6/15/09

Rusty DePass, South Carolina GOP Activist, Says Escaped Gorilla Was Ancestor Of Michelle Obama

South Carolina GOP activist and former chairman of the state elections commission Rusty DePass has apologized for saying a gorilla that escaped from a zoo was an "ancestor" of Michelle Obama.

The controversy started when FITSNews, a local politics Website, obtained a screengrab of DePass's comment on Facebook.

After an aide to state Attorney General Henry McMaster detailed the escape of the gorilla from Columbia's Riverbanks Zoo, DePass responded with a comment: "I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors - probably harmless."

DePass later admitted to WIS News that he was referring to Michelle Obama and said, "I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone. The comment was clearly in jest."

DePass, who was a county co-chair for Rudy Giuliani's 2008 campaign, supported the push to impeach President Bill Clinton in the late 90s, writing in an op-ed for The State, "Do Republicans have higher moral standards than Democrats?"

~do we need more proof that Republicans are racists?~  wild

6/14/09

Joseph Bruno, Former NY GOP Leader, Now Supports Gay Marriage

(The Associated Press - NEW YORK) Former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said he now supports legalizing same-sex marriage, a change of heart that could influence Albany lawmakers.

The 80-year-old, who retired last year as the state's most powerful Republican, said he now sees the issue as a civil right.

"As a Republican, I believe in personal freedom," Bruno said in a written statement. He said support of the measure by Democratic Gov. David A. Paterson, a friend and longtime collegial adversary in the Senate, helped him change his mind. Two years ago, Bruno blocked a version of the bill that the Democrat-led Assembly had passed.

"I opposed same sex marriage largely because the overwhelming majority of my caucus opposed it," Bruno stated. "However, that view really does conflict with the rights that are afforded all of us."

5/5/09

New! blu cigs! Smoke 'em anywhere!

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Blu Electronic Cigarettes can be "smoked" anywhere; in bars, planes, hospitals... and they're much cheaper than regular cigarettes! About $1.25 per pack! (I smoke, and we're paying about $5.00 a pack in my area) So, try a starter kit today! You will be glad you did! There is no harmful tobacco smoke, no tar, none of the bad things that cause lung disease. This way you can get your nicotine fix anywhere you happen to be! Click the link to read more about this new, exciting product!

4/28/09

Outrage!

"Outrage" Documentary: Activists Outing Gay Conservatives

The Huffington Post   |  Megan Slack   |   04/28/09 05:56 PM

"Outrage," a new documentary from filmmaker Kirby Dick, takes issue with the secret lives of closeted gay politicians -- especially conservative Republicans who outwardly oppose gay rights.

The film, which premiered last week at the Tribeca Film Festival, features tell-alls from men who say they've had relationships with various Republicans, including Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Bush strategist Ken Mehlman and former Senator Larry Craig.

According to Magnolia Pictures, "Outrage" is a "searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians with appalling gay rights voting records who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to."

In the documentary, Dick lambastes the mainstream media for not better investigating the politicians' "hypocrisy" and double lives. He told New York magazine that the film explores "the issues surrounding closeted politicians and their hypocrisy in voting anti-gay -- and how these people have harmed millions of Americans for many years."

"Outrage" premieres May 8 in five cities, including Washington, D.C.

4/24/09

I'm Gay and Iraqi: Please Help Me!

The situation for gay Iraqis has never been more dire: With reports of torture, "anal gluing," and murder coming out of the Middle East, is the U.S. surge to blame for this sudden explosion of antigay violence?

Click the byline to view more stories by this author.

By Michael Luongo

An Advocate.com exclusive posted April 22, 2009

COMMENTARY: “I am gay and I am Iraqi, please help me.”

A contact of mine told me he came across this comment in an e-mail. The only thing more extraordinary than the message was the location. He was sitting in the U.S. embassy in Baghdad when he read it.

My contact said he was reaching out to me because things were “heating up” for gay men in Iraq. Over the years, he said he'd received several e-mails from gay Iraqis that came through the U.S. embassy’s website -- they are a “single source of frustration, because I feel completely helpless and heartbroken reading stories about an Iraqi that is sending an e-mail probably just a few miles from where I am sitting in the embassy, and telling me that there is a militia coming just down the block and they have a list.”

I traveled to Baghdad in the summer of 2007, during the height of the U.S. surge, to get a better handle on the situation for gays in Iraq. During my visit I met with a few gay Americans who worked at the embassy, all of whom spoke off-the-record when giving me quotes and providing information.

In recent months, things have certainly been "heating up" -- articles from The New York Times, the BBC, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as many other mainstream and gay publications, point to the horrors of what is happening in Iraq. Each article seems more harrowing than the last, attempting to make sense of something that's hard to fathom for the readers who digest these articles from the comfort and safety of an America where "dont ask, don't tell" and same-sex marriage make up the bulk of news coverage.

Some outlets -- particularly in the gay press -- point to reports by Iraqi LGBT, a London-based activist group reporting that gay men in Iraq are on death row and that they've received a letter from a gay Iraqi pleading for help, all of which has been next to impossible to verify. Others point to the reassertion of power by militias, particularly in Sadr City, a Shia slum within Baghdad where the Mahdi Army has for years engaged in a reign of terror against locals and the U.S. military.

In addition to the direct killings of gay men by the militia was the report of a fire-bombing of a neighborhood café popular among gay men. Still more articles look to the influence of militias in combination with family honor killings -- gay men who have been thrown out into the streets to fend for their safety, or Iraqis who have killed gay family members.

