March 2009 Archives

Hat tip to Good As You for picking up on the paranoid delusional rantings of Lou Sheldon and company of the so-called Traditional Values Coalition.

There are, and indeed have always been, GLBT members in the United States Armed Services, many of whom have served our country with distinction. The military already has rules in place governing drug use and sexual behavior. That doesn't change.

I must admit to being flabbergasted by the text below. You know, watching Jeff Palmer's Barebacking Boot Camp while using crystal meth is possibly not the best way to do research. "Sodomy in battlefield situations"??? - WTF?? Does anyone think "Well, we are being shot at. Time to get hot and nasty!" And apparently soldiers either leave the military, or just hang around for the orgies.

Maybe they are getting their ideas from Jeff Gannon or Matt Sanchez, both of whom have connections to gay porn and the military or military themes. (Of course, they both also have connections to conservative Republican politics, so I guess that means that Karl Rove is performing in drag before being a pig bottom for the Coast Guard. Or something like that.)

Imagine the impact that the rampant spread of STDs, including HIV would have on the military? How will the military handle the spread of these diseases in the barracks? How will the military handle sodomy in battlefield situations?

Imagine the impact that sexual favoritism would have in subverting military cohesion? A homosexual Sergeant who was in love with a member of his company, could protect his lover from battle – or send a straight soldier into harm’s way just to punish him for having the wrong attitudes about homosexuality. Straight soldiers could be denied promotion by militant gay officers. The military chain of command would be undermined.
...
In addition to the coming persecution of straight soldiers, what about the unrestrained drug and sex antics committed by young male homosexuals? Homosexual sex is consistently related to drug use, including crystal meth and other sexually-stimulating drugs. What sort of chaos will be caused in the military by bare-backing parties and other forms of homosexual orgies?

There is also an effort by the White House and Congress to legitimate drag queens/transgenders in the military, too. The normalization of these behaviors are in many bills being pushed through Congress. This will impact the military as well.
Democrat Bill Will Overturn Military Policy On Homosexuals [TVC]

And they'll replace guns with dildos...AAHHH!!!! FEAR!! AAAAAAAAAAH! - Good As You:: Gay and Lesbian Activism With a Sense of Humor

I spent a lot of time yesterday working on getting out the candidate questionnaires for the next issue of Erie Gay News. I realized that I really had to get it done right away in order to have things come together.

This morning, I looked on the front page of today's paper, and there was a story about the release of a co-defendant in the 1991 murder of Donald Kremer. I never met Donald, but I feel awful for his family in having one of the men involved with his death walking the streets again.

When the jury came down with a second degree murder conviction in May of 1992, WSEE TV 35 contacted me to see if I was up for making a statement, because Donald was a gay man. At the time, no one locally had as yet done the full face/full name thing in conjunction with GLBT stuff.

I remember feeling scared and apprehensive about speaking in an undisguised setting, but I really felt like it was time for this to happen, and it would be irresponsible of me to expect this of others when I wasn't prepared to do it myself.

So, almost 17 years ago, I faced my fear and spoke out. It is a decision I have never regretted in the slightest.

Some similar issues have come up recently, and I kind of felt that the synchronicity of these situations and the news was some kind of importance. I am not sure what I am supposed to be comprehending or doing, but I feel like I am supposed to learn something.

I got an email from Mom, who has been quite busy. She mentioned that she, my brother, Steve and his girlfriend, Karen went to get Steve and Karen's cats fixed. They had been under the impression that Gizmo (Steve's cat) and Gus (Karen's cat) were brothers/litter mates.

Apparently, it turns out that Gizmo was not a male, and her name is now Gyzmeau to reflect her updated gender status. They apparently had a pretty good laugh at finding out about the confusion.

Several of us from Erie Gay News went to the 80's Rewind Dance that the Junior League of Erie held last night. It was a lot of fun, and I was glad that we were helping a good cause. The joint was packed to the gills and everyone was having a good time.

At one point, they were playing a slower song, so I ended up slow dancing with my friend, James. No one gave us a problem, and one woman said softly as she went by that it was good to see "family" at the event.

I then mentioned about the LBT Women's group, and about Erie Gay News. Then I handed her a copy of the print edition.

It turns out that she is moving here from out of state within the next month or so, so I felt very good that we helped let her know that there are resources here.

