Timbre of a TimeFree Mind

[via InTheseTimes.com- Garrison Keillor]

How did the Party of Lincoln and Liberty transmogrify into the party of Newt Gingrich’s evil spawn and their Etch-A-Sketch president, a dull and rigid man, whose philosophy is a jumble of badly sutured body parts trying to walk?
Click here

Something has gone seriously haywire with the Republican Party. Once, it was the party of pragmatic Main Street businessmen in steel-rimmed spectacles who decried profligacy and waste, were devoted to their communities and supported the sort of prosperity that raises all ships. They were good-hearted people who vanquished the gnarlier elements of their party, the paranoid Roosevelt-haters, the flat Earthers and Prohibitionists, the antipapist antiforeigner element. The genial Eisenhower was their man, a genuine American hero of D-Day, who made it OK for reasonable people to vote Republican. He brought the Korean War to a stalemate, produced the Interstate Highway System, declined to rescue the French colonial army in Vietnam, and gave us a period of peace and prosperity, in which (oddly) American arts and letters flourished and higher education burgeoned—and there was a degree of plain decency in the country. Fifties Republicans were giants compared to today’s. Richard Nixon was the last Republican leader to feel a Christian obligation toward the poor.

Are you tired of clicking on some link from a web portal, only to find that the website is temporarily off-line because thousands or millions of other users are also trying to access it? Does your network have a really low-bandwidth connection, such that everyone, even accessing the same web pages, suffers from slow downloads? Have you ever run a website, only to find that suddenly you get hit with a spike of thousands of requests, overloading your server and possibly causing high monthly bills? If so, Coral might be your free solution for these problems!
click here to go to the Coral website

[Doug Windsor- 365gay.com]

As Republicans gather in New York City for the start of the GOP National Convention the nation's oldest gay rights group released a summary of the Bush administration’s record on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, calling the Bush-Cheney team "the most anti-gay administration in the history of the gay rights movement."

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said that despite attempts by the Republican Party to put on a "moderate" face during television coverage of the convention the "party can't hide the truth".
click here for entire article

My father, John and I in Wichita in late 1959.

Hello Everyone!

Okay…I have been giving this a great deal of thought lately. Don't groan! It is important that I share with you a concern and plea. I know it is long, but please read it for my sake.
This note was prompted by a conversation that I had with my Mom, Dad and my older Brother two weekends ago. Normally, I would not engage in a political discussion with anyone, let alone family, for fear of offending someone. The odd thing was, I sat there, not offended, but dumbfounded by what I was hearing. I quit talking or trying to express my thoughts because they were completely counter to what I was hearing.

Some questions to consider. Does it concern you that the current Bush/Cheney Administration is in favor of amending the US constitution to "defend church sanctioned marriages"? I am your son and brother. Do you see the impact this will have on me and my relationship with Kevin and my life? Do you realize, as my family, how hard it is to have an open relationship since the change in the ruling party? Dick Cheney, who has a Lesbian daughter, will not even speak out at the absurdity of the efforts by the far right to amend the constitution. Laura Bush and Lynn Cheney, the wives, are not better. Do your marriages feel threatened because I want the same recognition?

I am not saying the John Kerry and John Edwards are better leaders than the Bush/Cheney team. I preferred having the Republicans in office during 9/11. However, the Bush/Cheney Team was the primary architects, along with Tom Ridge and John Ashcroft of the Homeland Security Act and the Patriot Act. They have been quoted bragging about how the Homeland Security and Patriot Act changes will finally roll back liberties for Americans. Let me be your "poster boy" for roll backs. I'll let you know how the roll backs have affected my life as a Gay man. I readily admit that I have Republican leanings, but I will not support individuals that are about taking away my rights, not protecting them.

I cannot predict how Kerry/Edwards would do as our next leadership Team. What I can predict, is that my individuals rights would not be threatened. Do you think I am kidding when I have said that Kevin and I would consider moving to Canada? It is pretty bad when I have to think of moving to another country to feel safe. I am not sure that you can understand that feeling…please try.

So, what I am asking is that you please, please, consider me and my life when you are voting. I am your up close and personal example of a Gay person. I never have to know, and really don't want to know, how you ended up voting. You have to live with your choices, your vote. Consider the message you are sending though...I would never think to ask any of you to vote a certain way, until now.

