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20 Oct 2010 10:57

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Culture: Hillary Clinton jumps onto the “It Gets Better” bandwagon

  • Take heart, and have hope, and please remember that your life is valuable, and that you are not alone.  Many people are standing with you and sending you their thoughts, their prayers and their strength.  Count me among them.
  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton • Making her own “It Gets Better” video. She’s the most prominent person to make one of these videos, but by far not the only one. Dan Savage’s movement has gotten a lot of attention in recent weeks (especially in the wake of Joel Burns’ speech). But is it helping? Simon Owens of The Next Web recently asked some of the video creators whether they thought the videos would have helped them. “I think it would have been amazing,” said one video-maker, Khris Brown. “I think it would have made me feel less alone.” Owens’ suggestion at the end of the article is that the videos not only have their own outward benefits, but  work as “a method of confronting and addressing the video-makers’ own demons as well.” That’s exactly why this idea is so effective. It empowers the maker as well as the watcher. source
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16 Oct 2010 19:42

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Culture: Joel Burns’ “It Gets Better” moment goes viral for the right reasons

  • This video has gotten over a million views in just three days. The “it gets better” message that Fort Worth council member Joel Burns lets out is one of deep struggle – he went through many of the things that gay teens went through – but one that he came out all the better for. His message? So will you. This feels like a corner-turning moment. The weeks since Dan Savage started the “It Gets Better” campaign have proven pivotal in building understanding for gays – of all ages, young and old. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2010 09:12

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U.S.: Cellmate: “Latin King Goonies” laugh about anti-gay crime

  • classy You’re one of eight suspects sitting in jail after being suspected of committing a heinous anti-gay crime in the Bronx just over a week ago. Your face has been plastered all over the news.
  • classier Your cellmates have this to say about you: “They thought it was funny – one of them was laughing. He was saying ‘I’ll take five years.’ They were all joking around like it was funny.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Sep 2010 21:55

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U.S.: My work is done here: Prop. 8 judge Vaughn Walker retiring

  • He’s only going to be remembered for that one case. Vaughn Walker had a long career as a judge in California, but it’s a decision he made in August that made him famous. Walker, the chief judge of the Northern District of California, struck down Proposition 8 using a tightly-written decision that law scholars are going to be reading for decades to come. Walker’s second act? He doesn’t have one. He’s retiring at the end of the year. Might as well go out on top. Bravo, dude. Have fun playing golf. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Sep 2010 09:29

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U.S.: HIV still a huge problem for gay males in major cities

  • 19% of gay men (in a new study of 21 major cities and HIV) have the disease – and nearly half don’t know it
  • 28% of black men in the study had HIV, and over half of them didn’t know they had it; the number was lower for other races
  • 63%of young people in the study were unaware of their HIV-positive status – a number that went down with age source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2010 20:59

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Politics: Lady Gaga says pretty much the greatest sentence ever

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Sep 2010 16:11

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Politics: Montana GOP: 1997 called, said homosexuality should be illegal

  • We support the clear will of the people of Montana expressed by legislation to keep homosexual acts illegal.
  • The official Montana GOP stance on homosexuality • As expressed in the platform page on their Web site, under the “crime” section. It apparently was added back in 1997, before Matthew Shepard, before civil unions, before gay marriage in Massachusetts and other states, and before Prop 8. Uh, perhaps they should change that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Sep 2010 02:18

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Politics: CNN asks dumb, controversial poll question about gay TV characters

  • bad CNN’s Headline News recently had a report on the “surge” of gay characters on TV, and their potential impact on culture. The anti-gay Media Research Center was quoted.
  • worse With the online version of the story, they included a poll asking: “Is the surge in gay TV characters ‘bad for society’?” GLAAD rightly got them to take the poll down, but the article is still up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Aug 2010 21:44

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Politics: Prop 8 trial: Could procedure prevent a landmark decision?

  • Judges are human beings. If there is an easy way out, most people will look for it. And this would be an easy way out for the judges.
  • George Washington University Law Professor Alan Morrison • Regarding the possibility that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and later the Supreme Court, could use a distinction known as “standing” to allow gay marriage in California but invalidate the right of the supporters to represent the case for the state of California. The reason why this would be appealing? It wouldn’t allow a broader decision on gay marriage throughout the country. It would be a partial victory for those who support gay rights, rather than the one they really want. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Aug 2010 20:09

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U.S.: Gay marriage will have to wait for anti-Prop. 8 Californians

  • what An appeals court blocked gay marriages from taking place after lower court judge Vaughn Walker said they could. So they’ll have to wait for now.
  • why The court appeared to agree with pro-Prop. 8 lawyer Charles Cooper’s take – that allowing them could cause  “irreparable harm” to the trial. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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