010 1:00 PM |That most rare of all beasts, the liberal teabagger, has arrived. Like the Biblical locust, these creatures only emerge rarely and in response to a tyrant's decree unfairly targeting a minority people originally welcomed to the country to serve as...Read More
Love Means
Filed by Kate Clinton | April 30, 2010 8:00 AM |Love means never having to say you're sorry....Read More
Defending the Indefensible
Filed by Kate Kendell | April 29, 2010 7:00 PM |The story of Harold Scull and Clay Greene has reached tens of thousands of people, and in its telling has raised many questions. Since we announced our involvement in the case a couple of weeks ago, many readers have emailed...Read More
ROTC marching its way back onto Harvard's campus
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | April 29, 2010 4:00 PM |For decades the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) was an unwelcome sight on Ivy League college campuses, like Harvard University, because of its ban on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) servicemembers. But in February of this year when...Read More
Gay, Jew, Dwarf, Leftie: Harry Weider Killed in NYC Accident
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 29, 2010 12:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Michael Petrelis is gay man living with HIV, and his 221 t-cells in San Francisco's Mission District. He's been happily partnered to Mike Merrigan since 1995. As I write this my eyes are cloudy with tears...Read More
Don't Talk To The Birds
Filed by Father Tony | April 29, 2010 10:30 AM |Message: Dear Father Tony, I have a question, there's this video game forum that I sometimes go to, but on that forum other people talk about religion and politics. One topic made me confused. It had to do with...Read More
Tonight: Dining Out for Life
Filed by Jerame Davis | April 29, 2010 9:00 AM |Don't forget tonight is Dining Out for Life. Visit the Damien Center's website for a list of participating restaurants. Go out, have a good meal and support the fight against HIV/AIDS....Read More
Uganda Update: Lou Engle & TheCall Respond to Critics with Lies and Distortions
Filed by Waymon Hudson | April 28, 2010 5:00 PM |It seems as if the public outcry over American evangelical extremist Lou Engle's upcoming "TheCall Uganda" has caused the a few headaches for the violent anti-gay and anti-abortion preacher best known for calling for martyrs and bloodshed in the name...Read More
Jesse's Journal: Hospital Visitation and LGBT Couples
Filed by Jesse Monteagudo | April 28, 2010 11:30 AM |Every day, same-sex couples must fight for the basic rights that straight married couples take for granted. One of those basic rights is the right to visit your partner in the hospital. Michael and I are fortunate to live in...Read More
The Fabulous Disease of Mark King
Filed by Father Tony | April 28, 2010 10:30 AM |Mark King whose business card reads "Writer. Blogger. Ginger." has always been a redhead but not always so healthy, enthusiastic and entertaining. "Someone stepped in and helped me out. I was not capable of getting that needle out of...Read More
Always Faithful: Please be faithful to me
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 28, 2010 8:30 AM |Editors' Note: "Stories from the Frontlines: Letters to President Barack Obama" is a new media campaign launched to underscore the urgent need for congressional action and presidential leadership at this critical point in the fight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't...Read More
HIV Patient Finds New Hope Through Cheeseburgers
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 27, 2010 4:00 PM |Editor's Note: Guest blogger Brenden Hudson is a Butler University student. He is an intern at the Damien Center where he is responsible for the charity's online outreach efforts. Shane Everett is a culinary student due to graduate April 30...Read More
My Mother-in-Law, Part II
Filed by Paige Schilt | April 27, 2010 2:00 PM |Editors' note: This is the continuation of Paige's story about her mother-in-law. In spite of her love for me, my mother-in-law, Donna Koonce, disrupted my wedding. It was a balmy July evening in Austin, Texas. The elegant oak trees and...Read More
Full Circle: An Experience of Two Lifetimes
