UPDATE: The Pre-show Reception is a private event, by invitation only. RSVP required. If you have tickets to see Avenue Q at the PAC, contact Identity for information about the invitations.
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It's finally here! Avenue Q is a hilarious, risque and thought-provoking Broadway show with positive gay content, and it's live at the Anchorage Performing Arts Center on January 21-27, 2011. There's even a GLBT mixer on opening night, for community members with tickets:
Join the LGBT community before the show for drinks and hors d'oeuvres at the PAC's Sydney Lawrence Theatre, on Friday January 21 from 6-7:45 p.m. This free event is sponsored by the Concert Association with Mad Myrna's and South. Come mingle with friends, then enjoy the show.
Bent Alaska first posted about Avenue Q almost a year ago, when the Anchorage Concert Association's 2010-2011 season was announced. It's wonderful that Anchorage will get to see this award-winning and gay-inclusive show! My partner and I saw Avenue Q several years ago on vacation in the lower 48 and we loved it. If you haven't seen it yet, see it now. (And if you saw it years ago, see it again with your Anchorage friends.)
Note: Avenue Q is a show for adults and includes scenes with puppets having sex, drinking, swearing and surfing the web for porn. ACA recommends the show only for ages 15 and up.
Tickets for Avenue Q are available online through Center-Tix HERE. Don't miss it!
The earlier post included a video of the song If You Were Gay. This time we'll post the theme song, It Sucks To Be Me, performed by the original Broadway cast:
"This is a good day," President Obama said on Wednesday to a grateful audience of approximately 500 people, including administration officials, congressmembers, former servicemembers and repeal advocates who worked 17 years to end the military's discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.
This is a very good day!
Watch the President's speech and the bill signing ceremony:
A full transcript with the speeches of both the President and Vice President is posted on the White House website, and an article with photos is posted on the White House Blog.
In an interview with The Advocate, Obama said, "My strong sense is [implementation] is a matter of months… Absolutely not years."
Alaskans Together for Equality sent a message to their members and supporters following the senate's historic vote to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy on Saturday. Alaskans Together is the statewide LGBT advocacy group for Alaska.
Just over an hour ago the Senate by a vote of 65 to 31 repealed the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Today's vote allows lesbian, gay and bisexual people the ability to serve openly and honestly in our military. It's a wonderful step forward in our fight for full civil equality. We are extremely pleased to report that both Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Begich voted in favor of the repeal!
Your efforts made a big difference! This repeal couldn't have happened without you and your calls and emails.
Please take a moment in the next few days to call and email both Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Begich and thank them for their vote to repeal DADT. It is great to have two Senators that believe in fairness and equality in our military.
Please thank Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Begich for representing all Alaskans with their vote to repeal DADT today. Our military has become even stronger with today's vote.
Also, be aware there is still work to be done for the implementation of a full repeal of DADT. There is a 60-day waiting period, during which soldiers can still be discharged under the policy. We will post on our blog in the coming days when we have more details.
With all of our continuing efforts we are confident that we will have more victories to celebrate in 2011 on our road to achieving full civil equality in Alaska.
Let's enjoy today's victory.
Also, three Anchorage-based gay service members were interviewed by KTVA about the effects of the DADT policy and why repeal is necessary. The local troops are members of OutServe, a national network of gay and lesbian active-duty service members. (The clip was posted earlier this week, before Congress passed the stand-alone DADT repeal measure.)
A 3-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held a Prop 8 hearing on Monday, focusing on who has the right to appeal and how the case may be ruled. Here is a quick video report on the hearing:
Good written reviews of the appeals court hearing are posted atLGBT POV and Prop 8 Trial Tracker. The 2 1/2 hour telecast is available on C-SPAN (HERE). If you want to skip the issue of standing and start with the larger issues of Prop 8, watch part 2 HERE.
The panel's decision is expected in a few months, and will most likely be appealed to the full court.
This year's Gay-La program includes three films about gay men: Now and Forever, a supershort about an artist, a painting and two hearts that become one; a short narrative called Bedfellows, a modern-day spin on a fairy tale genre with two gay characters in the classic boy-meets-girl story set in New York City; and an award-winning one hour documentary Holding Hands, about Craig and Shane, a couple in Australia, who face a difficult journey to recovery after suffering a hate crime. Join AIFF for the screening and then head to Myrna's for drinks and food.
