Rants and Raves of a Passionate bear

stop messing with my gaydar

2006-11-06T17:35:00.000-08:00

Between Mark Foley, Ted Haggard and Neil Patrick Harris, my aging gaydar is getting messed up badly. While I had a thing from the beginning for Doogie Howser and wanted to shag him rotten as he grew older—it’s my weakness for “dorky cute”--the appearance of homophobes-come-homos on the spectrum of sexuality has me confused. It was bad enough already that flagrantly heterosexual men at the gym take many times more mirror time than me with their moisturizers, concealers, and hair product! Now, I can’t take the hateful words spewing from one’s mouth as proof certain that I can’t have you!

I’ve thought about Gay men going back to legendary system of putting a gerbil up the butt of each man we bring into our ranks, but that’s so two generations ago! Instead, let me propose that we take Foley and Haggard as archetypal and act accordingly. If you’re man who champions anti-Gay causes, we’ll automatically assume you are Gay and treat you accordingly – no questions asked! There’s plenty of drag names to go around – Georgina Bushwhacker and Karlotta Rovinskya, for starters – and lots of good campy fun to be had – “Hey, Ms. Allen! You wanna sucka mecaca tonight?”

Time to clean House and Senate

2006-09-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

The Mark Foley scandal needs to be understood for all that it represents, which is more than a pedophile closet-case Gay man. There is a clear abuse of power by the leadership of the House--and likely the Senate, too--to keep the matter under wraps until after the November elections. For that reason, every House Republican leader should be driven for office--they advertise their commitment to child safety in campaign ads, but they allow children to be abused on Capitol Hill.

On the Senate side, there's the added disgrace of George Allen. As is often said, where there's smoke.... and, George, it's starting to look like a forest fire! Those of us who have studied North African cultures knew what you were saying when you used the now-infamous M-word; and the revelation of your mom's Tunisian...oh, no, wait! Jewish roots--but it's the Tunisian bit that's important--make the M-word all the more insidious. You knew damned well what Mom meant when she used it, and you knew damned well what you were trying to slip under the radar when confronting Mr. Siddharth. Shame, George! Your ads call your opponent "former fiction writer," though it seems you're weaving bigger tales in the present!

my 9-11

2006-09-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

Next Monday much of America will be wrapped up in the fifth anniversary of 9-11. All fine and well, I remember that day too well myself. The date for me, however, will mark a more important milestone -- 8000 days. Eight thousand days as a survivor of rape and relationship abuse, two things we don't talk about in the GLBT community It's been a long 22 years between the unsure kid who was preyed upon by a druggie asshole and the man I am now, but some days I can go right back to that day and that hour with frightening clarity.

Hey, Shrub! That middle finger was mine, asshole!

2006-06-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

How appropriate. Capital Pride was getting under way, and I was 'guarding' the front of the stage -- ya know, some drunk fag is gonna leap on-stage and perform a forced makeover -- when Marine One appears in the sky, hauling home our loathsome chimp-in-chief and his entourage. Fuck you, Shrub! We're your fellow Americans, and you should be ashamed for demonizing us for your political gain.

PRIDE, and a special boy

2006-06-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

WOW! Tomorrow will be my 22nd Pride Day as an out Gay man. While some other long-time Queer folks I know claim to be over Pride Day, I want to be happy and visible for all of those who are enjoying being out very recently or simply not so jaded. I'll be there doing security when the festival opens.

Last weekend I added a very special boy, a transplant from SFO, to my life with my partner. Robert and I had had a good correspondence online for a few months before his move here for school in the fall, but he hadn't yet clicked with my partner. Last weekend changed all of that! The boy is nestled between us on the couch for the weekend -- he lives in DC.

Dine out for Life with me Thurs 3/9

2006-03-06T17:20:00.000-08:00

Join me at [insert your restaurant here] for DC's largest dinner party of the year! Food & Friends' 10th Annual Dining Out for Life is Next Week, so mark your calendars and make your reservations today for Thursday, March 9th! I'll be hosting the dinner crowd at Stars & Stripes, in Crystal City, Arlington, VA.

