Queer Issues: A question of priorities.

With a 2010 state proposition on gay marriage in the works and a national gay rally on the Washington Mall being planned for October 10-11 of this year, it's obvious that more and more of the LGBT community's resources are being funneled into the battle for marriage equality, while other causes go begging.

Already gay marriage has become a black hole that is sucking untold amounts of money, time and energy out of our community. In 2008 election alone, gay marriage supporters raised 43.3 million to defeat Prop 8, the anti-gay marriage initiative that California voters passed by 52% (49% of us voted No on Prop 8 including you and me)We lost. It may be the biggest chunk of change the community has ever spent for a single flight.

I am thinking...so if queer couples want to be as miserable as straight ones, that's their choice. The way I look at it, marriage is a failed and a pathetic institution. With a 54.8% divorce rate nationally...and 68% in California alone. And more and more heterosexuals are "calling it quit" -- even those with very young children (including Jon & Kate Gosellins) still find the time to screw other people...Marriage is a fucking failed institution.

ALSO...

The queer community is no better off. It's a popular misconception that queers have a lot of disposable income. It used to be true. The "double income, no kids" (DINK) (as they call it) myth was promoted in the 80s by gay publishers who wanted to expand their marketing and advertising base and their profits. These days, to read many gay publications, you'd think that all queers are going on fabulous vacations and buying expensive clothes, jewelry, and electronic gizmos. Well...no more! True enough...that myth was easily dispelled by a recent study, "Poverty in the LGBT Community" published this year by the Williams Institute at UCLA. Like "Income Inflation: the myuth of affluence among gay, lesbuian and bisexual Americans," the ground breaking 1998 study by M.V. Lee Badgett of the Department of Economics at the Unviversity of Massachusetts at Amherst, the Williams report found that many members of our community aren't shopping 'til they drop. They are being priced out of the expensive gayborhoods and they can barely afford to put food on the table in this economy. That is today's reality, queers!

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WHEN: EVERY SUNDAY @3:00PM & 4:00PM STARTING JULY 12.
RATES: This Sunday $10/hr ($18/2-hr)

DIRECTION: From San Francisco:
Take Richmond BART to 19th St
Take Pittsburg/Bay Point BART to 12th St (and walk to 19th St/Broadway)

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For more information contact:
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By Michael Lucas of Lucas Blog

Posted on Lucas Blog www.lucasblog.com on June 05, 2009

Addressing Terrorists
I was afraid in advance that this speech would be a terrible mistake but the reality was worse than my worst fears. What the president did was set in forth a dynamic where he authenticated the angriest, the most alienated as the most legitimate members of the Islamic world. Salmon Rushdie is a member of the Muslim world—this speech wasn’t for him, those terrorized gay men in Iran are part of the Muslim world—this speech wasn’t for them. This speech was addressed to the people who are angriest so it effectively authenticates them as the most legitimate. One example of this is that the president took a slap at the French government, when he condemned those western governments that ban the hijab, a veil worn my Muslim women. In actuality they only do this in French state schools to protect the girls from violence by vigilantly youth gangs the patrol some of the suburbs. Now aren’t these girls that are terrorized, aren’t they part of the Muslim world? Obama divided followers into two groups, extremist and everyone else, so effectively he lumped the secular, progressives, and moderate followers exactly where they don’t want to be--in this extremist group, with the conformist idea that you have to be a part of this group to be a legitimate. He did not call for an end to the killings of homosexuals,the torturing of women, or a stop to terrorizing the world.

As to where the speech was given was a terrible mistake. Such a selected site should have been deemed “worthy” of such an honor by emphasizing an important value recognized in both Western and several Muslim states. That value is great tolerance, not only toward believers but non-believers as well. But, based on its human rights track record, Egypt should never have been a contestant. The more tolerant the country selected, the more positive would have been the message of tolerance toward all religions conveyed by the leader of the Free World. That opportunity has now been lost.

Obama should take a page from Ronald Reagan's historic 1987 speech that challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Wall separating East and West Berlin, recognizing freedom. In similar fashion, Obama should challenge Muslim leaders to tear down the wall separating Islam from other world religions, recognizing universal human equality.

Unless something gives, Obama has set a course for the worse.


-

To Obama-obssessed liberals: he is your president, not your boyfriend

Bill Maher...

Goodbye Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett

Farrah Fawcett
RIP my Angel...and thank you for making us a bunch of happy kids growing up in the 70s..may the Lord be with you and allows you to continue to inspire us from up above...

