HIV Testing Video- Laughter!!

 HIv NIghtmare Testing at LOL 

Zach Wahls Speaks about His Family } Two Moms

Globalpost.com 

•  

Zach Wahls is an unlikely YouTube and Reddit star a year after posting his video, "Two Lesbians Raised A Baby And This Is What They Got."

Wahls' plea for gay marriage equality has gone viral.

The 19-year-old University of Iowa student was speaking in the Iowa Senate against a House Joint Resolution that would ban gay marriage and civil unions.

In his three-minute speech about his life in a two-mothers home, he said:

"In my 19 years, not once have I ever been confronted by an individual who realized independently that I was raised by a gay couple.

"And you know why? Because the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero affect on the content of my character."

Wahls told of how he and his sister were conceived via the same anonymous sperm donor, making them biological brother and sister, and how his mothers legally married in 2009 after the Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, the New York Post reported.

His family wasn’t any different from any other Iowa family — they ate dinner, they went to church, they had fights and went on vacation. 

he family had its share of problems, he said:

"But we're Iowans. We don’t expect anyone to solve our problems for us. We’ll fight our own battles. We just hope for equal and fair treatment from our government."

He told the legislative panel: "I’m an Eagle Scout. I own and operate my own small business. If I was your son, Mr. Chairman, I believe I’d make you very proud."

The publicity seems to have helped kill the proposed Iowa constitutional amendment to only recognize marriage between a man and a woman.

Though the Iowa House passed the resolution, the Senate is likely to block the legislation. 

Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, Wahls participated inReddit's "Ask Me Anything" section, where users write in to ask guests about their experiences.

During his http://i.imgur.com/XNKMy.jpg)">Reddit appearance, Wahls alluded to a book tentatively called "My Two Moms: Everything I Needed to Know About Gay Marriage I Learned in Boy Scouts" which he said should be on shelves over the summer or in the early fall.

You can also watch the interview with Zac at http://patv.tv/blog/

Science on Your ‘Junk” That can save Your Life } Some on the Conservative side have said that to Measure your Junk is Junk Science and & Waste of Gov’t $$$

We have already published this article back in July of 2011…It was decided that in view of some in congress trying to bring this up again due the budgets' negotiations and how the the current government wastes the money available to them. I find it still very relevant and highly educative material.  Hope you do to.  adamfoxie*

BY TRACY CLARK-FLORY

•  

 (Credit: Richard Lathulerie 04141047557)

   Salon.com

The Traditional Values Coalition’s mission this week is to alert poor, beleaguered American taxpayers that they paid scientists to measure gay men’s junk. You will surely be shocked to hear that this news has sparked a firestorm among staunch conservatives; the only problem is that none of it’s true. Not only was the research paid for without government funds, but the study’s findings could help save lives, and taxpayers’ money.

Bloggers were quick to churn out the tabloid headlines that just write themselves: “Your Tax Dollars Going to Study Gay Men’s Penis Size.” Right-wing news sources like Fox and the Daily Caller got in on this orgy of outrage too. Naturally, the Daily Mail was not far behind.

But contrary to all of these reports, the NIH did not pay researchers to measure gay men’s penis size. The data for the study — “The Association Between Penis Size and Sexual Health Among Men Who Have Sex with Men” — were “collected as part of a larger survey of the sexual health of gay men,” says researcher Jeffrey Parsons, a psychology professor at Hunter College. That survey was funded by the college’s Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training — not the NIH. What’s more, they didn’t even measure men’s penises: “We simply asked men to self-report if they felt their penis was above average, average, or below average,” he tells me.

Presumably critics thought (or at least figured they could get away with arguing) that the NIH paid to measure gay men’s members because one of the researchers, Christian Grov, was being funded by a post-doctoral government grant. But he assisted only in analyzing the data, which had already been collected. “Clearly conservative groups like the Traditional Values Coalition have a vested interest in creating scandal around scientific research related to gay men,” says Parsons.

