One of the things I’ve learned about the LGBT community is that we do a really good job of shooting ourselves in the foot. So with that thought in mind, here’s a question for my peers: How does the LGBT community get more out of the Obama administration in the next two years – those…
I’m off this Saturday to San Francisco with Stuart Milk to commemorate Harvey Milk’s birthday with rallies, marches, dinners, etc. I’ll be in the city by the bay for four days! Happy birthday, Harvey! The redistricting issue All my life, I have fought for Latino and GLBT visibility and equality. I have fought racism within…
On Tuesday, May 10, 2011, the GetEQUAL 13 went to court for the Nov. 15, 2010 White House fence protest to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) for what we hoped was the last time. No media were in the courtroom, so what happened there was for the most part not reported on. We went…
Over the past two weeks, the deportation order against Henry Velandia has brought immigration to the forefront of national LGBT politics. Velandia, from Venezuela, legally married American citizen Josh Vandiver in Connecticut in 2010. Unlike an opposite-sex spouse, he is unable to apply for a green card because the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prevents…
Within the trans community, there is a misconception that antidiscrimination protections based on gender identity are about transsexual people, while antidiscrimination protections based on gender expression are about cross-dressers. The oversimplifying and boiling down of the term gender expression to apply to a narrow subset of trans people strips out the broad concept of what…
The only way I agreed to go to Arizona for a charity fundraiser was on the condition I would not spend a dime; I didn’t for five days. Now I owe a lot of people “thank you” cards! Next trip: San Francisco for Harvey Milk’s birthday on May 22, then Nebraska! If it ain’t broke,…
Hooray for our Navy Seals and President Obama’s administration. We have struck a big blow in our continuing fight against terrorism. Well, now I’m off to Arizona. District 3: The melting pot of San Diego There are more than 30 languages spoken in the City Council’s 3rd District. This district brought us our first elected…
An acquaintance of mine recently introduced me to the concept of the “Non-Profit Industrial Complex.” There is a book of essays on the subject from Incite! The Women Of Color Against Violence entitled it The Revolution Will Not Be Funded – the book came after the Incite!-organized conference of the same name. They describe the…
The first day of my transition from male-to-female was Feb. 6, 2003. I had been retired from the U.S. Navy for about 2 1/2 years, and was attending classes at National University in a bid to obtain a Bachelor of Science for Information Systems (IS). Since I’d been awarded a 60 percent Veterans Administration (VA)…
Tonight (Thursday, April 28) I will be one of your waiters for Dining Out for Life at the Bangkok Thai Bistro (540 University Ave.). After that, I’m off to the airport. The new Queens of Mean Roll over Leona Helmsley – there are new Queens of Mean that make you look like a sweetheart during…