Michael Jackson
People often underestimate the power of music, and the effect that it has on us. We sometimes forget how a great song with a feel-good message lifts us up, and makes us smile and remember the place we had the most fun dancing to it and with whom.
Michael Jackson is one of the few artists in the history of the art form to be able to take one song, like "Billie Jean," and reach people of all age groups, races, and nationalities. Michael has done this time and time again for decades, as both a solo artist and member of The Jackson 5.
This type of legacy cannot be erased by even the most horrible of charges and allegations. His music and performances are historic and forever engrained in our hearts.

It's Sexier. It's Crazier. It's our Summer Salsa+ChaCha Classes in Downtown Oakland! Join us. No RSVP required. Just show up!

You are invited to join my class! Don't wait anymore. My classes are gay/straight-friendly. Let me turn you into a confident/sexy dancer in just a few hours!

JOIN ME @HISTORIC SWEETS BALLROOM IN DOWNTOWN OAKLAND THIS SUNDAY, JUNE 21 @3PM - 5PM.



WHERE: Historic Sweets Ballroom
ADDRESS: 1933 Broadway @19th St (same row as Sears)
WHEN: EVERY SUNDAY @3:00PM & 4:00PM
RATES: This Sunday $5 at the door (special introductory class)
RATES: Other Sundays: $10/1hr or $18/2hrs

DIRECTION: From San Francisco:
Take Richmond BART to 19th St
Take Pittsburg/Bay Point BART to 12th St (and walk to 19th St/Broadway)

Yes...it is summer! Our SUMMER SALSA & CHA CHA CLASSES have just started -- the hottest classes in downtown Oakland! No partner required. Come as you are! And be dazzled! It's sexier and it's crazier than ever. All levels and sexual orientations are welcomed!...Now are you ready to feel the warmth of the sexiness of Salsa and the cheeky, flirtatious, catch-me-if-uou-can Cha Cha Cha seductive moves and music to seduce your body and soul, and tickle your senses!

For more information contact:
Ambrose Aban: aban212@yahoo.com Cell:(415) 200-9559

For venue information please visit the link provided:
http://www.historicsweetsballroom.com

Forget your churches...find your own quantum of solace

Countdown to SF Gay Pride: There can be no balance in one's life as long as the seed of non-acceptance of self exists. This is the month to be "out", be brave, be proud, be free...and be totally, completely and entirely yourself...

Your churches, supposed to be the bastions of non-judgement and acceptance, are rejecting you...then screw your churches...find another place to sit and communicate with God...God is everywhere, you know, God does not only sitting in a church, waiting to be praised like a stupid fool -- he gets out of that dark, scary place sometimes..He is always outside and everywhere...you don't have to talk to God in your church...because that church is run by homophobic members...get out of there and talk to the real, loving, forgiving, and understanding God...I talk to God at an internet cafe, close my eyes and praise him from the deepest bottom of my heart.

When Will Jesus Force Obama To Fix The F**king Economy and stop being a celebrity?

And look who is begining to stop covering for this President? McCain and Palin's #1 hater himself. Looks like the leftist media is finding a way out...has Obama reaqlly been a complete failure and is it getting to the point where the media can't cover his ass anymore...? Comment.

Christian!!!

Especially for fans of Christian and Ollie...here's an episode for you...enjoy.

Bush's Excellent Speech In Cairo -- What Might Have Been

Steven Waldman
Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder of BeliefNet
Posted: June 4, 2009 04:40 PM

Obama's speech reminds us that 9/11 needn't have led to a conflict between the West and Islam. It's a reminder of the road not taken.

Remember, after the attacks, the whole world -- including the Muslim world was on our side. America was innocent. Much of the Islamic world didn't much like Al Qaeda, whose agenda had as much to do with fighting the Saudi Arabian hierarchy as it did fighting America.

George Bush got off to an excellent start. He made a forceful case that Islam was not the enemy, but a peaceful religion that had been hijacked by extremists.

"The Islam that we know is a faith devoted to the worship of one God, as revealed through The Holy Qur'an. It teaches the value and the importance of charity, mercy, and peace." (November 15, 2001)

"[I know] that the Muslim faith is based upon peace and love and compassion." (September 28, 2001)

"The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war." (September 17, 2001 )


He gathered together a global coalition to topple the Taliban, made more effective because it included Muslim nations.

