Gabi Clayton ~ inside the outsider . . .

A local public television station and an PFLAG-Olympia screening of the documentary "Two Spirits" - Sexuality, Gender, and the Murder of Fred Martinez

2011-06-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

The documentary "Two Spirits" explores the life and death of a boy who was also a girl and the essentially spiritual nature of gender.

Fred Martinez was nádleehí, a male-bodied boy with a feminine nature, a special gift according to his Navajo culture. Martinez was brutally murdered at 16 in Cortez, Colorado in 2001. "Two Spirits" interweaves the tragic story of a mother’s loss of her son with a revealing look at the largely unknown history of a time when the world wasn’t simply divided into male and female and many Native American cultures held places of honor for people of integrated genders.

The Navajo believe that to maintain harmony, there must be a balanced interrelationship between the feminine and the masculine within the individual, in families, in the culture, and in the natural world. "Two Spirits" reveals how these beliefs are expressed in a natural range of gender diversity, and examines the Navajo concept of nádleehí, “one who constantly transforms,” and tells compelling stories about traditions that were once widespread among the indigenous cultures of North America. The film explores the contemporary lives and history of Native two-spirit people.

“Riveting.” ~ LA Weekly

“A gorgeous, moving, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting story, the kind of film that opens the mind and heart so wide they can never close as tightly again.” ~ Martha Beck, Oprah magazine columnist and bestselling author

“TWO SPIRITS is a beautiful film, one that poignantly conveys the pain that Paula Mitchell suffered when she lost her child to hate violence. Fred Martinez was murdered simply because he dared to be himself, and the violence against young people like him must stop. We will never be the society we hope to be until we replace hate with understanding, compassion, and acceptance. This very powerful film is an important step on that journey.” ~ Judy Shepard, President of The Matthew Shepard Foundation

“A rich and textured work that provides a focal point for many important conversations on campus. It’s very moving to see the reactions, and the appreciation of so many people who feel that a deep aspect of their reality has been acknowledged and valued.” ~ Ann Braude, Director of the Women’s Studies in Religion Program and Senior Lecturer on American Religious History, Harvard Divinity School

"Two Spirits" is a production of Say Yes Quickly Productions, Henry Ansbacher, executive producer; Riding the Tiger Productions, Lydia Nibley, director, co-producer, and co-writer; and Just Media, Inc., Russell Martin, co-producer and co-writer -- with Darrin Navarro, editor; David A. Armstrong, director of photography; and Ron Eng, supervising sound editor and sound designer.

TWO SPIRITS screenings:

Monday, June 27: INDEPENDENT LENS: TWO SPIRITS will be broadcast on PBS' KCTS TV, Channel 9 (Seattle, WA) at 10 p.m..

Sunday, July 10: PFLAG-Olympia will show the film "Two Spirits" and have a discussion afterward. Due to the length of the film we will shorten the introductions, announcements and social time. Our meeting starts at 2 p.m., the film will be shown at approximately 2:45p.m.. Please join us!

More information:

TWO SPIRITS
http://www.twospirits.org/

Facebook: TWO SPIRITS: Sexuality, Gender, and the Murder of Fred Martinez
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_104028070497

Additional Resources from the producers of the documentary TWO SPIRITS:
http://twospirits.org/additional-resources/

Independent Lens| TWO SPIRITS Discussion Guide:
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/two-spirits/resources/two-spirits-discussion.pdf (pdf format)

Families United Against Hate: Fred C. Martinez Jr. ~ Cortez, CO
http://www.fuah.org/fuah_cortez.html

PFLAG-Olympia
http://www.pflag-olympia.org

Exciting event! A Reading of Alec's Screenplay.

2011-05-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

The staged reading of Alec's screenplay “The Backside of Nowhere” based on the book by the same title is

Wednesday, June 15, 2011
7:30pm - 9:30pm.
Lakewood Playhouse
5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd.
Lakewood, Washington

It is a one night only free event.

The screenplay is for a full length feature film.

It is being directed by Scott C. Brown and features a dozen of the best actors in the South Puget Sound region.

The cast:

Scott C. Brown - Pops Lawrence / Fat Man
Deya Ozburn - Melissa Baker / Young Melissa / Teen Girl #1
Mark Peterson - Murabbi "Freight Train" Taylor / Cop / Reporter
Elliot Weiner - Man #1 / Player #1 / Announcer-News Anchor / Doc Duval
Chris Cantrell - Man #2 / Player #2 / Sheriff Randy Moss / Young Randy
Jenifer Rifenbery - Woman #1 / Bar Girl / Jasmine Jones / Teen Girl #2 / Nurse
Alex Smith - Young Man / Guard / Weatherman Donny / Bo Bergeron
Bryan Bender - David Lawrence / Young David
Christine Goode - Mary Beaudreau / Young Mary / Nurse #2
Jennie Jenks - Sue Ellen Patterson
Syra Puett - Shelly Lawrence
Luke Amundson - Narrator

Here are a few video clips from the first run-thru on 05-22-11:

See photos from that first rehearsal.

See more about the book here:
The Backside of Nowhere

Alec's blog post about it here:
First run-thru

Lakewood Playhouse

Join us!!

Mother’s Day 2011. Bittersweet.

2011-05-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today is a bittersweet Mothers’ Day.
Bitter because THIS is the year I found out some of how much my Mother lied before her death in 1990. They were big lies. Giant lies. Its complicated and I am still learning and sorting it out and probably will be for a long time. Complicated too because as difficult as she was to love even before I knew the extent of her betrayals, I was also proud of her for many things - for her activism for peace, civil rights and much more. These truths are painful, and still I would rather know them than live with fraud and hypocrisy. That is not courage, it is survival because the truth makes unfortunate sense out of the scrambled bits of memories that never made sense before.

Bitter also this is the 16th anniversary of the day our son Bill committed suicide. It has never fallen on Mother’s Day before that I can remember. Ouch. The anniversary is always a hard but falling on a Mother’s Day makes it even more difficult.

Sweet because of Noel. No mother could be more proud of a child or more happy with him and for him. Noel, I thank you and celebrate YOU on this day for all you are. Lucky am I to have you in my life.

Bullying: Breaking The Cycle - a documentary Alec and I were in - is now online

2011-03-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Alec and I were in a KIRO 7 (Seattle) Family Connection Special Presentation documentary, Bullying: Breaking The Cycle, which aired on March 17 and March 26, 2011.

It can now be watched online in four segments:
Segment 1, Segment 2, Segment 3, and Segment 4.

Those segments are all linked from this page:
http://www.kirotv.com/bullying/
if you just want to give one URL, and there are links to other connected videos, plus more information and resources on that webpage.

Also, there was an online chat after each screening.
Here's a recording of the 03-18-2011 KIRO 7 "Bullying: Breaking the Cycle" web chat, and here's a recording of the 03-28-2011 KIRO 7 "Bullying: Breaking the Cycle" web chat.

My testimony today at the hearing regarding House Bill 1163 at the Washington State Senate Committee on Early Learning and K12 Education

2011-03-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

This is what I said in my 2 minute (approximately) testimony today at the hearing regarding House Bill 1163 at the Washington State Senate Committee on Early Learning and K12 Education:

My name is Gabi Clayton, and I live here in Olympia.

Our son Bill was assaulted on the grounds of Olympia High School during Spring Break in 1995. He was bashed by one student from Oly High and three youth from Rochester because he was bisexual. His best friend Sam was assaulted with him because they assumed he must be gay too.

The physical wounds healed, but Bill remained traumatized and depressed. He was 17 years old, and the only place he felt safe was at home.

One of the main places he did not feel safe was at Olympia High School, where the attitude was that the police were handling the assault – so the ONLY thing the school administrators did was to tell the young man who assaulted Bill who went there that he would “be in trouble if he even looked at Bill sideways.”

Bill became suicidal and he agreed to go to the hospital. While he was there he heard that another friend of his who was gay was bashed during school hours in a small town near Olympia.

Bill came home from the hospital on April 28th 1995. I would give anything to tell you that he is now 32 years old and doing fine, but he committed suicide a few days later on May 8th.

I hear SO many stories from across our state about the frightening harassment, intimidation and bullying that still occurs. Some of the people who work in our schools do amazing work to keep the students entrusted to their care safe, but many do not – because they have not been trained on how to intervene – because they don’t know they will be supported if they do – or because they don’t think it is important.

I promise you that our youth understand – like our son did – that they are not safe.

We are all responsible. Please support House Bill 1163. Thank you.

---

See:
HB 1163 - 2011-12 on the Washington State Legislature website.
Concerning harassment, intimidation, and bullying prevention.
Revised for 2nd Substitute: Creating a work group on preventing bullying, intimidation, and harassment and increasing student knowledge on mental health and youth suicide.

And see:
Safe Schools Coalition's Action Alert - WA Anti-bullying House Bill 1163 passed the full House of Representatives.

Mourning the death and celebrating the life of Carolyn Wagner

2011-03-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

Carolyn Wagner died on January 18th. Wow, its been two months tomorrow.

Carolyn co-founded Families United Against Hate with me, and she was an amazing woman and a wonderful friend.

We have a memorial set up on the FUAH website and it says much more than I can here, so I invite you to read about her there and perhaps sign the memorial guestbook. See In Memory of Carolyn Wagner.

Reading of Alec's new novel this Thursday at Orca Books!

2011-01-08T08:21:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

Wow, it has been way too long since my last post.

Orca Books is presenting a dramatic reading from Alec Clayton’s latest novel, Reunion at the Wetside, with the author and a cast of accomplished actors playing the parts of leading characters. I was at the rehearsal and its going to be lots of fun!

Dennis Rolly as the author
Jennie Jenks as the beautiful outspoken leftist, Alex Martin
James Patrick as Alex' unlikely lover and political opposite, Jim Bright
Chris Cantrell as police reporter Harry Drews

"If you like murder mysteries with a bit of meat and history on them, you will love Reunion at the Wetside,” wrote Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Jack Butler.

"With an epic cast of characters who come and go, this tale of romance between two elderly lovers is one of the most fun reads I have had in a long time," wrote Amos Lassen, amazon.com top reviewer

There will be a talk back and book signing after the reading.

Join us!
-------------
Oops more details added - the reading is this Thursday, January 13th at 6pm. Orca Books is at 509 4th Ave E in downtown Olympia between Jefferson and Cherry, across the street from Olympia Fireplace Supply.

Living In The Bonus Round: "William's Song" to be performed on the radio.

2010-11-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

Living In The Bonus Round: "William's Song" to be performed on the radio.: "Taking A Stand Through Song: The Power of Protest Songs
KALW 91.7 FM RADIO or www.kalw.org

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 10 PM (PST)
Vocal music has long been used as a powerful vehicle of solidarity and dissent. Here on VoiceBox, we’ll be taking a stand through song when Dr. Kathleen McGuire, founder and artistic director of the recently formed vocal ensemble Singers of the Street, a choir made up of homeless and non-homeless San Francisco-based singers, will join host Chloe Veltman in the studio for a discussion about the history and function of protest songs.

http://info.voicebox-media.org/search/label/schedule"

"William's Song" was written by Steve Schalchlin.

Asher Brown, Billy Lucas and Seth Walsh

2010-09-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

September 30, 2010

I’m angry. I’m reeling from the news that on September 23rd 13 year old Asher Brown of Cypress near Houston, Texas shot himself, lost to hopelessness and fear because those who had the power to save him – the adults in his school – did nothing, leaving young Asher alone with the knowledge that he was not safe in this world.

Before that, on September 9th 15 year old Billy Lucas of Greensburg, Indiana hung himself. His friends said that he had been tormented for years based on his perceived sexual orientation. The memorial page for him on Facebook states “… he was a great person. But everyone made fun of him at school and he couldn't take it anymore so he decided to end his life.”

Seth Walsh, an out gay 13 year old in Tehachapi, California hung himself too, and after several days on life support he died on September 28th. He had been taunted by bullies for years, and school officials did not protect him. After a couple of weeks of school this year, he was transferred to independent study but it was too late to save him. While his parents say they reported the harassment many times, school officials claim there had been no reports of bullying.

Asher, Billy, and Seth – and how many more we don’t know about – chose death rather than to live in the world we made.

The news hits me raw and this is not yet the kind of anger that fuels me daily now. That will come – at least I think it will as it always has since our beautiful son Bill committed suicide at 17 after a bashing based on his sexual orientation fifteen years ago.

I know that if more of us had visibly worked to make their schools and communities places they could thrive in, these children of ours becoming adults in a world which they saw had no safe place for them might have survived the horror and suffering that killed their spirits to have the good life we know can be possible.

So now what can you do? Below is a link to what I wrote last year after two other young men died by their own hands. It is a response written at a time a little more distant from the sad news reaching me now to the people they left behind and to the helpers who were trying to figure out what to do in the face of such loss.

Responding to the suicides of two more gay youths — letter to a community.
http://www.gabiclayton.com/RespondingToTheSuicidesOfTwoMoreGayYouths.pdf (pdf format)

Gabi Clayton
Olympia, Washington
gabi@gabiclayton.com

How would you reply?

2010-08-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to this email:

Subject: about Bill
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 09:28:47 +0000
From: alex smith (email address deleted by Gabi)
To: gabi@gabiclayton.com

I hope you now see that you're rebellion against God's laws led to your son's death. If you really loved your son, you would not have led him on a rebellion against God. Why is this so difficult for you to understand?