Filed by Donna Rose | April 27, 2010 10:30 AM |This post may be atypical of my usual writing here at Bilerico, but I think it's something important to share. As a transgender person, or more specifically, as a transsexual woman - I have had the unique opportunity to blend...Read More
7 Funerals & Memorial Services: A Perspective Change
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 27, 2010 8:30 AM |Editors' Note: "Stories from the Frontlines: Letters to President Barack Obama" is a new media campaign launched to underscore the urgent need for congressional action and presidential leadership at this critical point in the fight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't...Read More
My Mother-in-Law
Filed by Paige Schilt | April 26, 2010 5:00 PM |When Donna Koonce went into the hospital, I kept telling everyone that "Katy's mom" was having bypass surgery. I didn't want to give the state of Texas too much credit for recognizing my relationship to this extraordinary woman. By the...Read More
You can't please everyone
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 26, 2010 4:00 PM |You would have thought that Itawamba Agricultural High School did everything they could to show they hated gays, but someone's still not satisfied: "WBC will picket the graduation of Itawamba Agricultural High School to remind the parents, teachers and students...Read More
Action Alert: Help Stop Lou Engle & TheCall from Exporting Anti-Gay Hate & Violence to Uganda
Filed by Waymon Hudson | April 26, 2010 3:00 PM |Readers may remember the recent disturbing news from Uganda that once again American Evangelicals are headed to the country to export violent, hate-fueled rhetoric against the LGBT community. Lou Engle, a radically anti-gay and anti-abortion evangelical, is scheduled to hold...Read More
What's wrong with confusion in the classroom?
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 26, 2010 2:00 PM |Editors' note: Mara Drummond is the president of an independent computer consulting firm, author of the book Transitions - A Guide to Transitioning for Transsexuals and Their Families, and co-producer of the award winning film Unraveling Michelle. In the national...Read More
Sexual Orientation And Trans People
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | April 25, 2010 1:00 PM |I often hear said to me when I am out in the community, or read in comments and articles placed before me on blogs and in magazines and newspapers, a comment from some people who think that they have nothing...Read More
The Largest Fundraiser for HIV in the State of Indiana
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 25, 2010 10:30 AM |Editor's Note: Guest blogger Joe Miller is a longtime virtual entrepreneur, who divides his time between Los Angeles and Indianapolis. Joe was a founding director of the Indiana Stonewall Democrats and his 2005 gift to the Damien Center underwrote the...Read More
Volunteers Needed: Dining Out for Life
Filed by Jerame Davis | April 23, 2010 5:00 PM |The Damien Center is in need of volunteers to help Dining out for Life on April 29th. If you have any free time and would like to volunteer (there are different shifts) that day, please contact Kaasten Joseph at joseph4@iupui.edu...Read More
Wall Street, Willa Cather and Pioneering Imagination
Filed by Andrew Belonsky | April 23, 2010 2:00 PM |The President flew to New York yesterday to both rebuke and embrace bankers. With Obama's visit, ongoing financial reform and amplified populist anger, this nation is having the most volatile monetary debate in its history. Before things get out of...Read More
The Trevor Project Honored with Crisis Center Excellence Award for Work with LGBTQ Youth
Filed by Waymon Hudson | April 23, 2010 12:00 PM |Amazing news for my one of my favorite LGBTQ organizations that do incredible and life-saving work for our community! The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning...Read More
Shared Bathrooms - An Immodest Proposal
Filed by Father Tony | April 22, 2010 10:30 AM |Dear Father Tony, You should talk about the benefits of unisex public bathrooms for all people and I mean ALL men, women and trans. They would be much safer for everybody except maybe George Michael. Sherman Dear Sherman, OK....Read More
Back to Back!