The most disturbing report comes from the Arab-language news source Alarabiya, describing the torture and killing of at least seven gay men who have had their anuses closed using a special glue, with Iraqi officers having forced them to take a medicine inducing diarrhea and death. While the English-language media has conflicting reports on what is happening in Iraq, this report, created by those who speak the language and have the best resources to interview local political and religious officials, gives perhaps the best indication of how terrible the situation has become for LGBT Iraqis.

Story continues on next page...

Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Michael Luongo has written numerous books on the Middle East and is the author of the book Gay Travels in the Muslim World. For more information visit www.michaelluongo.com. This article is representative of the author's views and not those of Advocate.com.

4/23/09

Levi!

4/20/09

A Gay Cop's Struggle

By T.J. Wilham
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer

          Matt Wolke worked for one of the toughest police departments in the country for more than two years and was never ridiculed for being gay. Then he came to New Mexico.
        Four years ago, when Wolke and his partner, Pat Davis, were going through state law enforcement certification, someone in the class made a wisecrack about how there were too many gays in New Mexico.
        "I held my tongue and didn't say anything," he recalled. "I wanted to keep my job. I had never experienced anything like that before."
        Wolke, 30, is now one of the most respected members of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department. And he recently joined the "boys club of all boys clubs" — the SWAT team.
        Wolke says he is the first man in the department's history to be openly gay.
        "Matt is an excellent cop and a good person," Sheriff Darren White said. "That's all that matters. That's all that should matter."
        But it wasn't. Not at first. Gaining acceptance in his first few months on the job was anything but easy.

4/16/09

National Organization for Marriage Creates Fake Ad for Fake Problems

from HRC BACK STORY

YES, THEY TRIED IT: HRC today called out the National Organization for Marriage for producing a lying television spot that’s set to run on CNN, the Fox News Channel, and MSNBC in the coming days. In the ad, actors make long disproven claims about marriage for lesbian and gay couples. HRC spokesperson Brad Luna lets them have it: What’s next for the National Organization for Marriage? Will they hire legendary infomercial pitchman Ron Popeil to hawk their phony agenda? This ad is full of outrageous falsehoods—and they don’t even come out of the mouths of real people. According to sources, the phony ad is set to run eight times per day in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and California. Watch their crazy ad below:

To learn more, go to:

National Organization for Marriage Creates Fake Ad for Fake Problems

Fight Hate Now

4/8/09

I'm shocked and dismayed!

April 07, 2009  from

The Advocate  Focus on the Family Employee Snared in Online Sex Sting  Click the byline to view more stories by this author.

By Julie Bolcer

Authorities in Colorado say they have apprehended a Focus on the Family employee suspected of arranging to have sex with an underage girl he met online.
The suspect, Juan Alberto Ovalle, 42, began chatting online Thursday with someone who told him she was a girl younger than 15. The contact was actually an undercover female police officer.
Ovalle, a resident of Colorado Springs, works for a Spanish-speaking arm of Focus on the Family and narrates Scripture for CDs, according to the Denver Post.
During the first online exchange, according to an affidavit filed with the Jefferson Country District Attorney’s Office, Ovalle asked the contact, “Do you like older guys?” and “Would you like to meet me?”
The next day, says the affidavit, Ovalle logged on to find the officer portraying the child and told her he was home and “horny.” He confirmed that her mother was working, and after asking for her phone number and address, he asked her to tell him what she liked when having sex. He described his preferences in graphic detail.
Ovalle was arrested on Friday when he appeared for the rendezvous. He is scheduled to be formally charged on Thursday with two felony counts of criminal attempt of sexual assault on a minor and Internet luring of a child. He is being held in the Jefferson County Detention Center on a $25,000 bond.

"We're shocked," said Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman for Focus on the Family.

2/27/09

Word from the Porn Belt: Do as I Say, Not as I Do

from firedoglake 

By: Phoenix Woman Friday February 27, 2009 2:01 pm

160px-orrin_hatch_official_110th_congress_photo.thumbnail.jpgFrom the File of Things That Really Shouldn't Surprise Anyone Who's Been Paying Attention to American Culture, we have this:

A new nationwide study (pdf) of anonymised credit-card receipts from a major online adult entertainment provider finds little variation in consumption between states.

"When it comes to adult entertainment, it seems people are more the same than different," says Benjamin Edelman at Harvard Business School.

However, there are some trends to be seen in the data. Those states that do consume the most porn tend to be more conservative and religious than states with lower levels of consumption, the study finds.

"Some of the people who are most outraged turn out to be consumers of the very things they claimed to be outraged by," Edelman says.

It turns out that Utah is the nation's leading consumer of broadband pornography. Which is deliciously ironic news considering that Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, a godbotherer of the Mormon persuasion, just spent a few weeks stonewalling the Senate Judiciary Committee with his hissy kabuki over the nomination of David Ogden for Deputy Attorney General. Why? Because Ogden -- GASP! -- worked for pornographers! (That's what Orrin Hatch calls it when somebody does legal work on First Amendment issues and Playboy magazine is footing the bill.)

Hatch, who apparently doesn't care that his silly hypocrisy is hurting America by keeping Obama from filling the gaps left by the departed George W. Bush, never seemed to mind the fact that his former Senatorial colleague and fellow Republican Phil Gramm himself dabbled in the financial side of the soft-core porn industry.

