BBall in Seattle funding the fundies

From Dan Savage in an expose by the Seattle alternative newspaper "The Stranger".

Seattle Storm Owners Bankroll Anti-Gay Group

The campaign finance records I’ve reviewed show that Sonics/Storm co-owner Tom Ward has contributed $475,000 to Gary L. Bauer’s Americans United to Preserve Marriage.

And another Sonics/Storm co-owner, Aubrey McClendon, contributed $625,000.

Both men made their first contributions to the group, $250,000 apiece, on September 8, 2004—the day after the group was formed.

As I said, the controversial group doled out $1,056,962 in the 2004 election cycle, which means Storm owners Ward and McClendon basically bankrolled the whole thing. Indeed, records show that between the 2004 and 2006 cycles the group spent $1.3 million total while Ward and McClendon’s donations total $1.1 million.

Dan is right - all Seattle Storm fans should be pissed! The WNBA basketball games are attended predominantly by lesbians.

Welcome to the ranks Suze!

Photo credit

From 365gay.com

Finance Guru Orman Comes Out, Bemoans Gay Marriage Ban

Financial guru and best-selling author Suze Orman says she wishes she could marry her partner Kathy Travis, partly because it would save them both a lot of money.

I love it when celebrities come out! This is great, how many social conservatives has Suze given advice to? I wonder if they will give up the thousands of dollars they have made or the financial stability obtained from following her advice?

If you read nothing else today...

You MUST read this!

A covert operation and infiltration of the "Love Won Out" was accomplished by Jim Burroway of the Box Turtle Bulletin.

It is a must read for anyone who wants an honest opinion of the "Love Won Out" ex-gay conferences that take place annually.

An excerpt:

"We advise fathers, if you don’t hug your sons, some other man will."

With that, a very painful groan rose from the audience. This was probably the second-most effective line delivered that day (I’ll get to the most effective one in just a little bit). I looked around and saw heads shaking, couples looking at each other, and a general sense of horror filled the room. My cheeks flushed as I wondered how many of those groans came from fathers and mothers themselves who made up a sizeable chunk of the audience.

Jim has a 2 part series up regarding his honest and truthful feelings regarding the "Love Won Out" conference. I was surprised by some of his conclusions and actually feel my heart go out to those participants who are in such turmoil and pain over the issue of a family members homosexuality.

Jim's essays are inspiring, emotional and horrifying all at the same time. So if you read nothing else you must hop over to Box Turtle Bulletin and read the essays on "Love Won Out".

Hooray!

Bill To Repeal 'DADT' To Be Introduced Next Week In Congress

Hooray!

NJ Supreme Court: Schools Must Protect Gay Students

Great article!

Another great one from As Good As You!

Gays are part of life -- just DEAL!

We have been around since man existed. Being gay is here to stay. Its time for everyone to just get over it!

Hooray!

Gay couples get licenses in New Jersey

The Oscar Boys

Only 9 days until the Oscar Gala - Do you have your tickets yet????

I am moving the boys back to the top! Right where they belong...



Don't miss the SAN Oscar Gala fundraiser on Sunday February 25th! This year we have the hottest, hunkiest Oscar Boys EVER!

If you get the latest edition of "Exercise for Men Only" you will find John, one of this years Oscar Boys, on a six page spread! (Photo on the left)

OR If you know where to look, you can find Lukas, our second hot model Oscar Boy, (pictured on the right).

Either way, you can find them in the magazine or you can see them in person at the Spokane AIDS Network Oscar Gala! Come out and support the cause! Help fight HIV and AIDS in our region!

Tickets are going fast - last year the Gala was completely sold out!

Call now! 509-455-8993

Hooray!

Gay Couples Nationwide Demonstrate For Marriage Rights

An "ex-gay" must read!

As Good As You takes satire to a new level!

'Ex-gay' hopes for gay gene; Gay Gene wishes 'ex-gays' would just let him live in peace

Speaking at an event at the University of California, Santa Barbara, "ex-gay" speaker Chad Thompson is quoted as saying:

“I think it would be cool if a gay gene were discovered. Then God would get more glory when it is treated”

Mr. Thompson's logic, of course, comes courtesy of that noted scientific journal:

And of course evidence that God would do as Mr. Thompson says can be found in that popular Biblical passage:

Eugenics, 4:12 For I shall make you one way and then later proclaim, "Just kidding!" and reshape you as a morally chaste heterosexual, for while world creation and controlling mankind are fun and all, my true calling is genetic engineering.