I don't get them often now but I'm tired of getting any email like this one* and so from now on I will publish them.

How would you reply?
---
* A little history: When I had an active guestbook on my website and someone signed with a negative response to Bill's story I left it there - along with all the wonderful ones and the sad ones - so people could see what hate looked like.

Ty's black bean veggie chili

2010-07-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

Our friend Ty brought this dish to a potluck Alec and I were at and it was sooo great we asked for the recipe. Its become one of our favorites -- especially when fall is ending along with the warmer weather.

One can of black beans
One can of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 cup of corn (I usually do 3 or 4x the recipe amount because I like corn)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (I use at least 3x this much!)
½ cup of chopped onion (again I am liberal in my use of onion. Probably 2x the recipe)
1 tablespoon of chili powder (add to your liking)
1 tea spoon ground cumin
1 tea spoon sugar (Gabi's note: we leave out the sugar.)

Other yummy things I like to add in occasionally: cilantro, fresh avocado on top, cheese, fresh chopped green pepper on top, sometimes a tea spoon of salt depending on how much chili powder I use. (Gabi's note: we've never added salt.)

Sauté the onions and garlic for the chili and then add the spices and everything else.

It is pretty low-fat and relatively low sodium.

An anniversary and a thank you

2010-06-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

The beginning of Bill's Story was a single page with photo of Bill and a simple statement about him committing suicide after a gay bashing. I had a request to people to help end the hate, and I mentioned being a member of PFLAG.

A man in Los Angeles was searching for information about that organization, and he happened upon my website. So the very first letter responding to Bill's Story (posted here) was written 14 years ago today:

This started on June 26, 1996, with an e-mail from Steve Schalchlin, long before "Bill's Story" was written, or even thought about. Steve found my homepage and the dedication to Bill on it that you can still see there now, and he wrote:
I just found your home page and when I saw the picture of your son and story that went with it, I wept right here in the living room. I can't tell you how much it affected me, that someone so beautiful and obviously so loved by his mother would still be crushed by the hatred in this world. If only these bigots truly understood how much damage they cause.

I invite you to view my web site. I am a gay man living with AIDS and as part of my own struggle to survive, I have created this site the centerpiece of which is my on online diary where I detail what I'm living with. For some reason, people all over the world are being drawn to it and it has helped many people, especially many Christians to stop and think about what they do.

I appreciate you fight, dear lady, and I want you to know that I am in anguish over your loss. That you took this pain and turned it into a fight against hatred moves me and reminds me that there are great people out there. And you are a shining example.

Your Friend, Steve
...and so it began. I visited Steve Schalchlin's Survival Site and online diary, and there he showed me how the internet can be used to reach out to people in the very best of ways. Now, months later, "Bill's Story" is up, and it is beginning to take on a life of its own. The responses have been so touching and inspiring that I am starting this page as my way of sharing them with all of you. Please check back from time to time - I will be adding new letters. If you would like me to put your response to Bill's Story on this page, please let me know.

Gabi Clayton 10/18/96

Thank you, Steve! All those years ago that email you sent me started a wonderful friendship and helped shaped the way Bill's story is shared and affects people in more ways than I can count. I can't imagine who and where and how I would be if you had not made that connection with me.

((((HUGS)))) to you my friend.
Love, Bagi

First post in ages! Alec and Rhabdomyolysis

2010-06-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, hi everyone. I haven't posted on my blog since November 15th. I have been really busy with a lot going on and the blog just slipped away but its time to start again.

Alec just got out of the hospital Thursday after a scary bout of Rhabdomyolysis which we had never heard of before. When they admitted him on Saturday early morning his CPK enzymes were at 32,000 (!) and they let him come home at 2,900 which is still high but its on its way down. The docs took him off two meds they think were interacting badly to cause the problem although they don't really know what the cause was.

Thinking of the approaching holiday and my teacher friends

2009-11-15T22:23:00.000-08:00

For an Indian, who is also a school teacher, Thanksgiving was never an easy holiday for me to deal with in class. I sometimes have felt like I learned too much about "the Pilgrims and the Indians." Every year I have been faced with the professional and moral dilemma of just how to be honest and informative with my children at Thanksgiving without passing on historical distortions, and racial and cultural stereotypes.

The problem is that part of what you and I learned in our own childhood about the "Pilgrims" and "Squanto" and the "First Thanksgiving" is a mixture of both history and myth. But the THEME of Thanksgiving has truth and integrity far above and beyond what we and our forebearers have made of it. Thanksgiving is a bigger concept than just the story of the founding of the Plymouth Plantation.

So what do we teach to our children? We usually pass on unquestioned what we all received in our own childhood classrooms. I have come to know both the truths and the myths about our "First Thanksgiving," and I feel we need try to reach beyond the myths to some degree of historic truth. This text is an attempt to do this.

Teaching About Thanksgiving (2nd Edition) is a teaching manual originally written and developed by Cathy Ross, Mary Robertson, Chuck Larsen, and Roger Fernandes - Indian Education, Highline School District, WA. Introduction (in part quoted above) by: Chuck Larsen, Tacoma School District. Originating at The Center for World Indigenous Studies in Olympia, WA.

At the White House

2009-11-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

Rather than write my own version, I am posting a link here of what Alec wrote about our trip this week to the other Washington. Here is his: At the White House.

A huge thank you to Liz Latham, the Seattle based filmmaker and wonderful friend who made this happen. Liz has been working on a documentary about the murder of James Byrd, Jr. called Remember His Name since his murder. Filming the signing of this bill was the dream footage she was hoping for.

And a big thank you to Elizabeth Becton, Washington State Congressman Jim McDermott's Executive Assistant/Office Manager who helped Liz Latham get Alec and I cleared to go to the White House for the reception following the signing of The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

It was wonderful to see Matthew Shepard's mom, Judy Shepard again, and to meet Dennis and Logan Shepard.

I loved having time to hang out again with Cathy Renna who I first met in Cortez, CO when I was there with Carolyn Wagner after the murder of FC Martinez. (Renna Communications).

I so wish Carolyn could have been there with us, but she was physically unable to make the trip from Tulsa.

Before we got there I promised her I would be carrying her with me, and I did.

We were finally able meet in person with Elke Kennedy and her husband Jim, parents of Sean Kennedy who are working so hard with Sean's Last Wish to bring change with hate crime legislation to thier home state South Carolina.

We saw other friends and allies there too. Marsha Botzer, Safe Schools Coalition's Co-Chair; Jody Huckaby, PFLAG's Executive Director; and so many others -- please forgive me if I don't list you here.

As Alec mentions, there is more on our trip to D.C. including photos on the Safe Schools Coalition site in Beth Reis' essay, October 28, 2009: Exciting day for human rights -- President Obama signed The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law today.

There are a few other photos on our Flickr account here:
WashingtonDC-October30-2009.

It was a fantastic whirlwind trip and an honor to be there at The White House on such a historic day. And now its good to be home and back to work.

Neurology update...

2009-10-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

I went to see my neurologist Dr. Bell this morning and had the scheduled tests. It helped (a bit) that I had these tests on my feet/legs/knees before.

So I knew what was going to happen. I knew enough to seriously consider canceling the appointment. My sister said I was a wus. Maybe I should show my wussiness?

But I decided to go and get it done. This time the tests were on my hands/wrists/forarms/elbows.

First he did a nerve conduction study

OUCH!!

And then he did electromyography (EMG) tests on the same poor parts of me.

Somewhat smaller OUCH!

Today he diagnosed:

Mild right (possible left) carpal tunnel syndrome. I have to wear a wrist brace at night.

Mild ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. I need to not put weight on my elbows, and I need to sleep with my arms straight even if I have to wrap them in towels held wrapped with bandages. This is in addition to the mild neuropathy in my hand and my feet/legs.

and

Martin-gruber anastomosis in both of my forearms. So, double Martin-gruber anastomosis. Say that quick?!

I go back to see him in three months.

Jay Smooth: No Accounting for Taste

2009-10-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Here is another brilliant video blog post by Jay!

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a fan. :-)

ill Doctrine is a hip-hop video blog hosted by Jay Smooth, creator of the hip hop music blog and founder of New York's longest running hip-hop radio show, WBAI's Underground Railroad.

Barbara Ehrenreich: The Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America\

2009-10-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

Positive thinking is different, she says, from being cheerful or good-natured -- it's believing that the world is shaped by our wants and desires and that by focusing on the good, the bad ceases to exist.

Read: Barbara Ehrenreich: The Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America | | AlterNet By Emily Wilson, AlterNet. Posted October 10, 2009.

Matthew Shepard’s legacy - looking back and ahead on this anniversary.

2009-10-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

Matthew Shepard was murdered eleven years ago today.

"... despite the passage of time and increased cultural visibility, the realities faced by LGBTQs today are 'no different than when Matthew Shepard was murdered."
~ Charles Robbins (Executive Director and CEO of The Trevor Project.

Please read this excellent article:
Matthew Shepard’s legacy :: The fight continues
by Scott Stiffler, EDGE NYC, Monday Oct 12, 2009.

Fifty-seven years and counting

2009-10-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

Today is my fifty-seventh birthday. I remember when I turned 29. That was a hard birthday. I was stuck thinking oh my I'm almost thirty and what have I done with my life??! I got through the day and back to living and doing and by the time I was about to turn 30 I had realized that actually I had done a lot in all those years. In 1995 Bill committed suicide I was not sure I would survive 42 and I found my way held close and held up by so many amazing people. Soon after when I turned 44 it was another hard birthday because my dad died of a heart attack while he was forty-four there was a weird part of me that had always believed I would die at that age also. I found out later that my sister had also felt that. And yet I lived to be now fifty-seven. I have had a mostly quite interesting life.

so far.

I've not posted much here lately and will try to do more because there is much to share. I'm pretty active on Facebook these days.

I'm happy to be getting ready to fly to Jackson, Mississippi tomorrow for the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition conference. I'll be home on Sunday afternoon, hopefully in time for PFLAG-Olympia where the program is a screening of "Straightlaced by Groundspark.

So I'll be in Jackson and then in the air coming home when the National Equality March happens in Washington DC on October 10-11 and when there are several solidarity events over the weekend in Seattle.

For my birthday I want to leave you with this video by Staceyann Chin, spoken word poet, performing artist and political activist - created to support the equality march and the grassroots work before us all.

love to you all,
Gabi

some thoughts on Referendum 71 so far

2009-09-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

I haven't written anything here for almost a month. Among other things that kept us busy, Alec and I observed the signature verification process of Referendum 71 along with a group of great volunteers. It was a longer than expected and grueling process. We were only able to do some two hour shifts because we aren't able to stand for longer than that. Living in the state capital town, we had it much easier than folks who were commuting from Seattle.

I was surprised that it is going to the November ballot, and sorry that the court challenge failed.

And now I am deeply disturbed by the attempt to hide the signatures of those persons who signed Ref. 71 from being public, as signatures on Washington State ballot initiatives have been.

I've been reading some about that and today I found two articles that are encouraging because they are about Washington state attorney general Rob McKenna's upcoming appeal in the court regarding this:

SEATTLE — The Washington state attorney general's office says it is appealing a federal judge's decision to keep secret the names of people who signed petitions calling for a public vote on expanded domestic partnership benefits.

Read: Wash. to appeal ruling in gay rights referendum
By GENE JOHNSON (AP) September 12, 2009

And this:

Rob McKenna: “Just as we don't run our legislative processes in the House and Senate in secret, it's not appropriate to operate the initiative and referendum process in secret.”

McKenna says Judge Benjamin Settle's ruling sets a bad precedent.

Read: WA AG Appeals Judge's Ruling Sealing R-71 Petitions
BY AUSTIN JENKINS - Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Olympia, WA September 11, 2009

This reminds me of a quote I have always loved in a book my father bought for me before he died. Here is that quote:

How shall we bear ourselves in this great movement? What part shall we play in it? I cannot say what part will fall our lot; but whatever it may be, let us remember that we can do nothing which may bring discredit to our cause or dishonor to our people. If we are to be India's soldiers we have India's honour in our keeping, and that honour is a sacred trust. Often we may be in doubt as to what to do. It is no easy matter to decide what is right and what is not. One little test I shall ask you to apply whenever you are in doubt. It may help you. Never do anything in secret or anything that you would wish to hide. For the desire to hide anything means that you are afraid, and fear is a bad thing and unworthy of you. Be brave, and all the rest follows. If you are brave you will not fear and will not do anything of which you are ashamed.

On page 6 of Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru -- a collection of 196 letters Nehru wrote from prison during the British rule in India to his young daughter Indira.

... Never do anything in secret or anything that you would wish to hide. ...

Yeah, a message that rings as true now -- and holds what I think is an important truth for this specific issue.

I would never sign a ballot initiative for something that I was not willing to be public about, and I question the integrity of anyone who would want to hide theirs, and anyone who acts to hide those of a whole group of persons.

What are they afraid of?

Now we face a vote on this in our November ballot, and the election ballots will be in the mail soon.

Please be sure to mail in your ballot and vote to APPROVE Referendum 71 and affirm retaining Washington State's domestic partnership law.

See Washington Families Standing Together for more information & resources.

Jay Smooth: Michael Jackson - Dance You Into The Sunlight

2009-08-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while. Been really busy with work and various and sundry things.

