November 2003 Archives

This year's Thanksgiving was nice. It was very quiet for us. We didn't cook for anyone. We went to a quiet restaurant and had a "traditional turkey dinner".

Maybe next year we will fly to Alaska to the Nunivak Island village of Mekoryuk. I'll get to see Alaska for the first time, and try some things that I've never had before. You have to keep an open mind now, or you miss out on so much in life (that's my motto). Seeing what different cultures do is extremely fascinating to me. (story)

At noon, people had their first feast: reindeer, dried fish and that old favorite, Eskimo ice cream, known locally as akutaq.

It's just the opposite in Allakaket, up the Koyukuk River. The turkey dinner was Thursday, but on Friday, the community gathers for moosehead soup, beaver tail and bear. And of course, akutaq.

In Barrow, Eugene Brower and his family had some of each, the traditional western Thanksgiving and the Inupiaq food he grew up with.

"Turkey, ham, muktuk, fish, potatoes, yams, you name it, a smorgasbord," he said. "The best of both worlds."

You have to admit, it's different. Then, of course, there's "moose food", which they describe as "bits of root gathered by mice and collected out of the rodents' nests after freezeup in the fall. The roots are sweet, and make a tasty addition to akutaq - the rural Alaska treat made from whipped Crisco, sugar and berries." Keep an open mind now. It may be better than you think.

A few other delicacies: seal meat and dried salmon strips; dried herring and smelt or salmon dipped in seal oil; dried fish eggs crushed in seal oil and "whipped like crazy," then mixed with cooked cranberries; and fish pie.

Everyone who has an email account knows about something called "spam". You know, all that unwanted email you get advertising one thing or another. Many of us have said in the past, "Why doesn't someone do something about it?". Well, now your dreams are coming true! Our government is helping us out.

The House of Representatives and Senate have batted the Can Spam Act back and forth in recent months. On Nov. 25, the Senate made a minor revision to the House's Nov. 22 version. Sources say the House is expected to approve the bill within a week, propelling it to President George W. Bush's office before the end of the year.

Under the bill, mass e-mailers are held liable for civic fines of up to $250 per e-mail if they hide their identities. It also allows the Federal Trade Commission to create a "do not e-mail" registry, similar to the popular list intended to block unwanted telemarketing calls.

Well, we all know how well the "do not call" list is working. I'm still getting calls I don't want, and you don't even want to know how many emails I get telling me that they can grow my penis longer. I'm beginning to think they are trying to tell me something.

The law is unenforceable. Now only that, and I'm not being cute here, but one person's spam is another person's valuable email, so who's to say that it's really spam? What if someone actually does want to grow his penis larger? That email could be very valuable to him. I don't have the answers, and this is making my head hurt....

This is an excerpt from the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This wording would not only prevent gay and lesbian couples from getting married, but it would also invalidate "civil unions" that have occurred in Vermont.

The wording is by Chuck Colson, the former Nixon White House staffer who now heads Prison Fellowship Ministries, key members of the Arlington Group and several evangelical Christian leaders.

That wording, according to Colson, would bar the creation of any form of "substitute marriage" specifically for gays. He said state legislatures still could establish civil unions, but only if they conferred the same benefits on "any two people who live together," such as "an unmarried heterosexual couple or two old spinsters." Vermont’s law would not meet that test.

"Neither the federal government nor any state shall predicate benefits, privileges, rights or immunities on the existence, recognition or presumption of non-marital sexual relationships."

And these people call themselves "Christians". Here's an interesting article on it if you would like more information.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

Government should relax regulation of Big Business and Big Money but crack down on individuals who use marijuana to relieve the pain of illness.

"Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins unless you someday run for governor of California as a Republican.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

HMOs and insurance companies have the interest of the public at heart.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have a right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

I picked up a couple of letters to the editor from the Salt Lake Tribune. I think it's interesting to see what others are saying about marriage.

God is not stupid

Here we go again. The Massachusetts Supreme Court finally made same-sex marriages legal. It's about time! No doubt The Tribune will be getting the same influx of self-righteous letters from people who find that somebody who is a little different from themselves is wrong.

So whose business is it anyway? Certainly not mine, and why should a gay couple not be allowed to get legally married anyway? No doubt some Bible-pusher will quote some obscure scripture validating his or her own inability to cope with anything outside their own little bigoted world.

Obviously gay people are born the way they are, so if it is a sin to be gay then God must be stupid. Judging from the way most Christians interpret Christianity, somebody is stupid and I don't think it's God. If people have trouble with the concept of love for your fellow human beings, try reading Christ's sermon on the mount. I think somewhere in the Bible it says that judgment should be left up to God. Of course, if you think that God is stupid, then maybe that explains your actions.

Paul Hunter
Salt Lake City

What is a 'real' family?

J. David Gowdy (Forum, Nov. 24) asserts that the real danger of gay marriage is one of identity crisis for children. Apparently, Mr. Gowdy feels that in order for a child to grow up healthy and well-adjusted, he or she must grow up in a household with male and female authority figures who are archetypes of preconceived and rigid gender roles. He also asserts that these "inherent and immutable duties, emotions and responsibilities, cannot be consigned."

Perhaps Mr. Gowdy would then assert that my wife and I should also not be allowed to be a family and raise children. My wife makes more money than I, pays the bills every month, manages our finances and carries the checkbook. I do the laundry, a majority of the cooking, and have also been known to scrub toilets, mop floors and grocery shop. For the record, we split yard work evenly. So are we simply "a cheap facsimile of that which is real," and do we represent a threat to society's "standard of virtue for children?"

Matt Palmer
Bountiful

It always has amazed me that people who have suffered discrimination seem to think that they are more discriminated against than anyone else. It's almost like they feel they have a corner on discrimination.

I read this article about some black leaders who are quite upset because of the comparisons being made between the discrimination black people face versus that of gay people. Of course, the current topic being used is gay marriage.

The first fallacy that is made in this argument is that being black is not a choice. In other words, you are born black. I doubt that anyone with a brain would argue that point. It goes on to argue that being homosexual is not the same thing, since gay people "choose" go be gay. In other words, it's our choice to be the way we are.

As someone who tried my best during my adolescent years to be straight, I can tell you right now, it is just as easy for a gay person to be straight as it is a black person to be white. It is not a choice, and yes, I was freakin born "this way". So, get over it already! You would think they would just believe me, but now wait, I'm a "radical homosexual" who will say anything to get "special rights". Is anyone else sick of hearing that argument?

I tried my damnedest to be straight when I was a teenager. To be gay was to invite terrible things upon yourself; hateful comments, beatings, humiliation, and death. When I was a senior, I trusted someone I shouldn't have and people found out that I was gay. I suffered the rest of my senior year with all of the above, except death. Now, why the hell would anyone in their right mind choose to go through that?

The Rev. Talbert Swan II (search) said the two struggles are not similar because blacks were lynched, denied property rights and declared inhuman.

"Homosexuality is a chosen lifestyle," he said. "I could not choose the color of my skin. ... For me to ride down the street and get profiled just because of my skin color is something a homosexual will never go through."

You are right Rev. Swan. Gay people were not lynched. Instead, we have been beaten in the streets while the police did nothing, subjected to police raids in the places that we congregated, humiliated by being outed in the press after such police raids, disowned by our families and friends, and let's not forget, being beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die. But you are right.... we are not lynched. Not yet, anyway.