Hooray!

Washington Domestic Partner Bill Moving Forward

Its because we plan for our families

Adoption Survey Gives Gay Parents High Grades

(New York City) Adoptive parents invest more time and financial resources in their children than biological parents, according to a new national study challenging arguments that have been used to oppose same-sex marriage and gay adoption.

Because we plan for our families as opposed to just popping out babies on accident it makes for healthier home environments for our kids!

The researchers said 161 families in the survey were headed by two adoptive parents, and they rated better overall than families with biological parents on an array of criteria - including helping with homework, parental involvement in school, exposure to cultural activities and family attendance at religious services. The only category in which adoptive parents fared worse was the frequency of talking with parents of other children.

So, when it comes to gay adoptive parents we rank better than biological parents in all regards except for the frequency in talking to parents of other children! This is probably because we are spending more time with our own kids!

The researchers said their findings call into question the long-standing argument that children are best off with their biological parents. Such arguments were included in state Supreme Court rulings last year in New York and Washington that upheld laws against same-sex marriage.

At some point in the near future the ridiculous supreme court ruling is going to be trumped by good old peer reviewed scientific facts.

Ex-Straight Therapy

We see over and over again the controversy about ex-gay therapy and those self hating homo's who are conflicted between their faith and their feelings. Take Ted Haggard for instance, married Evangelical pastor getting his groove on with a male prostitute for four years! He gets 'outed' by his boy-toy, goes into three weeks of therapy and comes out cured of all homosexual desires. It's a miracle! Praise Jesus!

So then I come across this article from the NY Times:

Some Tormented by Homosexuality Look to a Controversial Therapy

This is the story of Corey Larsen, who, like many gays and lesbians, is conflicted between the teachings of his conservative religion and the feelings of same sex attraction and feelings of "the love that dare not speak its name".

My favorite quote from the article is this:

“There’s not a debate in the profession on this issue,” said Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York psychiatrist and former chairman of the Committee on Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues of the American Psychiatric Association. “This is like creationism. You create the impression to the public as if there was a debate in the profession, which there is not.”

I think we should start and Ex-Straight program. We could, through rigorous therapy and prayer, change around those harmful opposite sex attractions. After all, what kind of life can a straight person look forward to? It is quite fashionable to be gay these days. In fact, just look at fashion trends alone! The ex-straight movement could push straight men into a healthy lifestyle. Get away from the couch potato, beer belly, hairy back syndrome affecting so many of our straight brothers and get them into the gym, a good pampering manicure, back waxing and get rid of that horrific uni-brow!

Thousands could be saved! Broken relationships ending in messy divorce and thousands of dollars of alimony would be a thing of the ex-straights past. After all, if you can't get married your can't get divorced!

If sexual orientation can be successfully changed by pseudo-therapy and prayer then we should start enrolling straight men and women in the ex-straight movement right away.

In fact, I Google search brings up an Ex-Straight ministry out of Los Angeles that is every bit as credible as Exodus and NARTH and the other so called ex-gay programs.

Ex-Straight Ministries at the Sunset Junction

Four Myths of Heterosexuality
1. Heterosexuals have no choice about their sexual preferences.
In fact, heterosexuality is learned at home, in school, and from the media. And it can be unlearned. In prison and in our program, for example.

2. The Bible does not condemn heterosexuality.
In fact, the Bible is replete with grim moral lessons about incest, rape, betrayal, and even murder committed by heterosexuals to satisfy their lust!

3. Heterosexuals do not want to ruin society.
In fact, all you have to do to know that this is a myth is watch the news, or take a look at the heterosexual media and schools! Moreover, there is an organization that actively enforces a het-only policy and has a nuclear arsenal that.s ready to destroy the world right now.the U.S. armed forces.

4. A practicing heterosexual can be right with God.
In fact, God hates lust and adultery. And if God loves heterosexuals, what’s with original sin?