There are 152 restaurants located in DC, Maryland and Virginia, participating in this year's event. Each restaurant has agreed to donate 25-100% of their day's sales to Food & Friends.

Six days a week, Food & Friends delivers specialized, freshly-prepared meals and groceries to over 1,000 men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses throughout Washington, DC and 14 counties in Maryland and Virginia.

For a complete list of restaurants participating in Dining Out for Life, or about ways in which you can get involved, please visit www.foodandfriends.org .

Tell Congress to reauth the Violence Against Women Act

2005-12-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

On December 17th, the current version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is set to expire, reducing services, removing funding stability, and potentially eliminating existing and future programs that benefit thousands of women, children, and families across the country. It is critical that the U.S. Congress adds passing VAWA to their December legislative agenda and gets it passed before services are reduced and programs are eliminated.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed different versions of this vital legislation. Yet, though the December 17th deadline is rapidly approaching, congressional leaders have not scheduled a "conference committee" to resolve the differences between the bills to create one final bill to send to President Bush for his signature.

It's time for Congressional leaders to pass VAWA 2005 now. The National Organization for Women is circulating a petition this week urging the Republican and Democratic leaders in both the Senate and the House to expedite this process and reauthorize VAWA.

Please join together with thousands of others in supporting this vital legislation and encouraging congressional leaders to create a final bill to send to the president before the current version of the VAWA expires on December 17th, 2005.

For more information and to sign the VAWA petition, please visit: http://www.now.org/issues/violence/11-28-05vawaupdate.html

Paper Bombs

2005-11-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

My little NYC artist boy is staying with me for a few days while stirring up trouble with his performance art around town!

---------------Press Release--------------

http://www.geocities.com/rupyoda/bombing.jpg

Paper Bombs

By
Ethan Shoshan
"bombing" the White House and other institutions; providing protection and reducing fear in this American moment.
site specific performances around DC*

November 1-7, 2005

joint exhibition for ASA conference, Nov 3-6 at:
The Rennaissance Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

*part of the American Studies Association
"Groundworks" Conference
Panel Session: Performance
Friday, Nov 4 from 2:00pm - 3:45pm

"bombings": bombings around washington dc for the asa conference represent current american ideals and realities; that past and present wars reflect a history and spirit of our own identities. By "bombing" institutions, i am playing with American imperialism (the idea of preserving our own way of life) and making visible the absurdity in this act.
as part of the american studies conference, i feel this work is a form of irony for the idea of "space & place in american cultures," by performing what american heritage is based on, and how we use war as a mobilizing force for controlling others by pretending to protect american "freedoms" while ignoring others.

paying tribute to Rosa Parks

2005-10-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

My posts to a listserv regarding the event:

This evening is going to take some time to process, but I justreturned home from standing over 5 hours on line to file past the bodyof Rosa Parks in the Capitol Rotunda. The atmosphere of love andjubilation in the crowd was breathtaking, and I was delighted by howmany people got it as to why a Gay Leatherman living with HIV felt theneed to pay tribute.

On 10/30/05, a friend replied:
> I wish I could have been with you. Even Condy Rice gets it. She said today> that, but for Rosa Parks, she would not currently be Secretary of State. I think Condy finally saw the light about something.

And I responded:
For as much abuse as Condoleeza Rice has taken in the Black media forher recently uncovered blind spots regarding civil rights history inher hometown, I would think that she would pay such honor to RosaParks. Now, if only Condi would reckon with the matter of theincalculable evil that she aides as a highly educated diplomat, incontrast to the freedom and dignity birthed in part by a modestcleaning woman.

