November 2008 Archives
"BlacksOnBoys": The Construction of Black Masculinity (Vs. White Femininity) in Gay PornBy on November 30, 2008 6:56 PM | 5 Comments
So I was tooling around the internet searching for "sissy porn" -- as I'm apt to do -- when I stumbled upon BlacksOnBoys.com, whose hook-phrase -- "Black thugs breaking down sissy whiteboys" -- pointed me there via Google. I had quite a time censoring the photo above, but I thought it was important to cite because of the language used in marketing the porn. For one, it's clear who has the masculinity (Black "men") and who doesn't (white "boys"). There's also the "Who's the slave now, beeotch?" strewn across the top of the image. Wowzer.
I'm reminded here of a friend who visited North Carolina when I was in college from the Netherlands. He said he was out to find the butchest guy in town to hookup with one night. But when I found out who he hooked up with -- the nelliest of the nelliest guys on campus, a cutie for sure -- I was perplexed. I asked him the next day about it, since he had made clear that hotness for him was about uber-masculinity. It turns out that his nelly hookup's black skin was enough to mark his masculinity -- flaming mannerisms didn't much matter. I haven't paid for or seen the videos on "BlacksOnBoys," but I wonder how gender gets performed here. Are the white boys really so femme? Are the black men really so butch? Or does race do all the signifying necessary?
I presume the predominate consumers of this kind of racialized porn are white men, but I can't help but think that some Black guys find it pretty steamy as well. Not sure that there's an easy way to access that kind of information, but it's interesting food for thought.
Curiously, BoB are owned by a company called "DogFart Productions" (perhaps the nastiest name for a company, ever) which owns twelve interracial porn sites -- all of them hetero porn, except for BoB.
My Methods Submission to "Lumpen-City"By on November 30, 2008 4:30 PM | 2 Comments | 1 TrackBack
So a few weeks ago I blogged about a conference in Toronto coming up next March titled, "Lumpen-City: Discourses of Marginality | Marginalizing Discourses" (website). I just sent in the following abstract for a paper on my activist-research work within the Gay Men's Health Movement to resist Public Health discourses RE: Gay Men's Health. We'll see if they accept! It would be fun to talk activisty at an academic conference.
Resisting Public Health: Working Within the Gay Men’s Health Movement to Produce ChangeMy Blog = "Pornography"Abstract:
Soon after the virus that causes AIDS was discovered and the mechanics of its transmission understood, public health scholars began churning out biomedical and behavioral scholarship that reinterpreted gay men’s sexual behaviors and cultures that were once hailed as liberatory as irrational and pathological, implicitly arguing that AIDS was the price paid for the hedonism of the 1970s. Pleasure became dangerous, contaminating, and – most of all – potentially deadly. How can social scientists resist this disease / risk paradigm, which has eclipsed possibilities for research that celebrates sexuality, rather than denigrating its practitioners? In this paper, I relate my experiences as an activist-researcher working within the Gay Men’s Health Movement to engage fellow activists at every stage in my research process: Design, Data Collection, Analysis, and Reporting. Every piece of my research project was directly informed and shaped by countless conversations, workshop presentations, working groups, blog posts, and online forum discussions about my research project with other Gay Men’s Health activists. I argue that this kind of meaningful communication and collaboration with the communities represented in my research is crucial to resisting the pathologizing tendencies inherent in 21st century Public Health scholarship, and can serve as a model for future scholars hoping to resist marginalizing discourses in their field.
By on November 30, 2008 4:19 PM | 3 Comments
I was trying to blog a bit in the airport in Charlotte while I waited for my flight to depart, but I got the above error message when I tried to access my site. Just goes to show how crappy these internet filters are. Blah. At least my flight arrived safely and on time!
"Young Bottoms in Love"By on November 30, 2008 1:15 AM | 2 Comments
My friend Bill just sent over the 411 on this webstrip, "Young Bottoms in Love," which was turned into a trade anthology last year. Loves it. He's going to read it and send over a copy when he's done. You can find some images here (although the website is full of broken links, sadly), or purchase the book here.
Family Humor of the DayBy on November 26, 2008 4:10 PM | No Comments
1) Watching my mom and her two sisters trying to figure out how to use their cell phones. "Well how in the hell do you use this thing?" I showed my aunt how to text her daughter, and she texted back, "I'm so proud of you!" Amazing.
2) My grandma. Reads. My. Blog. omfg.
3) Aunt: "Your mother would always torture me growing up. She was terrible. You always torture the younger ones." Mom: "Steve would torture both of us! He made us eat buttons! I'm *serious*! But I'd just go in there and beat the shit out of Lynn and that' be the end of that." Cousin: "What ever happened to those buttons?"
Will Fly for TurkeyBy on November 26, 2008 6:53 AM | No Comments
Oy! Life has been hectic these past few days, hence the slow rate of blogging recently. Things will continue to be slow, as:
1) I'm flying home to North Carolina for Thanksgiving today. Yay!
2) I've been collaborating on a huge new project that will be announced soon. It will rock your face off.
3) I've been writing my bottom identity paper. Tentative title: "Circuits of Pleasure, Circuits of Power: Sexual Scripting in Gay Men's Bottom Narratives." Sexy, eh? :)
#2 is so exciting. I can barely hold it inside. You'll know soon enough. Next week, I hope!
xoxox
Trevor
Indonesia: Implact Microchips in HIV-Positive CitizensBy on November 24, 2008 12:59 PM | No Comments
Disgusting. We're seeing a spat of this criminalization of HIV-positive people happening all over the world -- including the United States. Now this from Indonesia:
Lawmakers in Indonesia's remote province of Papua have thrown their support behind a controversial bill requiring some HIV/AIDS patients to be implanted with microchips -- part of extreme efforts to monitor the disease.No Doubt is Back!Health workers and rights activists sharply criticized the plan Monday.
But legislator John Manangsang said by implanting small computer chips beneath the skin of "sexually aggressive" patients, authorities would be in a better position to identify, track and ultimately punish those who deliberately infect others with up to six months in jail or a $5,000 fine.
The technical and practical details still need to be hammered out, but the proposed legislation has received full backing from the provincial parliament and, if it gets a majority vote as expected, will be enacted next month, he and others said.
Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and has one of Asia's fastest growing HIV rates, with up to 290,000 infections out of 235 million people, fueled mainly by intravenous drug users and prostitution.
But Papua, the country's easternmost and poorest province with a population of about 2 million, has been hardest hit. Its case rate of almost 61 per 100,000 is 15 times the national average, according to internationally funded research, which blames lack of knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases.
By on November 22, 2008 12:39 PM | 1 Comment
OMG, so No Doubt is coming back for a tour next year, which they hope will inspire the writing and recording of their next album!!!! My first concert ever was their Tragic Kingdom tour stop in Charlotte, NC back in 1997 -- I was in the like fourth row!! Oy vey. Memories!! Can't wait to find out their tour dates!!
Thursday is my Friday, Baby! :)By on November 20, 2008 3:00 PM | No Comments
Celebrating the weekend! I effing need one.
Some Humor RE: Students and LyingBy on November 20, 2008 10:50 AM | No Comments
My friend Chris posted this on Facebook. As a teacher who hears this kind of this all the time, I thought it was kind of hilarious:
Four friends have been doing really well in their calculus class: they have been getting top grades for their homework and on the midterm. So, when it's time for the final, they decide not to study on the weekend before, but to drive to another friend's birthday party in another city - even though the exam is scheduled for Monday morning. As it happens, they drink too much at the party, and on Monday morning, they are all hung over and oversleep. When they finally arrive on campus, the exam is already over.Study: Christian Right "Stymied" HIV ResearchThey go to the professor's office and offer him an explanation: "We went to our friend's birthday party, and when we were driving back home very early on Monday morning, we suddenly had a flat tire. We had no spare one, and since we were driving on backroads, it took hours until we got help."
The professor nods sympathetically and says: "I see that it was not your fault. I will allow you to make up for the missed exam tomorrow morning."
When they arrive early on Tuesday morning, the students are put by the professor in a large lecture hall and are seated so far apart from each other that, even if they tried, they had no chance to cheat. The exam booklets are already in place, and confidently, the students start writing.
The first question - five points out of one hundred - is a simple exercise in integration, and all four finish it within ten minutes.
When the first of them has completed the problem, he turns over the page of the exam booklet and reads on the next one:
Problem 2 (95 points out of 100): Which tire went flat?
By on November 20, 2008 9:25 AM | 2 Comments
Confirming what those inside the world of Prevention have known for years, a new survey of HIV scientists reveals that many scholars and researchers have dramatically altered or discontinued their work in the field because of political pressure from the Christian Right on the funding agencies (CDC, NIH, etc):
Important US research to reduce HIV infection may have been prevented in recent years because scientists have censored their funding requests in response to political controversy, according to a study published on Tuesday.Writing in PLoS Medicine, the academic journal, Joanna Kempner from Rutgers University identified a “chilling effect” on researchers seeking grants from the government-backed National Institutes of Health after their work was questioned by Republican lawmakers and Christian groups.
The findings suggest politics influence scientists’ willingness to conduct research, and raise warnings at a time of continued sensitivity over medical research topics from sexual behaviour to stem cells.
Among 82 researchers polled by Ms Kempner, who had received money from the NIH, almost a quarter had dropped or reframed studies around sexual behaviour they judged to be politically sensitive, and four had made career changes and left academia as a result of the controversy.
Half reframed their studies to avoid work on marginalised populations, or dropped studies they thought would be politically sensitive, such as those on sexual orientation, abortion, childhood sexual abuse, and condom use. One interviewee said: “I do not study sex workers, I study ‘women at risk’.”
