By Jennifer Millman
NBCNewYork.com
updated 2 minutes ago
His poll numbers are in the tank and even President Barack Obama doesn't want him to run next year, but David Paterson still loves being governor.
"It has been the most exciting time in my life," Paterson said yesterday, according to the Daily News. "It has been the most challenging time in my life … I'm gonna keep doing it until the public tells me it's time to stop."
Adam:
Yes, he is having a wonderful time on us. While New yorkers loose their jobs and struggle to live here, the governor is having "The time of his life."
We are also having the time of our life's. "Buddy can you spare a dime??????????
What is Important to Us*Fresh*Current*Provocative
September 26, 2009
September 25, 2009
Coming out in middle school
Coming Out in Middle School
By BENOIT DENIZET-LEWIS
Published: September 23, 2009
Austin didn’t know what to wear to his first gay dance last spring. It was bad enough that the gangly 13-year-old from Sand Springs, Okla., had to go without his boyfriend at the time, a 14-year-old star athlete at another middle school, but there were also laundry issues. “I don’t have any clean clothes!” he complained to me by text message, his favored method of communication.
Brent Humphreys for The New York Times
Austin, a gay 13-year-old from Oklahoma.
Multimedia
The Takeaway With Benoit Denizet-Lewis
Brent Humphreys for The New York Times
Support: A gay 15-year-old from Michigan, also named Austin, with his mother, Nadia.
When I met up with him an hour later, he had weathered his wardrobe crisis (he was in jeans and a beige T-shirt with musical instruments on it) but was still a nervous wreck. “I’m kind of scared,” he confessed. “Who am I going to talk to? I wish my boyfriend could come.” But his boyfriend couldn’t find anyone to give him a ride nor, Austin explained, could his boyfriend ask his father for one. “His dad would give him up for adoption if he knew he was gay,” Austin told me. “I’m serious. He has the strictest, scariest dad ever. He has to date girls and act all tough so that people won’t suspect.”
Austin doesn’t have to play “the pretend game,” as he calls it, anymore. At his middle school, he has come out to his close friends, who have been supportive. A few of his female friends responded that they were bisexual. “Half the girls I know are bisexual,” he said. He hadn’t planned on coming out to his mom yet, but she found out a week before the dance. “I told my cousin, my cousin told this other girl, she told her mother, her mother told my mom and then my mom told me,” Austin explained. “The only person who really has a problem with it is my older sister, who keeps saying: ‘It’s just a phase! It’s just a phase!’ ”
Austin’s mom was on vacation in another state during my visit to Oklahoma, so a family friend drove him to the weekly youth dance at the Openarms Youth Project in Tulsa, which is housed in a white cement-block building next to a redbrick Baptist church on the east side of town. We arrived unfashionably on time, and Austin tried to park himself on a couch in a corner but was whisked away by Ben, a 16-year-old Openarms regular, who gave him an impromptu tour and introduced him to his mom, who works the concession area most weeks.
Openarms is practically overrun with supportive moms. While Austin and Ben were on the patio, a 14-year-old named Nick arrived with his mom. Nick came out to her when he was 12 but had yet to go on a date or even kiss a boy, which prompted his younger sister to opine that maybe he wasn’t actually gay. “She said, ‘Maybe you’re bisexual,’ ” Nick told me. “But I don’t have to have sex with a girl to know I’m not interested.”
Ninety minutes after we arrived, Openarms was packed with about 130 teenagers who had come from all corners of the state. Some danced to the Lady Gaga song “Poker Face,” others battled one another in pool or foosball and a handful of young couples held hands on the outdoor patio. In one corner, a short, perky eighth-grade girl kissed her ninth-grade girlfriend of one year. I asked them where they met. “In church,” they told me. Not far from them, a 14-year-old named Misti — who came out to classmates at her middle school when she was 12 and weathered anti-gay harassment and bullying, including having food thrown at her in the cafeteria — sat on a wooden bench and cuddled with a new girlfriend.
Austin had practically forgotten about his boyfriend. Instead, he was confessing to me — mostly by text message, though we were standing next to each other — his crush on Laddie, a 16-year-old who had just moved to Tulsa from a small town in Texas. Like Austin, Laddie was attending the dance for the first time, but he came off as much more comfortable in his skin and had a handful of admirers on the patio. Laddie told them that he came out in eighth grade and that the announcement sent shock waves through his Texas school.
“I definitely lost some friends,” he said, “but no one really made fun of me or called me names, probably because I was one of the most popular kids when I came out. I don’t think I would have come out if I wasn’t popular.”
“When I first realized I was gay,” Austin interjected, “I just assumed I would hide it and be miserable for the rest of my life. But then I said, ‘O.K., wait, I don’t want to hide this and be miserable my whole life.’ ”
I asked him how old he was when he made that decision.
“Eleven,” he said.
By BENOIT DENIZET-LEWIS
Published: September 23, 2009
Austin didn’t know what to wear to his first gay dance last spring. It was bad enough that the gangly 13-year-old from Sand Springs, Okla., had to go without his boyfriend at the time, a 14-year-old star athlete at another middle school, but there were also laundry issues. “I don’t have any clean clothes!” he complained to me by text message, his favored method of communication.
Brent Humphreys for The New York Times
Austin, a gay 13-year-old from Oklahoma.
Multimedia
The Takeaway With Benoit Denizet-Lewis
Brent Humphreys for The New York Times
Support: A gay 15-year-old from Michigan, also named Austin, with his mother, Nadia.
When I met up with him an hour later, he had weathered his wardrobe crisis (he was in jeans and a beige T-shirt with musical instruments on it) but was still a nervous wreck. “I’m kind of scared,” he confessed. “Who am I going to talk to? I wish my boyfriend could come.” But his boyfriend couldn’t find anyone to give him a ride nor, Austin explained, could his boyfriend ask his father for one. “His dad would give him up for adoption if he knew he was gay,” Austin told me. “I’m serious. He has the strictest, scariest dad ever. He has to date girls and act all tough so that people won’t suspect.”
Austin doesn’t have to play “the pretend game,” as he calls it, anymore. At his middle school, he has come out to his close friends, who have been supportive. A few of his female friends responded that they were bisexual. “Half the girls I know are bisexual,” he said. He hadn’t planned on coming out to his mom yet, but she found out a week before the dance. “I told my cousin, my cousin told this other girl, she told her mother, her mother told my mom and then my mom told me,” Austin explained. “The only person who really has a problem with it is my older sister, who keeps saying: ‘It’s just a phase! It’s just a phase!’ ”
Austin’s mom was on vacation in another state during my visit to Oklahoma, so a family friend drove him to the weekly youth dance at the Openarms Youth Project in Tulsa, which is housed in a white cement-block building next to a redbrick Baptist church on the east side of town. We arrived unfashionably on time, and Austin tried to park himself on a couch in a corner but was whisked away by Ben, a 16-year-old Openarms regular, who gave him an impromptu tour and introduced him to his mom, who works the concession area most weeks.
Openarms is practically overrun with supportive moms. While Austin and Ben were on the patio, a 14-year-old named Nick arrived with his mom. Nick came out to her when he was 12 but had yet to go on a date or even kiss a boy, which prompted his younger sister to opine that maybe he wasn’t actually gay. “She said, ‘Maybe you’re bisexual,’ ” Nick told me. “But I don’t have to have sex with a girl to know I’m not interested.”
Ninety minutes after we arrived, Openarms was packed with about 130 teenagers who had come from all corners of the state. Some danced to the Lady Gaga song “Poker Face,” others battled one another in pool or foosball and a handful of young couples held hands on the outdoor patio. In one corner, a short, perky eighth-grade girl kissed her ninth-grade girlfriend of one year. I asked them where they met. “In church,” they told me. Not far from them, a 14-year-old named Misti — who came out to classmates at her middle school when she was 12 and weathered anti-gay harassment and bullying, including having food thrown at her in the cafeteria — sat on a wooden bench and cuddled with a new girlfriend.
Austin had practically forgotten about his boyfriend. Instead, he was confessing to me — mostly by text message, though we were standing next to each other — his crush on Laddie, a 16-year-old who had just moved to Tulsa from a small town in Texas. Like Austin, Laddie was attending the dance for the first time, but he came off as much more comfortable in his skin and had a handful of admirers on the patio. Laddie told them that he came out in eighth grade and that the announcement sent shock waves through his Texas school.
“I definitely lost some friends,” he said, “but no one really made fun of me or called me names, probably because I was one of the most popular kids when I came out. I don’t think I would have come out if I wasn’t popular.”
“When I first realized I was gay,” Austin interjected, “I just assumed I would hide it and be miserable for the rest of my life. But then I said, ‘O.K., wait, I don’t want to hide this and be miserable my whole life.’ ”
I asked him how old he was when he made that decision.
“Eleven,” he said.
September 24, 2009
They know what you are doing on the net...Social Networking sites are leaking worse than a main water pipe in Manhattan
Study: Social networking sites leaking personal information to third parties
by Jaikumar Vijayan, Computerworld
Editor's Note: This story is excerpted from Computerworld. For more Mac coverage, visit Computerworld's Macintosh Knowledge Center.
Many major social networking sites are leaking information that allows third-party advertising and tracking companies to associate the Web browsing habits of users with a specific person, researchers warn.