Not only did the hand-wringers get the funding wrong, they also misreported the actual aim and outcome of the study. Christian Grov, one of the researchers, and an assistant professor at Brooklyn College, says they found that men who reported having above-average size penises were more likely to have sexually transmitted infections that are “passed via skin-to-skin contact,” like genital warts and herpes. But this increased risk was not a result of lesser condom use. The team speculates that “these men were experiencing improper condom fit (not being able to roll the condom all the way down), condom breakage, or irritation (caused by wearing a condom that may be too tight),” says Grov.

This has crucial implications for disease prevention and research. “At the moment, the male latex condom is the best barrier to prevent transmitting HIV and STIs,” he explains. “Our findings suggest that the ‘one size fits all’ approach to condom distribution may not meet the needs of men who fall outside the range of the ‘typical’ condom.” All of this is to say: It would have been perfectly appropriate if taxpayers had funded the study. “No area of sexual research should be ‘off the table for study’ if it is done with the best interests of public health and stopping the spread of disease,” says co-researcher David Bimbi.

For those who feel unpersuaded by the public health argument simply because they believe gay sex doesn’t have anything to do with them, two things: 1) Um, straight folks also get STIs and HIV, and 2) Preventive research like this could save taxpayers lots of money. “As men who have sex with men account for half of the cases of HIV in the United States, any research that can lower transmission rates in this group will in fact save the government money in HIV/AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, which sadly are not well funded as it is,” Bimbi says. “The old saying is true: ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’”

Tracy Clark-Flory is a staff writer at Salon. Follow @tracyclarkfloryon Twitter.  More Tracy Clark-Flory

Kris Humphries Could Face Lawsuit Over Gay Slur

  aceshowbiz.com

Kris, who is asking for his 72-day marriage to be annulled, may be served with a libel or defamation suit by a friend of Kim Kardashian for accusing him of being homosexual.

 

Photo credit: C.Smith/WENN

More troubles might come in Kris Humphries' way. While the former New Jersey Nets power forward is still in the midst of a divorce drama with Kim Kardashian, Radar Online reported that Kim's friend, Jonathan Cheban, is considering to launch a lawsuit against the 26-year-old for calling him gay on "Kourtney and Kim Take New York".

Jonathan reportedly has consulted an attorney about serving Kris with a $5 million libel or defamation suit. One insider explained, "Jonathan was offended. He is not gay and Kris' comments were derogatory, a slur against his character and given it's being broadcast on a program that airs internationally, it has the potential to cause serious damage to Jonathan's reputation."

On Kris' beef with Jonathan, a production source dished, "There is a huge fight in the episode, between Jonathan and Kris. Kris repeats the slur, over and over again, so much so that Jonathan stops talking to Kris at one point, during the series." The source added, "Kris uses some seriously ugly and homophobic language."

In another news, Kris has responded to Kim's petition for divorce by filing for both a legal separation from his 72-day wife and a nullification of their union on Thursday, December 1. The documents of the dual filing have since made its way out via E! News, exposing that the NBA player isasking for an annulment on the ground of fraud.

In the papers filed in Los Angeles Superiort Court, Kris cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason he wants a separation. He also asked the court to not award Kim any spousal support and requested that the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star pays his legal fees. Additionally, he noted that property rights are to be determined.

© AceShowbiz.com

Browse Kris Humphries Pictures

 

Michelle Space Cadet Bachman } Not Just an Idiot but a Lying Idiot

By KIRSTEN BOYD JOHNSON

wonkette.com/

Yammering dingbat Michele Bachmann is having one of her “on” days again! This random human equivalent of a found-art sculpture soldered together from fallen space debris not only registers a negative IQregarding the number of American embassies in Iran,but she also managed to get caught stealing! It’s also evidence that even the most conservative wingnuts are growing tired of her: a group of Iowa’s Christian homeschoolers started wondering why they were getting her constant, annoying spam emails when they had never signed up for this particular form of torture, which they quickly realized was because Michele secretly pilfered their contact list.

