Tales From The Bonus Round: The Package Pt. 2

TALES FROM THE BONUS ROUND
L.A. MAY 1996

Previous entry: The Package Pt. 1

The knock on the door seems so dramatic in retrospect
But he barely mentioned it in his diary
The Crixivan was just another drug
In a long line of drugs

Another punishment
In a long line of punishments

Instead, he wrote about his friends

A woman he nursed after she got too drunk at the ASCAP Awards

And the strangers
Who were slowly discovering him
And each other
On this new thing: The Internet

About "Bro. Jerry,"
A minister who used his lyrics
Going It Alone
In a sermon
Because a parishioner's son had died of AIDS

A sermon?

It had been years since he had even been inside a church
He thought of himself as the
Worst of the Worst kind of human being
Ashamed and angry and pissed off at churches

Why would a minister use the writings
Of a queer dying of AIDS?
In the pulpit

About meeting, online,
A 20-year old straight boy with AIDS
Named Shawn Decker
The Positoid

He wrote about his ears
Now painfully blocked up

About strangers whose lovers were dying

Locally, his music and his diary were being discovered
LA legend, Al Martinez in the LA Times
Before running it, he mentioned the song
CONNECTED
"Are you SURE that was Anson Williams [Potsie]
In the Waiting Room?"

(Later, he would make a primitive video
where he unsuccessfully tries to lip sync.)

It was almost in passing,
That he mentioned the package arriving
The FedEx knock at the dorr
He had almost forgotten about it because
Of mix-ups in the paperwork

Crixivan arrived May 22, 1996

He simply wrote that he had to take it on an empty stomach
And another drug on a full stomach

"..if I take the Crixivan at 6, 2, and 10, then I'd have to eat (and take the Saquinavir) at 7, 3 and 11. LUNCH AT 3? Dinner at 11? But I suppose I could eat lunch at 12, take a snack at 3 with the Saquinavir, dinner at 7, Crixivan at 10, and eat a snack with the Saquinavir at 11..."

But would any of it work?
Nothing had, so far
But he was determined to work it
He was a happily compliant patient

Meanwhile, he was wasting away
Nobody wanted to say it out loud
But he was dying

His doctor decided to put him on TPN
Total Parenteral Nutrition

He was being tortured by a daily friend
The Thing That's Killing Me
(complete with link)
Because his digestive system had just stopped working

He was wearing diapers

TPN, someone said,
Is what they give people just before they die
To give them a few weeks
To say goodbye to friends and relatives

A PICC line insertion into his veins
Which terrified him
Needles!
Nutrition infused directly into his blood

Meanwhile, the would-be producers of his musical
Are demanding rewrites to the score
Jim was starting on his fourth draft of the book
And they still had no theater and no money

Finally, the PICC line was inserted into his arm
A tube ran up his vein to his heart
He was ready to be fed

Then, a foul-up in his health insurance
He had the line in his arm
But no way to get the food

So, he drove to the agency and,
Sick as a dog, was herded
From one window to the next
Until someone gave him a phone number
"Another phone number?"

His arm throbbed.
His ears were blocked.
His stomach hurt.
His diaper felt moist.
The pay phone didn't work.

He desperately raced home
On the phone, paged through the system
Until he found a human voice
A woman
A voice that actually helped him
He fell in love with her
The nutrition would arrive the next day

Exhausted, his newly-ported arm throbbing,
He laid down to sleep

"I had this really weird dream last night, too. The weirdest I've had in a long time. Some dictator had taken over and we knew him and he wanted something from us. But I didn't have any AIDS meds left so I got sicker and started dying. The weird part is that I smiled at the thought that I'd thwart his plans by dying. I was triumphing in death."

It was his and Jim's 11th anniversary



NEXT: Things start to change. Plus, a little accident in front of Tim Curry.

Gavin Creel singing "NOISE" for equality.

What a terrific song and video this is:

In Praise of PFLAG.

I don't think I've mentioned, lately,  how much I love PFLAG.

During the Pioneer Days of the Internet, it was the first real life example of how families could talk to each other about what it means to have a gay kid. 

The email list PFLAG-Talk wasn't officially "of" the central office. It was just a bunch of folks from various towns, both large and small, talking together, worrying for their children and helping, especially, "new" parents who had just been delivered the news. 

Sometimes it's a mom just trying to understand, saddled with a husband who is about to blow through the roof, trying to figure out how to keep her 17 year old -- who is now dressing like a Goth -- from sneaking out at night.