Holding Hands won two awards at the Spokane GLBT Film Festival last month, including the audience choice award. More about Holding Hands, and the trailer:
"Craig and Shane were holding hands when they fell victim to a brutal hate crime off Sydney's Oxford Street in 2007. The image of Craig's shattered face on the cover of the local newspaper called Sydney's queer community to action, and the couple were nominated leaders of the 2008 Sydney Mardi Gras Parade. The hardest year of this young couple's lives is documented through endless surgeries, physical and psychological recovery and their struggle to plan for their future. But at its heart, Holding Hands reveals that even in the worst circumstances, we can all create positive change."
Also screening in AIFF 2010 is Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives [link includes trailer] on Dec. 4 at Bear Tooth and on Dec. 10 at Out North. (Viewers must be 18 and older.)
"A group of transgender women are violently beaten and left for dead. After regaining their consciousness the violated vixens turn deadly divas and with their new-found confidence and courage, slice their way to vengeance. A homage to the exploitation/revenge films of the 70's and 80's, this film sets out to create a new and unique genre called -- transploitation. Loaded with titillating dialog, bodacious bods and extreme violence, this revenge-fantasy proves that it takes more than balls to get even."
The 2010 film festival runs December 3-16 at the Bear Tooth, Out North, Organic Oasis, Anchorage Museum, Wilda Marston Theatre and the Alaska Dispatch Hangar.
"North America's northernmost independent film festival celebrates its 10th event by getting movie-goers out from the cold and into the illuminating glow of hot films from around the globe."
A friend who has spoken with Sen. Lisa Murkowski told me that she'd directly said to him, "We're going to fight for your issues."
But as shown in comments broadcast last night on Anchorage's CBS affiliate, KTVA Channel 11 ( previewed at the Think Progress's The Wonk Room earlier in the day [Ref #1]), the closest she's able to come in public to saying what she said privately to my friend is more along the lines of, "I'm not going to fight you on your issues."
And clearly she sees them as "our issues" — not her own. Equality under the law for the homosexual community (the term she uses; transfolk are not mentioned) does not seem, in her eyes, to be the same as plain and simple equality under the law for all citizens.
So I caution people not to characterize Sen. Murkowski's comments last night to KTVA Channel 11's Matt Felling as "support" for repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Her actual words were, "I would not oppose the Defense Authorization bill because Don't Ask Don't Tell, the repeal of it, is included within it." It's not just semantics: to not oppose is not the same as to support. A person can not oppose, for example, by abstaining.
But when it comes to votes in Congress... well, I suppose that's better than a "no" vote.
Below is the video from KTVA Channel 11 News. Matthew Felling introduced the segment referring to the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is "thinking about bringing to a vote." Repeal of DADT is part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Senate authorization of NDAA was halted on September 21 by a Republican filibuster led by antigay former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain. [Ref #2]Sen. Murwkowski was not present at the vote — the only senator not present — because she was campaigning in Alaska. [Ref #3] Sen. Murkowski has previously indicated that her decision on Don't Ask Don't Tell was partially dependent on results of the Pentagon's comprehensive report on DADT. The Pentagon review is due for release in early December, but portions have already been leaked to the press.
A transcript of Sen. Murkowski's comments (corrected from the somewhat loose transcript at KTVA's site) are below the video. [Ref #4]
You have been waiting to hear from them, and they have said -- at least according to the polls that are out there, that have been leaked -- they're okay with it. Procedural behind the scenes things [notwithstanding]... are you more likely to vote for a bill saying "I hear them. And if they're okay with it, I'm okay with it?"
Sen. Murkowski:
And I have said that I would work to make sure that as long as it is supported by the troops, as long as it doesn't hurt the performance or the morale, or the recruitment -- these are all things that we want to take into consideration -- I think we will see that play out in this report. If in fact Don't Ask Don't Tell is included in the Defense Authorization and we get to the point where we can move that bill through — I would not oppose the Defense Authorization bill because Don't Ask Don't Tell, the repeal of it, is included within it. I have made the statement to others, that we are at a different point in time, if you will. There is, more clearly, a level of acceptance in our communities, at all levels of supporting and providing for that level of equality to the homosexual community. And I think that's important to recognize that.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut (an independent, formerly a Democrat) announced yesterday during a press conference flanked by 12 Democrats that he was confident there were enough votes to repeal DADT, and named Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Richard Lugar of Indiana as "yes" votes on NDAA and repeal of DADT. [Ref #5]The Washington Blade reported that another Republican, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, would also vote to repeal DADT. [Ref #6] So if Sen. Murkowski is good on her word, it seems that there are at least four Republican senators willing to cross party lines to repeal DADT... if only, in Murkowski's case, because "a level of acceptance in our communities... for that level of equality" has been reached.