Translation: No research that can reveal anything worth a damn about HIV's social context and the marginalized group it disproportionately impacts. This kind of moralistic crusade against Public Health and Science broadly will have undoubtedly set back the work in prevention back at least eight years (e.g. Bush's two terms). In other words, I can't FUCKING WAIT for Barack Obama. Oy vey!
AARP Insurance? Not FabulousBy on November 20, 2008 8:32 AM | No Comments
From the NY Times:
After a Senate inquiry found evidence of deceptive marketing, AARP, the lobby for older Americans, has hired an outside investigator to look into sales of some of its popular health insurance products.AARP and UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest insurers, have voluntarily suspended sales of the policies, which pay fixed cash benefits — often much less than consumers had expected — for selected services.
The investigation will be conducted by Elizabeth Rowe Costle, who was the insurance commissioner of Vermont from 1992 to 2003, when Howard Dean was governor.
At issue are insurance plans that were sold by UnitedHealth and carry the AARP brand. More than a million people have bought the policies, which have names like AARP Medical Advantage, Essential Plus and Hospital Indemnity Plan.
The senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, said marketing of the products was often misleading because it suggested that they offered comprehensive coverage.
“In fact,” Mr. Grassley said, “there’s no basic protection against high medical costs. The products may leave consumers seriously in debt if they need intensive medical care.”
Ouch. My favorite thing about AARP? In 1998, they dropped the "American Association of Retired People" meaning of their acronym. Now they're just aarp. Whatever the fuck that means.
Project Runway's Legal Woes Keep it Off-AirBy on November 20, 2008 8:25 AM | No Comments
Sad news on the status of Project Runway. It's been in a legal limbo as Bravo and Lifetime and the Weinsteins strangle each other in a battle to decide what channel gets to air the show:
“From what I know about courts, it could be well into the early spring before anything is decided,” said one lawyer involved, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid further inflaming passions among the opposing parties.Barring an out-of-court settlement — and insiders say there are no such negotiations taking place — “Project Runway” seems unlikely to be back on the air for months at best.The delay is the result of the continuing legal dispute between the Weinstein Company, which produces the series, and NBC Universal, the parent of Bravo. Early this year the Weinstein Company sold the rights to the series to Lifetime Networks for five years for what it says was some $200 million.
NBC Universal sued, saying it had a right of first refusal to keep the show on one of its channels. In September a New York State judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing Lifetime from promoting or broadcasting the series.
The case had been designated for a fast-track appeal in the New York courts, but last month Lifetime succeeded in moving the case from state to federal court, claiming that its copyright claims to the series made the dispute a federal matter. A federal judge in Manhattan is now in the process of deciding whether to uphold or overturn the state judge’s injunction or whether to return the case to the state level.
Sigh. Will anyone give a shit when the wait is over? Yea, of course they will. Us PR people are pretty loyal! But Lifetime? Eesh. I don't know if I can bring myself to actually tune in to Life-fucking-time of all channels once a week.
Whuzzitmean?: "Discrete. UB2"By on November 19, 2008 6:50 PM | 2 Comments
Okay, so I often ponder the meaning of the variety of short catchphrases that gay men use in their online profiles to refer to a whole host of complicated desires / meanings. Like "D&D Clean. UB2." WTF does that even mean? Today though I was wondering what exactly guys meant when they said they were "discrete" and "prefer that you be too." It seems it could stem from a few concerns:
1) They want guys who are closeted or not open about their same-sex sexuality.
2) They're worried about guys "kissing and telling" -- that is, guys who would gossip about the hook-up with friends / other gay men
3) They're actually just saying that they refuse to send out face pictures, for fear of people finding out they like cock / find it online.
Those were just some ideas. And seriously, as I was typing this, some guy on Manhunt emailed to say that he was "discrete." Coincidence or fate?
I didn't ask what he meant! What do you think?
Douche of the Day: Chuck NorrisBy on November 19, 2008 10:29 AM | No Comments
Mr. T and Chuck Norris. Snogging.
Chuck Norris is whining about the anti-Prop 8 activism:
The truth is that the great majority of Prop. 8 advocates are not bigots or hatemongers. They are American citizens who are following 5,000 years of human history and the belief of every major people and religion: Marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman. Their pro-Prop. 8 votes weren't intended to deprive any group of its rights; they were safeguarding their honest convictions regarding the boundaries of marriage.
Spare us Chuck. As JMG astutely points out:
For those keeping track of those so in love with "traditional marriage", Norris is twice-married with five kids, including a bastard child from an adulterous affair. His present wife, 28 years younger than Norris, is also younger than two of his children. He does not believe in evolution, but does believe in the Hair Club For Men.
Hah. Hahahaha. Oh Chuck. You silly guy!
Testing the Lieberman EffectBy on November 19, 2008 10:18 AM | No Comments
This is pretty hilarious:
Yesterday I got stopped for speeding. I told the cop he was a terrorist sympathizer who wants America to fail. He let me off with a warning. I complained. He took back the warning and let me go after giving me his handcuffs as a gift.Stem Cells Used to Rebuild Woman's Trachea
Yesterday my neighbor loaned me his leafblower. When I was done with it he asked for it back. I told him to go screw himself. He said I could keep the leafblower forever and apologized for bothering me.
Yesterday I told a friend I'd pick her up after her outpatient surgery and drive her home, but I blew her off so I could go see a movie. Afterward I called her up to tell her how great it was. She laughed and said the walk home wasn't too bad because only one of her feet was operated on and besides it was only ten miles and she had a cane.
Yesterday my landlord stopped by to fix the basement door. I poured hot coffee down his pants. He screamed. I expressed regret. He lowered the rent.
Yesterday I appeared at the trial of my uncle to defend him as a character witness against false charges of pedophilia. I decided instead to tell the jury that, yeah, he probably was a pedophile because sometimes he gets that look in his eye. As he was led off to jail to begin his 20-year sentence, he waved and said I could have his Ferrari.
By on November 19, 2008 9:06 AM | No Comments
This is so exciting!!!:
The Bristol University statement said a segment of trachea, roughly three inches long, was taken from a 51-year-old donor who had died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Using a new technique developed in Padua University, the trachea was stripped of its donor’s cells over a six-week period “so that no donor cells remained,” the statement said.At the same time, at Bristol University, stem cells removed from Ms. Castillo’s bone marrow, were grown into “a large population” and used to “seed” the donated windpipe using a new technique developed in Milan to incubate cells.
Four days after the seeding, the graft was used to replace Ms. Castillo’s damaged windpipe.
Normally after transplants there is a high risk of rejection because the recipient’s immune system reacts against the foreign organ. Most transplant patients, thus, use immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection.
Expect this to be the first in a series of big news stories on these kinds of therapies. They will start with these kinds of tissue / minor organ replacement, but ultimately this is headed towards replacing major organs like the heart and repairing damage previously thought irreversible to the brain.
M&M'S: "Gay Family" = ObscenityBy on November 19, 2008 1:48 AM | 2 Comments
My recently engaged queer friend in San Francisco recently tried to order custom M&M candies from their website to say "Gay Family." He was shocked to recieve this e-mail response, rejecting his order because it did not support the "family-nature of our brand":
Dear [Friend's Name], Thank you for your interest in personalized MY M&M'S® Chocolate Candies. We support the family-nature of our brand and therefore sometimes cannot accept orders based upon the requested customization regardless of the intended meaning. Unfortunately, while we are certain your message was submitted with the best of intentions, we must adhere to the strict guidelines posted on our website. Please contact our call center at 1.888.696.6788 from 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM EST Monday through Friday to discuss with one of our specialists some alternative messages for your customization as we cannot print your originally requested text. We are eager to work with you to find a resolution. A response is needed within two (2) business days; otherwise, we would need to cancel. Sincerely, Your friends at MYM&M'S®\Kandy"
Fuck M&M's and their parent company, Mars. Boycott their asses.
How exactly does "Gay Family" not support the "family-nature" of their brand? Outrageous! Nothing on their official list of "Do's and Don'ts" indicates this would be a problem. Of the four listed do-not's, it seems that "Gay Family" must fall under the category of "Obscenity":
Please don't use objectionable words and phrases. No obscenities. We don't want to leave a bad taste in their mouth.SNL's "Gay Minstrel Show"Custom printed MY M&M's are for personal use only. No business names, product names, celebrity names, specific sports teams, major events, landmarks, and names of schools or institutions.
To avoid any confusion and keep everyone safe we will not print any reference to drugs or prescription items, especially those that are in pill or capsule form.
We take great pride in the history of M&M's products, so the only single letter we print on our candy is the letter M.
By on November 19, 2008 1:11 AM | No Comments
Defamer notices that SNL's declining ratings has forced it to resort to making fun of gays in their skits. They note not just two or three -- but SIX skits this past Saturday that used homosexuality as a punchline:
Where do you mine for easy laughs when you no longer have the most satirizable election in history at your disposal? In SNL's case, that would be the Gays, a topic this week's Paul Rudd-hosted episode visited and revisited so often, we lost count. And where does the show stand on the subject, in this, arguably the most important week for gay civil rights in history?
Pretty gross, guys. Grow up. Click the photo above for their video reel highlighting the skits.
(Thanks to Drew for pointing it my way!)
Obama's 8-Point Plan for LGBT PeopleBy on November 19, 2008 12:56 AM | No Comments
Straight from the source:
* Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. Barack Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.* Fight Workplace Discrimination: Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. Obama also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
* Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
* Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: Barack Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
* Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: Barack Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
* Expand Adoption Rights: Barack Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
* Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. Obama will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. Obama also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. He will continue to speak out on this issue as president.
* Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Barack Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.
(Thanks to Aaron for pointing me to it!)
