Dear Lydia, a Pro-Healthcare Reform Message

    
I received an email from my friend Shon. He was being harassed because someone didn't like his support of healthcare reform. He IMed me and asked me to send her a letter telling her why I support it. Below is the letter. (Her name has been changed.)

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Dear Lydia:

You sent a message to a friend of mine commenting on his support for healthcare reform. I, too, support healthcare reform, and I would like to share my story.

I have been a working stiff since I was 11 when I started babysitting. My family is like a lot of middle American families, we struggle to get by. My mom worked various jobs as a cashier, Catholic school secretary, running an in-home day care, and as a biller for a medical billing company. Now she works as an administrative assistant for a hospice. None of those jobs offered health insurance (including her current one). Luckily, my dad worked for a grocery store in produce and his union provided insurance. (Now, he is a janitor in a school, and still provides the health insurance.) So we all had coverage.

Then, I grew up and was no longer covered by my father's insurance. I ended up working different jobs trying to find my way. I worked mostly in youth service or education jobs and was only lucky enough to get insurance when my employer provided it. When an employer didn't provide it, I went without. It wasn't because I didn't want health insurance. It was because I couldn't afford it. Not only couldn't I afford it, but I had serious back problems in high school, am clinically diagnosed with ADHD, and have a heart murmur. All of these so-called "issues" (aka pre-consisting conditions)  increase the price of my premiums.

I have been lucky. I haven't needed serious medical attention since losing my health insurance again last July 2009. Recently, I developed a cold along with a very serious fever of 101.4. I panicked. I didn't know what I was going to do. I could go to the emergency room, but that didn't seem worthy of a trip to the emergency room or seem to me to qualify for the financial burden of an emergency room visit. I waited and my fever reduced but stayed at 99.4 for three more days. I had to see the doctor. If noting else to rule something more serious out.

I live in San Francisco, and we have a public health system here. Instead of running to the emergency room or to urgent care, I decided to see if I qualified for the program first. I make about $3000 a month before taxes. Luckily, I squeaked in as a qualifying participant. After a little explanation of cost (it will cost me $450 every three months plus $20 for urgent care visits and $10 costs for doctors visits and $200 for any overnight admittance to the hospital regardless of how long I stay or what services I receive), I went home for the evening because I was exhausted.

I returned the next day for urgent care. I waited. I waited a fairly long time (from the time I entered until I left it was about 6 hours). I saw a nurse practitioner; I got a chest x-ray because they thought it might be pneumonia (it wasn't); I got my prescriptions. I left with only having to pay $37 out of pocket for everything including the medications.

Before becoming uninsured, I had Kaiser. I developed a similar sickness and had to go to Kaiser's urgent care. I had to pay a $30 co-pay, and $20 for prescriptions. I waited in the waiting room for two hours. Once I was admitted, I waited in my room for another hour. I only saw a nurse practitioner. I never got a chest x-ray. My employer covered the monthly healthcare bill of $300 per month.

When comparing these two systems, I actually prefer the San Francisco option. It is just as simple or just as complicated depending on how you look at it. It provides the same level of coverage, arguably better. I got well in the same amount of time. And it costs less.

This is what healthcare reform is about. It is about ensuring that all Americans have access to healthcare. It is about making it affordable. It is about making sure that someone with a simple case of the flu or a cold doesn't get worse and drain the system. It is about reform.

I believe this isn't the complete answer, but I believe that doing nothing is way, way worse. I know that this will help a majority of Americans. Including you.

Peace,
Jason

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A Youth-Led District 6 Candidate Forum

  

Dear Community:

   

I hope this post finds you well. I am reaching out to you because this is an important year for elections in San Francisco's District 6. I am passionate about making sure youth and voters are educated on all the possible candidates, and where they stand regarding issues important to young people. And I am seeking your support for a youth-led candidate forum.

I have a strong background in helping run and manage youth-led candidate forums (as well as over 20+ years in youth development). It started in 2000 when I worked for the OMI/Excelsior Beacon Center, and it was the first year for district elections in San Francisco. I partnered with Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth’s John Avalos (now District 11 Supervisor) and Balboa High School’s Matt Alexander (now co-Principal of June Jordan) to bring the first and only youth-led candidate forum that year. In 2003, I worked as part of the Beacon Initiative’s team of youth workers that supported young people in successfully running and organizing a fabulous youth-led mayoral candidate forum. In both of these efforts, youth ran many, if not all, of the aspects of the forums from inviting candidates to researching and asking questions to greeting guests. Now, I want to bring something similar to the district I live in, District 6.