2/15/09

This video will break your heart...


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Have you heard that Ken Starr -- and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund -- filed legal briefs defending the constitutionality of Prop 8 and attempting to forcibly divorce 18,000 same-sex couples that were married in California last year? The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this case on March 5, with a decision expected within 90 days.
The Courage Campaign has created a video called "Fidelity," with the permission of musician Regina Spektor, that puts a face to those 18,000 couples and all loving, committed couples seeking full equality under the law.
Please watch this heartbreaking video now. If you have the same reaction that I did, please help me spread the word by sharing it with your friends and family ASAP:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/Divorce
The more people who see this video, the more people will understand the pain caused by Prop 8 and Ken Starr's shameful legal proceeding.
After you watch the video, please join me and over 250,000 people who have signed a letter to the state Supreme Court, asking them to invalidate Prop 8 and reject Starr's case.

1/30/09

Anti-Gay AFA Has Their Panties in a Wad Again

Anti-Gay AFA Has Their Panties in a Wad Again

January 28, 2009 by James Hipps

Anti-Gay AFA Has Their Panties in a Wad Again

Don’t they ever stop with their hate, intolerance and bigotry…all in the name of Christianity? Now the American Family Association, Donald Wildmon’s anti-gay, anti-anything that’s not white, Christian and scared of them group has begun harassing the folks at PepsiCo.  This time because of an ad that has aired in the UK which they claim promotes the Gay Agenda.

Pepsi however didn’t seem to concerned as Wildmon stated their response to his concerns were “condescending”.

Of course the AFA has launched a boycott of the Pepsi company, but it doesn’t appear to have made an impact.

Way to go Pepsi! The real Gay Agenda loves you!

Bubba the Love Sponge Takes On the Gay Agenda

January 30, 2009 by James Hipps

Bubba the Love Sponge Takes On the Gay Agenda

As I was driving towards my office this morning, I heard a popular radio personality, Bubba the Love Sponge, use the word “fag” while advertising an event.  Being an activist for equality, I recognize the dangers and harm that are caused by the use of this word, as it perpetuates hate and bigotry.  The use of such words, especially by someone who is listened to nationwide, also sends a message to others that it is OK to use the word.  I find the word to be a derogatory term, whether or not the intent was or not, especially since so many have been beaten and killed while being called this word.

I decided not to let this one slide, so I called to lodge a complaint with the program manager, and found myself live on the show.  Listen to what he had to say to my objection by clicking the play button below.

PLAY (the original post from gayagenda.com)

What’s your opinion?

1/4/09

Update: Kerekes (Joe) sentenced to life in prison without parole

Harlow Cuadra (above)

Joseph Kerekes

I just found this article, don't know why more people haven't been talking about it...

By Michael Sisak Staff Writer

Published: Monday, December 8, 2008 4:02 PM EST by CitizensVoice.com

WILKES-BARRE - Joseph Kerekes, one of the two men charged with the January 2007 killing of Bryan Kocis, was sentenced just after 1 p.m. today to a mandatory term of life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and other charges.
Kerekes entered into a plea agreement with Luzerne County prosecutors late Sunday night and affirmed his plea just after noon today during a hearing before Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.
Olszewski accepted the plea after more than an hour of questions for Kerekes, gauging his understanding of the process that led to the agreement, and the sentence that he faced.
Olszewski sentenced Kerekes to the mandatory life sentence and a combined 56 months to 112 months in state prison and 24 months probation to be served consecutive to the life sentence.

Since Kerekes will serve a life term, the additional time was a formality that could be considered if Kerekes petitions a future governor for a pardon, Olszewski said.
Kerekes, 34, and co-defendant Harlow Cuadra, 27, faced the death penalty and were scheduled to stand trial Jan. 5.
The plea agreement materialized after a pretrial hearing on evidence suppression last Thursday, with details and documents being worked out over the weekend and into this morning
Kerekes and his attorneys met with prosecutors at the state police barracks at Wyoming and gave a statement "to develop a factual basis for the plea," Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick said.
Kerekes told prosecutors he and Cuadra viewed Kocis, a rival producer of gay pornographer, as an "impedement to the expansion of their pornography business," Melnick said.
"They decided to eliminate and kill Bryan Kocis," Melnick said.
Kerekes completed a written guilty plea colloquy and signed a plea agreement that also bears the signatures of his attorneys, John Pike and Shelley Centini, and prosecutors.
Kerekes stood with his attorneys and prosecutors as he affirmed his plea, nodding and saying "yes" as Olszewski read each of the six charges to which Kerekes had agreed to plead.
Kocis' family watched from the jury box on the left side of the courtroom as Kerekes entered his plea. District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll and First Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Tokach looked on from a section of chairs behind an empty defense table on the right side of the room.
Beside the murder charge, Kerekes pleaded guilty to charges of criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence, tampering with physical evidence, theft by unlawful taking.

Check back to citizensvoice.com for updates throughout the day.

11/30/08

Phelps Religious Clan Protests Trans Mayor

Protest in Silverton

"The counterprotesters outside City Hall in this Marion County town Monday significantly outnumbered the protesters who inspired them: three young women and a man from a Kansas church, here to register their disdain for the recent election of the nation's first openly transgender mayor, Stu Rasmussen. The quartet spread out along one side of North Water Street, feet planted on American flags spread on the sidewalk and hoisted large laminated posterboards on each arm. Double-sided and easy to read from passing vehicles and local television trucks positioned half a block away, the signs offered assorted damnation -- 'Barack Obama = Antichrist,' 'God Hates You,' 'You're Going to Hell' and 'Fag Media Shame.'"

h/t to WickedGayBlog

11/22/08

Vanasco: Obama caving on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?

