Temenos

True Colors Tour Partners with GLBT Community Centers

2008-03-05T21:30:52Z

Today Cyndi Lauper and the True Colors Tour announced an exciting partnership with CenterLink and GLBT Community Centers around the country. The True Colors Tour is hitting the road this summer, spreading the message of GLBT equality and highlighting the important work of GLBT community centers along the way.

The tour will feature five hours of non-stop music and entertainment by headliners Cyndi Lauper, The B-52s, and exciting special guests including Rosie O'Donnell, Wanda Sykes, Indigo Girls, Tegan and Sara, Regina Spektor, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Joan Armatrading, Nona Hendryx, Deborah Cox, The Cliks and many more. Hosted by Carson Kressley, the tour will visit 24 cities across the United States and Canada from May 31st to July 5th.

Here in Washington DC, The True Colors Tour will perform at the historic DAR Constitution Hall. I'm really excited for the opportunity to spread the word about the great work of the The DC Center.

]]> The True Colors Tour was conceived by Cyndi Lauper stemming from her desire to give back to the LGBT community for the love and support they have given her throughout her career. The True Colors Tour is a celebration of the basic values and freedoms that should be shared by all Americans regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. Attendees will experience these values through the music of both legendary icons and the newest and coolest acts this generation has to offer.

So, don't miss out on this opportunity to join in the celebration. Tickets for select cities will go on sale beginning March 15th and will be available at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more official tour & ticket information please visit the True Colors website.

Obama Picks Up LGBT Supporters From Edwards

2008-02-02T20:30:52Z

The Advocate reports "a critical mass of John Edwards's LGBT steering committee is going public with support for Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton. Twenty-two members of the Edwards campaign's original 59-person gay and lesbian committee will now be working for Obama victories next Tuesday and throughout the rest of the primary season. The new Obama converts include Eric Stern, who headed up Edwards's LGBT steering committee, and longtime gay activist David Mixner, who famously campaigned for Bill Clinton in 1992, holding some of the first gay fund-raisers for a U.S. presidential candidate."

Kirk Read: Angela

2007-12-26T04:53:47Z

Smack dab in the middle of Lake Bygod County, California, Angela came out on the first day of her junior year. She’d attended a queer youth leadership workshop in San Francisco over the summer and arrived at school wearing a rainbow necklace, a rainbow pin, and a rainbow patch. Nobody got it.

During English class, students were asked to stand up and say something about themselves. Already irritated by the inefficiency of symbols, Angela said she was a lesbian. She’d spent the better part of her summer in internet chatrooms discussing Xena, Warrior Princess. She was sure.

]]> In a matter of weeks, she approached teachers to sponsor the Gay Straight Alliance she was planning to found. One asked her, “You don’t think I’m gay, do you?” The second teacher was a folk singer with posters of Bob Dylan and Jack Kerouac on his walls. Excitedly, he pulled out a GSA handbook, a souvenir from a flaming senior boy who’d attempted to start a GSA at the same high school.

In February, a local therapist did a faculty training with a panel featuring seven LGBT young people, including Angela. Despite her drama classes, Angela shook while she spoke. Her mother stood up and expressed her support for her daughter.

Afterward, several teachers told the principal that a GSA wasn’t a good idea. A prominent religious official called the superintendent to complain. School officials tried to delay the group. Angela pushed.

During the first week of March, Angela and other students posted signs all over school announcing the first GSA meeting. Fifteen were ripped down. Anticipating this, they taped cards under each sign which said “You’ve just committed a hate crime.” "The student body was nearly identical to my own high school in size and cultural makeup. It had been ten years since I’d heard locker doors slamming. It felt like prison."

The meeting was announced every day that week, though some teachers skipped over that item while reading the daily bulletin.

The night before Friday’s meeting, Angela barely slept at all. When she finally fell asleep, she had nightmares of someone crashing the meeting with a machine gun. She spent third and fourth periods in her guidance counselor’s office, crying.

During lunch, Angela led the first GSA meeting at Middletown High School. Sixty two students attended, including five teachers and even a hand full of kids from the Bible Club. “We don’t condone the lifestyle,” they told her, “but we love everybody.”

All over school, students talked about the meeting. Two teachers put up signs that said “The Bill of Rights + Cultural diversity = The right to be different.” In one class, a spontaneous chant erupted: “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” An athlete started a petition because he was scared of “fags making out.” He wrote “GSA” at the top of the page and enlisted five others, three men and two women, who spent the next three weeks collecting signatures in the hallway.

The vice principal told the petitioners that if the school shut down the GSA, it would be forced to shut down every other club as well. In all, they collected over one hundred signatures in a school of five hundred students. When students refused to sign, they were called a “stupid lesbian” or a “stupid fag.” School officials said there was nothing they could do unless the incidents were reported. None of the students came forward. It would all die down, they told her. Angela prepared a blurb for the announcement of the second meeting. “The theme,” she wrote, “is harassment.”

This time, forty students showed up. In an attempt to legitimize the group, teachers and students suggested that the group broaden its focus to “tolerance.” That was the week I met Angela, thanks to a gay teenager from her school who found me online. Angela said she was scared that people were trying to take the gay out of GSA. I asked her what she was going to do. “They’re not going to fuck up my GSA,” she said.

I was the guest speaker at the third meeting. Walking into the school was eerie. The student body was nearly identical to my own high school in size and cultural makeup. It had been ten years since I’d heard locker doors slamming. It felt like prison.

There had been all sorts of homophobic graffiti that week, sprinkled all over student council campaign posters. Some of the candidates told Angela that she could just take them down. But she didn’t want the evidence erased. With a thick black marker, Angela and a boy from the GSA crossed through phrases like “No gays allowed.”

Angela spotted me in the hallway. From the force of her voice, I’d expected a six foot tomboy with bandaged knuckles. She was a tiny wisp of a thing, wearing a Supergirl tee shirt and baggy black pants. I had to wait in the office until lunch period, because visitors were not allowed at pep rallies. God, I really was back in high school.