I have been a resident of District 6 for almost 10 out of the 12+ years I have lived in San Francisco. In that time, I have seen this district change, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. It is a swiftly developing neighborhood with lots of children and youth that are often unseen because of the neighborhoods in which they live. I believe that a youth-led candidate forum can put children and youth front and center in this District 6 election, and I believe that this is crucial for the healthy development and growth for our District and San Francisco at large.

I learned a lot helping run two youth-led forums. First, I learned that while having a youth-led forum is an excellent idea it is only empowering and truly beneficial if both youth and voters turn out for the forum. Second, shared vision and accountability across multiple youth-serving organizations of and for the event is essential for success, including organizations committing to youth leading all aspects of the event from logistics to issue identification to facilitating and running the event. Third, a single coordinator who helps facilitate accountability ensures all collaborators and young people have a positive, educational, and empowering experience.

I posting this here because I need help to make this come to life. I need voters, youth workers, and youth-serving organizations to work together to make this event a huge success. I am hoping to pull together a team of youth, youth workers (the professionals who work with or for youth) and voters that want to help craft the vision and share accountability for the successful execution of this event in early May through a kick-off meeting at which organizations and people can learn more and get involved. The bulk of the work will be from June to September with the event (tentatively) at the beginning of October. The number of people that participate will dictate the scope and scale of the event.

To be clear, I am organizing this without compensation and as a voting resident of District 6 because I believe youth voice is crucial to this election. As such, I am seeking people that share this vision and value youth leadership. I currently do not work for a youth-service/development organization and to achieve this vision I need your support.

If you are interested in being a part of this historic and important event, please let me know in the comments below or at by emailing me at jason@ywcollective.org. Additionally, please let me know if you have any other comments, questions, ideas, or feedback. I am definitely interested in hearing from you.

Peace,
Jason

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Where Are Queer Men in Fabulis' 2010 Survey of Gay Men's Online Habits?

  
I love my community of queers, freaks, youth workers, and artists. I love the non-conformity, questioning of authority, and out of the box thinking of these folks. They are my brethren and comrades. They are the people I am proud to be among.

Today, a friend posted through Facebook the following Fabulis online survey about gay male online habits.

There was a problem at the outset for me. It came on slide 3 with the statement "The results that follow only include responses from the 94.5% of survey participants who described themselves as gay or bisexual men. All other responses were discarded."

I'm not gay or bisexual. I am queer. I am proud to be queer, and I identify this way partly because I don't believe in a binary gender construct and partly because I want to stand in solidarity with people not of the same gender as me. It is a nuanced identity that doesn't fit neatly into boxes.

I knew by seeing the title of the survey that I would probably not find myself among the respondents. I am used to that. I am used to the a large segment of the LGBT community not understanding the nuance of queer. I am used to being somewhat invisible.

There is no other note as to what the orientations of the 5.5% of the discarded respondents were. There is no mention of why those responses were discarded. They just vanished from the data set leaving me to question where do I fall within the gay and bisexual male community.

I posted this comment on the Fabulis blog "What were the sexual orientations of the 5.5% of the discarded respondents?" bradfordshellhammer, someone I assume to be from Fabulis, responded that those rejected were either straight identified or lesbian. I then asked if queer male was an option. There was a moment of confusion, and bradfordshellhammer posted the categories available during the survey. Queer was not an option.

As mentioned above, this questioning and lack of visibility is nothing new for me. It is why the meta-blog that JW Reports is a part of is called Queerly Complex. Life doesn't fall within black or white or binary codes. It is dynamic, intricate, multi-faceted and -dimensional, and messy. It holds many truths.

I don't derive self-worth from these types of reports, surveys, or news. I don't need it to justify my existence. I am happy doing that myself. What I do need from these types of surveys is an understanding that we live in a much more complicated and interconnected world. We need to stop the reductivism of one versus the other. We need to find ways to build broader based coalitions.