We had a rather long meeting yesterday to put together the run bags from Drenched Fur, which starts this Thursday. We were fairly efficient in getting the bags done. Then we met about the run itself. Our contact at the hotel was discussing the renovations which were going on, and wanted to reassure us that they would be ready for next week. (We are basically the launch for them targeting hosting conventions.)

So, at one point, while stressing the labor that they were investing in upgrading the facility, she said, "We have had men working on top of each other in the bar." To which I quipped, "Good, honey, because you are going to have that next week too!" It got a laugh. (And yes, that WAS a Bette Davis imaginary cigarette moment.)

Too funny! One co-worker was asking another in the next cubicle is she remembered Planet P. She didn't and he mentioned that they were a punk band in the early 1980's. "Oh, they were a band," she said, as she didn't have a frame of reference. Then he asked me if I recalled Planet P. I guffawed out loud, and the other co-worker laughed. I explained that my knowledge of music drops off pretty quickly after the United States of America began to exist as a country. ;) (Okay, I know some Broadway, but really, if it happened within the past 100 years or so, I will likely be fairly clueless.)

I was working late last week on getting all of the upcoming events for Erie Gay News calendar section. One of the bars mentioned that they were doing an Easter them on Saturday and would also be open on Easter Sunday. They also mentioned that they were having a drag show on Friday, which would be Good Friday.

I have to admit that my warped imagination ran away with me. So, if we were going with Easter as a theme and doing a drag show, would someone dress up like Mary Magdalene? Or maybe (pushing the envelope here), a drag performer should use the stage name Urgin' Mary for the evening, possibly with some hunky backup guys, with stigmata denoted by glitter. (Okay, pretty much on the Amtrak to Hell for that last one, but it pretty much screamed out as a possibility.)

I am scheduled to be interviewed tonight (Friday, March 20 at around 6:30 to 7 PM) by David of GLTV on Pittsburgh's Out web site. We will be talking about Erie's 17th Annual Pride Picnic on June 13. David will be calling me, so it is voice-only for me. This is before hopefully I go out to see my friend Tammy sign in the Erie Idol competition, whilst Deb is working on the latest issue of Erie Gay News. I guess I do have a rather busy life.

Very nice! The article about Brighidshaven's Ostara Ritual was on the front page of today's Erie Time News. Glad to see area Pagans getting some exposure.

Pagans celebrate arrival of spring

BY DANA MASSING
dana.massing@timesnews.com [more details]

Published: March 20. 2009 12:01AM

This is a portrait of T.J. and Cindy Laffan portraying the Oak King and the Holy King during the Covenant of Brighid's Haven's celebration of the Vernal Equinox on March 18 at the Universalist Unitarian Church.

Zoom | Buy this photo

MULTIMEDIA

VIDEO: To see a video of the Covenant of Brighid’s Haven demonstrating a ritual for Ostara, a celebration of the vernal equinox, click here.
Learn more
-www.u-n-c-l-e.org: United NeoPagan Council of Lake Erie, a nonprofit spiritual networking organization of groups and individuals from multi-theistic, nature-oriented or Earth-based religions.
-www.whisperinglakegrove.org: Whispering Lake Grove, a local congregation of neo-pagan Druids.
-www.cog.org: Covenant of the Goddess, an international organization of Wiccan congregations and solitary practitioners.
-www.witchvox.org: Witchvox, an educational network for pagans.
-www.circlesanctuary.org: Circle Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization dedicated to networking, research, spiritual healing, community celebrations and education.

Rich Konkol Jr. lay on the sanctuary floor, covered by a black cloak, practicing his religion.
He snored.
His loud nasal grunts were exaggerated, as befitted someone playing the role of a gatekeeper put to sleep by a Holly King who didn't want to make way for the Oak King's new season.
The mythological battle between kings took place Wednesday night at the Open Circle for Ostara held by the Covenant of Brighid's Haven. Konkol is a member of the local eclectic Wiccan coven, a part of the pagan religious family. His group held the ritual to celebrate the vernal equinox and the coming of spring, which arrives today.

... read the rest of the article here.

GoErie.com: Pagans celebrate arrival of spring

How cool is this? GoErie.com got some video of the Ostara ritual that the Covenant of Brighidshaven held last night. Speaking is the previously mentioned hunky straight Rich. Neat job!