Make sure to let her know that equality under the law for LGBT citizens, including LGBT servicemembers, is important to you:
Support LGBT servicemembers. Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell.
Recent DADT posts
I have recently become an ongoing contributor to Alaska's most important LGBT blog, Bent Alaska. Here's a list of recent stories on DADT both on Bent Alaska and my own blog, Henkimaa:
Tony Wagner of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), who was in Alaska last week, reports that,
[H]undreds of HRC members and repeal supporters have emailed and phoned Sen. Murkowski in the past 10 days lobbying her to do the right thing on this issue (and I delivered nearly 250 petition signatures on Monday).
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the White House are both making it clear that DADT needs to be acted on during the lame duck session of Congress. (See press release from HRC below.)
That doesn't mean it's time to ease off. In fact, comments made last night by Sen. Murkowski to MSNBC's Chris Hayes show it's still important to keep the pressure up on Sen. Murkowski:
So if you haven't done so already, please give Sen. Murkowski a call, and let Sen. Begich also know we're also counting on him. Tell them:
“Hi, my name’s [NAME] and I live in [TOWN]. I support all our servicemembers and they deserve to have the National Defense Authorization Act passed this year with funding for our troops, pay increases and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell included. I urge Sen. Murkowski/Sen. Begich to vote for cloture and final passage of this bill.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski 202-224-6665 (DC) 877-829-6030 (toll free)
Sen. Mark Begich 202-224-3004 (DC) 877-501-6275 (toll free)
Additionally, for those who have previously taken action, HRC is asking them to write letters to the editor:
Please write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper today and urge Sen. Murkowski to vote to proceed with and pass the NDAA. Our online tools make it easy to send your letter to the editor, so click here to get started!
The NDAA also provides many appropriations near and dear to Alaskans' hearts. Things such as a $10.2 billion allocation for Missile Defense programs is important to many Alaskans – as is troop pay raises, funding for IED countermeasures and mine resistant/better armored vehicles. Alaskans know funding these programs saves the lives of all our soldiers.
Writing a letter to your local newspaper is a great way to make sure that Sen. Murkowski and others in your community know that there’s strong support for the bill. Don’t wait any longer – click here to start RIGHT NOW!
Here's yesterday's press release from the Human Rights Campaign on Don't Ask Don't Tell:
Senate Majority Leader and White House Reaffirm Commitment to DADT Repeal in Defense Authorization Bill This Year
WASHINGTON – Key Senate leadership and Administration officials this evening met with representatives of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), and the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF). The officials told the groups that Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama are committed to moving forward on repeal by bringing the National Defense Authorization Act – the bill to which “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal is attached – to the floor in the lame duck session after the Thanksgiving recess. Further the Majority Leader and the President made clear their opposition to removing the DADT provision from the NDAA. Information on the exact timing and procedural conditions will be announced by the Majority Leader’s office.
Present at the meeting with representatives from HRC, SLDN and CAPAF were: Jim Messina, Deputy White House Chief of Staff; Phil Schiliro, White House Director of Legislative Affairs; Chris Kang, Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs; Brian Bond, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; David Krone, Chief of Staff to Majority Leader Reid; and Serena Hoy, Senior Counsel to Majority Leader Reid.
McCain taken down by Maddow & the Daily Show
And finally, Sarah Palin's running mate from 2008, Sen. John McCain, has walked back further and further from his past support for repeal of DADT. Now, McCain stands as perhaps the most virulent opponent and obstacle to removing this unjust law. On Monday, Stephen Benet wrote in his post "McCain Moves the goal posts" on the blog Political Animal:
Note the evolving excuses McCain has used to justify his anti-gay attitudes:
We can't repeal DADT until the Secretary of Defense says it's a good idea. Oh, he does?
Well then we can't repeal DADT until the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff says it's a good idea. Oh, he's on board, too?
Well then we can't repeal DADT until we've surveyed servicemen and women, asking their opinion on the policy. They're fine with repeal, too?
