Thursday, June 30, 2005

In response to the Opression of Pornography

Return of the Nubian Princess

Hey, someone liked my ravings and rantings enough to publish them on their website: The Mackinnon Essay: Letters to the Ethical Spectacle. Check it out!

http://www.spectacle.org/0705/letters.html

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Blame Canada! (for being the best of the west)

Return of the Nubian Princess

Check it out!


http://www.canada.com/ottawa/
ottawacitizen/news/
story.html?id=6163074f-34bb-4707-86ab-d01313937958

Asshole addresses the nation

Return of the Nubian Princess


Did anyone see that liar stand up and address the nation with a smirk on his face? His war agenda and this new mission to fight terrorism in Iraq is disgusting. While he slashes funding for rape crisis centers and slashes our right to law enforcement we have to swallow it all with a
"God bless with you all!" "Stay in the fight until the fight is won..." What kind of bullshit is that? I am way too angry right now. I am an American not a christian, and I don't like being addressed with "God" involved anywhere in his speeches - it looms with a hidden agenda - I feel as if slowly, he is killing our democracy, our right to abortion, our rights to marry..he is killing us softly and by 2008 - even Hilary Rodham Clinton won't be able to save us! Fuck!
His war agenda is driving me stark raving mad, he could care less about this country's real issues, he has this obsession with killing people that is disgusting. We are officially in hell.

http://www.trendsresearch.com

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=96159§ion=Opinion

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Free Zach from his parents and hate

Free Zach...when I read about Zach, the Tennessee teen whose parents forced him into isolation over being gay I almost thought of booking a plane ticket, but alas, I'm broke. My gut tells me that his parents are insane, that our president endorses this fear of the unknown and that I hate this country.

The wonderful, supportive comments from around the nation inspired me to write and talk about Zach and show my support. Love will prevail, it always does. Hang in there Zach! When you return to the overwhelming support you've received across the web, you will remember who you are. There are so many strangers who love you and have never shared a soda with you...it's incredible.

Support Zach:
www.loveisloveislove.com


Friday, June 17, 2005

Free Zach
After coming out to his parents, 16-year old Zach has been whisked away to a fundie-Christian reprograming camp in Tennessee called "Refuge" (run by the anti-gay organization "Love in Action") where he is supposed to learn how not to be gay. It's a familiar story, except in this case Zach shared his experience on his blog before leaving for camp re-education (check out the camp's "rules and regulations" - they're not allowed to wear Abercrombie & Fitch - how ridiculous). Zach's friends have been diligently spreading the word about his exile and it's now making the news and sparking community protest.

Contact the haters who are holding Zach:
Refuge is the camp (contact info on their site); Love in Action is the group (email Director John Smid at Directorjjsmid@loveinaction.org)

Cool groups in the area that work against this kind of homophobia; show them your support:
Memphis Area Gay Youth
PFLAG Memphis
Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center

Edited to add: Free Zach site with links to media, and a new group called Queer Action Coalition that led the protests of LIA. Also, Margaret's letter to Zach.
- posted by Keri @ 10:41 AM 5 comments

Thank you for Blogging

It is amazing how much Blogs have been attacked by employers, the media and now the government. I've been very interested in folks like Greg Palast (thanks to a neighbor for turning me on to his commentary) and the DSM ( a now hard-to-ignore blog) which attacks Prime Minister Tony Blair and our illiterate President.

We never found those pesky WMDs but I really hope we impeach President Bush
AKA (Elitist Racist Prick)!

Have a great day and check out the DSM!

www.downingstreetmemo.com
www.downingstreetmemo.com/blog.html
www.gregpalast.com

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Glaad & Proud - Pride 2005

As I walked through the Festival Pavillion's parking lot in San Francisco, I was stunned but not surprised to see activists from the infamous Fred Phelps-sponsored website: http://www.godhatesfags.com

Seven or so odd characters held rainbow colored poster boards designed to communicate to the attendees of the 16th Annual Glaad Media Awards just how deep their commitment ran and how much they were "filled with christ's love."

"God Hates Fags," and "Thank God for 9/11" were some of the choice messages.

Giving thanks to God for 9/11 was especially confusing, being that it is pretty presumptious to speak on behalf of God and a very messy business misquote God. God hates the sin of homosexuality according to the "good book," not the individuals that practice it. God also doesn't claim the hate agenda nor can it be located in any bible or biblical resource. Why would God decide there is any validity to hate a chosen, well-planned project such as the creation of human existence? We have already figured out that God did not intend for African Americans to live in abject poverty, segregated from education and free will as this country willingly permitted without shame or discourse. Replacing African Americans with the LGBTQI community is just as proposterous and we know it's wrong. I firmly believe God really dislikes the decision to freely and knowledgeably judge, harass and commit acts of unspeakable violence against other human beings because knowing that an act is a sin and committing that sin voluntarily is the antithesis of God who represents one thing: Truth.

Only human beings are capable of that kind of hypocrisy, not the spirit that invented life. Also, every human being that lost their lives to the tragedy of 9/11 represented various groups of people, including those who claim to be children of God.