Steve Glassman had previously suggested that I contact PoliticsPA.com about posting a link to the article about our lobbying visit with US Rep PA-3 Kathy Dahlkemper.

Sy Snyder, one of the folks, asked me to write a little something about HB 300, so I dashed something off this morning. They included me, which is pretty cool.

So, I am treating this as blog fodder. ;)

Why Pennsylvania needs to have a comprehensive Human Relations Commission statue

By Michael Mahler, Erie Gay News

Right now, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is considering HB 300, which would amend the current statewide Human Relations Commission statute to include sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. The statute has covered other categories, like race, religion, gender and etc since 1955. There are 20 other states in the US which already include similar legislation, including New Jersey, New York and Maryland, which border us. Additionally, thirteen municipalities in Pennsylvania already include this legislation. So, we are not talking about exploring radical and untried territory here. If our neighboring states can have this and if almost half the states in the US can have this, then why should Pennsylvania lag behind?
Why do we need this law? First and foremost, people should be judged on how they perform their jobs, and not on criteria that are unrelated to that. This law does not set hiring quotas. It already protects religious institutions, since the same law already deals with other categories that impact religious institutions.
Since 80% of Pennsylvania residents live in areas not covered by this particular anti-discrimination legislation, we have some legal anomalies. As an example, I have a very good friend who works here in Erie County, which does protect on these categories, she does have legal recourse if she is fired from her job because of her sexual orientation. However, she lives in a county adjacent to Erie, so she has no legal recourse if she is denied housing on that basis. That situation would be reversed for someone who lived in Erie, but worked in an adjoining county. Does that make sense? Of course not.
Pennsylvania is at a disadvantage for competing for skilled workers by not having this legislation. Over 97 percent of Fortune 500 companies already include protection on the basis of sexual orientation in their company policy, and over 35 percent also include protection for gender identity. (http://www.hrc.org/issues/fortune500.htm) Unfortunately, this does not carry the force of law, and this does not protect workers at companies that don't provide this. It also creates confusion for companies that have facilities in multiple areas; a branch in Erie would be subject to different local laws than a branch in Meadville. Companies are much farther in realizing that employment practices that judge solely on performance make good business sense.
I live in Erie County, and was involved with those who helped pass this legislation back in 2002. Then County Executive Rick Schenker (R) signed the law on March 8, 2002. (See the article at http://www.eriegaynews.com/news/article.php?recordid=2002hrcpasses.html) At the time, there were anti-gay organizations and individuals who were predicting dire consequences if Erie County passed this legislation. It has been 7 years since this was enacted here, and these wild claims have not been substantiated. We now hear from similar voices, and in some cases, the very same people, who are trying to argue the same tired arguments that were not true for Erie County will be true for Pennsylvania. Again, similar legislation is already in place in neighboring states and almost half of the states in the US.
This law would protect all citizens equally. Just as the other categories protect both those of a minority class within a category as well as the majority exactly equally, so too would this law protect the proposed additional categories. For example, the current legislation protects a worker fired for being Christian exactly the same as a worker fired for being Muslim or Jewish. Similarly, a worker fired for being straight or non-transgendered would be equally protected as a worker fired for being gay or transgendered. The law does NOT give anyone "special rights" since everyone belongs to a class within each of the categories. Every has a sexual orientation and gender identity, just as everyone belongs to a race or has a religious orientation.
The proposed law only deals with employment, housing and public accommodations (like restaurants.) It does NOT deal with other aspects of the law, such as marriage, requirements of domestic partner benefits or etc.
So please, contact your state legislator and ask them to support HB 300. Pennsylvania needs to treat ALL of its citizens equally under the law.

---

Michael Mahler is the Business Manager, Co-editor and Contributing Writer of the Erie Gay News

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OMG! I SO want one of these. (Actually, if it more closely resembled Hugh Jackman, I would probably kill for it.)

Marvel Wants You to Blow Wolverine

Christian conservatives are up in arms over a new inflatable toy by comic book and film giant Marvel. The inflatable Wolverine doll comes with a strategically placed inflation tube -- right on his crotch.

