Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told the Blade in an exclusive written interview this week that he appreciates the Log Cabin Republicans’ decision to endorse him, and he hopes “gay and lesbian Americans will give full consideration to supporting me.”

McCain’s decision to answer questions submitted to him in writing marks the first known time a Republican presidential nominee has agreed to an interview with a gay publication.

Read full interview here:
http://washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=21367

this is X-Posted from the California East Bay PFLAG Chapter! Please forward

( click here to read more on how YOU can help )

X-Posted from the Dallas Voice a community newspaper for LGBT Dallas. This article by News Editor John Wright originally appeared in the print edition of September 5, 2008.

http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_9717.php

Matt Goodman says he’s known he was bisexual since he was 5. “I didn’t know what to call it, but I knew I liked boys and girls,” Goodman said.

( click here to read this story about resurgence of bisexual/pansexual organizing in Texas )



( click here for list of Bisexual/Pansexual Groups for people in Texas )

Hallmark Cards that epitome of middle-American 'normalcy' is now offering Same Sex Marriage Cards, and the right wing is pissed!

( they are rallying their bigots and haters to try and make Hallmark regret and reverse this decision, so please help us turn the tables on them )

This GREAT Letter To The Editor was just published in the Washinton Blade with the title "‘Gay’ is not an inclusive term and alienates some readers":

( click here to read more and feel hopeful )

So like all good little Queer Activists I was quickly skimming thru GLAAD's "Stories to Watch" section when I cam upon these two items:

1.) Out-of-State Gay and Lesbian Couples Can Marry in Massachusetts
2.) New Studies on Marriage for Gay and Lesbian Couples

( GLAAD the term is 'Same Sex Marriage and you of all organizations know this! So why are you disrespecting and distracting a large portion of the LGBT Community by using this non-inclusive language especially in this important election year? )

There's been some exciting discussions going on over the past week . . . how BiNet can reach out to the younger generation, how we should handle the same gender marriage debate, how to increase or web presence.

It seems like a good time to remind y'all - BiNet is what each one of you chooses to make of it. We are grassroots and all volunteer. We don't have a big budget or staff.

Consider joining us on the board . . . come up with a nifty title for yourself and i can help set you up with a special name tag ;)

Its funny.. I was having this sometimes exasperating discussion with a binet memeber earlier this month. she has tons of ideas and was confused why we weren't implementing more of them. Eventually, I realized there was an impression that the board secretly meets in dark, smoky quarters to plot our secret agenda . . . one that we don't share with anyone.

I had to laugh. honestly . . . . y'all see all there is to see. I volunteer my hour or so a day maintaining the list and web site, responding to email, and being involved in the glbt leadership discussion groups. Margaret manages our mail. Gary, our funds. Matt keeps us up to date on the Task Force's leadership round table. And that's about ALL we're doing.

If anyone is interested in BiNet doing more, please join us

Creating Change Wants You . . . To Go West and Build Our Movement!

Sparkplug. Community Leader. Inspiring Activist. Organizational Whiz. Major Domo. Original Thinker. Politerati. Cultural Activist. Movement Builder. You-Without-Whom-We-Would-Not-Have-Come-This-Far.

The 21st National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change wants you. Yes, you. We want you to teach your colleagues how to build LGBT power from the ground up. Come to the national gathering of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and strut your stuff!

Creating Change touches down in friendly Denver Colorado at the January 28 – Feb. 1, 2009, gathering together over 2000 movement stalwarts who are hungry and thirsty for new ideas, best practices, stronger skills and inspiration.

A large portion of the Creating Change Conference program is planned and presented by movement heroes just like you. To propose a workshop session, a training, a caucus or networking opportunity, visit http://www. thetaskforce.org/events/creating_change/09_proposal_submissions to access the Request for Proposed Sessions.

Perhaps you want to lead a session to grapple with pressing immediate issues like the results of the 2008 elections or how the right wing is attacking LGBT families. Or maybe you have longer-term issues on your mind, like the impact of the AIDS epidemic, especially in communities of color, or building a multi-racial advocacy organization in your community. The Creating Change Conference is your chance to organize a teaching/learning session to present the lessons you’ve learned and the best practices you have developed.

Attendees at Creating Change include colleagues who are young and old; organizers and activists of color; volunteers and staff people at LGBT organizations; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender advocates and straight allies; and leaders of campus communities. Creating Change attracts people from every corner of the United States who are working on many of the issues that you care about.

Conference presenters receive a steeply discounted registration fee and the deep satisfaction of building a stronger, smarter, more powerful grassroots LGBT movement.

Creating Change Conference session proposals are due on September 30, 2008. Online proposal submission and complete information can be found at www.creatingchange.org

This essay is X-Posted from BiNet USA President Wendy Curry's Blog curriedspam

Honestly, I've been less enthused about the "gay marriage" vs same sex marriage debate than I was the trans inclusive ENDA; with the ENDA battle, rights were being held up . . . With the marriage debate, it could be argued . . . as some have done . . . that the semantics (word choice) will not result in a lack of benefits. After spending time with the amazing Moira, I got to understand how some decisions are being made and can respect that.