So all of those straight sinners out there YOU CAN find peace, happiness and eternal love through ex-straight therapy. Sign up today!

Hooray!

Gay teens coming out earlier to peers and family

Helluva lot of zeros

2,900,000,000,000

Bush submits 2,900,000,000,000 budget; $142.b more for Iraq war

President George W. Bush submitted a 2.9 trillion-dollar government budget request for the next fiscal year to Congress, including tens of billions of dollars for military operations in Iraq.

As he submitted his record fiscal year 2008 budget plan, Bush also said he would be seeking a supplemental request of 235 billion dollars in the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years for military spending and Washington's global "war on terror."

Despite seeking tens of billions of dollars to support the US military in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan, however, Bush has also pledged to balance the overall budget within five years, partly through restraining health care and other non military programs.

Balance the budget by cutting more taxes for the wealthiest 2%, cut funding to health care, education and other non-military social services. This is the plan for the next 2 years.

I have a message for Democrats and reality based Republicans:

CUT THE FUNDING NOW!

RIP Anna Nicole Smith

Anna Nicole Smith dead

Reality TV star and former model Anna Nicole Smith is dead, a law enforcement source told CNN.

Smith, 39, collapsed at a south Florida hotel and was taken to a local hospital, according to news reports.

TMZ.com had reported that Smith collapsed at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood just after 2 p.m. ET.

According to reports, Smith was found unresponsive in her hotel room.

A life filled with tragedy ends tragically. Anna Nicole finally is at peace.

DADT

The Pentagon is getting REALLY tired of losing qualified, courageous people because of the "Don't ask don't tell" policy.

From the Advocate:

The Pentagon sings a different tune

Recent statements by retired general John Shalikashvili are a sure sign that attitudes inside the Pentagon are changing and that the military’s exclusion of out lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans will soon end.

Haggard run out of town

Haggard Leaves Town

Ted Haggard, one of the most powerful evangelical pastors in the country until it was disclosed he had frequented a male prostitute and had purchased methamphetamine, is packing up and leaving Colorado Springs to begin a new life with his wife.

"Jesus is starting to put me back together," Haggard wrote in an email he sent to his former parishioners at the 14,000-member New Life Church he had founded.

Now to REALLY scare you...

In his email Haggard said he and his wife would pursue psychology degrees.

Good As You says it best:

That three years of (alleged) motel sex -- just an oopsie
Rev. Tim Ralph, one of the men who has been overseeing Ted Haggard's "restoration," has a message for everyone wondering about the disgraced pastor's current standing. He tells the Denver Post:

"[Haggard] is completely heterosexual,"..."That is something he discovered. It was the acting- out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing."
...
"If we're going to be proved wrong, somebody else is going to come forward, and that usually happens really quickly,"..."We're into this thing over 90 days, and it hasn't happened."

Oh, where to begin? Well, let's start with the obvious -- a "completely heterosexual" man does not routinely dabble in sex with someone of the same gender, even if it is confined to only one man. A "completely heterosexual" man may try same-sex sex and discover that it is not for him, just as many homosexuals have first experienced gender-discordant sex and learned the same about themselves. But this is a man who headed one of the most gay-unwelcoming organizations in the nation who, over the alleged span of three years, has extramarital sexual relations with a male escort! Not only did he have it, he PAID FOR IT! If he was not enjoying himself, wouldn't logic lead him to spend both his time and money elsewhere?

Exactly!

Quote of the day

Men give me credit for genius, but all the genius I have lies in this: When I have a subject in mind I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me.

...The result is what some people call the fruits of genius, whereas it is in reality the fruits of study and labor.

-Alexander Hamilton

Finally - A little mainstream attention

Gay Rights Activists Introduce Initiative that Would Require Children in Marriages

KENNEWICK, Wash.- A new initiative is turning heads around the state as the gay-marriage debate heats up again.

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed has accepted Iinitiative 957, a response by gay rights activists to a State Supreme Court ruling last summer.

The Washington Supreme Court ruled that the state could prevent gay and lesbian couples from marrying because the state has a legitimate interest in preserving marriage for procreation.

In response, the Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance filed the Initiative.