For Mom and Dad, voting in Oregon; please, please vote NO on Measure 36. The measure amends the "Oregon Constitution to declare that the policy of the State of Oregon and its political subdivisions is that 'only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or legally recognized as a marriage.'" The measure is about taking away rights, not protecting them. Church doctrine should not be driving our legislative process for its own gain. Marriages are between the government and the couples, not the government, couples and Church. Gay and Lesbian couples are not asking for special rights. We are asking for the right to have our unions recognized, legalized and protected. This is about civil rights not church morality.
I love all of you! You are my family! The ones that I have always counted on to understand.

Darren

[via CNN.com]

Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter Mary is a lesbian, drew criticism from both proponents and foes of gay marriage after he distanced himself from President Bush's call for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
Entire article here

[Joline Gutierrez Krueger- Albuquerque Tribune]

The battle over issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples rages on after a Sandoval County judge dismissed two motions that could have cleared the way for wedding bells for gay partners to ring anew.

"It's a very weak case that they have and we are still hopeful," Sandoval County Clerk Victoria Dunlap said Wednesday after losing the latest round with Attorney General Patricia Madrid.

Dunlap now has 10 days to file an answer to Madrid's amended complaint, which asks a judge to prohibit Dunlap from issuing same-sex licenses unless or until state laws change or until the practice of not doing so is ruled unconstitutional.

Both parties will then likely enter mediation proceedings, Assistant Attorney General Christopher Coppin said.

full story here

[via The Gay Financial Network- gfn.com]

For the first time in the more than thirty years that I’ve been engaged in the political fight against homophobia, I am beginning to think that my political career might outlast the legal embodiment of this vicious prejudice. If this turns out to be the case, I’ll look forward to being able to transfer some of my political and intellectual energy from the defense of those of us who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered to the vindication of another class of people who are now being attacked unfairly: political partisans.
click here for entire article

These photos are from a different time and space. I can see myself in some of them...and my family, the family I know. I wish that better records were kept of these moments of the past. [Picture courtesy of Dick Puckett]

Pictures from my Grandparents collection. The unknowns for lack of a better word. I would love to have more information regarding these photos. They speak to me. [Picture courtesy of Dick Puckett]

Found: Tom and Edith Ford, thanks to Mom, Mary Turpeinen.
unknown

and yet another unknown
[Picture courtesy of Dick Puckett]

unknown

unknown

unknown [Picture courtesy of Dick Puckett]

Kansas, Oklahoma or Nebraska [Picture courtesy of Dick Puckett]

unknown [Picture courtesy of Dick Puckett]

Mr. Kevin's Great-Great Grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Ford. I believe that my Mother, Mary is named for her. I think that this photo was taken in the 1920's. [Picture courtesy of Dick Puckett]

Sarah and new friends

Darren and I had a wonderful visit with my cousin, Jenny and her daughters, Katie and Sarah over the weekend. We took a drive out to Hood River and spent a few hours there exploring the area. I enjoy my time with all of them. Sarah attended mass with me as well...what a treat!

Katie

My workmate and buddy, Will just turned 30. His blog "Gulch" is definitely worth a visit. He is already a seasoned traveler [at this young age] and has written quite a bit about his journey(s)...check it out at: http://www.mentalwanderings.com/

[Copyright © 1998-2004, Thinkmap, Inc.]

Try out this very cool "visual" dictionary: Click here

[Andrew Welsh-Huggins AP]

The conventional wisdom that supporters of a gay marriage amendment in Ohio will also vote for President Bush on Nov. 2 may have some validity but is far from proven, analysts say.

Research is clear that initiatives increase voter turnout, both for midterm elections, as was long suspected, and presidential campaigns, said Carolyn Tolbert, a Kent State University professor and author of a new book on initiatives and turnout.

Earlier this month, a record 42.8 percent of voters turned out for a Missouri primary, which included a gay marriage amendment that passed easily. If the issue passes in Ohio, the state will recognize only unions between one man and one woman as marriage.

What's less clear, and what researchers are still examining, is how a hot button issue like gay marriage translates to voters' support for Democratic or Republican candidates while they're at the polls, Tolbert said.

Click here for entire article

[Steph Smith 365Gay.com]

(New York City) In a blistering attack on gays the man (Alan Keyes) parachuted into Illinois to battle Democrat Barack Obama for a seat in the US Senate Wednesday used his maiden speech on the campaign trail to call gays "sinners" and denounce same-sex marriage.

Click here for entire article

GENDER Website

Mr. Bear...a great friend. He has an anxiety disorder that bothers him when we are not close to him. We try to stay very close!