From the email sent out by the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educatorsvia the Iowa Republican:

I want to apologize on behalf of the NICHE Board and advise you that we discovered that our list of homeschool contacts was uploaded without our knowledge or permission by the Michele Bachmann Campaign and used twice for e-mails from her campaign. We have been assured by the Bachmann Campaign that it was inadvertent. Due to safeguards built into our contact list, we immediately recognized the use.

Sure sure, “it was a mistake,” like Michele Bachmann herself. And now the group is forcing Bachmann’s campaign to pay for the free advertising with its last ten dollars, hahaha. [Iowa Republican; thanks to Wonkette operative "Monsieur Grumpe"]

Back to The Past } Family Of HIV Hershey Boy Sues School for Denying Him Admission

                                                

By Eric Johnson  

(Reuters) - The family of an HIV-positive boy sued a boarding school in Hershey, Pennsylvania after it denied admission to the 13-year-old citing safety concerns, a school official said on Thursday.

The Milton Hershey School, a cost-free, private school for roughly 1,850 socially disadvantaged pre-kindergarten through high school students founded by the Hershey chocolate company, defended the controversial decision.

"In order to protect our children in this unique environment, we cannot accommodate the needs of students with chronic communicable diseases that pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others," said Connie McNamara, a spokesman for the Milton Hershey School, located roughly 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

"The reason is simple. We are serving children, and no child can be assumed to always make responsible decisions that protect the well being of others," McNamara said.

HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus, is medical condition that undermines the body's immune system and can make those infected susceptible to lethal cancers and infections. HIV is a precursor to AIDS, or the Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a pandemic which has killed roughly 25 million people since its discovery in the early 1980s.

HIV is most commonly transmitted through sex or sharing needles with an infected person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV is not transmitted by day-to-day casual contact, such as through shaking hands or a casual kiss. The CDC said it is not possible to become infected from a toilet seat, a drinking fountain, a door knob, dishes, drinking glasses, food, or pets.

The school said it planned to ask a federal judge to weigh-in on their decision, but attorneys for the boy and his mother "took the adversarial action of filing a lawsuit," McNamara said.

The child's attorneys at the non-profit AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania sought to compare the school's actions to the Ryan White case, in which an HIV-positive Indiana boy was expelled from middle school in the 1980s because of the infection. That case led to the Ryan White Care Act of 1990.

Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of a real or perceived disability, including having HIV, according to the National Association of State Boards of Education.

White, who became infected after a hemophilia treatment and died of AIDS in 1990, became a national spokesman for AIDS research and public education and drew attention to the then little-known infection.

"Like Ryan White, this young man is a motivated, intelligent kid who poses no health risk to other students, but is being denied an educational opportunity because of ignorance and fear about HIV and AIDS," said AIDS Law Project Executive Director Ronda B. Goldfein, who is representing the boy and his mother in the lawsuit.

The boy "is an honor roll student and an avid athlete" who controls his HIV through a regimen of medication that does not impact his school schedule, according to the lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

The school, which was founded by industrialist Milton S. Hershey in 1909 to care for orphans, said their case is different because it is a boarding school "where children live in homes with 10 to 12 other students" on its campus "24 hours a day, 7 days a week," McNamara said.

Thursday was World AIDS Day and President Barack Obama announced new funding to battle AIDS and challenged other nations to boost their commitments to fund treatment.

(Reporting by Eric Johnson; Editing by Greg McCune)

1 Mil Face Book Israeli Ads to keep American Jews from Israeli Jews

NO}

Jewish children reared in America grow up hearing one thing on repeat. It’s like a dull tuning fork in the ear, or an image that sticks in the brain. Marry a Jew. Over and over. As if each time is the first. The subtext is that each of us is responsible for all of us, and if we intermarry, we risk disappearing completely.American Jews preach marrying each other in Israel’s name. The act does the Jewish homeland proud. A friend’s parent once told me that marrying a Jew would be great, but marrying an Israeli would be even better.