By on November 18, 2008 11:43 AM | No Comments
From Markos' response to Sullivan:
And none of that will be thanks to the so-called leaders at the establishment gay rights groups. The Human Rights Campaign can continue its star-studded black-tie galas that accomplish shit, while real grassroots activists notch real gains on the ground.
Amen
Markos @ DailyKos Extends Sullivan's CritiqueBy on November 18, 2008 11:30 AM | 2 Comments
Yesterday I blogged about Andrew Sullivan's critique of the Human Rights Campaign. Today, Markos (founder of DailyKos) extends Sullivan's critique to talk about the poorly managed "No on Prop 8" campaign in general. He notes that traditional "gatekeepers" of activism will self-destruct in an era of decentralized, grassroots Web 2.0 activism (extending his concept of "Netroots"):
"As a gatekeeper, the Human Rights Campaign sucks. Sullivan calls for the organization to be abandoned and defunded. But something worse is happening -- it is being rendered irrelevant by current events, and with irrelevance, it will shrivel up and die on its own.
He goes on, though, to divert attention away from HRC and refocus it more largely on the "No on 8" campaign in general, and its inability to spark the kind of grassroots mobilization seen in the wake of the amendment's passing. He urges caution, though, in noting that we need more than just the "street protest" as our method of activism:
The anti-Prop 8 campaign was an exercise in frustration. What we're seeing now, straight out of Taking on the System, is brilliant. And the movement is spreading far beyond California's borders.These nationwide protests are a watershed moment of sorts -- the moment when the gay community realized that it had the power to fight for change on its own, and didn't require any of it's so-called, self-appointed "leaders" to give them permission to engage. This isn't the first time a community has made that realization (and TOS is full of such examples), but it never fails to inspire me.
But what about the tactics -- the use of street protests themselves? It's no secret that I have a general disdain for the street act, but in my book, I don't call for their elimination -- I say they must be "reinvented". And indeed, the chapter "Reinvent the Street Protest" is full of great examples of .... street protests. I focus on the Jenna 6 protests, the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine, and the pro-immigration protests of a few years ago. The key to an effective protest effort is to have a clear message (no "free Mumia" bullshit), clear, achievable goal, and to make that protest effort part of a broader multimedia campaign. The protest can't be the goal in and of itself, rather, it's a tool in a broader toolbox.
In this case, these protests have served as a wakeup call to equality-minded people all over the country. It is an empowering act. But rather than people feeling they've done their part by marching for a few hours, I'm willing to bet that, just like here in California, the seeds were planted for further organizing all over the country. There is nothing more dangerous for the status quo (the "system") than people suddenly feeling empowered.
Markos is certainly on the cutting edge of using Web 2.0 tactics in organizing political campaigns. The challenge now will be to harness the energy built by the "Join the Impact" protests into a more focused political strategy. How to do this in the wake of clear, centralized message-builders? That's I guess the challenge for the coming months.
AK, MN Senate Recounts Moving ForwardBy on November 18, 2008 8:17 AM | No Comments
Looks like Al Franken (MN) and Mark Begich (AK) have some waiting to do, still! This race just never ends! Franken currently trails the incumbent Republican by a mere 206 votes, but Wednesday a recount of absentee ballots will proceed, potentially erasing that lead and giving Franken a victory. Nate Silver projected it was a possible win, depending on the circumstances.
In Alaska, Mark Begich (AK) has taken a narrow lead over convicted felon Ted Stevens (R-AK). About 24,000 votes have yet to be counted in that state, and it seems like most people are projecting that Begich is likely to hold onto his lead.
If we won both those seats, we'd be up to 59 Seats (including the 2 Indies who caucus with Dems), just one shy of that magical 60 fillibuster-breaking majority. But still possible, since Georgia's Senate seat will go for a runoff election between Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin on December 2nd. That election is automatically triggered when no candidate receives a majority of the vote. The outcome of that election is just about impossible to predict from polls with any level of certainty, since turnout models for runoffs have wide margins of error. We'll just have to wait to see!
Sullivan: Defund, Restructure HRCBy on November 17, 2008 6:06 PM | No Comments
Andrew Sullivan has a scathing critique of the Human Rights Campaign's utter failure to remain relevant in the battle for marriage equality. Nothing that their website has but one mention of the protests nationwide this past weekend (in which up to 1,000,000 LGBT people and allies may have participated), he claims that their stuck on an agenda that has little relevance to LGBT people today:
Even now, in Washington, they are sticking with the same legislative agenda they have had for two decades: a trivial piece of hate crimes grandstanding and ENDA, which is moot in many states. They endorsed Obama on June 6 - only after the Clintons gave them permission. The endorsement was written by a low level staffer. Civil unions at a federal level? That again would require leadership. We were promised ENDA and hate crimes in the last session. What we got was an end to the HIV immigration ban - an issue HRC didn't even ask the presidential candidates about in their questionnaire, and which was pioneered by others (although HRC did come through with Congressional lobbying in the end). It's not that they do nothing; it's that it's rarely enough; and never with sufficient energy or vision.It's time gay people realized that this group is often part of the problem, and rarely part of the solution. It needs to be swept clean of its deadwood, overhauled, or if it persists in its ways, defunded. When we are in a civil rights movement and the biggest organization is essentially a passive observer and excuse-maker, it's time to demand better.
Sullivan's right. But let's be clear: There are good, smart people working at HRC. The problem isn't so much a matter of their employees -- but rather their organizational structure. HRC was built on a highly bureaucratic, centralized model of lobbying / representation that will inevitably stay out of touch with the communities on whose behalf it claims to speak. So I don't want anyone to get the idea that we should be bashing individuals who work there. We shouldn't be. They're not the issue at hand.
Sullivan isn't the first to lodge complaints against the organization. Queer lefties have been boycotting HRC for at least a decade now, mostly due to their conservative single-issue agenda that whitewashed and sanitized LGBT people in their claims for equality at the expensive of marginalized and less PG-rated groups within these communities. But with Sullivan joining the bandwagon of people calling for an end (or at the very least a radical restructuring) to the organization, we may be seeing the approach of a critical mass of critics.
Can HRC refuse to heed their calls any longer?
Queer Person Murdered in NY: Trans? Gay?By on November 17, 2008 1:24 PM | 1 Comment
Sad news out of Syracuse, NY. Lateisha Green was shot and killed while sitting in a car, the apparent victim of a hate crime. News reports are referring to this person as "Moses Cannon," their birth name, but at least one notes that Lateisha Green is the name they went by with friends (Green is this person's mother's last name).
The family says it's because "he" was "gay" -- but the news reports are muddled about this person's gender identity and preferred name. It seems more likely that Lateisha was murdered becuse "she" was "transgender," but again this is speculative based on conflicting news reports (and the photo above that's been circulating). I have no idea how this person would want to be represented in name or in gender pronouns, which has made blogging about it tricky to say the least. Obviously, the family's use of pronouns and names is not necessarily the way this person would have wanted it.
Here's one such report, in which her female name is treated as a nick name (Moses "Teish" Cannon):
Moses "Teish" Cannon was openly gay, and his family said today that is why he was shot and killed Friday night. His death should be treated as a hate crime, they said.Cannon, 22, of 404 Arthur St., was shot about 8:45 p.m. Friday as he sat in a car parked in front of 411 Seymour St., police said. His brother Mark Cannon, 18, and a third person were in the car when a man with a gun walked up, Syracuse police said.
The gunman fired into the vehicle and hit both Moses and Mark Cannon, who were in the front seats, the report said. Mark Cannon, who was in the driver's seat, drove the car about 13 blocks from Seymour Street to Arthur Street, where police found them, the report said.
The Cannons were taken by ambulance to University Hospital, where Moses Cannon was pronounced dead and Mark Cannon was treated for a non-life threatening injury.
Moses Cannon was killed, his mother said, because he was gay. "This death was senseless, and I'm very angry," Roxanne Green said.
This raises again questions over hate crimes legislation. How to determine why this person was murdered? Because they were "gay"? Because they were "transgender"? Or was it for other, yet unknown, reasons? Very difficult to ascertain in many cases.
Call to Action: 2009 LGBTI Health Summit in Chicago!By on November 17, 2008 12:42 PM | No Comments
From the organizing team in Chicago! They're looking for folks to sign on to the vision sketched out below. If you're down, send an email to the organizers to sign your name! (info below)
Please join us forChris Bartlett Reviews "Milk"LGBTI Health Through the Life Course
The 2009 National LGBTI Health Summit, in conjunction with the BiHealth Summit
August 14 – 18, 2009 in Chicago
We ask that individuals endorse the Summit, its philosophy, and its objectives. We are not asking for organizational endorsements at this time. By endorsing the event as an individual, you are simply voicing your backing for the mission embraced by the Summit, and no other form of sponsorship or participation is required.
Endorsers: please send your name and location to Pete Subkoviak at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago – Psubkoviak@aidschicago.org
About the SummitThe 2009 National LGBTI (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex) Health Summit is an event dedicated to preserving and improving the emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, psychological, environmental, and social health and wellness of LGBTI people, a population that continues to experience significant health disparities because of its members’ sexual orientations and/or gender identities.
We welcome all individuals who support the health and well-being of LGBTI people as well as all members of the community (no previous health experience necessary) to explore what it means to be a healthy LGBTI person, living in a healthy LGBTI community.
We invite you to spend a few days in Chicago working intensively with colleagues from all over the nation and world who are grappling with similar challenges, and engage in deep thinking and extended discussion about innovative programming related to the theme of “LGBTI Health Through the Life Course.”
