Yes, I’ve been delinquent in posting this weekend; still recovering from my whirlwind fangirl trip to see Journey in concert as the band kicked off its 2011-2012 tour (review, pics). Back to pouring fresh Blend this week before I travel to the Gill Foundation’s OutGiving conference in Miami to serve on its first panel on social media and blogs.
* It’s Oscar night. Who’s watching? If you all want a chat room open for gabbing, let me know in the comments. In the meantime, absorb a little wisdom from 40 films in 7 minutes…
* The G.O.P.’s Abandoned Babies – NY Times Op-Ed by Charles Blow. Womb controllers, pls give reality-based response to this. BTW, Peter LaBarbera Tweeted: “Pam havent read this yet, but shouldn’t 1st concern B w/ babies surviving, then qual of life? #Abortion ends the life!”
Republicans need to figure out where they stand on children’s welfare. They can’t be “pro-life” when the “child” is in the womb but indifferent when it’s in the world…It is savagely immoral and profoundly inconsistent to insist that women endure unwanted – and in some cases dangerous – pregnancies for the sake of “unborn children,” then eliminate financing designed to prevent those children from being delivered prematurely, rendering them the most fragile and vulnerable of newborns. How is this humane?
* MetroWeekly’s Chris Geidner makes history at the White House Feb 25, 2011
* Outserve posts DADT repeal implementation Army Training Materials.
* Trans rights under attack in Maine: Bangor Daily Herald – Bill would overturn ruling on transgender use of bathrooms.
The bill would add a paragraph to the Maine Human Rights Act that would make it legal to designate a bathroom or shower facility “to the use of members of the designated physiological sex, regardless of sexual orientation,” according to a draft provided by [Rep. Kenneth] Fredette.
* Boy stuck 2 years in Ukraine arrives in Belgium. Legally married Belgian men end legal battle to bring their son home.
* Teabaggers trying to foist an anti-evolution bill onto Tennessee.
Senate Bill 893 (PDF), filed in the Tennessee Senate on February 16, 2011, is the seventh antievolution bill introduced in a state legislature in 2011, and the second introduced in Tennessee. The bill would, if enacted, would require state and local educational authorities to “assist teachers to find effective ways to present the science curriculum as it addresses scientific controversies” and permit teachers to “help students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught.”
Rod 2.0: “Eddie Long Begins “Late Night Men’s Prayer Meetings“. https://goo.gl/MBRz5 Rod: “How many inches, er, “men” RU seeking, bishop?”
* Film Screening and Panel Discussion to address needs and challenges facing LGBT elders. On April 2, UNC’s School of Social Work will host Breaking Generation Silent: Facing the needs and challenges of LGBT elders. This FREE event, which is being held at UNC’s William and Ida Friday Center in Chapel Hill, kicks off at 1 p.m. with a viewing of “Gen Silent.” This 1-hour documentary highlights the realities that many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender seniors are facing: the need to go back into the closet to avoid discrimination from aging providers and bullying from fellow seniors in long-term care settings. A panel discussion will follow the film screening to further explore the social, medical and financial needs of LGBT elders. Among the panelists will be:
? Mandy Carter, a co-founder of the National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights organization for black LGBT individuals and their allies dedicated to fostering equality by fighting racism and homophobia. Carter is on the Advisory Board of SAGE, the nation’s largest and oldest advocacy group for LGBT elders, and has helped support training for North Carolina’s Area Agencies on Aging via the North Carolina chapter of the AARP.? Debi Lee, the lead regional ombudsman for the Centralina Area Agency on Aging. Lee hosts the “Gay and Gray” program for Charlotte’s Lesbian & Gay Community Center.
? Dee Leahman, director for Community Partnership for End of Life Care, a program of Hospice & Palliative CareCenter in Winston-Salem. Leahman has worked closely with LGBT families on end-of-life issues.