Vanasco: Obama caving on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?

 By Jennifer Vanasco, editor in chief, 365gay.com 11.21.2008 4:23pm EST

This is what I was worried about.

According to the Washington Times, Obama’s team is saying that even ASKING for a repeal of the ban on open gays in the military may not happen until 2010. First, he wants to build consensus.

Fair enough.

But it seems to me that consensus is already built - or at least as much as it’s going to be. Earlier this week, 104 retired generals and admirals called for DADT’s repeal.

A former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke out against DADT in 2007. So did a former Secretary of Defense. 143 members of the House have co-sponsored a bill to overturn the policy; a bill approved by the House Committee on Armed Services.

We know the US military needs more soldiers to fight the two wars we are engaged in - last year alone, 627 servicemembers were dismissed under the DADT. The military needs servicemembers and gays want to serve.

You know what else? DADT is expensive. In February 2006, a University of California Blue Ribbon Commission concluded that so far, it has cost the government (meaning, us, the taxpayers) $363 million.

Don’t Ask is a failed policy. The only people who don’t think so are homophobes.

I understand what Obama is trying to do here. He’s trying to avoid a Clintonesque debacle like the one that gave us DADT in the first place.

But of everything we’re fighting for, DADT seems like it’s the least controversial and would make the most sense. If this isn’t even being looked at until 2010, then when is he going to start making good on his campaign promise of federal civil unions? When (if) he’s re-elected?

I’ve got a better idea. Why doesn’t Obama name a gay person - like Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, say - as Secretary of Defense? That would signal real change - and give gays and lesbians real hope.

from www.365.com/blog

11/14/08

go Jesse, go Jesse, go Jesse!

Go Jesse!

11/13/08

Hasselbeck, Shepherd still advance skewed View on California's Prop 8

Summary: On ABC's The View, co-hosts Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd again promoted the falsehood that without the passage of Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage, members of the clergy could be jailed for refusing to perform same-sex marriages. In fact, neither Proposition 8 nor the California Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry had anything to do with members of the clergy.

During the November 10 edition of ABC's The View, co-hosts Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd again promoted the falsehood that without the passage of Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage, members of the clergy could be jailed for refusing to perform same-sex marriages. Hasselbeck again referred to a Swedish priest who she falsely claimed was jailed "for not wanting to perform a marriage ceremony." And after being confronted with language from the California Supreme Court majority decision stating that clergy members will not be required to perform same-sex marriages, Shepherd suggested that that there is an "other side" to the issue. In fact, neither Proposition 8 -- which sought to overturn the California Supreme Court's May 15 ruling that affirmed the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry -- nor the Supreme Court decision itself had anything to do with members of the clergy.

As Media Matters for America documented, on November 6, Shepherd said: "I don't want to know that my pastor -- because, you know, the church is preaching against homosexuality, and I don't want to know that my pastor could be jailed."

11/12/08

judge judy on obama and gay marriage


She can be a bitch, but displays love and compassion for gays and lesbians in this clip from CNN's Larry King Live

A Doctor, a Mutation and a Potential Cure for AIDS

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - HEALTH

A Bone Marrow Transplant to Treat a Leukemia Patient Also Gives Him Virus-Resistant Cells; Many Thanks, Sample 61

By MARK SCHOOFS

The startling case of an AIDS patient who underwent a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia is stirring new hope that gene-therapy strategies on the far edges of AIDS research might someday cure the disease.

The patient, a 42-year-old American living in Berlin, is still recovering from his leukemia therapy, but he appears to have won his battle with AIDS. Doctors have not been able to detect the virus in his blood for more than 600 days, despite his having ceased all conventional AIDS medication. Normally when a patient stops taking AIDS drugs, the virus stampedes through the body within weeks, or days.

Dr. Gero Hütter isn't an AIDS specialist, but he 'functionally cured' a patient, who shows no sign of the disease.

"I was very surprised," said the doctor, Gero Hütter.

The breakthrough appears to be that Dr. Hütter, a soft-spoken hematologist who isn't an AIDS specialist, deliberately replaced the patient's bone marrow cells with those from a donor who has a naturally occurring genetic mutation that renders his cells immune to almost all strains of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The development suggests a potential new therapeutic avenue and comes as the search for a cure has adopted new urgency. Many fear that current AIDS drugs aren't sustainable. Known as antiretrovirals, the medications prevent the virus from replicating but must be taken every day for life and are expensive for poor countries where the disease runs rampant. Last year, AIDS killed two million people; 2.7 million more contracted the virus, so treatment costs will keep ballooning.

While cautioning that the Berlin case could be a fluke, David Baltimore, who won a Nobel prize for his research on tumor viruses, deemed it "a very good sign" and a virtual "proof of principle" for gene-therapy approaches. Dr. Baltimore and his colleague, University of California at Los Angeles researcher Irvin Chen, have developed a gene therapy strategy against HIV that works in a similar way to the Berlin case. Drs. Baltimore and Chen have formed a private company to develop the therapy.