An article on satirical christian website ChristWire.org gets straight to the point --- "We might as well line our children up and burn them ourselves! If we make these types of devil-pleasing acts OK, they will all be burning in the fire lakes anyways... What’s next? The Wonder Woman lollipop?"

How about an inflatable Hugh Jackman?

Marvel Wants You to Blow Wolverine  | News | Advocate.com

I just got word that Mercyhurst, which was going to show Slumdog Millionaire at its Guelcher Film Series next Wednesday, March 25, will instead be showing Academy Award nominated Milk, about the life of openly gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. It will be shown at 2:15 PM and 8 PM. You can read the full details at http://pac.mercyhurst.edu/events/event_detail.php?id=942.

Some of us saw this in the theatre and found it intensely moving. If you missed it in the theatre, here's a second chance!

The meeting that I had last Thursday for the United NeoPagan Council of Lake Erie went relatively well. We got some stuff settled for the upcoming Jake Weber Memorial Scholarship event. We even talked about some proposed by-law changes to allow for rank and file sort of members, and that was relatively painless. (I normally loathe talking about bylaws with a passionate hatred.)

We also went over Mead Weekend. We had it at Rich's (that would be hunky straight Rich, who is a very cool guy) in May of 2007. I didn't go since I was busy, and I also don't drink or brew. The other board members mentioned that there were other activities, and then Rich chimed in with "And I will probably be walking around naked at some point." "Okay," I quipped, "You have my attention now." It was just silly fun, but cool that we can all get along.

My mom, who is a sewing jock par excellence, had recently said that she would be up for embroidering the Drenched Fur committee member shirts. Mom has quite a few sewing machines, one of which is a Viking that can take designs from a USB flash drive and embroider them. She also has a Husqvarna that can do the same, although the software for digitizing that has stopped working. So, Mom has been diligently trying to learn the digitizing software for the Viking. There were some aspects of the interface that eluded her, so I told her that I would take a look at it. That seemed only appropriate, as she is doing us a very nice favor.

I actually figured out the issue and was able to do some of the digitizing! Bearing in mind that I have no skill in sewing or aesthetic stuff in general, I felt pretty cool. Mom has been going to classes to learn this, so hopefully, the stuff that I figured out will be helpful.

Talk about paranoid delusional! Does anyone actually buy this reasoning. By the same logic, if we allow people to become clergy, then ALL people will become clergy, and there will be economic devastation, and everyone will die and puppies will presumably be thrown into chipper-shredders. Or whatever.

Has anyone actually met a straight person who is so tenuously straight that only the lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriages keeps them heterosexual? Folks, most straight folks didn't get Lily Tomlin or Neal Patrick Harris. How many of Clay Aiken's fans refused to believe the rumors?

Why doesn't it work the other way? Since most areas do not allow marriage between people of the same sex, then why aren't ALL people in those areas heterosexual? Is being gay just so much better that straight folks pretty much need to nail their feet to the floor? Do straight folks have any idea how insecure and immature this makes them sound to be?

Minnesota gay marriage ban 'will prevent world from ending'

By Jessica Geen • March 18, 2009 - 15:07

The world will end if gays marry, religious groups have said

No Comments Yet on Minnesota gay marriage ban 'will prevent world from ending'

The Minnesota Family Council has introduced an amendment to ban gay marriage, which it claims will stop the world from ending.

The group made the announcement at a press conference, accompanied by religious leaders from all major faiths who said that gay marriage would trigger the end of the world.

“If everyone is a gay, this world will cease to exist in ten years,” said Ikram ul-Huq, the imam and religious director of the Muslim Community Center of Bloomington.

Andre Dukes, pastor of Shiloh Temple church in Minneapolis, said: "This is not a political issue, or an issue of choice or rights. It is an issue of life."

Legislation introduced recently in Minnesota and currently passing through committees would permit gay marriage by making the marriage laws gender-neutral.

Commentators have said the amendment to ban gay marriage is unlikely to pass

Minnesota gay marriage ban ‘will prevent world from ending’ - from Pink News - all the latest gay news from the gay community - Pink News

Okay, this wins as the gayest thing I have seen today, maybe in quite some time. Barbie? Carol Burnett (kind of a gay icon)? Gone with the Wind? Bob Mackie??

Too much fun! And WAY over the top gay.