I only had twenty minutes with them and I desperately wanted to say something profound that would make their lives easier. I read to them from my book, How I Learned to Snap, a memoir about being openly gay in a small town high school. They were a loud audience and frequently interjected comments and questions as I read. Ten years later, the things I remember about high school are still painfully resonant for them.

So many adults are under the impression that the internet and mass media have completely changed the dynamics of homophobia in schools. “It’s so much better now” is the operative mantra. It’s what we say when we don’t want to believe how much young people are still suffering in abusive school environments. For every Angela, there are countless boys being pushed down steps, countless girls whose lockers are vandalized, countless young people who don’t click with the labels of boy and girl at all. Maybe the climate is better, compared to twenty or thirty years ago. But such comparisons are small comfort when you’re being cornered in a locker room.

Several days later, Angela called me near tears.

“I just needed to talk to someone who would understand,” she said. “I didn’t know where to turn.”

I prepared myself for the most dire of after-school special dilemmas. Was it a friend’s suicide attempt? Was it a death threat because of the GSA?

“It’s my hair,” she said. “I want to cut my hair.”

She reminded me that beneath her activist bravura, she was still, through and through, seventeen years old.

Her new haircut is adorable.

We Remember

2007-12-25T15:09:27Z

Several years ago on Christmas Eve I received a very nice e-mail thanking me for setting up the Barry Winchell website. It came from someone close to Barry who was surfing the web that first Christmas since he passed away and took comfort in the fact that so many people remembered and honored Private First Class Barry WInchell.

Pat, if you're visiting the site this Christmas, please know, I still remember Barry, and am taking a moment on my Christmas Day to remember Barry Winchell, and Fred Martinez, and Matthew Shepard, and Tyra Hunter, and all victims of hatred and intolerance.

Facing Christmas for the first time without a loved one is hard, but if you are in this situation, please know you are not alone.

Peace on Earth - Good WIll To All

David

Monday OUT Profile: Will Roscoe

2007-12-24T02:35:33Z

Will Roscoe has been active in the the Gay movement since 1975, when he helped found Lambda, the first Gay/Lesbian organization in Montana. The following year, he served an intern at the National Gay Task Force, and in 1977, as coordinator of the Gay People's Alliance at the University of Oregon, he spearheaded the formation of the Oregon Gay Alliance, a statewide coalition of Gay/Lesbian groups. In 1978, he completed an internship at the Pacific Center for Human Growth in Berkeley, where he coordinated a successful campaign to win United Way funding, the first Lesbian/Gay social service agency in the country to do so. He also served as voter registration coordinator for the No on 6 campaign in San Francisco (the Briggs initiative), registering over 10,000 new voters.

]]> In 1979, he attended the first radical faerie gathering in Arizona, where he met Harry Hay, and became involved in efforts that led to the founding of Nomenus, which today operates a retreat in Southern Oregon. In 1980, with Tede Mathews and other local artists he organized "Mainstream Exiles: a Lesbian and Gay Men's Cultural Festival" and between 1980 and 1982, he published and edited with Bradley Rose Vortex: A Journal of New Vision. In 1984, he became Project Coordinator for the Gay American Indians History Project and edited "Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology".

Roscoe's research on the Native American berdache or two-spirit tradition has appeared in numerous journals and publications. His book, "The Zuni Man-Woman" (University of New Mexico Press), received the Margaret Mead Award of the American Anthropological Association and a Lambda Literary Award. He has since published "Queer Spirits: A Gay Men's Myth Book" (Beacon) and edited "Radically Gay: Gay Liberation in the Words of its Founder" (Beacon) by Harry Hay. He is also co-editor of "Islamic Homosexualities" (New York University Press) and "Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities" (St. Martin's, 1998). In 1998 he published "Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America" (St. Martin's, 1998) a comprehensive series of studies of two-spirit people and traditions. His most recent book, "Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love" (Suspect Thoughts, 2004) received a Lambda Literary Award for best work in religion/spirituality.

Roscoe holds a Ph.D. in History of Consciousness from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has taught in Anthropology, Native American Studies, and American Studies at UC/Santa Cruz, San Francisco State University, UC/Berkeley, the California Institute of Integral Studies, and Dominican College, and he is adjunct faculty for the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology. From 1991-1995 he was an affiliated scholar with the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University. In 2003, he received a Monette-Horowitz Achievement Award for research and scholarship combatting homophobia.

Eight Questions with Ari Gold

2007-12-23T04:40:03Z

By Russell Olivera Jr

Ari Gold has become one today's hottest openly gay recording artists in the world. His honest lyrics and truth is found in all his music, and his look on life makes him an outstanding artist and person, a true reflection of positive energy. He has remained true to himself since the beginning, and even as he has and will continue to skyrocket into an incredible career, he has managed to do it being "real".

In a world where celebrity is becoming more and more blurred and role models are harder to fine, we are happy to have Ari Gold in our community. I caught with Ari earlier this month as he released his latest album "Transport Systems", what follows is some of my interview with this Out & Proud Recording Artist.-Enjoy!

]]> Olivera: I talked to you back in 2005 and I know that a lot has changed with you. I want to talk about the difference between then and now. Since you have really blown up since then. Have you learned any life lessons from then and now?

Gold: Well yes I have learned a lot since then. I learn life lessons every day. I think that since I put out my last record in 2004, one thing that I am learning is to own my own power in a way and give myself the license to do it. I have always been out and explicit in my lyrics, but with this new record I really went there. I took the risks of laying it out there and sing about all the things that I wanted to sing about.

Olivera: How has it changed you in terms of you personally? I am sure that the fame has had to change you in some way.

Gold: For me its not like I have the paparazzi following me around. I have been in show business since I was 6 years old. In that sense not that much has changed, I see the growth and the recognition that I get and I think that more fans are coming on board and I am getting more fan mail and people are stopping me on the street, but I love that stuff. You want to effect people. I live a pretty normal life, I go out and I don’t have a big entourage with me, I’m just a regular guy in a lot of ways.