Back in 1996, when "cocktails" of antiretroviral drugs were proved effective, some researchers proposed that all cells harboring HIV might eventually die off, leading to eradication of HIV from the body -- in short, a cure. Those hopes foundered on the discovery that HIV, which integrates itself into a patient's own DNA, hides in so-called "sanctuary cells," where it lies dormant yet remains capable of reigniting an infection.

But that same year, researchers discovered that some gay men astonishingly remained uninfected despite engaging in very risky sex with as many as hundreds of partners. These men had inherited a mutation from both their parents that made them virtually immune to HIV.

The mutation prevents a molecule called CCR5 from appearing on the surface of cells. CCR5 acts as a kind of door for the virus. Since most HIV strains must bind to CCR5 to enter cells, the mutation bars the virus from entering. A new AIDS drug, Selzentry, made by Pfizer Inc., doesn't attack HIV itself but works by blocking CCR5.

About 1% of Europeans, and even more in northern Europe, inherit the CCR5 mutation from both parents. People of African, Asian and South American descent almost never carry it.

Dr. Hütter, 39, remembered this research when his American leukemia patient failed first-line chemotherapy in 2006. He was treating the patient at Berlin's Charité Medical University, the same institution where German physician Robert Koch performed some of his groundbreaking research on infectious diseases in the 19th century. Dr. Hütter scoured research on CCR5 and consulted with his superiors.

Finally, he recommended standard second-line treatment: a bone marrow transplant -- but from a donor who had inherited the CCR5 mutation from both parents. Bone marrow is where immune-system cells are generated, so transplanting mutant bone-marrow cells would render the patient immune to HIV into perpetuity, at least in theory.

There were a total of 80 compatible blood donors living in Germany. Luckily, on the 61st sample he tested, Dr. Hütter's colleague Daniel Nowak found one with the mutation from both parents.

To prepare for the transplant, Dr. Hütter first administered a standard regimen of powerful drugs and radiation to kill the patient's own bone marrow cells and many immune-system cells. This procedure, lethal to many cells that harbor HIV, may have helped the treatment succeed.

The transplant specialists ordered the patient to stop taking his AIDS drugs when they transfused the donor cells, because they feared the powerful drugs might undermine the cells' ability to survive in their new host. They planned to resume the drugs once HIV re-emerged in the blood.

But it never did. Nearly two years later, standard tests haven't detected virus in his blood, or in the brain and rectal tissues where it often hides.

The case was presented to scientists earlier this year at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. In September, the nonprofit Foundation for AIDS Research, or amFAR, convened a small scientific meeting on the case. Most researchers there believed some HIV still lurks in the patient but that it can't ignite a raging infection, most likely because its target cells are invulnerable mutants. The scientists agreed that the patient is "functionally cured."

Caveats are legion. If enough time passes, the extraordinarily protean HIV might evolve to overcome the mutant cells' invulnerability. Blocking CCR5 might have side effects: A study suggests that people with the mutation are more likely to die from West Nile virus. Most worrisome: The transplant treatment itself, given only to late-stage cancer patients, kills up to 30% of patients. While scientists are drawing up research protocols to try this approach on other leukemia and lymphoma patients, they know it will never be widely used to treat AIDS because of the mortality risk.

There is a potentially safer alternative: Re-engineering a patient's own cells through gene therapy. Due to some disastrous failures, gene therapy now "has a bad name," says Dr. Baltimore. In 1999, an 18-year-old patient died in a gene therapy trial. Even one of gene therapy's greatest successes -- curing children of the inherited "bubble boy" disease -- came at the high price of causing some patients to develop leukemia.

[Chart]

Gene therapy also faces daunting technical challenges. For example, the therapeutic genes are carried to cells by re-engineered viruses, and they must be made perfectly safe. Also, most gene therapy currently works by removing cells, genetically modifying them out of the body, then transfusing them back in -- a complicated procedure that would prove too expensive for the developing world. Dr. Baltimore and others are working on therapeutic viruses they could inject into a patient as easily as a flu vaccine. But, he says, "we're a long way from that."

Expecting that gene therapy will eventually play a major role in medicine, several research groups are testing different approaches for AIDS. At City of Hope cancer center in Duarte, Calif., John Rossi and colleagues actually use HIV itself, genetically engineered to be harmless, to deliver to patients' white blood cells three genes: one that inactivates CCR5 and two others that disable HIV. He has already completed the procedure on four patients and may perform it on another.

One big hurdle: doctors can't yet genetically modify all target cells. In theory, HIV would kill off the susceptible ones and, a victim of its own grim success, be left only with the genetically engineered cells that it can't infect. But so far that's just theory. All Dr. Rossi's patients remain on standard AIDS drugs, so it isn't yet known what would happen if they stopped taking them.

In 1989, Dr. Rossi had a case eerily similar to the one in Berlin. A 41-year-old patient with AIDS and lymphoma underwent radiation and drug therapy to ablate his bone marrow and received new cells from a donor. It is not known if those cells had the protective CCR5 mutation, because its relation to HIV hadn't been discovered yet. But after the transplant, HIV disappeared from the patient's blood. The patient died of his cancer 47 days after the procedure. Autopsy tests from eight organs and the tumor revealed no HIV.

Write to Mark Schoofs at mark.schoofs@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

The Foundation for AIDS Research, which uses the acronym amFAR, is the name of the nonprofit group cited in this article. The name of the group was incorrectly given as the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

Original article is here: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - HEALTH

11/11/08

Will Federal Female Employees Be Safe from Cross-Dressing Men Using Ladies’ Restrooms in the Obama Administration?