Alvin Williams, president and CEO of the conservative, Washington D.C.-based Black America's Political Action Committee (search), said the gay marriage issue looks like an equal rights issue at first, but becomes a "special rights" issue after closer examination because it's about behavior, not ethnicity.

That's very convenient, but it doesn't make logical sense. If you are going to reduce marriage rights to "special rights" only when it applies to gay couples, then we should get rid of marriage rights for everyone and level the playing field. It would be interesting to see how many married people would be willing to give up the benefits of marriage just for the sake of being married.

I'm not saying that marriage is all about rights and privileges. I'm saying that the government has become so much a part of what marriage is that most people would not be willing to do without it's endorsement. Has marriage become an "entitlement"? If so, is it an entitlement that only privileged classes will have access to?

Of course, the Constitution of the United States will have a BIG problem with that.... until an amendment is added specifically to exclude gay people from marriage.

Our thanksgiving was nice. It was very quiet. We started our day with a big breakfast early in the morning. For some reason, I woke up super early. We got caught up on email and decided to take a small walk at one of our favorite places, Mashapaug Pond.

We came across only one person who was walking his dog. Other than that, it was just us at the pond. Here are a few photos I took.

After our walk, we came home and spent the most of the day getting our Christmas decorations up. It seems to be a custom in our area to start the Christmas decorations the night of Thanksgiving. So, we put up our lights outside and got the candles into the windows. I wrapped presents for friends and relatives.

At 3:30, we got ready to go to the Hideaway Roadhouse for Thanksgiving Dinner. We usually cook for Thanksgiving, but this year it was just the two of us so we decided to have a quiet Thanksgiving and go out for dinner. The food was great. They were offering four different specials for Thanksgiving. They all sounded good, but we ended up getting the traditional turkey dinner.

I picked the Hideaway Roadhouse because it is gay-owned and operated. When you walk it, it like stepping back in time two hundred years. Everything is an antique right down to the wood stove that was warming the place. I understand that every Wednesday night there is a gathering of people in the bar downstairs. I peaked into the bar area and I must say, it's really a nice cozy place. I'm thinking next week I may go investigate it. It could be a good way to meet others in my area.

After dinner we came home, watched TV for a bit and went to bed early around 9:00. I know, really early for bed. It was a perfect day.

I just couldn't resist this picture of Harvey Firestein as Mrs. Claus. I have to admit, if I were to imagine a Mrs. Claus, this is how she would look. (story)

This year's Thanksgiving Day parade delivered a little more New York sass.

The annual balloon-filled romp through Manhattan stepped off Thursday morning with an enormous turkey, a frog, a big bird and a fat, lazy cat. The mix also included a Mrs. Santa portrayed by a man.

Actor Harvey Fierstein Broadway's most famous cross-dresser appeared as his "Hairspray" character, Edna Turnblad, but an Edna dressed for the day as Mrs. Claus. He was on a float with Percy and the P-Birds, a group of penguin puppets. The regular Mrs. Claus rode with Santa on his sleigh in the parade's grand finale.

Fierstein said he had grown up watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade and was "so thrilled" to be invited to participate. The openly gay actor, a three-time Tony winner, had written a New York Times piece this week on same-sex marriage that mentioned his appearance as Mrs. Claus, and Macy's then put out a statement saying the parade "will never be a platform for political and social issues."

Today is Thanksgiving Day.

Many of us wonder what we have to be thankful for. We are at war, despite what our President says. American lives are being lost everyday in Iraq. We are spending money and running up a deficit like there's no tomorrow without regard to how this will effect the next generation.

Instead of building bridges and coalitions to bring people together, our current government will take whatever side will win the most votes, no matter what the cost. We are an unpopular minority, and they are using that against us. But time is not on their side.

This has been an incredible year for gay, lesbian, and transgendered individuals. We have had more favorable media attention paid to our population than any other time in U.S. history. We have seen more gay programming being presented on pay cable channels for the first time. Last night, I noticed that channel 4 had Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on. This is a non-paid channel that anyone can get. There were no announcements of it and no fanfare. It was completely uncensored. Although I have my own feelings about the show, it is a statement of accomplishment that mainstream media is showing five openly gay people doing what they do. This is huge.

We have seen the appointment of the first openly gay Episcopal Bishop, who openly embraces the love he has for his partner. The church claims to be in a state of destruction. They too will go on and in time, will realize that so much more can be gained by embracing diversity rather than adversity.

With the rise of all of this attention, we have brought attention to ourselves. This is good and bad.

The good is that people will see that we are just like they are. We pay taxes, we have children, we fear the same things, we want to be safe in our neighborhoods, we want to have equality in our relationships, and we want the same legal protections that others enjoy. Eventually, this will happen.

The bad is being a target for those who would hurt us; politically, emotionally, and physically. We have seen violence against our community rise at an alarming rate. We have seen the escalation of violence against gay youth in our schools.

But we have also seen an increased effort to counter the hate and violence against our community with the arrests and prosecution of those who commit violence against us. More and more these crimes are being taken seriously by law enforcement and not being swept under the carpet. We are seeing more communities adopt hate crime legislation and using it whenever possible.

I am thankful for a lot of things. I am thankful that through everything that I've seen and experienced, I'm here, and I'm still alive to talk about life. Today marks the 25th anniversary of the assassination of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.

I remember crying when I heard the news. I remember marching with thousands of people from Castro Street in San Francisco to City Hall, in total silence. We were all holding candles. Dan White had been charged with the crime and had been arrested. Once we got to City Hall, there were speakers one after the other. I don't remember all that was said. I remember a lot of tears. It was surreal. I remember crying once again when I saw the San Francisco Chronicle the next day. In very large letters, were the words, "THE CITY WEEPS". Under it was a large picture of the march to City Hall. I'll never forget that. It's still etched in my mind.

I remember thinking, we've got to remember this and never forget it. It saddens me that so many young gay people don't even know who Harvey Milk was. They've probably heard of the Harvey Milk High School, through the media coverage, but they have no idea the part he played in the freedom they have today. So, I take this opportunity to remember Harvey Milk and George Moscone.

San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk

Mayor George Moscone (right) and Supervisor Harvey Milk (left) in the mayor's office during the signing of San Francisco's gay rights bill. Associated Press Photo, 1977

San Francisco remembers...
Gay community reflects on anniversary of official's murder

Argh!!!!!!! I'm out of ice cream when I need it most! Guess I'll have tea instead, but it's kind of like substituting pasta for sex... just not quite the same.

I read this absurd article from Nicholas Jenkins titled Gay Marriages Would Violate Equal Protection, where he equates gay marriage to ice cream choices. You are saying, "huh?!?". I know, it's better if you just read the article.

I was actually going to respond to it yesterday, but then decided that if he's that stupid, he's too easy a target for me. But then, to my dismay, morons.org made a post about it that is just fabulous - a must read!

I was reflecting this morning on the current state of affairs. I think it's important to reflect back once in awhile. It gives you perspective on how life has changed over time. It's easy to miss that.

Today, we are trying to gain equal marriage rights for our relationships. We are in the heat of the battle. Yet, just a mere thirty years ago, if you were a gay teacher, you wouldn't keep your job long.

It was still fashionable for the police to raid gay bars just for the hell of it, I suppose to keep us in our place. Our place, at that time, was to keep our heads low and out of site. It's hard for us to imagine that today, even though many of us lived through it.