Olivera: I want to talk about the album, “Transport Systems”, on your previous albums you have always been very personal with them, but for some reason, this one felt more emotional, more raw, and more personal than you have ever gone before.

Gold: Definitely. You said that I have gone a step further and that is what the album is about. The concept is about movement and progression, so I think that my own artistic journey of moving forward. I like to write stuff that is pretty straight forward. I love music that is more poetic and I also appreciate people saying what they mean. Especially R&B like Mary J. Blige, she always says what she wants to say and never worries about being too flowery about it. I also like the idea that maybe someone looks at the lyrics or reads the lyrics saying, damn, I didn’t know you were talking about that!

Olivera: Let’s talk about some of the songs and how they came to be. The whole album has this message of transforming and looking at things differently, and the track “Transport Me” seems to be the theme of the album. How did that song come to be?

Gold: That song is really personal and is about my personal journey and wanting to move forward in my life past some of the pain from growing up and I think that it is a song that people can relate to, especially gay people. That feeling that something was not right or being different and wanting to have a place where it was ok to be different. I thought that it was really relevant to gay people because we have this greater visibility now, but how can we move forward and be seen in a more complex and multidimensional way and not just as a two-dimensional people who are here to make straight people look better. How do we move forward to achieving our own basic human rights because we are not there yet. Most importantly how can move past all of this shame that most of us felt as kids? I think that we take that with us and we should learn how to treat ourselves and each other better.

Olivera: Let’s talk about a few of the collaborations that you have done on this album. The most notable was the remake of “Human” with Mr. Man. How did that come to be?

Gold: I have always wanted to do that song and I have always been a big fan of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, they are my favorite producers of all time and they wrote and produced the original version. The original song was about a guy cheating on his girlfriend. The core of the song was even more powerful than that, almost applied to the fight for human rights and who we are as gay people. I re-worked the verses and the bridge and then I called Mr. Man, he came in and wrote the rap really quickly, he got into my head and wrote down everything that I wanted to say. I think that is came out really good.

Olivera: The other was “Love Wasn’t Built In A Day”, with Dave Koz, a very beautiful song. From what I have read it almost didn’t come to be. It took a journey get that one recorded. How did that one actually happen?

Gold: I met Dave Koz after I saw his Advocate” story after he came out and I had such respect for his talent, he has been signed on with Capital Records for 20 years and has been doing what he has been doing for such a long time. We met at this gay wedding and we emailed back and forth for a while and he was on tour and didn’t think that it was going to happen. The next time I was out in L.A. and he said that he had his saxophone in the trunk of his car and was going to come over and just bang it out and he did. He told me that he was glad, I didn’t give up on that because he had a great time doing it. I cried some real man tears when he did it.

Olivera: Now The Video for "Where The Music Takes You” is out, and surprising it is all video is out and its animated and done by famed artist Joe Philips, I know you have worked with him in the past, but how did the video come about and why choose animation?

Gold: Probably because we didn’t have the budget to do live action and animation. Just kidding. I always wanted to be a cartoon character when I was growing up. I am a huge fan of animation and Joe and his animation work. He is the most incredible guy and so freaking talented. We talked about doing this and the animation is totally cool.

Olivera: What do we have to look forward to? Are you doing a tour?

Gold: Absolutely. We are in the midst of putting that together. We just had the CD release concert in New York so I am psyched to go out there and see the fans in different cities.

Weekend DVD Pick: Unveiled

2007-12-22T01:13:21Z

German Film Tells the Story of Iranian Immigrant

The original title of this film is 'Fremde Haut', which means 'in Orbit' - the term officially used by the UN to refer to asylum-seekers who find themselves orbiting around planet Earth because they can actually find legal domicile nowhere at all. This is a perfect description for the main character in this film, Fariba, brilliantly performed by Jasmin Tabatabai.

Throughout the film, Fariba is constantly in conflict: not quite at home in Germany or Iran, not not quite at peace as either straight or gay, not quite at ease as man or as woman.

]]> Prosecuted in Iran because of her love for a woman, Fariba flees to Germany. But her application for asylum is turned down. Her desperate prospects are improved by the suicide of her fellow-inmate, a man named Siamak, who has received a temporary permit of sojourn just before his death. Assuming his identity, she is sent to a refugee camp near a small German village.

At first her survival seems to be assured, but the strain of upholding her male disguise in the cramped refugee quarters reveals the threat that a single mistake could blow her cover. In order to pay for forged documents, Fariba takes an illegal job in a sauerkraut factory, where she meets Anne, played by Anneke Kim Samau (The Constant Gardner). The two grow close - indeed dangerously close for Farbia as Anne begins to suspect her true identity.

With brilliant performances by both Tabatabai and Samau, the unlikely yet powerful relationship between these women will quickly draw you in. But Unveiled is much more than a relationship film. Anyone will also walk away with a deeper understanding of the challenges Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) immigrants face.

Unveiled has been released on DVD by Wolfe Video. It was selected as one of Advocate Magazine's Top 10 Films of 2006.

Marcellas Reynolds Talks About His New Show

2007-12-21T03:44:30Z

I've been a fan of Marcellas Reynolds since I first saw him on Season 4 of Big Brother. I recently got a chance to touch base with Marcellas and find out more about what he's been up to and his new Style Network show.

You first appeared on the CBS show 'Big Brother' in Season 3. How has your life changed since being on the show?

Wow my life is sooo different than before. I think the biggest difference is how many people know me. Not a day goes by without someone saying "Hi Marcellas." And of course now I'm now on TV a lot. Big Brother really changed my life & the direction of my entertainment career.

]]> You've been able to use your celebrity to raise money for many organizations. What cause means the most to you?

I'll always have a soft spot for Project Angel Food. The work they do, delivering fresh, hot, nutritious meals to those in need is amazing. I also love L.A. Pride. They asked me to host the concert last summer and it was just monumental for me. They asked me to return next summer and I said yes. My pal Shannon (Elizabeth) would kill me if I didn't mention Animal Avengers. It's such a fun charity that rescues animals.