We are in the process of cleaning up and rearranging the living area in our basement. We spend most of our time down there and the dogs have a large area where they live/eat/sleep near our entertainment area (TV/VCR/DVD/Stereo).

When I moved in with Darren, I did get rid of a lot of stuff...things I had been packing around for years- i.e., clothing, lots of paper stuff, things I inherited from Rick, etc. The load became much lighter and so did my attitude. I am now looking at all of my books (and I have a bunch). It has crossed my mind to get rid of the lot...but I am getting to a place in my mind where I don't want to give them up...any of them.

After 45 years, I have this regret: That I ever threw away a book, an album, one piece of artwork or other religious/cultural item. When I think of all that I've discarded over the years, I get emotional. Not because any of monetary concerns, but because I've grown old enough to realize that these items are the only possessions I ever really cared about. They contain my spiritual history.

Keep it. Keep it all.

[Jennifer Peter AP]

BOSTON - A state judge on Wednesday declined to halt enforcement of a 1913 state law barring out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts. Eight same-sex couples from out of state had asked Superior Court Judge Carol Ball to block the state from enforcing the law, arguing that it was discriminatory. It prohibits any marriages that would not be legal in the couple's home state. On May 17, Massachusetts became the first state where same-sex marriages are recognized.

But Gov. Mitt Romney and Attorney General Thomas Reilly ruled that the law prohibited out-of-state couples from taking advantage of that new right.An attorney for the couples expressed disappointment Wednesday but said they would continue to push the case. "This is a very, very hard day for us," said Bobbi Cote-Whitacre of Essex Junction, Vt. "We know that some day this unfair disrespect of our family will end."The Attorney General's office did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

for Chris
[via Tidsskr Nor Lægeforen nr. 28, 2002; 122]

October, a woman and a boy, a tumor overtaking his brain,
draw pictures in the waiting room.
She makes a red apple as round as a face.
Then from her hand a cloud grows and darkens over the apple
until the crayon breaks inside its wrapper and hangs like a snapped neck from her bloodless fingertips.
He's drawn two stick-figures up to their necks in falling gold leaves, their heads all smiles.
It's you and daddy, he tells her.
Above them a flock of m's fly toward a grinning sun.
When she doesn't answer he says on Halloween he'd like to be a horse with orange wings.
Staring at his picture, she says It looks like Thanksgiving.
Where are you?
He taps the sun.
I'm shining on you.
.
.
.
She hugs him as if trying to press him back inside her.
I'm not crying, she whispers.
He looks over her shoulder.
I'm not crying, too.

Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr (1992) says that “a masculine spirituality would be one that encourages men to take the radical gospel journey from their unique beginning point, in their own unique style, with their own unique goals – without doubt or apology or imitation of their sisters (or mother). That takes immense courage and self-possession. Such a man has life for others and knows it.

He does not need to push, intimidate or play the power games common to other men because he possesses his power with surety and calm confidence. He is not opinionated or arrogant, but he knows. He is not needy or bothered by status symbols because he is. He does not need monogrammed briefcases and underwear, his identity is settled and secure - and within. He possesses his soul and does not give it lightly to corporations, armies, nation-states or the acceptable collective thinking.”

Who assigned you this task, Mr. Big Boy, Shaky Legs, Bony Old Fur Bag, to bark me from bed with your booming voice at 3 a.m. in the middle of winter? You're off down the hall with your shuffling gait, trailing tufts of white hair that float up like milkweed. I stumble after, yawning and cursing, eyes out of focus, a catch in my knee- I'm not such a puppy myself now, you know. Grumbling slave to your impatient bladder, I clutch at my robe against what is coming and roll aside the patio door. Together we lurch out over the sill, smack into the cold and the crystalline dark and oh my god the stars!
© Rivage 2002

[words by Loreena McKennitt "The Book Of Secrets" lyrics reprinted by permission. All songs ©1997 ]

When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone

I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars

Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Please remember me

After some consideration I have decided to rename this blog "Timbre of a timefree mind".

[© Association Pierre Abélard 1999]

Timbre- a general term for the distinguishable characteristics of a tone and the French word for stamp.

[via The Korea Herald]

In the first ruling by a Korean court on same-sex marriages, Incheon district court in late July dismissed a divorce suit by a lesbian couple on the grounds it did not meet the definition of marriage in Korean society.
Click here to read

[Gayle Worland Chicago Tribune]

Even as Americans debate whether it's right to legalize same-sex marriage, caution remains a fact of life for servicemen and women communicating with a gay or lesbian partner back home.