As I wrote last night, the line-up had a refreshing energy about it.Near me, depending on which way the serpentine had shifted, werepeople who had traveled from up and down the East Coast, as well asfrom the U.K., Seattle, L.A., and Oakland. There were the well-to-doand the admittedly poor of pocket. Seniors were almost outnumbered byyoung schoolchildren. And while the vast majority of the folks wereAfrican-American, the Asian familes, the Latino college student, andeven the gleaming White Sanotrum staffers gave proof that thesignificance of one person\'s act transcended color lines. I wore my"Promote Tolerance" t-shirt from PFLAG Sarasota (if I recall thesource chapter correctly) that helped spark dozens of conversationsabout why a Gay Leatherman with HIV specifically felt a duty to bethere - it also got me in hundreds of snapshots, plus the contact infofor two adorable Capitol and Park policemen
.http://www.alliancefortolerance.org/merchandise/t_promotetolerance_lg.jpg
On the way to the Capitol I called my grandmother to let her knowwhere I was headed. During the bus boycott, she and my grandfatherlived in Montgomery, and she drove two Black domestics around townregularly, taking a lot of scorn from the White locals. She said thatwhen my sister told her about Rosa Parks\' death she replied "Thatsweet woman wouldn\'t go to the back of the bus, and she changedeverything. That sounds like something your brother would do." I told her that was the nicest thing she had ever said to me.

WOW!

2005-10-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

It's almost frightening when the elements and activities of life begin to weave together so seamlessly. Last weekend I achieved two milestones that have me quite giddy:

1. as the site manager for the Crystal Meth Working Group of Washington, D.C., I got a new anti-meth site www.letstalkaboutmeth.org ( or www.crystalmethsucks.org ) launched with the aid of two great designers and several comrades across the country.

2. I presented a "kink 101" workshop at the Gay Men's Health Summit in Salt Lake City. Doing a scene doesn't excite me near as much as giving kink-curious men (and women, if there had been any) a safe place to learn about the history of the subculture that awaits them and the pleasure of exploring beyond "vanilla" sex.

Now, if I can just have the winning Powerball ticket!

Arnold the asswipe

2005-09-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, the Governator of California for showing his true colors yesterday by refusing to sign his state's equal-marriage statue into law. Queers may be less inclined to riot in response to your bigotry, but one will surely make certain you look like shit the next time you sit in a make-up chair!

helping people with HIV/AIDS displaced by Katrina

2005-09-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

A note from a buddy who works at an HIV/AIDS service provider in Dallas:

I just wanted to take a moment to update you on the progress being made to assist Katrina survivors with HIV/AIDS. Many of those displaced are coming to the Houston and Dallas area. Some will stay in a shelter here in Dallas set up at Reunion Arena, we have already seen others who are staying with family and friends.I work for AIDS Arms here in Dallas and we are setting up a special fund, set aside for these refugees only. We will provide medical care, medications, food assistance, transportation assistance, case management, counseling referrals and anything else that might be needed. This will be provided whether the government assists us or not!My suggestions is that you donate your relief funds to an AIDS Service Organization in Texas, Dallas or Houston, specifically so your donations go right to the people that will have "special needs"

If you want more information on how to get involved you may email me directly at dhartney@aidsarms.orgTogether, we can make a difference and put some of these shattered lives back together.

FDA fundamentalism drives out scientist committed to women's health

2005-08-31T10:54:00.000-07:00

From: Wood, Susan F
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 11:23 AMT
Subject: Notice of Resignation

Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I regret to tell you that I am leaving the FDA, and will no longer beserving as the Assistant Commissioner for Women's Health and Director ofthe FDA Office of Women's Health. The recent decision announced by theCommissioner about emergency contraception, which continues to limitwomen's access to a product that would reduce unintended pregnancies andreduce abortions is contrary to my core commitment to improving andadvancing women's health. I have spent the last 15 years working toensure that science informs good health policy decisions. I can nolonger serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fullyevaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here,has been overuled. I therefore have submitted my resignation effectivetoday.I will greatly miss working with such an outstanding group ofscientists, clinicians and support staff. FDA's staff is of the highestcaliber and it has been a priviledge to work with you all. I hope tohave future opportunities to work with you in a different capacity.

Sincerely,SusanSusan F. Wood, PhD
Assistant Commissioner for Women's Health
Director, Office of Women's HealthFood and Drug Administration

may a Swedish meatball choke Phred Phelps!