We are especially excited to be holding this summit in the year marking the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the event frequently cited as the beginning of the LGBTI rights movement. The Stonewall Riots was a series of spontaneous, raucous demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn of New York City. in response to a government-sponsored system that persecuted homosexuals, and started the modern gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.
This summit is different from traditional health conferences. Our LGBTI Health Summits (previously in Boulder, Colorado; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and most recently in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) have been described as nurturing retreats, exciting and intense think tanks, and an event of great enlightenment. Participants come away with a renewed passion for the cause, energized and inspired to tackle the problems confronting LGBTI health and wellness.
The Summit is a chance for all participants to reach out across differences in sexual and gender identity, ethnicity, race, age, and socioeconomic status and begin to work toward common goals. We avoid a focus on celebrities and big names, and we take plenty of time to relax, have fun, and make meaningful contact with other participants.
While the summit will include speakers, panels, workshops, pre-summit institutes and organizing meetings, it will also include interactive exercises, such as experiential education activities, yoga and other forms of self and communal care, as well as creative festivities. The Summit will address a range of topics that includes, but is not limited to:
• LGBTI health through the life course
• Understanding LGBTI history and its health impacts
• Wellness for all of our communities
• Bisexual visibility & well-being
• Health leadership
• Health care access
• Frontiers in HIV/AIDS and STD prevention and care
• New HIV prevention technologies like microbicides and PrEP
• Youth and elder strategies
• Tobacco and LGBTI health
• The role of alcohol and other substances in LGBTI communities
• Universal Health Care and other paths to good LGBTI health
• LGBTI Spirituality and its role in the health of individuals and communities
• Culturally competent LGBTI mental health research and programming
• Self-care for the community organizer
• Marriage equality as a health strategy
• Addressing racism, sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia to enable healing
• Diversity of family structures as a part of LGBTI health
• Understanding our identities and our bodies: what does it mean to be L,G,B,T or I?
The BiHealth SummitThe BiHealth Summit will bring together professionals, advocates, activists, and allies of bisexual health concerns for updates on the field, movement-building, and strategizing about future directions and collaborations. The BiHealth Summit will be both a concentrated event and a broader presence within the LGBTI Health Summit.
Who We AreThe LGBTI Health Summit includes a diverse group of health educators, healthcare providers, policy makers, activists, grassroots organizers, advocates, people with HIV, and members of diverse LGBTI communities with powerful concerns about the ways current health challenges and sociopolitical trends will impact our communities in the months and years to come.
We come from different locations, cultures, class backgrounds, generations, and professions, and we identify in myriad ways, but we share a common interest in improving LGBTI health and wellness, strengthening our local communities and subcultures, and enlisting service providers, activists, health professionals, researchers, sex workers, spiritual leaders, writers, allies, and cultural workers in our efforts.
We know that language can be problematic, and that many people do not identify with terms such as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Our summit strives to welcome those who identify otherwise--as queer, genderqueer, same-gender loving, and a wide diversity of other sexual and gender identities. We also embrace those who may not fit any of the above, but are allies in this cause.
We believe it is critically important for all of us to join together, commemorate our collective triumphs, and strategically address in new and innovative ways the core challenges facing our communities.
As with previous summits, the 2009 National LGBTI Health Summit, in collaboration with the BiHealth Summit, is a grassroots organizing effort with very ambitious aims. It is organized by dedicated volunteers from all parts of the country who work together to handle logistics, program planning, fundraising, publicity, and housing.
It is imperative that everyone plan now to attend this event.
We Need YouThe Summit needs the input of those who face daunting questions and formidable challenges as well as those who have succeeded in creating effective programs and campaigns related to LGBTI health and wellness. We welcome activists as well as researchers, doctors as well as holistic health practitioners, religious and spiritual leaders as well as sex workers. Most of all, we request the participation of ordinary LGBTI-identified people who will share their valuable experiences, questions, and energy as we build a movement around community health and empowerment. We welcome all individuals who support the health and well-being of LGBTI people and all members of the community (no previous health experience necessary) to explore what it means to be a healthy LGBTI person, living in a healthy LGBTI community.
Registration and a call for abstracts will be announced in the first quarter of 2009. In the meantime, you can stay abreast of our work by contacting Cat Jefcoat at CatJ@howardbrown.org or Jim Pickett at JPickett@aidschicago.org. We will be disseminating information about the Summit widely as details are finalized. Please stay tuned.
Thank you, and see you in Chicago, August 14 – 18, 2009!
The Chicago Host Committee of the 2009 National LGBTI Health Summit
By on November 17, 2008 10:57 AM | No Comments
The fabulous Chris Bartlett has penned a review of the Gus Van Sant's Harvey Milk biopic, Milk, for Lifelube. The film opens nationwide on November 26th. Here's a nice blip from Bartlett's take, which you can find in full here:
Penn as Harvey Milk is really incredible. Milk protégée Anne Kronenberg reported many a double-take during the filming-- they just look so much alike! And Penn also brings out the wonderful paradoxes in Milk's behavior-- the flirtatiousness, the naiveté, the seriousness, the genius, and the bullying. And Penn plays Milk as I always had imagined him-- a mensch on a mission. There is such a sense of self-awareness and destiny. It's also possible from viewing Penn's performance to see what it means to be a leader-- the commitment that is required, the cost to relationships and family, and the charisma and charm that is required to generate a Tribe.SoVo: Bottom Bias in Gay CultureAnd to me the main story of the movie is the power of Tribe-building. Harvey does it with genius-- including all of the folks who, until the 1970s, had largely been outside political power networks. In the film, we see Milk's deft ability to build a coalition of progressive people-- gays, people of color, elders, union rank-and-file, youth, and others. Though he was a gay leader, he was far greater than that. As he says, he is there to lead "all the people".
By on November 17, 2008 10:42 AM | 6 Comments
Atlanta's gay rag, Southern Voice, has an article on bottom stigma! Well how fabulous! It's an interesting (if fairly short) piece that brings up a number of important issue. I like that they begin with a femme top's story who get's assumed to be a bottom because of his sissy gender performance, and interestingly a versatile guy who identifies as vers to avoid the stigma associated with bottoms:
Even in a city with a gay population as large as Atlanta’s, so many aspects of gay sexuality continue to be marginalized or derided. And although many gay men in Atlanta enjoy being penetrated during sex, the term “bottom” is often used as a slur the same way that “gay” is used on school playgrounds.“They think you’re soft, or femme, or you don’t know how to use your dick,” said a 31-year-old Atlanta resident who asked to be identified as “Greg.”
“I know that’s not what all bottoms are, but that’s what people think,” said Greg, who is usually the receptive partner during anal sex, but doesn’t identify as a bottom. “I am versatile, and I do know how to use my dick, so I’m not lying. But saying I’m versatile might keep people from assuming all these other things about me, just because I like to get fucked.”
They also talk about intersections with race, and in particular how stigma around bottoming in African-American culture is particularly acute. It's provocative stuff! Read it!
(Via LifeLube)
HoppeVlog #1: Post-Marriage-March Excitement!By on November 16, 2008 8:52 PM | No Comments
The first edition of my quick and dirty vlog, "HoppeVlog," about Saturday's marches in Ann Arbor and other cities nationwide!
"It's Okay to be Gay"By on November 16, 2008 3:36 PM | No Comments
This is the most amazing / outrageous / fagtastic video I've ever seen in my entire life forever and ever. Omg. J over at CnC posted it to celebrate comedian Wanda Sykes coming out at a marriage rally yesterday. Yay, Wanda!
It's Official: Winter is HereBy on November 16, 2008 1:29 PM | No Comments
Ugh. After an unseasonably warm Fall season, it appears that winter has finally arrived in Michigan:
Brrr!!! So cold!!
Video from Today's Gay Marriage Rally in Michigan!By on November 16, 2008 1:56 AM | 1 Comment
You won't believe my butch yelling! This video tracks the end of the march, with 400-some Michiganders filling the Diag to protest inequality. "What do we want?" "Equal rights!" "When do we want 'em?" "NOW!"
Some more of my butch yelling! :) And protesters, too!
Organizers addressing the rally before the march, including a city councilwoman!
Oh but there's more! I shot a lot of footage today! Want more? Here's the links:
[ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ], [ 6 ], [ 7 ]
By on November 15, 2008 10:20 PM | 3 Comments
This little cutie does a FABULOUS Patti LuPone! Enjoy!
Photos from Ann Arbor's Marriage Protest!By on November 15, 2008 7:20 PM | No Comments
Maxime and I trying to keep warm
Wew-hew! What an amazing afternoon in Ann Arbor! The weather was grim, but our spirits were high as over 400 Michiganders stood up for equality! How fabulous! I attended a sign-making party at around 2 PM, and then we made our way over to the Ann Arbor Post Office for a rally / demonstration before marching around downtown to the "Diag" (the heart of the University of Michigan's campus) for one final hurrah. In all, it was a fantastic show from this college town -- especially on a Football Game Day (a HUGE holiday for UM'ers -- the stadium holds over 100,000 people. To put that in context, the population of Ann Arbor is 114,000). Even Esther Newton was there! Though no Gayle Rubin -- where were you, Gayle? (I say that like we know each other)
I'll have some video up soon! But in the meantime, here are some photos from the protest. I've also uploaded ALL of my photos to Flickr, if you're itching for more! Here's the link.
The woman in the purple jacket is amazing!
There was a good showing from local High School students
Those "Married with Pride" signs were so posh!
STOP! In the naaaaaaaaaame of love!
Maxime with famed queer anthropologist, Esther Newton!
By on November 15, 2008 12:04 PM | No Comments
Get out to a protest today! There rallies scheduled today in all 50 states in 300 cities across eight countries! Find one near you. Holy canoli! The NY Times has a bit on the use of the Internet (Facebook in particular) to organize this phenomenal effort in such a tiny space of time. I'm headed to the Ann Arbor rally today, which as of a few minutes ago has 403 guests confirmed on Facebook. That's a pretty good showing for a tiny college town!