The findings (PDF document), which appears to have received scant public attention so far, was presented by the study’s two researchers at a conference in Barcelona more than a month ago. Earlier this week, civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) referred to the study in a blog post.
The research, by Craig Wills of Worcester Polytechnic and Balachander Krishnamurthy of ATT, presents “some interesting technical details” on how social networking sites are leaking personal data, the EFF blog post said.
“In some cases, the leakage may be unintentional, but in others, there is clever and surreptitious anti-privacy engineering at work,” the EFF said.
Wills told Computerworld that he and Krishnamurthy surveyed 12 of the biggest social networks for the study. They discovered that 11 of them were leaking personal identity information to third-parties including data aggregators, which track and aggregate user viewing habits for targeted ad-serving purposes.
What the study shows is that most users on social networking sites are vulnerable to having their identity information from their profiles, associated with tracking cookies used by data aggregators, he said.
The information allows aggregators to relatively easily scoop up personal data from a user's social network page and to track that user’s movement's across multiple Web sites across the Internet.
While aggregators have typically claimed that a person’s movement on the Internet is tracked just as an anonymous IP address, the information from social networking sites allows them to attach a unique identity to each profile, Wills said.
What is not known, however, is if data aggregators are actually recording any of the personal identity information being relayed to them from social media sites, Wills said.
He said personal identity data or unique identifiers that point to a person’s real identity are often relayed by social networking sites to third parties via so-called HTPP referrer headers. HTTP headers basically identity to a Web page the URL of any resources that link to it.
In the case of the social networks surveyed, all of the URLs being relayed via such HTTP headers included the user’s unique identifier, he said.
When a user’s page is being loaded on such sites, third-party tracking and advertising services that have a relationship with the site get not only the data from their tracking cookies but also the data containing the users unique identifier from the HTTP header, he said.
Another way in which identity data is leaked to third-party providers is when a social networking site contains objects from a server that appears to be part of the site, but in reality belongs to the third-party.
At least two of the social networks surveyed were relaying personal identity data to such hidden third-party servers, the report said. Also, five of the 12 social networks surveyed were also leaking unique user identifiers via so-called Request-URIs, which identify pages or objects on a Web site.
“We don’t know what the specific practice of a third-party tracking site,” when it comes to using the information, Wills said. “But this information is available to them. It is particularly worrisome because third-party aggregators are creeping into a lot of sites that you and I visit.”
EFF staff technologist Peter Eckersley noted in the blog post that there appears to be no easy way for users of such sites to avoid being tracked in this fashion.
To mitigate the risk, users of social networking sites need to disable flash cookies and ensure that all other cookies are deleted when the browser is closed, Eckersley wrote.
Certain Firefox extensions are also available that allow users to control when third-party sites can include content or run code on their browsers and plug-ins are available to help them opt out of targeted advertising cookies, he wrote.
But the steps can be hard to follow and can limit browser functionality. “We’re fearful that the vast majority of Internet users will continue to be tracked by dozens of companies—companies they’ve never heard of, companies they have no relationship with, companies they would never choose to trust with their most private thoughts and reading habits,” he wrote.
by Jaikumar Vijayan, Computerworld
Editor's Note: This story is excerpted from Computerworld. For more Mac coverage, visit Computerworld's Macintosh Knowledge Center.
Many major social networking sites are leaking information that allows third-party advertising and tracking companies to associate the Web browsing habits of users with a specific person, researchers warn.
The findings (PDF document), which appears to have received scant public attention so far, was presented by the study’s two researchers at a conference in Barcelona more than a month ago. Earlier this week, civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) referred to the study in a blog post.
The research, by Craig Wills of Worcester Polytechnic and Balachander Krishnamurthy of ATT, presents “some interesting technical details” on how social networking sites are leaking personal data, the EFF blog post said.
“In some cases, the leakage may be unintentional, but in others, there is clever and surreptitious anti-privacy engineering at work,” the EFF said.
Wills told Computerworld that he and Krishnamurthy surveyed 12 of the biggest social networks for the study. They discovered that 11 of them were leaking personal identity information to third-parties including data aggregators, which track and aggregate user viewing habits for targeted ad-serving purposes.
What the study shows is that most users on social networking sites are vulnerable to having their identity information from their profiles, associated with tracking cookies used by data aggregators, he said.
The information allows aggregators to relatively easily scoop up personal data from a user's social network page and to track that user’s movement's across multiple Web sites across the Internet.
While aggregators have typically claimed that a person’s movement on the Internet is tracked just as an anonymous IP address, the information from social networking sites allows them to attach a unique identity to each profile, Wills said.
What is not known, however, is if data aggregators are actually recording any of the personal identity information being relayed to them from social media sites, Wills said.
He said personal identity data or unique identifiers that point to a person’s real identity are often relayed by social networking sites to third parties via so-called HTPP referrer headers. HTTP headers basically identity to a Web page the URL of any resources that link to it.
In the case of the social networks surveyed, all of the URLs being relayed via such HTTP headers included the user’s unique identifier, he said.
When a user’s page is being loaded on such sites, third-party tracking and advertising services that have a relationship with the site get not only the data from their tracking cookies but also the data containing the users unique identifier from the HTTP header, he said.
Another way in which identity data is leaked to third-party providers is when a social networking site contains objects from a server that appears to be part of the site, but in reality belongs to the third-party.
At least two of the social networks surveyed were relaying personal identity data to such hidden third-party servers, the report said. Also, five of the 12 social networks surveyed were also leaking unique user identifiers via so-called Request-URIs, which identify pages or objects on a Web site.
“We don’t know what the specific practice of a third-party tracking site,” when it comes to using the information, Wills said. “But this information is available to them. It is particularly worrisome because third-party aggregators are creeping into a lot of sites that you and I visit.”
EFF staff technologist Peter Eckersley noted in the blog post that there appears to be no easy way for users of such sites to avoid being tracked in this fashion.
To mitigate the risk, users of social networking sites need to disable flash cookies and ensure that all other cookies are deleted when the browser is closed, Eckersley wrote.
Certain Firefox extensions are also available that allow users to control when third-party sites can include content or run code on their browsers and plug-ins are available to help them opt out of targeted advertising cookies, he wrote.
But the steps can be hard to follow and can limit browser functionality. “We’re fearful that the vast majority of Internet users will continue to be tracked by dozens of companies—companies they’ve never heard of, companies they have no relationship with, companies they would never choose to trust with their most private thoughts and reading habits,” he wrote.
September 19, 2009
Facebook will shut down 'BEACON'
Facebook will shut down Beacon to settle lawsuit
By Juan Carlos Perez
September 19, 2009 12:57 AM ET
Comments(0) Recommended(3) Digg Twitter Share/Email
Top Stories
IDG News Service - Facebook has agreed to shut down its much maligned Beacon advertising system in order to settle a class-action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in August of last year, alleged that Facebook and its Beacon affiliates like Blockbuster and Overstock.com violated a series of laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Video Privacy Protection Act, the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the California Computer Crime Law.
The proposed settlement, announced late on Friday, calls not only for Facebook to discontinue Beacon, but also back the creation of an independent foundation devoted to promoting online privacy, safety and security. The money for the foundation will come from a US$9.5 million settlement fund.
"We learned a great deal from the Beacon experience. For one, it was underscored how critical it is to provide extensive user control over how information is shared. We also learned how to effectively communicate changes that we make to the user experience," said Barry Schnitt, Facebook's Director of Policy Communications, in a statement.
Facebook is looking forward to the creation of the foundation, which the company expects will team up with existing safety and privacy organizations, Schnitt said.
The settlement agreement needs to be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, where the lawsuit was filed.
Beacon, launched with much fanfare in November 2007, quickly became one of Facebook's biggest nightmares. Intended as a key piece of Facebook's "social ads" strategy, Beacon was designed to broadcast back to their friends the actions that Facebook members took on participating Web sites.
The idea was that these notifications would act as a new form of "social" advertising, because they amount to endorsements of products made by trusted friends.
Unfortunately, Facebook members found Beacon complicated to understand, as well as intrusive and stealthy. Many people were horrified to find out that their friends were being informed of actions, like purchases, they had undertaken in other Web sites.
Security experts and privacy advocates soon joined the chorus of critics. Although Facebook modified Beacon several times, it never took off and has been languishing in obscurity.
Despite the Beacon fiasco, Facebook executives regularly say the advertising business of the privately-held company is solid and growing. In addition to offering traditional online ads like banners and pay-per-click ads, Facebook has continued developing social ads and marketing vehicles, like its Facebook Pages, which organizations can use to promote their brands and products.
By Juan Carlos Perez
September 19, 2009 12:57 AM ET
Comments(0) Recommended(3) Digg Twitter Share/Email
Top Stories
IDG News Service - Facebook has agreed to shut down its much maligned Beacon advertising system in order to settle a class-action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in August of last year, alleged that Facebook and its Beacon affiliates like Blockbuster and Overstock.com violated a series of laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Video Privacy Protection Act, the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the California Computer Crime Law.
The proposed settlement, announced late on Friday, calls not only for Facebook to discontinue Beacon, but also back the creation of an independent foundation devoted to promoting online privacy, safety and security. The money for the foundation will come from a US$9.5 million settlement fund.