Filed by Kate Clinton | April 22, 2010 8:00 AM |CSI = Clinton in Staten Island (with Lily Tomlin!) Beck blech....Read More
TheCall Uganda: Anti-Gay American Evangelical Going to Inflame Hate in Uganda
Filed by Waymon Hudson | April 21, 2010 7:00 PM |The situation in Uganda, where the anti-homosexuality "Kill the Gays" Bill still thrives, continues to deteriorate as news now comes of more radical and dangerous American Evangelicals going into the heated atmosphere of anti-gay hate to hold a huge homophobic...Read More
Gay community loses black civil rights ally Dorothy Height
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | April 21, 2010 5:00 PM |Civil Rights activist Dorothy Irene Height died on April 20th at the age of 98. Of prominent African American civil rights allies to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community - Coretta Scott King, Julian Bond, and John...Read More
HRC vs TVC: Debate over "transgender teachers"
Filed by Bil Browning | April 21, 2010 9:30 AM |HRC staffer and frequent TBP commenter Allyson Robinson took up the sword yesterday to do battle with the Traditional Values Coalition's Andrea Lafferty on CBS's Washington Unplugged webcast. Of course, Lafferty uses lies to try and scare the public, but...Read More
Joseph Milhous Ratzinger
Filed by Michael Hamar | April 20, 2010 3:00 PM |I have noted a number of times on my personal blog - as have others in the media and blogosphere - that it appears that the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI learned nothing from the disastrous aftermath of the Watergate...Read More
Mistrial in Duanna Johnson's case
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 20, 2010 12:00 PM |The jury failed to come back with a verdict in the case of Bridges McRae, the cop who punched her and used pepper spray on a transgender arrestee after calling her a "faggot" and "he/she" and by her former first...Read More
Meet Harold and Clay
Filed by Kate Kendell | April 20, 2010 9:30 AM |The response to the horrific story of Clay Greene and Harold Scull has been very gratifying and inspiring. Clearly, their story struck a chord in all of us. To some degree we can't help imagining ourselves in exactly this situation....Read More
Exploiting Day of Silence
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 19, 2010 5:00 PM |Last Friday was the Day of Silence, and, like clockwork, the right opposed it. Do they realize that "pro-bullying" isn't the position they want to be taking? Anyway, it does make school administrators uneasy, as it did in this one...Read More
Q & A With Attorney Elizabeth Schwartz
Filed by Father Tony | April 19, 2010 3:00 PM |This interview appears in the current edition of South Florida Gay News. "I didn't come out - even to myself - until after college. Sometimes when I come out to friends who knew me way back when, their reaction is...Read More
The Gay Geeks iPad Review
Filed by Nathan Strang | April 18, 2010 7:00 PM |Normally, I'm a level-headed consumer, and never buy the first Apple product within the first month of release. We all know in 6 months, whatever it is (in this case, the iPad) will be price slashed, updated, and better than...Read More
Carol Boltz: Straight To The Point
Filed by Betty Greene Salwak | April 18, 2010 4:00 PM |Carol Boltz finds herself the focus of public attention these days as a result of circumstances beyond her control: just a few years ago and after thirty years of marriage, her husband Ray told her he was gay. This confession...Read More
The Next Time You See An Old Man On The Bus...
Filed by D Gregory Smith | April 18, 2010 1:00 PM |I have met a lot of interesting people in my wide and varied life. I am especially enamored of old people. Mostly because as I get to know them, I get to hear the stories of their lives- and to...Read More
Hung Jesus: uproar over unfortunate art
Filed by Gloria Brame, Ph.D. | April 18, 2010 11:30 AM |Do you see what I see? When a Catholic church in Oklahoma commissioned an artist to create a unique display for them, they probably didn't realize just how unique it would be. The artist's efforts to give the Savior a...Read More
Sonoma County CA separates elderly gay couple and sells all of their worldly possessions
Filed by Kate Kendell | April 17, 2010 4:00 PM |Updated at the end of the post Clay and his partner of 20 years, Harold, lived in California. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place--wills, powers of attorney, and...Read More
The Unasked Question
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | April 17, 2010 2:00 PM |I promised this post a few short days ago. I'm setting it up for the weekend, because it's the kind of thing that will take time to discuss, to flesh out, to explore, and besides, it'll get ugly if "the...Read More
