Calif. State Sen. Sheila Kuehl sponsored a bill that will require the teaching of LGBT history in public schools. It passed the Senate, is on its way to the Assembly, and nobody knows whether or not the governator will sign it. Here's what Sen. Kuehl had to say:

“The invisibility of LGBT people in history materials in schools exacerbates already hostile school climates in which homophobic bullying, harassment and violence are rampant. Studies show that a bias-free and LGBT-inclusive curriculum fosters tolerance, resulting in greater feelings of student safety and less bullying of students who are perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender."

Date:	2006-05-11 16:31
Subject:	What the ****??
Security:	Public
Mood:	cynical

Really, pick the third word up there of choice. Anything will apply. One of the breaking stories coming out of London this morning is a doozie. Richard Barnbrook, head of the extreme right wing British National Party, made a gay "art film" (his description) softcore porn movie back in the 1980's. Here's a description of the film, HMS Discovery: A Love Story, given by the London newspaper, the Evening Standard, which uncovered a copy of the film:

...it shows men undressing, full frontal nudity and the men fondling each other. In one scene, the paper reports, one man performing a sex act on another.

At the bottom of the screen there is homoerotic poetry.

The film's credits list Barnbrook as producer and director but he denies writing the poetry.

...called for a local vote to let parents decide if they want to "prohibit the teaching of homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle choice".

Previous BNP pronouncements included calls to criminalize the "revolting practices" of homosexuality and calls AIDS the "revenge" of nature against "the nauseating proliferation of homosexuality".

Date:	2006-05-05 09:45
Subject:
Security:	Public
Mood:	busy

As an addendum to the P!nk song, here is a story about a young girl who is being told she can't sing it at a talent show in school. The school is in south Florida (again, with the FL schools telling kids what they can and can't think/do/say blah blah blah). The girl's mother is making the story public, sharing an email she received from the school's Principal.

The Principal refused to comment to reporters. The School District spokesperson said this (and it's kind of funny in a way):

"This is a fifth-grade student that wants to perform a song filled with lyrics about drug use, war, abortion, gay rights and profanity," said district spokeswoman Nadine Drew. "This is an elementary school that includes kindergarteners and pre-K students."

Date:	2006-05-03 08:57
Subject:	Time to step up to the plate
Security:	Public
Mood:	busy

And no, I'm not talking about preseason baseball, though I am sorta looking forward to see what the A's will do this year.

In case there are people out there who haven't had the chance to see this video (or hear the song), here is an easy link to do so. P!nk has written an impassioned plea called "Dear Mr. President." On iTunes, you can get a version that features Indigo Girls, though they are not in the video, which is a live concert version. Warning: I assume anyone with a heart will be moved to tears.

The Republicans are at it again. Mid-term elections, they're inundated with their own ethics messes seemingly every week, and so... time to demonize the gays. They're planning to bring the infamous Federal Marriage Amendment to the US Constitution to the Senate floor this summer (June, I think) for a vote. Human Rights Campaign is asking people to sign a petition that they will present to the Senate at the time of the vote. Your "signature" will then be put on a personal postcard and hand delivered to your Senators. Please take one minute to sign? HRC will not do anything with your information that you do not authorize.

PLEASE pass the HRC petition link around! If you think this type of action doesn't mean a damned thing, you're wrong. It does. Especially this year of all years when Senators are running for reelection. Don't let them use us as political patsies. Thank you.

Date:	2006-05-01 07:56
Subject:	People are ____ (fill in the blank)
Security:	Public
Mood:	frustrated

::putting on curmudgeonette hat::

I was told once that "people are idiots." I'm still waiting for incontrovertable evidence to the contrary, but, so far, this summation of the human race seems to be holding steady. And perhaps this tiny little rant doesn't say anything different than that sentiment, but my new summation is that "people have the attention span of gnats."