Everything evolves. I mean, EVERYTHING. There was a time that if you mentioned "gay marriage rights" to the gay movement, they would have dismissed it because marriage was of the "straight establishment". It took us a long time to realize that just because two people are together and want to share their lives together isn't a "straight" thing any more than it is a "gay" thing. It is the nature of people, perhaps most living things, to desire companionship.

It is with a great deal of irony that we are met with such great resistance from the straight world on gay marriage. During the years of police raids and gay bashings, so many said that we were different because we had no desire (or, "ability", as they put it), to form lasting relationships. Now, that we are proving them wrong, they have no idea what to do with that. That is the struggle we see today.

I was thinking how much I've changed over the last twenty or so years. When Harvey Milk was on the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco, Kent and I lived just south of San Francisco, in the city of San Mateo. I was scared to death that people would find out that I was gay. I was sure that if people at work found out, I would be fired. I was sure that if my family found out, I would be disowned. I was sure that if society knew, I would be beaten up or killed.

Just across the street from us was a little market. In those days, there was a gay newspaper that gave monthly news of what was happening in the gay movement. Then, The Advocate was not the sleek glossy publication that is sent to you in the mail today. It was only available in news stands here and there. You had to know where to go to get it. As it turns out, the market across the street from where we lived had it.

The news stand was frequently the target of vandalism. I wanted to read what was going on in the gay movement, but was so scared to go over and publicly get a paper. I would actually wake up in the middle of the night, put my clothes on, and at 3:00 in the morning, would quickly go across the street, make sure no one was around, put my quarters into the news stand, grab an Advocate, and run back home, being ever watchful to make sure there were no bashers about. Once back inside my apartment, I would read the paper cover to cover.

This is the kind of fear that I lived with in 1978 - not so long ago. A lot has changed since then. You ask yourself, "how have I changed?". It's not something you think about consciously, but at times, things will happen in one's life to remind you that you have come a long way. One such thing happened to me a couple of years ago.

A former president of the company I now work for was known to be very bigoted against gay people. There were rumors of an employee who was thought to be gay. At the time I had just started working for the company. I was very insecure myself. Eventually, the president did more inquiry about the young man in question and found out that he "didn't like girls". He was fired a week later. At that time, there was no law in Connecticut making that illegal. The young man's parents found out and he relocated out of state.

Once the man was gone, it was open season on the "fag jokes" at the company. I was trying to do my job while all around me, people were making gay jokes. It hurt. It hurt a lot. These were people I would have lunch with and who I thought were friends. It made me feel more worthless. I remember Harvey Milk saying that "you have to give people HOPE because without hope, there's no reason to get out of bed in the morning". Shortly after that, Harvey was assassinated. When I heard the news, I remember thinking what Harvey had said: "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."

That was the beginning of my coming out. Eventually, I locked horns with the same person at work who fired the other gay man. Only, I was armed with words and knowledge, and... determination. If I was to be fired, I was not going to make it that easy for him. I came out in a very public way. We had a huge fight in front of many people, and a lot of things came out, exposing his bigotry. Of course, at the time, no one really cared if he was bigoted or not. But I got my say in. And, to my astonishment, I didn't get fired.

Years later, after he was relocated to another office, I had the opportunity of hiring this man's son as a summer intern. I didn't want to do it, mostly out of old anger. But then, I decided to let the anger go. What had his son ever done to me?

Within a day of his son working for me, his son waited until we are alone and said to me, "My Dad gave me the low down on you. I know everything about you." I said, "ok, I'll bite. What do you know about me?" He said, "Dude, YOUR GAY! My dad told me all about it." I said, "And your point is????"

The kid was shocked and at a total loss for words. I did not waiver one bit. I wasn't shocked. I wasn't scared. And I realized that that scared young man who scurried across the parking lot at 3:00 in the morning so long ago, was gone. I was different. And it was good!

I thought this might happen. Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to Harvard University, has decided not to wait the 180 days for the state to work out what it will do about gay marriage.

You have to admire their determination. My only concern is that the marriage licenses they hand out be legal. (story)

Cambridge, Mass. -- Less than a week after the highest court in Massachusetts ruled that gay marriages are permissible under the state constitution, this city is poised to become the first in the nation to recognize same-sex marriages.

Members of the city council say they will ignore a warning from Republican Gov. Mitt Romney to table the issue while the state Legislature crafts a response to the court's ruling. And those council members say they have the votes to approve a resolution tonight condoning the unions.

"When you protect a small group of people's rights, you protect all people's right," said Councilor Denise Simmons. "We're doing the right thing."

This is an unbelievable story about a young man who was charged with breaking a law that didn't exist.

Keith E. Phillips lost four months of his life in jail for breaking the law. The law he supposedly broke didn't even exist. But that didn't stop a judge from sending Phillips to prison for it in April of 2003.

The supposed law made it illegal to make sexual advances against another person if it made that person uncomfortable. That law only applied to parties of the same sex, and was thrown out by the Ohio Supreme Court in May of 2002.

This story was brought to light by Eric Resnick on Gay People's Chronicle.

Youngstown--A judge that sent a gay man to jail for violating a nonexistent “importuning” law has been made a defendant in the man’s federal lawsuit against the city of Warren and the lawyers that represented him.

Keith E. Phillips, 21, of Youngstown served four months in jail after he pleaded no contest to a second charge under the nonexistent law in April.

On November 21, 2003, Lyle Menendez, who was convicted with his brother for the shotgun slayings of their parents, was married Thursday in a California prison.

As Andrew Sullivan puts it, "No conjugal visits. Just a recognition that even parent-killers are human beings under the law. Menendez just got more rights in his relationship than all of the following..."

You gotta love the system!

I really thought that in this country, we were beyond thinking of HIV and AIDS as a "gay disease". With all the education and programs out there you would think that people would be bright enough to know the facts.

I suppose my biggest fear is the danger involved in thinking that AIDS is a "gay disease". If you are a parent, would that make you feel confident that your son or daughter could never possibly get this disease because they are straight?

That's a very dangerous assumption to make? Would you bet your life on it, or theirs? Some are, apparently. (story)

Rural residents often view HIV/AIDS as another problem afflicting city dwellers, but the disease affects dozens of people in the region’s small towns.

Most people living with the illness in rural areas keep it a secret, fearing they would be abandoned by their families, friends, and churches if their status leaked out, David’s House Compassion, Inc., case managers said.

"In these towns, everybody knows everybody. If one person figures it out, there goes your reputation," case manager Amy Graber said. "I know one man, a business owner, who feared he would lose his business if people found out he was HIV positive. I believe he was right." .....

"In many rural areas, there is still widespread fear of casual contact and people still think of HIV as a ‘gay disease,’" the study said. "People in rural areas are so closeted about their HIV status that complaints of discrimination are rare."

Another argument for marriage... (story)

When a binational couple is heterosexual, the foreigner can emigrate to America as a fiance or spouse. Not so with gay and lesbian couples: Under policies adopted with bipartisan support, they have no status in the eyes of U.S. immigration officials, even if they had legal same-sex marriages in the Netherlands or Canada.

"To make the argument that the only thing necessary for two people to be allowed to marry is intimacy and living together sets up either more discriminatory exclusion or morally abhorrent arrangements substituting as marriage. For instance, if all that is required is intimacy and living together to make a marriage - then bigamy, incest, bestiality, and pedophiles must also be allowed to claim marriage status as long as all of it is consensual."