The Carol Burnett Show Went with the Wind! Barbie® Doll

2009
Pink Label™
Pop Culture

Product Code: N4986Price: $43.00

A comic legend, a noted fashion and costume designer, an unforgettable television show. These elements join forces in The Carol Burnett Show Went with the Wind! Barbie® doll. One of the shows most memorable sketches “Went with the Wind” is based on the classic film “Gone with the Wind.” In an effort to woo Rat Butler, Starlet quickly creates a dress sure to impress her gentleman caller. The results are unforgettable — a velvety green gown made of drapes, complete with the curtain rod! This wonderful character doll is beautifully sculpted in the likeness of Miss Burnett. She wears an elaborate re-creation of the original costume, re-imagined by the original designer, acclaimed costumer Bob Mackie.

BarbieCollector.com - Welcome to the official Mattel site for Barbie Collector

Oy! Someone actually found something that tops this. If you are a straight male, I advise you to look away. Now!

1995 Mattel Barbie as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz

Photo ©1998 Jim Johnson

Photo ©1998 Jim Johnson

This is the 1995 "Barbie as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz" by Mattel, a "Special Edition" of their "Hollywood Legends Collection". The series includes such legends as Scarlett and Rett from "Gone with the Wind" and Maria from "The Sound of Music". Since Barbie as Dorothy was released, Mattel has also released Ken as the Tinman, Barbie as Glinda and some others, I think.
Barbie as Dorothy seemed to be rather hard to find; rumors were that this was a limited edition. I managed to find two in 1995 - one for display and one to keep mint-in-box. One cost $55.00 and the other cost $49.00. Since then (as of 1997) I have seen them selling on eBay for as much as $250.00.
Barbie as Dorothy is a standard 11½ inch Barbie doll, costumed in the MGM movie dress. She has brown eyes like Judy, but she doesn't look like Judy; she looks like Barbie. Her costume is accurate, and includes a full white petticoat that shows just a little below the hem of the dress. The dress is much fuller than Judy's was. She has light blue nylon-looking stockings and very pretty metallic-red shoes.
She comes with a plastic Toto, a straw basket, the usual Barbie hairbrush, a yellow stand, and a miniature poster from the movie. The packaging is very attractively done, and the doll is mounted in the box with her skirt strapped around her wrist, showing off her petticoat. She is a pretty doll, though she is (in typical Barbie style) more of a sophisticated fashion model than a young girl from rural Kansas.
2005 update: I see that this doll is now selling on eBay for as little as $10.00 - $30.00. It's ironic that the price was driven so high in the '90s by "investors" who, now, can barely even dump the doll!

JGDB Dolls: Barbie as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz

Yippee! PA House Bill 300 (which would add sexual orientation and gender identity/expression to the existing Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission statute) was successfully voted out of the State Government Committee by a 12-11 vote. Kudos to the ever diligent Jake Kaskey of Equality Advocates of PA for the final vote count. Check out his nifty Twitter feed!

Wow! PA House Bill 300 (which would add sexual orientation and gender identity/expression to the existing categories covered by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission) is being debated by the State Government Committee as I write this. ACLU Legislative Director Andy Hoover is there, twittering it as it happens. It makes the whole process come alive and is tremendous for an information junkie like yours truly.

Check out Andy's Twitter feed. Excellent job!

I was aware of this for a bit and was trying to help out.

It is my belief that most people probably already falsely believe that it is illegal to fire someone for reasons unrelated to job performance. I have taken calls from folks who are worried that simply going somewhere could deprive them of their livelihood.

We need to pass this legislation. Almost half of the states in this country already have these laws. Pennsylvania needs to not be at the back of the bus.

We need individuals and groups to contact their legislators in Harrisburg to get this moving. The time is NOW!

House Bill Introduced to End LGBT Discrimination

(Harrisburg, PA) - Legislation prohibiting discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in housing, employment, and public accommodations was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on March 4, 2009.

Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny County) introduced the bill, House Bill 300, which would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity or expression" as protected classes, with a record 79 co-sponsors from both parties and from across the commonwealth.

"This legislation is critical to thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pennsylvanians who are trying to work and have a roof over their heads, and it enjoys substantial support from Pennsylvanians from every corner of the Commonwealth," said Jake Kaskey, policy and outreach coordinator of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania.

House Bill Introduced to End LGBT Discrimination