First openly gay member joins AF Academy board
(Colorado Springs, Col.) A Colorado Democrat who last year became the first openly gay non-incumbent elected to Congress took his place Friday on the U.S. Air Force Academy’s supervisory board.
Rep. Jared Polis was appointed earlier this month to the Academy’s Board of Visitors, which meets Friday and Saturday in Colorado …
Tags: Academy Board, Air Academy, Air Force Academy, Board Of Visitors, Colorado Springs, Congress, Democrat, Gay Member, Incumbent, Jared Polis, S Board, Supervisory Board, U S Air, U S Air ForcePolis becomes first openly gay advisor to Air Force Academy
COLORADO SPRINGS — A sign gays may be inching closer to acceptance in the military: the U.S. Air Force Academy is welcoming its first openly gay member of its oversight board.
Democratic Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado was appointed earlier this month to the Academy’s Board of Visitors, which meets Friday and Saturday in Colorado Springs.
The Board of Visitors is made up mostly of members of Congress who review the nation’s service academies and suggest changes to the Pentagon and Congress.
See Polis becomes first openly gay advisor to Air Force Academy Daily Camera
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
 |
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/polis-becomes…
Out lawmaker is named to Air Force Academy board Out U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., has been appointed to the Air Force Academy’s Board of Visitors.
Out U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., has been appointed to the Air Force Academy’s Board of Visitors. Although Polis is against the military’s gay ban, he doesn’t intend to lobby for the policy’s repeal through his membership on the board, according to this article.KMGH-TV (Denver)/The Associated Press
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/out-lawmaker-…
Judge Declines to Stay Law on Gay Marriage
A Superior Court judge decided yesterday not to delay enactment of a law stipulating that the D.C. government will recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
Judge Judith E. Retchin ruled that she would not a grant a stay preventing the law from taking effect Monday, as requested by opponents. However, the effective date is likely to be delayed by the need for congressional approval. Attorneys for the group said they needed more time to research and argue their position before the law takes effect.
Opponents, led by Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, and seven other D.C. voters want a referendum on the issue, but the D.C. elections board said that would be illegal under the District’s Human Rights Act.
Although Retchin decided against delaying the law’s enactment, she said opponents could seek to amend the law after the marriage provision takes effect.
See Judge Declines to Stay Law on Gay Marriage
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/judge-decline…
In DC, Judge Asked to Block GAY MARRIAGE Decision
Opponents of gay marriage filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court yesterday hoping to force a referendum on whether to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
The civil suit against the District’s Board of Elections and Ethics asks Judge Judith E. Retchin to overturn an election board ruling Monday that blocked a proposal to put the issue before the voters. Citing a District election law prohibiting votes on matters covered under the 1977 Human Rights Act, which outlaws discrimination against gay men, lesbians and other minority groups, the board said that a referendum would “authorize discrimination.”
The plaintiffs asked for an expedited hearing. If the court or Congress does not intervene, recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere will become law early next month, at the end of the required congressional review period.
See GAY MARRIAGE Judge Asked to Block Decision
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/in-dc-judge-a…
Pride Mass, Pride Booth & March down Market Street highlights Oasis Celbration of SF Pride 2009
The Episcopal Diocese of California will mark this year’s San Francisco Pride Celebration & Parade by celebrating a Pride Mass, staffing a booth one the Pride Festival grounds and sending a diverse contingent down Market Street during the Pride Parade. Set for Saturday June 27 and Sunday June 28, Pride events are free and open to the public.
The Pride Mass
Our Bishop, the RT. Rev. Marc Andrus, will join Lutheran Bishop Mark Holmerund in celebrating our annual Pride Mass. Set to start at 10:30 AM, we will worship on the street at the location where we gather to march in the parade (check back here or at www.oasisca.org a few days before the parade for the exact location). Members of the Lutherans Concerned contingent will join us for this special outdoor Eucharist.
The Celebration Booth
On Saturday and Sunday, volunteers from Oasis California will staff a booth on the Pride Celebration grounds near City Hall. Oasis Board Members Judy Lebens and Justin Cannon are coordinating this aspect of our celebration. For the first time in several years we’ll be able to talk with people about our work to include LGBT as full members of our church, our stand for marriage equality, and the location of LGBT friendly Episcopal congregations around the Bay Area. We’ll also be distributing information on the Bible, homosexuality, Anglicanism and Oasis California. To volunteer or find out where to send information about your parish please e-mail Judy and Justin at booth@oasisca.org.