Mr. McCullough,

Are you saying that heterosexuals who marry, who are intimate, who live together, but do not or cannot have children, are living in "morally abhorrent arrangements"? You make blanket statements that are absurd when the same argument is compared to heterosexuals in marriage.

I just love it when people go from comparing two committed people who want to get married (who just happen to be the same sex), to comparing that to incest, bestiality, and pedophiles.

Mr. McCullough, I am a gay man who has been in a committed relationship with the same man for 29 years now. I have no desire nor have I ever had to commit incest, bestiality, and I'm certainly no pedophile. When you make statements like that, you come off looking like a first class bigot, and I'm not sure that is what you are trying to convey.

I for one, certainly find your remarks comparing my relationship to incest and bestiality at best, offensive. You obvisouly have very little experience with gay couples who love and are committed to each other.

Sincerely,

Bill Cannon
Coventry, CT

Good news from two Massachusetts polls released today. (story)

BOSTON - Two new polls released Sunday show Massachusetts lawmakers could be bucking public opinion if they try to thwart the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling last week that found the state's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.

Fifty percent of Massachusetts residents surveyed for a Boston Globe/WBZ-TV poll said they agreed with the ruling, while 38 percent opposed it. A separate Boston Sunday Herald poll found 49 percent said they support legalizing gay marriage, while 38 percent oppose it.

Both polls, conducted after Tuesday's ruling, had margins of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

"If people want to be together, who cares? Let them," said Bill Luff, 32, a nightclub owner in Worcester.

I came accross this opinion column in the Collegiate Times.

Equality for all includes marriage

by Michael Sutphin

In response to yesterday’s column, “Time for marriage and government to divorce” (CT, Nov. 20), I would like to point out that although the author has a valid point about marriage, his approach and use of negative stereotypes trivializes the issue.

He says, “It’s time to end the debate about marriage once and for all. Then we can all breathe a sigh of relief, without worrying about running into stupid protests full of lisping voices or shouted hallelujahs.”

Sure, there should be a separation of church and state, and one way to address the issue of gay marriage is to rename the institution all together. Every couple, same- or opposite-sex, could enter a legal contract we could call, say, a civil union.

This way, religious types would not be offended by so-called militant homosexuals who want to impede on their sacred institution of marriage. And lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people would be appeased because they would have the same rights as heterosexuals.

Having grown up in a small town in Idaho, I can really appreciated this story. When I was a senior in high school, I was secretly dating another boy my age. We did everything together from studying, riding our bikes, hiking, and even having him over to my house for a "sleep-over". He did the same for me. At my home, I had a "full" bed that was big enough for two. My folks never questioned anything because they thought he was just my friend. At his house, he had a twin bed, but would always ask me to sleep with him. It was kind of sweet.

What sucked was that we loved each other, but couldn't show it to anyone. It would have been dangerous. In my senior year, somehow, word got out that I was gay and that someone else was gay that I was seeing. I think maybe his sister said something by mistake, I'm not sure. I went through bad times with teasing, being beaten up, shot (another story I told earlier on this blog), but... I never told anyone who he was, and I never would have.

We had the senior prom and I wanted so much to take him. But, we probably would have ended up dead somehow. He wouldn't have gone and because of the harassment that I was going through, he didn't want to be seen with me anymore. So, I didn't go to the prom. I missed so much in my senior year. It was more of a course in self preservation.

That's why this story of two girls wanting to go to the prom together struck home with me. Things have changed I suppose, even in Wyoming. Perhaps it's because that is the state that Matthew Shepard was killed. Perhaps awareness is a bit higher there than it was in Emmett, Idaho when I was a senior. At any rate, these girls have a lot of courage to stand up for their rights. I commend them. (story)

Student fights same-sex dance rule

Associated Press
BIG PINEY, Wyo. - A straight Big Piney High School student is challenging a school district policy barring lesbian and gay students from bringing same-sex dates to school dances.

At the request of school officials, sheriff's deputies met Amanda Blair at the school's homecoming dance in September to block her from attending the dance with her date, another young woman.

Blair, a senior, has enlisted help from the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project in seeking to overturn the policy in this remote town of about 400 people in western Wyoming.

"I couldn't believe that our school was so threatened by the idea of two girls going to homecoming together that they had police officers waiting for us," Blair said. "It's really sad that this is the kind of attitude that lesbian and gay students at my school will face when they want to bring a date to a school dance."

I read this awesome article by Richard Cohen that I wanted to share with you. You can click on the link at the end of this entry for the full article. Here are some highlights:

Now along come gay couples to rescue marriage from social and economic irrelevance, casting a queer eye on a straight institution. They seek it for pecuniary reasons - issues such as estate taxes, etc. - but also because they seem to be among the last romantics. No shotgun marriages here.

The odd thing about the opposition to gay marriage is that if the opponents were not so blinded by bigotry and fear, they would see that homosexuals provide the last best argument for marriage: love and commitment. .....

Gay marriage will not and cannot weaken the institution of marriage. A heterosexual is not somehow less married because a homosexual has tied the knot. On the contrary, the institution will be strengthened, bolstered by the very people who for conservatives represent everything loathsome about modernity. Gays are not attacking marriage. They want to practice it.

It's refreshing to see a heterosexual columnist who really gets the essence of that this issue is about. I only wish more of our senators and legislators could see outside of their little box of bigotry.

The full article is given below.

You ever watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy lately? Well, I quickly got bored with the old episodes. I watched them all and they were "ok". When the new episodes came out, I started watching again, but I have to admit, they now bore me - every one of them.

I think maybe the Queer Eye staff need a make over. Some of the things they do are good, but some of the tips they give their "victims" are a bit cheesy I think. In the end, they all come out with a new look, or as the show puts it, a new "fabulous you", but that new look doesn't always look like it fits the person wearing it.

The first episode I watched was about a stage designer in NYC. He was getting a make over for an art exhibit where he was going to be showing his art. I have to say, they were right on with him. His new look was stunning along with the clothes they bought him. He lived in a small apartment, and the Fab-5 did a FABulous job reworking his small apartment.

When I first saw the straight guy, I was like, "wow, they have their work set out for them". As they made the guy over, more and more of his personality came showing through and, as it turned out, the personality was able to support the radical changes they were making to his appearance.

In other cases, they try to make the guy into something that he clearly is not. Rule # 1 (and this rule can NEVER be broken), you can't make more of what is there. In other words, there are many things you can do to a person's appearance to enhance that appearance. You may want to bring out some trait or make some trait less obvious. But, if what you are going to do will not be part of that person's personality, it really doesn't matter how well you pull it off. The person won't look right and they certainly won't feel comfortable with it.

One thing that is liberating as a gay man is that I am free to try different things that most straight men would never consider. I am able to do this because with gay men, there really are no rules. We don't really have to put up that macho front if we don't want to. For example, if I want to lighten my hair or something to that effect, I'll simply do it. If I want to wax my eyebrows (haven't done that yet) or get a manicure (love manicures), I'll simply do it.

I'll be taking a vacation over Christmas break this year when Kent's parents are visiting. Who knows, while I'm away from work on vacation, I may bleach my hair and try something festive for Christmas, like have bright red hair with green streaks. Now that would be FAB-ulous.