Your new show, 'Shop Like a Star' premieres on the Style Network January 12th. What can we expect to see on the show?

I'm so proud of this show! I'm not just on-air talent but consulting producer. It's my very first producer credit! We're teaching men and women how to shop. How to get the looks of their favorite stars at their local stores and via the internet. It's fun and informative!

What hot items are celebrities shopping for these days?

Women wearing mens watches; Rolexes, Cartier Tanks. It's all about the big chunky watch. For girls it's the season of the trouser; skinny, flare, wide-legged, high-waisted. You are not in fashion without a good pair of slacks. For men, it's dark, skinny jeans and wing-tips. The rounded toe shoe is so in! Retire those square toes with a chunky heel. Oh and men must have a mini-trench. An updated, fitted trench coat in black or navy reeks of style.

Season 9 of 'Big Brother' begins February 12th on CBS. Do you plan to be involved in the show?

I'm sitting this season of Big Brother out. I want to really focus on my fashion styling, TV hosting and acting. I'm actually pitching 2 new shows that I hope get picked up. I want to produce also. It's time for me to move on. Nothing is sadder than an ex-reality star holding on to a past season of a show.

Is there anything else you'd like your fans to know?

Just keep watching me! I work for Style and E! a lot. Expect to see me doing more make-overs on your favorite talk shows in 2008. And please visit marcellasreynolds.com for all things me!

Breast Cancer and You: Early Detection is the Key

2007-12-20T06:00:51Z

By Jennifer Medvin: Many of us were probably surprised and very upset by the passing of Dana Fairbanks on the L Word. Yes, she was just a fictional character, but the impact allowed the threat of cancer to hit home. The writer's showed that youth, an athletic build and even fame will not stop you from being affected by cancer. No one knows that more than Melissa Etheridge who underwent two cancer surgeries in 2004.

Discovery of a lump can generate fear in a woman. This may strike at the core of a women's self image through the thought of breast cancer, of losing her breast and maybe even losing her life. Women are eight times more likely to die of heart disease than breast cancer and lung cancer kills twice as many women every year than cancer of the breast. But the main reason breast cancer is a woman's worst nightmare is the fact that it kills more women age 35 to 55 than any other disease.

]]> Benign (non cancerous) breast disorders often occur in women and may generate a great amount of anxiety. Changes in a woman's breast tissue will frequently arise from hormonal changes of the menstrual cycle. During this time a woman may experience an increased tenderness and lumpiness in her breast. Because of this change, a breast self exam is recommended to be performed after menses. Most breast cancers are found by the women themselves during a breast self-exam or, like on The L Word, found by a woman's partner during sexual activity.

Besides feeling a lump in the breast or armpit, other symptoms include color change, dimpling, or puckering of the skin around the breast, a change in the size or shape of the breast and fluid discharge from the nipple. If you notice any changes in your breast and/or the surrounding area, see your health professional immediately.

There are various types of risk factors for breast cancer. Increasing age, family history and/or personal history of breast cancer, smoking while using oral contraceptives and having more than one alcoholic beverage a day are among the top risks.

Even though the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer has been rising each year, the death rate has been declining. This is primarily due to better treatments and early diagnosis through breast exams (self and by a health care professional) and mammograms. Always remember that early detection is extremely important to treat breast cancer and if you do receive a positive diagnosis, never hesitate to receive a second opinion.

- Jennifer Medvin, RN

Eric Stern: The Iowa Diaries

2007-12-19T17:31:44Z

]]> IOWA DIARY

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 (12:15 p.m.)
DES MOINES
After looking at local weather reports, I was pretty concerned about being able to make it to Des Moines. I flew from Oakland, California to Denver, Colorado and then was scheduled to fly from Denver to Des Moines. While waiting in Denver, I heard some folks behind me talking about how the Des Moines airport had been closed all morning and that two morning flights had been cancelled. Things didn’t look good! Then, to our delight, we received news from United that our flight would be boarding shortly and that the Des Moines airport had re-opened. Iowa—here I come!

Blazing Saddles—Meet & Greet with the Local LGBT Community (6:00 p.m.)
After arriving in Des Moines, Iowa Deputy Political Director Alanna Kelly and I headed over to Blazing Saddles, Des Moines’ first gay bar (opened in 1982) for a meet and greet with the local LGBT community. Because the weather had forced nearly all of the presidential candidates to cancel their events in Des Moines, we had a fairly large crowd at the bar. We were greeted at the door by Bob “Mongo” Eikleberry—the owner of the Blazing Saddle. Mongo, a Vietnam Veteran and the founder of the All Iowa AIDS Benefit, is one of the pillars of the Des Moines LGBT community. He has been a role model and source of support for dozens of LGBT youth who came to Des Moines after being kicked out of their homes after revealing their sexual orientation to their parents. Mongo is an inspiration to us all and I am proud to say also a strong and vocal supporter of John Edwards. I spent the evening talking with a diverse group of local LGBT voters—young, old, black, white, gay, lesbian and allied. Many of the voters with whom I talked are still undecided, but I wanted to make sure they knew that the Edwards Campaign was working to earn their vote and that our campaign welcomes and would be honored by the support of LGBT voters across America. Several voters told me that the Edwards Campaign was the first to send an openly gay surrogate to the bar to ask them for their support. Great first event—going back to the hotel to crash and get ready for a long day of travel and events!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007
DES MOINES

Breakfast with Carolyn Jenison—Executive Director of One Iowa (9:00 a.m.)
Alanna and I had the opportunity to have breakfast with Carolyn—the head of One Iowa, Iowa’s statewide LGBT advocacy organization. We learned from Carolyn about the extensive community education efforts One Iowa is doing all across the state and the Caucus Project they have put in place to increase the participation of the Iowa’s LGBT community in the January 3 Caucuses. The Edwards Campaign has been sending our Iowa LGBT supporters to One Iowa Caucus trainings and meetings and we are proud of this partnership. Carolyn is a fabulous leader doing vitally important work. She told us that she and her partner caucused for Edwards in 2004 and we would proud and honored to have the support of her and partner again in 2008.