2005-08-26T05:57:00.000-07:00

Fred Phelps' 'Swedish King Is Gay' Tiradeby Malcolm Thornberry 365Gay.com European Bureau Chief
Posted: August 24, 2005 12:01 am ET

(Stockholm) Anti-gay preacher Fred Phelps has caused an international royal gay flap over accusations that Sweden's King Carl Gustaf is gay.
Phelps, who runs the God Hates Fags website, makes the allegations on his newest site - God Hates Sweden.
The preacher who built his reputation by picketing the funeral of gay college student Matthew Shepard is angry over a Swedish court ruling that a fundamentalist minister broke that country's hate speech law during a fiery speech against homosexuality.
Phelps' site calls Sweden "a land of sodomy, bestiality, and incest", and goes on to say: "The King looks like an anal-copulator, & his grinning kids look slutty & gay."
Under pictures of the royals, the site says: "You jackass Swedes just don't get it. Once you have laws to chill Bible preaching, we don't give a rat's tutu whatever else you do or say. You are drippings from the Devil's own penis - a veritable sperm bank for Satan's queers."
The site and its content have infuriated Swedes who have a close bond with their royal family.
The government has expressed its concern to the US Ambassador. And, the royals have consulted their lawyers.
"I think that it is frightful to defame people in this way," said Ann-Christine Jernberg, the kings press secretary. But, Jernberg said there is probably little the royal family can do, because it is hard to get such sites shut down.
The United States does not have 'promotion of hate' laws and under the First Amendment to the Constitution, Phelps' remarks are protected as free speech.
Although Phelps could be prosecuted in Sweden it is doubtful he could be extradited.
©365Gay.com 2005

Racist crap from Va. "Christian" Republicans

2005-08-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

I was pointed to the site of the Chesterfield County GOP, and I'm
ashamed to share the same Commonwealth with people like this:

http://www.chesterfieldgop.com/Photo%20Album.htm

...scroll to the bottom and scream!

Republican hypocrites in their own words, regarding war

2005-08-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

Quotes from when Clinton committed troops to Bosnia:

"You can support the troops but not the president."
--Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years."
--Joe Scarborough (R-FL)

"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"
--Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99

"[The] President . . . is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."
--Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

"American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy."
--Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy."
--Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush

"I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning . . I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area."
--Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today"
--Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
--Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)

Funny thing is, we won that war without a single killed in action.

Courtesy of DailyKos
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/17/144732/740

Vigils for Cindy Sheehan - Wed 8/17

2005-08-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

By now, you've heard of Cindy Sheehan, mother of Army Specialist Casey Sheehan who was killed in Iraq, and her vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. What you may not know is that Cindy is a regular DFA Meetup participant in Sacramento. She has held vigil outside the president's ranch for over a week now.

President Bush has refused to meet with Cindy. On Saturday, he said that there are lots of people who have "something to say to the president" and "it's also important for me to go on with my life."

But Cindy says that she won't leave until President Bush meets with her to discuss the war -- even if it means spending all of August there. We need to show that Cindy is not alone. Cindy has asked supporters to hold candlelight vigils in their communities to remind people of the terrible price of war. Democracy for America is teaming up with MoveOn and True Majority to organize nationwide "Vigils for Cindy Sheehan" on Wednesday, August 17, starting at 7:30 PM local time. Click below to join one in your community:

http://www.moveonpac.org/event/cindyvigils/
President Bush's Saturday schedule included a two hour bike ride, an evening Little League Baseball playoff game, a lunch meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a nap, some fishing and some reading. Don't you think he can take a few minutes to meet with Cindy?

Join a vigil this week to show support for Cindy and ask President Bush to do the right thing.
http://www.moveonpac.org/event/cindyvigils/

Shrub's Social Security plan screws Queers

2005-08-15T05:08:00.000-07:00

Get the full story here:
http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/SellingUsShort.pdf

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force study finds that Social Security privatization will disproportionately harm lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans

'Social Security privatization is a gamble with the lives of lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender elders. It is a gamble our community simply
cannot afford.'National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt
Foreman

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released a
report today that finds that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
Americans will be disproportionately harmed by President Bush's plan to
privatize Social Security.