"I'm not saying that this bill won't generate some energy. It will certainly fuel the coffers of big oil and gas corporations. It will propel the wealthy special interests. And it will boost the deficit into the stratosphere. Indeed, this legislation can be fairly called the Leave no Lobbyist Behind Act of 2003.

There are also four proposals known as 'green bonds' for construction of commercial buildings that will cost taxpayers $227 million to finance approximately $2 billion in private bonds.

One of my favorite green bond proposals is a $150 million riverfront area in Shreveport, Louisiana. This river walk has about 50 stores, a movie theater and a bowling alley. One of the new tenants in this Louisiana Riverwalk is a Hooters restaurant. Yes my friends. Here we have an energy bill subsidizing both hooters and polluters."

John M. Greaney, Justice of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

"The plaintiffs volunteer in our schools, worship beside us in our religious houses, and have children who play with our children, to mention just a few ordinary daily contacts. We share a common humanity and participate together in the social contract that is the foundation of our Commonwealth. Simple principles of decency dictate that we extend to the plaintiffs, and to their new status, full acceptance, tolerance and respect. We should do it because it is the right thing to do." - Justice John M. Greaney

I found this on boston.com. It was an excellent article by Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker that I would encourage you to read. Here's an excerpt (emphasis mine):

As I've maintained before, this to my mind is hardly the greatest challenge to the sanctity of marriage. No, that would be the succession of nutty television shows in which one humiliated contestant after another is discarded before one of them "wins" the path to the altar. What kinds of marriages will those be? If MFI (Massachusetts Family Institute) president Ron Crews is so concerned about the American family, why doesn't he take on "The Bachelor"?

Or as one liberal political consultant put it yesterday, "If marriage is so sacred, why don't they outlaw divorce?"

It's been a few days since the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court handed down a decision that said that gay and lesbian couples should have the same access to marriage as straight couples. And, I've calmed down a bit.

I think it is a process that all of us have to go through. And, if you are on the receiving end of discrimination, it's not a pleasant place to be. I just go through life the best I can. I worry what will happen should Kent or I die. What will happen to who is left? We aren't getting any younger. If one of us gets sick, will we have visitation rights? Married couples take everything for granted.

But, I guess there is not much I can do to affect that, other than try to have the necessary papers in place and just hope that they will be honored if contested. I get my hopes up because with marriage, there would be no issue. I would not have this on my mind. I have some predictions on the future.

I predict there will be a nasty backlash against gay couples in the political arena.

I predict that the next presidential election will largely center around "protecting the sanctity of marriage" from... us.

I predict that President Bush will eventually cave in to the radical right and openly endorse a constitutional amendment defining marriage as "one man, one woman".

I predict that while that constitutional amendment will be mauled around in the congress, as well as that news services, it will go nowhere. It will only serve to further alienate a segment of society and formally define them as second-class citizens.

I predict that all the Democratic candidates will shy away from endorsing gay marriage and will opt for "civil unions" instead. Nominee Dean has already proudly stated that he endorses such an idea, as though he came up with it in the first place.

I predict that Democrats and Republicans alike will view "civil unions" as being the perfect answer to this mess that the gays have put all of us in.

I predict that no one will address (or care) about the larger problem with "civil unions", that they will not be recognized from state to state. And, they will not be recognized by the Federal Government. With "civil unions", there will be states here and there (not many to be sure), who will give gay couples "most" of the rights of marriage. If you move to another state that does not honor "civil unions", you are out of luck.

I predict that the issue of being able to divorce if you are a gay couple will be a problem since a state that honors "civil unions" will probably not go to the trouble of passing legislation specifically to dissolve a "civil union". And, if you go to a state that does not honor "civil unions" and try to get it dissolved, there will be no legal means to do so.

Unless as a nation we go to extraordinary lengths to create a totally parallel set of laws that will cover all the states and the federal government to cover legal "civil unions" that are exactly the same as marriage, we will not have equality. And, if those opposed to gay marriage were totally honest about it, this is not about protecting marriage. This is all about preventing public recognition for what we have.

Finally, I predict that gay marriage will happen. This is inevitable. But, before it happens, much of what I outlined above may happen. A US Constitutional Amendment could possibly pass. If that should happen, it will eventually be taken out of the Constitution, but only years later. I think that somewhere in the next generation of gay people, we may actually achieve full marriage for our relationships.

I'm posting the full court's opinion below, if anyone would like to review it.

Gov. Mitt Romney (Massachusetts) said Wednesday that he believes civil union legislation would meet the demands of the Supreme Judicial Court's gay marriage decision.

His suggestion came one day after the state's high court said it was unconstitutional to ban gay couples from marrying, but delayed implementation for 180 days.

Romney said he believes the delay provides leeway for the Legislature to adopt a civil union bill that would give same-sex couples most of the rights and benefits of marriage without conferring the title upon them. (story)

Now I ask you, are you going to be happy having "most of the rights and benefits of marriage"?

He just as well as said that it's a second-class standard of marriage. Not to mention the fact that it will have absolutely no portability outside of Massachusetts, because it's not really a marriage to begin with.

Before the good governor spouts off his opinion on something he thinks would be appropriate for our relationships, perhaps he and his wife would like to live under a "civil union" with most of the rights and benefits of marriage.

What do you think governor? Would you be willing to do that? Or do you think your relationship with your wife is worth more than that?

Well, not really. Sorry folks, but we really don't have anything yet, other than Vermont. And, let's face it, Vermont is a pitiful excuse for marriage. Once you leave the state, it's null and void. It's not recognized at all by the federal government. It is simply an attempt to give us lip service to shut us up.

If you read the news articles or look on the internet, they make it sound as if Massachusetts is the first state in the nation to grant gay and lesbian citizens the right to marry. That is not true.

The high court said that it was "unconstitutional" to deny gays the right to marry, based on the Constitution of the State of Massachusetts. Then, instead of allowing the marriage licenses to be handed out, they turned the case back to the legislature to deal with. They gave the legislature 180 days to complete the task of allowing gay and lesbian citizens to get married.

A lot can happen in 180 days. A watered-down version of marriage can be handed down that is separate and less than equal to full marriage. Of course, this too would not be valid in any other state. There really is no equivalent to marriage.

Or, the legislature will try to amend the state constitution specifically defining "marriage" as being solely between "one man and one women". There have already been suggestions made to do this. Then, of course, the high court would no longer be able to say it was "unconstitutional".

The fact of the matter is this; we had better get used to the idea that there are people out there who hate our guts. They disguise and justify their contempt for us. They are priests, nuns, bishops, rabbis, pastors, ministers, associates, colleagues, and others. They will stop at nothing to put us in our place in society.

They have never and will never accept the fact that we deserve equal rights and opportunities in all areas of life in this nation. They will never accept that we have the right to pursue happiness and to make our lives everything that we can. They will never honor our relationships that we have to each other.

Now, the battle line has been drawn. We got their attention today, not only in Massachusetts, but in Washington, D.C. as well. You can be sure that a renewed effort will be made to amend the United States Constitution to define marriage at the federal level, thereby voiding all same-sex marriages in all states (should any state approve gay marriage in the future).

Traditionally, the federal government has given the states full authority over their marriage rights. But, of course, faggots and dykes will be the exception of this rule.

I'm mad as hell. I'm mad because it is so fucking insulting and repulsive to me that this is even an issue. We love each other. People, all people, need to fucking get used to it. Does anyone else feel the same way? Where is the outrage in our community?