November 10th, 2008

trans-living_magazine.jpg Will big-boned men in dresses and high heels like this fellow be allowed to use women’s restrooms in federal buildings under the Obama Administration? That’s what Obama’s plan to create “rights” based on gender confusion might bring. Obama’s pro-transsexual agenda — he favors federal rights based on “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” — was never discussed or debated seriously in the election campaign.

_______________________

News Release, Americans For Truth about Homosexuality

Contact: Peter LaBarbera: 630-717-7631; americansfortruth@comcast.net

November 10, 2008

“The Obama-Biden Transition Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other basis of discrimination prohibited by law.”– Application for non-career federal jobs in an Obama Administration, http://change.gov/page/s/application

CHICAGO, Ill. –  Americans For Truth reacted to the news that an Obama Administration will likely enact “gender identity” as a nondiscrimination category by questioning whether federal female employees will be protected from transsexual men wearing dresses who demand to use ladies’ restrooms on the basis of their self-perceived “female identity.”

“Men who believe they are women, and vice versa, will be officially protected based under Obama on the basis of their ‘gender identity’ (read: gender confusion),” said Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth about Homosexuality. “Cross-dressing, ‘male-to-female’ activists already demand the right to use female restrooms on the basis of this same notion of ‘gender identity’-based rights. So will an Obama Administration allow these big-boned men in female clothing to use ladies’ restrooms in federal buildings?

“What will a President Obama do to protect the right to privacy of female federal workers who don’t want men wearing dresses – with male genitalia – sharing their women’s restroom?” LaBarbera said. “Will a President Obama request funds from Congress to embark on an ambitious ‘Transgender Restroom Construction Project’ to build special “trans” bathrooms in government buildings – so as not to subject female employees to sexual harassment and violations of their privacy?”

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Posted in 04 - Gender Confusion (Transgender), Bathroom Controversies, Candidates & Elected Officials, Democrat Party, Diversity Propaganda, Freedom Under Fire, Gay Rights vs. Others' Rights, Gender 'Fluidity' (Confusion), Government Promotion, News, Obama, Promoting Gender Confusion, Stealing Civil Rights

Read the full article here: Will Federal Female Employees Be Safe from Cross-Dressing Men Using Ladies’ Restrooms in the Obama Administration?

11/9/08

Obama-Biden Transition Team includes Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Policy

November 8th, 2008

by SJordan

The American Civil Liberties Union commends the Obama-Biden Transition team for including sexual orientation and gender identity in its non-discrimination policy as it prepares to assume power in January.

Although President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 11478, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, there are no explicit federal protections from gender identity bias in government hiring.

Christopher E. Anders, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel, said, “As the new Administration gears up, it should be focused on hiring the best people for the job. By including sexual orientation and gender identity in its non-discrimination policy, the Obama-Biden transition team makes clear that it will focus on the relevant qualities that actually predict an applicant’s success on the job – professional experience, character, skills and education. President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden, by explicitly rejecting the bigotry and intolerance of the past, are committing that gay, lesbian, and transgender professionals can serve in government without fear of discrimination. This is a critical next step in securing the basic rights of LGBT community.

“The inclusion of gender identity is a bold departure from the past – and it sends a clear message. The ACLU recommends that President-Elect Obama follow up by 1) banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in federal contracting and 2) urge Congress to pass a gender-identity inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).”

The Obama-Biden Transition Non-Discrimination Policy can be viewed at http://change.gov/page/s/application

To learn more about the ACLU’s Transition Plan: Actions For Restoring America, go to http://72.3.233.244/about/37256res20081020.html

read the original article here on gayalliance.org

Next Season on Dancing With The Stars!!



I think they will win! What say you?

(h/t to my good friend Manny)

11/8/08

Same-sex marriage bans paradoxical in historic election

(CNN) -- Solomon Brown of San Jose, California, is one of the millions of voters who helped elect Barack Obama to be the future president. He's also one of the voters in California, Arizona and Florida who cast ballots in support of same-sex marriage bans that got considerable support in each state.

Jim Smotherman, left, and Pat Wright of La Mesa, California, rushed to get married in June.

 

 

 

Jim Smotherman, left, and Pat Wright of La Mesa, California, rushed to get married in June.

 

 

 

His voting choices are a picture-perfect model of the paradoxical results of the 2008 U.S. presidential election. They also illustrate how Obama's inclusive strategy won over many voters who didn't necessarily toe the Democratic Party line.

The war in Iraq and the economy were the main issues Brown, 18, a first-time voter, said he considered in choosing a president. But when the time came to vote on the "one man and one woman" issue, he followed his moral beliefs and voted in support of California's Proposition 8. He said he isn't at all surprised that many voters did the same.

"They did that because of religion," Brown said of voters. "They wanted change for the country but weren't going to change their religion."

He had no qualms about voting for Obama, either, and adds that his choice wasn't related to race. But he worries what moral beliefs will be taught in coming years. iReport.com: Read Brown's thoughts on Proposition 8

"I don't want a man and a man to be married," Brown said. "When I have kids, I don't want them to see that."

Still, he says he doesn't hate gay people and has several gay friends. He emphasizes that he dislikes the fact that people are gay, but not the individuals themselves.

"I can't be prejudiced against them, with me being an African-American," Brown said. "That would be hypocritical in my eyes."