According to Selling Us Short: How Social Security Privatization Will
Affect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Americans, LGBT Americans, on
average, have lower incomes than their heterosexual counterparts, which
translates into lower Social Security benefits when they retire. In
addition, same-sex couples are not eligible for Social Security's spousal
and survivor benefits provisions, making the LGBT community
disproportionately vulnerable to the benefit cuts and risks inherent to the
president's plan.

"There is a widespread myth that gay people are economically advantaged
compared to heterosexuals. U.S. Census data and other national surveys
indicate the opposite. In fact, gay and bisexual men earn anywhere from 13
percent to 32 percent less than heterosexual men," said Sean Cahill,
director of the Task Force's Policy Institute, which published the study.
"If we earn less, we receive a lower Social Security payment in retirement.
Any proposals that cut retirement benefits will disproportionately hurt gay
people."

Selling Us Short finds that LGBT people of color, in particular, face an
income disadvantage that leads to lower Social Security benefits. According
to the 2000 U.S. Census, black same-sex couples earn roughly $2,000 to
$9,000 less in median annual household income than black married
opposite-sex couples, and Hispanic same-sex couples earn roughly $1,000 to
$4,000 less in median annual household income than Hispanic married
opposite-sex couples.

Discriminatory government policies, meanwhile, place gay people in an even
more economically disadvantaged position, increasing the critical need to
maintain the economic safety net Social Security is intended to provide.

"Gay people have to report domestic partner health insurance as income to
the IRS, but married spouses don't have to report their health coverage as
income," explained Cahill. "Gay people can't inherit their partner's pension
plan, while a heterosexual widow or widower can be a beneficiary. Not only
do we earn less, we are less able to keep what we earn. These are among the
many inequities that make same-sex couples particularly vulnerable to
cutbacks in Social Security benefits."

Added Many Hu, author of the report: "The federal Defense of Marriage Act
continues to deny same-sex couples access to more than 1,000 federal
benefits and protections of marriage that opposite-sex married couples
currently receive, including Social Security spousal and survivor benefits.
Even though LGBT Americans pay in to the Social Security system at the same
rate as everyone else, our families and children receive fewer benefits,
often in times of crisis. If Social Security is to be changed, it should be
changed so that all families are treated fairly."

"Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are more likely to age
alone and less likely to have children than their heterosexual
counterparts," said Amber Hollibaugh, the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force's senior strategist and specialist on LGBT elders. "This, coupled with
a lower rate of earning makes them particularly reliant on Social Security."

Selling Us Short finds that LGBT elders could be negatively affected by
privatization. By 2030, the estimated population of LGBT seniors will range
from two to eight million. LGBT elders may be especially dependent on public
services for the elderly, including Social Security, because they may be
without the same family support systems as heterosexual seniors.

"It is would be wrong to support privatization in exchange for opening a
portion of Social Security to same-sex couples while overlooking the fact
that marriage equality which the Bush administration vehemently opposes
would guarantee all Social Security benefits to all same-sex couples. We are
unwilling to trade illusory benefits against the benefits and rights of
other Americans," said National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive
Director Matt Foreman.

Remind PAUS that GLBTQ Americans are citizens, too

2005-08-10T07:33:00.000-07:00

Despite being born and raised in Northern Virginia, I'm constantly amazed when little wacko groups seize on momentous events like Judge Roberts' confirmation process for their own political advantage. "Public Advocate of the United States" has a single-minded obsession with Queers, suggesting their leaders have some bulging closets, as referenced by their 2005 Citizen Questionnaire

http://www.publicadvocateusa.org/survey.php?id=28

Homohaters eat their young?