The Planet of the Apps
Filed by Kate Clinton | April 17, 2010 12:00 PM |I was out tinkering in my metal shop the other day. I'm a bit of a tinkerer. I was standing at my workbench, had my steel-toed boots on, leather apron, and my little customized blowtorch in hand. Since phone applications,...Read More
Poisonous Parenting: The "Puppies" Edition
Filed by Terrance Heath | April 16, 2010 1:00 PM |(TRIGGER WARNING: The descriptions and some of the media in this post depict extremely violent acts of child abuse. If this is an issue for you, consider yourself warned.) I had not expected to update this series so soon after...Read More
Open Thread: Cherry Blossoms and Weekend Plans
Filed by Bil Browning | April 16, 2010 12:00 PM |Now that Spring has sprung, how are you going to enjoy it? What do you have planned for this weekend? We have company coming into town today; Jerame and I are taking them on a "redneck tour of Indiana." Should...Read More
An LGBT, beyond marriage win
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 16, 2010 11:00 AM |Obama released a presidential memo late yesterday to allow people to choose who gets to visit them and who gets to act as health care proxy, effectively banning hospitals that participate in Medicaid or Medicare (almost all of them) from...Read More
White Noise and Queer Families
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 15, 2010 7:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Susan Raffo lives in Minneapolis where she writes, is a bodyworker, parents, lives in communal housing, organizes and, when the weather permits, gardens. She is planning on going to Detroit for the US Social Forum. She'll...Read More
Head start
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 15, 2010 6:00 PM |I teach English in elementary school, going around to several schools here in Paris and doing games and vocab flashcards and songs. It's to get the kids ahead for junior high, when they're really supposed to learn English. France is...Read More
The Catholic Church Needs Its Gay Priests
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | April 15, 2010 5:00 PM |The Catholic Church is in damage control. Pope Benedict XVI won't resign and he can't be defrocked. And Catholics worldwide are enraged. The Church now needs a quick out, an easy solution and a fall guy to tamp down our...Read More
The Other Shoe: Child Molesting by Non-Catholic Clergy
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | April 15, 2010 4:00 PM |The other day, a CNN headline read "Preacher Killed Wife, Stuffed Body In Freezer, Police Say." Other publications headlined more simply, on the order of "Preacher Kills Wife." Not till you get a paragraph or two into the story do...Read More
Portrayals Of LGBT People in Media
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | April 15, 2010 3:00 PM |I thought for today's column I would key into the overt issues that are involved in several discussions around a more covert one that I expect to tackle fairly soon head on, and with all the vigor I can manage....Read More
University of Pennsylvania will cover gender confirmation
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 15, 2010 1:00 PM |The University of Pennsylvania's insurer will start to cover GRS related costs: In the next academic year, the Penn Student Insurance Plan will begin offering a new benefit for transgender students -- it will cover the cost of the gender...Read More
University of Pennsylvania will cover gender confirmation
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 15, 2010 1:00 PM |The University of Pennsylvania's insurer will start to cover GRS related costs: In the next academic year, the Penn Student Insurance Plan will begin offering a new benefit for transgender students -- it will cover the cost of the gender...Read More
Are You Sex-Positive? Sexual? Sexy? None Of The Above?
Filed by Father Tony | April 15, 2010 10:30 AM |There has been so much bloggular chatter lately about which ads and what kind of content an LGBT site like Bilerico ought to feature. In order to decide where you stand on this rather fundamental issue, you need to look...Read More
Joy: The Art of Soaking It In
Filed by Sara Whitman | April 14, 2010 6:00 PM |When was the last time you felt joy? Pure, clear, heart totally full joy? I can remember being on the water in downeast cand coming up on a shoal where there were seals and suddenly a bald eagle landed, not...Read More
We pay our bills, we pay our taxes, yet we're still denied marriage access!
