Tuesday, September 30, 2014
How to explain "Gay Republicans": A Post columnist has a good answer
Steven Petrow, in a column in the Washington Post Style page called “Civilities”, answers a
question “How to tell friends that you are gay and Republican”, link here.
The best part of his answer shows that conservatism can be consistent with gay equality, even demand it, as Andrew Sullivan often points out. Petrow discusses Ted Olson, the attorney
who won “Bush v Gore” for George W. Bush, but argued the conservative case for
striking down California’s Proposition 8.
Wash Westmoreland made a TV film “Gay Republicans” in 2004
(available on Netflix), examining Log Cabin Republicans.
My own first book is, after all, titled “Do Ask, Do Tell: A
Gay Conservative Lashes Back”, although a harsh reviewer on Amazon said I wasn’t
either conservative or libertarian.
Let’s point out, too, the past of Gays and Lesbians for
Individual Liberty (GLIL), not as active as it was in the 1990s. (The webpage doesn’t work right now.) In the 1990s, the connection “gay and
libertarian” took hold, but weakened after 9/11 and after the idea that
promoting marriage was promoting government-endorsed privileges took hold. Libertarians have sometimes opposed ENDA.
Picture: An author’s booth (Jenise Brown, “Down Low Sister
on Top: Celebrating the Afrcian American
Bisexual Woman”) from LGBT Virginia Pride in Richmond on Saturday.
Monday, September 29, 2014
More news stories on LGBT asylum (especially from Russia) appear; will there ever be a "sponorship" issue?
The Washington Blade is running a series of stories of LGBT
people seeking political asylum in the United States. On Sept. 26, it ran a story about Andrew
Nasonov, who was kidnapped by “police” after attending a demonstration in
Voronezh, Russia. The story by Michael
K. Lavers here. The story has a photo of a sign, “Ask me why
in Russia they want to kill me”. Nasonov
arrived with his boyfriend July 2.
On August 6, Lavers had reported asylum granted for a
doctor, George Budny. The former manager
of the now closed Moscow gay disco the Central Station, Arkady Gyngazov, was
reported to be seeking asylum in January.
And US Citizenship and Immigration Services granted asylum to Ugandan
activist, John “Longjones” Abdallah Wambere, as demonstrated by this
letter.
USCIS explains the requirements in its explanation of Form
I-589, linked from this page. Asylum can be sought based on persecution,
either by government or by inability or disinclination of government to control
criminal activity (as in Russia), based on race, religion, nationality,
political opinion, or membership in a social group (which would logically
include LGBT). USCIS has an important other
page, called “Benefits and Responsibilities of Asylees” which has information
about green cards, work, and financial assistance, here. USCIS does not appear to imply that asylum
(getting it or staying in the country) would depend on securing financial
support or housing from others first. Organizations have been formed in some cities, like Chicago, to provide such support, however.
Spectrum HR has a “40 in 14” page with individual stories
here. There is an LGBT Asylum Support Task Force, which seems to sponsor fund
raisers, here.
As I’ve written here before, in 1980 there was a period
where some LGBT Cuban refugees came into the US by boat, and there was
considerable pressure within the LGBT community in some southern states
(including Dallas, TX, where I lived at the time) to provide housing for
them. This led to the founding of a
shelter called “Safe Place” for a while in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas. That sort of call has not become evident to
my knowledge this time however, despite asylum requests from Russia, Uganda,
Nigeria, and other authoritarian or backward countries.
The biggest concern would occur if situations were to arise
where refugees were to be returned to dangerous circumstances if sponsors who
could house or support them weren’t found.
That notion might have occurred with the child migrant crisis from
Central America, too, but it has calmed down and the Obama Administration has
discouraged that sort of interpretation since it could lead to more illegal
migration.
I have not read or heard anywhere that this kind of
situation has developed, as it apparently had in 1980. For example, I am in a “house” and am retired:
should I step up and do anything? This
is much harder to do than it sounds – and maybe dangerous and double-edged for
various reasons – so then it becomes as matter of heart and interest,
perhaps. Certainly, some of the pressure
on me over some past years to drop “amateur journalism” and learn to hock
services (like selling life insurance or preparing taxes, in retirement)
anticipates the idea of being capable (in retirement) of stepping up to accept
dependents to respond to a crisis like this.