2005-08-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine what we'll hear next from the wacked out Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist cult. While being part of a group of people attacked fervently by Phred has irked me for decades, hearing of his recent pickets at the funerals of American soldiers who died in Iraq sickens me.

http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/fliers.html

Fred, you arrogant piece of fecal matter, these young men and women died in defense of a filthy, Queer-baiting oligarchy entrenched in Washington, not in any fashion to save Queers. I hope that this time you have so crossed the line of decency that some angry, grieving family member of a fallen soldier will send you and your corrupt family out of our sight and to the eternal turmoil that you have wrought for yourself.

Help me support The Whitman-Walker Clinic

2005-08-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

Please help me support The Whitman-Walker Clinic, the Washington area's premier provider of services for HIV/AIDS and GLBT healthcare, by donating via my AIDSWALK page!

http://www.aidswalkwashington.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=106080&supId=92007442

Shrub's NIH assails HIVers by de-funding nutrition research

2005-07-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

The NIH has discontinued their funding for the country's longest running lipodystrophy and HIV-nutrition study. As a result the study has had to shut down. This seems to be indicative of the direction the NIH is going under the current administration.

There have been numerous published works that have come about as a result of this study -- in mainly the areas of HIV-nutrition, lipodystrophy, and wasting. Many of these published works have come from Dr's Wanke, Roubenoff, Gorbach, Knox, as well as others. Tufts is the country's leading university in the area of nutrition so they are a logical location to conduct such HIV studies.

Here is the text of the letter that was recently sent out to participants in the Nutrition for Healthy Living study:

----------------------------------------------
June 1, 2005

Dear :

Nutrition for Healthy Living has had two very successful projects in the
past ten years (1994-1999 and 1999-2004), which have allowed us to
follow such a large group of over 400 individuals. You have been an
important member of the study during this time.

As mentioned in our previous letter, we were waiting to hear if we would
receive funding for another grant of this kind to continue our study.
Unfortunately, the NIH (National Institutes of Health), a branch of the
Federal Government, has decided not to continue funding projects for
this type of research.

We wish we could continue our clinic and our visits with you. However,
since there is no more funding for another grant like Nutrition for
Healthy Living, we have closed our clinic doors. This does not apply to
other studies such as DIET, ABS2, CARE, HARS or Bienestar.

The staff at Nutrition for Healthy Living would like you to know how
much we have valued our relationship with you. Our lives have been
enriched by our contact with you during our time together. We hope we
have given back something of value to your life. Your willingness to be
part of this study has advanced the knowledge of those who care for
people with HIV. Your participation has been a generous and noble gift.

An NFHL staff member will be calling you soon to follow up on this
letter. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to call us at
617-636-3636.

We plan to continue our work on the importance of Nutrition and HIV and
hope to stay in touch with you. We wish you well.

Sincerely,

THE NFHL TEAM (Erica, Danielle, Christina & Emily)

IMPORTANT ! Please fill out the enclosed card and return it if you
would like for us to contact you regarding nutrition programs, future
studies and HIV updates.

fight against intolerance directed toward Johnson & Johnson GLBT-focused ads

2005-07-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

Caught wind of this on another listserv, a campaign by the AFA against
Tylenol and Johnson & Johnson. The page has a helpful link to
Tylenol's customer service feedback and, we can use it to thank J&J
for their support of diversity.

Anyway the link is:
http://www.onemillionmoms.com/issuedetail.asp?id=233

DC HIV/AIDS Grant Montior wants us to know: Locker Room Trysts Bedevil Health Clubs

2005-06-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

What posesses a grant monitor with the DC HIV/AIDS Administration to
send this almost homophobic article to his grantees working with Gay
men?

-----Original Message-----
From: Babb, Donald (DOH) [mailto:donald.babb@dc.gov]
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2005 1:33 PM
To: Adam Tenner; Bruce Weiss; Catalina Sol; Edward Liu; Ken Pettigrew,
UHU; 'Ron Simmons'
Subject: Locker Room Trysts Bedevil Health Clubs

Locker Room Trysts Bedevil Health Clubs
By CAROL E. LEE
New York TImes
June 16, 2005

A FEW months ago Timothy Young, a comedian and puppeteer, headed to
the steam room of a Y.M.C.A. in Brooklyn to relax after working out.
When he opened the door, he saw two men kissing and fondling each
other. "Go ahead, I don't care," Mr. Young, 31, told them.