Well then we can't repeal DADT until we've studied the survey results for months.
That evening, Rachel Maddow did a scorching analysis of McCain's flip floppery not only on DADT, but on numerous other issues. "One of my favorite political conflict stories of all time," Maddow said, "is the sharp, bitter, decisive, at times inhumanely polarizing political conflict between John McCain and John McCain." See at 3:08 when he first condemns Jerry Falwell as "an agent of intolerance," but then changes his mind. Discussion of Don't Ask Don't Tell starts at about 5:05.
President Obama discussed Don't Ask Don't Tell in remarks yesterday morning after his post-election press conference:
Transcript courtesy Queerty (I've filled in some of the gaps):
I've been a strong believer in the notion that if somebody is willing to serve in our military, in uniform, putting their lives on the line for our security, that they should not be prevented from doing so because of their sexual orientation. And since there's been a lot of discussion of polls over the past 48 hours, I think it's worth noting that the overwhelming majority of Americans feel the same way. It's the right thing to do.
Now, as commander-in-chief, I've said that making this change needs to be done in an orderly fashion, and I've worked with the Pentagon, worked with Secretary Gates, worked with Admiral Mullen, to make sure that we are looking at this in a systematic way that maintains good order and discipline, but that we need to change this policy. There's going to be a review that comes out at the beginning of the month that will have surveyed attitudes and opinions within the armed forces. I will expect that Secretary of Defense Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen will have something to say about that review. I will look at it very carefully, but that will give us time to act, potentially during the lame duck session to change this policy.
Keep in mind, we've got a bunch of court cases that are out there as well, and something that would be very disruptive to good order and discipline and unit cohesion is if we've got this issue bouncing around in the courts as it already has over the last several weeks, where the Pentagon and the chain of command doesn't know at any given time what rules they're working under. We need to provide certainty. And it's time for us to move this policy forward. This should not be a partisan issue. This is an issue as I've said where you've got a sizable portion of the American people squarely behind the notion that folks who are willing to serve on our behalf should be treated fairly and equally.
Given the make-up of the next Congress, policymakers will have just one more chance to clear the way for repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy -- and it will come during the lame-duck Senate session that begins in two weeks. If the effort fails, it will be at least two years, and probably more, before anyone can even try again.
DADT's fate in December will depend largely upon whether at least two Republicans will be willing to vote for its repeal. Writes Benet,
In about a month's time, a majority of the troops, a majority of American civilians, a majority of the House, a majority of the Senate, the Commander in Chief, the Secretary of Defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and two of his recent predecessors will all be saying the exact same thing: it's time to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
And in all likelihood, it'll be up to Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine to decide whether the repeal effort lives or dies.
Tea Party candidate Joe Miller was born and raised in Kansas, stayed there after high school and met his wife there. She was also raised in Kansas. Later, he attended Yale and moved to Alaska, but his world view comes from Kansas.
When I heard about Miller's background, my first thought was, "Let's click our heels 3 times and send him home!"
My second thought: "I wonder if he knows the Westboro clowns?"
Just because he grew up in Kansas doesn't mean he was influenced by the Kansas "GodHatesFags" Phelps family clan, does it? No, you can't taint a whole state because of the antics of one crazy, media-obsessed family. Alaskans know that from painful experience.
I didn't think much of Miller and the Kansas connection until I read the Mother Jones report saying that he hired a political consultant who runs a pray-away-the-gay project... AND a hate group that thinks God will punish America for allowing gay people to be gay.
Well, heck, that sounds familiar!
Could Miller be connected to Westboro?
"We've got deep, deep roots in Kansas - multi-generations," Miller said.
Miller's parents, Rex and Sharry Miller, live in Manhattan [Kansas], where Rex used to own Christian Books & Gifts.
Manhattan, Kansas is just a few miles down the road from west Topeka, the home base of Fred Phelps' Westboro clan. It's a good bet that a radical Christian activist would check out the local Christian bookstores and get to know their owners.
Miller was raised in Salina and stationed at Fort Riley. His wife grew up in Junction City. These towns are just down Highway 70 from the Westboro compound.
Joe "deep roots in Kansas" Miller is now running for US Senate in Alaska. He won the GOP primary with the paid help of consultant Terry Moffitt, an extreme anti-gay activist with a goal very much like the Westboro hate group.