But I really don’t know if there is a crisis that ‘ordinary people” or
some possible means must respond to.
Constructive comments and definitive information are welcome.
Picture: Virginia Pride, Saturday Sept. 27
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Virginia Pride in Richmond, on Brown's Island, is relatively simple as gay marriage battle in Supreme Court approaches (and a mathematics lesson at one stage)
Saturday, September 28, 2014, I did visit Virginia Pride, on
Brown’s Island in the James River in Richmond Virginia.
I had to park about five blocks away, on 10th
Street; you couldn’t park in the Federal Reserve.
The venue was spacious enough, and the event seemed a little
larger than one in Charlottesville (that I visited in 2013). There were several stages. One of them was for a youth group, which
presented a magician whose idea of “The Prestige” was created by a Mobius
strip, which will produce odd results based on how many times you fold the
strip before putting the ends together.
Lambda Legal, Equality Virginia, HRC, faith groups and several HIV groups had booths; so did Blue Cross Blue Shield and many corporations. One book author (Jenise Brown) had a booth.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Daughter of police chief implicated in attack on gay couple in Philadelphia; more debate on hate crimes laws
The daughter of a police chief is one of the people arrested
for a beating of a gay couple in Philadelphia.
The case was tracked down by “amateur sleuths” using social media
(especially Twitter), according to the ABC News story here.
There is controversy over whether the trio should be charged
for a hate crime. A discussion on CNN
Saturday morning indicated that a technicality caused the Pennsylvania state
laws regarding LGBT-related hate crimes to be struck down because the law had
not gone through the judiciary committee.
Smerconish played devil’s advocate with the idea of hate crimes
laws, as he asked if the punishment for an attack on a straight couple should be any less. That's the libertarian argument.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Southern Baptist Convention kicks out churches that seek a "middle ground" on homosexuality
Think Progress is reporting that the Executive Committee of
the Southern Baptist Convention has kicked out the New Heart Community Church
of La Mirada, CA (in the Los Angeles area) for allowing an ambiguous position
on homosexuality, link here.
The Think Progress article showed the completed new Southern
Baptist Convention headquarters in downtown Dallas, near First Baptist Church
where Wally Amos Criswell as pastor when I lived in Dallas in the 1980s. Criswell preached an anti-gay sermon on a
Sunday night in 1980, well before the AIDS epidemic was known. When my parents visited me in Dallas in April
1979 (I had moved there in January) my father wanted to attend a service there. Criswell gave a 40-minute sermon.
At New Heart, Danny Cortez had preached a sermon, “Why I
changed my mind on homosexuality”. Much
of it has to do with his son.
The SBC also kicked out a church in Fort Worth, TX and has
done so with a few other congregations.
Albert Mohler of SBC wrote a blog post where he sees
homosexuality as an issue where there is no middle ground, no "third way". It’s a “binary issue”. It’s like an exam question where there is no
part-credit. But he gives no reason for
why he thinks the Bible would maintain that it is wrong, or why he interprets
certain passages the way does. It’s a
very curious position from a protestant denomination long known for enhancing
the value of individual conscience.
I grew up in the First Baptist Church of the City of
Washington DC at 16th and O Sts NW, less than a mile from the White
House. Jimmy Carter sometimes taught
Sunday School there. FBC is affiliated with both Southern and American Baptist Conventions (it may be the only such church, or may have been in the past.) Dr. Edward Pruden
(raised in Richmond VA) was pastor from the 1940s until the late 1960s. He was known for progressive sermons on race
in the early 1950s, even before the new building. He preached some notable
sermons on why a Christian Germany allowed Nazism to grow and even a Holocaust
to happen. In more recent years, pastors
have often not stayed long because the congregation tends to become split on
many issues (leading to internal issues), but has gradually become more liberal
on many other social issues as the world around it, especially the Dupont
Circle neighborhood, changes.