And this can be done simply. It doesn't need to taint a potential data pool. If the survey is concerned only with the opinions from gay men, fine. I don't need to be counted among them because I am not one. But I do need an acknowledgement from that community of my existence. This can include acknowledging queer as a category, writing "we are not including queers in this survey because...",  teasing out queers from the rest of the data pool and showing differences between gay male identified respondents and queer respondents, being completely clear that one only cares about gay men. Any of these solutions at least acknowledge that there is a community out there that is not gay identified and not straight identified.

I appreciate greatly what Fabulis is trying to build: "a social network that connects gay men with amazing experiences down the block and around the world." I also appreciate their openness to the conversation. In that effort for connection and conversation, it is important to not forget those of us who don't fit neatly into the "gay male" label. For we may be married to (or partnered to or dating or having sex with) someone who does.

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Women's Health in Healthcare Debate

  
Last night, I was watching The Rachel Maddow Show, and Melissa Harris-Lacewell was a guest on a segment related to women's health and religious bigotry. While watching, I was dumbstruck by the provision to not fund women's reproductive health in the current healthcare reform bill proposed by President Obama.

Here is the segment I watched:

It seems to me that this may just be a first step in repealing healthcare rights disguised as reform. I am not a conspiracy theorist. I don't seek out hidden messages or back room shenanigans and try to find out how the government is pulling the wool over my eyes. But this made me take a huge pause because here is a concrete example of how easily it is to take something away through compromise, and it exemplifies everything that is wrong with our current political structure.

Everyone has a different perspective on what good policy is. Everyone has a different perspective period. But there are some things that should be non-negotiable in my mind's eye. If we are talking about healthcare reform, we should be talking about healthcare reform for ALL people. Abortion is legal. Let me reiterate that: abortion is legal. In fact, the Supreme Court ruled on it.

And yet, here women are caught in the crosshairs of political expediency and "coalition building" to move a piece of policy forward that Republicans don't even support and will never support. It seems like an abject failure of government to not create policies that are in line with what is currently legal. I don't care who the president happens to be.

A converse example of this is when Bush Administration lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee wrote memos legalizing torture. Torture is illegal. Once again, torture is illegal. Yet the Bush Administration found a convenient way to make everything they did legal: issue a memo reinterpreting the law.

All of this interpretation, reinterpretation, and re-imagining of policy is on one level understandable. There is always room to interpret something differently than someone else. It is how pluralism works. However, if healthcare includes your body, it should cover all aspects of your body including reproductive organs. And, if the law states that abortion is legal, it should be legal in all iterations of policies around healthcare. Conversely, if a policy is already written that outlines what torture is and states that torture is illegal, an executive memo shouldn't be able to quickly overwrite that policy.

I worry that this encroachment on women's reproductive rights are just the tip of the iceberg. I worry about what else might be chipped away. I worry that my family that is HIV positive will see their rights whittled away with a simple justification of, "Hey, you could've prevented contracting it in the first place." I worry that my family that has depression might be told "You're mental health isn't covered because your brain is different." I worry that my family that is sick and dying will be told "You can't end your life because that's immoral." These all seem like far-fetched ideas. But so does removing organs from a healthcare bill.

Organs that already have laws protecting them.

For more information on the current healthcare bill as related to women's health, read Ann Nueman's "Rationing, Abortion Funding Are Back: Debunking “Pro-Life” Criticism of the Health Care Bill."

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Promoting Dialogue about Gender and Queerness

I am privileged to be connected to so many different people, organizations, companies, news feeds, and ideas that I sometimes find myself overwhelmed and overstimulated. But these connections provide a unique opportunity to find intersections among diverse and independent movements happening the world over.

Take for example LYRIC's new campaign Gender Dialogue.

LYRIC worked with Intersection for the Arts to create posters that open up the dialogue around gender. The posters were the culmination of a multi-week workshop that "explored gender-based oppression, identity, and expression". These posters are now displayed in enclosed cases at the 16th Street BART Plaza in San Francisco to encourage others to think critically about what gender is and how it is expressed. It is a call to action for exploration and challenging assumptions and bias. And they are visually arresting thanks to support from a professional graphic designer.