"We learned a great deal from the Beacon experience. For one, it was underscored how critical it is to provide extensive user control over how information is shared. We also learned how to effectively communicate changes that we make to the user experience," said Barry Schnitt, Facebook's Director of Policy Communications, in a statement.
Facebook is looking forward to the creation of the foundation, which the company expects will team up with existing safety and privacy organizations, Schnitt said.
The settlement agreement needs to be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, where the lawsuit was filed.
Beacon, launched with much fanfare in November 2007, quickly became one of Facebook's biggest nightmares. Intended as a key piece of Facebook's "social ads" strategy, Beacon was designed to broadcast back to their friends the actions that Facebook members took on participating Web sites.
The idea was that these notifications would act as a new form of "social" advertising, because they amount to endorsements of products made by trusted friends.
Unfortunately, Facebook members found Beacon complicated to understand, as well as intrusive and stealthy. Many people were horrified to find out that their friends were being informed of actions, like purchases, they had undertaken in other Web sites.
Security experts and privacy advocates soon joined the chorus of critics. Although Facebook modified Beacon several times, it never took off and has been languishing in obscurity.
Despite the Beacon fiasco, Facebook executives regularly say the advertising business of the privately-held company is solid and growing. In addition to offering traditional online ads like banners and pay-per-click ads, Facebook has continued developing social ads and marketing vehicles, like its Facebook Pages, which organizations can use to promote their brands and products.
September 18, 2009
"Im not gay, that I will stand next to people that are gay"Kany West
No word on when this interview between Devi Dev and Kany West was actually recorded, but hardknock.tv just posted it on Tuesday, and there are some gems:
"I don't like men. I'm not gay, and I'm so sure of that. I'm so sure that I'm not gay that I'll wear a pink watch. That I'll wear tight jeans. That I'll stand next to people who look gay. That I'll stand next to people who are gay. That I will go to dinner with a gay person. Just me - and that gay person."
In the words of the president of these United States of America: "What an asshole."
Adamfoxie
"I don't like men. I'm not gay, and I'm so sure of that. I'm so sure that I'm not gay that I'll wear a pink watch. That I'll wear tight jeans. That I'll stand next to people who look gay. That I'll stand next to people who are gay. That I will go to dinner with a gay person. Just me - and that gay person."
In the words of the president of these United States of America: "What an asshole."
Adamfoxie
September 16, 2009
September 11, 2009
A dissapointing answer on DOMA from Cong. MacMahon
Dear Adam,
Thank you for contacting me to express your views about gay marriage.
I believe that same-sex couples deserve the same legal rights as heterosexual couples. Ultimately, however, gay marriage is an issue that will be resolved by the states and not the federal government.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding this important issue. Please feel free to get in touch with my office in the future if I can be of any assistance to you on this or any other matter of concern. I hope you will find my website - www.mcmahon.house.gov - a useful resource for keeping up with events in Washington and the 13th District of New York.
Sincerely,
Michael E. McMahon
Representative for the 13th District of New York
Thank you for contacting me to express your views about gay marriage.
I believe that same-sex couples deserve the same legal rights as heterosexual couples. Ultimately, however, gay marriage is an issue that will be resolved by the states and not the federal government.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding this important issue. Please feel free to get in touch with my office in the future if I can be of any assistance to you on this or any other matter of concern. I hope you will find my website - www.mcmahon.house.gov - a useful resource for keeping up with events in Washington and the 13th District of New York.
Sincerely,
Michael E. McMahon
Representative for the 13th District of New York
September 10, 2009
DO You Have a Phone???????????
CONSUMERS UNION
PUBLISHERS OF CONSUMER REPORTS
Dear Adam,
If you have a phone, it's time to use it. Last night, Congress heard from the President that the time for bickering, politics and lies about health care reform is over.
That the time for solving our health care crisis is now.
But we won’t achieve needed health care security because the President made a speech. We’ll cross the finish line because your own lawmakers hear from you. Use our toll-free number to tell your Senators that you expect them to improve the health care plan, not undermine it. Tell them they were elected to solve America’s problems, not sit in denial.
Call your Senators now and tell them to get back to work on health reform!
Opponents used the August recess to spread misinformation and scare us about health reform. But in town hall after town hall, lawmakers also heard from people bankrupted by cancer care and from hard-working Americans who can't retire because they don't yet qualify for Medicare -- and they can’t afford or get insurance on their own.
Health reform will finally hold insurance companies accountable, and make sure your health comes before corporate profits. No more coverage denials because of your health or your age; a limit on out-of-pocket costs; a focus on prevention and patient safety, not crowded ER care and piecemeal treatment.
Health reform will let you keep the insurance you have through your job, but it will make it more secure. It will give you the freedom to start a business or change jobs without fear of losing coverage. It will make Medicare more financially secure. And it will make sure every American has the right to the same kind of health care members of Congress give themselves.
Tell your Senators you want health reform that gives you the freedom to live your life.
The House is moving ahead on health reform, but the Senate has lagged behind. The Senate must get to work now or health reform cannot pass this year.
And after you've made your call, if you know others who also may want to call in support of reform, please forward this message. You are the engine that drives health reform forward. Thank you for all you do!
Sincerely,
Liz Foley
PrescriptionForChange.org
A project of Consumers Union
101 Truman Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10703
PUBLISHERS OF CONSUMER REPORTS
Dear Adam,
If you have a phone, it's time to use it. Last night, Congress heard from the President that the time for bickering, politics and lies about health care reform is over.
That the time for solving our health care crisis is now.
But we won’t achieve needed health care security because the President made a speech. We’ll cross the finish line because your own lawmakers hear from you. Use our toll-free number to tell your Senators that you expect them to improve the health care plan, not undermine it. Tell them they were elected to solve America’s problems, not sit in denial.
Call your Senators now and tell them to get back to work on health reform!
Opponents used the August recess to spread misinformation and scare us about health reform. But in town hall after town hall, lawmakers also heard from people bankrupted by cancer care and from hard-working Americans who can't retire because they don't yet qualify for Medicare -- and they can’t afford or get insurance on their own.
Health reform will finally hold insurance companies accountable, and make sure your health comes before corporate profits. No more coverage denials because of your health or your age; a limit on out-of-pocket costs; a focus on prevention and patient safety, not crowded ER care and piecemeal treatment.
Health reform will let you keep the insurance you have through your job, but it will make it more secure. It will give you the freedom to start a business or change jobs without fear of losing coverage. It will make Medicare more financially secure. And it will make sure every American has the right to the same kind of health care members of Congress give themselves.
Tell your Senators you want health reform that gives you the freedom to live your life.
The House is moving ahead on health reform, but the Senate has lagged behind. The Senate must get to work now or health reform cannot pass this year.
And after you've made your call, if you know others who also may want to call in support of reform, please forward this message. You are the engine that drives health reform forward. Thank you for all you do!
Sincerely,
Liz Foley
PrescriptionForChange.org
A project of Consumers Union
101 Truman Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10703
A swollen mouth because of a bad tooth can cause you, your life! If you are HIV..
Mouth Full of Problems: A Crisis in HIV Dental Care
by David Evans
Too few people with HIV get the routine oral health care they need to stay healthy. The teetering economy, experts say, might make the situation a whole lot worse.
Not accessing dental care can be deadly. In early 2007, a 12-year-old boy named Deamonte Driver from suburban Washington, DC, died of an infection that had spread from an abscess in his mouth to his brain. His family’s Medicaid had lapsed because of a technicality, so he didn’t get care until his mother took the by then very ill boy into an emergency room. Experts say an $80 tooth extraction, if done early enough, could have saved his life.
Though Driver’s HIV-status was never reported, and there hasn’t been wide press coverage of a similar story involving an openly HIV-positive person, David Reznick, DDS, head of the HIV Dental Alliance in Atlanta, says that all the necessary ingredients to create such a tragedy are already in place—and could be getting worse.
People with HIV are simultaneously more likely than their HIV-negative counterparts to have more frequent and more serious oral health issues, while being less likely to have the funds and insurance to cover necessary procedures. The public support that is available for providing clinical oral health care to people with HIV, Reznick says, is drying up as various states confront catastrophic budget crises. “We’re just not seeing enough [funding] increases to take care of the people we already serve,” Reznick laments, “So it’s an overwhelming need and no resources to pay for it.”
Open Wide
People rarely think—at least until their face is horribly swollen and they’re immobilized with pain—that oral health care can have much of an impact on their overall well-being. According to Reznick, however, a neglected mouth can lead to more than localized tooth pain: Tooth and gum infections can spread to other parts of the body, and mouth pain can cause people to go without necessary nutrition—and even cause them to forgo their HIV medications.
“If you’re in an extraordinary amount of pain, you’re not going to be able to take your medications,” he explains. “If you don’t have any teeth to chew with, how are you going to get the nutrition you need to stay healthy?”
Reznick also has concerns about chronic inflammation from untreated periodontal disease. A growing number of studies are illuminating the role of inflammation in a variety of non-AIDS-related health problems such as cardiovascular disease. The link between gum and heart disease has been proposed in HIV-negative people, and some evidence suggests it to be true.