AMES (11:00 a.m.)
On to Ames—the home of Iowa State University and the Cyclones for Edwards!

Community Meet & Greet at Legends American Grill (12:00 p.m.)
Our local field organizers in Ames set up a fantastic meet and greet with undecided voters—both gay and straight in a private skybox room at Legends overlooking the beautiful Iowa State University campus. Upon arriving, I met two remarkable community leaders—Terry Lowman and his husband Mark Kassis. Terry and Mark are openly gay business owners in Ames and proud supporters of John Edwards for President. I also met a number of Iowa State University undergraduate students and graduate students who are serving as precinct co-chairs in their student communities. There was great energy at this event and a number of the more senior voters I met at this event who were undecided before have now since committed to caucus for Edwards. Terry and Mark, like Mongo, are local pillars of the Ames LGBT community. On my way out of the event, Terry told me a story that nearly broke my heart. He told me that it had not always been easy to be openly gay business owners in Ames. But, one experience made them realize it had been worth it. They received a letter from a young man in Ames who told them that he had considered suicide a number of times after realizing that he was gay. But, after learning and reading about Terry and Mark and their success as a couple and as business owners, he told them that he knew he could survive and make it. It is individuals like Terry and Mark and Mongo who make our community so strong.

IOWA CITY (4:00 p.m.)
On to Iowa City—the home of the University of Iowa, the Hawkeyes for Edwards group, and one of America’s best kept secrets. (On our drive out to Iowa City, we kept hoping to run into John Edwards, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins on their statewide bus tour—no luck!!) My best friend in college is from Iowa City—so I know it and love it very much. What many people don’t know about Iowa City is that it has one of the highest per capita LGBT populations in the country and that it was the first city in Iowa to pass laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Community Meet & Greet at the House of Aromas (5:45 p.m.)
We were greeted at this funky coffee house by Iowa City field organizer Craig Leabhart, an openly gay student at the University of Iowa who has taken time off from school to work for John Edwards. I had a spirited conversation with 15 of Iowa City’s community leaders, including Paul Osterholt—the Chair of the GLBT Caucus for the Iowa Democratic Party. (Paul and his partner James were scheduled to be my host family in 2004 in Iowa City before I got re-assigned to be the Regional Field Director for Kerry-Edwards in Davenport, Iowa). Demonstrating how small the world really is, I also met another local elected official who happened to have grown up in my hometown of Wadsworth, Ohio (his sister was my editor on the high school newspaper). I met yet another inspirational community figure in an allied school board member who had for years—despite being threatened--been working to incorporate into the curriculum books and lessons designed to build awareness and tolerance of LGBT Americans.

I was excited to be able to provide to participants at the meeting with the “breaking news” that Edwards had just received the endorsement of the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition and its Executive Director—State Legislator Mo Baxley. Before we knew it, we all had to break up our great discussion to head to a holiday party at the University of Iowa GLBT Center. However, because we have Craig on staff as our field organizer, I am confident that he will continue doing great outreach to all aspects of Iowa City’s LGBT community.

University of Iowa GLBT Allied Union Holiday Party (7:00 p.m.)
The U of I GLBT Allied Union is the oldest GLBT student group in the country and is celebrating in 2008 its 37th anniversary! They also, just last year, were given a cozy and beautiful home as the campus’ GLBT center. I had the opportunity to talk with about two dozen active, engaged GLBT students. They asked intelligent questions about climate change, health care, restoring our reputation abroad and the federal deficit. We left them with policy books, handouts on the work we have done as an LGBT Steering Committee and a message encouraging them to caucus on January 3. They left us with inspiration as we thought about what the world will be like when they are leading it.

Thursday, December 13, 2007
Headed Back Home (8:00 a.m.)

What a fantastic trip! I came away with the sense that those voters who are committed to caucus for us will turn out and have the passion, enthusiasm and experience to convince many of their neighbors to support John Edwards. Iowa is lucky to have so many terrific LGBT community leaders and our campaign is so proud to have their support.

Organizing for LGBT Seniors: SAGE Hires Director of Advocacy & Training

2007-12-19T17:18:53Z

Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders (SAGE) has announced that Karen Taylor has been hired as the organization's new Director of Advocacy & Training. Creation of this new senior position was funded by a major grant from the Arcus Foundation, as SAGE, in partnership with the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, launches a national advocacy initiative on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) aging issues.

"We are thrilled to have Karen join our staff," said Michael Adams, Executive Director of SAGE. "Her expertise and ability to get things done will make it possible for SAGE to provide a strong national voice for LGBT seniors, as well as more training and resources to benefit our growing senior population," concluded Adams.

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Taylor is currently the Director of SAGE/Queens, a project of Queens Community House. "That was a big decision for me," said Taylor. "My time at Queens Community House has been very rewarding. However, my new position at SAGE will allow me to help empower LGBT Elders on a national level."

"I am especially grateful to the participants at the Queens chapter of SAGE, and for the many generations of LGBT people who came before me," continued Taylor. "It is their vision and commitment that ensured that LGBT people now have stable, effective organizations like SAGE bringing national visibility to our issues. I look forward to creating greater visibility, resources and opportunities for LGBT seniors in my new position," Taylor concluded.

Taylor has conducted trainings on LGBT aging issues throughout New York State and across the country. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the New York State LGBT Health & Human Services Network, and is the co-chair of the Network's Senior Issues Committee. Last June, Taylor received the United Neighborhood Houses' Emily Menlo Marks Leadership Award for her demonstrated leadership abilities and commitment to social justice. Karen has been married for 10 years to writer Laura Antoniou.

SAGE is the world's oldest and largest non-profit agency dedicated to serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender seniors. Since its inception, SAGE has pioneered programs and services for seniors in the
LGBT community, provided technical assistance and training to expand opportunities for LGBT older people across the country, and provided a national voice on LGBT aging issues. In 2005 SAGE became the first official LGBT delegate at a White House Conference on Aging, and will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in 2008. For more information, visit http://www.sageusa.org/.