I haven't said anything here about the death and life of Michael Jackson. I've had a lot of thoughts and a lot of frustrations about the media hype. Then today I finally had a chance to listen to Jay Smooth's Dance You Into The Sunlight and I really want to share it with others. So here it is:

You can also go to Jay's site to read what he wrote about this:
Dance You Into The Sunlight

Thank you, Jay.

Jay Smooth on 'All Things Considered'

2009-07-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

I've posted here before about Jay Smooth and his great video blog (aka vlog) ill Doctrine.

I was delighted to find out that he was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered on June 29th. I missed hearing it on the broadcast but Jay has a link to it on his site

Jay Smooth: On Hip-Hop, Blogs And Race where you can read the article and listen to the 5 min 49 sec audio recording.

Jay, it was a good interview and it's good to know a little more about you.

Various and sundry

2009-07-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted. I have been busy (as usual) with a few extra things thrown into the mix. Summer with this city woman actually doing some gardening or having other folks do it - some for pay and some by amazing friends helping us out. The yard looks better and is better other than fixing some mistakes and getting some more mulch and then watering and weeding for the rest of the summer.

I was in the hospital Monday and Tuesday. I had been having tight chest feelings (pain) mild for a couple of weeks and then it got a little worse last Friday - not bad enough to go to the doc or hospital but I did go to our family doc Monday. He did an ekg in his office and it was a bit abnormal so he sent me to the ER for more evaluation - especially because of my risk factors. My dad died from his 3rd or 4th heart attack at 44 years old when I was 12. I have high cholesterol, diabetes, and I smoked from age 16 to 50 - among other things. The er did another ekg and blood tests and admitted me for observation and a medically induced stress test which happened on Tuesday. Great news - I passed. The docs said my heart is healthy. Yay! We don't know what is causing it but its just mild and barely noticable when its there usually, and they told me to chew a tums three times a day and see my family doc for a followup in two weeks.

Our BIG news is that Alec's new book The Backside of Nowhere has been published!

On Friday he posted on his blog:

Here's a bit of a teaser, a little scene from The Backside of Nowhere.

Read more here: Under water.

More information about this book and his others is posted on his website:
http://www.alecclayton.com/
and on our ClaytonWorks site:
http://www.claytonworks.com/Publishing/index.html

Father's Day & Pride

2009-06-21T07:41:00.000-07:00

We are off to do the PFLAG table at Capital City Pride (here in Olympia) for the day.

Check out Alec's blog post: Surprised by a story on the web

Besen: Obama’s empty words

2009-06-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

In "Obama’s empty words" Wayne Besen wrote:

For what seemed like forever, Democrats told us that when the big bad Republicans went away, our lives would improve. Well, the Republican nightmare is over, so why do I still feel like I’m in the middle of a political Friday the 13th movie?

Read: Obama’s empty words
by Wayne Besen, columnist, 365gay.com - 06.18.2009

Forty Years from Flashpoint Stonewall

2009-06-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

In her blog Trans Political Vanessa Edwards Foster writes:

As the LGBT community been enrapt in Pride celebrations in numerous cities across the globe this month, there's been plenty of news that's hit the wires. Most all of it in America has centered around Don't Ask, Don't Tell (a campaign promise by President Barack Obama that has yet to be addressed) and marriage issues or the Dept. of Justice's recent amicus curiae brief filed regarding DOMA (the Defense Of Marriage Act of 1996).

Individual organizers in the GLBT community are using this anniversary and devoting media to capitalize on the event to address the recent outrages in the gay and lesbian community.

It's a notable anniversary for Pride celebrations and marches this month as it is the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. That occasion was also about outrage. The folks that night had had enough of being treated like crap. No más!

"If the police came in, they were going to check your ID, rough-up some people. The drag queens always seemed to get roughed-up first." — Larry Stansbury of Capital Pride.

Today, of course, those surviving veterans of Stonewall are all near, or in their sixties or above. They still remember that night well. And though this is a milestone anniversary, there appears to be a collective yawn in this country at least in recalling our history and having these pioneers of Queer history around for the retelling.

Odd. We want to revel in this special anniversary with parades and parties and such. Yet the organizers and perhaps a sizable portion of at least the gay and lesbian community would rather just forget what this date memorializes or the people who created the flashpoint on June 28, 1969.

Included is a quote from Stonewall veteran Miss Major:

I am hoping against the reality that the gay community will get off it's ass & do the right thing by the girls that are still here from the 1969! The shit stops here. (The) riot at Stonewall – when you think about it – that was 40 years ago. If you can add, that makes us elders, ones that need the respect for what we began and for living with the bullshit they throw at at us.... WE ARE STILL HERE, DAMNIT!!!

We are not going to disappear or fade away. I have no closet to hide in – I burned the house to the ground. NO HIDING PLACES.

Vanessa continues:

We march in the Parade and point to the history of Stonewall. But simultaneously there's no sense that anyone wants to know or to remember the community's warriors or even know the history of that night.

People want to mouth the words "Stonewall" as it's become only an occasion in which to party. Unfortunately there will be no lessons learned from it. In Twitter-ese, time to bring out the Fail Whale.

Please read all of: Who Cares About The Stonewall Girls (And Guys)?
by Vanessa Edwards Foster ~ posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Cleve Jones Speaking at Utah Pride 2009

2009-06-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Wow this speech by Cleve Jones is amazing.

Video: How I Got To Play John Lennon's IMAGINE Piano.

2009-06-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

Steve Schalchlin describes "how a simple Internet posting of a friend's son's death (Bill Clayton) turned into the opportunity of a lifetime, thanks to pop star George Michael and Kenny Goss, a chance to play the piano upon which John Lennon wrote the song "Imagine."

The interview is by our friend Tracey Thornton.

A special production of 'Romeo and Juliet' in Olympia

2009-06-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

Alec and I hope to see this show and I wanted to help spread the word.

Theater Artists Olympia is pleased to present 'Romeo and Juliet' done with a fresh, intriguing perspective: the title roles are played by two young men.

The director, Chris Cantrell, has emphasized that this is not a "drag show," but a serious production. He is handling it with the utmost sensitivity and care.

We would like to reach out to those organizations that support the gay and lesbian community and tap into an often-neglected audience.
Please encourage everyone you know to support this important production.

Where: Minnaert Performing Arts Center
South Puget Sound Comm College
2011 Mottman Road SW; Olympia, WA 98512 (map)
When: June 25 - July 11 at 8:00 p.m. (Wed.-Sat.) / July 12 at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: $12 at door or buyolympia.com / Pay What You Can on 7/8
Info: http://www.olytheater.com/ or 360-357-3471

If you have any questions, feel free to call Heather McMahon at 360-951-5346.
She'd be delighted to help. Thank you so much

Howard Zinn: Changing Obama's Military Mindset

2009-05-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

I love Howard Zinn. He is one of my heroes.

In Changing Obama's Military Mindset he writes:

Some people might say, “Well, what do you expect?”

And the answer is that we expect a lot.

People say, “What, are you a dreamer?”

And the answer is, yes, we’re dreamers. We want it all. We want a peaceful world. We want an egalitarian world. We don’t want war. We don’t want capitalism. We want a decent society. ...

Please READ the whole article.
Changing Obama's Military Mindset
by Howard Zinn, The Progressive. Posted May 15, 2009.

Steve Schalchlin: Live Online May 22

2009-05-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

Were you at the Olympia concert and want more?
Did you miss the Olympia concert?
There is going to be a Steve Schalchlin webcast!

Steve Schalchlin: Live Online from Kulak's Woodshed.
May 22 - 8 pm Pacific time. More information: here.

Jay Smooth: Asher Roth and the Racial Crossroads

2009-05-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine wrote:

A commentary that was supposed to be about Asher Roth but turned into an extended tangent about race in America.

Watch and listen to "Asher Roth and the Racial Crossroads"
by Jay Smooth, May 8, 2009

Excellent again Jay. Thank you.

Steve Schalchlin: The Big Voice in Olympia

2009-05-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

I just posted this on the PFLAG-Olympia blog but I want to put it here too:

Earlier today in his blog - South Sound Arts etc. - PFLAG-Olympia chapter president (and local theater reviewer) Alec Clayton wrote a review of our very special Mothers Day benefit concert:
The Big Voice in Olympia

Steve Schalchlin posted Alec's review on his own blog - Living in the Bonus Round - with more photos and his own comments. Check it out:
A Review of My Olympia Concert.

Both Steve and Alec love comments which you can do on their blogs.

Enjoy!

The Safe Schools Coalition Blog: Open Letter to Oprah

2009-05-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

Read this great post by Beth Reis - Public Health Educator and Co-Chair of the Safe Schools Coalition: The Safe Schools Coalition Blog: Open Letter to Oprah

Thanks, Beth!

Like to read novels? Good news!

2009-04-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

A message from Alec:

My first novel, UNTIL THE DAWN, is now being serialized on the new website The Daily Novel.

A chapter a day will be posted on the site, and you don't have to buy the book to read it. That's right, it's free. If you've already read it, tell your friends. The plan is that after the entire book has been posted it will be made available as a pdf file you can download for a minimum charge.

This is a brand new online venture. If they're successful, they will follow up with some of my other books.

I hope this will stimulate sales of my actual printed books -- you know, the kind you hold in your hand that has paper and is bound and has a cover -- which are available on amazon.com or (autographed) directly from me.

Alec

Check it out and enjoy!
Let us know what you think.

Schalchlin - back from the brink!

2009-04-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

Its Schalchlin's fourth time singing in Olympia!
Read about it in Alec's blog...
The big voice back from the brink and alive in Olympia
and please get your tickets before they sell out!

Pilobolus "Symbiosis" - A performance merging dance and biology

2009-04-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

Get past the very short commercial for TED at the start - the rest of this is amazing!

Two Pilobolus dancers perform "Symbiosis." Does it trace the birth of a relationship? Or the co-evolution of symbiotic species? Music: "God Music," George Crumb; "Fratres," Arvo Part; "Morango…Almost a Tango," Thomas Oboe Lee.

---

This collaborative dance company is acclaimed for its mix of humor, invention, and drama. Drawing inspiration from biology (how many dance troupes would name themselves after a fungus that thrives in cow dung?), Pilobolus has created a dance vocabulary all its own.

Why you should listen to them:

Pilobolus began as an experiment among three guys and one puzzled professor in a Dartmouth dance class back in 1970. It was survival of the giddiest, as the three non-dancers goofed around with the material they'd been given -- themselves -- and got entangled in science-inspired poses (think: "soft-belly protoplasmic thing") and movements. From these humble, biological beginnings has emerged an innovative, unlikely and almost-uncategorizable dance company that combines athleticism, grace and humor with a profound sense of unity.

Their smooth, organic choreography -- featuring unusual partnering and lifts -- often blurs the lines between individual performers, creating a sense of dance-troupe-as-organism. Still evolving after 35 years, Pilobolus has built up a repertoire of more than 85 works and received numerous awards, including the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement in choreography. Their hilarious appearance at the 2007 Oscars -- where they built witty silhouettes to punctuate the ceremony -- brought the troupe further into the public eye.

Pilobolus - their site is timing out this morning but hopefully that won't last long.

This was a TED 'talk' - TED - stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. The annual TED conference "brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)."

Wow! A Republican Vet Destroys Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. on Torture

2009-04-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

This is amazing. Check out what Steve posted on his blog Living In The Bonus Round:
Living In The Bonus Round: Wow! A Republican Vet Destroys Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. on Torture

Steve Schalchlin is coming to Olympia in May!

2009-04-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

Steve Schalchlin is coming to Olympia to do a very special Mother's Day concert for PFLAG-Olympia! WooHoo!

Can you tell I'm really happy about this?!

In his Friday, April 03, 2009 blogging: Personal Appearances. Steve wrote:

This whole new wave of personal appearances, culminating in the creation and design of a new live solo concert, began with a simple request. Gabi Clayton -- do I have to remind you who she is? -- approached me about going back up to Olympia, the place where I played the "Imagine" piano, to sing a new concert as a benefit for PFLAG-Olympia. Given the fact that I'll do anything, anywhere, for any PFLAG, my answer was yes.

Steve is going to sing and talk at Unity of Olympia church on Sunday, May 10th (Mother's Day) morning. Then he will be our program at the PFLAG-Olympia meeting that afternoon.

Then the concert at Capital Playhouse at 7p.m. - and tickets are limited so get them as soon as possible before they sell out.

Lot's more information is posted on the PFLAG-Olympia website.

Please join us!
It's an absolutely fabulous way to celebrate
Mother's Day and PFLAG.

A celebrity marriage 'apology'

2009-03-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

In this article:
Portia De Rossi "Apologizes" For Marrying Ellen (VIDEO)
Huffington Post | Alex Leo | March 21, 2009

Portia De Rossi appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last night and talked about being a teenage model and her new show "Better Off Ted." She also brought with her a new PSA she made about gay marriage.

Then that video was reposted on AOL NEWS' Political Machine:
Actress Portia De Rossi Apologizes for Marrying Ellen DeGeneres
by Tommy Christopher - Mar 21st 2009

hint ... don't miss the comments to it there, particularly the tête-à-tête there between bob and David:

bob 6:11PM Mar 21st 2009
David S. 6:20PM Mar 21st 2009
and then
bob 6:51PM Mar 21st 2009

We need more advertisements like this one!

