Writer's block has taken over my life for the past couple of hours...

I'm quite frankly fine with it, because I'm not feeling like an activist today. I'm feeling like your average 20 something that doesn't want to go drinking and clubbing on a Saturday night. Perhaps this is more of a journal entry than a blog, but oh well; it's my website, right?

Some things that I've been thinking about lately are the usuals, money, school, and life. You know, the easy stuff.

Money:
I, like everyone else, would like to make more of it. I'm totally willing to ride this current wave for as long as it will take me. You really just have to try and make the best of your situation sometimes, so that's what I'm going to try and do. I'm doing something that some people have only dreamt of, so I can't complain at all.

School:
This is causing me some serious headaches... You gotta love professors that take their careers seriously, I at least have a great deal of respect for that. I know that its been done before, but working full time and going to school full time has been no picnic. I'm just going to have to grin and bare it until I'm finally done with my degree... I know that it will all be worth it eventually.

Life:
Ugh... can't I just be superficial once? I just want to live life and hang out, is that too much to ask? Yeah yeah yeah, I know that it's good to be motivated, determined, and collected, but damn... I love just hanging out and enjoying the moment. Whatever though, I've taken the responsibility of activism, and that's something that doesn't just stop... it's something that has really taken over a large part of my life, I'm fine with that.

What I also wonder is what will be next, where will I be in a year? Where will my passion for equality take me in the coming months? Years? I can only hope that I will continue on this road, the road towards equality. I'm a small fish in a big pond, but I'm going to keep on truckin for as long and as hard as I can.

Does that work? Quite possibly one of the lamest blogs that I've ever posted. Oh well, like I said... it's my website.

That's the mentality right now... the gay scene is being overtaken by Levi Johnston's Playgirl.com photos. Prominent names like The Advocate and Towleroad have made this story primetime news on their sites... while at the same time paying very little attention to a great activist for the LGBT community.

The real story here is that David Mixner is being awarded the Point Foundation's Point Legend Award at the NY Point Honors Gala in April of next year. The Point Foundation is the country's largest scholarship/granting organization for LGBT students of merit. It's a great foundation that Mr. Mixner has support for years, and has finally agreed to be recognized by the foundation.

David Mixner was the mastermind behind the National Equality March, and has been fighting for equality since the days of JFK. He's also worked in the civil rights movement, the anti war effort protesting the Vietnam War, and a strong activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS. That's a small snapshot of his resume, but the truth is that he's a great guy that's fighting alongside today's voices for our equality.

The fact that Levi Johnston stayed front page news longer than David Mixner is a shame... these publications should really consider the platform that they have and think about what their original purpose was. Who doesn't think prestige when they think about The Advocate? Who doesn't think of reliability and relevance when they think of Towleroad? They should try to live up to their reputation more often, because the community is watching.

Congratulation Mr. Mixner, I speak for young activists everywhere when I say that we owe you a debt of gratitude to your generation of activists.

Thank you again,

Bless God and Bless the Gays.

Since I know you came for the pics...
check out some of Levi Johnston's pics HERE

This is just a follow up to my previous blog in September titled, "Why should you care about national equality rights?" I'm posting the story as written by the Ventura County Star.

Find more of the story on their website;
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/nov/21/though-suit-dismissed-hospital-staffers-to-not/?partner=RSS

By Steve Rothaus

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

MIAMI - Several Jackson Memorial Hospital nurses in Miami personally apologized to Janice Langbehn, a Washington state lesbian who said a Jackson social worker wouldn't allow her to be with her dying partner in 2007.

"We certainly are sorry for the pain and suffering she felt," said Martha Baker, a registered nurse and president of SEIU local 1991, the union representing about 5,000 doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals at Jackson.

"I apologize," said registered nurse Norberto Molina, chairman of the union's gay Lavender Caucus. "I can't imagine what you went through."

The apologies came at a town hall-style meeting Thursday night at Unity on the Bay church in which Langbehn returned to Miami as a speaker. Baker, Molina and two other Jackson nurses, Jim Nicholson and Diane Poirier, along with 60 other people, attended the meeting.

Langbehn, whose lawsuit against Jackson was dismissed in September by a federal court in Miami, graciously welcomed the nurses' personal gesture. But she still wants the hospital to apologize formally.

"The management has to do it," Langbehn said.

She tearfully told the audience of her final moments with longtime partner Lisa Pond, who suffered a fatal brain aneurysm on Feb. 18, 2007, shortly before they were to sail with their three children on a Caribbean cruise for gay families.

At Jackson, Langbehn said, a social worker would not let her visit Pond because Florida is "an anti-gay state." Pond, 39, died the next day.

Langbehn, with the help of Lambda Legal, sued the hospital. The case, which received publicity around the country, was dismissed without a decision whether Jackson discriminated against Langbehn because she is gay. The court determined Jackson had no legal obligation to allow anyone to visit a patient.

