Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Student-Made Documentary Examines Discrimination Against LGBT Teens
A new student-filmed documentary, Breaking the Silence, examines the discrimination faced by LGBT teenagers in Colorado and how they determined to become antibullying activists.
Monday, November 7, 2011
20 Years Ago: Magic's HIV Announcement
It was 20 years ago today when Magic Johnson stunned the sports world by announcing that he had the virus that causes AIDS.
At the time of Johnson's Nov. 7, 1991 announcement, his long-term prognosis was uncertain. It was thought the vibrant, energetic and ever-smiling basketball star's health would decline, possibly resulting in the death of one of the NBA's most beloved stars.
Johnson wasted no time at the news conference. After greeting reporters packed in the room at the Great Western Forum, he said the words that took some time to process.
"Because of the HIV virus that I have attained, I will have to retire from the Lakers today," Johnson said as he stood behind a podium microphone.
At the time of Johnson's Nov. 7, 1991 announcement, his long-term prognosis was uncertain. It was thought the vibrant, energetic and ever-smiling basketball star's health would decline, possibly resulting in the death of one of the NBA's most beloved stars.
Johnson wasted no time at the news conference. After greeting reporters packed in the room at the Great Western Forum, he said the words that took some time to process.
"Because of the HIV virus that I have attained, I will have to retire from the Lakers today," Johnson said as he stood behind a podium microphone.
Google, Microsoft, Starbucks Say DOMA Hurts Business
A brief filed in court comes from 70 businesses and organizations that want their voice heard on the constitutionality of DOMA, which bans same-sex marriage from being recognized federally and stops couples married in states such as Massachusetts from having their weddings recognized in less accepting places such as Alabama.
The companies paint the law as an overburdening government regulation that should be repealed.
IRS Rules in Favor of Trans Deductions
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
132 House Democrats File Amicus Against DOMA as Mark-Up to Repeal Bill is Pushed
Mark-up of the Respect for Marriage Act has been pushed to 10 am on November 10, following some discussion of the measure in the Senate Judiciary Committee today, MetroWeekly reports:
In opening the hearing, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said of the Respect for Marriage Act's aim, in part, "What would change, and what must change, is the federal government's unequal treatment of state-approved marriages."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the lead sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, opened her comments at the hearing by saying, "I voted against [DOMA] for the same reason then, that I [support] repeal now.
As Michigan GOP Passes Bill Allowing Kids to Bully, Democratic Senator Gretchen Whitmer Rips Into Them
Michigan State Senator Gretchen Whitmer yesterday ripped Senate GOP a new one over passage of a "bullying" bill that was gutted so heavily that it actually creates, as Whitmer notes in her speech, "a blueprint for bullying."
Whitmer takes aim at the disgusting moves by Republicans:
"Here today you claim to be protecting kids, and you're actually putting them in more danger. There are at least 10 Michigan children in the past decade whose deaths are directly attributable to bullying...Had this bill that you're going to pass today been law in effect while they were alive, how many of their deaths would have been prevented? ZERO!"
She adds:
"So this might solve a political problemn that Republicans have. but be clear. You are papering over the problem that is a reality faced by hundreds of kids in Michigan schools every day. In fact not only does this not protect kids who are bullied. It further endangers them by legitimizing excuses for tormenting a student. And the saddest and sickest irony of this whole thing is that it's called 'Matt's Safe School Law'. And after the way that you've gutted it, it wouldn't have done a damn thing to save Matt!"
"This is worse than doing nothing! It's a Republican license to bully."
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Senate Committee Begins Debate on DOMA Repeal
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin debate Thursday morning on a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages.
Julian Bond Americans for Marriage Equality
Civil rights leader and NAACP Chairman Emeritus Julian Bond supports Marriage Equality.
Chick-Fil-A Served Up $2 Million To Anti-Gay Groups In 2010
From 2003 and 2008 Chick-Fil-A’s charitable arm (the WinShape Foundation) donated more than $1.1 million to anti-LGBT groups. But in 2009 they about doubled that amount to $2 million.
California Lawmaker Comes Out of the Closet, Cites Gay Bullying
Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani tells the Stockton Record that she's gay:
Galgiani, D-Livingston, said that by coming out now, she hopes to send a positive message to young people who are struggling to come to terms with their sexual identity.