2009-03-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is a bank ad from Banco Provincia in Argentina which I am very glad to share with you.

Spot with transgender woman.

Thank you to Jackie at THINGS according to me and Joe. My. God for sharing it.

Extreme poverty is not beautiful

2009-03-01T10:04:00.000-08:00

Jayne Cravens wrote:

I was in a convoy heading to the Pansjir Valley in Afghanistan once upon a time, when a non-Afghan man in the back seat started talking to his non-Afghan colleague about how beautiful and simply the people lived in Afghanistan, how idillic it was, how it was a shame to bring them aid and development if it meant they would have to give up their beautiful, simple life.

I wanted to stop the SUV, throw him out of it, and let him see how he liked living "simply" for a few weeks.

Being poor is NOT the same as living in extreme poverty.

My comment... be thoughtful about what you make 'exotic' and 'beautiful' without the experience of being.

Please read Extreme poverty is not beautiful
by Jayne Cravens ~ 1 March 2009
in Jayne Blog on Volunteerism, Nonprofit Tech, Civil Society, Aid & Development, Communications & Random Thoughts

Also see Jayne's Coyote Communications
... since 1996, as long as I've been online!

Resources and consulting & training services for mission-based organizations
(not-for-profit organizations, non-governmental organizations/NGOs,
civil society and public sector/government agencies, departments and initiatives)

A Bill of Rights for People of Mixed Heritage

2009-02-28T08:24:00.000-08:00

In 1993 Dr. Maria P.P. Root wrote the Bill of Rights for People of Mixed Heritage.

Watch this to hear what Dr Root wrote:
Mixed Minute: Bill of Rights for People of Mixed Heritage

'By Omission' - "losing ground in silence"

2009-02-24T15:03:00.000-08:00

Safe Schools Coalition and our son Bill were mentioned in this report:

On Friday, in a hearing before the Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee, Senators Nicole LeFavour (D-Boise) and Charles Coiner (R-Twin Falls) introduced legislation prohibiting employment, housing and education discrimination based on an individual's real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill proposed amending the Idaho Human Rights Act to include these protections. This wasn't the first time Senator LeFavour has introduced such a bill and, unfortunately for supporters who were hoping to see it enacted this year, it won't be the last.

In a fourteen-minute, at times emotional, presentation, Senator LeFavour simply asked that the committee acknowledge that the issue merits further discussion and to print the bill. Offering to stand for questions upon closing, members of the committee responded with silence. No questions. None.

Idaho Public Television's Thanh Tan interviewed an emotional Senator LeFavour after the vote.

The consequences of tacitly endorsing discrimination can be devastating, especially to kids.

This artwork was created by a young man in Washington state who committed suicide after being mercilessly harassed at school and was published in a Safe Schools Coalition report.

So back to the debate and bringing in the artwork above again, most people who have grappled at one time or another with questions of sexual orientation will tell you as the young man says, "This is not my choice. ... This just is."

By omission we have tacitly endorsed discrimination. On her blog, LeFavour described it as "losing ground in silence."

Thank you to Idaho Senate State Senators Nicole LeFavour (D-Boise) and Charles Coiner (R-Twin Falls) for continuing to refuse to stand in silence. My love to you both, and to all who stand and speak with you.

And thank you to Beth Reis for letting me know about the article.
Go to Safe Schools Coalition website, and also In Memory of Bill Clayton

Please read all of 'By Omission'
The MountainGoat Report: News from the ledge ... life and politics in Idaho ~ February 21, 2009

Steve Schalchlin: Gabi's Song (New Video)

2009-02-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

Steve posted a video of the song beautifully performed by Stephen Camarota of/with The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus.

Thank you to Steve, Stephen and The Chorus!

Thanks for "Milk" 2009 Oscars

2009-02-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

Writer Dustin Lance Black's Acceptance Speech for Best Screenplay "Milk"

Actor Sean Penn's Acceptance Speech for Best Actor in "Milk"

In Sean Penn wins best-actor Oscar for `Milk' Christy LeMire wrote:

In wrapping up his own speech, Penn mentioned the protesters who lined the streets of Hollywood near the Oscar festivities, holding anti-gay signs: "We've got to have equal rights for everyone," he said.

Backstage, when asked what he would tell those protesters if he could speak to them, Penn responded: "I'd tell them to turn in their hate card and find their better self."

Interview after the Oscars event with Cleve Jones, the American activist who conceived of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and a good friend of Harvey Milk. This is on The Rachel Maddow Show, with Alison Stewart hosting.

Thank you for sending these to my Olympia friend Curt Pavola with whom I share many interests and concerns.

For those who have nothing in Seattle now and NYC in the 70s

2009-02-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

Tim Harris, founder and executive director of Real Change wrote:

The Boston years were about getting my butt kicked and organizing without a roadmap.” By the time Harris left for Seattle in 1994, he understood that homeless people couldn’t win without allies, and that street newspapers could bring people together.

and ...

How does one meet the immediate survival needs of those who are have nothing while building institutional power to fight the root causes of homelessness and poverty?

Please read: For The Alma Mater
by Tim Harris ~ Apesmas Lament ~ Saturday, February 21, 2009

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tim writes in another blog posting:

An initiative campaign launched last week to shine a little light on the City's freight train approach to building a new jail in Seattle. It's the culmination of about four months of discussion and planning. ...

and

In my more hopeful moments, I think that this effort, and the opportunity for movement building across race, class, and issue that it represents, is just the kind of organizing that could lead to the new civil rights movement this nation so badly needs. In my less hopeful moments, I think of how overwhelming the odds against our success really are, and how this could be just one more example of institutional power and momentum overwhelming citizen participation.

Please read: Living In The Burning Light
by Tim Harris ~ Apesmas Lament ~ Tuesday, February 3, 2009.

Also listen to this great February 5, 2009 KEXP interview with Timothy Harrison KEXP's Kevin Cole Show:

Tim_Harris_KEXP_Interview - Timothy Harris

Tim, you remind me of Jack Scully, a very important part of my history. (Read Alec's Everything for Everybody.)

Jack told me in 1973 that I was too naive for this world -- and I very much disagreed with him. I was 21 then. Now I know he was right. Sometimes I think he still is and that's alright.

Not Believing in God

2009-02-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

Here are two good recent articles about atheism.

10 myths—and 10 Truths—About Atheism
by Sam Harris, The Los Angeles Times, December 24, 2006

and
10 Myths and Truths About Atheists
by Greta Christina, AlterNet. Posted February 11, 2009.

Apesma's Lament: The Seattle Crime Of Standing While Black

2009-02-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

Tim Harris writes in his blog, Apesma's Lament:

Donald is one of those people who, not to put too fine a point on it, was fucked from birth. Raised Black, male, and poor in the projects of New York, he took his best shot at success by joining the Army just in time for the first Gulf War. When he came back, Donald found that he was still Black and poor, and all his military experience counted for was a case of PTSD.

Since then, most of his time has been spent homeless or in prison. Given that our system seems to delight in nothing more than kicking people when they’re down, I find this sadly unsurprising, and admire him for each and every day that he’s woken up without hating the entire human race.

So a couple of days ago (I think) I heard a speech by California Senator Barbara Boxer and in it she said something about helping people with the economic stimulus bill they are working on in the other Washington. She listed people it would help, and in her list she included "the working poor" - and while I thought her speech was a very good one, that phrase gave me pause.

What about the not-working poor? The unemployed, the physically-disabled-and-unable-to-work, the mentally-ill-and-unable-to-work, the youths who must run away from homes where they are not safe, and oh so many more.

We must not forget them. We must find ways to support those who may not be able to visibly "contribute to society" by some people's terms - but who do very much so - each in their own way - part of us, our land and culture.

We could all be in their shoes in this snowstorm left to us to dig our way out of somehow.

We must not forget people like Donald, struggling to thrive in a hostile world with the help of programs like Real Change in Seattle WA.

When we are looking at 'economic stimulus' we must include funds for programs that serve.

Read all of: Apesma's Lament: The Seattle Crime Of Standing While Black

Some Help Needed in Olympia

2009-02-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

Mickey Smith was a DJ on the show "Sister Sound" on KAOS Radio at The Evergreen State College.
She wrote:

Jeanice and I need some help. I am just about out of savings and my UI runs out in March. I am unemployed and have been for sometime. Please read and help us if you can.
A job for Mickey would solve all. I am a certified special education teacher and a damn good one. If you know ANYONE who might be hiring please pass my info on.
A roommate to share our spacious apartment would help a lot. We are two congenial lesbians and a cat, looking for a 3rd female. Please pass this on.
Barring any help from the above two points, we will be needing a place to live. Your extra room would do, enough for us and the cat.
Please help us if you can.

Please contact me if you can help, and I'll get you in touch with her.

Thanks!
Gabi

Living InThe Bonus Round: Singing Gabi's Song in New World Waking.

2009-02-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, I want to share this which Steve Schalchlin just posted on his blog this morning:
Living InThe Bonus Round: Singing Gabi's Song in New World Waking.

Thank you Steve, Stephen and everyone. Being there for that concert was amazing and such a powerful experience for us.

For no particular reason ... remembering Bill

2009-01-31T12:55:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Alec and I were talking to a friend about living with children who are at the young toddler age, and we remembered Bill when we were living in the upstairs of the big blue house in Hattiesburg Mississippi. I think Noel was about two and a half or so and Bill was a little over one year old.

Bill loved his walker, the kind with a frame with wheels and a cloth sling to seat the child on.

One of Bill's favorite things to do was to propel himself over to our bookshelves and pull each book out very, very slowly one-by-one with a finger until it plopped onto the floor between him and the shelf. He thought that was hysterically funny.

He would work his way down the shelf and then we would have to go put them back on the shelves. That really amused him. I'm not sure if it was the plopping or seeing us put them back (so he could do it again) which entertained him more.

Then Alec remembered that another thing Bill did back then with those books. He would take each one all the way out, turn it around and place it back on the shelf with the spine in.

As I've said before, Bill was an imp.

Am I having flashbacks or what? Adam Smith and ENDA inclusion

2009-01-31T09:34:00.000-08:00

After signing the petition in support of Gender Identity Inclusive ENDA through Equal Rights Washington on January 6th with this message:

Representative Adam Smith
U.S. House of Representatives
2402 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0001

Dear Representative Smith,

I join with the hundreds of thousands of people who make up the membership of the organizations of United ENDA in calling on Congress to quickly protect all workers in America by passing the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA).

In signing this petition I call upon Congress to pass and the President to sign ENDA. I also promise to do my part to ensure the passage of this important workers' rights legislation.

I stand with United ENDA in expressing support only for an ENDA that prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression as well sexual orientation. Any version of ENDA that does not include gender identity and expression will leave American workers unprotected.

Members of the transgender community, those perceived as being transgender, and persons with nonconforming gender identities face significant discrimination in the workplace. To deny people the opportunity to earn a living and be productive members of our society because of irrational animus harms both individuals and the economy.

While I know the majority of Americans already support this legislation, I will talk to my friends and family about the importance of gender identity and expression inclusive ENDA. I will keep my family & friends apprised of developments in the campaign to protect all of our nation's workers from discrimination. When called upon by United ENDA I will contact my elected leaders and take other action as needed to protect our nation's workers and economy.

I am proud to stand with United ENDA, a coalition over 300 organizations, in calling for an America where workers may not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or, gender identity or expression. The time for including these classes in the anti-discrimination laws of our nation is long overdue.

Signed by:
Gabrielle Clayton
Olympia, WA

And so yesterday I received this email:

January 30, 2009

Dear Gabrielle,

Thank you for contacting me with your support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns with me on this important matter.

Like you, I believe that it is wrong that someone can be fired or denied a job opportunity because they are, or are perceived to be, gay, lesbian, or bisexual. ENDA simply extends basic employment discrimination law to include sexual orientation, thereby providing legal recourse in our state or federal courts.

This legislation is a common-sense solution to this problem. Unfortunately, it remains legal in 33 states to fire or refuse to hire anyone based on sexual orientation. This legislation does not create special rights; ENDA would simply add sexual orientation to the current list of federal employment protections that already ban discrimination based on race, religion, gender, national origin, age and disability.

As you may know, Congressman Barney Frank introduced this legislation in the 110th Congress. It was passed in the House, but unfortunately it was stalled n the Senate and failed to pass. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act has not yet been re-introduced in the 111th Congress. Please know that should this legislation come back to the House floor for vote, I will support it.

Again, I want to thank you for contacting me on this important matter. If you have any additional questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Adam Smith
Member of Congress

AS:sm

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Something about it seemed very familiar.

I did a search and found this right here on my blog:

A 'conversation' with Representative Adam Smith regarding inclusion of gender identity in ENDA

I get it that politicians are busy and use form letters and emails and change the information to update and add your name and send.

And I get it that Congressman Adam Smith doesn't want transgender people included in ENDA legislation.

And I am not impressed.