I am an internet volunteer for genealogical research. I'm signed up (on a prominent genealogical website) to help people across the country who have ancestors in my county. We volunteers put summaries in our listings of what tasks we will perform, in detail. Since I hurt my back some years ago, I could no longer reliably go out to the various county offices, libraries, archives, cemeteries, etc., and physically do what is called a "lookup" for folks. I instead (for one thing) compiled a much-needed resource listing of every library in the county and what newspapers they have on microfilm/year, and which cities were serviced by which newspapers/year, etc. Therefore, I can direct people to the exact place where a wonderful, underpaid librarian will do an obituary "lookup," which all librarians do as part of their public service. Obituaries are a prime source of information for genealogists. I then changed my volunteer listing to describe exactly what I offer. Information.

Here is an email transcribed exactly as I got it this morning:

"hello,do you do look ups ,like obits,vital records,ettc.pat"

How long do you think it took Pat to write out that email? Five seconds? How long do you think she/he spent reading the afore-mentioned website to determine what I've offered as a service? Less? Or was it the command of English I have at my disposal that confused Pat? The complete sentences I used in the description of what I had to offer? Or was it a problem for Pat to read the directions of the website? "Please read carefully what people are volunteering to do, and please do not blanketly send out an email to every volunteer in the county simply to see who will answer. Our volunteers are busy people. Please respect their time."

Gnat. And idiot. And if I had a nickel for every email I've received similar to Pat's, from other idiot gnats, I would be able to buy the Birkenstocks for which I will shop this morning. And if you know how much those shoes cost....

::taking off hat::

As often happens, we can be slow to notice the decline of a culture until it's already in the pits. This isn't going to be a treatise on how much better things were before and how bad they are now. But last night I happened to be reading some movie reviews written in the 1950s on Turner Classic Movie's website. And no, this is not going to be any post about the oft-touted 50s as some golden era of anything. They weren't. They might have been, however, a good time if you were someone who wanted something more than the following piece of reportage:( contrast and compare.... )

Date:	2006-04-05 14:46
Subject:	So frustrating ~
Security:	Public
Mood:	aggravated

Here I sit, still, with the information about the Smithsonian wanting things from GLBT history, to increase their collection, and I've tried to get factions of the GLBT print media interested, and I'm left with nothing but frustrations. I just got off the phone with the folks at the Gay & Lesbian Review (GLR), which is a journal of book reviews, historical discussions, political and social movement discussions, cultural essays, etc., and they tell me that I should write back to Mr. Smithsonian Honcho and tell him that they'd be happy to address the issue editorially if he were to ask them, or through an advertisement, etc. My thinking was that the GLR is read primarily by people in the fields of history and GLBT studies, and therefore the word might be spread in more interested circles than people reading The Advocate. That publication completely ignored my "hey there, this might be a story you might wanna follow up on!" email and phone call.

::sighing:: I want to sit everyone down in a room together and say, "Here. This is important. Figure out some way to get the word out, dammit, if any of you give a rat's ass about preserving the history of our movement which extends way beyond the Stonewall riots, chronologically and geographically!!" Geesh.

So, I guess if I were like 99% of the American public, I would have long lost Mr. Smithsonian Honcho's email addy, and ignored all of the niggling thoughts I had while I was corresponding with him, and would have no plans to send him any of our SF gay wedding stuff. I would simply ignore it all and go about my merry way. At least I wouldn't feel so frustrated. Mr. GLR man said, "Well, why don't you write a review piece for the GLR," as if I'm some expert on this topic (which I'm not), and all I could think to say was, "I write fiction, not non-fiction," for which I immediately felt guilty.... blech.

I suppose I had some notion in my head about the responsibilities of the prominent GLBT press, that they should take balls and run with them, rather than sit back and expect things to come to them. Lessons learned, folks. Maybe I'll contact some of the more prominent GLBT blogs........