I'll be taking photos and video for your enjoyment! xoxoxo
Media Love Affair With Dan SavageBy on November 13, 2008 1:07 PM | 3 Comments
The media has just been eating up Dan Savage! There was this prominent appearance on Stephen Colbert's show, The Colbert Report. Curious here, he seems to have switched around his position form his much-maligned commentary blaming the 70% of African-Americans who voted for Prop 8 in California (a claim that statistician Nate Silver and others have shown to be inaccurate and misleading). But on his appearance on The Daily Show, he concedes that this is misleading, and also thanks Colbert for pointing out he fact that there are black gay men (who are obscured in the Black vs. Gay analysis). He also here is refocusing his attack on the Mormon Church, an attack he will continue in the next video. Have a watch:
That was one week ago. Now, something interesting happens today when he was on Anderson Cooper, sparring with the homophobic Family Research Council's Tony Perkins. Watch how Perkins baits Savage to try to get him to condemn Black voters. Perkins is furious that protests are happening at Mormon temples across the country, an outcome of the Church overwhelmingly financing the Yes-on-8 campaign in California. Perkins is well aware that public sympathy for Mormons is low (they're portrayed often as polygamist misogynists, rightly or wrongly), and thus protests against them are seen as legitimate. Protests against Black churches, however, would not be as politically palatable. I think Dan realized this in the hours after the massive backlash began after he penned that editorial criticizing Black voters. Watch it all happen on CNN:
And a Detroit Rally, TooBy on November 13, 2008 8:14 AM | No Comments
Here's the 411 on Detroit's Marriage Rally at City Hall on Saturday from the Facebook event page:
Detroit-Support Gay Marriage. Come out and be heard against the defeat of proposal 8.Ann Arbor Marriage Equality March SaturdayThis is not a California issue. This is an issue of equality across America. Stand up and make your voice heard. Join us in Detroit on November 15 to unite our voices against H8 and other recent legislation that seeks to make second-class citizens of LGBTQ Americans!
This is a nationwide event. Every major city in America (and some around the world) will be protesting on 11/15 @ 1:30 pm EST.
Please join a protest near you. A full list of protests by city can be found here:
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/POSTERS: http://www.against8.blogspot.com/
NATIONWIDE FLYER: http://www.JoinTheImpact.com/national.pdf
By on November 12, 2008 11:18 PM | No Comments
For all you Michiganders. From the Facebook page:
Dear Ann Arbor,$700B Bailout Plan Shifts: Not What We Signed Up For?The discriminatory ballot measures passed last Tuesday are only the most recent examples of anti-equality legislation adopted throughout the United States. THIRTY states, including Michigan, provide no employment protection based upon sexual orientation. THIRTY-EIGHT states, including Michigan, provide no employment protection based upon actual or perceived gender identity. Sadly, these are only some of the hardships LGBT citizens face nationwide and in the state of Michigan. THIS HAS TO STOP. Our silence will only cause the situation to get worse. Stand-up against bigotry, intolerance, and inequality, and MAKE YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
What: A protest of LGBT inequality in Michigan and across the United States
Who: ALL supporters of equality
Where: Ann Arbor Post Office, 200 East Liberty Street, Ann Arbor MI
When: 3:00 p.m., Saturday, November 15, 2008
Why: To send a message of inclusiveness, respect, and tolerance and against inequality
NOTE- THE WEATHER WILL BE SHITTY, BUT SO IS INEQUALITY
* Use permanent markers and plastic wrap on your signs.
*We'll be there 'til way after the football game ends, so don't let that stop you!If you have any questions, please message the administrator.
SPREAD THE WORD! INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS.
By on November 12, 2008 11:52 AM | 1 Comment
So the news is that the Treasury Secretary has decided that the $700B bailout plan will not -- as it was originally intended -- go towards buying up troubled mortgages. I got into a heated debate with my father when I argued that this was essentially corporate welfare demanded by Free Market Capitalists, brought on by corporate greed. He and other conservatives always rebuffed this idea, saying something like, "It's not welfare. We're buying up mortgages. We might even make a profit!" The idea was simple: find mortgages in trouble, buy them up, find ways to get them in the black, and eventually sell them with the hope of breaking even, or maybe even profiting.
But as CNN reports, this is no longer the intention:
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday the government would broaden the reach of the $700 billion bailout plan to support non-bank financial institutions that provide consumer credit, such as credit cards and auto loans.In this second stage of the bailout, officials also hope to attract private capital, possibly through matching investments, to give the government's injections more heft.
Paulson also said the government is no longer planning to buy troubled mortgage assets, the original goal of the plan. And officials are continuing to examine ways to help homeowners and slow the tide of foreclosures.
Sigh.
Identity Politics at its Worst: Oppression OlympicsBy on November 12, 2008 9:13 AM | 5 Comments
Jasmyne Cannick, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, describes why she didn't encourage African-Americans to vote against Proposition 8 while canvassing in California:
Because I don't see why the right to marry should be a priority for me or other black people. Gay marriage? Please. At a time when blacks are still more likely than whites to be pulled over for no reason, more likely to be unemployed than whites, more likely to live at or below the poverty line, I was too busy trying to get black people registered to vote, period; I wasn't about to focus my attention on what couldn't help but feel like a secondary issue.[snip]
Maybe white gays could afford to be singularly focused, raising millions of dollars to fight for the luxury of same-sex marriage. But blacks were walking the streets of the projects and reaching out to small businesses, gang members, convicted felons and the spectrum of an entire community to ensure that we all were able to vote.
[snip]
Some people seem to think that homophobia trumps racism, and that winning the battle for gay marriage will symbolically bring about equality for everyone. That may seem true to white gays, but as a black lesbian, let me tell you: There are still too many inequalities that exist as it relates to my race for that to ever be the case. Ever heard of "driving while black"? Ever looked at the difference between the dropout rates for blacks and for whites? Or test scores? Or wages? Or rates of incarceration? And in the end, black voters in California voted against gay marriage by more than 2 to 1.
I want to sympathize with Jasmyne's clear and present anger. Because I *get* where this anger and frustration is coming from -- real, deep-seated racial injustice that exists and is perpetuated by American institutions like the criminal justice system. I get it. She is called to a different work.
But what she's doing here is first and foremost counter-productive -- and secondly inaccurate. She's building two constructions: first, that all Black people are poor, living in the projects, and dealing with gangs. And second, that "white gays" are wealthy and able to "afford" to focus on such a "luxury" like marriage. So on the one hand, we have the totally oppressed, violated, and victimized minority group: Blacks, generally. And on the other, we have the privileged, wealthy minority group: white gays.
I have news for you, Jasmyne: it ain't that simple. This is identity politics at its lowest point. It's what Loretta Ross of SisterSong calls "Oppression Olympics." Jasmyne here is trying to measure inequalities, and in her book, racism comes out the "winner" of this battle.The message is clear: "Homophobia? Please! That's something for rich people to worry about!" We've heard this before. She's basically arguing that white gays have it so easy, they have time to worry about marriage. This isn't productive. It isn't accurate. And it's mean-spirited.
This kind of bickering over who's got it worse paralyzed feminist movements for decades (and is continuing to do so today). It makes enemies of our brothers and sisters. It focuses the debate not on the real problems we're facing (which include racism AND homophobia), but instead on the futile exercise of measuring our injustice against another's.
Nobody wins in this effort. Well, nobody except social conservatives. They're laughing all the way to the alter.
(Via JMG)
Bush: Now More Unpopular than NixonBy on November 10, 2008 12:38 PM | No Comments
A new CNN/ORC poll shows Bush's popularity as lower than an President in history since polling began over 60 years ago:
In the day that President-elect Barack Obama is visiting the White House, a new national poll suggests that the current occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the most unpopular president since approval ratings were first sought more than six decades ago.Seventy-six percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday disapprove of how President Bush is handling his job.
That's an all-time high in CNN polling and in Gallup polling dating back to World War II.
"No other president's disapproval rating has gone higher than 70 percent. Bush has managed to do that three times so far this year," says CNN polling director Keating Holland. "That means that Bush is now more unpopular than Richard Nixon was when he resigned from office during Watergate with a 66 percent disapproval rating."
Before Bush, the record holder for presidential disapproval was Harry Truman, with a 67 percent disapproval rating in January of 1952, his last full year in office.
Yes, but I'm sure as your supporters and you have both claimed, History will surely describe you as a fabulous Commander-in-Chief. Riiiiiiight.
Rachel Maddow Chimes in on Blacks / Prop 8By on November 10, 2008 10:48 AM | No Comments Boycott Utah!
By on November 10, 2008 9:46 AM | 1 Comment
The outrage over Prop 8 has led to calls for LGBT folks and their allies to boycott the state of Utah in the wake of the Mormon Church pumping 70% of Prop 8 funding into California. There are also calls to strip the Church of their standing as a Religious Organization for tax purposes, because of their financing of a political campaing (which is strictly forbidden by IRS regulations). Here's the AP on the boycott:
Utah's growing tourism industry and the star-studded Sundance Film Festival are being targeted for a boycott by bloggers, gay rights activists and others seeking to punish the Mormon church for its aggressive promotion of California's ban on gay marriage.It could be a heavy price to pay. Tourism brings in $6 billion a year to Utah, with world-class skiing, a spectacular red rock country and the film festival founded by Robert Redford, among other popular tourist draws. "At a fundamental level, the Utah Mormons crossed the line on this one," said gay rights activist John Aravosis, an influential blogger in Washington, D.C. "They just took marriage away from 20,000 couples and made their children bastards," he said. "You don't do that and get away with it." Salt Lake City is the world headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which counts about 62 percent of Utah residents as members.