For all of these reasons, preventive dental care can have a tremendous influence on a person’s overall well-being.
Unfortunately, many people with HIV don’t know or understand the importance of regular preventive dental care. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), people with HIV who are uninsured are three times as likely to have untreated dental needs as people with HIV who have insurance. HRSA also states, “Moreover, oral infections, mouth ulcers and other severe dental conditions associated with HIV infections go untreated more than twice as often as other health problems related to the disease.”
Roadblocks to Care
Reznick says that HIV stigma and cultural habits against seeking dental care are two big reasons that people fail to go to the dentist regularly even when they have coverage or access to a dentist through public or private benefits. But even among people who want to go to a dentist as often as is recommended—at least once every six months for a thorough cleaning and checkup—lack of insurance or comprehensive public benefits can mean going without. Given the severe budget woes of most states right now, publicly funded dental care is not expanding sufficiently to meet the growing epidemic. In fact, in many areas it is shrinking.
In most cities and towns, the only options for people without dental insurance are oral care programs covered by the Ryan White CARE Act or Medicaid. Ryan White, however, has been essentially flat-funded for several years, and Medicaid dental coverage, already stingy in many states, is beginning to disappear. “Without the Ryan White dollars, there’s minimal access,” Reznick says. “With states that had adult benefits through Medicaid who have lost them, it’s caused a gigantic crunch.”
“We’re struggling to keep up with the need,” Reznick explains, “because people are living longer, and more people are getting tested and entering into the system of care. So we’re literally booked through until November, and I have eight dental chairs and over three full-time dentists and three hygienists, and we’re having a very difficult time meeting the need.”
Reznick hopes that policymakers and people living with HIV understand the consequences of too-little access to good oral health care. Aside from the pain and illness it will almost certainly cause, Reznick contends, it will also end up costing more money in the long run. He is hoping for increases, rather than additional cuts, to services. When people don’t get preventive care, Reznick says, “they end up in the emergency department, and that’s going to cost the public a whole lot more than if they would have kept the benefits in place.”
by David Evans
Too few people with HIV get the routine oral health care they need to stay healthy. The teetering economy, experts say, might make the situation a whole lot worse.
Not accessing dental care can be deadly. In early 2007, a 12-year-old boy named Deamonte Driver from suburban Washington, DC, died of an infection that had spread from an abscess in his mouth to his brain. His family’s Medicaid had lapsed because of a technicality, so he didn’t get care until his mother took the by then very ill boy into an emergency room. Experts say an $80 tooth extraction, if done early enough, could have saved his life.
Though Driver’s HIV-status was never reported, and there hasn’t been wide press coverage of a similar story involving an openly HIV-positive person, David Reznick, DDS, head of the HIV Dental Alliance in Atlanta, says that all the necessary ingredients to create such a tragedy are already in place—and could be getting worse.
People with HIV are simultaneously more likely than their HIV-negative counterparts to have more frequent and more serious oral health issues, while being less likely to have the funds and insurance to cover necessary procedures. The public support that is available for providing clinical oral health care to people with HIV, Reznick says, is drying up as various states confront catastrophic budget crises. “We’re just not seeing enough [funding] increases to take care of the people we already serve,” Reznick laments, “So it’s an overwhelming need and no resources to pay for it.”
Open Wide
People rarely think—at least until their face is horribly swollen and they’re immobilized with pain—that oral health care can have much of an impact on their overall well-being. According to Reznick, however, a neglected mouth can lead to more than localized tooth pain: Tooth and gum infections can spread to other parts of the body, and mouth pain can cause people to go without necessary nutrition—and even cause them to forgo their HIV medications.
“If you’re in an extraordinary amount of pain, you’re not going to be able to take your medications,” he explains. “If you don’t have any teeth to chew with, how are you going to get the nutrition you need to stay healthy?”
Reznick also has concerns about chronic inflammation from untreated periodontal disease. A growing number of studies are illuminating the role of inflammation in a variety of non-AIDS-related health problems such as cardiovascular disease. The link between gum and heart disease has been proposed in HIV-negative people, and some evidence suggests it to be true.
For all of these reasons, preventive dental care can have a tremendous influence on a person’s overall well-being.
Unfortunately, many people with HIV don’t know or understand the importance of regular preventive dental care. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), people with HIV who are uninsured are three times as likely to have untreated dental needs as people with HIV who have insurance. HRSA also states, “Moreover, oral infections, mouth ulcers and other severe dental conditions associated with HIV infections go untreated more than twice as often as other health problems related to the disease.”
Roadblocks to Care
Reznick says that HIV stigma and cultural habits against seeking dental care are two big reasons that people fail to go to the dentist regularly even when they have coverage or access to a dentist through public or private benefits. But even among people who want to go to a dentist as often as is recommended—at least once every six months for a thorough cleaning and checkup—lack of insurance or comprehensive public benefits can mean going without. Given the severe budget woes of most states right now, publicly funded dental care is not expanding sufficiently to meet the growing epidemic. In fact, in many areas it is shrinking.
In most cities and towns, the only options for people without dental insurance are oral care programs covered by the Ryan White CARE Act or Medicaid. Ryan White, however, has been essentially flat-funded for several years, and Medicaid dental coverage, already stingy in many states, is beginning to disappear. “Without the Ryan White dollars, there’s minimal access,” Reznick says. “With states that had adult benefits through Medicaid who have lost them, it’s caused a gigantic crunch.”
“We’re struggling to keep up with the need,” Reznick explains, “because people are living longer, and more people are getting tested and entering into the system of care. So we’re literally booked through until November, and I have eight dental chairs and over three full-time dentists and three hygienists, and we’re having a very difficult time meeting the need.”
Reznick hopes that policymakers and people living with HIV understand the consequences of too-little access to good oral health care. Aside from the pain and illness it will almost certainly cause, Reznick contends, it will also end up costing more money in the long run. He is hoping for increases, rather than additional cuts, to services. When people don’t get preventive care, Reznick says, “they end up in the emergency department, and that’s going to cost the public a whole lot more than if they would have kept the benefits in place.”
September 5, 2009
Governor to be ousted and Liet. Gov to take his place is outed
OUTRAGE ACTIVIST: ANTI-GAY SC LT. GOVERNOR ANDRE BAUER IS GAY
Activist Mike Rogers, who was featured in Kirby Dick's movie Outrage and is known for exposing hypocritical closeted politicians, told Michelangelo Signorile today on Signorile's Sirius OutQ radio show that South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer is a closeted gay man.
Writes Rogers on his blog:
"I have confirmed and spoken to four individuals who I have no doubt are telling me the truth. These men have been hit on by Bauer, with one of them telling me it happened at least five times since Bauer's election in 2003. To a varying degree I have met with and believe the sources. And, as you'll recall, I have that 100% record. This was still not enough for me to report on him. Then another call came in and I met with the source while he was visiting DC recently. 'He's gay,' the source told me. 'How do you know?' I asked. 'Because I've had sex with him on two separate occasions.' That too, was not enough for me to report on without confirmation from others. I was led on a path to chatting with acquaintances of the source and two former employees of Bauer who served on his staff between 2004 and 2007. They reported to me that on on a total of three occasions Bauer spent hours alone with men hotel rooms. Each of them explained that the visits were with younger men who were not on the staff of the Lt. Governor nor had any official reason to be with him. The two men each confirmed that they had not known each other who saw this and each described similar circumstances under with these interactions occurred. One of them confirmed that he was told by the Lt. governor's visitor had a sexual encounter with Bauer. The combination of the reports and the first hand experiences were what I need to maintain my 100% record of being right in my reporting on this site."
Adds Rogers: "The bachelor is a right wing Christian conservative. He's done everything from defend the state issuing "I believe" license plates (complete with a cross on them) to defending the right of schools to use corporal punishment. In the presidential election he supported Mike Huckabee."
Should Governor Mark Sanford, who is under fire for an extramarital affair, leave office, Bauer is set to take his place as governor. Sanford continues to be under pressure from lawmakers and colleagues to resign.
(Towleroad)
Activist Mike Rogers, who was featured in Kirby Dick's movie Outrage and is known for exposing hypocritical closeted politicians, told Michelangelo Signorile today on Signorile's Sirius OutQ radio show that South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer is a closeted gay man.
Writes Rogers on his blog:
"I have confirmed and spoken to four individuals who I have no doubt are telling me the truth. These men have been hit on by Bauer, with one of them telling me it happened at least five times since Bauer's election in 2003. To a varying degree I have met with and believe the sources. And, as you'll recall, I have that 100% record. This was still not enough for me to report on him. Then another call came in and I met with the source while he was visiting DC recently. 'He's gay,' the source told me. 'How do you know?' I asked. 'Because I've had sex with him on two separate occasions.' That too, was not enough for me to report on without confirmation from others. I was led on a path to chatting with acquaintances of the source and two former employees of Bauer who served on his staff between 2004 and 2007. They reported to me that on on a total of three occasions Bauer spent hours alone with men hotel rooms. Each of them explained that the visits were with younger men who were not on the staff of the Lt. Governor nor had any official reason to be with him. The two men each confirmed that they had not known each other who saw this and each described similar circumstances under with these interactions occurred. One of them confirmed that he was told by the Lt. governor's visitor had a sexual encounter with Bauer. The combination of the reports and the first hand experiences were what I need to maintain my 100% record of being right in my reporting on this site."