But Maggie Cassella of Toronto, Ontario, said she watched the U.S. elections and couldn't help but feel thankful for being in Canada. iReport.com: Watch Cassella express her disdain over the election

"I'm tired of talking about it, because I live in a country where I have all my rights now," she said. "I talk about politics, but it's never gay rights because we're done."

She said she felt upset by the election and couldn't help but wonder why voters would want to make the decision to elect a black man as president and then outlaw gay marriage at the same time.

"I would just like someone to talk to an African-American gay person from California or any person from California and ask them what it feels like to have your rights to be an equal citizen taken away concurrent with this great day in history," she said. "My guess is it actually doesn't feel so great. After all, civil rights are civil rights. I don't care what anybody says." iReport.com: Share your story or opinion of same-sex marriage

The issue hits close to home for Pat Wright of La Mesa, California, who married his partner, Jim Smotherman, in June. He says he doesn't like seeing the animosity from both sides and has personally lost friends over the issue.

"A lot of ugliness and nastiness has come out. I don't know how these people have a direct connection to God," Wright said. "How can people be so badly informed, why are they qualified to vote on my marriage, and should 52 percent of the population be able to take away my rights? A very ugly situation."

Wright said the couple rushed their marriage because of Proposition 8 and campaigned against it. They were saddened to see "Yes on 8" signs in nearby yards, but never expected the proposition to succeed.
iReport.com: "We are still numb and in mourning"

Two states away, Fred Thorne of Washington Terrace, Utah, said he was disappointed about the same-sex marriage decisions. Thorne says he comes from a long line of Mormons and that locals' views are highly shaped by their religion and the church.

He describes his parents as "freethinkers" who encouraged him to break away from the church's views and support "equal rights."

Thorne said he thinks religious organizations in Utah have a huge local and national political influence that oversteps the separation between church and state. iReport.com: Watch Thorne discuss "sexual equality behind the Zion curtain"

"Gays have the right to marry and be openly gay, in my opinion," Thorne said. "If it offends somebody, I'm sorry. I'm offended that you're offended by it."

Jason Dinant of Las Vegas, Nevada, said the election of Obama made great strides for equality but didn't signify much "progress for equal rights" overall. iReport.com: Watch Dinant's retro black-and-white commentary

"Even though it's 2008, we really are still in the 1950s when it comes to gay rights," he said.

Dinant, who is gay, said he feels Obama must make the legalization of gay marriage part of his agenda for change as he assumes the nation's top post.

The move to outlaw gay marriage adds "discrimination into a state's constitution," he said.

But the legal side of the issue looms large for John Riolo, a Rhode Island voter who prefers not to state the results of his last-minute voting decision. Riolo says both sides like to dig in their heels, and he wishes they would see eye to eye. iReport.com: Watch Riolo talk about his complex views

"My liberal and some, but not all, of my gay friends see same-sex marriage as a civil rights issue," Riolo said. "My conservative friends see gay marriage as fundamentally altering society and/or a violation of religious tradition."

Riolo doubts both religious consequences for gay marriage and violation of civil rights if the unions are banned. He said the decisions should be drawn up in courts and that both sides of the issue should maintain a clear head whatever the result.

"Marriage is little more than a license," Riolo said. "It is a privilege given by the state and, like a driver's license or any other type of license, the state can set up rules and criteria."

But for Wright, who feels fortunate he got to marry his partner, the decision boils down to legislating personal lives and Proposition 8 stings hard. iReport.com: Watch the scene of protests in California

"It has been a kick in the teeth," he said. "I can't imagine voting on someone's marriage."

I don't know about you, but I didn't choose to be gay. I've known I was different since I was in the first grade, and maybe even before that... why would anyone choose a lifestyle that almost guarantees bigotry, hate, anger and violence from people you don't even know...

Gay marriage supporters take to California streets

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Protests continued Friday in several California cities, including San Francisco, Palm Springs and Long Beach, over the passage of Proposition 8, which outlaws same-sex marriage.

The ballot initiative, which passed 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent Tuesday, overturns a May ruling by the California Supreme Court that struck down a 2000 ban on same-sex unions.

In San Francisco, an estimated 2,000 protesters marched down Market Street toward Dolores Park. The march stretched out for at least three city blocks, and the protesters completely blocked Market Street's westbound lanes and the eastbound lanes in places.

"I believe that politics and religion should be completely separate," protester Eric Rogers told CNN affiliate KGO-TV. "This has been, actually, one of those lines that has been blurred by that."

"It really feels personal. It feels like why would someone not want us to live in love and respect," said protester Jayne Dean-McGilpin.

A demonstration in Long Beach stretched out for five or six blocks. "Hate is not hot," read a banner at the front of the marchers. At one point, demonstrators stopped at a street corner for a few moments to allow traffic to cross.

Later, demonstrators congregated for about 20 minutes at the intersection of Broadway and Alameda Street, blocking traffic in all directions. The demonstrators then moved on before stopping at the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and First Street, where many of them sat down in the street.

After a few minutes, the demonstrators were on the move again. Police kept a watchful eye on the protesters but did not intervene.

In Palm Springs, a crowd of several hundred gathered in front of the city hall, chanting "Civil rights" and "Tax the Church." One sign read: "We will not give up." iReport.com: Your thoughts on gay marriage?

Several protesters surrounded an elderly looking woman, an apparent Proposition 8 supporter, and shouted at her. No arrests were reported at any of the demonstrations.

