Combined Gay News Headlines (T5T-1)

Jack Price Has Not Watched His Own Taped Gay Bashing

Glad to see you're up and about, Jack Price. After a brutal gay bashing three weeks ago, the Queens man is finally ready to talk about that horrific caught-on-tape night at the (alleged) hands of Daniel Rodriguez and Daniel Aleman. CONTINUED » Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us Tagged: Gay Bashing, jack price, NYC

Actually, Pat Robertson, Religious Beliefs Are Protected by Matthew Shepard Act

Cuteypie Pat Robertson, host of The 700 Club and respected conspiracy theorist, is no longer just a religious zealot, but a liar. In his latest campaign to convince conservative Christians that LGBTs will be the death of America, he pushes forth this blatant lie: There are no federal hate crime protections for religious beliefs. CONTINUED » Permalink [...]

How Ken Cuccinelli's Homophobia Gave the Media a Chance to Finally Identify 'Bigotry'

Virginia's Attorney General hopeful Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican facing off against Steve Shannon, is the type of social conservative you people love! He wants to give legal rights to fetuses at conception and favors restrictions that would all but shutter many abortion clinics. Oh, and he doesn't want any of you homos pleasuring yourselves. CONTINUED » Permalink [...]

ATTENTION FRIDAY NIGHT AT RED LATERN YOSEMITE KNIGHTS PRESENT CHEEKS AND CHAPS

If You Got It, Flaunt It

A Night Full of Tricks and Treats

America's stomach is a toxic dump

Maybe I shouldn't have read this article, "The 10 Weirdest, Grossest Ingredients in Processed Food." If you don't eat organic, you're digesting a lot of sludge. I'll just put up a couple of these tasty snippets. I don't each the stuff on the list, except for the occasional Subway sandwich.

1. Fertilizer in Subway Sandwich Rolls

While chemical fertilizers inevitably make it into our produce in trace amounts, you would not expect it to be a common food additive. However, ammonium sulfate can be found inside many brands of bread, including Subway's. The chemical provides nitrogen for the yeast, creating a more consistent product.

2. Beaver Anal Glands in Raspberry Candy

The anal glands of a beaver, conveniently euphemized as castoreum, are a common ingredient in perfumes and colognes but are also sometimes used to  -- believe it or not  -- enhance the flavor of raspberry candies and sweets.

...5. Beetle Juice in Sprinkles and Candies
You know that shiny coating on candies like Skittles? Or the sprinkles on cupcakes and ice cream sundaes? Well, they get that glaze from the secretions of the female lac beetle. The substance is also known as shellac and commonly used as a wood varnish.

Yum.  

Want to join our table at the Equality NC Foundation's 2009 Gala?

Kate and I don't want to dine alone as we celebrate a great year of legislative gains in North Carolina, so why don't you join our table at Equality NC Foundation's 2009 Equality Gala on Saturday, November 14 (6:30PM-9:00PM) at the beautiful Empire Room in downtown Greensboro?

This year Equality NC Foundation will be honoring Sen. Julia Boseman for her courageous leadership in getting the School Violence Prevention Act passed. Special recognition will also be given to Winston-Salem's young Kate Mabe for drawing statewide media attention to how it feels to be bullied and to the strength of character our young people need to move forward in a tough world.

There will also be a special cial presentation by Lennie Gerber. She and her partner Pearl Berlin are currently gracing billboards in Greensboro, the latest campaign by Triad Equality Alliance to show through pictures that we're just like everyone else. Click here to see the beautiful photo of Lennie and Pearl.

The 2009 Equality Gala will follow the 2009 Equality Conference to be held at UNCG, which will feature eighteen workshops to choose from, including a session that Mandy Carter, Jimmy Creech and and I will hold on:

The Dallas Principles: No Delay, No Excuses

In May 2009, in Dallas, Texas, twenty-four thinkers, activists, and donors gathered to discuss the immediate need for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United States.  The result was The Dallas Principles. This panel, composed of some of the authors, will discuss the Principles, the goals they address and the accompanying call to action. The audience will be invited to discuss how the Principles can be implemented nationally, statewide and locally.

The keynote speaker Brian Bond, the White House Deputy Director of Public Engagement and former Executive Director of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, so you know it will be a unique opportunity to hear plans from and speak with someone in the Obama admin.

To register for the conference, gala, or both events, go to equalitync.org/conference. When you register for the gala, you'll be asked if you've been recruited by a captain. Find our names in the pull-down list of captains so you can be seated with your blogmistress and my lovely wife Kate...

You can also go to equalitync.org/conference for hotel info, the gala menu, preferred attire, directions, and other details. New information is being added daily, so stay tuned...

Kate and I look forward to seeing you there!

Mary Bonauto Debates SFMM's Brian Souchet on WGME last night

Again, many thanks to Chino for these clips!

For clarity, WGME is southern Maine's ABC affiliate.

Part 1

Question 1 Debate

News 13 held a debate on Question 1, Same-Sex Marriage Thursday. News 13 welcomed Brian Souchet of the "Yes on 1" side, and Mary Bonauto, of "No on 1," to explain why you should vote for one or the other.