Date:	2006-03-18 09:26
Subject:	The Mars rovers are still going ~
Security:	Public
Mood:	enthralled

I haven't been following the rovers' progress continually, but every once in a while I wonder how they're doing. This morning comes news that Spirit lost the use of its right front wheel while NASA was moving it to the side of a hill so it could spend the Martian winter with its solar panels pointed toward the sun. They've decided to have the rover travel backwards, and drag the wheel. Spirit is in the northern hemisphere. Opportunity is at the equator, and while it has also suffered its share of mechanical woes, it is also still going, having just completed a survey of a large crater, and is heading to an even larger crater (named Victoria, for Lake Victoria, I'm guessing). Now that the Mars orbiter is flying around the planet, NASA is able to communicate more directly and quickly with the rovers.

The rovers have been up there for two years, nearly 800 Mars days. They were only planned to be fully functional for 90 days, though the NASA folks always believed the rovers could go longer than that. They have logged more miles than anyone ever anticipated, and they have discovered evidence of water and a potentially habitable environment in the past history of Mars. This whole thing gives me chills of wonder and awe. I hope that I live long enough to see a day when both Spirit and Opportunity are recovered and brought back to Earth.

If you follow the first link you can access photos and videos of the images the rovers are sending back to us. Even two years later, this is still amazing. Maybe moreso.

Date:	2006-03-17 09:12
Subject:	One thing to read about the "Brokeback controversy"
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper

I haven't felt like saying much about the movie losing the Best Picture Oscar to Crash. I've been reading things about it, and pondering what it "meant" in my own mind, and I've been reading about some other aspects of brewing anger about the studio who ultimately owns the movie. But I haven't bothered to say much, because I, well, don't have a lot to say about it.

However, Roger Ebert does, and did, and to a gay website no less. Here's the interview. I found it interesting and enlightening. I don't always agree with Mr. Ebert's reviews or opinions; I grew up around Chicago and the rule put forth by my parents was: "If Ebert likes it, we're not seeing it." The converse of that rule went, too. God knows how many good movies came around that my parents never took us to see ;-). But there is one thing that I feel I can rely on from Mr. Ebert: his knowledge of how the industry works, doesn't work, should work, and could work. I respect him for his longtime support of independent movies, and his love and friendship for Gene Siskel.

Btw, eons ago, when Siskel & Ebert first aired on PBS, the two of them were the very first male reviewers I had ever heard who were railing about the dearth of juicy women's roles in movies. They were also railing about the plot device of the woman automatically falling down when being chased (because women can't run), or standing and screaming for someone to come rescue them. This was before it was even remotely "fashionable" to let one's feminism show. From that moment forward, I was in their corner. There is my full disclosure.

Anyway, if you want to hear what Mr. Ebert has to say about why Brokeback Mt. was not awarded Best Picture, here's the link again. And a belated congratulations to Philip Seymour Hoffman for getting the Oscar and the Spirit Awards -- you so, so deserved it.

Date:	2006-03-15 11:22
Subject:	Okay, Gavin, you still have it
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper

Just when I was worrying about Gavin and his ability to discern reality, he up and tells the Vatican that they can take their invitation and.... keep it.

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom has cancelled a trip to Rome for the installation of the city's former Archbishop as a cardinal reportedly after learning the Church is considering a ban on gay adoption in San Francisco. He was to have attended the ceremony elevating Archbishop William Levada to cardinal and head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Sentinel reports that Newsom changed his mind after reading that the San Francisco archdiocese was considering a change in its policies to specifically bar gays from adopting children.

"The idea, the principle that two loving parents of the same sex can't be great parents and that this church is now going to start attacking gay adoptions in this country and around the world was really disconcerting," Newsom told the Sentinel.

Date:	2006-03-10 10:00
Subject:	Beware of people who tell you how wonderful they are~
Security:	Public
Mood:	awake

I know that some of you -- those who know me personally -- are aware that I have a close relative who has been in the cul...church of $cientology for... a long time. My feelings about the organization are not pretty, or kind, or open-hearted. So, imagine my surprise at two recent pieces of news coming out of the city across the bay:

1. The SF Mayor, Gavin Newsom (who is dear to my heart for letting me be legally married to my wife for 6 months), is apparently smitten with an actress who is a huge proponent of $cien., and is a mucky-muck in the San Francisco branch of the c*lt. I've come close to sending him a letter, warning him to watch his libido or he won't know what happened a year from now, but I'm sure his closest advisors are already doing the job. They're going a bit nuts, to put it mildly, over this.