"It's my duty to speak out, that this should never happen to another family of ours," said Langbehn, seated next to her attorney, Beth Littrell of Lambda Legal in Atlanta, Stratton Pollitzer of Equality Florida and Miami attorney Elizabeth Schwartz, who specializes in nontraditional-family issues. C.J. Ortuno, executive director of SAVE Dade, moderated.

From the beginning, Jackson has said Langbehn was not discriminated against and defended social worker Garnett Frederick, who denied making the offensive comment.

"We have always believed and known that the staff at Jackson treats everyone equally, and that their main concern is the well-being of the patients in their care," Jackson spokeswoman Jennifer Piedra said in a news release after the case was dismissed in September.

It was announced earlier today that the House Education and Labor Commitee is postponing the markup/review on ENDA which was scheduled for a vote on Wednesday at 10am.

The Commitee Chairman, Rep George Miller, said that there are ammendments that still have to be reviewed and that is why the bill is being postponed... according to the Bilerico article. It's true that the bill has gone unchanged for the most part since its original debut a few years back, but now we're playing politics.

Rep Miller needs to be told to stop messing with our equality! Pushing this back to December-February is pushing it back into the mid-term elections of next year, a time when support for LGBT legislation is going to be hard to come by. Thus, successfully killing ENDA.

If you have something to say to The Honorable George Miller, email him here.

George Miller

If Nevada LGBT's want to know how D-3 Dina Titus would allow this bill to be postponed, email her here. (She doesn't cosponsor the bill anyway, so you may want to ask her about that  while you're at it.)

Dina Titus

One thing that has become apparent to me in the weeks after the National Equality March is that the Transgender community is very misunderstood and seldomly appreciated as a part of our LGBT community.

Why don't we demand their equality and freedoms as well? We seek to civil rights for the Gay and Lesbian community, but you never hear about our Trans brothers and sisters anywhere! I met some amazing Transgender men and women at the NEM, and I've been able to keep in touch with quite a few of them, but one thing that has been expressed to me is that they're willing to fight alongside us!

Even though the LGB's have both intentionally and unintentionally brushed our Trans siblings to the side, they still continue to march on the same streets as we march on, they still continue to send the same emails to their electeds that we send to our electeds, and they share the same fear of discrimination and violence that we face both in the workplace and in our daily lives. The "T" in LGBTQ... etc, is a vital part of our umbrella of equality, and they're suffering the same injustices that we are, if not more.

We should all make a united effort to be inclusive within the LGBT community (use however many letters you want, I don't mind)! While ensuring that every color of our rainbow gets the opportunity to fight for their equality just as much as the equality of their brothers and sisters!

Thank you BILERICO.COM and Austen Crowder for the wake up call!

God bless America.

The LGBTQQIA community has struggled for equality for decades, but it isn't until recently that our community has begun to gain some solid ground.

2009 has seen recognition from Congress like never before, with legislation aimed directly at granting us our equality;

HR 1283 - Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 - Introduced in March
HR 3017 - Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 - Introduced in June
HR 3567 - Respect for Marriage Act of 2009 - introduced in September
HR 3827 - Every Child Deserves a Family Act - Introduced in October

We can't depend on our congressional representatives to come to their senses on their own, we have to make it known that we demand these bills pass through the House and Senate. This isn't to say that we haven't seen a great amount of support from the House and Senate already!

One thing that this generation has to remember is the blood, sweat, and tears that previous generations have put into the fight for equality. As we move forward, it's important that we value their efforts because without the pioneers of the 60's and beyond, we wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

This President has already removed the traveling restrictions against HIV positive people, and has made statements that show support for our equality.

Standing together and stannding strong is the only way that our generation will make our previous generations proud, the time for unity and action is now.

Bless God and Bless the Gays

On Saturday, October 24th, Congresswoman Shelley Berkely is taking her constituents up on their demands for a townhall meeting focused on healthcare. The meeting will take place on the first floor of the UNLV Student Union from 3pm - 4pm.

I'm going to be there early to find parking and to make sure that I get a good seat, so I'll update you all on what happens. I'm sure that the crazies are going to be there so I'm going there to support Congresswoman Berkeley.

Bless God and bless the Gays!

I compiled a list of the 17 House Democratics and the lone Senate Democrat  that voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Act, and I think that LGBT voters in those states to ask themselves who is truly representing them in Washington.