Will Huckabee Honor His Word?

2007-12-19T05:43:08Z

Advocacy Groups, Jeanne White-Ginder Still Waiting to Meet with Gov. Huckabee, but after two letters by the Human Rights Campaign and The AIDS Institute, the Huckabee campaign has not responded

WASHINGTON – One week after requesting to meet with Republican presidential candidate Governor Mike Huckabee, Jeanne White-Ginder, the mother of Ryan White, the Human Rights Campaign or The AIDS Institute, still have not heard from Gov. Huckabee or his campaign. The meeting was called in response to Gov. Huckabee’s 1992 remarks, that he refused to repudiate, when he said people living with HIV and AIDS should have been “isolated” even after it was determined the virus was not spread through casual contact. The morning after HRC and The AIDS Institute sent a letter to the Huckabee campaign requesting a meeting, the Governor said, “I would be very willing to meet with them.”

]]> On Saturday, a field representative working for the Human Rights Campaign approached Huckabee during a campaign stop at the Berlin New Hampshire Technical College, located in Berlin, NH. The staffer asked, “I know that you said you are willing to meet with Ryan White's mother, when will you be meeting with her?” Huckabee answered, “Well I don't know how to get in touch with her.” The staffer offered to provide contact information and Huckabee called over Christopher Herr, the campaign’s New Hampshire field manager. She provided the information to Mr. Herr while Huckabee moved on.

“Seven days after we asked Governor Huckabee to meet with Jeanne White-Ginder, she is still waiting to hear from him or anyone on his campaign,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “As we’ve said, this is not an issue of ‘political correctness.’ Rather, this is an issue of valuing science-based evidence over unfounded fear or prejudice. If Gov. Huckabee is a man of his word, then he’ll stop stalling and stand by his pledge and immediately reach out to Jeanne.”

“We are very disappointed that Governor Huckabee has not taken steps to meet with Jeanne White-Ginder after indicating he was willing to do so,” said Gene Copello, Executive Director of The AIDS Institute. “HRC and The AIDS Institute sent two letters to Governor Huckabee with the necessary information about how we could facilitate a meeting with Ms. White-Ginder, who is a board member of The AIDS Institute. It is important to Ms. White-Ginder, whose young son, Ryan White, suffered undue discrimination because of prejudice and fear, for this meeting to occur. Since the 1980s we have had good scientific evidence about how AIDS is transmitted and how it is not. Even in the face of such evidence, discrimination against women, men, and children living with HIV/AIDS continues today. Calls for isolation and quarantine not only fly in the face of scientific evidence, they also reinforce prejudice and fear. This is our third request to meet with Governor Huckabee and we will continue to advocate strongly for this meeting until it happens.”

“Over 1.2 million people in our country are living with HIV/AIDS. It’s hard to imagine that a serious Presidential candidate would stand by a statement to ‘isolate’ our fellow Americans, and then ignore offers from Ryan White’s mother, Jeanne White-Ginder, to meet so she can educate Governor Huckabee about the devastating impact of this disease,” said Rebecca Haag, Executive Director of AIDS Action in Washington, D.C. “This nation needs a results-oriented national strategy to end this tragedy. Blaming the victim is not constructive; strong political leadership is needed. The Governor does not appear to be up to the task.”

As a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in 1992, Huckabee answered 229 questions submitted to him by The Associated Press. The Senate candidate wrote: “It is difficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents.”

“When Huckabee wrote his answers in 1992, it was common knowledge that AIDS could not be spread by casual contact,” the Associated Press reported, December 8, 2007. In a FOX News interview on Sunday, December 9, Huckabee stood by his remarks. Watch the interview: http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2007/12/hrc-and-the-aid.html .

The first letter to Gov. Huckabee:

December 10th, 2007

Dear Governor Huckabee:

In 1984, a young boy living in Indiana was diagnosed with AIDS. At the time, that boy, thirteen-year-old Ryan White, had no idea that his life would become a testament of courage and bravery responsible for opening the hearts and minds of millions of people throughout our country and around the world. Six years later, in 1990, Ryan’s life ended -- a dear, precious life cut short.

But Ryan’s death wasn’t the only tragedy in this well-known story in our country’s history. Ryan and his family’s battle with HIV/AIDS was also a stark reminder of what happens in our country when fear and ignorance go unchecked. Governor Huckabee, the Ryan White family was ridiculed, shunned and ostracized by people who thought the answer was to “isolate” them far away from the rest of society. In 1984, this belief was purely based on ignorance. But these same beliefs, which you espoused in 1992 and have refused to recant today, as a candidate for President of the United States, are completely beyond comprehension.

When you answered the Associated Press questionnaire in 1992, we, in fact, knew a great deal about how HIV was transmitted. Four years earlier, in 1988, the Reagan Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services issued a brochure assuring the American public that “you won’t get the AIDS virus through every day contact with the people around you in school, in the workplace, at parties, child care centers, or stores.” To call for such an oppressive and severe policy like “isolation,” when the scientific community and federal government were certain about how HIV is transmitted was then, and remains today, irresponsible. Such statements should be completely repudiated, not simply dismissed as needing to be slightly reworded.

This was not and is not an issue of “political correctness,” as you state. Rather, this is an issue of valuing science-based evidence over unfounded fear or prejudice.

Have we not learned the difficult lesson of how devastating these statements based in ignorance and fear can be to American families? Has it been so long ago that we have forgotten how our neighbors had the backs of entire communities turned on them? Governor Huckabee, those dark moments in American history are the direct result of ignorant views that stifle discussion, hinder resources and delay action. We have a moral obligation as a nation to never allow ourselves to repeat the shameful mistakes of the past. And we cannot sit idly by when a candidate for President of the United States tries to lead us back down that path of ignorance and fear.

Governor Huckabee, if you need a reminder of how calls for “isolation” can shatter a Mother’s heart, you only need to turn to Jeanne White-Ginder. Today, we respectfully ask you to sit down with her and allow her to share with you Ryan’s story. Ms. White-Ginder continues to be active in AIDS advocacy as a member of the board of The AIDS Institute. We hope that, even in 2007, Ryan’s story can continue to open hearts and minds.