In fact, today's speech by Barack Obama is one that George W. Bush would have felt ideologically comfortable giving in 2002.

So how did we get to the point of America being hated or distrusted by the Muslim world?

First, there were a few innocent, but damaging, slip-ups, like Bush referring -- just once -- to the efforts as a "crusade."

More significantly, while he maintained a generous attitude toward Islam, the base of his party, religious conservatives, did not -- and Bush went along. A major Protestant leader referred to Muhammad as a "demon-possessed pedophile," another called Islam a "vile, wicked religion." Bush's spokesmen would occasionally aver that the president disagreed with such sentiments but their was no indignation and before long anti-Islamic rhetoric became absolutely commonplace in evangelical circles.

When General Gerry Boykin made his famous comments that his God was "a real God" and that of Islam "was an idol." Boykin was not fired and, indeed, was involved in torture policy. It turns out, during this time, the military intelligence briefings were arriving on Bush's desk adorned with Bible quotes. Muslims who believed this was a Holy War against them, it turns out, had at least some evidence for that notion.

All of that paled in comparison to the prolonged Iraq war and the photos from Abu Ghraib -- including evidence that torturers specifically used mockery of Islam as a torture technique.

But just as important is what didn't happen. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were not combined with a major effort to win the hearts and minds of young Muslims through efforts like the Peace Corps or international aid -- or efforts to help establish schools in Pakistan not dedicated to teaching fundamentalism.

Bush, who supported domestic service programs and faith-based service, could easily have proposed every single one of the ideas that Obama proposed today:

"Around the world, we can turn dialogue into Interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action - whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster....

On education, we will expand exchange programs, and increase scholarships, like the one that brought my father to America, while encouraging more Americans to study in Muslim communities....

And we will match promising Muslim students with internships in America; invest in on-line learning for teachers and children around the world; and create a new online network, so a teenager in Kansas can communicate instantly with a teenager in Cairo.

We will create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim-majority countries...

The United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams...."

America's real mistakes were exaggerated or exploited by America's enemies in the Arab world to cast us as hostile to Islam and Muslims. Without any American counter-examples -- young men and women helping to build Muslim societies -- the vile anti-Americanism could take root easily.

Most anti-terrorism experts believe this anti-Americanism helps Al Qaeda recruit. Instead of 9/11 becoming a moment for America and the Islamic world to coalesce around a mutual goal, it became a clash of civilizations. Instead of having a relatively small enemy, we found ourselves with a big one.

Same-sex marriage becomes law in NH

Same-sex marriage becomes law in NH

By TOM FAHEY
State House Bureau Chief
2 hours, 25 minutes ago

Concord – Gay marriage legislation became law in New Hampshire this afternoon.

Gov. John Lynch signed the bills just after 5:20 p.m. before dozens of enthusiastic supporters of same-sex marriage.

New Hampshire's law takes effect Jan. 1.

HB 73, compromise legislation demanded by the governor, was passed by a vote of 14-10 in the Senate and 198-176 in the House today. HB 73 (text), was an add-on to the gay marriage bill itself, HB 436 (text), and to HB 310 (text), which made technical changes to the main bill.

HB 73 clarifies the rights of religious organizations and their employees to refuse to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies or celebrations. It states that religious groups have exclusive control over doctrine, teaching and beliefs on who can marry within theirfaiths.

The House refused to go along with the Lynch language protecting religion two weeks ago, failing to pass the measure by a single vote.

Some who voted against it at the time said the House was being asked to agree to changes without being given enough time to examine them.

House opponents aired the same complaints today, but the tide had shifted.

"The House has always taken the time to consider the unintended consequences of any bill," said Rep. Betsey Patten, R-Moultonborough.

Supporters of the bill said the new language protects religious beliefs and individual rights.

"Let's vote this one last time. Church and state should be separate," said Rep. Anthony DiFruscia, R-Windham, who helped craft the final compromise language.

In the Senate, Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Deborah Reynolds, D-Plymouth, said the language in the amendment strikes a balance that provides "equal rights for all and the right to religious freedom."

Minority Leader Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, criticized Democrats for removing Sen. Sheila Roberge, R-Bedford, from the committee of conference when she refused to consent to compromise language.

Reynolds said the practice has been used by Senate presidents going backto 1992.

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa already allow gay marriage, though Maine opponents hope to overturn that state's law with a public vote.

California briefly allowed gay marriage before a public vote banned it; a court ruling grandfathered in couples who were already married.