The remainder of the debate below the fold.
Part 2

Part 3

Maine’s super-volunteers and passionate student allies

In the days leading up to my departure for Maine, I wasn't sure what to expect from the people I'd meet here. I'm no stranger to ballot campaigns; we've had our share of those in Oregon. I rode on Tuesday to a suburb outside of Portland, Maine with another volunteer staff to meet with nine high school students about their interest to get involved with the No On 1 campaign. Our goal was to start a “Friends and Family” Volunteer Recruitment Phone Bank with them on the spot, and to organize a few times when they and their friends could volunteer together, canvassing door-to-door the weekend before Election Day. We rolled up to their neighborhood Starbucks at about 3 o'clock and met the students inside. They'd come straight after school, and had heard about the campaign at an all-ages concert,about the campaign at an all-ages concert, where they'd been watching their favorite local band. Three of the youth were band members! A few of them had worn their No On 1 buttons to school that day, and mentioned that they'd started conversations with other students about the issue, and what it meant to them. After introducing ourselves and briefly describing the state of the campaign, we read through a script and role-played it, making sure to arm the students with the facts needed to express to their friends and family members how much this means to them and why we need their help in the last two weeks of the campaign. When we asked the students to get out their mobile phones and start calling to sign their friends up for volunteer shifts with the campaign, they excelled at the task! After about a half hour, the students made a plan to gather together with their newly signed up volunteers for a morning canvass on Halloween, knocking on doors to get out the vote. None of the nine students were affiliated with the Gay Straight Alliance at their school, (and none mentioned that they identified as LGBT,) but all shared a sense that whoever you are and whomever you love, couples deserve to be recognized equally under the law.

From Maine with Love

We are 11 days away from the November Election. The Portland, Maine offic-maine.jpg" width="300" />

We are 11 days away from the November Election. The Portland, Maine office is humming with volunteer activity. Every day, volunteers drop off food provisions for all the other volunteers. The first day we had homemade chili, yesterday egg salad sandwiches, and this morning someone brought in some carrots from their own yard. Mainers are chipping in any way they can. My time has been spent in the office working in the communications department while Travis Prinslow and Meleanie Altaras have been adopted into the Data and Campus Outreach departments. We work 9 to 9, when we're lucky and have been working on a variety of projects. From confirming volunteers, to getting people to vote early and in person volunteer recruitment. The amount of work that goes into a campaign is astounding. You walk into any office and you hear typing, people on the phone, stapling, paper shuffling and people being directed. It's a small preview of what Oregon will be dealing with soon enough. However, Oregon's fight will be much larger-- Maine's population is a third the size of Oregon's. I'm grateful that Basic Rights Oregon is starting early and getting all our ducks in a row before we enter our own fight. Maine's latest YouTube celebrity goes by the name of Phillip Spooner. Mr. Spooner is 85 years old, a WWII vet, and a lifelong republicanâ€"he is also in favor of marriage equality. Click here to watch his testimony in April during the Marriage hearings. His video has officially gone viral, with close to 500,000 views. Mainers are excited to have someone like Mr. Spooner speaking up for equality, so much so that he has unofficially become the face of the campaign. Click here to watch a segment of Mr. Spooner being interviewed about his views on Marriage Equality. The opposition is using children to scare voters into voting against equality. They are running ads claiming that "gay sex education" will be taught in schools. Fortunately, the Maine campaign has been very diligent about countering their ads and has caused a stir by featuring a French catholic woman who supports her son's right to get married. Yolande Dumont is also a Maine celebrity and has inspired Catholics and other religious denominations to come out and support the No on 1 campaign. Of course the Catholic DIoces is bankrolling the opposition's campaign along with National Organization marriage and Shubert Flint of prop 8 fame. When Yolande first came on the airwaves the Catholic Diocese was up in arms and started to spend resources countering Yolande's message. This is exciting because the opposition is now on the defensive. Not only do they have to counter multiple legislators, and educators on the whole "Teaching gay in Schools" issue, now they have to make sure that other fair minded Catholics reject Yolande's message. If the No on 1 Campaign wins on Election Day it will be a model on how to defeat the oppositions' vitriol and lies. Although, Maine is literally the farthest place from Oregon in the country, their efforts will have a huge impact on our work. They need all the help they can get. If you have not donated to the NO on 1 campaign you can do so by clicking here. If you cannot afford a donation but have some extra time on your hands you can phone bank from Oregon with their Call for Equality Program sign up here. I'm going to get back to work now but feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions about getting involved in the Maine campaign. In solidarity, Alejandro Juarez Communications Coordinator Basic Rights Oregon (503) 222-6151 x 105 alejandro@basicrights.org

Friday’s News & Gossip Post

TGIF — Friday’s News & Gossip Post: Updates on Homophobes in Sports; Updates on the situation in Uganda; An Indian Prince Down Under; Anderson Cooper Gossip; A Teacher suspended over an article; An update on that Brit PE teacher; and much more… Celeb & Showbiz Gossip: - Gawker Says: Anderson Cooper Is a Giant Homosexual and Everyone [...]

OMG — That’s Straight!?

Tired of being gay? Well, Richard Cohen and his Ex-Gay cohorts can help. Join Bryan Safi as he navigates the world of conversion therapy… That’s Gay: Conversion

Thursday’s News Posts

Thursday’s News Posts Include: Updates on a few stories we’ve been following plus some new stories. Africa: Kenya is to carry out a census of its gay population in an effort to bolster the fight against HIV/Aids – despite homosexuality being against the law. (Hmmm — Not sure that’s going to work out well, seeing as [...]

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