"This Land is Your Land" - The Obama Inaugural Celebration Concert

2009-01-22T10:11:00.000-08:00

Listen to an watch this performance of Woody Guthrie's " great song, "This Land is Your Land"

It is sung by Tao Rodríguez, his grandfather Pete Seeger, and Bruce Springsteen

Tim Harris wrote:

Watch Pete's eyes gleam when he does the private property verse. A moment worth watching again and again. Looking at that gorgeous crowd, I'm feeling something like, what, can it be ... hope! Definitely hope.

in the January 21st post in his blog, Apesma's Lament. Read all of Tim's post: Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead

And read: We Have Overcome
by Joyce Marcel, published on Thursday, January 22, 2009 on CommonDreams.org

The inauguration of Barack Obama

2009-01-20T06:57:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. I haven't posted in a while. I've been really busy and also dealing with some health things. (No seizures thank goodness.)

I wanted to post something for this amazing day, and I watched this video and thought Jay Smooth. Here it is - be sure to watch it to the end!

Why I'm Happy, Why I'm Not Satisfied

by Jay Smooth on his hip-hop video blog ill Doctrine.
January 20, 2009

The 'war' that was always illegal is now illegal.

2009-01-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Bruce Ackerman and Oona Hathaway wrote today in
The Iraq War Is Now Illegal

Ongoing combat in Iraq is illegal under US law. As of January 1, Congress' authorization of the war expired.

As some of the comments to the article point out, this occupation of Iraq war was never legal.

I haven't updated it for almost a year, but if you are interested, check out:
My response to 9/11/01 and then to the invasion of Iraq
with links to articles and resources

Daniel Cartier "Auld Lang Syne"

2009-01-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed Daniel Cartier's version of this old song:

Auld Lang Syne

Daniel wrote:

My fiancé Joe and I filmed this video on Cape Cod. It's one of my favorite songs of all time; a bittersweet song of hope. May the upcoming New Year be filled with joy and love for everyone.
God Bless!
Daniel

Learn more about Daniel Cartier on his website.

Happy new year everyone.
love, Gabi

Apesma's Lament: Real Change Rock Rock On

2009-01-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

In his blog "Apesma's Lament" Tim Harris, one of my favorite Seattle people (not yet met in 'real time') wrote:

Today, a close friend called to say their family was sending Real Change $1,000. It's been a tough year for them, but they're doing it anyway. I've been hearing that a lot lately. It's inspiring. It's also a lot of responsibility. This year, more than a thousand people valued our work enough to send a check, and lots of them stretched to do it. It's an enormous honor to be supported in this way. 2008 was a hard year in many ways.

and ...

Yesterday, one of our guys said he felt more loved at Real Change than anywhere he'd lived in five years. This is what we call a Real Change moment. A lump rises in your throat. You get a little misty, and you say something like, "Thanks. That makes me happy." Then you do a little hug or handshake or whatever, and feel lucky for having work that lets you be a real human being. You then go back to doing the best you can with what you have to work with, and push those rocks up those hills. Because that's what you do.

The friend who called also mentioned a local hip-hop band that's made it big. She'd been listening to their Long March EP. "Did you know the Blues Scholars mention Real Change?" Um, no. "Well, they do. They say, 'Real Change, rock rock on!"

Read Apesma's Lament: Real Change Rock Rock On
and find out more about Real Change

Happy new year, Tim. Maybe we'll meet sometime in 2009.

Sharing some thoughts on the upcoming inauguration

2008-12-22T21:47:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share this, which was written by Lance Helms who is the Gulf Regional Director for PFLAG:

Subject: another view of the Inauguration plans

As a native Atlantan, I'm somewhat sorry to see the choice of Rev. Warren overshadow the choice of Rev. Joseph Lowery, who will give the benediction -- which is an ecumenical way of saying "the last word". Rev. Lowery, considered the dean of the civil rights movement by many, supports same-sex marriage and to this day doesn't shy away from controversy, as we all know from the controversial eulogy he delivered at Coretta Scott King's funeral -- a eulogy in which, incidentally, he cited Coretta's own stance against homophobia.

Having heard Rev. Lowery speak, I know what he's capable of. The man is an agitator and always has been. It's a mantle he's carried since the early 1960's, when the local newspaper in Mobile, Ala., first labeled him as one. He recalls being offended at first, but he loves to tell the story of a local woman who helped him view it in a different light:

"... She took me home with her and told me not to be offended and showed me this brand new washing machine that she had in her house and she said, 'You see that red, round thing in the middle?' She said, 'That’s an agitator... no matter what kind of detergent you use, no matter what brand of washing machine, nothing happens positive until that agitator does its work.' "

For my part, I'll be tuned in on January 20th to see one of my favorite agitators do his work.

Lance Helms
Gulf Regional Director
Atlanta

*~*~*~*~*~*

And this was filed by Michael Crawford on The Bilerico Project today:
Forget Rick Warren, Joseph Lowery is the voice our country needs to hear

And yet, there is this letter I found, written Saturday by Carol Steinel

Dear Mr. President Elect . . .
| posted by PortlyDyke | Saturday, December 20, 2008

You don't know me, but I voted for you.

I'm 52 years old, and I've been waiting for your inauguration day since I was old enough to understand what institutionalized oppression was -- perhaps longer, without really being conscious of it.

As I grew older, and gained more life experience, I think that I grew increasingly impatient in my waiting, as I began to understand more about what might actually help dismantle the systems of privilege that keep institutionalized oppressions alive.

and

I took a cautious, hopeful in-breath when you actually said the word"gay" in the section where you detailed the diverse groups that played a part in this victory. I didn't notice it before I heard the word, but I think I had been waiting for that word for a long time, too -- yet I had been hopeful, not expectant (a habit I've developed over the years -- perhaps a defense-mechanism against disappointment).

You see, I'm old enough and savvy enough to understand that there will be times when mention of a person like me will be omitted -- because there are elections to win, and assumptions about what works and what doesn't work in political tactics, and polls that indicate the "safe" course that must, perhaps, be steered in the present, in order to make gains in the future. I understand this. I really do.

That's why, when I watched your infomercial the week before the election, I wasn't surprised to see that there was no one like me featured as one of the "average Americans". Yes, I'm a small business owner who can't currently afford health insurance, a person who has raised kids, and who is coupled in a stable, loving relationship, a person who currently faces big challenges in earning enough to simply cover rent, utilities, and groceries for my family -- but I would never be featured in your examples of working folks in this country -- because I'm a lesbian -- and that wouldn't poll well.

and

I understand that you may have selected (or allowed the selection of) Rick Warren to speak the invocation at your inaugural as part of a plan to demonstrate that you are not closed to the concerns of those who embrace a conservative Christian lifestyle. I understand that, regardless of what your real personal feelings about gay marriage may be, you were probably advised to say that you didn't support it, in order to get elected. I understand that you may have made choices in the past two years which were politically expedient in the short term, with the intention of serving an eventual greater good. I understand all this. I really do.

And when I read about the honor that Pastor Warren is being done in being allowed to perform the spiritual opening for your inaugural ceremony, I was surprised that I didn't feel angry -- instead, I simply felt . . . . profoundly sad.

I believe that sadness is to the heart and soul as hunger is to the body -- and I believe that my hunger is this: I want to be included in your diverse, but United, States of America.

There is much, much more to Carol's incredible, sad and powerful letter.
Please read it all: Dear Mr. President Elect . . .

I hope that President Elect Barack Obama does.
I hope he is able to let her words all the way in.
For her, for me, and for all of us.

Short takes ...

2008-12-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted since the ones when we got home from California.

A lot has happened. We've been busy. I only have time to catch up a little here right now. I started to write this an hour ago and the power blinked off and I lost it so I am writing a short one tonight.

We're snowed in. We got out to the grocery store Thursday and haven't been out since. And there is a LOT of snow. Its been snowing like crazy. I posted some photos this morning on our Flickr account.
December 2008 snow days in Olympia, WA

And I posted some new pictures of the cats.
Cats in the Winter 2008

Something I watched yesterday worth sharing ...
Were The World Mine

I had eight teeth extracted and have a full upper denture now. It went well. I knew it would happen some day. And Alec had the same thing done a week after me. He is doing well too. Its a funny thing to share.

Oh and I have rejoined Facebook recently, and have been enjoying that.

December First in San Francisco. What an amazing evening!

2008-12-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

I have barely caught my breath let alone caught up since I got home on Tuesday night from my visit to see my family in California and to see and hear "New World Waking!" in San Francisco on Monday, World AIDS Day and the 30th anniversary of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus.

Thank you, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. All of you were and are fabulous!

All the Chorus' soloists were amazing. I do want to especially thank Stephen Camarota for singing "Gabi's Song, Will It Always Be Like This" so beautifully. Wow!

Thank you, Jennifer Holliday! You rocked the house with both of the songs you sang, "My Rising Up" and "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (from Dreamgirls).

Thank you, Kim Kuzuma for "Guardian Angels".

Thank you, Piper Laurie for your narration about violence. I didn't get to meet you at the reception but Carolyn did, and she said you are amazing.

Thank you to everyone in The Women's Community Orchestra.

Thank you, Teddy Witherington - Executive Director of the Chorus.

Thank you, Dr. Kathleen McGuire - Artistic Director & Conductor of the Chorus.

Thank you to anyone I am not mentioning - to the others who played and worked so hard; to all the staff of the chorus, the orchestra, and Davies Symphony Hall!

And of course, thank you, Steve Schalchlin & Jim Brochu.

Alec and I and Carolyn and Bill Wagner had a fabulous evening, as did my sister Mimi and our friend Crystal.

Our friend Bev Sykes who was there with us wrote:

My friend Steve Schalchlin's cantata, "New World Waking" premiered last night, at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, sung by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, under the direction of Dr. Kathleen McGuire. It was a night none of us will soon forget. This video only catches a bit of the flavor of the evening.

Watch Bev's great video: New World Waking

And watch this one from Steve:

SFGMC meets Gabi & Carolyn

The Chorus says the CD of the performance will be out before Christmas.

See our photos from the evening:
New World Waking! Premier 12-01-08

Read: Bringing Down the House
by Sister Dana Van Iquity ~ 12/04/08 ~ San Francisco Bay Times

For more, read Steve Schalchlin's blog:
Living In The Bonus Round

And see more on Steve Schalchlin's 'New World Waking; YouTube Playlist

It was so cool to see old friends and make so many new ones.
Bev is right. We will never forget that night. Thank you all!

Get thee... or family and friends to San Francisco for this!

2008-11-29T06:47:00.000-08:00

Check it out!
Music as an alternative to violence
and this
S.F. Gay Men's Chorus marks 30 years

I am going with Alec. Leaving today and staying with my sister.

If you can get to this I recommend it. If you know others near there... tell them.

Okay, I am off the machine to sync it for the trip.

Why we are going to be in San Francisco on December 1st

2008-11-26T10:03:00.000-08:00

In his blog post Bay Area Reporter on "'New World Waking!" today Steve Schalchlin wrote:

Just posted: A terrific article by Richard Dodds in the Bay Area Reporter on New World Waking! When we did the interview I wasn't sure I was making any sense at all. It was my first time to discuss the piece and I felt completely inarticulate. But, happily, Richard managed to make sense of my ramblings and actually made me sound like I knew what the hell I was talking about.

Please read:
Music as an alternative to violence - 'New World Waking' premieres in a World AIDS Day concert
by Richard Dodds - 11/27/2008 - Bay Area Reporter - San Francisco.

The article mentions Alec and I and Bill and the Lennon's piano being here at our house with Steve.

And we get to visit with my sister and brother too. Thanks to my sis for letting us stay with her! She is going with us to the concert.

the party of money, guns and sex

2008-11-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

Helen Philpot wrote:

Has it occurred to anyone else that the Republican party has become the party of money, guns and sex? It seems to be the only things they think about. Who is having sex with who? How much are my taxes? Keep your hands off my guns. I really think they would explode if a gay couple used their tax refund to purchase an AKA assault rifle. They wouldn’t know whether to hate the sinner or compliment the sin.

Read all of Money, Guns and Sex
in Margaret and Helen - Best Friends for Sixty Years and Counting...

Today's "Join the Impact" Rally in Olympia WA

2008-11-15T16:29:00.000-08:00

Wow! It was a great event. Thanks to Anna and Alec for organizing, and to all the speakers and folks who came out today!

See the photos of the rally in Olympia, Washington event via our flickr account here: Join the Impact Nov 15. (opens in a new tab or window)

I caught almost all of this great speech by Olympia, Washington City Councilmember Jeff Kingsbury this sunny morning at our local Join the Impact rally. Listen to it here:

More information: Join the Impact

For a great essay on why this is so important, please read
Let them eat cake? I'm sick o' cake!
by my good friend Beth Reis in her new blog
Time for a More Perfect Union
Saturday, November 15, 2008.

And news:
About 300 gather in Olympia to protest gay-marriage ban
by Rolf Boone • The Olympian • Published November 15, 2008

Old Fat Naked Women for Peace

2008-11-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

On 10/16/2008 The Righteous Mothers (based in Olympia, Washington) wrote:

The Righteous Mothers are excited to have made a music video of Old Fat Naked Women for Peace.

You can see it two ways. On our website: http://www.righteousmothers.com under Look/Listen or on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINStsPwgQ4

And you can watch that YouTube version right here:

Thanks Marla, Beth, Lisa, Clare, Wendy and Lynn!