We would be happy to facilitate a meeting between Ms. White-Ginder and yourself, or a member of your staff. Please feel free to contact Brad Luna, Communications Director for the Human Rights Campaign, at (202) 216-1514 at your convenience.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese
President
Human Rights Campaign

A. Gene Copello
Executive Director
The AIDS Institute

The second letter to Gov. Huckabee:

December 12th, 2007

Dear Governor Huckabee:
We wanted to follow-up from our initial letter sent to you Monday evening addressing your comments made in 1992 on the isolation of AIDS patients from the general public – comments that you have refused to recant.

According to media reports published Tuesday, you said: “I would be very willing to meet with them. … I would tell them we've come a long way in research, in treatment.”

We are writing to open a dialogue with your campaign to facilitate a meeting between yourself, Jeanne White-Ginder, the mother of Ryan White; Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign; and A. Gene Copello, Executive Director of The AIDS Institute.

As explained in our first letter, Ms. White-Ginder continues to be active in AIDS advocacy as a member of the board of The AIDS Institute. Her son, Ryan, was diagnosed with AIDS on December 17, 1984 at the age of 13, and captivated the attention of millions as he fought to attend school after being expelled due to ignorance of how HIV is transmitted. As you may know, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, was named is his honor. The act is the United States' largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS. Congress voted to reauthorize the Act in 1996, 2000 and again in 2006. We hope that, even in 2007, Ryan’s story can continue to open hearts and minds.
We look forward to discussing our experiences and personal insight with you and your campaign. This was not and is not an issue of “political correctness,” as you have stated previously. Rather, this is an issue of valuing science-based evidence over unfounded fear or prejudice.

To facilitate the logistics of a meeting between Ms. White-Ginder, Mr. Solmonese and Mr. Copello, please contact Brad Luna, Communications Director for the Human Rights Campaign, at (202) 216-1514.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese
President
Human Rights Campaign

A. Gene Copello
Executive Director
The AIDS Institute

Kirk Read Meets the Radical Faeries

2007-12-18T07:10:51Z

I was not a subtle child. When I was eight, I dropped a huge queer clue on my parents and their closest friends during one of their cocktail parties. I swept into the living room, plopped a tape recorder on the coffee table, and cleared everyone from the Oriental rug. I needed an audience, I told them, while I rehearsed the choreography of the second grade's may day dance.

The music was Abba’s “Super Trouper.” My father gulped a martini as I raced through box steps and ball-heel changes for his high-ranking military buddies. In that moment, my father realized that the Read family’s long history at Virginia Military Institute had died with a thud. His son was a fairy.

]]> This May day, I danced again. On a whim, I drove to Liberty, Tennessee for a gathering of the Radical Faeries. I’d heard tiny whispers about the Faeries, but had no idea what to expect. The movement grew out of hippie culture in the early 70s. Dissatisfied with a gay culture that was predominantly urban, white, and moneyed, men began setting up communes all over the country. In 1974, the *Radical Faerie Digest (RFD)*, a “country journal for gay men everywhere” was first published in Iowa. Today, Faerie gatherings are the closest men come to women’s music festivals, except the food is better.

A well-meaning but extremely stoned Faerie had given me directions to Short Mountain Sanctuary over the phone. After 12 hours of driving, I was not in the mood to be lost. The sun abandoned me and the paved roads became dirt. I considered asking for directions at one of the houses on the roadside. But every house had a monster truck parked outside with a gun rack, and I could just hear the banjo strains of *Deliverance*. “You got a pretty mouth there, boy.” I think not. I held my breath and prayed to the Faeries.

Just then (I *swear*) I saw a pink triangle painted on a small bridge. I followed a series of Faerie symbols to a parking lot, filled with over 100 vehicles. My clutch was burning, I was grumpy, and I had no idea where to go next. A fuzzy little man waved at me from across the lot. I followed him to a trail which he claimed was a shortcut to the farm. A twenty minute shortcut, I might add, through mud and poison ivy. “Don’t they have a shuttle bus or something?” I asked my guide.

He smiled and rubbed my head. “Welcome home,” he said.

Short Mountain Sanctuary is a 200 acre farm about an hour Southeast of Nashville. 18 people live there year-round in houses they build themselves. The residents tend gardens, use solar power, and raise dairy goats and chickens. Twice a year, there are week-long gatherings that draw hundreds of people from as far away as Australia.

When I arrived, the scene was like the parking lot of a Grateful Dead concert. There were people singing around a campfire, playing drums and flutes, dancing and passing pipes.

It was Beltane, the pagan May day celebration. I’d missed the major festivities, which came as something of a relief. This world, filled with such lovely freaks, was a bathtub I’d need to ease into gradually.

"I wanted to clap my hands to prove that I believed in fairies."

Two guys led me to a spot where I could pitch my tent, which I’d proudly purchased the night before at Super K-Mart. I hadn’t put up a tent since Boy Scouts. In the ten years between now and my last campout, my idea of roughing it has been Holiday Inn. As I wrestled with the bendy-sticks that give the tent dome its shape, a small crowd gathered.

“How cute,” I heard someone say. “A city girl.”

City Girl was my nickname for the rest of the evening. That is, until the next morning, when I became Cinderella.

Saturday morning, I wandered into the main house for breakfast and can safely say that I will never look at scrambled eggs the same way again. There at the oven was a 6’4”, ocean-eyed mountain of a man in nothing but a gold lame skirt. In one arm he held a three year-old girl; with the other he waved a spatula at me.

“How do you want your eggs, pup?” he asked.

I glazed over. “Can I just stand here a minute?” I whispered. All my life I’d waited for this man to make me breakfast. I wanted to clap my hands to prove that I believed in fairies.

After I finished breakfast, a man from Atlanta painted my fingernails with hematite polish and took me by the hand to the “Goat Boutique,” a room in the barn with racks upon racks of funky thrift shop clothing.