The Parade & Cable Car
On Sunday our diocese will be represented by a contingent of LGBT Episcopalians and their straight allies, friends, family members, fellow congregants and children. This year we will have a cable car bus so that people who can’t walk the route can join in the parade. The cable car offers a great way for children to be part of the parade. As we march down Market Street we’ll be distributing more than 1,000 “Blessed Bubbles” kits to help people “spread joy & dispel fear of marriage equality.”
♫
We Need Parade Monitors!
Once again we are recruiting people to serve as monitors, a post that requires a brief training session and comes with a neat button. There is also the fact that without enough parade monitors, our contingent will not march. Two Oasis volunteers, Fernando and Charles, are coordinating our monitors. To volunteer as a monitor, please e-mail them at parade@oasisca.org.
Monitor training programs include:
· Wed 6/17 7:00 pm Kaiser Permanente, 1800 Harrison, Oakland
· Fri 6/19 7:00 pm Ceremonial Room - The Center, 1800 Market St.,SF
· Sat 6/20* 12:00 pm Koret Auditorium - SF Library, 100 Larkin St, SF
· Sat 6/20 3:00 pm Women’s Building Auditorium, 3543 18th St, SF
· Tue 6/23* 8:30 pm Head over Heels, 4701 Doyle St # F, Emeryville
· (Additional sessions will probably be scheduled in San Francisco just before Pride.)
If you can’t join us, Watch on TV
There are four ways to watch the 39th annual San Francisco Pride Parade:
· LIVE Broadcast: On Comcast Digital Channel 99 starting at 10:00 a.m. in all Comcast serviceable areas throughout California.
· LIVE Webcast: Clear Channel Radio on SFPrideLive.com Live & Uncensored from 10:00 a.m. until the end.
· Prime Time: KOFY TV 20/Cable 13, starting at 8:00 p.m.
· Comcast: Comcast Channel 1 On Demand/Local Events starting June 29th at 7:00 p.m. until July 31st
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/pride-mass-pr…
Taking aim at the hypocrisy of closeted politicians
Does a politician’s right to privacy trump the wrong of hypocrisy? Documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick thinks not.
He doesn’t care about the sex lives of politicians. But he cares that when a pol’s sexual orientation is secret, often shame and self-hatred color his voting record. Dick is outraged when closeted gay politicians vote against gay marriage, against the right of gays to adopt, and against funding for HIV/AIDS. He’s so outraged that he has made a movie exposing the disconnect between what these men practice and what they preach.
Despite its title, Outrage is calm, riveting, and provocative, taking pride in officials who come out and and taking aim at those who remain closeted. The film saves most of its ammunition for the media’s “orchestrated conspiracy,” creating a double bind that perpetuates the double lives of these men. Yes, they are all men, and with the exception of Ed Koch, former New York mayor, all are Republicans. (Why should we care? One, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who recently married a woman, is a leading GOP candidate for president in 2012.)
Dick, whose prior documentaries include This Film Is Not Yet Rated, a trenchant and amusing take on the double standard of the motion-picture ratings board, is ambivalent about his role in “outing” closeted politicians.
Beltway blogger Michael Rogers, on hand to furnish color commentary on who’s in the closet and why, considers the question of whether outing is a form of sexual McCarthyism. Is it the closeted practice or the outing that perpetuates the climate of shame? Certainly, whenever a James McGreevey or Eliot Spitzer admits his hidden sexual practices, he must take the media walk of shame.
Rogers’ answer to the chicken-or-egg question is that the goal of outing is to expose political hypocrisy, not sexual orientation. To this end, Dick provides each closeted politician’s voting record on gay rights; most of them show that he is voting against his own self-interest. See Taking aim at the hypocrisy of closeted politicians Philadelphia Inquirer * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/taking-aim-at…
DiversityMBA Magazine ranks Kaiser Permanente No. 1 on annual list for Diverse Managers
OAKLAND, Calif — Kaiser Permanente’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion has been recognized by DiversityMBA Magazine. The health care organization was ranked No. 1 in the publication’s fourth annual “50 Out Front for Diversity Leadership: Best Places for Diverse Managers to Work,” which will hit newsstands in April 2009.