Click here to read

[Julia Silverman- The Associated Press]

Not much common ground exists between the two sides squaring off about a gay-rights ordinance in this Central Oregon city, except this: They all agree that, 10 years ago, there would have been no fight to pick.

click here for entire article

[courtesy of Associated Press]

Some athletes of past Olympics who made it known, either during or after their sporting careers, that they were gay or lesbian:

* Tom Waddell, a U.S. decathlete who competed in the 1968 Olympics. He founded the Gay Games in 1981 and died of AIDS in 1987.

* John Curry, British figure skater who won the gold medal in 1976. He died from an AIDS-related illness in 1994.

* Bruce Hayes, who won a gold medal in the 200-meter freestyle relay at the 1984 Olympics, later set world masters records at the Gay Games.

* Holly Metcalf, gold-medal-winning U.S. rower in 1984,

* Greg Louganis, widely considered the greatest diver of all time. Won four gold medals in diving at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Came out in 1994.

* Mark Tewksbury, Olympic backstroke gold medalist for Canada in 1992.

* Mia Hundvin of Norway and Camilla Andersen of Denmark, who not only played against each other in team handball at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, but also were legally married in Denmark.

* Brian Orser, a two-time Olympic silver medalist for Canada, who in 1998 lost a legal battle to prevent the public disclosure of a palimony suit filed by a former boyfriend.

Darren and I attended Mass at St. Andrews today. It was a Feast Day and our Parish allowed a woman to read the gospel. I believe that this break in protocol was appropriate...although I could sense that some in the church were "uncomfortable". I have been fascinated with the Catholic church since a very young age and I am honored that Darren has joined me on this journey. I have vacillated between complete atheism and blind faith....These days I find myself in a comforting place of love, compassion and comprehension.

[via William Webster: http://www.christiantruth.com/assumption.html]

The Roman Catholic doctrine of the assumption of Mary teaches that she was assumed body and soul into heaven either without dying or shortly after death. This extraordinary claim was only officially declared to be a dogma of Roman Catholic faith in 1950, though it had been believed by many for hundreds of years.

Mr. Darren enjoying the Ferris-wheel at the Clark County Fair in Southern Washington.

Mr. Kevin...I enjoyed my time with Darren at the Fair.

1940's....From left, Mary Puckett (Mother), Dick Puckett (Uncle) and Karen Puckett (Aunt) to Mr. Kevin. Always have a smile from Uncle Dick [courtesy of Dick Puckett]

Late 1950's...Beech Aircraft Corporation in Wichita Kansas. From left, Mrs. Beech, Grandparents Dick and Kay Puckett and other friends and family. [picture courtesy of Dick Puckett]

Beech Aircraft Corporation 1960's: Uncle Dick, his gorgeous bride- Aunt Audrey, and the lovely- Aunt Jeanne and Grandfather Dick Puckett. [courtesy of Dick Puckett, Jr.]

[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:here]

The principle states that as a robot is made more humanlike in its appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human being to robot will become increasingly positive and empathetic until a point is reached at which the response suddenly becomes strongly repulsive. Thenceforth, as the appearance and motion are made to be indistinguishable to that of human being, the emotional response becomes positive once more and approaches human-human empathy levels.

entire Wikipedia definition of ''Uncanny Valley''here

[Jessica Knox- The California Aggie]

SAEN alleges UCD "lied" about painful animal experimentation in complaint with USDA.

A formal complaint was filed recently against the California National Primate Research Center with the U.S. Department of Agriculture by Stop Animal Exploitation Now, an Ohio-based animal-rights-watchdog association.

Animal rights protestors assembled outside the Primate Center at UC Davis on August 3 in response to the recent controversy surrounding the treatment of primates at the facility. The complaint alleges that the Primate Center, an affiliate of UCD, "lied" about experimentation that caused the animals pain.

click here for article

[by Janet McConnaughey]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A proposed state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages and civil unions cannot go on the Sept. 18 ballot, a judge ruled Friday. Acting on a suit contending that such a ban would violate the Constitution, Civil District Judge Christopher Bruno stuck down the balloting, at least temporarily, on the grounds that Sept. 18 is not a true statewide election date.