One of the reasons so many "state DOMA" legislation's passed, IMO, was that national figures imposed their beliefs and did not listen to local voices . . . who better knew what would work in their neck of the woods. I am definitely enjoying listening to several CA voices on this list [Note: she means the very lively & interesting BiNet USA Discussion List - Click Here To Join] discuss the strategy pros and cons.

I believe the passion form the bi/trans communities on this issue comes from years of baggage and mistreatment from the gay/lesbian community. Since Stonewall (even before), bisexual and transgender individuals have been the back bone of the gay/lesbian movement. We have marched, planned the first pride marches, spoke before congress on DODT, and volunteered tireless hours to effect change for the entire GLBT community.

Yet, time after time, the gay/lesbian leaders have conveniently omitted us - from press releases, proposed legislation, web pages, magazines, etc, etc. The expressed pain comes from the long history of being welcomes when work is needed, yet shunned when convenient. In this particular case, there appears to be no reason for the omission. Does anyone really NOT know what "same sex marriage" refers too?

The gay and lesbian community does a disservice to it's own cause when they remove us from a discussion. Same gender marriage effects bisexuals and transgender individuals in a different way from gays and lesbians, which they would understand if they included us in the process.

One may argue that 2 bisexual females are in a lesbian relationship. I would counter - your individual experiences, feelings, and yes, sexuality effects your relationship. If not, why would so many gays and lesbians be afraid to date us? it's merely a "gay" relationship, right?

as reported in Bay Windows by Ethan Jacobs staff reporter
Wednesday July 2nd 2008 and UPDATED July 3 2008


When Nick Teich created a free account on the online personals site BisexualDatingNow.com last week, he decided to disclose that he is transgender. Perhaps he shouldn’t have.

"They say, tell us about yourself in your own words. And I stated, ’I’m a 25-year old trans guy living in Boston.’ . . . I didn’t want to mislead anyone looking at my profile, so that’s why I put that," said Teich. Within a day he had received three "smiles," which members send to express their interest in getting to know each other.

Teich thought little of his decision until he wrote to the site’s customer service staff about a problem he was having using the site. He exchanged e-mails with a customer service representative named Kiar Dupuis, and after reading his profile Dupuis informed him that the site does not allow transgender users.

"I am sorry, as a transgender, our site would not meet your needs. I am afraid we have to remove your profile," wrote Dupuis, according to an e-mail provided to Bay Windows by Teich. His profile was deleted shortly after he received the e-mail.

( Click here to read more and to find out how to protest this - and PS TangoWire is a Gay owned and operated company!!!!! )

we are x-posting this, we originally found this info on ftmichael's post on ourqueerfamily and neverbeuseless's post on gsa_lj but it's quickly spreading across the internet, it's now on "Pams House Blend" too. That'll get some action for sure!

Note that among the collection of right-wingnuts, religious loonies, garden variety bigots, and cynical political opportunists who signed on to the lawsuit brought by Arizona's scary-fundy "Christian" (Dominionist?) Alliance Defense Fund to block Governor Patterson's directive recognizing same-sex marriage are five (5) Republican legislators. Might they be from YOUR district?

Maybe they should hear about how their Constituents don't want their tax-dollars spent on their elected representitive's personal religious escapades. Also remind them that you will remember this little mis-adventure of theirs come re-election time.

o State Senator Martin J. Golden (R) Brooklyn
o State Senator Serphin R. Maltese (R) Queens
o State Assemblyman James N. Tedisco (R) Schenectady-Saratoga
o State Assemblyman Daniel J. Burling (R) Warsaw
o State Assemblyman Brian M. Kolb (R) Canandaigua
o Michael R. Long, Chairman. Conservative Party of New York State
o Shaun Marie Levine, Executive Director. Conservative Party of New York State
o Duane Motley, member New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms
o Jason Mcguire, member New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms
o Stephen P. Hayford, Esq., Coalition to Save Marriage in New York
o William C. Banuchi, Sr. Marriage & Family Savers Ministries
o Angel D. Rodriguez, (affiliation unknown)
o Piyali Dutta, (affiliation unknown)
o William Carlson, (affiliation unknown)
o Nicole Carlson, (affiliation unknown)
o Frances Vella-Marrone, Brooklyn Conservative Party

Wondering how to respond to your LGBT colleagues who say that Bisexual/Pansexual people, while reaping many of the benefits of the movement for Queer equality are (in Robyn Ochs' great description of what so many of our allies mistakenly think), trying to "muscle and whine our way into their movement, riding on the coattails of their hard-fought battles"? ( These are two articles you can give them to read )