Adds Rogers: "The bachelor is a right wing Christian conservative. He's done everything from defend the state issuing "I believe" license plates (complete with a cross on them) to defending the right of schools to use corporal punishment. In the presidential election he supported Mike Huckabee."
Should Governor Mark Sanford, who is under fire for an extramarital affair, leave office, Bauer is set to take his place as governor. Sanford continues to be under pressure from lawmakers and colleagues to resign.
(Towleroad)
September 2, 2009
Before you put your lips or anything on it, make sure the assenwholer is clean with no froggies inside.
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Frog in Diet Pepsi
Frog in Diet Pepsi: 'Mouse' in Pepsi can was frog, FDA says
A Diet Pepsi can consumed by an Ormond Beach man did indeed contain the remains of an animal, believed to be a frog or a toad.
READ IT NOW: FDA report (PDF)
Ludmilla Lelis
Sentinel Staff Writer
11:46 a.m. EDT, September 2, 2009
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The tests are in and a federal report confirms what seems like an urban legend: a Diet Pepsi can consumed by an Ormond Beach man did indeed contain the remains of an animal, believed to be a frog or a toad.
Amy Denegri said she has received a report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with test results showing that the soda can contained a small animal, which they had thought was a rodent.
Her husband, Fred Denegri, regularly drinks Diet Pepsi and popped open the can on July 23 as they were grilling dinner outdoors. He took one sip and thought the soda tasted awful, but what they saw inside the can was even more awful.
They saw the remains of the animal, which had deteriorated, making it difficult to identify it, but the body mass was too large to come out of the hole.
A representative with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took the can for further testing and the Denegris received a report that confirmed the findings.
A Pepsi spokesman said the company is aware of the FDA testing and still stands by its manufacturing process. The can was traced back to a plant in Orlando, which runs about 1,250 cans a minute on the production line.
"As we've stated all along, the speed of our production lines and the rigor of our quality control systems make it virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment," said Pepsi spokesman Jeff Dahncke.
"The FDA conducted a thorough inspection of our Orlando facility and found no cause for concern. In this case, the FDA simply was unable to determine when or how the specimen entered the package," he said.
However, Amy Denegri is certain the animal was in the can before her husband opened it. He had just pulled the can out of their refrigerator, opened it in her presence and started drinking it right away, so there wasn't an opportunity for something to have crawled in when they weren't looking.
"The report proves that something was in there. We didn't do it," she said. "Obviously, it was too big for us to push inside that small hole."
The can had been part of a case purchased at the Sam's Club in Daytona Beach and Fred Denegri had consumed most of the soda without problems.
When the Diet Pepsi can complaint originally made the news in July, the Denegris said they were upset with accusations that they had faked the incident.
"That really upset us because we're not that kind of people," Amy Denegri said.
The couple doesn't intend to sue Pepsi, but Amy Denegri said they are receiving legal advice about the matter.
Frog in Diet Pepsi
Frog in Diet Pepsi: 'Mouse' in Pepsi can was frog, FDA says
A Diet Pepsi can consumed by an Ormond Beach man did indeed contain the remains of an animal, believed to be a frog or a toad.
READ IT NOW: FDA report (PDF)
Ludmilla Lelis
Sentinel Staff Writer
11:46 a.m. EDT, September 2, 2009
E-mailPrint
Share
Text size
The tests are in and a federal report confirms what seems like an urban legend: a Diet Pepsi can consumed by an Ormond Beach man did indeed contain the remains of an animal, believed to be a frog or a toad.
Amy Denegri said she has received a report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with test results showing that the soda can contained a small animal, which they had thought was a rodent.
Her husband, Fred Denegri, regularly drinks Diet Pepsi and popped open the can on July 23 as they were grilling dinner outdoors. He took one sip and thought the soda tasted awful, but what they saw inside the can was even more awful.
They saw the remains of the animal, which had deteriorated, making it difficult to identify it, but the body mass was too large to come out of the hole.
A representative with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took the can for further testing and the Denegris received a report that confirmed the findings.
A Pepsi spokesman said the company is aware of the FDA testing and still stands by its manufacturing process. The can was traced back to a plant in Orlando, which runs about 1,250 cans a minute on the production line.
"As we've stated all along, the speed of our production lines and the rigor of our quality control systems make it virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment," said Pepsi spokesman Jeff Dahncke.
"The FDA conducted a thorough inspection of our Orlando facility and found no cause for concern. In this case, the FDA simply was unable to determine when or how the specimen entered the package," he said.
However, Amy Denegri is certain the animal was in the can before her husband opened it. He had just pulled the can out of their refrigerator, opened it in her presence and started drinking it right away, so there wasn't an opportunity for something to have crawled in when they weren't looking.
"The report proves that something was in there. We didn't do it," she said. "Obviously, it was too big for us to push inside that small hole."
The can had been part of a case purchased at the Sam's Club in Daytona Beach and Fred Denegri had consumed most of the soda without problems.
When the Diet Pepsi can complaint originally made the news in July, the Denegris said they were upset with accusations that they had faked the incident.
"That really upset us because we're not that kind of people," Amy Denegri said.
The couple doesn't intend to sue Pepsi, but Amy Denegri said they are receiving legal advice about the matter.
Ben&Jerry:: Hubby/Hubby
Ice Cream Chain Ben & Jerry's Celebrate Marriage Equality in Vermont
Ben & Jerry's a large ice cream company has been making friendly gestures towards the gay community including renaming one of their famous flavors chubby hubby to "hubby hubby" for a month in honor of marriage equality. They will also have a wedding truck traveling the state handing out this new named flavor.
Walt Freese, chief executive officer of Ben & Jerry's said: "At the core of Ben & Jerry's values we believe that social justice can and should be something that every human being is entitled to. From the very beginning of our 30-year history, we have supported equal rights for all people."
The company was active in ensuring the passage of marriage legislation, back in April they stated their support for marriage equality and for an override of the governors veto.
Contact Ben & Jerry's to thank them for their support for LGBT rights and marriage equality.
E-comment box.
Give them a call at 802-846-1500 between 9:00 and 5:00 Eastern - Monday through Friday. Ask for Consumer Services.
Ben & Jerry's a large ice cream company has been making friendly gestures towards the gay community including renaming one of their famous flavors chubby hubby to "hubby hubby" for a month in honor of marriage equality. They will also have a wedding truck traveling the state handing out this new named flavor.
Walt Freese, chief executive officer of Ben & Jerry's said: "At the core of Ben & Jerry's values we believe that social justice can and should be something that every human being is entitled to. From the very beginning of our 30-year history, we have supported equal rights for all people."
The company was active in ensuring the passage of marriage legislation, back in April they stated their support for marriage equality and for an override of the governors veto.
Contact Ben & Jerry's to thank them for their support for LGBT rights and marriage equality.
E-comment box.
Give them a call at 802-846-1500 between 9:00 and 5:00 Eastern - Monday through Friday. Ask for Consumer Services.
September 1, 2009
HIV Apologizes to the guy that almost killed him...He reads the Bible now&think the bang bang made him straight
HIV-Positive Man Apologizes to His Gay-Basher
By Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr. on August 12, 2009 10:13 AM | 18 Comments
File this story under WTF: An HIV-positive man who was almost gay-bashed to death has written a letter to the perpetrator apologizing to him for instigating the incident. He wrote: "I was at blame so it is to my strongest degree that you get out as soon as possible."
According to Gay City News, Dwan Prince was attacked in 2005 in Brooklyn by Steven Pomie. Prince flirted with Pomie, who responded by beating Prince twice with other assailants. Pomie tried to attack Prince a third time but was stopped by witnesses.
Pomie was convicted in 2006 by a jury for first-degree assault and first-degree assault as a hate crime. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. However, a state appellate court in 2008 dismissed the conviction and ordered that Pomie be tried on lesser charges of second-degree assault and second-degree assault as a hate crime.
A trial date has been set for September 1st. In the letter, Prince writes that he hopes Pomie receives a lesser sentence of five years in prison. No doubt the letter will now factor into the proceedings moving forward.
Pomie beat Prince until he was bleeding and unconscious. He left Prince partially paralyzed. The New York Times reported in 2006 that Prince attempted suicide as a result of the attack. Nonetheless, Prince now believes that Pomie did him a favor by attacking him because it made him straight.
Prince told Gay City News: "I am looking to change my life these days ... I am looking for a female who I can marry and have my sperm washed and have children ... With me going to church, I feel myself that I must try to live by the Bible, I must try to live by God's law."
I can't make sense of this story. I know the writer, Duncan Osborne, is a journalist of the utmost integrity, so I know this story must be true. But how can it be true?! It is a sad and strange tale from the deep and dark corners of the homophobia zone.
By Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr. on August 12, 2009 10:13 AM | 18 Comments
File this story under WTF: An HIV-positive man who was almost gay-bashed to death has written a letter to the perpetrator apologizing to him for instigating the incident. He wrote: "I was at blame so it is to my strongest degree that you get out as soon as possible."