I’ve always gotten the impression that so much of this is
about procreation, or its lack. Somehow,
many people feel that if homosexual relations are seen as morally legitimate,
sexual relations in traditional heterosexual marriage (with a model of
procreation) will gradually engender less passion. This sounds so much like relativity, where
the observer affects what he sees.
First four pictures: Dallas, TX, my visit, Nov. 2011
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Eagle seems on track to re-open in NE Washington; I take an auto tour of the area
I made a little “field trip” to the site of the new “Eagle”
on Benning Road, NE in Washington DC after church today.
The Washington Blade this weekend has good news, that the DC
Liquor Board has ruled in favor of the Eagle and against the shopping center
opposing the license, story here. But a drive-through of the area shows that the “real problem”
has little to do with the idea of a gay bar in the area or alcohol itself. It has everything to do with gentrification
and real estate development in the area, which is slowly driving the poor
people out.
I got lost driving there.
I took Florida Ave. down and didn’t realize that H Street NE becomes
Benning Road. I wound up going through other
areas of NE. The crime reports in the
media are horrific, but the area looks a lot better than it used to.
But people walk across the street, deliberately challenging
cars to stop. The people look ragtag and
often overweight and in poor health. The
area is a mixture of old industry, pawn shops, and then clusters of nice new
townhomes just down Minnesota Ave, and a new high rise office or condo building
near the site of the bar. The area is
definitely changing. Prices will go up, and tensions will increase. I did see a
variety of community activities. I
passed what looked like a Fire Dept. sponsored youth gathering in a nearby
park.
When the bar-disco opens (still not sure of the date), Metro
Transit Police will have to beef up security at the nearby Minensota Ave
(Orange) and Benning Rd and Capitol Heights Stations (Blue and Silver). DC Police will need to patrol the blocks
between the stations and the place.
There seems to be a lot of parking behind the buildings, but it will
need security, which means it will need to charge fees. The actual building seems impossible to see
from Benning Road (due to the complexity of the bridge and intersection with
I-295) but I think you can see the building from Dix Street, which leads to the
shopping center and various parking lots. In general, I'm reminded of the area around The Gold Coast in Detroit (covered Aug. 7, 2012).
I look forward to the place.
But it can work only if the neighborhood around it improves and is kept
secure enough. This area of Washington
DC is changing rapidly.
Other clubs in DC curiously haven't announced their October events yet -- yet Halloween and High Heels are coming soon.
Friday, September 19, 2014
New York Times provides state-by-state details on surrogacy
The New York Times has a major front page article on
surrogacy by Tamar Lewin, here along with a state-by-state table on
surrogacy laws today (particularly on whether surrogacy contracts are
enforceable). At least one state,
Illinois, allows only “gestational surrogacy”, with other restrictions to
prevent “designer babies”.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Rehoboth stays active after Labor Day, with free parking
As for the old 1970s question, “are gay resorts really gay?”,
I can certainly say that they can stay busy after Labor Day.
At Rehoboth Beach, DE, free street parking started Monday
(after the first two weekends in September), and on a Wednesday (a warm clear day
with low humidity) the town was packed.
The lunch places were busy too, as most places were celebrating he idea
that both the Nationals and Orioles had clinched titles last night, within an
hour of one another.
You can actually park near the Queen Street beach now, but
it had only a smaller gathering of people.
You can see the Convention Center, which has held big dances
before, the shopping arcade (where Lambda Rising used to live), and even the
old location of MCC within a couple of blocks.
There is a volunteer fire department, a touch a small town America and a
throwback to older days of gender roles.
Saw someone I recognized biking on the new Fenwick Bridge on
Route 1.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Lawyers say that Facebook's "real names" policy works to the detriment of some in the gay community, especially transgender and drag queen performers
Electronic Frontier Foundation has an interesting and
disturbing perspective on how Facebook’s “real names only” can work to the
detriment of some people in the LGBTQ community, especially transgender, or those
in low-income areas, or in non-western communities overseas, with the link
here. The article is by Nadaia Kayyali and Jillian
York. Slate, in fact, had an article, “Is
Facebook cracking down on drag names?” (which for performers are usually pseudonyms),
here.