“This award is a great acknowledgement of the priority Kaiser Permanente places on creating a workplace environment that is characterized by respect for the individual and a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for our employees,” said Ronald Knox, senior vice president and chief diversity officer at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.
Published quarterly, DiversityMBA Magazine’s aim is to serve the needs of multicultural professionals in corporate America, business students and entrepreneurs. In selecting the 2009 “50 Out Front Companies” the publication’s selection team expanded its research evaluations to include companies that implement intentional strategies based on accountability, strong inclusion practices and ongoing evaluation of retention/recruitment activities that allow and encourage managers of diverse backgrounds to excel and develop into leadership roles.
Today, Kaiser Permanente’s 181,000 employee and physician workforce is composed of 74 percent women and 56 percent people of color, mirroring and exceeding the racial, ethnic and gender composition of its health plan membership and the communities it serves. The organization has been recognized in the past year for corporate diversity leadership by several organizations and publications, including:
– DiversityInc - Top 50 Companies for Diversity (2008; 2007; 2006) — Human Rights Campaign Foundation & the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association - Healthcare Equality Index — Black Collegian Magazine - Top 100 Diversity Employers — DiversityMBA Magazine - Top 50 Companies (2009; 2008) — Asian Enterprise Magazine - Best Companies for Asian Americans (2008; 2007) — Workforce Management Magazine - Optimas Award (Ethical Category) — Latina Style Magazine - LS 50 — Human Rights Campaign - Corporate Equality Index (2008; 2007; 2006; 2005) — The California Diversity Council - DiversityFIRST Award — Gay and Lesbian Medical Association in association with Pfizer - GLMA Achievement Award
Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to workforce diversity is grounded in its Board of Directors - mandated National Diversity Agenda which also includes a focus on multicultural marketing and culturally competent care delivery - health care that acknowledges cultural and linguistic diversity in the clinical setting, respects members’ cultural beliefs and practices, and fully integrates cultural skills, knowledge and considerations into the total healthcare experience of our members. Through its Institute for Culturally Competent Care and Linguistic Programs, Kaiser Permanente has established “Centers of Excellence,” innovative clinical models that respond to the health and language needs of specific populations.
“Diversity is a core value of Kaiser Permanente, and we are delighted to be recognized as the No. 1 place to work by DiversityMBA Magazine. Our commitment to creating a workplace environment that embraces and utilizes the unique cultural expertise and attributes of each employee and physician enables us to better meet the health needs of our increasingly diverse membership, and gives us a distinct edge in the marketplace,” said Knox.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America’s leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, the program is headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Today it encompasses Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes approximately 167,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and 14,000 physicians representing all specialties. The organization’s Labor Management Partnership is the largest such health care partnership in the United States. It governs how more than 130,000 workers, managers, physicians and dentists work together to make Kaiser Permanente the best place to receive care, and the best place to work. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit the Kaiser Permanente News Center at: http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/diversitymba-…
27000 letters urge LDS leader to back rights of gay Utahns
President Thomas S. Monson: You have mail - boxes of it.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) delivered 27,000 letters to LDS Church headquarters Monday - all of them asking the Mormon leader to support legal protections for gay and transgender Utahns.
The national gay-rights group has endorsed Equality Utah’s Common Ground Initiative, a collection of bills that would, among other things, provide rights to fair housing and employment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Utahns and domestic-partner benefits for same-sex couples.
The movement was born in response to statements the LDS Church made in the wake of California’s Proposition 8 - which eliminated gay marriage in the Golden State - that the church “does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights or probate rights.”
Monson and other LDS leaders helped to get the gay-marriage ban enacted, urging members to donate their time and money to the campaign and, later, igniting opponents’ protests at LDS temples and calls for boycotts of Utah.
“The reason there’s such an uproar is every LGBT person in the United States was affected by it,” since Proposition 8 stripped away rights that had been granted to gay couples, said Jerry Rapier, a Salt Lake City resident and member of the HRC’s board of governors.
See 27000 letters urge LDS leader to back rights of gay Utahns
Salt Lake Tribune, United States -
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/27000-letters…