Rebecca Riots - A Thousand Hands (Wedding Song '08)

2008-11-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite bands, Rebecca Riots, sent out this message:

Subject: [Rebecca Riots] New Song For You and Us
Date: 11/6/2008

Dear Friends,

While it is awesome and inspiring that we have elected an African-American to the White House, we still haven't managed to commit ourselves fully to the concept of equality. Provisional results suggest that California proposition 8 may have passed, making same sex marriage illegal once more. For more info, visit www.noonprop8.com. In this painful time of sadness and waiting we want to reach out to all of you who supported marriage equality with our gratitude and our hope for a better future - and to give you a gift to thank you for standing up for marriage equality.

As we said in our last email, "A Thousand Hands (Wedding Song '08)" is a love song written for Eve's wedding 8 years ago and revived in order to sing it at some of the historic same-sex weddings that have been happening here in California since it was made legal. Since then, we have played it at shows and plan to include it on our forthcoming CD. But as the campaign heated up we were so appalled by the scare tactics and lies by proposition 8 proponents - and so inspired by record-breaking marriage equality volunteerism, that we wanted to give something back to you, the people who are willing to stand up for what is right. So please come and download the song at http://www.rebeccariots.com.

So thank you, and let's not give up this fight for justice. The forces of reaction have not won because we will continue to get married and we will continue to be who we are, and continue to live our lives in the light of day and in the midst of healthy community. We offer this song to all people who love equality, regardless of gender or orientation.

Feel free to share our song with friends in your email address book, your facebook or other networking sites, via your email groups, websites and blogs? If you have any resources or suggestions from reporters to leaders of organizations that would want to know about this, we would be very grateful for your help. There are also opportunities to get more involved - if you'd like to volunteer on this project please email and let us know.

Again thank you for standing up for what's right!

Love,
Eve, Andrea & Lisa
Rebecca Riots

Thank you (again) Eve, Andrea & Lisa. Its a beautiful song, and a sweet gift.

Keith Olbermann on Marriage Equality and Prop 8

2008-11-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

Adam R wrote today on a PFLAG National Blog post Olbermann on Marriage Equality:

Keith Olbermann of MSNBC commented on his show recently about the passing of Proposition 8 in California, and his dismay and disappointment with the results. He wonders why anyone would want to deny another person the right to the same things that they enjoy. Be sure to watch this clip...

Keith Olbermann is thoughtful, powerful, and wonderful. He said:

You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of...love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate. You don't have to help it, you don't have it applaud it, you don't have to fight for it. Just don't put it out.

Please watch & listen to the whole commentary.

Thank you, Keith Olbermann.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Please stand with us in Olympia on Saturday.
Olympia is joining in a nationwide protest of the passage of Proposition 8 in California, the citizens' initiative that took away the hard-earned right of gays and lesbians to get married.

Please join in the rally at City Hall, 8th Avenue and Plum Street, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 15. Bring signs and umbrellas. There will be guest speakers. We'll meet on the south side of City Hall on the steps to Council Chambers.

Please help spread the word.

If you have any questions, local contacts in Olympia are Alec Clayton at alec@alecclayton.com and Anna Schlecht at aschlecht@juno.com.

You can find posters, signs, and more information at http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com.

short and sweet schalchlin

2008-11-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

Steve Schalchlin wrote today:

Asking for the right to marry does not change society except in one way: It makes it more just.

Read the post Steve ended with that quote... Why SoulForce Marches.

Daring to Dream of a Black President

2008-11-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

With Obama on the brink of victory, America's leading black voices share what it means to them.

Maya Angelou, novelist:

What it means if Mr Obama is voted in, is that my country has agreed to grow up, and move beyond the childish idea that human beings are different.

Samuel L Jackson, actor:

It actually means that the lie that they told us all these years -- that you can grow up to be anything you want to be in America, even the president -- might actually be true now.

Jay-Z, rapper:

Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Obama could run. Obama's running so that we all can fly. I can't wait until 5 November and I'm going to say 'Hello, Brother President'.

There is more from each of them, and there are also statements from Toni Morrison, novelist; Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader; Spike Lee, director; Tiger Woods, golfer; Alonzo Mourning, basketball player; Stevie Wonder, musician; and James Blake, tennis player.

Read all of:
Daring to Dream of a Black President
The Independent. November 4, 2008.

Songs for tomorrow

2008-11-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

Les Misbarack

and:

A thank you to the campaign.

Wow! Thank you for these to
NatHeadquartersObama: http://www.youtube.com/user/NatHeadquartersObama
Created by a small comedy/improv theater in Los Angeles, Ca.
http://www.ultimateimprov.com

Do you read Mark Morford? Hate's last stand

2008-10-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Let's not get carried away. (... snip)

Let's not be naive. ... (... snip)

Maybe you're not convinced. Maybe you need a sign, some sort of indicator of what's truly at stake, something that proves we are at a turning point not merely of tax brackets and energy strategy and foreign policy, but of the very tone and flavor of who we are and what we value as a nation. Yes? Easy enough.

Here it is: Just listen to the screaming.

Please read:
Hate's last stand
It's racism and homophobia, neck and neck, down to the wire. Can they hang on?
by Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I'm on the east coast of the US

2008-10-16T05:02:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.

This is just a quick note to say I am in 'the other Washington' (DC) for the national safe schools roundtable convening, representing Safe Schools Coalition.

I arrived on Tuesday and spent the night at my friend Cynthia's house and it was great to see her again. Then a ride on the DC metro (great transport system) and checked into the hotel. Then I got to hang out with another old friend Dave who I last saw when we were here in 2000. That was fun!

Meetings started last night, and go all day today. And I FINALLY get to meet Lisa Weiner-Mafuz in person! She is on the board of FUAH -- and we have known each other, been good friends and worked together for about 10-12 years - and have never been in the same space in time, but today that changes as she is going to be presenting at the meeting. YAY!

More on the trip later. I need to shut down this machine and head out for the start of the convening and breakfast.

Today is National Coming Out Day

2008-10-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

For some reason I am looking back at some old things today that relate to coming out.

It's not the same, but parents and straight allies come out to.

In Everyday Out (originally published in GayPlace Online in 1997) I wrote with Catherine's help:

Public speaking does not come natural and easy for me, and it took a lot of preparation and energy from me and from my family. I am happy to say that the bill died in committee.

For me, that kind of being "out" is the company-coming-to-dinner kind with time to prepare and put on my best, like the "company china" my mom kept that she only used on special occasions. And then there are the "everyday dishes" -- those opportunities that pop up in our lives unplanned and unexpected. The kind that if you stop to think too long, the opportunity will be lost.

And the last line in Encircled By My Heritage, which I wrote in 1988 when I was a senior in college, is:

In some ways, that experience (the whole time in the deep south) has been the closest I have come to a personal understanding of what it feels like to live in the closet, and how very hard that can be on the soul.

Gwen Ifill portrayed by Queen Latifah and blown off by Sarah Palin

2008-10-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

The Huffington Post | October 5, 2008
Rachel Weiner wrote: Ifill: Palin "Blew Me Off"

On "Meet the Press" Sunday morning, vice presidential debate moderator Gwen Ifill said Palin "more than ignored" some of her questions -- she "blew me off." She added that Palin decided to "give a stump speech" instead of a debate, and that there's "little a moderator can do" to stop that. Watch:

An invitation from Cindy Corrie. Peace Works Conference - Oct. 17-19

2008-10-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

Note from Gabi ~ I won't be able to be at this wonderful event this year because I'll be in Washington DC then, but I did want to let everyone know.

Peace Works Conference
Focus on Iraq and Palestine Occupations, Oct. 17-19
Register Now!

Dear Former Peace Works Conference Attendees:

The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice is sponsoring its third annual Peace Works event, Dual Occupations: Sovereignty and Freedom from Iraq to Palestine, October 17-19, in Olympia, Washington. This multi-generational conference will bring together journalists, scholars, peace organizers, Iraq veterans, and community leaders to deepen understanding of foreign military occupation in the Middle East and to connect those who work for justice and an end to occupation and war.

The three-day conference centered at The Evergreen State College Longhouse, will include panel discussions, workshops and cultural events, that provide a forum for bridging communities, acknowledging differences, and building broader and more effective coalitions for peace and justice. The conference will feature talks on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, women and war, personal witness of occupation, peace curriculum for middle and secondary teachers, art and media activism, organizing with veterans and military families, and other topics.

Conference speakers include:

Phyllis Bennis – Fellow of the Institute of Policy Studies and the Transnational Institute
Haj Sami Sadiq Subaih – Palestinian Mayor of West Bank village targeted for demolition
Adam Shapiro – Filmmaker and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement
Dahlia Wasfi – Iraqi-American activist whose childhood was spent in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq
Dr. Simona Sharoni – Israeli scholar, researcher and activist and Professor of Women’s Studies
Representatives of Iraq Veterans Against the War and G.I. Voice
Zoriah Miller – award-winning photojournalist in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip
Dr. Steve Niva – author and Professor of Middle East Studies and International Politics
Dr. Bill Dienst – Emergency room physician and recent passenger on a Free Gaza boat
Dr. Rula Awwad-Rafferty – Palestinian Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Communities
Dr. Susan Greene – artist/activist, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Break the Silence Mural Project

Friday, October 17th, 7:30 pm at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies will give the conference keynote address, “The Presidential Elections and the Future of the Middle East.” This will be followed by a roundtable discussion with Palestinian Mayor Haj Sami Sadiq Subaih and Iraqi-American activist Dahlia Wasfi. Tickets for this event are available to the general public through the Washington Center for the Performing Arts at http://www.washingtoncenter.org or at (360) 753-8585.

Saturday, October 18th, a conference party with spoken word performance, Palestinian hip-hop film, and a DJ dance party will begin at 8:00 pm in the Old K Records Loft at the corner of 5th and Cherry, above Fishtail Ales in downtown Olympia. Tickets for the general public are available at the door for $5.

The Peace Works Conference is sponsored by the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice and the (Re) Imagining the Middle East Program at The Evergreen State College.

For registration, an expanding list of speakers, and a full conference schedule, go to http://www.rachelcorriefoundation.org, email info@rachelcorriefoundation.org, or call (360) 754-3998. Special rates are available for students, low-income participants, veterans and military families, and K-12 teachers. Our hosts, The Evergreen State College faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend all Friday sessions free of charge.

We have so appreciated your interest and support for our previous events, and we apologize for this late notice. We hope that many of you may still be able to join us in the important discussion about how we can best work together to address these vital issues. Please forward widely.

Cindy Corrie

~*~*~*~*~*

Thanks, Cindy! It sounds excellent. I wish I could be in two places at the same time. ~ Gabi

CONVERSATIONS ON RACE - Sponsored by UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY - Olympia, WA

2008-10-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, September 24, 2008. Officials of a small Christian university say a life-size cardboard reproduction of American's first major party presidential candidate hung from a tree on the campus.

See: Oregon school says 4 confessed to Obama effigy

Can we talk??????????
Join us for the first in a series of community conversations about race,

Monday, October 20, 2008, 7-9pm.

The Olympia Center
222 Columbia St NW; Olympia, WA 98501

Free and open to the public. Sponsored by Unity in the Community, a Thurston County grass-roots organization dedicated to celebration and furtherance of diversity and opposed to all the dynamics that lead to hate crimes. Though these conversations are inspired by the historic occasion of America's first major presidential candidate of color, the effort, like Unity itself, is non-partisan in every sense.

Join us for honest, respectful, moderated conversations with every corner of our community as we broach the subject of race together. Diverse and articulate panelists will highlight the conversations, but all present will have an opportunity to address the issues we rarely address - though we sorely need to.

More detailed information:

Wednesday, September 24, 2008. Officials of a small Christian university say a life-size cardboard reproduction of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was hung from a tree on the campus

During this historic election season, issues of race in America have come powerfully into focus. Unity in the Community is sponsoring a series of candid, open and respectful community dialogues about how we experience race -- in our community and our country. The purpose of this public dialogue is to provide organized, respectful local forums where understanding between the diverse elements of our community is deepened.

Unity in the Community is a grass-roots organization dedicated to celebration and furtherance of diversity and opposed to all the dynamics that lead to hate crimes.

Though we are inspired by the historic occasion of America’s first major presidential candidate of color, the effort, like Unity itself, is non-partisan in every sense.

GOALS: Race sorely needs understanding and language, but we rarely engage in such discussions, and almost never outside our own cohort groups. The goal of this project is the intrinsic value of people meeting each other, learning and sharing information and experience that we have on the many questions of race. We will expand our human vocabularies in this fashion, gain fluency in issues others experience, and have that fluency and network available when the next race-related crisis arises. The goal is NOT to recruit for a political party, or a candidate, or even to generate new community activists.

GROUND RULES: The planned conversations should be (1) honest, which may mean difficult things are said and heard, and conversations that are (2) safe, in that all present are respected, diverse opinions can be expressed without attacking each other. The essential grounds rules are that all are treated with respect, no name-calling, no rudeness, share the air-waves, carry forth the discussion in a positive manner. Though all present are participants, panelists will focus the topic of the discussion.

FORMAT: Aside from the ground rules, there are not qualifying criteria for participation, such as a requirement to participate in a minimum number of conversations. At the close of each conversation, topics for future discussions (and venues) would be solicited from the participants.