2. Coming on the heels of the above revelation is this: the SF City Supervisors are trying to pass legislation which would prevent the c*lt from expanding into an historic building, which will be up for sale next month. The building is in the heart of North Beach, home to the beatnik revolution, and early home to gay and lesbian bars in the 1950s. A very laid back area, to this day.

Two thoughts come to me about this. Is it any coincidence that Gavin Newsom's new heartthrob was introduced to him a few weeks ago, by another $cien member, at a wedding? She is, after all, the spitting image of his soon-to-be ex-wife (and from accounts the two of them still love each other, just can't make a bi-coastal marriage succeed). I know how the c*lt works, and how manipulative they are, and how they see the entire world as so much stupider than they are that it's just ripe for their manipulations. I've read a few of the "training manuals" on how to manipulate "the lessers." So, Gavin meets this woman who gives him a few come hither looks, at the same time that her c*lt is trying to buy sensitive real estate in the city. The c*lt knows what's possibly coming down the pike. Now they have someone coo'ing in the mayor's ear.

The second has to do with this quote, from the Prez of the SF branch of $cien.:

Quiros said the church founded in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard has been a good neighbor. "I would say we get about a 95 percent approval rating from our neighbors in this district," he said. "They're happy that we're here. That's what I'm hearing on the street."

Date:	2006-02-13 17:08
Subject:	Blatently begging for money
Security:	Public
Mood:	calm

Please excuse the cross-posting between my lj's. This is a call for donations for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, who had their federal funds drastically slashed by the Bush administration. One way they raise money is through the National AIDS Marathon. Each local runner asks for sponsors, and all of the funds raised go to the the participating local AIDS service organizations. So, what has this got to do with me? My wife is running in the next sponsored marathon -- the San Francisco Marathon -- and she needs sponsors. She's working hard to get back into running form, and whereas I will be volunteering during trainings, and possibly during the marathon, it's wife who's putting in the hours and sweat. I am incredibly proud of her.

Please -- if you would -- click HERE and sponsor her effort. Anything you can donate is so very much appreciated. All $ is tax deductible, and all $ donated goes to the SF AIDS Foundation. It doesn't get any more win-win than this.

I had intended to simply pass out a happy birthday today, to one of my heroes, Martina Navratilova, who is approaching her 50th. But then I got to wandering the 'net over my breakfast and found a link to Ellen Goodman columns. Who wrote a column about Betty Friedan. Ms. Goodman speaks of Friedan as a warrior woman, who changed the lives of millions of women. And she was, and she did, because she was someone who came along and said, "This is wrong and this is how it can be," and women listened, because, as Goodman says, they were ready to. They understood viscerally what The Feminine Mystique was saying. I read the book in college, and it changed my thinking, too. I only wish that Friedan hadn't been quite so homophobic, though I understand that in later years she got over the Lavendar Menace thing of blaming the lesbians for ruining the feminist movement.

It is such a damned shame that feminism has become a dirty word to so many. The argument that's raging on the internet between neocons and those feminists who have the energy to debate it is so inherently stupid. Why in the world you would lay the blame for the world's, and culture's, "problems" at the feet of feminist women is so... typical, and uninspired, and... stupid. Idiotic. Way to think deeply, there, folks.

So -- happy 50th Martina. You may be labeled an icon, but you will always be the amazingly strong, beautiful woman who was one of my first same-sex silly crushes, back in my tennis playing twenties. You blew me away then and you still do. And just so you know? I always said that you were better than Chris ;-), before you had defected and found your stride and your life. Even when people looked at me sideways.

And Ellen Goodman? You, too, are a warrior woman. You were writing incisive pieces way back, and I used to pore over your columns, taking in your thoughts and analyses like pure Sierra waters down a too-parched throat. Though I confess to reading more Ivins than you lately, you are now officially bookmarked.