Google Plus is reported to have ended the “real names”
policy altogether.
Facebook says that “real names” keeps the community safer,
but that works both ways. People can use
pseudonyms for non-real names for fan pages, which offer much restricted capabilities. Mark Zuckerberg has been reported to say that he feels that pseudonyms show a lack of integrity -- but many writers have used them for centuries. Look at female novelists in Britain!
Supposedly, the trans community was to demonstrate today at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto.
It's important to realize that not many drag queens are not transgendered, and that many transvestites are actually straight, and want to diminish the cultural importance of visual images of sexual conformity.
Fifteen years ago, even my own mother was nervous at one time that I was writing about gays in the military under my own name, possibly inciting violence or indignant attacks or bringing it upon myself or others connected to me. I have often said that I cannot live with that kind of “Mafia” thinking. Of course, my parents grew up in a world where a lot of people did think that way, and I respect that now. That goes on in other parts of the world, though, as EFF points out – and Facebook’s policy talks about the effect on the Arab Spring. Needing anonymity (de facto “witness protection”) -- that’s the stuff of soap operas (although “Days of our Lives” really turned around 180 degrees on open homosexuality and gay marriage in the past two years).
Fifteen years ago, even my own mother was nervous at one time that I was writing about gays in the military under my own name, possibly inciting violence or indignant attacks or bringing it upon myself or others connected to me. I have often said that I cannot live with that kind of “Mafia” thinking. Of course, my parents grew up in a world where a lot of people did think that way, and I respect that now. That goes on in other parts of the world, though, as EFF points out – and Facebook’s policy talks about the effect on the Arab Spring. Needing anonymity (de facto “witness protection”) -- that’s the stuff of soap operas (although “Days of our Lives” really turned around 180 degrees on open homosexuality and gay marriage in the past two years).
Sunday, September 14, 2014
In Washington, Eagle still faces opposition to liquor license despite renovating new property, illustrating a troubling trend
The Washington Blade, in a story by Lou Chibbaro, Jr., is
reporting that a shopping center near the new location of the DC Eagle is still
trying to oppose its liquor license application, as time for its re-opening
approaches. The story is here. The bar’s owners paid a little under $1
million for the building and would hardly have made the purchase if they did
not expect approval. The article
explains the very ambitious plans for the bar on Benning Road NE. The land
could be valuable just as investment.
This is an area of town undergoing “gentrification” and rapid rise in
real estate values, most of all centered on the new H Street NE corridor with
the new streetcar line.
Clubs in Washington DC often face difficulties in finding
new properties where liquor licenses will be approved, if they lose existing
leases. Remingtons, the Country-western
bar has not re-opened. TownDC has been
holding early evening parties for “Bears” and country western since the Eagle
and Remingtons closed. In general,
liquor licenses have been more controversial in recent years as much of
Washington has become much more “residential” with high-rent or high-priced
apartments and townhouses.
I will try to visit the area in the daytime in the
reasonably near future and form my own conclusions and report again. Oh, it’s hard to make time.
I noticed that the midnight “Rocky Picture Horror Show” at
Landmark E St on Saturday night rather makes it into a sort of “gay hour”. There is no “gay bar” now (with the Eagle
gone) as such in the immediate downtown area, even though the Blade has held events
at Hard Rock before, and SLDN and HRC hold events at the nearby Convention
Center.
The Nationals had a “night out” on June 17. The Nats may well he headed for the World
Series this year. But it is pro football
where the acceptance of an openly gay player (now trying with the Cowboys) has
gotten the most attention.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Low income senior housing gets more attention as an issue; another story on a building in Philadelphia
An apartment house in Philadelphia may provide a model for
housing low-income LGBT seniors, according to Emily Wax-Thibodeaux in the
Washington Post Saturday morning, link here. The facility is the John C. Anderson
apartments. There is a waiting
list. I see that the New York Times had
reported on this property March 14.
LGBT seniors still report discrimination, sometimes in
Florida, especially in other southern states.