I received notice of this new campaign in my email inbox from the Transitional Age Youth Task Force, and I immediately started thinking about my own assumptions. Sure, I identify as a queer so that does mean I am more predisposed to actually look at and reflect on the images. It is also not a given that I would. The reason I took pause and reflected was because I saw pieces of myself reflected within the graphics. I may be male identified but too often that gets conflated with masculinity and manliness. I am not manly. Nor am I particularly masculine. And it was wonderful to see something that acknowledges this complexity. Especially something that looks like pop culture. 

Then, while perusing Twitter, I came across this gem of a video Queerer Than Thou.

And I fell in love. This video brings the conversation of gender, sparked in me by the ad campaign, to a whole new level. It uses humor to delve into the constructed identities we build around ourselves. Who is queerer: The fembot dyke MTF who throws aside all gender conformity or the polyamorous lisping queen who loves boxes (albeit nontraditional ones)? Neither and both is the answer I found.

We all have unique characteristics that make us who we are and those characteristics are interpreted by others using their own cultural, familial, historical lenses. Often those lenses see us not as we see ourselves. And this is where conflict comes in.

What is important is that we have this dialogue; that we open up a conversation between our friends, family, loved ones, colleagues, co-workers, and those we pass by. We must be willing to be uncomfortable and take risks. And those of us that "look" stereotypically "gender normative" (I use quotes here because what really is gender normative?) need to support our brothers and sisters that are defy gender boxes. We have a burden to be their allies and support their struggle by being proactive.

I truly believe that we as queers will not be free until all people are free. Because after all what makes a queer? Nothing and everything.

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The Magnetic Fields' Realism

  
Today, The Magnetic Fields released their ninth album Realism. "Autuer" Stephin Merrit said, "the way we were thinking about it initially was as an opposite to Distortion - distortion meaning lie." With no drums and crystal clear recording, it is a stark contrast to their fuzzy 2008 album. The songs are more reminiscent of 69 Love Songs. They evoke feelings of nostalgia, wit, and charm. It is definitely going to be a must-have in 2010.

Watch Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson talk about the album.

"You Must Be Out of Your Mind", "We Are Having a Hootenanny", and "Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree" from Realism and "I Don't Want to Get Over You" from 69 Love Songs.

  
  

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Today's Viewing Pleasure: Music Video Mashups

I was just flipping through YouTube the last couple of days when I came across these gems. Take a gander and watch these fine mash-up videos.

  
  
  

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Take THAT Pat Robertson

Thanks to the internet and the fact that Pat Robertson just can't ever shut up in front of the camera, the public gets to see, and see again, how truly horrific and unChristian he is. His recent comments about Haiti's pact with the devil have ignited a slew of commentators from multiple places. Gathered below is an assortment of people's critiques, rants, and responses to his comments.

Rachel Maddow gives an update about Pat Robertson's comments:



Haitian Ambassador Raymond Joseph responds to Pat Robertson's comments on The Rachel Maddow Show:



From "The 'Devil' Writes Pat Robertson a Letter" published in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

Dear Pat Robertson,

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action.

But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished.

Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"?

If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll.

You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best, Satan

LILY COYLE, MINNEAPOLIS

Keith Olberman's Special Comment on Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh:



From Slacktavist, Dear Pat Robertson, STFU:

But it's worse than that. He's not just contradicting some bit of scriptural arcana here, he's cutting to the core of Christianity and setting himself in direct opposition to it. When Jesus stood to read in the synagogue he looked over the whole of the scriptures and selected the one thing he wanted to say out of all that he might have read and he read this as his motto, his mission statement, the signature and standard of his ministry and its meaning:

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, 

because the Lord has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and release to the prisoners;

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Pat Robertson reverses every line of that. He perverts it into its opposite. His words, therefore, were not just "stupid" -- as White House spokesman Robert Gibbs rightly called them. They were anathema, blasphemy, an abomination.

Continue reading here.

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Comedy Round-up

  
There's a lot going on in the world this week -- the earthquake in Haiti, Prop. 8 Trial, a 19.9 billion budget shortfall in California, just to name a few. So I thought it a needed comedy break might be in order. Here are a couple of videos to tickle your funny bone.

Sometimes you just need to learn a new language.



I love it when things explode! It's even funnier when they are cure.



Because sometimes a rooster is better than Metallica.