I realized that these so-called "Soldiers of Christ" will use any form of ignorance to get their message across, no matter how misguided or incorrect it may be. These anti-gay protesters really believe they are making a difference.
There were more people inside celebrating the Glaad (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - http://www.glaad.org) Media Awards than those representing bigotry outside. Many San Franciscans drove through the Marina District honking their horns in annoyance at the group's unwelcome prescence. Members of the SFPD were scattered throughout the area to maintain the peace and one officer even calmed a young woman down when she grew angry over the 9/11 jab. He politely reminded her that they were trying to get a rise out of her and that she was too intelligent to let them succeed. I totally agreed.

Jennifer Beals and Rita Moreno were among the celebrities honored that evening as well as a host of journalists, television stars, writers and filmmakers. It was the best way to cap off a long day of celebrating my pride - pride in my city, my fellow civil rights activists and pride for all of my LGBTQI sisters and brothers.

Earlier that morning, I attended the first Sacramento Pride Parade (http://www.sacpride.org) in 22 years. My friends from the NorCal Aids Challenge would be visible in the parade as well as various members of organizations, bars & nightclubs, restaurants and politicians such as Mayor Heather Fargo and Assemblymember & San Franciscan Mark Leno. I took dozens of photos cheering and laughing as I rode my bike to follow the parade. It was so amazing to see to see so many members from the area come out and support their gay neighbors!

I interviewed and photographed members of the Sisters of Scota
(http://www.soswmc.com), a 26 year-old women's motorcycle club and non-profit corporation based in the Sacramento area. These women are true heroines and leaders who walk the walk by volunteering their time and motor vehicles to national pride celebrations, cycling events, (such as the NorCal Aids Challenge), a slew of national charities and breast cancer fundraisers. Finding a cure for breast cancer is the most important issue to the Sisters since many members have lost a loved one or have come pretty close to it. The Sisters of Scota lead the parade alongside the Valley Knights, their male equivalent. They rode as one to signify the solidarity that needs to occur in order for all forms of prejudice to end and for healing to begin.

When I returned to Sacramento I uploaded the photos from the Glaad Awards and Sacramento Pride and began writing my article for Curve Magazine. I made my deadline and Emailed photos along with my submission. I really hope my piece makes it into the September/October issue - that would be an awesome birthday gift since my birthday falls in mid-September!

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Here's to you Mrs. Robinson

I've been absent for a bit. I got back to work and just fell right into life again. In May, our inspired team set out to the inland areas of Northern California for the first NorCal Aids Challenge, (http://www.norcalaidschallenge.com). It was so fantastic, out of element, cheering on 20 cyclists who took four days out of their lives to stand up and rally around a cause. I have been an HIV/AIDS activist for almost ten years, (I attended AIDS Walk San Francisco in the summer of 1996), and I never been so moved by a small group of citizens biking through rain and mist, barely able to see in front of them.

My group rocks! We followed the cyclists in vans and cars for 380 miles of laughter, tears and pure excitement. We built rest stops at churches, recreation centers and parks. We sat on the curb playing music, dancing in the streets with pom poms and blasting music by Queen. It was perfect. All four days. Getting back to work was tough and I missed my new friends - friends that will always know what it means to wipe butt balm on their ass in broad daylight and not give a shit and what it's like to purchase feminine products in the smallest towns with one general store selling cowboy boots and tacos. Inland Northern California is a very beautiful area. The towns of Oroville, Colusa and Marysville were among my favorites. The townies loved us and we even got a write-up in one of the Yuba/Marysville paper applauding our efforts. It looks like we've raised over $70,000 in funding for our local agencies - CARES Clinic, Breaking Barriers and the Aids Housing Alliance/Open Arms Project. Working for the planning committee, acquiring donations for our evening program and being a volunteer crew for this event was the highlight of my year.

I'm also ready to add freelance writer to my list of goals attained. I won a bid to write a short article for Curve Magazine (www.curvemag.com) about the Sacramento Pride event. It will be our first parade in 22 years and quite a celebration. If accepted, my piece will run in the September/October 2005 issue. Sweet!

I'll be in San Francisco volunteering for the 16th Annual GLAAD Awards this weekend. Jennifer Beals is being honored and I'm so there! GLAAD is my dream organization to work for, right up there with the ACLU, Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Equality California or Miramax! Actually, if I could do anything, I'd choose leisure, writing from home and a fat Hilton inheritance to live off of...tell me again, why wasn't I born an heiress? Oh yeah, it's because no one loves me! : )

I'm still living on the dream of being adopted by Oprah. She'll see how cool I am, I'd wash my own clothes, do the dishes and give her back rubs after a hard day at Harpo, Inc. : )

My new position as a program specialist for an organization that assists women with disabilities is very rewarding and I'm so happy that the unemployment blues are gone for now. I do have to watch out for budget cuts and President Bush's wandering eye on our fiscal security but for now, I'm drinking mint tea and not worrying too much.

Last but not least - here's to Anne Bancroft, my hero. A woman of strength, beauty, grace and the ultimate style. She passed away June 6, 2005 of cancer. We will miss you, Mrs. Robinson.
Check out "How to Make an American Quilt" - it's another one of those tear-jerker flicks where Anne demonstrates her ability to truly embody a character. She was to acting what Howard Hughes was to aviation.

random-item: Burritos right out of the fridge are amazing...thank you Russell for opening up my world!

life & shit:
Why sit around worrying, stressing and carrying on like a big fat baby about dysfunction when you can create your own satisfactory life without approval from others?


I am filled with Christ's Love!

--Mary Faye (Mandy Moore)
Saved! (2004)