I-957 has five clauses that would have to be met for a legal marriage.

It would allow only couples capable of having kids to marry, and that they file "proof of procreation" within three years of the marriage. If not, the marriage would be annulled.

Hooray!

Jerusalem registers its first gay couple

Hooray!

Dutch Gym to Introduce 'Naked Sunday'

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Self-conscious about what you wear while working out? A Dutch gym plans to introduce "Naked Sunday" for people who like to huff and puff in the buff.

Highly Resistant HIV Found in Washington State

The key to stopping HIV and AIDS infection is to prevent infections in the first place. The only way to prevent infection is to practice safe sex and educate others on practicing safe sex.

AIDS is not over! These new mutations are increasingly resistant to treatment and according to the World Health Organization HIV & AIDS will be the number one cause of sickness and disability by 2030!

2030: The bleak future of HIV

AIDS will be the number one cause of sickness and disability in the world by 2030, the World Health Organisation (WHO) predicted in a recent report. HIV-related sickness will disable more than twice as many people as the next-worst chronic illness, depression.

And YES! 2030 is within your lifetime or the lifetime of someone you know and love.

You Can Help!

Support your local AIDS organization, the Spokane AIDS Network. You can support prevention efforts with a donation of any amount or you can have fun with your donation and attend the SAN Oscar Gala.

Highly-resistant HIV found in King County

SEATTLE - The Seattle-King County Health Department says tests have confirmed four men have forms of HIV that are highly resistant to drugs.

One was tested in 2005 and the other three last year, but recently researchers identified a link between all four.

The cluster is a concern to health officials because this HIV is difficult to treat.

From the King County Public Health site:

Four-case cluster of highly-resistant HIV found in King County

“We are still working to learn more about these individuals and the virus they have contracted,” said Dorothy Teeter, Interim Director and Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “We are concerned for these individuals and their partners, and are continuing our investigation and heightening our monitoring of HIV drug resistance in our area.”

“It’s likely these infections are related to one another, but we still don’t know how easily the virus is transmitted or how rapidly the condition might progress to AIDS,” said Dr. Bob Wood, HIV/AIDS Program Director for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “Men who have sex with men need to know that drug resistant strains can and are being transmitted, and may be much less treatable. If you aren’t practicing safer sex now, use this news as one more reason to reduce your risks.”

This is why all gay men MUST protect themselves! Condoms are cheap!

The Changing Face of Marriage by Jacob Caporaletti

Someone sent this to me via email without a link to a source! After an extensive Google search I finally found it! From a regular columnist to the Collegiate Times. Well worth a read! Caporaletti sums up the marriage debate very nicely.

The Changing Face of Marriage
January 30th, 2007
Jacob Caporaletti, regular columnist

In 2005, the population of the United States reached a watershed moment.

According to the American Community Survey, 49.7 percent of households of the nation's 111.1 million households were made up of married couples, down from 52 percent just five years before. This means, for the first time in American history, married couples are a minority.

However, this is not a new phenomenon. Marriage rates have been declining for decades. Some believe that this is a disturbing trend that will lead to weak family units and an unstable environment for children. Others believe that this trend shows that the very institution of marriage is in decay and may eventually die out.

Both sound scary in many ways. The idea that this age-old institution is fading is a big deal not just for America, but for Western civilization in general.

Equally disturbing is the notion of children growing up without the guidance of parents in a stable relationship. Champions of family values paint a bleak picture while the cynical side of the argument brushes it off. But is either of them really right in the grand scheme of things?

The answer is no. As with most issues, the concept of marriage is not clear-cut. The modern idea of marriage is actually pretty new. The contemporary model envisions a loving family living in a house in the suburbs surrounded by a white picket fence with two kids. But historically, this was far from the most common.

Over 100 years ago, the average family was much bigger and the reasons for marriage were much different. Back then, as is the case for most of human history, more families lived on farms and many hands were needed to tend to the fields. And until child labor laws were abolished, having a lot of kids was good in an economic sense because more children meant more money.

Go back even further and the ideal marriage changes even more. In ancient times, many marriages were arranged. In fact, the very concept of marriage was more like a business arrangement rather than a romantic gesture. Marriages ensured the transition of property and the procurement of children to extend the family. The idea of love was encouraged, but not deemed vital to a successful marriage.