In Salt Lake City, Utah, about 2,000 demonstrators gathered at Temple Square to protest against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon church strongly supported Proposition 8, which amends California's constitution to define marriage as legal only between one man and one woman.

Proposition 8 opponents say the Salt Lake City-based church donated a majority of the money raised in support of the measure.

The LDS Church believes it should not be singled out when other groups also supported the proposition.

"It is disturbing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a free election," the church said in a statement Friday.

On Thursday, Roman Catholic and Mormon leaders said their efforts did not target any specific group.

The coalition of religious communities and citizens who supported Proposition 8 wanted to preserve "the bedrock institution of marriage" between a man and a woman, said Cardinal Roger Mahoney, the Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles.

"Proposition 8 is not against any group in our society," Mahoney said in a written statement.

About 2,000 protesters picketed Thursday afternoon outside the Los Angeles temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Several groups have petitioned the California Supreme Court to prevent the constitutional revision from taking effect.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights have filed a lawsuit contending the ballot initiative was "improperly used."

According to the three groups, "such radical changes" as outlawing gay marriage cannot be made by ballot initiative, but must, "at a minimum, go through the state legislature first." The groups also argue the measure takes away a "fundamental right" from lesbian and gay Californians.

The three organizations filed the legal challenges on behalf of Equality California and six same-sex couples who did not marry before Tuesday's election, but would like to be able to wed now.

The three groups contend that California must honor the marriages of the 18,000 lesbian and gay couples who have already married.

Sunny Hostin, a CNN legal analyst, said Thursday it is unclear whether same-sex weddings that took place before Tuesday are still valid. Referring to those couples, she said, "I think they really are in a legal limbo, a legal black hole."

Voters in Arizona and Florida also banned same-sex marriages in ballot initiatives Tuesday.

read the full article at CNN.com

11/5/08

David Alan Grier as Maya Angelou

Poet Maya Angelou’s hyper-stylized prose and diction are almost beyond parody. But the brilliant comedian David Alan Grier pulls it off. This skit of Grier-as-Angelou rehearsing her draft Obama inauguration poem will bring tears to your eyes — and you may even need a change of clothes (language warning at the end).

10/26/08

The Last Eight Years...

Hyphenate Films has put together a 30-second video that elegantly captures where eight years of Republican leadership has left America economically. Take a look.

GOP California Senatorial Hopeful Comes Out Against Prop 8

Former Californian Congressman and current Senatorial hopeful Tom Campbell, a Republican, today came out against Proposition 8, which would overturn the California Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling. Though Campbell agrees judges shouldn't be making such decisions, he still vows to vote no on Proposition 8.

It was really quite a stretch for the California Supreme Court to say that the Constitution of California already contains a right for same-sex marriage, when the Constitution doesn't say a word about it. The truth is: It's a new issue. To those who say the Court got it wrong, I say: I agree. It's for us to decide. Now, let's make the right decision. And that right decision, in my view, is to allow same-sex marriage in California.

Republicans believe deeply that government should be limited. Government has no business making distinctions between people based on their personal lives. That's why, as a Californian and a Republican who has held elective office at the federal and state levels, I will be voting No on Proposition 8.

Gay couples are asking for a chance to play by the rules. We can give them that chance. For those of us who are proud of our party's and our state's reputation for fairness and against discrimination, our choice is very clear: No on Proposition 8.

This isn't the first time Campbell has come out for California's queers. While a Congressman, in 2000, Campbell voiced his opposition to a similar ballot initiative, the Knight Initiative, which would have banned gay marriage. If only he could persuade his party peers to be so progressive.

(h/t to queerty)

Protect Marriage Equality, Join California's Fight

Protect Marriage Equality, Join California's Fight

Something extraordinary is happening in California.

When it became clear a few weeks ago that right-wing extremists were pouring millions of dollars into our state to attack our fundamental freedom to marry -- Californians who care about justice started fighting back.

Californians didn't wait for a campaign, or a consultant, or a politician to tell them what to do. Across the state, hundreds of thousands of people started standing up and speaking out against Proposition 8.

We used our own words and spoke from our hearts. We started emailing, writing checks to No on 8, blogging, posting videos, picking up the phone and most of all speaking out at our jobs, to our friends and to our families about how terribly wrong it would be to use our Constitution to eliminate the right to marry for lesbian and gay couples.

This has probably been one of the most powerful flash campaigns in US history. A few weeks ago, the right-wing money machine was winning. Today -0 we are on the verge of overwhelming their money with the combined power of hundreds of thousands of Californians who are doing their part to defeat Proposition 8.

Let's keep it going. We have contributed millions already -- let's do more. We have sent millions of emails. But we can't stop until we have emailed every single person we know and asked for their vote and their support. Let's keep blogging, posting videos, writing letters, calling and talking to everyone we know.

Proposition 8 is a terrible attack on our lesbian and gay friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members. But the response of our community shows the best of California -- hundreds of thousands of regular people across the state joining together almost spontaneously to say "NO" to using our laws to hurt our fellow Californians.

"Yes we can" has a whole new meaning in California today. We are showing that we can stand up to right-wing extremists and protect equal rights for every single Californian.

Let's show that we can every single day until the polls close on November 4th.

Tune into The Gavin Newsom Show next Saturday at 11AM PST on Green 960 AM. I will be hosting a special election broadcast about California's fight for equal rights.