Moffitt is the chairman of the Family Policy Network, a group that passionately opposes homosexuality.
Moffitt's Family Policy Network runs a project called "Hope for Homosexuals" that encourages "practicing homosexuals to 'come out' of that destructive lifestyle, and to 'come home' to the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ… While the homosexuals celebrate their perversions, they are confronted with the truth that there is hope for deliverance in Jesus Christ." In June, the group hired an airplane to fly a banner near Disney World during a gay outreach day that read "Jesus Christ: WWW.HOPEFORHOMOSEXUALS.COM." It has flown this banner in other spots where there might be a collection of gays and lesbians...
The group's guiding principles, according to its website, include opposition to all fornication and homosexuality. It denounces "any efforts to convince society that homosexual behavior or 'being gay' is somehow normal or natural." The organization explains its antipathy to homosexuality "is the result of a healthy fear of God's judgment that will otherwise be wrought on individuals who reject God's laws and our our nation for turning a blind eye." That puts the Family Policy Network in the extreme camp of anti-gay activists—those who believe that God could punish the United States collectively, if Americans tolerate homosexuality. (This is reminiscent of when Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson partly blamed gay rights activists for the 9/11 attack.)
Rachel Maddow covered the Miller/Moffitt story on her show before she came to Alaska. It's the reason she was determined to interview Joe, even if she had to come all the way to Alaska and follow him around for two days until he spoke to her. Here's her original story on Miller & Moffitt:
When she was in Alaska, Maddow asked Miller about gays being cured. He said it's a state issue. (His absurd response is posted HERE.) So each state can decide whether or not the gay people living there can - or must - be "cured" by the dangerous and ineffective methods pushed by Moffitt.
As for Joe Miller: He isn't in Kansas any more, and it's up to the voters of Alaska to click our heels down to the voting booths and send him home!
With Scott McAdams gaining in the polls and Tea Party Joe slipping, LGBT democrats and undeclareds don't have to vote for Lisa M out of fear of Joe. We can vote for the candidate who supports equality and can win, the only candidate who will vote to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell: Scott McAdams.
Two months ago, when Joe won the primary and Lisa announced her write-in campaign, LGBT Alaskans were divided between Lisa and Scott. We agreed that we had to stop Joe, but disagreed on which other candidate had the best chance of beating him.
When DADT came up for a vote in the Senate, we flooded Lisa's office with calls asking her to be the moderate Republican she claimed to be and vote for the repeal. When Lisa confirmed that she would have voted with the GOP filibuster to block the repeal if she'd been in D.C for the vote, we learned that LGBT Alaskans are not important to her. We gave her a chance, and she brushed us off.
But the real tipping point for many voters was Lisa's speech in honor of Rev. Jerry Prevo, a baptist minister who built his reputation by spreading lies and hate against gays. The man bragged that his main legacy is blocking gay rights in Anchorage. And Lisa honored him!
HERE is a sample of anti-gay hate spewing from Prevo, a sermon he gave last summer against the equal rights ordinance, including the long list of insulting names he repeatedly calls us. (If you're not familiar with Prevo, follow the link and watch the video so you know first hand why Lisa's tribute to him is so disgusting.)
Lisa fawned all over this hater at the 39 year anniversary of his career at the temple of doom, Anchorage Baptist Temple. (Did I mention that they do exorcisms on gay kids? Really!)
Watch Lisa's tribute to the leader of anti-gay hate in Anchorage:
"It is such an honor and a real delight to be with so many here today... So much of what we've seen that has been good and strong has been built right here at the Anchorage Baptist Temple by Reverend Prevo... We thank you for what you have given our community – the guidance you have shown, and the love for so many. Continue it for another 39."
The good news is that we don't have to settle for Lisa out of fear of Joe. We can vote for someone who will vote for us, someone who has a real chance of winning if we pull together. Vote your values, not your fears: Vote for Scott McAdams.
Scott McAdams is a serious contender for the U.S Senate and Lisa is trying to steal votes from him with an ad featuring her supporters from his home base of Sitka. It's a low blow to turn someone's neighbors against him, especially in a small town. But it doesn't seem to be working with LGBTA Sitkans. The few gays, lesbians and out-spoken allies that I could find in Sitka are all voting for Scott.