I mean, for me, this wouldn't be a hard decision. It's not like I had any trips planned to Utah in the near future. But I'm happy to sign on to the cause. Because their funneling of money into California for the campaign *is* fucked up. And because -- let's be real -- these from the guys who promoted polygamous marriage until the United States government took over the church in 1890 to stop the practice. Who knows -- maybe the Mormons are just jealous that we've been making more headway into changing the law around marriage than they were ever able to do.
Question of the DayBy on November 10, 2008 12:29 AM | 3 Comments
What happens to twinks when they turn 30?
What's New in Gay Sex: "Aged Cum"By on November 9, 2008 11:04 PM | 5 Comments
(Composite image of several Craigslist ads from SF area)
Okay, so if you follow gay sex culture, you're well aware that fantasies come and go in hotness over the years. It's not always immediately obvious where these "scripts" come from, and how they get reproduced so quickly over wide geographic areas. So in a matter of weeks, a script popping up in Craigslist ads in San Francisco suddenly winds up in ads in Ohio. Something I've been noticing lately is the new phenomenon of "aged cum." Basically, this is a new script that usually top-identified men use in their ads by aging the load they want to impart. See the ads above for examples. The "three day load" seems to be the minimum, and the "seven day load" seems to be the extreme.
I have many questions. Do we think this is related to the rise in "breeding" and "seeding" language, and thus an attempt by guys to evidence the potential virility of their sperm? Or is it just guys trying to show that they REALLY need to get off -- like now? Or is it something else entirely? Just thought I'd throw it out for some healthy debate! What do you think it's about? Have you seen these kinds of ads in your town?
Gaycation on Lake Huron, MIBy on November 9, 2008 9:51 PM | No Comments
What a weekend! I'm terribly behind on blogging, emailing ,and anything Internet-related (e.g. my life) because I was in a tiny town on Lake Huron (one of the Great Lakes, of course) called Port Austin for the weekend at my friend's family's vacation place. Twas lovely! Minus the lack of any internet connection. By the time we drove back to Ann Arbor today, I was starting to have withdrawal! Oy vey. But we had a lovely time. The weather was decent the first day we were there (as you can see in some of the photos) -- and by decent, I mean decent for Michigan in Nocember. E.g., it wasn't snowing a foot a day. Always good to get away from the bubble of Ann Arbor!
Lake Huron -- like all the Great Lakes -- is fucking gigantic. So sitting on the coast, with sandy beaches, you really feel like you could be facing the Atlantic. There are waves and seabirds and all that. It was really relaxing. Yay. Here's a cute video of Maxime trying to cross back from the strange mini-island that existed just off the beach in front of my friend's place. The water deepened from when he went out here to when he wanted to come back, and it was fucking cold! So he runs to make it back. Bravo!
And of course, here are some more photos of our beautiful weekend for your enjoyment! xoxox
It took approximately 8 seconds to open the first bottle of booze
Mmm.... smoked salmon, avocado, and in honor of Obama, arugula
The beautiful view from the house!
A *gorgeous* photo of Maxime. Yea, I took that.
Pretty-industrialesque beachscape
Er... what's that you're doing, Nat?
I could not WAIT to get in the bubble bath!!!
Comment dit-on en anglais.....?
The first few entries: Bred, gag, and doggy. Seriously.
Hmm... is that a word in America?
By on November 8, 2008 9:30 AM | No Comments
By Patrick Moberg via Andrew Sullivan
Genetic Breakthrough for HIV?By on November 8, 2008 9:18 AM | No Comments
Explanation of CCR5 Genetic Receptor, Which Appears to Promote Immunity to Cellular HIV Infection (Click to Enlarge)
As many in the HIV vaccine world know, genetic therapies look to be the most promising future for vaccine research and development. Curiously, a doctor in Berlin has stumbled upon a potential cure for the virus that causes AIDS:
The startling case of an AIDS patient who underwent a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia is stirring new hope that gene-therapy strategies on the far edges of AIDS research might someday cure the disease.The patient, a 42-year-old American living in Berlin, is still recovering from his leukemia therapy, but he appears to have won his battle with AIDS. Doctors have not been able to detect the virus in his blood for more than 600 days, despite his having ceased all conventional AIDS medication. Normally when a patient stops taking AIDS drugs, the virus stampedes through the body within weeks, or days.
Pretty compelling stuff. But obviously no jumping to conclusions. But really, very interesting!
Rumblings of Another March on WashingtonBy on November 7, 2008 4:04 PM | 6 Comments
There are rumblings of folks calling for another March on Washington. From JMG
This week we're beginning to see the rumblings of a call for another March On Washington. Could the lightening of 1993 strike again? Or would we see another scandal-ridden fiasco like the 2000 Millienium March? Would it be remotely possible to organize and conduct another March without the overlords of the Human Rights Campaign? Should we? How would we marshall our new and eager army of young queers? These kids are champing at the bit for a shot at their own Stonewall, their own Queer Nation. The LGBT world of the 21st century is larger, younger, and I think, smarter. I would love to watch.
If you don't remember, 2000's "Millenial March on Washington" was a fucking fiasco. HRC's power play in organizing that event made for a political nightmare, with the fallout continuing for years to follow (see herefor an overview of the criticisms, which include racism, exclusionary, top-down organizing methods, and financial mismanagement).
After the HRC fallout from ENDA (just Google "transgender HRC ENDA" to find out what that was all about, or see my post on the debate here), I don't think HRC is well poised to organize a cohesive LGBT national event. Talking to folks around the country, I hear a lot of resentment towards HRC after the debacle, and thus I think any national march organized by them would be a complete and utter disaster.
That said, I think there is a great energy to tap into after Prop 8 failed in California to really mobilize collectively around this issue. I think that queers that are suspicious of marriage for its tendency to privilege certain kinds of relationships over others I think have largely come to realize the symbolic and economic important of this victory, and aren't as stridently opposed to organizing for it any longer. I could be wrong there -- but that's my read on the situation. So I think we're at a moment that an inclusive, grassroots March effort could be successful.
But everyone's gotta be at the table, and that means that HRC can't hijack the effort.
As Economy Improves, Gas Prices to Rise AgainBy on November 7, 2008 12:37 PM | No Comments
From the International Energy Agency:
Oil prices will rebound to more than $100 a barrel as soon as the world economy recovers, and will exceed $200 by 2030, the International Energy Agency will say in its flagship report to be published next week.
Enjoy the low prices while they last! Here in Ann Arbor, I was shocked when I filled up for $2.19 a gallon. I hadn't seen prices that low in YEARS!
(Via Andrew Sullivan)
North Carolina: Officially A Blue State!!!!By on November 6, 2008 1:56 PM | No Comments
It's official!!!!:
President-elect Obama won North Carolina on Thursday, a symbolic triumph that underscored his political strength as he turned nine states that President Bush won in 2004 to Democratic blue.The Associated Press declared Obama the winner after canvassing counties in North Carolina to determine the number of outstanding provisional ballots. That survey found that there are not enough remaining ballots for Republican John McCain to close a 13,693-vote deficit.
North Carolina's 15 electoral votes brings Obama's total to 364 -- nearly 100 more than necessary to win the White House -- to McCain's 162. Missouri is the only state that remains too close to call, with McCain leading by several thousand votes.
I'm really quite shocked. I was worried over reports from the South over longtimer Democratic voters switching for McCain because Obama's Black. And by reports, I mean my grandmother telling me she intended to do just that. Bless her heart. But Obama has triumphed! And I'm so thrilled! YEA North Carolina!!!!!!!!
The Hypocrisy of "Small Goverment" ConservativismBy on November 6, 2008 10:56 AM | No Comments
As many folks have been pointing out since Reagan, the conservative party has been taken over by social conservatives who rhetorically promote "small government," but in practice work to vastly increase government spending. If you still have doubts about this, here's a useful analysis of this phenomenon, in light of McCain's failed bid for President. Here's a taste:
Certainly, John McCain didn't run a real small government campaign. Oh, he made dozens of limp gestures towards earmarks and pork. Earmarks and pork, however, are a vanishingly small part of the big government pie. Saying you're going to shrink government by eliminating earmarks is like saying you're going to lose weight by getting your hair cut. It might make some small gains in the right direction, but it has little practical effect and is energy expended in the wrong direction. What else did the McCain campaign have to burnish its small government cred? Not the McCain health care plan. Not the McCain energy plan. Not even the McCain tax plan, which, while an effective sop to the Club for Growth wing of the Republican party, wasn't exactly explicit about which programs were going to be slashed to shrink the government in line with those tax cuts. Certainly, the ultra-neoconservative vision of endless war and military adventurism can't be squared with a dedication to small government. The big government on the right, big military, won't ever be meaningfully confronted by conservative ideology, of course. But neither can it be used positively to demonstrate fidelity to shrinking government.
I think it's useful to say here that I think many progressives respect and are willing to engage with principled conservatism. But the brand of Republican we've seen since Reagan -- in the form of Karl Rove, Sean Hannity, and Ann Coulter -- is not principled. It's fear-mongering. It's hateful. It's power-hungry. It's anything but principled.
(Via Andrew Sullivan)
CNN: 27% of Self-ID LGB Voted McCainBy on November 6, 2008 10:31 AM | No Comments
CNN's exit polls reveal that 27% of the self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual voters they surveyed indicated that they voted for John McCain. This of course is only a sample of people who were willing to disclose their non-heterosexual identity -- but we might expect that this would be a more liberal sample than a "true" sample of all LGB people. I'm not sure about that, though.