According to Gay City News, Dwan Prince was attacked in 2005 in Brooklyn by Steven Pomie. Prince flirted with Pomie, who responded by beating Prince twice with other assailants. Pomie tried to attack Prince a third time but was stopped by witnesses.
Pomie was convicted in 2006 by a jury for first-degree assault and first-degree assault as a hate crime. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. However, a state appellate court in 2008 dismissed the conviction and ordered that Pomie be tried on lesser charges of second-degree assault and second-degree assault as a hate crime.
A trial date has been set for September 1st. In the letter, Prince writes that he hopes Pomie receives a lesser sentence of five years in prison. No doubt the letter will now factor into the proceedings moving forward.
Pomie beat Prince until he was bleeding and unconscious. He left Prince partially paralyzed. The New York Times reported in 2006 that Prince attempted suicide as a result of the attack. Nonetheless, Prince now believes that Pomie did him a favor by attacking him because it made him straight.
Prince told Gay City News: "I am looking to change my life these days ... I am looking for a female who I can marry and have my sperm washed and have children ... With me going to church, I feel myself that I must try to live by the Bible, I must try to live by God's law."
I can't make sense of this story. I know the writer, Duncan Osborne, is a journalist of the utmost integrity, so I know this story must be true. But how can it be true?! It is a sad and strange tale from the deep and dark corners of the homophobia zone.
August 31, 2009
"GODDAMNED WRONG" ON DADT
OLBERMANN: OBAMA 'GODDAMNED WRONG' ON 'DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL'
Keith Olbermann discusses "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and wonders why Obama continues to hesitate in halting gay discharges. He talks to Dan Savage, who asks, if 75% of the American public are sold on repealing DADT, how many more "retrograde bigots" need to change their minds before he does something?
On that note, First Lt. Dan Choi was stripped of his officer's commission yesterday at a hearing as was expected and will be discharged. Alison Stewart covered it on The Rachel Maddow Show.
Will "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" become as big a stain on Obama's legacy as it is on Clinton's? I suppose it depends on how many more lives he ruins because of it.
Keith Olbermann discusses "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and wonders why Obama continues to hesitate in halting gay discharges. He talks to Dan Savage, who asks, if 75% of the American public are sold on repealing DADT, how many more "retrograde bigots" need to change their minds before he does something?
On that note, First Lt. Dan Choi was stripped of his officer's commission yesterday at a hearing as was expected and will be discharged. Alison Stewart covered it on The Rachel Maddow Show.
Will "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" become as big a stain on Obama's legacy as it is on Clinton's? I suppose it depends on how many more lives he ruins because of it.
August 30, 2009
Espadas clunkers are the newst models 2009-2010
Espada's Nonprofit Clunkers Raise Eyebrows
NBCNewYork.com
updated 3:45 p.m. ET, Sun., Aug 30, 2009
State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr.'s Bronx charity, which is under investigation by the state Attorney General's Office, is reportedly also facing scrutiny over the nonprofit group's gas guzzling vehicles.
The Comprehensive Community Development Corp., which runs five Soundview Health Center clinics for the needy, has bought a series of upscale gas-guzzlers, including a Cadillac Deville, a GMC Envoy SUV and luxury Chrysler 300C -- periodically replacing them with newer vehicles, the New York Post reported today.
The group recently picked up a beaten up Ford Expedition that it bought from Espada's son, the report said.
Story continues below ↓
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Sen. Espada (D-Bronx) uses a luxury car paid for with his charity's money and allows the use of other cars by top employees, including his daughter-in-law and a woman convicted of committing fraud for one of his campaign, the newspaper said.
The cars raised the eyebrows of charity watchdogs, the Post said.
"An employee and their relatives should not use a charity's resources for personal gain or to offset personal expenses," said Laurie Styron, an analyst at the Chicago-based American Institute of Philanthropy.
Espada's group denies any abuses.
NBCNewYork.com
updated 3:45 p.m. ET, Sun., Aug 30, 2009
State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr.'s Bronx charity, which is under investigation by the state Attorney General's Office, is reportedly also facing scrutiny over the nonprofit group's gas guzzling vehicles.
The Comprehensive Community Development Corp., which runs five Soundview Health Center clinics for the needy, has bought a series of upscale gas-guzzlers, including a Cadillac Deville, a GMC Envoy SUV and luxury Chrysler 300C -- periodically replacing them with newer vehicles, the New York Post reported today.
The group recently picked up a beaten up Ford Expedition that it bought from Espada's son, the report said.
Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here
Sen. Espada (D-Bronx) uses a luxury car paid for with his charity's money and allows the use of other cars by top employees, including his daughter-in-law and a woman convicted of committing fraud for one of his campaign, the newspaper said.
The cars raised the eyebrows of charity watchdogs, the Post said.
"An employee and their relatives should not use a charity's resources for personal gain or to offset personal expenses," said Laurie Styron, an analyst at the Chicago-based American Institute of Philanthropy.
Espada's group denies any abuses.
August 29, 2009
Rep Hastings, writes again to Obama on DADT
Rep. Hastings Pushes Obama on DADT
By Michelle Garcia
Florida representative Alcee Hastings told President Barack Obama he is "deeply disappointed" that the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian personnel has yet to be lifted.
Hastings sent an open follow-up letter to the president on Thursday, reminding him that in June, 77 representatives called for a moratorium on investigating cases of service members accused of being gay. He also called "don't ask, don't tell" a "ridiculous, bigoted law."
The Florida Democrat, who is the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said he was also disappointed that President Obama had not responded to the initial letter. "With the recent addition of 17,000 American troops to Afghanistan and the possibility of another request for even more troops from General McChrystal in the coming weeks, I am sure that you will agree that we cannot afford to lose any of our dedicated, highly qualified service members to 'don't ask, don't tell,'" he wrote in Thursday's letter.
Hastings cited the figure of two military members being discharged daily under the law.
READER COMMENT
Back to topPost a CommentName: Herley Taylor
Date posted: 2009-08-29 11:09 AM
Hometown: Deland, FL
Comment:
Thanks Alcee! Once Again this is Herley Taylor--- But yea unfortunately Obama thinks us gay airman/soldiers/sailors/marines are 5th class citizen! But if were to to somehow TURN STR8 then we would be immediately upgraded to 1st class! WHAT A SHAME!!!
By Michelle Garcia
Florida representative Alcee Hastings told President Barack Obama he is "deeply disappointed" that the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian personnel has yet to be lifted.
Hastings sent an open follow-up letter to the president on Thursday, reminding him that in June, 77 representatives called for a moratorium on investigating cases of service members accused of being gay. He also called "don't ask, don't tell" a "ridiculous, bigoted law."
The Florida Democrat, who is the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said he was also disappointed that President Obama had not responded to the initial letter. "With the recent addition of 17,000 American troops to Afghanistan and the possibility of another request for even more troops from General McChrystal in the coming weeks, I am sure that you will agree that we cannot afford to lose any of our dedicated, highly qualified service members to 'don't ask, don't tell,'" he wrote in Thursday's letter.
Hastings cited the figure of two military members being discharged daily under the law.
READER COMMENT
Back to topPost a CommentName: Herley Taylor
Date posted: 2009-08-29 11:09 AM
Hometown: Deland, FL
Comment:
Thanks Alcee! Once Again this is Herley Taylor--- But yea unfortunately Obama thinks us gay airman/soldiers/sailors/marines are 5th class citizen! But if were to to somehow TURN STR8 then we would be immediately upgraded to 1st class! WHAT A SHAME!!!
August 28, 2009
We need a Consumer Protection Agency by Sen.Gillibrand to Adam
August 28, 2009
Dear Mr. Gonzalez:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the S.566, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) Act of 2009. I agree with you and support the creation of a dedicated consumer financial protection agency, because I believe that it will create a much needed oversight body to prevent the bad actors in the financial services industry from taking advantage of consumers and prevent future economic collapses like our current recession.
Currently, our government lacks an agency whose primary focus is to protect consumers from this form of abuse. Many families in New York fall victim to predatory financial services, which routinely confuse innocent consumers with complex contracts and pages of fine print. In some areas of New York, as many as 40% of new homeowners took complicated sub-prime mortgages instead of standard products.
The creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency will consolidate financial accountability in one place. This will create a standard for federal supervision of financial products similar to what is already in place for tangible consumer products. Furthermore, this agency will promote the dissemination of clear information for consumers, something that we are currently lacking. Federal enforcement of regulations will finally provide families in New York the protection from financial services they deserve.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your views on this issue with me. For more information on this and other important issues, please visit my website http://gillibrand.senate.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.
Sincerely yours,
Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator
Dear Mr. Gonzalez:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the S.566, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) Act of 2009. I agree with you and support the creation of a dedicated consumer financial protection agency, because I believe that it will create a much needed oversight body to prevent the bad actors in the financial services industry from taking advantage of consumers and prevent future economic collapses like our current recession.
Currently, our government lacks an agency whose primary focus is to protect consumers from this form of abuse. Many families in New York fall victim to predatory financial services, which routinely confuse innocent consumers with complex contracts and pages of fine print. In some areas of New York, as many as 40% of new homeowners took complicated sub-prime mortgages instead of standard products.
The creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency will consolidate financial accountability in one place. This will create a standard for federal supervision of financial products similar to what is already in place for tangible consumer products. Furthermore, this agency will promote the dissemination of clear information for consumers, something that we are currently lacking. Federal enforcement of regulations will finally provide families in New York the protection from financial services they deserve.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your views on this issue with me. For more information on this and other important issues, please visit my website http://gillibrand.senate.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.
Sincerely yours,
Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator
Asexuality: The Ultimate Orientation?
Asexuality: The Ultimate Orientation?
by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Staff Reporter
Monday Aug 24, 2009
(Source:Wikimedia Commons)
Related Topics: AVEN | sexual orientation | asexuality
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Some heterosexuals indicate a belief that sexual desire is a matter of choice; gays and lesbians beg to differ, insisting that their attraction to others of the same gender is innate.
Even so-called "zoophiles" have made the news recently, with a bid to cast their attraction to animals as a type of sexual orientation.
But there’s one group that looks at all the rest a little more askance than the other groups look at one another: asexuals just don’t see what the big deal is about who has sex with whom, and they don’t feel compelled to take part.
However, not having any interest in sexual intercourse doesn’t mean that asexuals don’t fall in love, engage in romance, and even identify as gay, lesbian, straight, or bi. Indeed, asexuals can enjoy emotional connections that are just as compelling as those that, for others, get tangled up with sex.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on asexuals as an emerging, and ever-more visible, orientation to themselves in an Aug. 24 article.
The article related the stories of individuals who had a hard time fitting in until they determined that they simply weren’t sexually interested in... well, anyone.
The article noted that asexuals as a group had not come together until the Internet made it possible for individuals of all sorts to connect and realize that they weren’t all alone in the world. But every movement needs a leader, and in this case, it was a teenager named David Jay (now 27) who launched a forum online for other asexuals to meet and chat.
Nine years ago, Jay formed a new group, the article said, called AVEN--the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. Now, Davis and other asexuals may be reaching a tipping point in visibility: Jay has appeared on news shows such as Tucker Carlson’s at MSNBC. As the word of AVEN spreads, and the very concept of asexuality becomes better known, asexuals are finding kinship with members of Jay’s group.
Said Jay, "If I’m able to define asexuality every time I do an appearance, we get 50 to 200 new people coming to us."
What was once viewed as a form of sexual dysfunction may now be on its way to recognition as a bona fide sexual orientation.
The article quoted sex researcher Dr. Lori Brotto of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, who described herself as having been "extremely skeptical" about asexuality.
But AVEN provided Dr. Brotto with a ready-made pool of research subjects. Brotto’a investigation revealed that AVEN members just aren’t that into sex, exactly as they say; moreover, the absence of libido doesn’t worry them.
Noted Brutto, "They’re not bothered by the low levels of arousal. That’s what makes them different from someone with sexual dysfunction, who wants to seek treatment."
What hurts, rather, is a sense of social isolation: a sense that others won’t understand.
The article quoted 48-year-old Cathy Roberts, who spoke about the difficulties of finding a suitable mate.
"For me, they have to be asexual and lesbian."
That’s a tall order even without what Roberts goes on to call "that whole compatibility thing."
For 19-year-old Bridget Rodman, finding AVEN was, perhaps, life-saving: the article spoke of Rodman as feeling "suicidal" over not being able to connect sexually, and of attempting to "mimic the patterns" that an intimate partner would demonstrate, but which did not come to Rodman naturally.
But now Rodman knows she’s not alone--and that she doesn’t have to try to "fix" herself, because she’s not defective, merely different.
"It’s indescribably amazing," the article quoted Rodman as saying.
"I can build my own ideas of what I want to be instead of waiting for this biological lubricant, literal or figurative, to come along."
A Wikipedia article on the subject notes that asexual people are capable of having sex; they simply are not driven to it by innate urges.
The article also references a study that estimates that asexuals only constitute 1% of the population at large, though with the advent of AVEN and increased visibility, it may only be a matter of time before that estimate is challenged.
The article also notes that asexuality is not the same thing as celibacy, in which a sexually interested individual may refrain from sexual activity for religious or other reasons.
"Asexuality" symbol courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Staff Reporter
Monday Aug 24, 2009
(Source:Wikimedia Commons)
Related Topics: AVEN | sexual orientation | asexuality
Email Print Add to Facebook Share Buzz up!
Some heterosexuals indicate a belief that sexual desire is a matter of choice; gays and lesbians beg to differ, insisting that their attraction to others of the same gender is innate.
Even so-called "zoophiles" have made the news recently, with a bid to cast their attraction to animals as a type of sexual orientation.
But there’s one group that looks at all the rest a little more askance than the other groups look at one another: asexuals just don’t see what the big deal is about who has sex with whom, and they don’t feel compelled to take part.
However, not having any interest in sexual intercourse doesn’t mean that asexuals don’t fall in love, engage in romance, and even identify as gay, lesbian, straight, or bi. Indeed, asexuals can enjoy emotional connections that are just as compelling as those that, for others, get tangled up with sex.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on asexuals as an emerging, and ever-more visible, orientation to themselves in an Aug. 24 article.
The article related the stories of individuals who had a hard time fitting in until they determined that they simply weren’t sexually interested in... well, anyone.
The article noted that asexuals as a group had not come together until the Internet made it possible for individuals of all sorts to connect and realize that they weren’t all alone in the world. But every movement needs a leader, and in this case, it was a teenager named David Jay (now 27) who launched a forum online for other asexuals to meet and chat.
Nine years ago, Jay formed a new group, the article said, called AVEN--the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. Now, Davis and other asexuals may be reaching a tipping point in visibility: Jay has appeared on news shows such as Tucker Carlson’s at MSNBC. As the word of AVEN spreads, and the very concept of asexuality becomes better known, asexuals are finding kinship with members of Jay’s group.
Said Jay, "If I’m able to define asexuality every time I do an appearance, we get 50 to 200 new people coming to us."
What was once viewed as a form of sexual dysfunction may now be on its way to recognition as a bona fide sexual orientation.
The article quoted sex researcher Dr. Lori Brotto of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, who described herself as having been "extremely skeptical" about asexuality.
But AVEN provided Dr. Brotto with a ready-made pool of research subjects. Brotto’a investigation revealed that AVEN members just aren’t that into sex, exactly as they say; moreover, the absence of libido doesn’t worry them.
Noted Brutto, "They’re not bothered by the low levels of arousal. That’s what makes them different from someone with sexual dysfunction, who wants to seek treatment."
What hurts, rather, is a sense of social isolation: a sense that others won’t understand.
The article quoted 48-year-old Cathy Roberts, who spoke about the difficulties of finding a suitable mate.
"For me, they have to be asexual and lesbian."
That’s a tall order even without what Roberts goes on to call "that whole compatibility thing."
For 19-year-old Bridget Rodman, finding AVEN was, perhaps, life-saving: the article spoke of Rodman as feeling "suicidal" over not being able to connect sexually, and of attempting to "mimic the patterns" that an intimate partner would demonstrate, but which did not come to Rodman naturally.
But now Rodman knows she’s not alone--and that she doesn’t have to try to "fix" herself, because she’s not defective, merely different.
"It’s indescribably amazing," the article quoted Rodman as saying.
"I can build my own ideas of what I want to be instead of waiting for this biological lubricant, literal or figurative, to come along."
A Wikipedia article on the subject notes that asexual people are capable of having sex; they simply are not driven to it by innate urges.
The article also references a study that estimates that asexuals only constitute 1% of the population at large, though with the advent of AVEN and increased visibility, it may only be a matter of time before that estimate is challenged.
The article also notes that asexuality is not the same thing as celibacy, in which a sexually interested individual may refrain from sexual activity for religious or other reasons.
"Asexuality" symbol courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
Barebacking- Raw etc.
"Panel Takes a ’Raw’ Look at Barebacking: Why We Like It, Why We Still Do It"
The below comment was one of the many comments on a lively and sometimes too lively conference sponsored by GMHC on Aug 13, 2009.
The subject was "Raw Sex." This is a subject that arouses passion on all sides of the issue. It is this writer's opinion that this is a private issue between two informed consenting adults. There is much information out there, plus the experience of individulas that have been poz for many years to not be informed; unless you have your head inside the "Raw assenwholer."
Indeed a person can make 'informed' choices. Those choices we make every day when we drive, ski, or go diving or snorkeling in deep waters. Need to know what you are doing and make your choices on your level of knowledge, experience and confidence on your partner and yourself. It is nothing to become titzzy about. It is something that every one should know and then go on from there.
Then what are the sources of information? Your Doctor, but only if he or she is gay. Medical data available on the net on many officials sites. Poz.com is a good one. CDC only if you are a health official since if you don't follow their guilines you are anatema. Also, as I said before people that have been poz for a long time and have partners that both poz and non poz. There are many studies that have been published on this issue. Nothing is 100 percent. Not even a vaccine. Everything we do has a consequence. That is the law of the universe. Action/reaction. But that is life and we can't stop living because we are here for a short time and then we die anyway. The experiences that fill the neurons inside of our brains is what we take with us.