When Scott won the democratic nomination and Joe won the GOP primary, I contacted a straight friend of my lesbian friend who used to live in Sitka. What did she think of Scott, I asked, and did she know any gay or lesbian Sitkans who might educate me on his attitude towards us?
She knew someone, and they knew someone, and we started a conversation. Three of them gave me permission to publish some of their comments - one lesbian, one gay man, and one ally - but only Mo, the ally, is comfortable including her real name with her comments. The others are 'out' about voting for Scott, but they (or their partners) do not want to be known as gay or lesbian to their employers.
The gay man summed up the thoughts of many LGBT Alaskans:
Scott would be a big improvement on what we have had and would get otherwise.
Our ally Mo McBride worked with Scott and had more to say:
I know Scott very well having worked in the school district he was on the board for. I will give you my impression which has its own biases... He is mayor of our city and was on the school board here for about 10 years. He has served on the statewide school board and even did some work with the national school board... I did not agree with his decisions many times when he was one the school board but I did not find him to be biased in his approach to his decisions. He has political speak which for me is like coctail speech, can talk briefly on many things and has good sound bytes but not good depth... He is a quick learner and can search out info when he wants to. He is supportive of gay issues, he has openly gay people who are working under him and they say he has not ever made that a concern for them... He is the first to say he is still learning, but he also now has experience in goveernment... I plan to vote for him even with my disagreements on his school board stuff. I think he can be an advocate for Alaska... I just hope we can keep Miller out. So my vote is for him and I think he is the most GLBT friendly vote of the three.
The lesbian and her partner both like Scott:
[My partner] liked working with Scott... I have dealt with Scott in a different capacity. He was on the local school district school board when I was a teacher within that school district. I dealt with him occasionally and it was always professional. He is our current mayor and seems to be doing okay. There have been concerns that the meetings are not as thorough and inquisitive when the assembly should be delving further into issues. Also, there are concerns that he has conflicts of interest between being mayor and working for Community Schools, which is a part of the school district. [He is currently on Leave of Absence from Community Schools, and Cheryl Westover is the new mayor.] I don't know Scott on a friend level so I really can't speak to more than this.
I'm pleased to hear that he attended [the LGBT Pride Conference]. I will be voting for Scott on Tuesday. There is no question about that for me.
There you have it - the word from LGBTA Sitkans: Vote for Scott McAdams!
Thanks to my Sitka friends for adding their voices to the conversation.
Rachel Maddow broadcast her show live from Anchorage on Tuesday night, after interviewing our U.S. Senate candidates and their supporters. Well, she interviewed Democrat Scott McAdams and write-in Lisa Murkowski, and finally got Tea Party Joe Miller to answer a few questions while walking through a building.
At one point she asked Miller, "Do you agree that homosexuality can be cured?" and he responded "it's a state issue." (Huh?) When she asked if he thinks being gay is a choice, he began part of his answer by saying "I wanna be straight with you." (I guess he doesn't know that she's a lesbian.) Later in the interview, she corners him on the federal marriage ban, which he supports despite the fact that he thinks it's a state issue. (Gotcha.)
Watch the Miller "interview" here:
The other segment that covered LGBT issues in Alaska was her candid talk with Tank Jones, bodyguard for Levi Johnston and tour guide for Rachel. At one point she asked if people here are conservative on social issues and are anti-gay, and he gave an interesting response:
No. Not here because we have... 3-4 gay bars here in this small town of Anchorage, and probably over half of the people that's in these campaigns are secretly gay but they won't come out. So we don't really have a anti-gay movement here like they have in other places because... diversity runs big here, very very big here, so we don't have that problem.
Well, there wouldn't be so many people afraid to come out if they felt accepted by the community, and we obviously do have that problem here. We also have an anti-gay movement. On the positive side, his answer is the only comment on the show about gay life in Anchorage, and it completely denies the existence of the anti-gays. Anyone who disses the local bigots is OK by me.
Watch the Tank segment:
The best part of the evening was Rachel's interview of Vic Fisher, a delegate to the convention that wrote the Alaska state constitution, and radio host Shannyn Moore. Vic points out that a constitution is designed to be a living framework, not a static document, and asks us to vote our values, not our fears. Shannyn notes that this election is part of an on-going feud between the Murkowski family and the Palin family. They both explain why we need to support and vote for Scott McAdams.