You'll find the list below:
State-District # Last name, First name

-House-
OK-2 Boren, Dan Boren's Congressional Email
AL-2 Bright, Bobby Bright's Congressional Email
PA-10 Carney, Christopher Carney's Congressional Email
MS-1 Childers, Travis Childer's Congressional Email
AL-7 Davis, Artur Davis's Congressional Email
TN-4 Davis, Lincoln Davis's Congressional Email
IN-2 Donnelly, Joe Donnelly's Congressional Email
IN-8 Ellsworth, Brad Ellsworth's Congressional Email
TN-6 Gordon, Barton Gordon's Congressional Email
AL-5 Griffith, Parker Griffith's Congressional Email
NC-7 McIntyre, Mike McIntyre's Congressional Email
LA-3 Melancon, Charles Melancon's Congressional Email
MN-7 Peterson, Collin Peterson's Congressional Email
AR-4 Ross, Mike Ross's Congressional Email
NC-11 Shuler, Heath Shuler's Congressional Email
TN-8 Tanner, John Tanner's Congressional Email
MS-4 Taylor, Gene Taylor's Congressional Email

-Senate-
WI- Feingold, Russ Feingold's Senatorial Email
Here's a quote from Senator Feingold's webpage regarding equal rights;

"I am committed to ensuring that all Americans enjoy the rights and protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Americans are entitled to due process and equal protection under the law regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation."

Can someone tell me then why he would vote against this legislation? To his credit, he is a strong supporter of the Emplyer's Non-Discrimination Act, but he let us down here... where it counts.

They voted against expanding hate crime protection to the LGBT community, and they need to answer to the people of their states!

A DC man was sentenced to an inexcusable 180 day jail sentence for the vicious attack on a gay man that resulted in his death a week later from his injuries. Robert Hannah will walk out of jail a free man in 180 days, but where will Tony Hunter be? His body will be buried in the ground... is this justice?

A murderer throws out the "Gay panic defense", claiming that Hunter grabbed his groin and his butt, and the jury/judge let him go scott free. That's the American Judicial system, the US Attorney's office for DC released a 14 page memo stating the government's reasons for not pursing manslaughter charges, claiming that the testimony from Hunter's witness wasn't substantial, and also that there isn't enough evidence to prove that Hunter's death was caused by hitting his head on the pavement during the assault or the blows to the head from Robert Hannah.

So if Tony Hunter would have been standing up and was pummeled to death by Robert Hannah, the US Attorney for DC would probably have released a statement stating that there isn't enough evidence to prove that Hunter's death wasn't a result of the wind hitting him violently as opposed to the pummeling blows to the head. THIS IS VILE!

You're telling me that you need 14 pages of jargon to explain that the beating of a gay man is okay as long as you claim that he touched you first?!??! Hannah said in court that he wishes that he would have reacted differently to being touched by a gay man, and that he's sorry.

-I'm sorry that I lynched your son, but none of this would have happened if he hadn't made me uncomfortable, sorry.-

I picked up this story from across the pond on www.pinknews.co.uk where our British brothers and sisters are calling for justice and action from their American LGBT brothers and sisters! One Brit said, "I'm surprised LGBT Americans haven't had a Riot by now!" another, "America, land of the not so free LGBT". The world is waiting for their American LGBT brothers and sisters to stand against ignorance, to stand against vile crimes against humanity, to stand against the terror and fear that rock our communities to the core with every new death. How will we respond? What will they see as the American LGBT response?

Even better questions... How many more lives have to be lost? How many more families need to be destroyed? How many more parents have to bury their children before the government hears our cries for justice?!?!

NOT ONE MORE LIFE, NOT ONE MORE FAMILY, NOT ONE MORE FUNERAL DAMNIT!!!!!

Mobilize, unite, and organize to stand up to Congress! Make them listen! Go to www.equalityacrossamerica.org to see how you can become involved with a movement in your area, or how you can start one!

God bless America - (I can't hide my disgust in my closer right now)

That's the solution that the African nation of Uganda has presented in their house of Parliament yesterday, the bill is called, the "Anti-homosexuality Bill 2009", and it calls for the execution of any individuals with HIV from having sex with someone of the same sex, it calls for the execution of LGBT's that have sex with disabled people and those who have sex with LGBT's under the age of 18. The bill also goes as far as to enforce life imprisonment for those found or accused of having gay sex or same-sex relations, apparently that's already a law in Uganda, but this bill offers that law more jurisdiction and power. "Promoting Homosexuality" would be illegal in all forms under this law, removing any gay publications, having a shelter for LGBT's, providing services for LGBT's, and "aiding and abetting" homosexuals are crimes that would bring imprisonment under this legislation... gays are now outlaws in Uganda!

I've checked the big websites for their tale on this and their call to action, but there is nothing! I've had to reach across the Atlantic to find anything pertninet other than a few domestic LGBT sites called www.gayagenda.com & www.akawilliam.com those are some of the only domestic sites that I saw to have the story represented.

These are crimes against humanity, and thankfully the Human Rights Watch is on the scene and preparing to mobilize both domestically in the African state as well as globally against this injustice and deliberate attempt to perform a genocide against the LGBT community which is only 500,000 in a country of 34million citizens. This is rediculous, this is evil, and this is something that we can't let go unchallenged, go to this link HRW.org and sign the petition demanding the intervention form the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon now!

It's something small that we can do, but we need to pressure the international community and force them into action for our LGBT brothers and sisters that could very well be exterminated should this legislation go unchallenged by the international community.

Bless God and Bless the Gays!