As culture warriors continue to dominate the religious debate over homosexuality, parents and their kids, and their extended family, are all caught in the crossfire because war is easy. It's the first thing you learn in improv, violence is easy. 

But when that parent is told by his kid, when that parent's world suddenly turns upside down, who do you call?

Conservative Christian parents, especially. Who do you call? 

I remember confronting the protester in Kentucky. I asked him point blank, "Now that you've told me I'm going to hell, what do I do? Do I come to your church? Do you have a program for homosexuals who want to not be gay anymore?"

The look on his puzzled face. He snapped, "No!"

Who does anyone call? Or better, who can you call who doesn't have a religious or political agenda to shove down your throat?

PFLAG does advocate, naturally, for gay people. But, on this list, people of all stripes exist. The rule is No Religion, unless you're asking an informational question about a certain group's beliefs. 

By keeping to the personal, each parent can get necessary information and emotional "been there, done that, here's what might happen net" comfort and advice.

I've sung for many PFLAGs and was even honored, twice, with the Oscar Wilde Award by the PFLAG in Los Angeles.

But, Olympia is a particularly personal destination because of Gabi and Alec Clayton, who live there. If I'm not mistaken, the very first song I wrote after The Last Session was "Gabi's Song." 

In fact, the first concert I sang after 9/11 was Olympia. It was that first weekend of flights. We considered canceling. But no way. And we had a most miraculous night. More like church, really.

So, it's good to be coming back. And how great that we'll be presenting New World Waking, which was born, as an idea, there in Olympia. Only this time, we bring in all the local college kids and make a musical together! And what's the first song of New World Waking?

Of course. Gabi's Song. "Will it always be like this?"

Speaking Up in Texas.

Family Advocate and Civil Rights Hero Carolyn Wagner has died.

I'm very sorry to tell the readers of this blog that PFLAG mom and civil rights hero, co-founder of Families United Against Hate, Carolyn Wagner, has died. When I first met Carolyn, cyberly, it was in the early days of this blog. She and her son, William, came to New York to see The Last Session, and I got to spend time with William just talking to him and giving him whatever meager support I could.

It's hard to imagine that a force of nature can die, but death is one of those inevitabilities. I don't know everything Carolyn has done. Someone needs to write her story up and make a movie or something because if you ever met her, you would have never guessed, just by looking, that beneath the skin of little "southern mom" was a steely rage against injustice that never wavered, even when she was staked and beaten in her own back yard.

She never stopped fighting for equality before the law and especially never stopped lending her personal support to families who were victims of anti-gay violence.

A more formal obituary will be forthcoming from her family.

All I know is that when I wrote "William's Song" all those years ago, when she was first starting to do her work, which began in Fayetteville, Arkansas when she went up against a school administration that was turning a blind eye to the daily beatings being delivered to her son, I had no idea how far her reach would extend. I am honored to have been a part of her story.

PFLAG mom, Carolyn Wagner, is very ill.

For those who read this blog, you know that the name Carolyn Wagner sits high on my list of Heroes. She has been a fierce advocate for GLBT equality, due to the abuse her son, William, endured in high school. I canonized her in my song "William's Song," which could just as easily be called "Carolyn's Song."

She has been fighting cancer for some years, now, and I am most proud of this moment, which happened because the members of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus banded together and flew her, husband Bill, and Gabi & Alec Clayton in for the concert.



So, if you're the praying type, it would mean a great deal to me if you would hold Carolyn in your heart this morning. I'm told she's in very fragile condition and is mostly sleeping.

Carolyn is one of those invisible activists, ministering to families affected by violence, providing support to parents, brothers, sisters and friend. because her country is the backwoods of America, the small towns, the places the media doesn't usually get to, her story is still untold.

I tried to capture her feisty soul in "William's Song. So, if you don't know who Carolyn Wagner is, let Amy Coleman tell ya the story.

David Gurland Dies.

I did not know David Gurland well, a singer here on the cabaret scene in New York, But all my friends here are deeply saddened at this news. It seems everyone loved him. If you were a fan of is and didn't know, here is what I was sent by my friend, Marle.

With tremendous sadness, it was announced today that David Gurland, the multi-award winning singer and recording artist, passed away on January 1, 2011 at 4:52 PM as the result of a massive brain hemorrhage.

David passed at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan surrounded by friends and family. David is survived by his partner, actor Rob Maitner, his parents Evelyn and Gerry Gurland, his brother James Gurland and James’ wife Leslie, his nephew Ariel and by countless friends and a lifetime of music that will be enjoyed forever.