One of my own best living experiences was in the Churchill
Apartments in downtown Minneapolis from 1997-2003. This was pricey by Midwestern standards, but
a little less expensive than the same kind of building in the DC area (about
20% less). There were a number of
handicapped people and there were apartments set aside for senior housing
(Bridge Street) and companies (even movie studios), but the building as a whole
was general population. There were
graduate students (the U of M was a mile away) and pretty clearly some
LGBT. It was on the Skyway and close to the
social life on Hennepin. It was close to
most employers downtown by walk. I
prefer places with mixed populations, not specialized ones.
Friday, September 12, 2014
North Carolina "libertarian" rep compares gay rights to smokers'
Here’s a story that sounds like a distortion of
libertarianism, taken literally. Rep Robert Pittenger (R-NC) compare the
“right” to fire gay people from a private business to the right to smoke
cigarettes outside or in a private home.
The Think Progress story is here. I guess his kind of argument cuts both
ways. But back in the 90s, GLIL opposed
anti-discrimination laws against private businesses on libertarian grounds
(sometimes sounding awkward, as withj one 1996 press release) and supported the
Boy Scouts position in the Supreme Court, but insisted that the BSA should get
no public funds anyway. Oh, I remember
when I was in the Army, the officers were expected to work with the BSA.
Let the life companies continue to charge the smokers higher
rates.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Gay equality is now pursued deep within the Bible Belt
The Washington Post reports on 9/11 that gay rights
advocates have turned attention to the Bible Belt -- the South – as most gay marriage lawsuits
against states so far wind up as wins.
Sandhya Somashekhar has a front page story in the paper today here . The focus is on Mississippi, and the
emphasis is on countering anti-gay bullying and on countering discrimination,
particularly in rural areas or in businesses heavily influenced by
fundamentalism. There is still a belief
in “the gay agenda” in the area, and the gay community continues to rely on The
Immutability Argument, to keep it simple.
I lived in Dallas, TX from 1979-1988 and found the climate
to be improving. But in 1980, there were
a few police raids on gay bars and false charges for public lewdness, which
stopped when one defendant, a computer operator, was acquitted by a judge who saw
what was going on, after pressure from the Dallas Gay Alliance. (I sat in another
trial by a judge who did convict him; I
would later serve as a jury foreman on a case before the same judge, who
actually seemed to respect me; maybe he learned. Judges are elected in Texas.) It was in Dallas that the first anti-sodomy
lawsuit was won (Baker v. Wade, 1982).
But Texas had to deal with the Dallas Doctors Against AIDS and fend off
an attempt to strengthen the sodomy law in 1983, in response to AIDS, with
military-style bans in most occupations.
It would be Lawrence v. Texas that would finally end sodomy laws in
2003.
I visited Alabama and Mississippi (and Georgia, Tennessee,
and Kentucky) in May of this year. I
stayed in Tupelo and looked at tornado damage.
I found Alabama particularly to be very backward, but I visited the Pettus
Bridge in Selma.
Monday, September 08, 2014
Anti-gay group supporting large families skirts sanctions against Russia
Mother Jones, in a piece by Hannah Levintova, reports (on Mon. Sept. 8, 2014) about an anti-gay gathering in Moscow which would appear to have skirted the legal requirements associated with recent US and EU sanctions against Russia due to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. The link is here.
The conference was to be called “Large Families: The Future
of Humanity”, which originally included “Every Child a Gift” in the title.
The culture of this group certainly resents the idea of
adults who focus on their own personal economic or expressive productivity (or “creativity”)
and are not willing to risk taking a back seat to raise children in a more
collective environment.
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Town DC draws Nats fans away from baseball game, leaving Nationals to blow game after they leave
A few guys left the baseball game at Nationals Park on Friday night when the Nationals had a 7-2 lead over the Phillies and came to the Town Danceboutique early enough (on "18-21 night") to get in before the cover goes up, and to see the entire show. They regretted it when the Nats relievers blew the game and the Nats lost in 11 innings, as I showed them on my iPhone. The Nats needed them in the stands. Last year, the Nats won a game, 2-1, from the Marlins on "gay night".
No, Washington Post, the Phillies are not "pests" like drain flies. The Nats should not count on their divisional title yet.