We are the Rosa Parks of our time. All of this is happening because where our relationships are concerned, we have finally said loud and clear, "We will no longer ride in the back of the bus! We are just as good as anyone else!".

This is terrifying to many. Who do we think we are? To the people who are terrified at the thought of two gay people getting married, we were the "queers", the "faggots", of their time. In their youth, there were no "gay people". We were "degenerates" who were to be pitied, cured, beaten, and murdered, for amusement's sake. The crimes were rarely pursued by law enforcement because we "brought it upon ourselves" by being queer. This is the same generation who is trying their best to prevent the queers from perverting marriage. I would suggest they've done a great job of that themselves.

There's no easy way to say this. We will probably not have full marriage rights in this nation until most of that generation dies off. Thankfully, the younger generation seems to find it in their hearts that they may allow us to have marriage.

Should we even ask for it? I say no. We should DEMAND IT!

If you put much weight on public opinion polls, here's a new one for you. It seems that the public is evenly split on whether gays can change sexual orientation (story).

Let me see... I think tomorrow and the next day I will be straight. Friday is definitely my day to be gay though. I haven't yet decided what I will be this weekend. I guess I can just flip a coin.... heads, I’m gay, tails, I’m straight.

Sarcasm aside, it's very insulting that people think we can just change if desired. I can't believe how stupid people are. I would like to ask them this:

If sexual orientation is such a damn choice, I would like you to CHOOSE to be gay for the next six months. Of course, that will entail you being intimate with someone of the same sex and desiring it. But, that shouldn't be a problem right? You can choose to desire it if you want too. Simply change your sexual orientation.

Remember the judge who refused to follow a federal judge's order to move the Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama state courthouse?

Well, that judge was Roy Moore. By unanimous vote, the state's nine-member Court of Judicial Inquiry found that Moore violated judicial ethical standards for defiance of a federal judge's order to move his Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state courthouse. Moore was halfway through his six-year elected term.

Moore is known for his conservative Christian views in rendering decisions. In February 2002 when the state supreme court ruled against a lesbian mother who was seeking custody of her three daughters, Moore used a litany of homophobic adjectives that had gay rights advocates calling for his removal from the bench.

Moore said that homosexuality is "an inherent evil" that should not be tolerated. His decision went on to say that the mother's relationship made her an unfit parent and that homosexuality is "abhorrent, immoral, detestable, a crime against nature, and a violation of the laws of nature."

When he became Chief Justice Moore, he had the massive Ten Commandments placed in the rotunda of the court.

Kent sent me this link on a newly released image of Jupiter. I found the description of how the image was made fascinating. I'm reprinting the information here. It was obtained from the Cyclops website. Click the picture to see an enlargement.

This true color mosaic of Jupiter was constructed from images taken by the narrow angle camera onboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft starting at 5:31 Universal time on December 29, 2000, as the spacecraft neared Jupiter during its flyby of the giant planet. It is the most detailed global color portrait of Jupiter ever produced; the smallest visible features are ~ 60 km (37 miles) across. The mosaic is composed of 27 images: nine images were required to cover the entire planet in a tic-tac-toe pattern, and each of those locations was imaged in red, green, and blue to provide true color. Although Cassini's camera can see more colors than humans can, Jupiter here looks the way that the human eye would see it.

Cassini's camera is digital, much like today's popular cameras, and it takes images in each color separately as different spectral filters are rotated in front of its light-sensitive detector. Over an hour was required for this portrait. Jupiter rotated during this time, so the face it presented to the camera, and the lighting on its moving clouds, were constantly changing. In order to assemble a seamless mosaic, each image was first digitally re-positioned to reflect the planet's appearance at the instant the first exposure was taken. Then, the lighting variation across each image was removed, and the mosaic was re-illuminated by a computer-generated 'Sun' from a direction that allowed all imaged portions to appear in sunlight at once. The result, which was slightly contrast-enhanced to bring out subtleties in the Jupiter atmosphere, is a view that the spacecraft would have had at the same distance from the planet but ~ 80 degrees solar phase.

Everything visible on the planet is a cloud. The parallel reddish-brown and white bands, the white ovals, and the large Great Red Spot persist over many years despite the intense turbulence visible in the atmosphere. The most energetic features are the small, bright clouds to the left of the Great Red Spot and in similar locations in the northern half of the planet. These clouds grow and disappear over a few days and generate lightning. Streaks form as clouds are sheared apart by Jupiter's intense jet streams that run parallel to the colored bands. The prominent dark band in the northern half of the planet is the location of Jupiter's fastest jet stream, with eastward winds of 480 km (300 miles) per hour. Jupiter's diameter is eleven times that of Earth, so the smallest storms on this mosaic are comparable in size to the largest hurricanes on Earth.

Unlike Earth, where only water condenses to form clouds, Jupiter's clouds are made of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and water. The updrafts and downdrafts bring different mixtures of these substances up from below, leading to clouds at different heights. The brown and orange colors may be due to trace chemicals dredged up from deeper levels of the atmosphere, or they may be byproducts of chemical reactions driven by ultraviolet light from the Sun. Bluish areas, such as the small features just north and south of the equator, are areas of reduced cloud cover, where one can see deeper.

Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI
Released: November 13, 2003

I spotted this letter to the editor on the Boston Globe, and thought that it had some very good points.

TWO THINGS about the continuing debate over gay rights and the opinions of the Catholic Church: The Catholic Church believes that the only forgivable reason for two people to have sex is for procreation. Once you have the children you want (or can afford), you should forgo sex. If you are weak and tempted into a sexual act, you must be at risk to suffer the punishment of your acts -- another child. Hardly a good way to look at children.

Since gay and lesbian couples cannot"have children" their sexual life is therefore "unforgivable."

Everything I see written about gay and lesbian couples starts with that phrase "gay and lesbian." What if every person we thought about during the course of our day had their sexual orientation included in that thought? Our bosses, parents, teachers, and even our children.

Should we pigeonhole a group of people by always hauling in their sex lifes and not do the same for everyone else?

JUDY P. O'TOOLE Framingham

What goes around comes around. It's an old saying that basically means that what you put out will come back to you in one way or another. Apparently, past deeds are coming back around to federal judicial nominee Claude Allen.

I first wrote about Claude Allen on May 6, 2003. Allen is being questioned for his use of the term "queers" in 1984 while working as an press secretary to former Senator Jesse Helms (story).

RALEIGH, N.C.—Democratic Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is saying 'no-go' to federal judicial nominee Claude Allen's explanation of his use of the term "queers" in 1984 while working as an press secretary to former-Sen. Jesse Helms.

Allen, a Republican, told the Judiciary Committee under oath two weeks ago that the remark had referred to "unusual" people and was not meant to put down gay men and lesbians, whom former Sen. Jesse Helms and Allen criticized throughout a contentious Senate campaign against Helms's Democratic opponent, Gov. Jim Hunt.

"I used the word queer, in my mind, I think at the time, in the dictionary, it was described as 'odd, out of the ordinary, unusual,"' Allen said during his confirmation hearing. "I did not use the word as a pejorative. I did not use the word to denigrate any individual or any group."

Allen told the Senate Judiciary Committee he immediately apologized "for anyone who misunderstood him."

"It's not unusual for nominees who come before us to downplay things they've said," Durbin, a member of the Judiciary Committee, told The News & Observer. "But I'm afraid that Mr. Allen's explanation of his use of the word 'queers' was not credible."