“Pick out a dress,” he said. I never played dress-up as a child. I was so busy being a bloodthirsty fullback on my soccer team that I’d completely missed out on Mom’s closet and makeup table. I picked out a peach satin gown and wore it with my muddy hiking boots. All day, I felt like I was on my way to the podium to gather my first Oscar. The spaghetti straps left little white marks on my sunburned shoulders.

My second dress was a simple cotton floral print, like what Meryl Streep wore in The Bridges of Madison County. As I walked into lunch, a 60-ish queen stopped and glanced at me. “What a charming house dress,” he said. I blushed, falling a little too easily into the role of the farmer’s wife.

The weekend was filled with magic; anyone with the courage to grow will discover startling new parts of their identity. Who knew I’d look so fierce in a Stevie Nicks muu-muu?

11 Holiday Gifts that Build a Better World

2007-12-17T05:39:34Z

If you haven't finished your holiday shopping yet, you're running out of time. If you're looking for some last-minute gift ideas, here are 11 great presents. Of course, the best part of these gifts is that the proceeds benefit worthy causes and organizations. We spend so much money during the holidays, why shouldn't some of it go to help others? Here are my favorites:

	Rosie's Peace Tee Benefits Children's Charities Rosie has made a high-quality shirt in sizes that fit real people. The 'Peace' tee has a wonderful, simple message and proceeds from Rosie's store go towards children's charities. Of course, the 'Love' tee shirts are just as nice. get it now
	Lance Armstrong Live Strong Skull Cap Benefits Lance Armstrong Foundation for Fighting Cancer However noble the cause, those bright yellow livestrong bracelets just aren't cool anymore. Fortunately Lance has some cool stocking stuffers. At just $14, this skull cap makes a perfect gift for a friend. get it now

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2007 Ford Warriors in Pink Silk Scarf (by Lilly Pulitzer)
Benefits Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
This may be your last chance to buy the limited edition 2007 Ford Warriors in Pink Silk Scarf. At $35, it's an affordable gift for friends, and a great way to raise awareness of breast cancer.
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Barclay Butera "Angels in L.A." Pillow
Benefits AIDS Project Los Angeles
This lavish, white-on-white pillow made from heavyweight, high quality linen contains 4,000 stitches that form the AIDS ribbon and the words “Angels in L.A.”. At $295, it's an expensive present, but a great reminder of how you honored your friend or family member by supporting AIDS Project Los Angeles
get it now

Hand Made Lidded Basket
Benefits the Women of Uganda
The horriffic genocide that occured in Rwanda in 1994 took the lives of nearly a million people, or 10 percent of the population of Rwanda. The women of Rwanda, many of whom are now widows, are leading the way in rebuilding their economy and their country one basket at a time. Buy one of these beautiful handmade baskets and be a part of their heroic efforts.
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Love and Pride 1138 Products
Benefits Lambda Legal
The 1138 Collection is designed to get people talking. Bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry feature innovative designs around the number 1138. 10% of the purchase is donated to Lambda Legal to work toward a day when all loving couples have equal access to marriage and equal access to all 1138 rights.
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Kiva Gift Certificates
Loans that change lives.
Kiva let's you lend money to an individual entrepeneur in the developing world, empowering themselves to lift themselves out of poverty. I love Kiva, and was a member long before Oprah gave Kiva her seal of approval. This is the perfect last minute gift because you can print out gift certificates straight from the website.
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Clinton Presidential Center Cookbook
Benefits The William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation
Over 250 supporters from Clinton friends including Madeleine Albright & James Carville. The Clinton Foundation has done amazing work on HIV/AIDS around the world. Here's a chance to show your support.
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Housing Works Online Auctions
Benefits Housing Works
You don't have to go to their thrift store in New York City to purchase an item from Housing Works. Some of their best stuff is available online. Housing Works auctions have raised over $2 million for people living with HIV/AIDS. Check it out. You're sure to find something special here
housing works online auction

Same Love, Same Rights Pin
Benefits Various Marriage Equality Efforts
Get this beautiful 'commitment' lapel pin for a friend who is participating in the fight for Marriage Equality.
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Amnesty International 2007 Calendar
Benefits Amnesty International
Amnesty's 2007 calendar includes stunning portraits from the world-renowned photo-journalism agency Contact Press Images.
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Monday OUT Profile: Billy Bean

2007-12-17T04:15:33Z

Billy Bean played major league baseball from 1987 through 1995. He broke into the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers, and tied a major league record with 4 hits in his first major league game. He went on to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Diego Padres. Born in Santa Ana, California in 1964. He was a multi-sport star at Santa Ana High School, where he was chosen "athlete of the year" as a senior. He was selected Valedictorian of his graduating class, and went on to become an "All-America" outfielder twice before graduating from Loyola Marymount University in 1986 with a degree in Business Administration.

]]> After years of living secretly, Billy came out publicly in 1999. His story was front- page news in the New York Times, and subsequently on a nationally televised story with Diane Sawyer as well. He is the only living former major league baseball player to acknowledge his homosexuality. He has been working actively to try and dispel the myth and stereotypes that follow people of diversity. He was a featured spokesman on behalf of the Democratic National Committee during campaign 2000, and travels around the country, as a national spokesman, on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign, reaching out to many young adults who are desperately in need of a role model. In the prime of his career, Billy walked away from Major League Baseball in 1996, in part, because of a year long struggle dealing with the sudden death of his former partner, and the frustration of holding onto that secret all alone. His desire not to let that happen to anyone else pushes him to share his story:

"I believe that all people, regardless of their personal belief, or religious denomination, would agree that being honest with yourself, your family, and those around you, is a great foundation for living your life. It has been a long, hard journey for me, and I want people to learn from my mistakes, not share them."

Billy lives in Miami Beach with his partner of 9 years, Efraín Veiga. He is the author of, " Going the Other Way: Lessons from a Life In and Out of Major League Baseball" Billy, still devoted to competitive sports, travels around the country playing tennis and basketball in organized tournaments in hopes of raising the visibility of athletes of diversity.