Filed by Davina Kotulski | April 14, 2010 1:00 PM |The annual April 15th Tax Day Protest is the next best thing to the marriage license counter demonstrations on Freedom to Marry Day. This will be our 10th annual in Oakland, California. Grab a picket sign and head down to...Read More
Measuring Up: Indiana's LGBT friendly blogs
Filed by Bil Browning | April 14, 2010 10:30 AM |I thought this was an interesting analysis of the state of Indiana's LGBT-friendly blogosphere. I picked 5 of the top queer owned or friendly sites and decided to analyze their traffic. The sites I chose (in alphabetical order) were: Advance...Read More
The Constipation of our Forebears: vintage Ex-Lax ad
Filed by Gloria Brame, Ph.D. | April 14, 2010 10:30 AM |Strange to consider now but until the mid-20th century, people were convinced that constipation caused colds, flu, acne, mood swings, even appendicitis and that daily laxatives and/or enemas were preventive medicine. Of course, now we know that too many laxatives...Read More
Coming Out to Aging Parents
Filed by Michele O'Mara | April 13, 2010 7:00 PM |Dear Michele, I am dating a woman who is 19 years younger than myself. She is 28 and I am 47. We have a lot of fun doing things together, but our relationship is strained as I am having...Read More
Florida Hospital Changes LGBT Policies After Denying Lesbian the Right to Visit Her Dying Partner
Filed by Waymon Hudson | April 13, 2010 6:00 PM |Readers may remember the stomach-turning hospital behavior from Miami, Florida based hospital Jackson Memorial Hospital. Janice Langbehn was denied access to her dying partner, Lisa Marie Pond. Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond, together 18 years, were about to depart from...Read More
Montana: Homophobic dad gets schooled
Filed by Bil Browning | April 13, 2010 5:00 PM |Missoula, Montana passed the state's first LGBT inclusive human rights ordinance last night after the city council meeting ran into the wee hours of the morning. The meeting was packed full of residents wanting to testify either for or against...Read More
Bareback porn and effective organizing for a healthier community
Filed by Adam Bink | April 13, 2010 11:30 AM |On Friday, contributor Joe Mirabella wrote a piece discussing the death of bareback gay porn star Chad Noel due to HIV complications and citing viewers of bareback porn as responsible, in part, due to their role in consuming such content....Read More
Tips for Gay Couples Considering Filing As Married
Filed by Nadine Smith | April 13, 2010 10:30 AM |If you are a gay couple, legally married in a state or country that performs such marriages, can you file your federal income tax return as married even if the federal government refuses to acknowledge your marriage? General Answer: Because...Read More
Colin Farrell Speaks Out for His Gay Brother
Filed by Prince Gomolvilas | April 13, 2010 9:30 AM |In my daily life, whenever I quote Colin Farrell, I'm usually pulling direct quotes from his notorious sex tape. You know, like, when he goes down on that woman, he declares, "Breakfast, lunch, and motherf*cking dinner right here!" Stuff like...Read More
Warriors for Christ
Filed by Donna Pandori | April 12, 2010 3:00 PM |In 1998, Jack Smith and his wife Valerie founded Elijah's Fire International (EFI) Church in Elkhart, Indiana. According to their website, within eight years EFI grew from 8 to 300 members. They proclaim to be one of the "most radical...Read More
Could the Pope Be Arrested in Britain?
Filed by Michael Hamar | April 12, 2010 2:00 PM |Two recent news stories raise the question of whether or not Pope Benedict XVI could potentially face criminal charges if he proceeds with his trip the the United Kingdom later in the year. The first is from the Los Angeles...Read More
The Mitchell Gold Interview Part 2
Filed by Betty Greene Salwak | April 12, 2010 9:30 AM |Mitchell Gold is a successful home furnishings designer and manufacturer and co-owner of the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams chain of signature furniture stores. While he is long known for his advocacy in grassroots organizations and national nonprofits, Gold also...Read More
Goodbye Julia Sugarbaker: "She spoke the truth"
Filed by Bil Browning | April 11, 2010 5:30 PM |Actress Dixie Carter has passed away at age 70. She was best known for portraying the spitfire southern lady Julia Sugarbaker on the TV show Designing Women. The show was a nationwide hit and was one of the first to...Read More
Poisonous Parenting: The "Oh Father" Edition
Filed by Terrance Heath | April 11, 2010 4:00 PM |It’s been a while since I’ve added to this series. There are probably a number of reasons, among them that I’ve found myself blogging more about other issues and less about LGBT issues. There are any number of reasons, including...Read More