But he did leave the room.

Not all gymgoers are blasй when they stumble upon locker-room
canoodling. "They're infringing on my right to work out at the gym
without having to deal with that nonsense," said Cyd Zeigler Jr., a
member of David Barton Gym and a co-founder of Outsports.com, an
online magazine for gay sports fans and athletes. "I don't get the
full benefit of my membership."

Men cruising men in the locker room is a near-century old pursuit. And
the steam rooms, showers and saunas at health clubs continue to be
meeting places for men seeking anonymous sexual activity, much as
bathhouses in New York and other cities were before fear of AIDS
prompted a widespread shutdown in the 1980's.

"It has always been there, and it has its ups and downs," Charles
Kaiser, the author of the 1997 book "The Gay Metropolis," said of
sexual behavior in locker rooms. "People complain, and they shut
things down, and then it creeps back up again."

Just how much sex occurs in gym locker rooms - and whether it's more
prevalent today than in the past - is difficult to gauge. Gyms are
reluctant to say how many complaints they get from members, and the
New York City Health Department, which has the authority to close the
saunas and steam rooms of health clubs that fail to crack down on
sexual activity, rarely hears from gymgoers.

Of course most of those who engage in furtive sexual behavior are
savvy about not getting caught.

Gyms are everywhere: the number nationwide has more than doubled in
the past decade to about 26,000, according to the International
Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, a trade group. And at
certain times of day, their showers and steam rooms are not crowded. A
closed door - or the fog of steam - make it easy for men engaging in
sexual activity to elude detection.

"No one can really see anything," said Jonathan, a 43-year-old sales
representative from Manhattan who gave only his first name. He said he
regularly goes to an uptown New York Sports Club for "work and
reward": a cardio workout, some weight lifting, then sexual activity
in the sauna or steam room.

To some members, such behavior is offensive and detracts from their
enjoyment of the gym.

Last month, Carlos Sosa, 34, a restaurant manager in Manhattan, filed
a $25,000 lawsuit against David Barton Gym on West 23rd Street. (The
gym has officially denied any wrongdoing.) Four months into his
membership he complained about sexual behavior in the locker room, he
said, but the establishment refused to let him out of his contract and
refund his $950 annual fee.

Mr. Sosa, who accuses the gym of allowing sexual activity to flourish
in the men's locker room, said that on one afternoon in mid-November
2004 he went to the shower and saw that two men in adjacent showers
had slid their hands through a gap between their stalls. "One was
masturbating the other," Mr. Sosa said.

Tom Shanahan, a lawyer for David Barton Gym said: "What he's alleging
happens everywhere. It's how you deal with it, and we try and deal
with it."

MOST clubs, including David Barton, Equinox, and the Y.M.C.A., have
zero-tolerance policies. "If you're caught," Mr. Shanahan said, "then
you're out."

Equinox revoked memberships a "handful" of times in the past year,
according to Scott Rosen, the chief operating officer. At Reebok
Sports Club/NY, Brad Zeifman, the club's spokesman, said that "less
than a handful" of memberships have been revoked in the past year
because of "inappropriate behavior," which includes using profanity
and getting into arguments as well as improprieties in the locker room
and spa areas.

Gyms in New York, which are required by law to enforce the state
sanitary code against sex on their premises, often post signs
notifying exercisers that "inappropriate behavior" is not permitted.
While few, if any, establishments have employees patrol the locker
rooms to police sexual activity, most have staff members check in from
time to time so they can, among other things, alert management if they
see forbidden behavior.

But despite these efforts, men continue to arrange rendezvous at gyms
with willing partners, often via the Internet.