Louisiana already has a law stating that marriage can only be heterosexual. Proponents want to protect that law by passing the constitutional amendment. Opponents said the amendment was illegal because it would violate rights guaranteed under the state Constitution.

Looks like Mr. Kevin is in a "green" mood this Friday the thirteenth!

[DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, August 12, 2004]

The California Supreme Court voided all same-sex marriages sanctioned by San Francisco this year and ruled Thursday that the city's mayor overstepped his authority by issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

The court said the city violated the law when it issued the certificates, since both legislation and a voter-approved measure defined marriage as a union between a man and woman.

The justices decided with a 5-2 vote to nullify the nearly 4,000 marriages peformed between Feb. 12 and March 11, when the court halted the weddings. Their legality, Justice Joyce Kennard wrote, must wait until "the constitutionality of California laws restricting marriages to opposite-sex couples has been authoritatively resolved through judicial proceedings."

The court, however, did not resolve whether the California Constitution would permit a same-sex marriage, ruling instead on the narrow issue of whether local officials could bypass California's judicial and legislative branches.

READ OPINION HERE: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S122923.PDF
[Adobe Reader required]

[August 9, 2004] From her blog-- http://margaretcho.net/blog/:

I love reacher features. Reacher features are films from the late 80s and early 90s that document an era of gay life that was nearly wiped out by AIDS. Films like "Longtime Companion,""Torch Song Trilogy" and "It's My Party" are important because they serve as mentoring surrogates, when the mentors have been taken from us.

If we look at the whole of gay culture as a ladder, and each generation as a rung on the ladder, then the rung above mine is gone, leaving a large gap in the ladder, and making me a reacher. I have to reach because I don't have the experience of my predecessors. I must grab in the dark for my future.

My elders, gay men who would now be mostly in their late 50s and early 60s, saw most of their peers ravaged by the plague. Plague was what we called it back then, and plague is what we still have now.

Those who live with HIV and AIDS have slightly better lives, and they can look forward to health and happiness for much longer than previously thought possible, but that doesn't mean there is a cure. It doesn't alter the memory of what we have lost, what we may still lose. AIDS in the 80s and 90s was nothing less than a plague, for it deprived us of a generation of teachers, and an adequate reflection of ourselves peering back from the mirror of time.

[via GPO Access: pdf file] To view the report: click here
=====================

A rose is a rose is a rose. These flowers have become a Portland trademark....hence the name The Rose City.

Echinacea

Gerber Daisies are Darrens favorites!

Going to the jasmine of my mind....
Flowers from our back yard. I love this time of year but I know that Summer is fleeting....

[Associated Press]

DENVER -- Fifteen-year-old Heather Herman, who wears leather and eats meat, is an unlikely animal rights activist. Yet largely due to her, Denver voters will decide this week whether to allow the circus to come to town.

Herman contends the animals aren't meant to travel the country caged or in train cars, performing for audiences on cue. Her push to petition for a law ensuring abuse-free circuses rather than just passing out leaflets took some supporters by surprise.

click here to read entire article

[via GayWired.com]

(Miami Beach, Florida) Dozens of same-sex couples are expected to register as domestic partners today in Miami Beach as the gay positive resort city opens its new domestic partner registry.
The registry was approved by a unanimous vote July 28 by the Miami Beach Commission.

It will allow any gay couple, no matter where they are from, to sign the register. The ordinance guarantees partner rights in hospital care and visitation rights at all healthcare facilities in the city, and provides partner rights in making funeral and burial decisions.

click here to read entire article

[via The Australian]

THE Labor caucus voted for a third time yesterday to ban gay marriage, but a backlash by the Left produced a promise to review the status of gay relationships under a Latham government.

Legal affairs spokeswoman Nicola Roxon, who sparked the latest fight after she told a marriage forum that Labor's position on gay marriage was identical to the Government's, yesterday defended her speech.

But the Left believes it has won a significant concession in caucus, with Mark Latham moving an amendment that says Labor will examine "options to achieve more consistent national treatment of all de facto relationships".

click to read entire article here

My brother, Christopher..this picture was taken in the Washington Cascades in 1978. Chris was diagnosed with cancer a few years before the photo was taken. My father had just retired from the Air Force and I was helping my family move from Virginia to Oregon. Chris passed in February 1983. He was a good brother, a beautiful human, and I have missed him over the years. This picture has always been a favorite of mine.