Mitchell Gold: Fighting The Crisis Of Religious Bigotry
Filed by Betty Greene Salwak | April 11, 2010 1:00 PM |Mitchell Gold is a successful home furnishings designer and manufacturer and co-owner of the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams chain of signature furniture stores. While he is long known for his advocacy in grassroots organizations and national nonprofits, Gold also...Read More
Vehicle of Bigotry: Lies of the Truth Truck
Filed by Keri Renault | April 11, 2010 11:30 AM |They call it the "Truth Truck". I call it a lie. One of the Ten Commandments says "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor". Who knew? Oscar Wilde once said, "Morality is simply the attitude we adopt toward...Read More
False Piety: Vatican, Canadian Church Tried to Keep Sex Scandal Secret
Filed by Michael Hamar | April 10, 2010 4:00 PM |In the interest of full disclosure, I was a Catholic for nearly 50 years and left the Church in 2001/2002 both because of the Church's hostility to gays and because I was sickened by the moral bankruptcy of the Church...Read More
Hair Emergency
Filed by Bil Browning | April 09, 2010 4:00 PM |I'd planned on writing an insightful political piece today - and it's half done. A hair emergency, however, has called me away. I'm so furious, I could spit! My stylist slipped with the clippers this afternoon and before either of...Read More
The Incense Of A New Church
Filed by Betty Greene Salwak | April 09, 2010 3:00 PM |A censer swings through the aisles of a new church, the smoke curling through the sun's rays streaming from stained glass windows; and its scent is pleasing to God. This new church is an institution that people do not fear....Read More
Coming Out: Trans
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | April 09, 2010 1:00 PM |Coming out is a pretty important process. And it is a process. For trans people, coming out is made a little more complicated, and the degree of complication follows the sort of trans person they are. For some trans people,...Read More
Officer who held Duanna Johnson down testifies
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 09, 2010 11:30 AM |Updated after the jump with contact information for the newspaper. It's been almost two years since that disturbing video of one cop holding down while another cop beat a black trans woman, sending her to the hospital, was released. Both...Read More
So Hard to Say Goodbye: From Florida to Chicago
Filed by Waymon Hudson | April 08, 2010 7:00 PM |There's big news to share with my Bilerico Family! I am happy and excited to report that my husband, Anthony, has been offered and accepted a high level administrative and faculty law professor position at the John Marshall Law School...Read More
Conservatives hate that our families count on the 2010 Census
Filed by Joe Mirabella | April 08, 2010 5:00 PM |The Arkansas News reported: LITTLE ROCK -- An advertising campaign by the U.S. Census Bureau directed toward same-sex couples isn't sitting well with some conservatives in Arkansas. State Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, a candidate for Arkansas' 3rd District congressional seat,...Read More
Trans woman decapitated in Mexico
Filed by Joe Mirabella | April 08, 2010 12:00 PM |The body of a trans woman was found decapitated in Chihuahua, Mexico. Her body was found a kilometer away from her head. Authorities believe she was still alive during the decapitation because fear was frozen on her face. According to...Read More
Honey, Let's Tour Hell This Year
Filed by Father Tony | April 08, 2010 10:30 AM |Hey Father Tony, What do you think of this? For the past five years my partner and I (15 years) have been taking separate vacations. Before that, we had some big time fights on vacation. So one year I...Read More
Welcome to the Middle Ages
Filed by Bil Browning | April 08, 2010 9:30 AM |Happy Birthday to my honey, Jerame. Today's the big day; he turns 35 today. Welcome to the Middle Ages, my dear. When we first got together, Jerame was a budding young activist who hadn't been out of the closet for...Read More
The most important lesson we never teach our children
Filed by Austen Crowder | April 07, 2010 7:00 PM |I taught at a Catholic high school for one year. In that time I saw exactly one intersection between schoolwide policy and social networking; the administrators called the entire school down for a brief presentation on Facebook safety. (Word in...Read More
The 2010 census and the browning and seasoning of America
Filed by Pam Spaulding | April 07, 2010 6:00 PM |We're really going to learn a lot more from the 2010 census about the browning of America, as well as how many of us identify racially -- understanding that "race" is an artificial construct. The white supremacists' worst fear will...Read More
The new "BONG HiTS 4 JESUS"?