I would agree with that. I don't believe that Mr. Allen was misunderstood at all. I believe he was quite clear about his feelings, especially given the current company he was keeping (Jesse Helms).

I'd urge everyone to send letters to Senator Durbin thanking him for his support for our community. You can visit his website or send him email.

The following is the letter I sent him:

Dear Senator Durbin:

I would like to personally thank you for your support of the gay community. I read recently that you were against the nomination of federal judicial nominee Claude Allen's for his use of the term "queers" in 1984 while working as an press secretary to former Senator Jesse Helms.

I was exhausted last night. I went to bed at 9:30 and fell asleep when my head hit the pillow. I slept through the night. Then, this morning for some reason, was wide awake at 4:00am. The house is dead quiet, except for the occasional cat that strolls by demanding that I drop everything and pay attention to them. I have it figured out that the average cat nap is about 24 minutes. They seem to come by pretty much on time. I wonder if that has some cosmic significance. Cats are very perceptive. Perhaps they are connected to the real cosmic clock. Maybe we aren't on a 24 hour clock. Maybe something major is happening every 24 minutes that we are unaware of. It's as if they wake up every 24 minutes so they don't miss it... whatever "it" is.

I came across this in the news. It's the Patriot Act starting to effect our lives. We are going to see more and more of this as time goes on, thanks to John Ashcroft, et. al.

LAS VEGAS (AP)--Rebecca Foster couldn't believe it when a bank cited the USA Patriot Act and asked her and fellow homeowners association board members for their Social Security and driver's license numbers.

"They said they had to check us against a terrorist list,'' said Foster, a grandmother whose five-member board oversees a Las Vegas community. "That seemed kind of preposterous. None of us are terrorists.''

A week earlier, the FBI in Las Vegas acknowledged agents used Patriot Act authorization instead of the grand jury to investigate a striptease club owner and several elected officials. .....

"It protects the lives and liberties of Americans, rather than detracting from them,'' said spokeswoman Monica Goodling from Washington, D.C. "It is simply an update of the laws that was needed to help close gaping loopholes in our ability to fight modern-day terror.''

You just keep telling yourself that honey. But someday, your information will come back to haunt you when you least expect it. And so it goes.

General Clark Promotion Moves Toward Vote

I suppose if you wait long enough on any controversy, it will just go away. The U.S. Senate has just proven this. The promotion of General Robert Clark has been approved.

Gen. Clark's promotion was being held up and reconsidered because of the atmosphere of hate and homophobia that existed under his watch at Fort Campbell, KY. That atmosphere was the cause of the murder of Pfc. Barry Winchell, who was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat by two other soldiers. General Clark knew about the harassment and did nothing to stop it.

Now, he's being promoted. Thank you U.S. Senate for showing us that hate and intolerance are alive and well in our government. Thank you President Bush for your nomination of General Clark and showing that you are so genuine in your value for human life.

Other mentions I've made of General Robert Clark:
April 6, 2003 | May 18, 2003 | June 18, 2003 | June 19, 2003

I saw this letter to the editor on Sonoma News.com and enjoyed reading it. I thought that I'd share it with you. It gave me a good feeling inside.

Editor, Index-Tribune: Regarding recent letters on the topic of the "sin" of homosexuality, I wish to express my concern for the potentially grave psychological harm done by a narrow misunderstanding of the phenomenon of homosexuality, especially harm done to young people who happen to be gay, or who may be questioning their sexual identity. They who suppress others are also harmed.

Modern science has established that differences exist innately - that is, from birth - in certain brain structures between people who experience hetero- versus homosexual preference. Here the term "preference" is not to be confused with some kind of arbitrary "choice." I know that my attraction to the opposite sex is inherently a part of me; I could not change it if I tried. (I can't imagine making a "choice" that would cut so completely against the grain of my deepest identity, even if it were a popular choice.)

I am fortunate to have many gay friends, male and female, whom I love and value because of their creativity and because of the richness their differing perspectives on life and culture add to mine. Some, I'm aware, are as "hard-wired" in their "preference" as I am in mine; others are more ambiguous. My observation is that there is a continuum between the two poles, that some people have multiple or less well-defined orientations. Logic suggests that homophobia arises, at least in part, from the uncertainty that some feel because of their own internal ambiguity.

As to the theology of the argument, the Jesus who inspires me was a visionary, not a lawgiver, whose message was indeed one of love, humility and inclusiveness. Christian churches in these days are challenged by evolving scientific and social consciousness to address, however slowly and conservatively, issues of equality for women in church leadership and a realistic understanding of natural variant sexual identities.

May we all grow in wisdom and compassion.

Ted Sexauer

I somehow thought that Greece was a bit more liberal concerning it's views on homosexuality. Apparently, some television station was punished and fined $116,000 for broadcasting a scene of two men kissing (story). Photo by Reuters.

Greece's Mega television was punished by the National Radio and Television Council for an Oct. 6 episode of the weekly drama "Close Your Eyes," stirring debate over an issue rarely discussed in public

"They want to tell us who we can kiss and what time kissing is appropriate," Grigoris Valianatos, a gay activist, said moments before embracing a fellow protester. "We believe a kiss is an act of love, tenderness and courage."

The television council described the kissing scene as "vulgar and unacceptable."

It's ironic that the photo above came from a Greek paper. I didn't find one US paper that had a picture. It kind of makes you wonder if maybe we in the US are a bit more uptight about seeing gays show affection in public.

If interested, here's an African paper who gave good coverage to the story. I can hear it now... you straight women reading this blog are going to want to see more pictures of guys getting it on. I know what you like! uh huh....

Lawmakers who had passed a bill that would have defined marriage in Wisconsin as solely between a man and a woman failed to override the governor’s veto, BY ONE VOTE!

A two-thirds majority was required to override Gov. Jim Doyle’s veto of a law he described as "mean-spirited" (story).

United Way Capital Area (Austin, Texas) has severed ties with the Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts (story).

"The agreement we made enables each of our organizations to recognize the policy differences, but to carry forward respecting each other, our people, and our programs,” said Clarke Heidrick of the United Way Capital Area.

That agreement could cost the Capitol Area Council of Boy Scouts thousands of dollars in funding.

Starting in July of next year, the local council of the scouts will not apply for funding through United Way.

The decision stems from "inconsistencies" between "inclusive policies" of the two groups.

"The policy we're talking about from the Boy Scouts perspective is the one regarding membership and leadership qualifications and the one that doesn't allow avowed homosexuals to be a part of our program,” said Bruce Walcutt, of the Capitol Area Council of Boy Scouts.

They stand to loose about $160,000 a year because of this. It's hard for me to understand the message they are sending to youngsters about gay kids. And, how would your feel if you were a gay kid and wanted to be part of the group, but couldn't. It's just wrong.

I keep saying that I think that in time the Boy Scouts will come around, but now I'm beginning to believe that they really don't care about inclusiveness and they will drive the organization into the ground before they will see that happen. It's sad, because so many kids are going to loose out.

One of the organizations that I support is Scouting For All. It's a great program.

If we had put the Brown v. Board of Education decision to a popular vote in 1954, it would have lost.

If we had put the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to a popular vote, it would have lost.

Will gay marriage be determined by popular vote?

Will a national civil rights act preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation be determined by popular vote?

Civil rights can easily be taken away based on what is unpopular, as the Federal Marriage Amendment is trying to prove.