The families of Mr. Gurland and Mr. Maitner released the following statement:

“The world today sounds a little less sweet now that David has gone on to the next part of his journey, but his essence will live on forever in the recordings he left behind and the music he has left in our hearts. David lived grandly, loved fiercely, sang beautifully and danced terribly. And that is exactly how we hope the world remembers him. What many do not know is that David was also an organ recipient, having had a double corneal transplant in the 1990’s. It is with great joy that we may help David close a profoundly beautiful circle and donate his organs so that others may have the gift of life.”

David Gurland was also a fierce advocate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender issues. As such, the family asks that, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made in David’s name to the Ali Forney Center for GLBT homeless youth. The Ali Forney Center is located at 224 West 35th Street, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10001. To learn more about the Ali Forney Center or to donate online, go to www.aliforneycenter.org.

In his life, David Gurland, who hailed from New York City, had won a place as one of the most formidable openly gay singers in New York's music scene. Channeling cabaret experience and instincts into his pop/rock shows, Gurland merged talent, presence and humor, into an unforgettable entertainment experience. Gurland’s accolades include 7 MAC Award nominations, the MAC/Hanson Award, a Gay and Lesbian American Music Award Nomination, and four Bistro Awards, one of which recognized his first CD, released in 1999 to rave reviews. David has been seen at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, The Cutting Room, The Bitter End, Town Hall, CB’s Gallery, The Living Room, Don’t Tell Mama, The Duplex, and The Metropolitan Room, as well as out of town venues like Odettes in New Hope, The Gardenia in LA, the Manor in NJ and Twiggs in San Diego. David was also singing with the band UPTOWN EXPRESS, and had recently recorded a CD with them entitled 'Take You There’.

EDIT: Here is a video of David. I did meet him a couple of times, probably at Mark Janas' Salon. That's David on the left. They're promoting a show about Rodgers & Hammerstein, promising to sing only "the famous stuff."

An Amazing 14 Year Old.

Seriously. I want to be this kid when I grow up.

Joel Burns tells gay teens "it gets better"

This is one of the most moving videos testimonials I've ever seen. Watch it all the way through as he begins revealing things he's kept hidden his entire life.

Bishop Eddie Long: Following the "Ex-Gay" Path!

Marry a straight woman, have kids, go into ministry; then rant and war against gay people. That's the "ex-gay" path!

[Click here for links to the news interview with Jamal Parrish, who discovered he wasn't the only victim of Long's predatory ways.]

And if you're a "prosperity minister," you marry a woman, have kids, talk your congregation into giving you tons of cash for mansions, private jets and stretch limos so that you can, eventually, seduce all the boys in your congregation, by lavishing them with gifts, the promise of riches and have sex with them.

I am starting to hear it on Twitter now. Ah, how terrible homosexuals are! Look at what they do to us!

No. The Ted Haggards and Eddie Longs are not representative of the gay community, dear Christians. They're on your side of the culture war. They want nothing to do with us. And neither do the leaders of Exodus and all the rest.

We tried. I spent years trying, and I actually forged some healthy and surprising friendships.

But this mess. This stuff. It ain't coming from the gays.

Bishop Eddie Long embodies the result of historical anti-gay/ex-gay religious doctrine and belief. You thought only Catholic priests had this problem?

Here's another result of it.* This past month:

Asher Brown (age 13) (Texas - Shot himself at home)
Seth Walsh (age 13) (California - Hanged himself in his backyard)
Justin Aaberg (age 15) (Minnesota -Hanged himself in his room)
Billy Lucas (age 15) (Indiana - Hanged himself in family's barn)
Tyler Clementi (age 18) (New Jersey - Jumps off George Washington Bridge)
Raymond Chase (age 19) (Rhode Island - Hanged himself in his dormitory)

It's not just about Bishop Eddie Long. It's about an invisible undercurrent of fear and paranoia that vibrates and pounds in the hearts of every single gay kid, every moment of the day, a panic that each eventually has to address. 

But, I could have been that person. I was on that track. I was in those pulpits, singing the Gospel, preaching the Word. I almost married a girl -- my best friend, really, who I dated in college.

But I knew it was wrong. I didn't know about an Eddie Long or a Ted Haggard, back then, but I was a Baptist. And I was to become a singing preacher with a wife and kids. Praise the Lord!