[via CNN.com]

WOODSIDE, California (AP) -- When Koko the gorilla used the American Sign Language gesture for pain and pointed to her mouth, 12 specialists, including three dentists, sprang into action.

click for entire story here

Deserted mine found along the hike in Opal Creek

Looking into the cosmos with the trees pointing the way

BEAUTIFUL! and the tree ain't too bad either...

Jawbone Flats is a small community in the old growth area

Opal Creek

Opal Creek Hike in the Willamette National Forest...one of the last stands of old growth.

[by Kevin McGill The Associated Press]

(New Orleans, Louisiana) A proposed amendment that would lock a same-sex marriage ban into Louisiana's constitution was challenged in state court Friday on grounds it was illegally approved by the Legislature and should be kept off the Sept. 18 ballot.

click here for entire article

[by Ed Welch 365Gay.com Newscenter]

(Los Angeles, California) Los Angeles City Council has passed a resolution supporting the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, a bill currently before Congress that would allow the foreign partners of US citizens to legally live in this country.

click here for entire article

[By Alan Cooperman, Washington Post]

click here for entire article

[via eircom.net Ireland International] By Karl Emerick Hanuska

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Even as gays and lesbians prepare to take to Amsterdam's canals tomorrow for the city's annual Gay Pride parade, many homosexuals say intolerance is growing in one of the world's most liberal nations.

click here for entire article

[via Local6.com Central Florida]

SEATTLE -- Legal experts are already calling Washington state's ruling on gay marriage "wide-sweeping." Gay activists describe it as "incredibly affirming."

Click here for story

[via alt press online]

The now-infamous prisoner abuse story has been relegated to the back pages, as the election campaigns begin in earnest. The campaigns were kicked off last week with the Democrats' gathering in Boston, Massachusetts, to nominate their standard bearer, Senator John Kerry of that very same state. Just weeks away, the Republicans will descend upon New York City to rally 'round the flag and launch their Lone Star frat boy and alleged commander-in-chief on the rocky road to re-election. There is no evidence that this convention is using the upcoming third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks for political gain or emotional extortion. We all know that Karl Rove would never do such a thing…

Click here for entire article

[by Eric Pfeiffer] via the Daily Standard

BETWEEN MARCH and April of this year, more than 3,000 same-sex couples were married at the Multnomah County Courthouse in Portland, Oregon. Since then, the gay marriage procession has been temporarily stopped. Today, as the building undergoes renovations, makeshift walls of wood plank and metal bars surround the courthouse. It's a metaphor for how many in the state reacted when the Portland city council began issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Gay marriage is just one of several issues to have emerged since 2000 that could turn the state's once Democrat-dominated seven electoral votes into a surprise gain for President Bush in the fall. As University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato said, "There's no question that Oregon is the least liberal state on the Left Coast."

Click here for entire article

Prince Rodney after a visit to the Vet

The one and only Mr. Darren

via Pride Foundation Newsletter

King County Superior Court Judge William Downing ruled today that same sex couples have the right to marry. This is a huge victory for the GLBT community and our supporters.Downing states in his ruling," The characteristics embodied by these plaintiffs are ones that our society need more of, not less. Let the plaintiffs stand as inspirations for all those citizens, homosexual and heterosexual, who may follow their path."

He also says in regard to child-rearing, "It has also been suggested that the statutory ban on same-sex marriage serves the interest of protecting children from the harms that may be caused by being raised in a non-traditional family . . . the fact is that there are no scientifically valid studies tending to establish a negative impact on the adjustment of children raised by an intact same-sex couple as compared with those raised by an intact opposite-sex couple."

King County and Washington State are expected to appeal the ruling, and the Washington State Supreme Court may take this case and the one filed by the ACLU directly and hear arguments on an expedited basis.Pride Foundation would like to acknowledge the leadership on this issue from Northwest Women's Law Center and Lambda Legal. Congratulations.

via monkeehub
A music video: Low Morale
Music: Creep - Radiohead
click here to watch and listen
(Flash, Quicktime or Windows Media Player 9)

The office.. (Mr. Kevin) taken with camera-phone.

Gerald Robinson
New York Blade

John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), will play the first lady.

To read click here

By David Sirota and Christy Harvey

To read Click here

**click here for site**

Icerocket

A Sunday Herald investigation has discovered that coalition forces are holding more than 100 children in jails such as Abu Ghraib. Witnesses claim that the detainees – some as young as 10 – are also being subjected to rape and torture. By Neil Mackay

CLICK and READ: Sunday Herald ©