"It sickens me that young people would think about taking their lives because of who they are," Galgiani said. Galgiani, 47, said it was not until well into adulthood, after she was elected to represent the 17th Assembly District in 2006, that she knew she was gay.
The Sacramento Bee adds:
Galgiani, D-Livingston, said that by coming out now, she hopes to send a positive message to young people who are struggling to come to terms with their sexual identity."It sickens me that young people would think about taking their lives because of who they are," Galgiani said. Galgiani, 47, said it was not until well into adulthood, after she was elected to represent the 17th Assembly District in 2006, that she knew she was gay.
Galgiani's spokesman confirmed the report, saying the statement came during an interview on high-speed rail and other issues.
Galgiani's announcement brings the total number of openly gay state lawmakers to eight. Her addition would make the Legislature's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus, formed in 2002, the country's largest caucus recognizing openly gay legislators in the country, according to the gay rights advocacy group Equality California. Galgiani, who is termed out of the Assembly next year, is planning to run for a competitive Senate seat in the Central Valley next year
Galgiani's announcement brings the total number of openly gay state lawmakers to eight. Her addition would make the Legislature's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus, formed in 2002, the country's largest caucus recognizing openly gay legislators in the country, according to the gay rights advocacy group Equality California. Galgiani, who is termed out of the Assembly next year, is planning to run for a competitive Senate seat in the Central Valley next year
2 Lesbians Elected as Homecoming Royalty at Calif. School
Grant Gustin, Warbler Villain
"There's more drama coming to "Glee" this season when the series returns from hiatus in the coming weeks. Kurt and Blaine, the much buzzed-about couple who have been squarely in the honeymoon phase since they locked lips last season, are getting a roadblock in the form of Sebastian, a new Dalton Warbler set to shake things up in the Klaine union by gunning for Blaine's affection on the Nov. 8 episode."
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Shorter University Bans Gay Employees
A small, private college in Georgia has a new requirement for its employees: that they be straight.
Shorter University, a Christian Baptist school located in Rome, Ga., is mandating that its 200 employees sign a "personal lifestyle pledge" declaring that they reject homosexuality, premarital sex and adultery, WSBTV reports.
Shorter President Don Dowless told WSBTV that their goal "is not to offend people," but to "declare who we are."
Shorter University, a Christian Baptist school located in Rome, Ga., is mandating that its 200 employees sign a "personal lifestyle pledge" declaring that they reject homosexuality, premarital sex and adultery, WSBTV reports.
Shorter President Don Dowless told WSBTV that their goal "is not to offend people," but to "declare who we are."
New Research Reveals HIV/AIDS Epidemic First Found In Humans in 1921
A Canadian professor's groundbreaking look at the genesis of the AIDS virus is generating global buzz for shedding new light onto the world's most devastating pandemic.
As The New York Times is reporting, Dr. Jacques Pepin's "The Origins of AIDS," published earlier this month by Cambridge University Press, traces the improbable journey of HIV/AIDS to a single bush hunter (dubbed "patient zero") in central Africa who "manipulated chimpanzee meat" in 1921:
As The New York Times is reporting, Dr. Jacques Pepin's "The Origins of AIDS," published earlier this month by Cambridge University Press, traces the improbable journey of HIV/AIDS to a single bush hunter (dubbed "patient zero") in central Africa who "manipulated chimpanzee meat" in 1921:
Dr. Pepin sifts the blizzard of scientific papers written about AIDS, adds his own training in epidemiology, his own observations from treating patients in a bush hospital, his studies of the blood of elderly Africans, and years of digging in the archives of the European colonial powers, and works out the most likely path the virus took during the years it left almost no tracks.Working slowly forward from 1900, he explains how Belgian and French colonial policies led to an incredibly unlikely event: a fragile virus infecting a small minority of chimpanzees slipped into the blood of a handful of hunters, one of whom must have sent it down a chain of “amplifiers” — disease eradication campaigns, red-light districts, a Haitian plasma center and gay sex tourism. Without those amplifiers, the virus would not be what it now is: a grim pilgrim atop a mountain of 62 million victims, living and dead.
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