Back then, I wasn't living two lives. It wasn't an option. 1971. East Texas. The woods, the church, the pianos, Marvel comics, Credence, Beatles, Neil Young, my Bible, asthma, quartets, college choir. 

I don't think I had even heard of homosexuals except through Rolling Stone magazine. And in the sermons of hellfire and brimstone traveling evangelists, exactly the kinds of events my college choir, and then later Jesus band, would sing for. 

I would sweat and burn, sitting in the pew hearing how homosexuals would burn in the lake of fiery sulfur. All that dialogue in The Last Session is the real stuff.

The Ex-Gay literature says they only want to "help" people with "unwanted same sex attraction." But that's not their practice. Instead, they spend time and money fighting again legislation, using their titles and status to gain entry to the halls of power in DC. They do not dialogue with us.

So, when a Bishop Eddie Long comes along, they don't see themselves.

I "surrendered to the ministry" not once, but twice! I preached my first sermon at the age of 12! But then, I think I decided, in my teens, that I was "really saved," so I got saved again and re-surrendered to the ministry.

But what else did I know? "Baptist" meant "Christian," and if you weren't a Baptist, you weren't Christian. In fact, we were the ONLY CHRISTIANS ON EARTH, except for a few Southern Baptists who managed to not be "liberal." But, Catholics? Lost.

And now I'm singing for an Episcopal Church, speaking of lost!

And, this next Sunday, as I sit in the little alcove to the side of the people, at the piano, -- one day before my 57th birthday -- I will think back to my days when I had a choice. My choice took me out of the church. I'll be thinking of the Steve That Would Have Been.

The trouble is, that Steve never existed.

And had I chosen the Ex-Gay path, I might have been a Bishop Eddie Long.

But I think it's more probable that I would have been Tyler Clementi, jumping off a bridge.

But it does get better. It really does.



*A candlelight vigil will be held this Sunday, October 3rd at 9 p.m. in Washington Square Park in Manhattan to commemorate the loss of these lives.  More information about the vigil and the victims we lost can be found here.

 

Coming Out To The Evangelical Community

Coming Out To The Evangelical Community - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Jennifer Knapp:

It never occurred to me that I was in something that should be labeled as a "struggle." The struggle I've had has been with the church, acknowledging me as a human being, trying to live the spiritual life that I've been called to, in whatever ramshackled, broken, frustrated way that I've always approached my faith.

For the longest time, I didn't care what church people thought about me. I was so angry at how I perceived they thought about me, all I wanted was to be AWAY from them.

I'm glad I can sing in churches again. People of faith seem to get something from my music. But so do people of unfaith, and that's perfectly all right with me. Frankly, I don't see any difference. People is people is people.

However, what's really on my mind is going back to my alma mater, Jacksonville Baptist College, and doing something. I should put in a call to Fred Phelps. He'd be all over this.

The Times of Vito Russo.

You probably don't know his name, but the history of gay people cannot be written without the name of Vito Russo. This video is 20 minutes long, but well worth the viewing.


ACTIVIST: The Times of Vito Russo from Jeffrey Schwarz on Vimeo.

SFGMC's Freedom Tour to Feature "William's Song" and "My Rising Up."

Kathleen McGuire posted on her blog, about the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus:

CALIFORNIA FREEDOM TOUR BEGINS THIS MONTH!
The passage of Prop 8 showed that there is still a great deal of work to be done in our own backyard when it comes to acceptance of the LGBT community. The Chorus changes hearts and minds in places where our voices need to be heard. We believe that to accept us, you must know us. It is by telling our stories, and through our culture, that this happens. In 2010, SFGMC will embark on a tour of five California cities: Redding, Chico, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Tracy. The tour is in three trips with the first leg in Chico and Redding later this month; the second will take us to Fresno and Bakersfield in May. The final leg will be Tracy in July.

Approximately 100 chorus members will travel by bus to each destination. Funds are still being sought to underwrite the trip. If you feel inclined to make a contribution, please contact the SFGMC office: 415-865-3650; info@sfgmc.org

TOUR BENEFICIARIES
The tour is being co-presented by Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbian & Gays. 50% of the proceeds from the concerts will be going to PFLAG, and the other 50% to local LGBT-friendly organizations.

If you're in the area, go. And word has it that they're going to include "William's Song," which I linked to just the other day, and "My Rising Up," a rousing gospel anthem.

Gay Marriage Trial Happening in California.

I know it seems like forever, but only a short time ago, gay couples were allowed to marry in California until a bunch of right wing religious types, aided and abetted by a few rich churches, managed to spend millions of dollars scaring the population into amending the state constitution to take this right away.