Unfortunately for American Jews, and all those niggling parents, it turns out that Israel might not be on our team in this marriage game. A middling and now infamous Israeli government department has forged a peculiar U.S.-based advertising campaign. In a series of videos and billboards, it is discouraging Israeli expats from marrying American Jews and imploring them to move back to Israel.

This conspicuous effort is concentrated in mostly expected locales: Palo Alto, Calif.; New York; Boston; and (less understandably) in Hollywood, Fla. Photos of the billboards taken from cell phones showed up on Facebook. That’s where a Jewish television network first discovered the campaign, which was never formally announced by press release and is mostly in Hebrew. The effort cost nearly $1 million, according to Steven I. Weiss at the Jewish Channel, who broke the story. He believes this is far less than the department’s budget for wooing American Jews to move to Israel.

Not only is Israel’s clinical-sounding Ministry for Immigrant Absorption telling its citizens whom to marry, it is also beckoning them home.

It’s common and advisable that countries publicly court their departed citizens, especially ones with troubled economies in need of repair. India sends its scholars to the States for an education, then entices them back to work. Ireland encourages natives to travel the world and then return. Most recently, Tunisia is asking back nationals after the spring revolution.

Israel’s once booming technology industry seems to have splintered in the global economic crisis. But rather than antagonizing the minds it did not retain, maybe Israel’s government would do better to find out why Israelis are moving to America in the first place. It’s hard to find clear-cut numbers on how many Israeli expats live in the U.S., but the Jewish Channel reported about 2 million.

One video advertisement features an Israeli girl, Dafna, observing Israel’s memorial day, while her feckless American boyfriend, Josh, looks on dumbly. He is cast as a slobbering puppy who may be lovable but can’t really think. “They will always remain Israelis,” rumbles the voice-over. “Their partners won’t always understand what this means.”

The other video panders by using every culture’s weakness—its children. An American Jewish child is visiting with her Israeli grandparents on Skype. They ask which holiday is represented by the menorah behind them. She shrieks, “Christmas!” and their faces tighten with shame. The message is that we American Jews will tarnish Israelis’ hard-won, all-encompassing Jewish identities by solely being our secular selves.

Many Israeli writers, thought leaders, politicians, and rabbis believe that assimilated American Jews are not Jews at all.

The ham-handed effort isn’t targeting American Jews, but it is offending them. Outrage has been concentrated in the blogosphere. “I don't think I have ever seen a demonstration of Israeli contempt for American Jews as obvious as these ads,” writes Jeffery Goldberg in The Atlantic. Gal Beckerman, a child of Israeli expats who lives in Brooklyn, writes in The Forward that the ads are most disturbing because they are full of fear.

This public offensive voices what American Jews should already know, and should be angrier about: that many Israeli writers, thought leaders, politicians, and rabbis believe assimilated American Jews are not Jews at all. People who make it their business to say who is and who isn’t a Jew are as old as the religion itself. That paradigm is hardly a useful one. Nobody listens to people who only want to exclude. There are more of us here than in Israel. Questions of Jewishness may not permeate our everyday activities, but maybe that’s Israeliness and not Jewishness at all.
TheDailyBeast.com/world.html

Allison Yarrow

[The Atlantic's Jeffery Goldberg heard from the Israeli ambassador to the United States about those now-notorious ads: "The Ministry of Immigrant Absorption's campaign clearly did not take into account American Jewish sensibilities, and we regret any offense it caused .... Prime Minister Netanyahu, once made aware of the campaign, ordered the videos immediately removed from YouTube, and he ordered that the billboards be removed as well."

Dec 2. 2011 UPDATE]