The very idea of traditional marriage is different when one takes into account the most common union throughout history was polygamy. While many scorn such practices today, there are valid reasons why it was so prevalent. Infant mortality and death from childbirth were very common up until the modern era.

The very fact that people didn't live as long, influenced how marriages were set up. Going back to the modern idea of marriage, it was already a minority to begin with. Societies change as do traditions. But just because marriage rates are declining doesn't mean society should fear for some big social breakdown. People who push for traditional marriage are acting in the spirit of idealism and not realism. Some couples choose not to get married but still wish to live together. Some of those couples will go on to have children and raise them with the same love and dedication as married parents would. To say these people are wrong is to reject the bigger picture. Married couples and unmarried couples are separated only by legal papers and social stigma.

If this country is to adapt to this trend in marriage, some policies must change. If two people who are living together in a committed relationship wish to enjoy some of the benefits of marriage like tax breaks or insurance plans, they should be allowed to do so. And this extends to gay couples as well.

Regardless of how one might feel about gay marriage in a religious sense, that shouldn't deny them the opportunities to create a stable living environment for themselves and their children. Marriage is still going to be around well into the future, but it will continue to change with the times. As an institution, it will always hold a significant place in society. People just have to respect the fact that some get married for different reasons. It's possible to love someone without marrying them, and it's just as possible to marry someone without loving them. That doesn't make it any less important in modern society. It isn't going away and it isn't falling apart. It's just changing and society has to be willing to change with it.

Why we fight

From Blog Active:

Why we fight

here here!

On this day in 2003

Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing seven

Hooray!

Lesbians Register Mexico's 1st Gay Union

R.I.P. Molly Ivins

Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins dies

AUSTIN, Texas -- Witty best-selling author and columnist Molly Ivins, a Texas liberal who died after a long battle with breast cancer, left legions of admirers, even among the politicians she regularly skewered.

We lost two great liberal women leaders from Texas in the last year, Molly Ivins and Ann Richards. Two women who have lead from their hearts with humor and humility.

A new citizens initiative - Ban marriages that don't create children!

This is not a joke! This citizens initiative was filed with the WA Secretary of Sate.

Initiative 957

If passed by Washington voters, the Defense of Marriage Initiative would:

• add the phrase, “who are capable of having children with one another” to the legal definition of marriage;
• require that couples married in Washington file proof of procreation within three years of the date of marriage or have their marriage automatically annulled;
• require that couples married out of state file proof of procreation within three years of the date of marriage or have their marriage classed as “unrecognized;”
• establish a process for filing proof of procreation; and
• make it a criminal act for people in an unrecognized marriage to receive marriage benefits.
  

The initiative was submitted by Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance and is aligned with the judges own arguments in the Andersen v. King ruling. How funny it is to see their arguments in support of the WA Defense of Marriage Act spelled out as a potential law! It certainly points out the ridiculousness of their ruling, nonetheless, the ruling was a huge set back to civil rights in Washington State.

From the WA-DOMA website:

What we are about

The Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance seeks to defend equal marriage in this state by challenging the Washington Supreme Court’s ruling on Andersen v. King County. This decision, given in July 2006, declared that a “legitimate state interest” allows the Legislature to limit marriage to those couples able to have and raise children together. Because of this “legitimate state interest,” it is permissible to bar same-sex couples from legal marriage.

The way we are challenging Andersen is unusual: using the initiative, we are working to put the Court’s ruling into law. We will do this through three initiatives. The first would make procreation a requirement for legal marriage. The second would prohibit divorce or legal separation when there are children. The third would make the act of having a child together the legal equivalent of a marriage ceremony.

Absurd? Very. But there is a rational basis for this absurdity. By floating the initiatives, we hope to prompt discussion about the many misguided assumptions which make up the Andersen ruling. By getting the initiatives passed, we hope the Supreme Court will strike them down as unconstitional and thus weaken Andersen itself. And at the very least, it should be good fun to see the social conservatives who have long screamed that marriage exists for the sole purpose of procreation be forced to choke on their own rhetoric.

Tee hee! Where do I sign?