So, now, there's a lawsuit happening even as we speak. You can follow it by live-blog here.

The suit is being brought by a conservative icon Ted Olson and liberal David Boies, here interviewed by Rachel Maddow. Do watch it.



Here is the opening statement. READ IT.

SPL's Children of Hate Feature Carolyn Wagner from "William's Song".

Children of Hate, an article on the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center, features Carolyn Wagner, who I sang about in "William's Song," recently featured by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. I never knew any of this about Carolyn's background.

Taking on the Klan
One summer night in 1965, 12-year-old Carolyn Wagner watched as Klansmen bound a young black man to a tree in her father's field, accused him of violating the "sundown" rules in nearby Booneville, Ark., that forbade blacks from staying in town after dark, and lashed him a few times with a bullwhip as he cried out in pain and fear.

It was no different from beatings at other Klan gatherings her father had attended, but what happened next remains vivid in her memory: the Klansmen decided to tie the man to the railroad tracks below the pasture. When they were done, they ambled back to the field to discuss crops and politics. Wagner, a reluctant witness to her father's Klan meetings, couldn't stand it anymore. She stole down to the tracks, used a knife she kept in her boot to slash the rope that bound the man, and told him he could follow the tracks to Fort Smith, the nearest large town.

"That was a turning point," recalled Wagner, now 56 and living in Tulsa, Okla. "I felt like I had made a difference when I was able to cut that man free. I realized I can make a choice to be a passive observer or I can become involved to diminish the harm that they're doing. And that's what I did from that night on, and that's what I'm still doing."

And there's more! She was in Memphis when Martin Luther King was assassinated, after driving her father there to attend the Klan rally opposing King.

In April 1968, Wagner drove him to Memphis to take part in a Klan protest during the sanitation workers strike made famous by the appearance of Martin Luther King Jr. She was there when the civil rights leader was assassinated. In a Memphis newspaper, she read that the Department of Justice was planning a crackdown on the perpetrators of civil-rights era violence. After the assassination of Robert Kennedy two months later, Wagner, then 15, wrote a letter to the FBI accompanied by a list of names and addresses she'd copied from her father's Klan directory. She wanted to get them all arrested. "I included my dad on that list," she said.

Wagner, who used her maternal grandparents' home as the return address, never heard back from the FBI.

Carolyn is in bad health right now. So, everyone who reads this blog, please keep her in your thoughts. I'm so happy I have this moment to cherish, thanks to Teddy Witherington, Kathleen McGuire and the rest of the San Franciso Gay Men's Chorus:

And then, there's William's Song sung by the chorus:

Schwartzenegger Signs Gay Rights Bills.

Schwarzenegger signs gay rights bills

By Dan Smith
smith@sacbee.com

Published: Monday, Oct. 12, 2009 - 8:17 am
Last Modified: Monday, Oct. 12, 2009 - 9:24 am

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.

In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame.

Leno's SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same sex marriage is legal.

In a signing message, Schwarzenegger said California will not recognize the couples as married but will "provide the same legal protections that would otherwise be available to couples that enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships out-of-state. In short, this measure honors the will of the People in enacting Proposition 8 while providing important protections to those unions legally entered into in other states."

APA Rejects "Ex-Gay" Therapy.

At long last, the American Psychological Association tells the full truth. There is no such thing as credible "change therapy" that "fixes" homosexuality. Any of us who have been interacting with the "exgay ministries," whether through personal involvement or, like myself, through dialogue with them, knows this to be a fact.

The exgays will come back with "proof" that people have "changed," but it's always the same handful with the same stories. And when pressed, they will confess that they're still attracted to the same sex, but somehow, have managed to bond with a person of the opposite sex. I have never met an "exgay" who has actually turned into a heterosexual the way you and I think of heterosexuals.

Does this mean that people shouldn't be allowed to seek this kind of therapy if it's what they wish? No. I think people should do whatever they want. But no therapist should ever tell a client that they'll actually turn non-gay. It doesn't happen.

Listen to the witnesses who attend these exgay camps or shelters or homes, and you'll find that the failure rate is the same as the entrance rate.

The real victims, aside from the innocent ones who enter these therapies, are the families and friends who think their gay sons, daughters or cousins are going to hell because they're gay -- and that "Jesus" can change them. That's why they parade around with these lavish dog and pony shows, trotting out supposed "success stories," almost all of whom eventually revert back to being gay.