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 07, 2010 5:00 PM |I'm wondering about the fight they mention in this local news video. Was one student all like, "Britney's the best singer ever!" And then another responded, "Nuh uh, Beyonce can actually sing and has something called raaaaaaange." Then the Britney...Read More
Q of the day: should Constance leave Fulton and never look back, or return to effect change?
Filed by Pam Spaulding | April 07, 2010 10:30 AM |Itawamba Agricultural High School student Constance McMillen is a hero. She's paid a tremendous cost at the age of 18, no less, for standing up to the bigotry in her hometown over this debacle of attending the school prom with...Read More
A Prom and Pretty (Ugly) Things
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | April 06, 2010 7:00 PM |Secret proms being disguised as birthday parties. Social outcasts being left out and exiled. A school that has lied in court. And, once more, an example of some of the issues that surround all of this, and a reason why...Read More
Jesus smiles on sexual harassment
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 06, 2010 6:00 PM |As should be plainly obvious to anyone paying attention (except for anyone invested in the idea that the Religious Right is a group of home-grown Americans motivated by nothing other than the Moral Values in the Bible), the reason rightwing...Read More
Another school protested for Corpus Christi
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 06, 2010 12:00 PM |I posted last week about Tarleton State University's production of Corpus Christi, a play that portrays Jesus as a gay man living in the 20th century, which got canceled because a bunch of teabaggers/fundies/rightwingers/conservative Christians called in death threats to...Read More
WTF?!: Did the school send Constance McMillen to a fake prom?
Filed by Bil Browning | April 05, 2010 4:00 PM |Did the school district organize a fake prom for out lesbian teen Constance McMillen to attend while the other kids partied it up privately? A local blog posted these details about the latest twists to Constance's battle with her local...Read More
The Catholic church pedophilia scandal: The forgotten victims
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 05, 2010 3:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Dr. Carlos T Mock is a native Puerto Rican who resides in Chicago, IL and Three Oaks, MI. He has published four books and is the GLBT Editor for Floricanto Press in Berkley, CA. I was...Read More
One year later, marriage equality strong in Iowa
Filed by Joe Mirabella | April 05, 2010 1:00 PM |My fiance and I were lucky enough to be in Iowa last year when the Iowa Supreme Court made their historic unanimous ruling that we should be treated equally as a couple. Marriage equality is now a reality in our...Read More
Should marijuana be legalized?
Filed by Bil Browning | April 05, 2010 12:00 PM |A new poll out from Pew shows an amazing amount of support for legalizing marijuana. 73% support medical marijuana (prescription only) while 41% approves of decriminalizing the herb altogether. Should marijuana be legalized?polling I'm curious what Projectors have to say....Read More
Follow-up on a Flawed System: Is HRT in Prison Life or Death?
Filed by Keri Renault | April 05, 2010 10:30 AM |Last week's court decision overturning Wisconsin law that precluded transsexual inmates from receiving transition-related care raised the age old question of equality. Even fair-minded American tax-payers harbor conflicted feelings about subsidizing medical care for transgender inmates. I doubt I'm going...Read More
Forgiveness and Fire
Filed by Sara Whitman | April 05, 2010 9:30 AM |I have spent much of the last few days searching the word "forgiveness" on the internet. The act itself feels pretty shallow. Before I can get to renewal, I realize I must get to forgiveness first. It is not easy....Read More
Theocracy = Civil War
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | April 04, 2010 7:00 PM |April 2-4 is the "Blog Against Theocracy" blogswarm. I've been worried about creeping theocracy in the U.S., and writing about it, for years. So I'm ready to blog. What worries me: theocracy is now beyond the creeping stage. It's sweeping....Read More
Easter Revenge
Filed by D Gregory Smith | April 04, 2010 1:00 PM |I've been reading Michael McCullough's book Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of The Forgiveness Instinct. It's fascinating. Part of his analysis involves human instinct, sociological observation and psychological study. What conditions lead generally to forgiveness rather than revenge? Is the (sometimes)...Read More
So Much For 'Law and Order Conservatism'
Filed by Terrance Heath | April 03, 2010 4:00 PM |There’s only one thing slightly less shocking than the arrest of nine members of the Hutaree Christian militia for plotting to kill law enforcement officers (with IEDs). That’s conservative bloggers coming to their defense. Blue Texan at Firedoglake compiles the...Read More
So Much For 'Law and Order Conservatism'
Filed by Terrance Heath | April 03, 2010 4:00 PM |There’s only one thing slightly less shocking than the arrest of nine members of the Hutaree Christian militia for plotting to kill law enforcement officers (with IEDs). That’s conservative bloggers coming to their defense. Blue Texan at Firedoglake compiles the...Read More
HRT in Prison: Life or Death?