Date:	2006-02-03 21:40
Subject:	Archived intentions
Security:	Public
Mood:	contemplative

You can tell a lot about an institution and their deep down attitudes when you see how far they're willing to go to accomplish a task. Or how far they aren't. I've been having a spur-of-the-moment email conversation, this week, with a honcho in the Smithsonian Institution's American History Museum's Div. of Politics and Reform (phew, quite the title). It started as me asking the Smithsonian what kind of collection they had of LGBT history, since their website didn't have a link to anything, but did to just about every other oppressed minority's civil rights struggle. A straight-forward question from an erstwhile supporter.

In the course of this conversation, Mr. Director told me that they did have some things, starting with Stonewall, but not nearly enough to suit them, and that adding to this collection was very important to them. So far, so good. Thinking I might be able to nudge them a bit, and not wanting this bit of information to die in my inbox, I A) offered that I would have some suggestions for where to look, mentioning that I had been embroiled in the study of pre-Stonewall history, which was as important as the riots since Stonewall didn't happen in a vacuum, and B) decided to write to The Advocate, to tell them of the Smithsonian's "desire," suggesting that this might be an interesting story to write, for a number of reasons and covering a number of issues.

More emails to and from Mr. Director later, and the bottom line -- he asked me to "spread the word" that they're looking for stuff. As up myself as I can sometimes (usually) be, um.... WTF? I guess he harbors that familiar notion that I can tell my friends, who will tell their friends, and pretty soon the millions of gays and lesbians in America will get "the word." I also let him know, at some point in there, that I actually had attempted to contact The Advocate, telling him that they would, indeed, be a terrific forum for the spreading of his word, but that a phone call from him would probably get the ball rolling, whereas an email from a woman in California with no titles behind her name probably would not. Mr. Director did not respond to this nudge.

So. I think I'm seeing just how much follow-through the Smithsonian's Museum of American History wants to devote to their collecting. Which is too bad, because I honestly did have any number of ideas for where I would look, and who I would try to contact, being the up-myself person that I am. Anyway. Still, something might come of something, because he's asked me to send them photocopies of the ephemera we got during the '04 SF Marriage Festival and tell him what we would be willing to part with. And I had the opportunity to explain to him (at his request) who would have a good collection of stuff, and what kind of stuff there would likely be, given the various and sundry pieces of documentation that the city of San Francisco gave us, both during and after.

But intentions are one thing, and action is another. Not an earth-shattering moral to the story, by any means. Simply one that I wish were different. I'm hoping that, in truth, they are following through and he simply didn't feel the need to say anything to me. I'm hoping, anyway.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Minority Leader, had the best post State of the Union comment: "It was a nice break from reality TV."

From the accounts I've (admittedly) skimmed this morning, it sounds as if Shrub lied through his teeth about any number of topics. Well, all topics, actually. And, shockingly, he's decided to go after the gays and lesbians. Again, still... whatever. You know, we just can't have enough goin' after the perves, can we? Nope, pardner, we cain't. Cain't be havin' no gay cowboys gettin' no gol-dern special rights on my watch, no siree.... heh heh....

I say, bring on the mid-term elections.

Date:	2006-01-30 15:55
Subject:	Quote of the Millennium
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who is black, was asked on public TV about the president. "Well, I really think that he shatters the myth of white supremacy once and for all."

I'll try to put this link in, but since it's to the NYTimes (who are notorious for their "Select" online edition that blocks out people who don't pay them $) I don't know how long it will last.

This is the story of the reality show, Welcome to My Neighborhood, which I remember reading about at some point earlier in the year. It's also the story of Disney's wish to court the religious right wing in order to get them to watch Chronicles of Narnia, and how the unexpected -- and unexplained -- cancellation of the reality show might have been a ploy/arrangement/agreement/pander-tactic in furtherance of that aim. Bottom line, nobody knows.

But -- if you take the time to read the (relatively short) article, you'll find a small kernel of hope, and truth, in its center, which is in essence a beautiful story of love and understanding.