And, that, to me, is the most heinous crime of all. To deceive grandmothers and parents into thinking that the only reason their kid is not straight is because of something either the parent did, or the kid did (or failed to do).

But the plain facts are this: No one changes sexual orientation, unless it's something that simply happens as a natural course of this person's own orientation. It can't be "force-changed."

From the release:

The American Psychological Association adopted a resolution Wednesday stating that mental health professionals should avoid telling clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments.

The "Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts" also advises that parents, guardians, young people and their families avoid sexual orientation treatments that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder and instead seek psychotherapy, social support and educational services "that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth."

The approval, by APA's governing Council of Representatives, came at APA's annual convention, during which a task force presented a report that in part examined the efficacy of so-called "reparative therapy," or sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE).

"Contrary to claims of sexual orientation change advocates and practitioners, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation," said Judith M. Glassgold, PsyD, chair of the task force. "Scientifically rigorous older studies in this area found that sexual orientation was unlikely to change due to efforts designed for this purpose. Contrary to the claims of SOCE practitioners and advocates, recent research studies do not provide evidence of sexual orientation change as the research methods are inadequate to determine the effectiveness of these interventions." Glassgold added: "At most, certain studies suggested that some individuals learned how to ignore or not act on their homosexual attractions. Yet, these studies did not indicate for whom this was possible, how long it lasted or its long-term mental health effects. Also, this result was much less likely to be true for people who started out only attracted to people of the same sex."

Based on this review, the task force recommended that mental health professionals avoid misrepresenting the efficacy of sexual orientation change efforts when providing assistance to people distressed about their own or others' sexual orientation.

Only One Demand: Equality.

National Equality March

Official Website

On October 10-11, 2009, we will gather in Washington DC from all across America to let our elected leaders know that now is the time for full equal rights for LGBT people. We will gather. We will march. And we will leave energized and empowered to do the work that needs to be done in every community across the nation.

Our single demand: Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.

Our philosophy: As members of every race, class, faith, and community, we see the struggle for LGBT equality as part of a larger movement for peace and social justice.

Our strategy: Decentralized organizing for this march in every one of the 435 Congressional districts will build a network to continue organizing beyond October.

13,000 Soldiers Dismissed from Service for...

...for nothing more than being gay. And the charge to end this abomination is being led by a conservative Democratic congressman and Iraqi war veteran.



Listen to his entire interview. Listen to his words.

What I can't figure out is who's against him. When he talks to other congresspersons, the only people objecting are the ones who are afraid that they'll be punished at the voting booth. All I can say is if this man from Pennsylvania has the courage to face his conservative constituency and tell them that this is a matter of national security, then the other members of congress should show a little backbone, too.

It's maddening how this policy has ruined both our ability to fight war and the individual lives of the men and women who serve.

My Friend, Tree, Was There.

Memories of Stonewall are still alive

BY Kate Nocera
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Monday, June 29th 2009, 12:14 PM

Hagen/News

Stonewall Inn bartender Tree was on hand when the Stonewall Riots occurred in 1969, and he still works there today.

Daily News

Crowd attempts to impede police arrests at the Stonewall Inn in 1969.

We've come a long way, babies.

A bartender who was slinging drinks at the Stonewall Inn the night it was raided 40 years ago says young people need to know how far the gay-lesbian bisexual-transsexual movement has come - and what the previous generation sacrificed to get here.

"The younger generation needs to learn about gay pride," said the 70-year-old man, who calls himself Tree, and still serves drinks at the famous establishment.

"They have no idea the older generation went to jail for them," he told the Daily News on Saturday.

Tree recalled the days of disturbance that followed the late night raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village - which became a defining moment of the gay rights movement - as hundreds of revelers poured in and out of the Inn.

"A lot of gay people don't realize how it all started," said Hector Cruz, 38, who stopped by the bar for a drink Saturday afternoon. "This year is more exciting, I think, because of the anniversary. People are finally talking and learning about what happened."

"Being younger, we do take for granted where we are now and how far we've come," said 23- year-old Chris Brown, who spent Saturday with his boyfriend Joseph Bayer, 25.

"I'm glad I can walk down the street holding by boyfriend's hand," said Bayer as they went into the bar.

Peter Sandel, 31, said gay pride weekend is "a time to reflect on how far we've come and how we still have a ways to go."

"We are in kind of a paradox because gay pride is a tourist event, but it's also a very serious thing," said John Buono, 35.