What are we learning about ourselves with a Black candidate for president? Are we learning things we’re not willing to say?
What is "politically correct" in discussing race? Is that pejorative? Is it absurd? Why does sensitivity in language provoke backlash? How does that differ from simply being respectful of others? (Related - our language/oppression/racism tends to be worse when we’re with our own kind. Why? What can we do about that?)
Why is there not more minority representation in power positions? Why does it matter to have minority representation? Why is there not more civic engagement in some of the communities of color? What inhibits racial minorities from stepping forward? For example, the numerical representation of Latinos and Asian/Pacific Americans in Washington is far larger than the African-American proportionate representation. What are the reasons for that?
Race in our schools/generational attitudes towards race. High school and middle school students today include many more students of mixed race than during the school days of people of middle age and older. A discussion of race with high school students and adults, including seniors, could compare and explore this evolution.
Ally-ship. What are examples of successful alliances between racial and other groups?
In our country’s racial paradigm, the power position is occupied by affluent straight white men. If people with such profiles are sensitized to their privilege, how can they properly ally with those not in that profile? By feeling guilty? What is a positive model of honorable roles for people in power positions? What do we want the white man to do?
Race and religion. People tend to worship with their own racial/cultural groups. Does this mean that communities of faith are primarily grounded in cultural and racial commonalities, rather than eternal truths?

Information # (360) 791-3295.

Olympia Unity in the Community
http://www.olympiaunityinthecommunity.org/

MILK

2008-09-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

In MILK -- A Great Movie Trailer. Steve Schalchlin wrote:

The Gus Van Sant movie about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected politician, a man assassinated for nothing more than being gay and refusing to pretend otherwise, looks incredible. I actually began to tear up in the theater just watching it.

Filmed in San Francisco and featuring what appears to be a sensational performance from Sean Penn as Harvey Milk -- well, if the movie is as good as this trailer, this could sweep the Academy Awards. And I hope it is. And I hope it does.

Wow, I can't wait to see this film!

View the great movie trailer here.

MILK - the official site for the movie in theaters November 26th.

John Cloud wrote:

People told him no openly gay man could win political office. Fortunately, he ignored them

Read the article: Heroes & Icons: Harvey Milk by John Cloud
TIME 100 ~ June 14, 1999

And read more about: Harvey Milk in Wikipedia

Executive Compensation During this Financial Meltdown Is An Issue For Me

2008-09-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

According to Steve Kaplan:

The White House and Congress appear to have reached an agreement on a bailout plan that restricts executive pay at companies that participate in the bailout. The plan limits CEO compensation that encourages "unnecessary and excessive" risk-taking, creates a tax disadvantage for CEOs who are paid more than $500,000, prohibits severance payments (so-called golden parachutes), and recovers bonuses or compensation paid based on promised gains that later turn out to be "materially inaccurate." Unfortunately, restrictions on the pay of operating executives are unlikely to strengthen the plan; instead, they have the potential to weaken it.

The advisability of imposing pay restrictions depends on the extent to which they weaken the bailout plan. This can happen in two ways. First, companies have to choose to participate in the bailout by selling mortgages-related or other securities to the U.S. Treasury. The pay restrictions will weaken the plan if they lead some companies not to participate that otherwise would have. Second, the restrictions will weaken the plan if they lead to a reduction in the quality of CEOs and executives who choose to work for the participating banks.

Read more at: Kaplan: Pay Curbs May Weaken Bailout
by Steve Kaplan - Wall Street Journal - Management - September 29, 2008

~*~*~*~*~*~*

According to Federal TRIO Programs 2008 Annual Low Income Levels (Effective February 2008 Until Further Notice)

The official "Annual Low Income Level" for a family of 4 (for example) in the 48 Contiguous States, D.C., and Outlying Jurisdictions (not including Hawaii and Alaska) is $31,800.00.

The term "low-income individual" means an individual whose family's taxable income for the preceding year did not exceed 150 percent of the poverty level amount.

The figures shown under family income represent amounts equal to 150 percent of the family income levels established by the Census Bureau for determining poverty status.

(The Federal TRIO Programs are educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.)

So the actual "weighted average" poverty "threshold" for a family of four is $21,203.00 from the U.S. Census Bureau's Poverty Thresholds for 2007 by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years.

The TRIO number above is about 150% of that.

Now, we are talking about a bailout which may put some kind of cap on financial instiution CEOs who are paid more than $500,000 a year , and that isn't the whole bailout picture for these executives.

What is wrong with this picture?

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Soooo ... what do I think?

Now, I'm not well educated about economics, and I realized this post is somewhat scattered, but its my visceral reaction to one of the proposals to fix this mess.

Being quite generous, I think any CEO/executive of a financial institution that is getting help from our U.S. government in a bailout during this crisis -- because they and their company acted irresponsibly to put us here -- should be limited to no more than $100,000.00 a year.

And IF they quit because they don't want that deal, they should get NOTHING. Butkis! Let them live off the money they already earned, like the rest of us would if we were lucky enough to have any savings.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

More:

The Fiscally Insane Bailout Bill Might Not Pass -- Here's 5 Reasons It Shouldn't
by David Sirota, Alternet - for Blog for Our Future - September 29, 2008

Trickle-Up: What a Progressive Bailout Would Look Like
by Joshua Holland, AlterNet - September 28, 2008

Catching up

2008-09-28T21:08:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. I know I have been pretty quiet.

Let's see...

We left the country! My sister has a time share usually in Mexico, but she traded it for one at a resort on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Alec and I got passports (I had one from when I was 20 but it had expired, and we drove up. It's not something we usually do, and it was fun. We hadn't been swimming for about 15 years and I had to get a bathing suit!
See our pictures from the trip ... Our Canada vacation - September 2008.My brother was also there the first night, but I didn't get any pictures of him.

On the way back to Olympia, Alec dropped me off at Noel's placeand I spent the night there. (Thank you, Noel!) Then he took me to a Youth Suicide Prevention conference which focused on youth at risk including LGBTQ, Native American, homeless youth and others. I thought it was excellent.

One of the things I did during the conference was planned ahead. I was a lunch table facilitator, which means during the lunch break I talked very briefly about why I was at the conference (Bill's story, safe schools, etc.) and then asked people at the table why they are there and have a conversation.

Who sat with me was very random. I was at a table in the corner of the big room full of tables and people. Only two women sat at my table, and they were from the new Seattle chapter of
ULTRA Teen Choice (Character, not condoms) - yup, abstinence folks. Needless to say we had an 'interesting' conversation.

Now I'm making plans to go to Washington DC for a week to be at safe schools thing in mid-October. I will get to work with some cool people doing some amazing work. I'll get to see some old friends and some relatives while I'm there too.

Jay Smooth: Machine Guns And Stupid Choices

2008-09-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

Please listen to Jay Smooth's October 2007 commentary on rapper TI's arrest on federal gun charges right before he was scheduled to appear at the BET Hip Hop Awards where he had been nominated for nine awards.

Click To Play

Jay goes way beyond acknowledging that if T.I. was guilty of those charges (which he eventually plead guilty to after this video was made) that it was a 'stupid choice' which Jay in no way excuses -- to a very sensitive analysis of why someone might do something like that.

T.I. says now in the biography on his website:

"Obviously that was one of the worst mistakes of my entire life, but I will not let that mistake characterize my existence or my contribution to society,” says T.I. “I cannot go back and change the past, but I can learn from it, and teach others how a poor assessment of a situation can not only affect you drastically but also impact the ones you love. It’s something that I still have to deal with."

Jay talks about having worked in a group home for youth in the past, and what he learned there. I very much agree with what he understands based on my own work at shelters with young people.

Thank you, Jay. I'm glad to be allowed to share this.

Watch more from Jay Smooth at ill Doctrine.

Carrie Says No To Proposition 8

2008-09-08T20:41:00.000-07:00

The issue of gay marriage is addressed by 15 year old Carrie Shores whose parents (Del Shores and Jason Dottley) are gay.

Great job Carrie! Thanks for posting that.

Background notes: I met Carrie's dad Del when my friend Michael Sugar flew me to Los Angeles to see Steve Schalchlin and Jim Brochu in the fabulous The Big Voice as a 50th birthday present in September 2002 (see Steve Schalchlin's September 22-25, 2002 blog post).

While I was there, Michael also took me to see Del Shores' wonderful play, "Southern Baptist Sissies" (read Alec's 2005 review). I introduced myself to Del in the lobby after the play, and we have stayed in touch a bit since then. After that I saw his excellent movie Sordid Lives which is now a cool series Sordid Lives on Logo TV.

Wow! Listen to what Pat Buchanan had to say about Barack Obama's acceptance speech!

2008-09-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is truly amazing. Check it out!

Staunch conservative Pat Buchanan had nothing but love for Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the 2008 Democratic national convention given before 85,000 people in Denver's Mile High Stadium.

Thanks to Liza Sabater on culturekitchen for sharing that one!

And if you missed Obama's speech - or want to hear it again - here it is:

Olympia - Our Nuclear Free Zone is at risk! Please help.

2008-09-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

Our Olympia City Council is seeking to repeal our Nuclear Free Zone Ordinance on Tuesday, September 9th!

Please take action on this!

Here is the press release that went out today:

09/05/08

PRESS RELEASE

Supporters of Nuclear Free Zone rally for community show of support

The Olympia City Council wants to repeal our Nuclear Free Zone. Tuesday, Sept. 9 they plan to repeal it without allowing for public dialogue or testimony. Supporters of the Nuclear Free Zone ordinance are asking people to show up at the Council meeting to demonstrate their support.

The city’s Nuclear Free Zone (NFZ) ordinance was adopted by the Council with great support by the members of this community in August, 2005 on the 60th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More than 90 percent of the community voiced support at that time.

Here are some why repealing the ordinance is a bad idea:

Council Members admit the ordinance places no burden on the city.
The NFZ was adopted following an extensive process including three public meetings of the City Council General Government Committee, and a public hearing at which 100 percent of the people who testified supported the ordinance
Since 2004, the city has been contacted 282 times about the ordinance. 216 of the contacts supported the ordinance (76%), 38 opposed it, and 28 had no opinion.
Several Council members have stated that the ordinance is not enforceable and is merely symbolic. However, it is no more or less enforceable than any other city law, and has been successfully enforced since it was passed in 2005.
Many cities across the nation and across the globe have taken positions to oppose nuclear weapons. Mayors for Peace now includes more than 2000 members. Nuclear Free Zones have been established across the globe and in such diverse places as Oakland, CA, Lane County Oregon, San Juan County, WA Chicago, IL, Tacoma Park, MD, Las Vegas, NV, Boulder, Co and the Big Island of Hawaii.
The City attorney reported that the NFZ ordinance poses no tangible risk or legal liability to the city.

The NFZ is the ultimate example of taking local actions to address global concerns. Such actions should be embraced, as solving big problems always come about through many small solutions coming from the grassroots, rather than one big solution imposed by fiat from the top down.

Repealing the NFZ sends a message of hopelessness and despair to the community. It says that we as a community are powerless to address one of the most significant challenges of our time. Is this the message we want to send to our young people?

Supporters are calling on the public to join a rally and procession Sept. 9. The rally kicks off at the Knoll, 5th avenue, north side of Capitol Lake, Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 4:30 p.m. At 5 p.m. there will be a sidewalk procession to City Hall to welcome city Councilmembers and staff with a beautiful display of support for our Nuclear Free Zone at 6 p.m. Council meeting starts at 7 p.m.

People are asked to bring sunflowers, musical instruments and creative signs and props.

Contact:
TJ Johnson
tjjohnson@scattercreek.com
360-943-4596 (home)

----------------------

So, please help get the word out.

Send the press release above to people in Olympia -- and ask them to take part on Tuesday.

And here is a flyer to share:

Download the full page flyer in pdf format here:
Flyer for Sept. 9 Save NFZone Rally, Procession,Welcoming Party

Also, we are creating a large bank of names of folks who support the Ordinance! Will you add your name to this list?

Here is the plan -- PLEASE DO IT AS SOON AS YOU READ THIS, BECAUSE TIME IS SHORT!

Create an email addressed to mollygibbs3@gmail.com
TYPE YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME into the email with the statement "I (or we) support the Nuclear Free Ordinance. That's it. When Molly receives your email, she knows that you support the Nuclear Free Ordinance.
Click "send".

Molly will add your name to the list that list will be presented to the City Council onTuesday night.

And join with us on Tuesday. Alec and I will be at City Hall for the Council meeting.

Jay Smooth: The Republican Hater's Ball

2008-09-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

Published September 4, 2008 on ill Doctrine, a hip-hop video blog hosted by Jay Smooth, creator of the hip hop music blog and founder of New York's longest running hip-hop radio show, WBAI's Underground Railroad.

Mark Morford: Greetings from "the angry left"

2008-09-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hey, peeved hippie! Stop your hatin' and learn to love the (McCain) bomb!

Aww, just look at you. You seem a little upset. A mite peeved, even.

Heck on a hot pancake, I'd even go so far as to say you were downright angry, given how I can see the ripples of general upsettedness and waves of appalledosity coursing through your hot liberal body like fresh biodiesel through a converted VW van. Really now, that can't be good for your chakras, can it?

What's wrong, buttercup? Right-wing politics got you down? RNC '08 making you gag? Toxic and inexcusable events of the past eight years make you deeply sick to your stomach, spleen, heart, mind, spirit and even your kneecaps? Or is it the wretched notion that the bizarro-world McCain-Palin agenda wants to continue more of the same?