Added: Five minutes after I posted this, and another link to the NYTimes Arts/Television page the story is hidden behind their login. [Television Cul-de-Sac Mystery: Why Was Reality Show Killed?]

You may have better luck with these links; perhaps I'm getting locked out because I've read a few stories by this point. One, a review of Bleak House, by Dickens, a new version of it starting on PBS tomorrow night. Starring a very scary looking Gillian Anderson ;-). Cool!

I've been following the story of A Million Little Pieces avidly, since it first broke on the Smoking Gun website. No, I haven't read the book, and I was never interested in reading the book. But I was interested in the discussions surrounding it -- in what constituted truth with a capital "T" to the American public, given what this country is going through with a corrupt Administration spewing lie after lie at us and telling us none of it matters. Apparently, it doesn't. That the author of A Million Little Pieces (James Frey) lied about every single fact in his "memoir" doesn't matter, even that the purported "essential truth" of the fictional work may be nothing but another pack of lies doesn't matter. We believe what we want to believe, and we make heroes out of whole cloth. This morning, I read a piece by Tom Scocca of the New York Observer about the James Frey controversy, and why it matters. It put it all in a nice little nutshell for me. I recommend it.

In case you haven't been following as avidly as I have, apparently some months back -- before the controversy -- Frey gave an interview to someone (I can't remember) in which he said that at the time the book was being initially published, he and the publisher (and editor) discussed whether or not to market the book as fiction or nonfiction. As if that was a real choice. He wrote a memoir. They were all discussing whether or not they should say it was fiction or nonfiction. An interesting factoid, slipped into an interview months ago, which now glows like a piece of nuclear waste in the spotlight of this entire, disgusting situation.

Date:	2006-01-16 16:36
Subject:	"You can call me Al...."
Security:	Public
Mood:	determined

So, Al Gore -- remember him? Vice President of the US and the person who was elected President by the majority of Americans way back when? He gave a major speech today, explaining to the American public (and the American Constitution Society, and the Liberty Coalition) how George W. Bush broke the law, and why we should care. Not simply one little law-stretching act, but so much more than that. This speech was not covered -- nor mention made of its existence -- by CNN, MSNBC or FOX (I know, big surprise), but is being covered extensively in the blogosphere. I'm doing my tiny part to pass the word. It was a barn burner of a speech. Remember those? Impassioned, literate, intelligent speeches that used to bring people to their feet?

You can read the full text here. You can see a video clip of it here. You can see a full video of it here, by looking at "audio/video" "Fmr Vice President Gore Speech on Executive Powers". You can write to your member of Congress, and Senators, demanding that they do what the hell they're supposed to do as one branch of our government that purportedly checks and balances a completely out of control Executive. This is serious stuff, folks. Very, very serious.

I realize that there is so much pure, unadulterated shit going on right now that it boggles the mind. The Shrub in DC is acting like the God he claims is in his ear; our evil, evil VP keeps telling him that Presidential powers are absolute; the Republicans in Congress are the most corrupt in history (according to some).... Etc. And even if the tides of change are beginning to be felt, it still boggles the mind. Abramoff or no Abramoff.

So, here's a piece of good news coming out of Italy. A small village bakery has prevailed over McDonald's. I can't claim that I'm completely impartial when it comes to the Kroc Empire. I don't like them as a company; their food sucks; their desire to be on every street corner in the world is enough to make me heave. So, when people fight back, by snubbing the Empire in favor of their own local cuisine -- which sounds absolutely heavenly, btw -- I send them virtual high fives and a "please pass some of those sandwiches out my California way, would you?"

This has nothing to do with political correctness, or not believing in free enterprise. And for all I know, we truly are heading toward Armageddon and this planet won't be habitable in about a hundred years so the entire issue is as moot as moot can be. For me, this has everything to do with the beauty that is the human race -- diversity of cultures. I don't want to think that the planet is covered in golden arches. What a waste that would be. All of that glorious food, lost to subsequent generations. How awful.