Adam
fern , 2009-08-25 08:00:54
I like the word "raw". AIDS and HIV are not only a problem concerning the homosexual community, it affects us all hetero included. As far as sex is involved homos and heteros are more or less the same except maybe is that if you want free sex it’ll be easier in a gay bar than in a singles bar for heteros. I still believe that producing a condom to a potential partner is insulting, as you want to be into this person, yet not want no part of her/he. I like Earl Grey’s tea (how gay) I also hate tea bags.
The below comment was one of the many comments on a lively and sometimes too lively conference sponsored by GMHC on Aug 13, 2009.
The subject was "Raw Sex." This is a subject that arouses passion on all sides of the issue. It is this writer's opinion that this is a private issue between two informed consenting adults. There is much information out there, plus the experience of individulas that have been poz for many years to not be informed; unless you have your head inside the "Raw assenwholer."
Indeed a person can make 'informed' choices. Those choices we make every day when we drive, ski, or go diving or snorkeling in deep waters. Need to know what you are doing and make your choices on your level of knowledge, experience and confidence on your partner and yourself. It is nothing to become titzzy about. It is something that every one should know and then go on from there.
Then what are the sources of information? Your Doctor, but only if he or she is gay. Medical data available on the net on many officials sites. Poz.com is a good one. CDC only if you are a health official since if you don't follow their guilines you are anatema. Also, as I said before people that have been poz for a long time and have partners that both poz and non poz. There are many studies that have been published on this issue. Nothing is 100 percent. Not even a vaccine. Everything we do has a consequence. That is the law of the universe. Action/reaction. But that is life and we can't stop living because we are here for a short time and then we die anyway. The experiences that fill the neurons inside of our brains is what we take with us.
Adam
fern , 2009-08-25 08:00:54
I like the word "raw". AIDS and HIV are not only a problem concerning the homosexual community, it affects us all hetero included. As far as sex is involved homos and heteros are more or less the same except maybe is that if you want free sex it’ll be easier in a gay bar than in a singles bar for heteros. I still believe that producing a condom to a potential partner is insulting, as you want to be into this person, yet not want no part of her/he. I like Earl Grey’s tea (how gay) I also hate tea bags.
ENDA being brought to the forefront by Transgender staffer
Transgender activist and prominent AIDS leader Diego Sanchez talks about his work as a legislative assistant to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and his efforts to add transgender-inclusive hate crimes to the 2009 Employment Non-Discrimination Act that is under construction in the House, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009. (Source:AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Related Topics: Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Email Print Add to Facebook Share Buzz up!
Momentum is building for Congress to pass the first major civil rights act protecting gays and transsexuals, supporters say, and one of the stars in the debate is a barrier-breaking transgender staffer on Capitol Hill.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, would prohibit workplace discrimination - including decisions about hiring, firing and wages - based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It would exempt religious organizations, the military and businesses with less than 15 workers.
The driving force behind the bill has been Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the longest-serving of the three openly gay members of Congress. He expects hearings on the measure to be held this fall.
Frank pushed ENDA in 2007, but it foundered because of insufficient backing in the Senate and a split within the gay and transgender communities. Many activists were irate because Frank - seeking support from wavering colleagues - was open to covering sexual orientation but not gender identity, excluding transgender people from protection.
This time around, several factors have changed:
-Barack Obama is now president, and is on record supporting ENDA. A veto was considered possible if the 2007 bill had reached then-President George W. Bush.
-ENDA’s core supporters, including Frank, have agreed they will push only for a bill that includes gender identity.
-The bill has picked up key support in the Senate, where it was introduced earlier this month by Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley and Maine Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. Even without other GOP senators, Merkley believes it has a good chance of obtaining the 60 votes that likely will be needed to pass the Senate.
The main Senate champion of ENDA in the past had been Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who died Tuesday. That role was passed on to Merkley earlier this year.
There is another difference from 2007. Frank now has a policy adviser who is a female-to-male transsexual. Diego Sanchez is the first transgender person hired for a senior congressional staff position on Capitol Hill.
Sanchez has done extensive face-to-face lobbying for ENDA, and Frank says that’s enabled some members of Congress to get to know a transsexual for the first time.
"He interacts with a lot of people," Frank said. "Prejudice is literally ignorance."
Frank says he now doubts votes will be cast against ENDA solely because it extends to transgender people.
Sanchez is a longtime activist who worked for the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention last year before joining Frank’s staff. Back in 2007, he was among a minority of transgender activists who accepted Frank’s tactical decision to drop gender identity from that version of ENDA.
"He’s called on the entire community since then to lobby, work - and the community has said, ’OK, we’ve got one game plan, and it’s Barney,’" Sanchez said. "There’s broader support this time."
Opponents of ENDA - led by several national conservative groups - concede that the bill has enough support to clear the House, and expect a closely fought battle in the Senate.
Ashley Horne, federal issues analyst for Focus on the Family, promised that her conservative Christian ministry would encourage tough opposition.
"It’s definitely a bill we will put a lot of resources toward fighting," she said. "Our primary concern is the chipping away of religious liberties."
Twenty-one states already have laws prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and 12 extend those laws to gender identity - California, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Several other states protect public employees who are gay or transgender.
The experience of these states shows that passage a federal law is unlikely to unleash a flood of litigation and conflict, Frank and Merkley say.
Minnesota, for example, has had a non-discrimination law covering transgender people since 1993 that rarely triggers controversies. Oregon passed a comparable bill in 2007.
"There were concerns there’d be a huge number of lawsuits - it simply didn’t materialize," Merkley said.
However, attorney Jim Campbell of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, said ENDA would impose its provisions on more conservative states with more business owners who have religious objections to hiring gays and transsexuals.
Campbell also worries that ENDA will serve gay-rights activists’ long-term strategic interests.
"One of the really big problems with enacting ENDA is in the future litigation battles dealing with same-sex marriage," Campbell said. "It will provide ammunition for homosexual activists in the future to push their agenda in the court system throughout the country."
AP
Related Topics: Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Email Print Add to Facebook Share Buzz up!
Momentum is building for Congress to pass the first major civil rights act protecting gays and transsexuals, supporters say, and one of the stars in the debate is a barrier-breaking transgender staffer on Capitol Hill.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, would prohibit workplace discrimination - including decisions about hiring, firing and wages - based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It would exempt religious organizations, the military and businesses with less than 15 workers.
The driving force behind the bill has been Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the longest-serving of the three openly gay members of Congress. He expects hearings on the measure to be held this fall.
Frank pushed ENDA in 2007, but it foundered because of insufficient backing in the Senate and a split within the gay and transgender communities. Many activists were irate because Frank - seeking support from wavering colleagues - was open to covering sexual orientation but not gender identity, excluding transgender people from protection.
This time around, several factors have changed:
-Barack Obama is now president, and is on record supporting ENDA. A veto was considered possible if the 2007 bill had reached then-President George W. Bush.
-ENDA’s core supporters, including Frank, have agreed they will push only for a bill that includes gender identity.
-The bill has picked up key support in the Senate, where it was introduced earlier this month by Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley and Maine Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. Even without other GOP senators, Merkley believes it has a good chance of obtaining the 60 votes that likely will be needed to pass the Senate.
The main Senate champion of ENDA in the past had been Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who died Tuesday. That role was passed on to Merkley earlier this year.
There is another difference from 2007. Frank now has a policy adviser who is a female-to-male transsexual. Diego Sanchez is the first transgender person hired for a senior congressional staff position on Capitol Hill.
Sanchez has done extensive face-to-face lobbying for ENDA, and Frank says that’s enabled some members of Congress to get to know a transsexual for the first time.
"He interacts with a lot of people," Frank said. "Prejudice is literally ignorance."
Frank says he now doubts votes will be cast against ENDA solely because it extends to transgender people.
Sanchez is a longtime activist who worked for the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention last year before joining Frank’s staff. Back in 2007, he was among a minority of transgender activists who accepted Frank’s tactical decision to drop gender identity from that version of ENDA.
"He’s called on the entire community since then to lobby, work - and the community has said, ’OK, we’ve got one game plan, and it’s Barney,’" Sanchez said. "There’s broader support this time."
Opponents of ENDA - led by several national conservative groups - concede that the bill has enough support to clear the House, and expect a closely fought battle in the Senate.
Ashley Horne, federal issues analyst for Focus on the Family, promised that her conservative Christian ministry would encourage tough opposition.
"It’s definitely a bill we will put a lot of resources toward fighting," she said. "Our primary concern is the chipping away of religious liberties."
Twenty-one states already have laws prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and 12 extend those laws to gender identity - California, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Several other states protect public employees who are gay or transgender.
The experience of these states shows that passage a federal law is unlikely to unleash a flood of litigation and conflict, Frank and Merkley say.
Minnesota, for example, has had a non-discrimination law covering transgender people since 1993 that rarely triggers controversies. Oregon passed a comparable bill in 2007.
"There were concerns there’d be a huge number of lawsuits - it simply didn’t materialize," Merkley said.
However, attorney Jim Campbell of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, said ENDA would impose its provisions on more conservative states with more business owners who have religious objections to hiring gays and transsexuals.
Campbell also worries that ENDA will serve gay-rights activists’ long-term strategic interests.
"One of the really big problems with enacting ENDA is in the future litigation battles dealing with same-sex marriage," Campbell said. "It will provide ammunition for homosexual activists in the future to push their agenda in the court system throughout the country."
AP
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