I got a kick out of something that Donald Rumsfeld said today about the number of US troops we have in Iraq (story).

(CBS) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday he hopes military commanders "are telling the truth" when they assure him no more troops are needed in Iraq, but he is willing to boost U.S. forces if top officers recommended it.

Asked if the United States is doing all it can to win the war, Rumsfeld told the CBS News Early Show "there's no question that that's the case."

"We're in a low intensity war that needs to be won and we intend to win it," he said.

Well, let's see... we seem to be loosing on average about nine soldiers a day now. I know that isn't a large number, but I was told by the President of the United States that this war was over. Remember what he said on the air craft carrier? Now, we are there to rebuild their nation. So why are we unable to stop the people who are killing our soldiers?

Rumsfeld says that, according to his commanders in Iraq, that we have adequate numbers of soldiers there to do the job. Why would he even say that he hopes his commanders "are telling the truth"? If I were an analyst, I might be able to conclude that he was getting ready to cover his own ass. He can see that this war is going badly. He doesn't want to be caught with his pants down.

But he would not say whether he stood by his prewar assertion that Iraq possessed a wide variety of biological and chemical weapons stockpiles and an active nuclear weapons program.

Well, it would be nice if we could actually find some biological or chemical weapons. Some weapons-grade plutonium would be nice also. But, they apparently don't exist. We went into this war built on the lies that this President fed us from "reliable intelligence". We told the United Nations to shove it when they wanted further negotiations.

That's fine. That's what the United States does best. We go in, to hell with everyone else in the world, do our thing, devastate a country, and usually get the hell out. We then let the pieces fall where they may and let others deal with our damage. This time, there are no others to deal with what we have done. The United Nations doesn't want to touch the issue, and why should they?

Because of that, the President has asked for more money for the war (story):

(CBS/AP) With a stroke of his pen, President Bush committed more money to Iraq on Thursday than he spends on any domestic program – more than $65 billion for military operations and almost $19 billion for reconstruction, reports CBS News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts.

The president had wanted more, but Congress denied him what it called frivolous items, like $9 million to develop a zip code in Iraq; 40 garbage trucks at $50,000 apiece; and $100 million to restore marshland in Iraq.

"With this act of Congress, no enemy or friend can doubt that America has the resources and the will to see this war through to victory," Mr. Bush said at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

Develop a zip code in Iraq? ok..... sounds like a worthwhile cause to me. I wouldn't have thought of doing that. I suppose that's why I'm not in the White House.

As far as "the resources and the will to see this war through to victory", we have that. It will be paid not by you or me, but future generations of Americans. As long as people keep having babies for the government to tax in years to come, I guess we can keep this game up for a long time.

You will probably read this and think that I don't support the troops we have in Iraq. That's not true. I support them wholeheartedly. I don't support morons in Washington that give them inferior equipment, inadequate supplies, and the lack of support for their safety. Are their lives worth so little that we can't even give them the equipment they need?

If the President and his administration weren't professionals, I would seriously think that this war wasn't very well thought out.

On a side note, where in the hell is Osama bin Laden? We went all the way over there to bring him to justice. Somewhere in all of this mess, we don't seem to care about him anymore.

There are rumors floating around AGAIN about Prince Charles being gay, or at least bisexual. This from stuff:

Desperate efforts by Prince Charles' staff to quash rumours of a sexual incident involving the future king have failed, buried under a tidal wave of media reports around the world.

Though still not officially confirmed, the rumours surround a purported sexual contact between Prince Charles and Michael Fawcett, one of his closest advisers.

While British papers are fighting a court battle to publish the names of those involved, other parts of the world are not bound by the legal ban.

The New York Times says the allegations come from a tape found in a mahogany box owned by the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

George Smith, a former royal servant who suffered from alcoholism and post-traumatic stress syndrome after fighting in the Falklands War, said on the tape he had been raped by another male royal aide.

But far more explosively, he also claimed to have witnessed a compromising homosexual encounter between a senior royal aide and a member of the royal family.

I guess I want to say... so what? Being gay or bi isn't the end of the world, even if you are a royal badass. I want to tell Charles and his mother the Queen, "get used to the idea that the whole world doesn't revolve around YOU. So your son likes a bit of diversity in his sexual appetite. Maybe if you ask nice, he will let you watch!"

To Charles specifically: "Be a man! If you are gay or bisexual, you do everyone (especially gay and bi people who are courageous enough to be open) a great disservice. You are also not setting a very good example to young people (that includes your two sons) about personal integrity and honesty. You can lie all you want but this is not the first time that these rumors have come out and the evidence that they are true is in their favor."

To the ROYAL FAMILY in general: "You used to have class. That class was called "Diana, Princess of Wales". You treated her like dirt and really didn't deserve her. Perhaps more accurate, she didn't deserve you. She is gone now and with her, any sense of class and future that you once had is gone with her."

Enough of that....

It's been great weather here this weekend. It finally feels like winter and was very cold last night. I managed to stay outside just long enough to snap a nice photo of the lunar eclipse. That was enough for me. I came back in and had a nice cup of Earl Grey Tea, with a bit of honey (made from the loving efforts of local Coventry bees, of course). After that, I sipped on 20 year old Scotch Whiskey and watched the movie Blood Work (Clint Eastwood movie).

Today, we finished blowing all the leaves off our lawn and made final preparations for what everyone is predicting will be a hard winter. In a few minutes, we are going to get ready to go to the UCONN campus for a concert.

The Hartford Symphony will be performing Beethoven's Coriolanus Overture, and Maxim Philippov (silver medallist of the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Competition in 2001) will perform the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3. I believe that will be followed by the Dvorak Symphony No. 8. It's going to be a heavy concert emotionally I think - heavy works.

Lunar eclipse from our home in Coventry, CT, as of 7:10pm EST.

Click here to see full scale enlargement.

Sacramento -- Attorney General Bill Lockyer said on a radio talk show Friday that he had been told two days before the Oct. 7 recall election that Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger had done "terrible things" to a woman within the past year.

For the second day in a row, Lockyer talked about allegations of sexual harassment that have been leveled against Schwarzenegger, which the attorney general termed a "stain" on the incoming administration.

ok... never mind all of that... What about my Arnold Schwarzenegger movie collection? I love action movies, and I've purchased most of Schwarzenegger's movies, from the Terminator series, to True Lies.

Now, after knowing how he treats women, I'm finding it hard to even watch the scumbag. I want my money back!

Who says that gay students are all angels? It's too bad that there is still such a controversy over the Harvey Milk School in relation to what these students did to others. They should be treated just like any juvenal delinquents get treated. What they did was a crime. Hopefully they will learn from it (story).

Police have arrested five teen boys they say dressed as female prostitutes, and impersonated police officers while robbing at least five men in Greenwich Village.

An alert detective knew something wasn't right when he spotted a 17-year-old with bright red hair at the corner of 13th and Eigth. He was right because the boy had been featured on a wanted poster. When it was all said and done, police arrested five teenagers and they confiscated a fake badge, hand cuffs and a scanner.

The five boys are students at the Harvey Milk School, an experimental new high school for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered students.

Police say the five teenagers robbed at least five men since the beginning of October. Dressing up as women, they allegedly approached their victims in Greenwich Village offering sex for money.

Then, in an abrupt turnaround, the boys flashed fake cop badges told the johns they were undercover vice cops and that they were busted for solicitation.