Just in case you ever wondered about He Man.



Potty mouths, jesus, and santa clause always make a good butt of a joke.

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Giving Locally in Haiti

Haiti's recent 7.0 magnitude earthquake has moved people to give. The Red Cross has already raised over $800,000 through a text message campaign, and a groundswell of support waves through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets. As we globally address this latest tragedy, it is important to learn from past natural disaster relief. Large charitable organizations, like the Red Cross, have their place, but giving to local organizations who share a history and connection to the community in need is crucial.

Local Bay Area activists, Victoria Welle and Yas Ahmed, have identified a few local charities that come highly recommended by their grassroots community.

Yas Ahmed recommends Haitian-led organizations Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees (contact: 718/735-4660 or Lambi Fund of Haiti.

Victoria Welle recommends Partners in Health, Haiti Relief Fund, and Yéle Haiti (founded by Wyclef Jean). UPDATE: The Smoking Gun is reporting that Yéle Haiti is coming under scrutiny for their tax records and what appears to be over $400,000 paid to Wyclef Jean and his business partner. Read the article here.

Victoria encourages giving to local non-governmental organizations because, "They can better establish a partnership model of disaster relief, instead of a dependency model in which residents have to rely on outsiders for assistance (and will often have little or no say in what that assistance will be)."

For more information on Haiti relief efforts, check out Victoria's blog (hasta la) Victoria or Mashable's "Haiti Earthquake Relief: 9 Ways to Help Now".

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San Francisco Makes History for Women's Film

    
Women's Film Institute is hosting a Networking Mixer this Thursday, January 14th form 7pm to 9pm for film fans, filmmakers and artists at Ninth Street Independent Film Center in San Francisco. This exciting event brings together everyone from writers to producers to visual artists to musicians and more in a creative space to explore and connect. And this isn't for women only. It is meant for the entire community.

This is all leading up to the Sixth Annual San Francisco International Women's Film Festival, presented by Women's Film Institute. Scarlett Shepard, founder of the festival, is a filmmaker and community educator at heart. The Networking Mixer provides a fun forum to educate the public about the upcoming festival as well as allows participants to promote their own work. This is part of a larger strategy to get more women in film.

Shepard started the SFWFF in 2004 while she was a student at San Francisco State University because, not only was there lack of women filmmakers, the history and contributions of women in film were being overlooked. "I felt that the lack of women in film was really detrimental to our stories and our voices. It wasn't just that we were invisible. It is like there is violence there when we aren't heard and omitted."

Shepard responded to the lack of women's presence behind the camera by creating the SFWFF. "I have been an activist since I was little," said Shepard. "I come from a line of strong women." It was this upbringing that made her uniquely prepared to tackle this challenge. "It isn't easy," she said, "being flexible is key."

Over the years, Shepard has also learned the simple rule that "starting early is key". This event is part of that plan by getting people connected to each other and to the Women's Film Institute. Thus, when the 80 short films and 3-5 longer features are announced at the end of January or beginning of February 2010 there is a community willing to help promote the festival. "Volunteers,donations or funding support from film lovers and the arts community, and word of mouth are the lifeblood of our festival," said Shepard.

The goal of the SFWFF is not just producing a high quality film festival. Shepard acknowledges that the lack of women behind the camera is not the only issue. There is a lack of curriculum available for colleges and universities to teach about women in film. Shepard said, "I believe professors and staff  need to create a curriculum that is more inclusive to women by celebrating their achievements in cinema just as they do with our great grandfather's of cinema."

The production of a film festival and it subsequent awards in filmmaking elevate the women filmmakers and make it easier for them to garner funding for future projects. And it helps create a richer history of women in film; a history that demands to be taught within colleges and universities.

The San Francisco International Women's Film Festival runs April 5 -11, 2010 in venues across the Bay Area including The Roxie Theater. Over 800 films have been submitted from around the world.

Ninth Street Independent Film Center is located 145 9th Street in San Francisco, CA.

For more history on women in film, check out Reel Women: Pioneers of the Cinema 1896 to the Present by Ally Acker and Shooting Women, a documentary by Alexis Krasilovsky.