Filed by Keri Renault | April 03, 2010 12:00 PM |Inmates aren't denied life saving drugs or medical care in Wisconsin prisons. Insulin is in ready supply for the diabetic inmate. Angina sufferers receive nitro quick same as asthmatics have access to an inhaler. Even in prison the right to...Read More
"Under The Radar" Seattle, Part Two: The City Of Microsoft
Filed by Don Davis | April 03, 2010 10:00 AM |It's been a few weeks since we began our series of "Under The Radar" stories with a visit to lovely Kirkland, Washington, and it's time for another. But which city should we visit this time? There's Woodinville, with its wineries,...Read More
White House: Steve Hildebrand is crazy
Filed by Bil Browning | April 02, 2010 4:00 PM |This has me so sputtering with anger that I can't even begin to describe it. I've sat here all day trying to write out a response that was insightful and meaningful, but I've been unsuccessful. In a Washington Post story...Read More
Plaintiff in Florida Adoption Lawsuit Heading to White House
Filed by Nadine Smith | April 02, 2010 2:00 PM |Even as they await a ruling on the constitutionality of Florida's law banning gay people from adopting, Frank Gill and his recentlyThe Gill boys at home preparing for Easter before they head for the White Houseadopted sons have reason to...Read More
The Pope's Pedophilic Church
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | April 02, 2010 10:30 AM |Who among us would not flinch at the thought of a "holy man" preying on children instead of praying with them? And what faith can anyone have in a Church that says it stands on the teachings of Jesus yet...Read More
Code Pink & my last lesbian vlog
Filed by Kate Clinton | April 02, 2010 8:00 AM |I'm wearing pink in honor of Code Pink's attempted citizens' arrest of Karl Rove. But the sunglasses are because I have a secret I need to share but makes it hard to look you in the eye. This is...Read More
Pope Benedict Arrested, Released After Incident At Italian Highway Rest Stop
Filed by Don Davis | April 01, 2010 7:30 PM |Verona, Italy (FNS)--Joseph Ratzinger, also known as Pope Benedict XVI, was arrested and released early this morning by Italian police near Pescara, Italy, following allegations the Pontiff attempted to engage an undercover police officer in sexual activity in an Autogrill...Read More
A Typical Weekend in LA: A Dramatization
Filed by Bil Browning | April 01, 2010 6:30 PM |Note: Fresh off my week in Los Angeles, I've been bitten by the Hollywood bug and decided to dramatize my weekend. This makes for the perfect April Fools post since it's a fine line between "based on a true story"...Read More
New Research Shows Children of LGBT Parents More Likely to Win Nobel Prizes
Filed by Dana Rudolph | April 01, 2010 2:00 PM |New research from the University of South Falls-Nebraska, has found that children of LGBT parents are more than three times as likely to win Nobel Prizes as their peers with one mom and one dad. In-depth interviews with 1,283 children...Read More
Ratzinger on the run!
Filed by Father Tony | April 01, 2010 10:30 AM |Dear Father Tony, I must schnel scriben [write fast]. The Italians have invaded meine haus! They say I have broken der Lateran Treaty of 1929 what established der Vatikanishe City State mit crimes vhat I committed worldwide. Alles ist kaput!...Read More
