GLBT Issues

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Costs $363.8 million

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon’s costs for firing service members for homosexuality under its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy were nearly twice as high as a government estimate made last year, an independent commission said on Tuesday.
A University of California commission of military experts said it cost at least $363.8 million to implement the policy from 1994 to 2003. That is 91 percent more than the $190.5 million estimated a year ago by the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ investigative arm.
Opponents of the policy — a compromise forged when former President Bill Clinton tried to lift the Pentagon’s ban on gays serving in the military — said the report showed more reason to end restrictions entirely.
Under the policy, gays could serve if their sexual orientation remained secret and if they refrained from homosexual conduct. More than 10,000 service members have been fired for homosexuality since 1994, the panel said.

Too bad the government didn’t go with the “So they’re gay, get over it” policy instead — it cost $0.00. And we could have built a few schools with the savings.

Continue ReadingDon’t Ask Don’t Tell Costs $363.8 million

Guerilla Marketing Tips

  • Post author:
  • Post category:GLBT Issues

I found this interesting post on how the Chick Tracts nuts suggest distributing their mini hate-comics to the public.
The comedic, ironic aspects of Chick Tracts aside, they actually have some interesting guerilla marketing techniques on how to get their message across that could be duplicated, say by a GLBT direct action group in Indianapolis. If there still were one.

Continue ReadingGuerilla Marketing Tips

LGBTQ Youth Equality Ride Across the U.S.

During March and April The Soulforce Equality Ride will be visiting 19 religious and military schools to give voice to those who can not speak up themselves because of oppressive school policies. Many of these schools expell lgbtq students who come out or are outed.
At military and religious colleges around the nation, bans on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender enrollment force students into closets of fear and self-hate. These bans devalue the life of GLBT people and they slam the door on academic freedom. The Equality Ride empowers young adults to challenge these college bans.

Scheduled to take place in the spring of 2006, the Equality Ride will take 25–30 young adults on a seven-week bus tour to confront numerous religious and/or military colleges that ban the enrollment of GLBT students. At each stop along the journey the members of the Equality Ride will present a powerful case for GLBT equality.

Like the Freedom Rides of the 50’s and 60’s, the Equality Ride is a student-led effort that takes young adults into epicenters of intolerance and oppression to make a better tomorrow. In going on this journey, the Equality Riders draw inspiration from those Freedom Riders over forty years ago.

The goal of Soulforce is freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance.

Continue ReadingLGBTQ Youth Equality Ride Across the U.S.

Political Sites I Like

If you’re looking for intelligent stuff about Indiana politics, these guys are great:
http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/
http://www.masson.us/blog/
http://www.takingdownwords.com/taking_down_words/
And on a national level:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/
http://www.goodasyou.org/
http://americablog.blogspot.com/
http://www.biggaypicture.com/
http://atrios.blogspot.com/

Continue ReadingPolitical Sites I Like

Anti-Gay Killer’s MySpace profile

  • Post author:
  • Post category:GLBT Issues

Of course you’ve heard about the teenager Jacob Robida who went on a rampage at a gay bar in Massachusetts with an axe and a gun, and who was later killed in a police shootout.
Checkout his myspace web page.
Too bad none of the people he hurt and killed get to have accolades on the internet after this terrible incident. I’m sorry I can’t find my way to forgiving him.

Continue ReadingAnti-Gay Killer’s MySpace profile

Chris Matthews suggests that gay people are burning churches

What the hell? Chris Matthews suggested that gay people are responsible for a series of church burnings that occurred last Thursday in Alabama. See the video of his suggestions (made with out any proof).

MATTHEWS: Is there anything in the papers down there where a Baptist church has taken a position on some social issue, gay marriage, something that’s hot, where that would have aroused somebody?

ATF AGENT CAVANAUGH: I haven’t seen that Chris, but it’s very viable because we had an arson at a Unitarian church in rural Virginia, back in the summer, and it was right after the church at a national level had embraced gay members. There was an attack on this church in Staunton (?), Virginia, so things like that can happen.

MATTHEWS: That’s why I’m thinking like that because the more liberal churches would drive some people on the right crazy and maybe a more liberal person, who’s gay for example, would feel that they’ve been terrorized by the beliefs of another church too. We don’t know.

Way to demonize gay people, Chris.

Continue ReadingChris Matthews suggests that gay people are burning churches

Corett Scott King Quotes

“I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice,” she said. “But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people” – Coretta Scott King
“Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood,” – Coretta Scott King

Continue ReadingCorett Scott King Quotes