Saturday, Karaoke went on at Freddies as usual. I sang "Save Me" from Smallville (Remy Zero) one time with karaoke in Baltimore.
Thursday, September 04, 2014
Federal judge in Louisiana breaks "win streak" on gay marriage with old-fashioned arguments; a win in the 7th Circuit
There’s a lot of outrage on the web over the first “loss” in
the state gay marriage battles at the federal district court level, as district
judge Martin Feldman upheld Louisiana’s “ban” yesterday. This was the first “defeat” after a winning
streak. Sounds like baseball, doesn’t
it.
The Huffington Post has a column by Paige Lavender here. She starts out by challenging Feldman’s
assertion that being gay is a “choice”. She also challenges Feldman’s
historical contention that gay marriage had been “inconceivable” until
recently.
Ian Millhiser has a similar story on Think Progress, link
here. The judge also challenged the idea that
marriage is a “fundamental right” outside the idea of marrying a consenting
partner of the opposite sex when a procreative event is possible. We’ve heard all this before. At the very least, marriage is possible with
opposite sex couples where both partners are sterile or where the female is
past menopause.
In Chapter 5 of my first “DADT” book, I had proposed that a
relationship could be recognized when it supports a dependent, which could
include an unborn child. It’s the actual
presence (not just the potentiality) of children or legitimate dependents that
seemed related to social responsibility and common good, it seemed.
Update: Later Thursday
Seventh Circuit rejects gay marriage bans in Wisconsin, Indiana. Lambda Legal has copy of opinion here.
Update: Later Thursday
Seventh Circuit rejects gay marriage bans in Wisconsin, Indiana. Lambda Legal has copy of opinion here.
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
East Coast gay beach resorts don't die after Labor Day
Well, with all the hot stormy weather and other destinations
(like Harpers Ferry), I haven’t reached Rehoboth this “late summer” season
yet. But the Blade had a big story on
the an event at the Convention Center, here. Over the years, Rehoboth has had a lot of battles over clubs and noise, traffic, and parking. It's not without problems.
In 1997, I stayed overnight at an Econo Lodge in Dover on a Saturday,
and had to endure traffic jams on the coast highway to get down to a dance
there July 4 weekend. I’m not connected
socially enough to get into some long term house rental, and it wouldn’t make
sense in my own life.
I’ve only been to Provincetown MA once, over Labor Day
weekend in 1976, with a friend. I was
living in NYC then. Provincetown is a chore to get to, unless you’re
going to stay there a while, and are socially connected. I recall visiting a T-dance at the
Boatslip. “T-dances” don’t seem to be as
popular today. I stayed that night with
the friends at someone’s house in Duxbury, and then we went to Mount Washington
for Labor Day itself.
Same thing about Fire Island. I never stayed over night. But I went on weekend days on the LIRR many
times. You took a ferry to Fire Island
Pines, and typically walked one mile to Cherry Grove.
I can recall back in 1973, after “my second coming”, on a
visit to New York City from New Jersey, going to the “West Side Discussion
Group”, and there was a topic, “are gay results really gay?” That was the early 1970s.
Past experience is that Rehoboth is still pretty active on
warm, dry days – even during the week – for a while after Labor Day, well into
October. Parking is easier at Ocean City
than at Rehoboth nearly always, in my experience There’s still time this year.
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
Blade columnist names a couple of female GOP politicians as "evil"
Peter Rosenstein has a biting column in the Washington Blade
this week, “What does evil do when it retires?”
That’s specifically about congresswoman Michele Bachman (R-MN), as in
the link here. There’s all the hype about the connections
in her family to reparative therapy, and I heard a lot about her from friends
in Minneapolis on a return visit in June 2011.
But her worst deeds were her irresponsible behavior and taunts against
Barack Obama during the debt ceiling crisis in the summer of 2011, and then
again in the fall of 2013, where it was complicated by a government shutdown. We can’t afford such foolishness now, with
real enemies abroad.
The article also mentions Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate
in 2008, but her problem was more that she didn’t know anything, as in the HBO
movie “Game Change” (Movies blog, March 11, 2012).
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