In any case, it's pretty shocking news to me. I knew there were some LGB McCain supporters out there. I wish the data was chunked into L/G/B subcategories. I would expect that not many lesbians voted McCain. But hey, what do I know? I did see a few folks on Gay.com promoting McCain in their profiles. So I guess anything is possible! Oy.
I think this is just further evidence that gay is -- for many Americans -- no longer a political identity. Because of extreme discrimination, it used to mark folks in a way that produced radical political responses. But as homophobia becomes less extreme and more subtle, gay identity becomes less politicized in and of itself. This of course translates into a need for progressive political organizing that does not begin with identity (woman / Black / gay), but rather with progressive values for change. Complicating this further, though, is the fact that in many contexts (rural areas everywhere, the South generally, Texas, etc), homophobia's still pretty violent and still produces a context for useful LGBT political organizing. But in most large metro areas, this is no longer fruitful I think.
(Via Towleroad)
RE: Dan Savage on Blacks Voting for Prop 8By on November 5, 2008 4:50 PM | 20 Comments
So let me try to contextualize the comments that Dan Savage has just made about the data suggesting that Prop 8's success was cemented by a whopping 70% of African-Americans voting for Proposition 8 in California. Generally, I disagree with Davage on just about everything. He's incredibly conservative when it comes to sex, despite penning a nationally syndicated column on the topic, and generally his analysis sucks.
But I have to give some credit here for Savage daring to attack the way that "white gay men" categorically have been framed as racist sexist assholes by a reactionary feminist/queer/anti-racist movement that has spent a great deal of time attacking LGBT organizations for their lack of diversity and/or racist/sexist policy positions (see Judith Halberstam's essay, "Shame and White Gay Masculinity," for a perfect example of this). Now, I want to be clear: These folks often have a point. Our LGBT organizations often do lack diversity, and at times some may in fact be contributing to racist/sexist policy efforts. But to blame that lack of diversity simply on racist individuals within the organization, I think, is misguided and misses the important historical ways that sexual identity constructions have varied for white folks and non-white folks (that is to say, white folks may be much more ready to join a self-titled "Gay" organization than others). I get especially upset when I'm sitting in a room full of folks of color and this argument get's lazily brought up. Seriously I've been in meetings with over 50% folks of color and someone (usually white) will angrily complain that "There are no people of color here!" Um... right. Even in a room with 1/3 folks of color, I think that's a disingenuous accusation; it outright erases the importance of those folks' presence.
But I digress. So Dan Savage wants to say -- based on this Prop 8 data -- essentially, "eff you" for spending so much time blaming "white gay men" for their racism and sexism, while being wholly uncritical of the homophobia that exists within African-American communities. And I think he's exactly right. I think that some critical self-reflection on race and racial diversity in our movements is a worthwhile effort. But unfortunately I see that too often as spiraling into a cycle of white guilt that paralyzes organizations and movements. That should not be the goal, yet I've seen it happen time and time again. Because it requires such politically charged and emotional discussions, moving past an accusation of racism or sexism (founded or not) can be incredibly difficult.
But while self-reflection is key, working with other communities of color that have homophobic views has got to be on our agenda. I think we've often resorted to a kind of "moral relativism" argument in regards to this -- along with a kind of discomfort with missionary-style norm-reshaping efforts. But c'mon. That's what LGBT activism has always been about. Going into communities you aren't a part of and asking for change.
I understand Savage's pent-up frustration over often what seem like lazy and/or mean-spirited attacks on "white gay men" uniformly. How many stigmatized minorities exist for which it's seen as perfectly acceptable to rub their reputations through the mud? Imagine substituting "Jewish" for all the claims that are made in these circles about "white gay men!" (in fact, this idea comes from a friend of mine, who suggested doing just that with every reference to "white gay man" in the Halberstam article previously mentioned -- try it and you'll see the point).
Anywho, I'm wandering. These are thoughts I've been brooding over for many years now. I expect that not everyone agrees with me here -- and I encourage you to respond critically. I used to be one of those feminist/queer/anti-racist angry activists, so I'm certainly open to the lines of criticism that get made there. Without further ado, here's Savage's comments:
African American voters in California voted overwhelmingly for Prop 8, writing anti-gay discrimination into California’s constitution and banning same-sex marriage in that state. Seventy percent of African American voters approved Prop 8, according to exit polls, compared to 53% of Latino voters, 49% of white voters, 49% of Asian voters.I’m not sure what to do with this. I’m thrilled that we’ve just elected our first African-American president. I wept last night. I wept reading the papers this morning. But I can’t help but feeling hurt that the love and support aren’t mutual.
I do know this, though: I’m done pretending that the handful of racist gay white men out there—and they’re out there, and I think they’re scum—are a bigger problem for African Americans, gay and straight, than the huge numbers of homophobic African Americans are for gay Americans, whatever their color.
This will get my name scratched of the invite list of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which is famous for its anti-racist-training seminars, but whatever. Finally, I’m searching for some exit poll data from California. I’ll eat my shorts if gay and lesbian voters went for McCain at anything approaching the rate that black voters went for Prop 8.
UPDATE: Angie has just posted in the comments this very helpful analysis (from DailyKos user shanikka) of the Prop 8 data and California census data to argue that there is just no way that Blacks' 70% support for Prop 8 was a deciding factor in the measure passing. They equate it to scapegoating, which indeed it very may well be. Tony in the comments also points out that it eclipses the vast financial support given by Mormons and other predominantly white religious organizations. So it sounds like we can put this to rest for good.
Obama Supporters Take to the Streets in Ann ArborBy on November 5, 2008 12:50 PM | No Comments
The University of Michigan's Diag was overrun by Obama supporters when news of Obama's win was announced. Apparently, an impromptu parade rounded around the city, with supporters coming out of the bars and filling the streets. I was far away from the center of town at a friend's place, so I didn't see the action. But these photos of the night say everything.
Us Watching Barack's Acceptance Speech BeginBy on November 5, 2008 11:01 AM | No Comments
Watching with my European and American friends. Britain and France were represented last night! We were drunk, drunk, drunk! Oy. And elated!
Randomly in the background you'll hear "Hail to the Chief" come on the speakers. Really, it just was on the Ipod on shuffle. Lovely.
Minority Rights @ the Ballot Box LoseBy on November 5, 2008 10:34 AM | 3 Comments
Whether it's women, gays, or people of color, propositions that rollback rights for minorities seem to always win at the ballot box. American voters seem to love to destroy progress with a check of the box. Like I said last week, the proposition
Why can't I celebrate today like I had hoped? Instead I'm near tears looking at some of these proposition results. The only narrow victory is over a prop to destroy Affirmative Action in Colorado, which looks to just narrowly avoid passing. Sigh. Here are the numbers via DailyKos
Arizona Proposition 102 defining marriage as between a man and a woman (92%)In the Midst of Our Joy, Bad News: Prop 8
For: 1,009,693 - 57%
Against: 777,359 - 43%Arkansas: Ban Gay Adoption (90%)
For: 549,074 – 57%
Against: 418,648 - 43%California Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage (84%):
For: 4,605,065 - 51.8%
Against: 4,293,068 - 48.2%Colorado Proposition 46 to end affirmative action (77%)
For: 886,544 – 49%
Against: 911,218 – 51%Florida Amendment 2 more strongly banning gay marriage (99%)
For: 4,657,031 – 62%
Against: 2,848,490 - 38%Nebraska: Ban Affirmative Action (99%)
For: 384,729 – 58%
Against: 283,351 - 42%
By on November 4, 2008 11:48 PM | 2 Comments
Here are the results as they come in. Things don't look good. :(
Virginia Goes to Obama, It's Over!By on November 4, 2008 10:58 PM | 2 Comments
WEW-HEW!!!! HAPPY DAYS. ARE. HERE. AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Happy days are here again" playing in the background :)
CNN.Com's Reggie Aqui: What a Hottie!By on November 4, 2008 6:54 PM | 2 Comments
Phew! I'm watching CNN.com's reporting of the election before I head over to my friend's place for an election-night fiesta. And oy vey! Who is this Reggie Aqui? He is smoking hot! Jeebus. Sexy sexy sexy! And, if my gaydar's functioning properly, he's also gay gay gay! Yum. I need to make a trip to Atlanta!
I Just Got a Homophobic Robocall!By on November 4, 2008 5:42 PM | No Comments
Okay so I stole this audio from another blogger, but I did in fact just receive the very same "robocall" encouraging me to Vote Yes on Proposition 8 -- which would outlaw same-sex marriage in California. I guess I still have some records floating around back there. It's such a sleazy call. Listen for yourself:
I Voted! I Voted! I Voooooooooooted!By on November 4, 2008 5:11 PM | 2 Comments
Whew-hew! I voted just now in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the Community Center on Main Street. The line was nil -- basically no more than 3-5 minutes of waiting, and I was in a booth marking my ballot. I voted a "Straight ticket," so there was something disappointing about not needing to fill in the bubble next to "Barack Obama / Joe Biden." But they got my vote! Yay! Now to the election party!!!! Yea!!!! Champagne for everyone!!!
Stretching Before You Workout? Bad IdeaBy on November 4, 2008 11:19 AM | No Comments
The NY Times has a great article on stretching, dispelling the myth that stretching before you workout improves your strength / readiness. In fact:
If you’re like most of us, you were taught the importance of warm-up exercises back in grade school, and you’ve likely continued with pretty much the same routine ever since. Science, however, has moved on. Researchers now believe that some of the more entrenched elements of many athletes’ warm-up regimens are not only a waste of time but actually bad for you. The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them. In a recent study conducted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all. Other studies have found that this stretching decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent. Also, stretching one leg’s muscles can reduce strength in the other leg as well, probably because the central nervous system rebels against the movements.