"Looking for a little relief during your day? Meet me at Lunch at the
NYSC Sauna and lets have some fun," a June 8 personal ad on
craigslist.com said. Other postings are more explicit: "We were alone
in the steam room Monday night. We fooled around a bit and you said
you were 26 as well. Would love to meet up again." Some of the
postings - like "married looking for discrete hot sex at my gym" -
suggest that men who identify themselves as gay are not the only ones
who participate.

If people who stumble upon a couple in flagrante delicto were to
complain to New York City's Health Department, a club's saunas and
steam rooms might be shut down. But only two or three complaints a
year are received, said Sid Dinsay, a spokesman for the city's
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

"If we don't know if something is going on," said Dr. Isaac Weisfuse,
a deputy commissioner of the department's Division of Disease Control,
"there's nothing we can do about it."

A lot of the sexual activity in gym locker rooms, according to
witnesses and health experts, may not be the unprotected anal sex that
led officials to disband bathhouses in the 80's - and sex clubs in the
90's - but if it were reported to the Health Department, Dr. Weisfuse
said, it still would raise enough concern for the department to
investigate.

But most aggrieved members complain only to gym management. Some gyms
will shut down their locker room amenities while they investigate a
complaint, but eventually they reopen them.

"We have closed the saunas and steam rooms at certain times," said
Susan Gerson, a spokeswoman for Town Sports International, which runs
New York Sports Clubs.

In response to complaints last year about sexual activity in the men's
steam room, sauna, shower and Jacuzzi areas, Reebok Sports Club/NY
sent undercover personnel to investigate, a measure it also randomly
takes, according to Mr. Zeifman. The club has not discovered sexual
behavior in its locker room areas since last summer.

Whether their clients are annoyed or unfazed when sex disrupts a visit
to their club, gyms are obligated to crack down on it. For them, sex
in locker rooms is no laughing matter. But Mr. Young, the comedian,
isn't above joking about the situation. He incorporated sex at the gym
into his stand-up routine.

"Oh, yes, these steam rooms are wonderful," his puppet Oglesby boasted
in a Manhattan bar a few months ago. "I even hear they have a workout
room upstairs."

Even more pissed

2005-04-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the fourth friend in several months (my ex of 12 years, in fact) calls to tell me he has seroconverted following unprotected sex with the same top. The top was diagnosed last summer and claims to no longer be topping bare, and all of these friends took their damned sweet time in getting tested, though each showed declines in health by the fall.

On top of that, I learned this morning that a friend in Florida has been given two weeks to live following diagnosis with aggressive forms of lymphoma. My friend has chosen hospice care over treatment which might have stalled the cancer only a couple more weeks.

I'm pissed. It's time for Queermen to take back HIV prevention!

2005-04-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

A number of people are going to hate me for writing these thoughts. Peers who can't stand my candor. AIDS service providers largely dependent on public funds. Queers who don't want to face the truth about where we are as a people with HIV. Gay men who would rather lead a FABULOUS life than take back our health and happiness from the grips of a conservative, homo-hating government. Too bad.

Four months ago, when a fleeting uproar rose over cuts in D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration (HAA) funding for HIV prevention among Gay and Bisexual men, a door was opened for us, and so far we have failed to unshackle ourselves and walk through. Yes. 60% cuts in funding appear
genocidal, but relying solely on those funds to promote HIV prevention carries a heavy burden as well. A mountain of federal and local red tape, including sex-phobic, homo-loathing "materials review boards," is attached to every dollar from the CDC passed through by HAA. Distribute literature appropriately frank for Gay men but appalling to a conservative activist, and funding is threatened – it's that simple. That would not be the case if Queermen rose to the occasion and began teaching and funding HIV prevention on our own as we did in the days of death and dying.

What would it take to raise $200,000 and let one organization tell HAA and the CDC to stick their rules and regulations? A real estate investor willing to donate an appreciated property? A couple dozen men writing five-figure checks? A few hundred of us banking the cost of a weekend in Rehoboth or a circuit party trip or a Leather run? A couple thousand sparing a couple cocktails or giant mochas? Any of these choices are as easily taken as properly rolling on a condom.