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UPDATE: Prop 8 Trial Broadcast DELAYED by US Superior Court

This just in! According to The Washington Post, the Supreme Court issued a ruling temporarily overturning federal Judge Vaughn R. Walker's decision to allow delayed taping of the Prop. 8 trial on YouTube. Opponents claim fear of discrimination and harassment as the reason to not televise the trial and asked the Supreme Court to intervene.

The Courage Campaign gathered over 130,000 signatures last week urging Judge Walker to televise the proceeding, and he responded with a commitment to broadcast the trial via YouTube. In his ruling, he made it clear that the only cameras allowed in the courtroom would be the already installed courtroom cameras that already tape proceedings. These tapes would then be uploaded at regular intervals to YouTube providing the public a rare opportunity to see inside the trial.

This achievement was viewed as a large victory for supporters of marriage equality. It would allow the marriage equality community to see the arguments being made by opponents of marriage equality and help inform further action if the trial turns out in favor of upholding Prop. 8. Additionally, it would show the larger public what exactly the debate is on both sides. Not allowing cameras into the proceedings, keeps the arguments limited to second hand accounts thus dulling the impact of both sides' arguments.

The stay issued by the Supreme Court is only valid until Wednesday allowing justices further time to consider the impact of a televised, albeit delayed broadcast, trial.

The full The Washington Post article is here. 

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UPDATE: YouTube Channel Televising Prop 8 Trial

  
Today, the YouTube channel that will be televising the Prop 8 Trial starting Monday, January 11, 2010 was launched. This is a very crucial step in bringing transparency to civil rights cases. You can view the delayed feed here.

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Rachel Maddow Corrects Some Ms Information about Obama Appointee Simpson

  
I saw this last night on The Rachel Maddow Show. She put into words exactly what I was thinking.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And then their's this piece of excellent news...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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ACT's 100th Birthday Celebration - Saturday, Jan. 9

    

American Conservatory Theater turns 100 years old this weekend, and they are opening up their space for a free day-long celebration including backstage tours, prize drawings, and performances. Additionally, guests will be able to buy tickets to any performance Phedre for only $19.10. This is a free event for the whole family.

Visit ACT's website for more information.

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UPDATE: Courage Campaign STILL Needs Your Signature

Courage Campaign is getting close to reaching their 100,000 signatures mark by Friday at 9:00am. They are collecting signatures to demonstrate strong public support for televising the Prop. 8 Trial to Judge Vaughn Walker. Currently, a ruling has been made to televise the trial on delay through YouTube. The trial will not be televised by media organizations for live broadcast.

Courage Campaign issued the following statement after the ruling:

"This decision is NOT final: Judge Walker is leaving the public comment period open until Friday, pending a ruling on his decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

"While we are pleased that the trial may be on a delayed broadcast via YouTube at least, our call for full transparency -- a televised broadcast that network news and cable channels can pick up live, as it happens -- has not been met.

"And, it's entirely possible that the 9th Circuit Appeals Court may overrule Judge Walker's ruling, shutting down all broadcasting -- even a delayed daily YouTube broadcast. Lawyers representing supporters of Prop. 8 have already opposed broadcasting the trial in any form whatsoever and are likely to fight Walker's ruling."

Become one of the 100,000 by signing the petition.

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Too Much A Queer Marathon - Sunday, Jan. 10 - 2pm to Midnight

  
Mama Calizo's Voice Factory is being transformed for Keith Hennessy's Too Much a Queer Marathon. It is a mixture of excitement, innovation, community, and chaos as paint flies, rooms get clean, and performers rehearse. Everyone is pitching in to make sure everything is ready for what is bound to be a whirlwind flurry of performances and art from queers the Bay over.

Too Much will feature performances by Vivvyanne ForeverMORE, Keith Hennessy, Annie Danger, and many, many more. It runs from 2pm until midnight on Sunday, January 10, 2010. Mama Calizo's Voice Factory is located at 1519 Mission Street in San Francisco.

For more information visit Circo Zero.