Whoops! So quit it, y'all! This is obviously most important for athletes, who depend on their strength for their performance in sports. But it weakens muscles for everyone. Instead of static stretching, they reccommend something called dynamic stretching:
Stretching muscles while moving, on the other hand, a technique known as dynamic stretching or dynamic warm-ups, increases power, flexibility and range of motion. Muscles in motion don’t experience that insidious inhibitory response. They instead get what McHugh calls “an excitatory message” to perform.Dynamic stretching is at its most effective when it’s relatively sports specific. “You need range-of-motion exercises that activate all of the joints and connective tissue that will be needed for the task ahead,” says Terrence Mahon, a coach with Team Running USA, home to the Olympic marathoners Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor. For runners, an ideal warm-up might include squats, lunges and “form drills” like kicking your buttocks with your heels. Athletes who need to move rapidly in different directions, like soccer, tennis or basketball players, should do dynamic stretches that involve many parts of the body. “Spider-Man” is a particularly good drill: drop onto all fours and crawl the width of the court, as if you were climbing a wall.
Read the article for more info and diagrams on how to improve your stretching routine!
2008 Weblog AwardsBy on November 4, 2008 11:00 AM | 2 Comments
The 2008 Weblog Awards nominations have commenced. Here's the link to nominate a blog that you enjoy. Might I suggest... mine? :) I won't lie I totally submitted a nomination comment for this blog -- but also one for Lifelube, where Jim Pickett has been doing some faaaabulous blogging!
Maddow: Long Lines @ Poll = 21st Century Poll TaxBy on November 4, 2008 10:49 AM | No Comments
And she's exactly right. I argued similarly last week.
Poll Closings Graphic from CNNBy on November 4, 2008 10:44 AM | No Comments
Thought this was a handy companion to my election night hour-by-hour guide for tonight!!
FT8.Com: McCain 1.9% Chance TomorrowBy on November 3, 2008 11:13 PM | No Comments
Need they say more? Get out and vote, y'all!
Belle Isle Fountain PhotoBy on November 3, 2008 12:49 PM | No Comments
I couldn't help but to post this cute photo of me and Maxime from our recent excursion to Detroit. You can barely see it's us at this image quality, but trust that it is! We had a fab time. Belle Isle was really gorgeous that day -- the weather was amazing for November!
My PDF, Interactive Guide to the 2008 ElectionBy on November 2, 2008 10:26 PM | 2 Comments
So using Pollster's state-by-state predictions for the election, combined with MyDD's helpful election night timeline, I whipped up this handy dandy interactive guide to the 2008 Election. Bring it to your election-night party, and tally up the votes as they come down. Note that I've already slotted states that Pollster believes will go Dem or Republican (and also note that, if these predictions hold up, Obama will win handily). But if things go awry, cross shit out or whatever. I can't effing wait! Click the image below to download the guide.
Site Stats: Jan 08 - Oct 08By on November 1, 2008 10:16 PM | 3 Comments
So here's the latest update on the Unique Viewership of TrevorHoppe.com As you can see, this year has seen *tremendous* growth this year -- particularly just in the past month! From September to October, there was a 33% jump in unique viewers! Holy canoli! Thanks all you lovely readers for making it happen! xoxoxo
By on November 1, 2008 7:36 PM | No Comments
Today I had the opportunity to explore Detroit with my friend Maxime and a visiting friend from France. Detroit is really an amazing place -- such interesting architecture, industrial wastelands, and at the same time a thriving underground cultural scene. Today we made a visit to Belle Isle -- a very beautiful island park (the largest in the country, and larger than NYC's Central Park) on the river between Detroit and Canada -- and also made our way to Heidelberg Street -- a living art project begun by local artists in 1986 to resist the urban decay that began with the 1967 race riots in Detroit.
But perhaps what was most fascinating was our stop at the Michigan Central Station, which had sat decaying since the last Amtrack train rolled out in 1988. The picture above (via Wikipedia, more photos here) shows its beautiful architecture, not completely eclipsed by the broken windows and general decay of the property. The entire structure is surrounded by barbed wired fence, though my friend from Detroit told me after we came back that there is a hole that is widely known about on one side of the building. This was evidenced by several folks waving down at us from the buildings top floor -- squatters, perhaps? Potential renovation efforts -- estimated to cost between $80 and $300 million dollars -- have all failed. This is an utter shame. The building is absolutely gorgeous.
Palin Prank CalledBy on November 1, 2008 7:26 PM | No Comments
OMG.
Canadian comedy duo "The Masked Avengers" -- from CKOI 96.9 FM in Montreal -- prank called Sarah Palin and convinced her that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was on the line. Oy vey!
Q-Notes Responds to Our CriticismBy on November 1, 2008 12:29 PM | 2 Comments
Q-Notes has just published this rather unsatisfactory editorial regarding the case I reported on last week in which a NC DJ was arrested for having unprotected sex (which was a term of his probation for a prior conviction of "spreading communicable diseases").
I'm headed out the door, so I'll have to add more of my thoughts later. But initially it just seems that they've repeated every cliched argument about poz guys / HIV / "responsibility" they could dig up. Perhaps the most ridiculous claim: "Lastly, remember that Q-Notes is a newspaper, not an advocacy organization." Riiiiiiiiiiight. That's the kind of thing you say when you want to justify your already glaringly apparent bias.
More later! Must go! Headed to Detroit to explore the city. But do leave some thoughts here for digestion!
Editorial: Raleigh HIV case warrants news coverage
by Q-Notes Staff | November 1st, 2008Since the publication of our Oct. 23 web story “Gay DJ put on house arrest for second HIV violation,” Q-Notes has received some pointed criticism. We welcome this exchange of ideas and want our readers to know the reasons we decided to publish the story online, why a version appears in this issue and how we came to the conclusion that it was newsworthy. (See story: House arrest for Gay DJ’s second HIV violation)
The editorial staff first became aware of Joshua Waldon Weaver in late August, as we were preparing our Sept. 6 issue. Ironically, we were chastised by a member of the community for not covering the story quickly enough.
Weaver had just been convicted of violating state health regulations governing the spread of communicable diseases including HIV, as well as others such as tuberculosis. As previously reported, Weaver admitted in court and to Q-Notes via phone that he had unprotected sex with three men and failed to disclose his HIV-positive status.
For pleading guilty in the case, Weaver received a 40-day suspended jail sentence and probation. Terms of his probation ordered him to comply with communicable disease control measures set by the state, such as using a condom and utilizing other safe sex practices.
It is important to note that the court and the state have never said an HIV-positive person cannot or should not engage in sex. That the State of North Carolina and its courts publicly recognize the validity and need for intimacy among gay males is a fact to be applauded. We commend state government for this vital recognition of LGBT and HIV-positive people’s right to sexual privacy and freedom.
In our Sept. 6 story, we contacted HIV/AIDS advocates and asked them about the efficacy and application of the laws applied to Weaver’s case. We believe we handled this complicated issue sensitively and reached acceptable conclusions to the key questions: Are these laws necessary? (Yes.) When and how are they enforced? (Rarely and in extreme circumstances.) What is the obligation of a person with HIV? (Disclose his or her status to their sexual partners.)
Matt Comer’s Editor’s Note in the Sept. 20 issue (“New HIV numbers should spark action”) took members of the LGBT community to task for caring too little about their sexual health and failing to practice safe sex. The piece delved into a plethora of cultural and societal conditions that contribute to the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis among gay and bisexual men and men who have sex with men (MSM) but do not identify as gay.
In the end, Comer encouraged LGBT people to address these complex issues openly, while at the same time taking more personal responsibility for their own safe sex practices and sexual health.
Weaver jumped back on our radar late last month when he admitted in open court that he had already broken his probation orders. It is not our intent to demonize this man, but he continues to behave in reckless and negligent ways that not only endanger his own health, but also the health of others.In cases such as these, when a person is a threat to himself and others, we expect our government to step in. Weaver has shown that he is not willing to take precautions in the interest of public health. While his sexual partners also bear responsibility for their behavior, it is Weaver’s duty alone to follow the law, inform his partners of his status and wear a condom during sex.
Among the criticism directed toward us, there’s been discussion about the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS. Some have stated that our coverage only adds to this stigma. In reality, isn’t it Weaver’s own behavior that adds to the stigma? When many people, gay or straight, think of people with HIV, they think of the stereotype of the unrepentant man who repeatedly engages in dangerous behavior wantonly infecting others. Rightly or wrongly, Weaver is fueling this image.
Lastly, remember that Q-Notes is a newspaper, not an advocacy organization. People tend to forget this because our reporting comes from a decidedly pro-LGBT ideological stance. Nonetheless, it is paramount that we guard against becoming an uncritical cheerleader for the community.
When there are issues or people that deserve criticism, it is our responsibility to report it. And when Q-Notes deserves criticism, it is our obligation to air your concerns. There’s a reason why letters to the editor and uncensored web comments are accepted — utilize these outlets and blister us whenever you feel aggrieved. We can handle it.
More than anything, we hope our coverage of this unfortunate situation leads to an honest and open discussion about HIV, AIDS and sexual behavior among men in the LGBT community.
For instance, why do so many gay and bisexual men seemingly refuse to take personal responsibility for their own health? Why have we practically fetishized an extremely risky sexual practice (anonymous, bareback sex)? Why don’t we push our elected leaders to do more? Why would we rather watch the Oscars and go clubbing than lobby for more HIV/AIDS funding and comprehensive sex education?
For our community’s health and welfare, we’re willing to have these difficult conversations. Are you?