Or maybe it's this: Maybe it's all this terrifying new evidence that there still seems to be this huge pile of Americans who aren't all that concerned with -- or even aware of -- just how violently the GOP continues to dump all over their very heads. Is that what's making your blood boil? Aww, there, there, now.

Read: Greetings from "the angry left"
Notes & Errata ~ by Mark Morford ~ San Francisco Chronicle Columnist ~ Friday, September 5, 2008

More Mark Morford

Dance, dance, dance!

2008-09-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

Momix
and
Pilobolus

Amy Goodman interviewed by Cenk Uygur about arrests and the role of media in the United States

2008-09-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

This interview is on The Young Turks a multimedia news talk show hosted by Cenk Uygur.

Today: Amy Goodman and Two Democracy Now! Producers Unlawfully Arrested At the RNC

2008-09-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

www.democracynow.org

September 1, 2008

Contact:
Denis Moynihan 917-549-5000
Mike Burke 646-552-5107, mike@democracynow.org

ST. PAUL, MN—Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time. Police violently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested her. Video of her arrest can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers who were being unlawfully detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman's crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.

Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to call the office of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and demand the immediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar. These calls can be directed to: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman's office at 651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0).

Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this action by Twin Cities law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of these journalists.

During the demonstration in which they were arrested law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force. Several dozen others were also arrested during this action.

Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism's top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar is a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists from the nation's leading independent news outlet.

Democracy Now! is a nationally syndicated public TV and radio program that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.

Video of Amy Goodman's Arrest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

##

Wednesday: "History and More"

2008-08-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's done. Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for president. The emotional impact snuck up on me like a stealth bomb. Maybe because of all the drama with Hillary and Ted Kennedy. Probably because I never thought it would really happen. I came home during the delegate roll call vote and it hit me what was happening. History and more than history. I started to cry and couldn't stop. Cried as each state bragged about their majestic geography, sports teams, politicians, and favorite sons and daughters. Then, New Mexico yeilded to Illinois, Mayor Daley yeilded to New York and Hillary herself asked for suspension of the rules to declare Obama the nominee by acclamtion.

I swear, it was like my life passing before my eyes.

Wow, please read all of History and More
by my dear friend Jackie, who I thank for sharing so much of her heart.

Tuesday: "Wake up America"

2008-08-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

The powerful speech by Dennis Kucinich at the Democratic National Convention wasn't included on much of the media we saw and it should have been.

Wake up America. This is not a call for you to take a new direction from right to left.

This is call for you to go from down to up.

You can watch it here:

The entire text of his speech is on Alternet here:
Dennis Kucinich Rocks DNC: 'Wake Up America!'
Posted by Rep. Dennis Kucinich at 9:17 PM on August 26, 2008.

Speaking of growing old ...

2008-08-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

This post's title refers to something George Carlin said in the great video I posted earlier today below.

I was going to post more of the updates on my own health, but this comes first. Alec posted this on his blog yesterday:

Friday, August 22, 2008
My aching heart

I'm sorry if I was a day or two late posting my latest theater and art reviews, but I was in the hospital with a broken heart -- almost. An artery almost completely blocked. I went to the hospital with chest pain Tuesday night about 10 p.m., and Wednesday morning I went into the cath lab to have a stent put in. The procedure itself is just a little bit painful, but the recovery is horrible. You have to lay on your back for up to 8-10 hours (I think it was 10 this time). The main thing is you can't move your leg where they inserted the tube in the femoral artery from the groin up to the heart, because if you do it might start bleeding, and from what I hear that ain't any place you want to be bleeding. Once out of danger of bleeding out from the femoral artery, however, the recovery is quick and easy.

They discharged me about 10 a.m. Wed. Wednesday night I went to the State Theater with my son, Noel, to see Harlequin Production's "Psychopathia Sexualis," which I will review for my TNT column next week. Here's a sneak preview: It is -- despite the weird title -- a comedy, and it is really good.

And then he posted this today:

Saturday, August 23, 2008
More on the heart procedure

It was all research anyway. Me going to the hospital, I mean. OK, not really, but … One of the characters in my new novel has a heart attack and when he fails to recover as well as expected his doctor goes back in with a catheter and finds a blocked artery and puts in a stent. Having undergone that procedure before – thus refreshing my memory – I might be able to rewrite that scene and make it a little more vivid. And more comical. There were definitely some comic aspects.

I haven’t said anything about my earlier bouts with heart disease, but for those who don’t know, I had open heart surgery in October 2002 – a triple bypass – and went back to the hospital with complications repeatedly over the next few months, getting a balloon angioplasty and having two stents put in.

It wasn’t much fun. During one of the angiograms my heart stopped and they had to shock me with the paddles to get it started again – just like in the hospital shows on TV. It’s scary to think about it but I was totally unaware when it happened. The doctor had told me to let him know if anything felt odd during the procedure (yes, it has to be done with the patient completely awake). And there was a moment when something felt not right, and I started to say something, but then the next thing I knew the doctor was saying “Well that was unexpected” and I think he said he was sorry and asked if I was all right. I had no idea what he was talking about – the memories are fuzzy.

I’ve had small bouts of angina almost every day since the operation back in 2002, and I’ve talked to my cardiologist and had numerous stress tests, etc., and it’s never been anything to worry about, so when I started having pain in my chest and arm Tuesday night, I figured it would go away, and I didn’t say anything. But it didn’t go away, and it started getting stronger. It had started before dinner (we went out to El Sarape, a great Mexican restaurant), and it was 10 p.m. when I finally asked Gabi to call 911. She was pissed at me for not telling her sooner.

They gave me lots and lots of medicine – pain meds, nitro, oxygen, and I slept through the night and went in to the cath lab Wednesday morning. They shaved my groin on the right side and poked around a bit, then for some reason decided the left side would be better, so they shaved the left side and went in with the catheter.

During the procedure I started feeling like I had to pee. You know how sometimes when you can’t get to a bathroom and you have to pee so bad that it hurts and you can’t hold still? That’s the way it was, but they were poking around from my groin to my heart. It didn’t seem like a good time to take a leak. Finally I said something to the doctor about it and he told a nurse to give me a urinal. She placed a urinal between my legs and positioned me in it. (You have to put aside any sense of shame in the hospital.) Once I was in position, the doctor said, “Let her rip if you can.”

Ooh, what a relief it is!

After it was over and they showed me before and after pictures of the blockage and wheeled me back to my room, I had to lie on my back and not move my leg for two-to-four hours until they could remove what is called a vascular closure device. It’s like a very thin straw about six inches long that is inserted into the femoral artery. Removing it always takes at least two nurses (in my case a third one was observing). They have to put tremendous pressure on the insertion point to keep it from bleeding while they pull it out. I recall that it was extremely painful the first time I had this done, but this time it wasn’t very painful. One of the nurses noticed that I’d been shaven on both sides and commented on that. I joked that now I could wear a Speedo, and one of the nurses said she saw an old man wearing a Speedo once and it was a horrible sight to behold. I guess I won’t try wearing one anytime soon.

As I said in my previous post, I had to lie on my back without moving my leg for another six hours. It wasn’t so bad. They gave me morphine for pain and I managed to sleep fairly well. They sent me home the next morning. And that’s about it. Right now I feel fine.

Oh, BTW, did I mention that when I had the bypass surgery I was released from the hospital on Halloween day? My nurse, a male nurse, came to work in drag that day dressed as Nurse Ratched from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

P.S. After my surgery Gabi posted updates on her website without any links but she gave family and friends the url so they could keep up with my progress. If anyone really wants to read all the gory details, it’s still posted at http://www.gabiclayton.com/alecs_heart.htm

Alec's blog: South Sound Arts etc.

"Yes We Can" - The George Carlin Remix - by Jay Smooth

2008-08-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Thank you Jay for this excellent homage to the great George Carlin and his commentary on censorship and growing old:

For the great one. One of the biggest influences on my understanding of everything, and his legendary "7 dirty words" court case happened at the radio station where I've spent half my life. One of the people I most most most wanted to meet/interview. You could always count on him to be on top of the now for however long he was here, and I know that he was a devoted blog reader, so I always fantasized about him visiting my site or seeing one of my vids.

this video contains adult language (like, duh!)

"Yes We Can" - The George Carlin Remix Posted June 26, 2008 on ill Doctrine - the hip-hop video blog hosted by Jay Smooth, creator of the hip hop music blog and founder of New York's longest running hip-hop radio show, WBAI's Underground Railroad.

John Phillip Sousa and the infernal machine. And much more!

2008-08-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

A talk by Larry Lessig: How creativity is being strangled by the law.

I know this is long, but it is fascinating and entertaining. At about 8:13 minutes in there are three cool video clips to illustrate Mr. Lessig's point.

19:07 minutes - filmed Mar 2007 - posted Nov 2007 by TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design).

About this talk: Larry Lessig, the Net’s most celebrated lawyer, cites John Philip Sousa, celestial copyrights and the "ASCAP cartel" in his argument for reviving our creative culture.

About Larry Lessig: Stanford professor Larry Lessig is one of our foremost authorities on copyright issues, with a vision for reconciling creative freedom with marketplace competition.

Wow! Jay Smooth: How To Tell People They Sound Racist

2008-08-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Please watch How To Tell People They Sound Racist - a brilliant July 21, 2008 podcast by Jay Smooth, host of WBAI's Underground Railroad in New York City. He is a blogger at hiphopmusic.com and the creator of the video podcast ill Doctrine.

Thanks to Bil Browning at The Bilerico Project for posting it there. I totally agree with what he wrote:

This has to be one of the smartest videos I've seen on YouTube. Not only does he give good, practical advice, but it's entertaining too.

Sorry I've been so quiet.

2008-08-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I am sorry I haven't posted for a while and I am way behind on answering some of my email.

I'm okay. I was/am dealing with some health stuff that slowed me down after the last grand mal seizure which was a month ago today on July 15th.

I finally got the diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy that I have expected for over a year. That is a kind of nerve damage. It's probably connected to my diabetes but he is running some tests to rule out other causes. It's affecting my feet a lot and it's worse at night. It's weird to have pain and numbness at the same time. I think I have it in my hands a little too. I'm now taking meds for that which hopefully will stop the pain, but my neurologist told me it won't fix the nerve damage.

The good news is that when I saw the sleep doctor last week he agreed that what he thought might be "restless leg syndrome" after my sleep study was the neuropathy. And he said that the sleep apnea I have is so mild that I don't need to be treated for that with one of those apnea machines -- which my cats would have hated!

Anyway, I am back and trying to catch up.
Love to you all.

See these if you can! Sordid Lives / Bare / Zero Hour

2008-07-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night (Wednesday) 'Sordid Lives: The Series' begins on LOGO TV. The movie Sordid Lives was fantastic and I expect the show to be too.

Del Shores is also the author of the play 'Southern Baptist Sissies' which I saw first in Los Angeles (thank you, Michael) and then when it was done here at South Puget Sound Community College, but I heard about the movie 'Sordid Lives' long before that from our friend Dan in Seattle (thank you, Dan!)

Read Small-town tale ‘Sordid Lives’ comes to TV
NEW YORK – On “Sordid Lives: The Series,” the colorful folk in a certain Texas town are back in action after having won an avid following with the 1996 play and 2000 movie of the same name.

More info: Sordid Lives on Logo TV
and Del Shores.

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This Thursday night we are going to Seattle to see 'Bare' which is playing in Seattle until July 26th.

... a gripping, provocative pop opera about students during their senior year in a private Catholic preparatory academy and their struggles with first love, sexuality, drugs, parents, and religion. A cross between Rent and Dead Poet's Society, bare tells of the relationship among a group of friends, including the secret lives of altar boy Peter and his roommate, the popular Jason.

The Seattle premiere of this hit Off-Broadway musical is performed by enormously talented students aged 17-20 who won their roles in a vigorous competition for 13 exclusive spots in ArtsWest's award-winning Musical Theater Apprentice Program.

Book by Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo
Music by Damon Intrabartolo
Lyrics by Jon Hartmere
Directed by Christopher Zinovitch and Nick DeSantis
Musical Direction by Jackie Koreski

For more information on bare, visit www.barethemusical.com
Tickets: $15 (Under 25? Only $10!)
Call 206-938-0339
Online at www.artswest.org

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And for those of you lucky to be anywhere near Coral Springs, Florida ...

ZERO HOUR with Jim Brochu has been extended to August 10th at the Broward Stage Door Theatre.

I'm not close enough to see it there but hope to some day.

Read what Steve Schalchlin wrote about it Zero Hour Breaking Box Office Records...In The Off-Season!.

Find out more at Zero Hour
and
The Broward Stage Door Theatre.

Another seizure

2008-07-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

I know some of my friends read this blog for my health updates.

I had another seizure yesterday at about noon and the medics came when Alec called and a firetruck arrived and then three medic/firepersons checked me and helped me walk to the car and Alec drove me to the emergency room, nurses helped me into a wheelchair and into the emergency room. I got home about 6pm. Catherine cooked us dinner. Thank you! I do remember that, but not a whole lot else. Now my brain cells are slightly scrambled but not as much as sometimes. They called my neueologist and he increased my seizure med.

TAG Jesse Helms

2008-07-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

AIDS activists put a giant condom on the home of Senator Jesse Helms in 1991.