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Box Turtle Bulletin's Video of Scott Lively in Uganda

  
This is an important video to watch not in that "feel good" kind of way, but in a "I had to see it to believe it" sort of way. It demonstrates exactly what the LGBTQ community is and has been up against for centuries. Sir Ian McKellen said it best, "I increasingly see organized religion as actually my enemy. They treat me as their enemy. Not all Christians, of course. Not all Jews, not all Muslims. But the leaders. . . . Why should I take the judgment of a declared celibate about my sexual needs? He's basing his judgment on laws that would fit life in the Bronze Age. So if I'm lost to God, organized religion is to blame." (From a November 2009 interview in the LA Times.)



For more in-depth reporting on Uganda's "Kill the gays bill", visit Box Turtle Bulletin.

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Courage Campaign: Televise the Trial

 
The battle for the legality of Prop 8 is heating up before it even starts. Currently, Judge Walker is asking the public to comment on whether or not to televise the trial. The pro-Prop. 8 side doesn't want the trial to air preferring to keep their prejudice, discrimination, and hate a secret from the public fearing truth shall see the light of day. The anti-Prop. 8 crew wants everything aired.

Courage Campaign is currently trying to recruit signatures and comments to ensure that trial does go public. Do your part and express your comments  by signing their petition here.

More history on California's Proposition 8, click here (links to Towleroad).

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7th Annual Intergenerational Writers Lab Applications Announced

  
Kearny Street Workshop, Intersection for the Arts, and AMATE: Women Painting Stories announced that applications for their 7th Annual Intergenerational Writers Lab yesterday via Twitter. The goal of the Writers Lab is to provide emerging writers with supports and opportunities to take their craft to another level. This includes eight workshops, performing works publicly, and creating a community of writing peers. Writers Lab instructors include Lorna Dee Cervantes, Leticia Hernandez, and Ben Fong‐Torres.

Applications are now being accepted for the Writers Lab. The application deadline is February 19, 2010 at 5pm. Writers Lab dates are April 3 - May 22, 2010. Twelve students will be accepted into the program. Applications include a writing sample, a description of why applicant wants to be a part of the program, and a $10 submission fee. Cost for the program is $425. Scholarships are available.

Find more information and the application here.

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Anarchonda: Oxymoron

   
Anna Conda (aka Glendon Hyde), candidate for District 6 supervisor, maintains a blog called Anarchonda where she chronicles stories and politics from the finge. She is hoping to make it big in San Francisco politics by championing the voices of the overlooked, underserved, and marginalized.


Recently, she wrote an opinion piece titled "Oxymoron" detailing the disparities be left wing activism and conservative activism ala Tea Party Baggers. She calls us to action demanding that we stand up for what we believe in and take to the streets. Her voice is one of courage in the midst of a swirling pool of mindlessness, consumption, and apathy.

This is a must read for anyone interested in hearing from something other than their own head and fear. It is a message of hope.

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The richest country in the world has about 3.5 million US residents (about 1% of the population) [correction: according to the Census, the population of the USA is approximately 308 million making it approximately 4.5% of the global population], ...statistics for homeless families are even graver -- 52% were turned down by homeless shelters. Change means stepping up a war and paying more money to Huge Insurance Corporations so that the rich can get richer. Moderate means Right Leaning. Right is using fascist scare tactics to pass unconstitutional laws in favor of bigotry and hate and having very little resistance from the liberal media. Nor any opposition from politicians who are hired by the people to take care of the people. More people know who Kim Kardashian is than who the Vice President is and we can't find funding for schools. Texas; since they buy the most books for schools; gets to help right history for our countries public school system. No wonder we are all as fucking stupid as George Bush!

Continue reading here.

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Bay Area healthy food manufacturer embraces green philosophy

 
Reporter Jason Wyman wrote this article for The Western Edition's January 2010 newspaper. To read the entire article, click on the title.

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Bay Area healthy food manufacturer embraces green philosophy
The history of the Kyoto Protocol – an internationally legally binding agreement between 37 industrialized countries and the European community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – began over a decade ago when most countries joined an international treaty known as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC. The goal was “to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increase are inevitable.”

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Seven Tepees helps build higher education foundation for youth

   
Reporter Jason Wyman wrote this article for The Western Edition's January 2010 newspaper. To read the whole article, click the title.

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Seven Tepees helps build higher education foundation for youth
San Francisco Unified School District’s high school curricular program has been an amalgamation of bits and pieces and was defined by the individual schools themselves. This left a gap between what was taught in high school and what was needed to enter a four-year university.

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