Watch the Vic and Shannon segment:
The other Alaska segments can be viewed on The Rachel Maddow Show and include interviews with Scott and Lisa and their supporters, and a great segment with ignorant Joe supporters. Between the taped sections, Rachel reported live from the Taproot Cafe in Anchorage. (Guess which bloggers can be seen behind Rachel?)
Thanks to Rachel and her crew for reporting from Alaska, and thanks to Shannyn Moore, Taproot and everyone who encouraged Rachel to visit. She rocks!
Cheryl Wheeler writes folk music and love songs that have been performed by many other singers, for example Dan Seals and Chris LeDoux. But she's also known for her comedy songs, including humorous ditties about potatoes, politics and religion. From "Dubya, Dubya" to "Lady Gaga's Singing Program" and "Your God", she entertains audiences with funny stories and songs in between the love and folk songs.
Cheryl and her wife Cathleen were married in 2004:
Since Cheryl lives in Massachusetts, she and Cathleen were able to get married. Cheryl's sister flew up for the ceremony. When talking about the experience during her shows, Cheryl has mentioned that they are both surprised how different they feel now that they are married. They had assumed it wouldn't make that much difference (other than legal issues), but have come to find out that being married really does make a difference.
Watch a music video of Aces, a classic Cheryl Wheeler song:
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka speaks out against discrimination in the workplace and in support of the It Gets Better Project. He connects anti-gay school bullying to job discrimination, and encourages us to Make It Better by standing together for fairness and equality. (For a local example of this message, the Alaska AFL-CIO is working to unseat anti-worker & anti-gay Rep. Kelly.)
In the spring of 2009, the Juneau Human Rights Commission showed the video Not In Our Town to start a discussion about prejudice and discrimination in general and about specific incidents in Juneau. Now they're working on the next step: setting up a local coalition on human rights.
The members of the Juneau Human Rights Commission have been working this past year on developing a Juneau Human Rights coalition of organizations and individuals here in Juneau. Juneau has many people of different ethnic origins and nationalities whom, in the past, have been victims of discrimination. Nationally, there has been an increase in groups promoting hate crimes towards racial minorities, gays and lesbians, and those of different religions and ethnic backgrounds. Bullying in schools has continued to plague communities around the country. To counter these concerns and to develop opportunity for dialogue among our citizens, the Juneau Human Rights Commission proposes to develop a local Human Rights Coalition.
The impetus for this has come from the efforts of the people in Billings, Montana, to confront hate crimes in the late 1980's and early 1990's. When violence against racial, ethnic and religious minorities exploded in Billings, the people of that city, through various groups and as individuals, drew together to demonstrate their belief in the pluralistic values that have been the bedrock of our nation. They dubbed their efforts, "Not In Our Town". Since then, "Not In Our Town" has become a national movement emulated in communities and cities across the country.
The Commission members here in Juneau want to foster that movement here in Juneau for many reasons. We want to foster a high level of understanding, support and acceptance of all members of our community. We want there to be a forum where issues can be discussed. We want to support the school district in its efforts at reducing bullying in the schools.
To better understand the nature of such a coalition and how it functions, we have invited Eran Thompson to speak at the Egan Library on the evening of November 3. Eran is from Billings, and while he wasn't there during the initial period of the early 1990's, Eran is current president of their "Not in Our Town" coalition. He will speak on the formation of the coalition, what it does, who belongs, how it relates to the community, and how it provides a forum for issues that Billings confronts.
ThisNot In Our Town video is an excerpt from a program they produced about communities uniting against hate.
Over 10 million people viewed the It Gets Better project started by columnist Dan Savage, millions participated in Spirit Day events wearing purple to raise awareness of anti-gay bullying, and thousands attended vigils for the gay teens who killed themselves recently. Yet the suicides continue, with another gay teen taking his life this week.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton uploaded an It Gets Better message on Tuesday, and President Obama followed with his message on Thursday. They are strong messages against prejudice and in support of LGBT youth.
Clinton's video was appreciated as the highest level government official to join the project at the time, while Obama's message sparked anger in the LGBT community because the good words are contradicted by his lack of action on behalf of gay rights.
Watch President Obama's It Gets Better video:
The It Gets Better project is about kids, anti-gay bullying and suicide prevention. This is the first time a sitting president has told gay youth that there is nothing wrong with them. He is a good speaker and his message can reach many people, including those who might not have heard this kind of message before and those who have been told otherwise. A speech like this from the president has the ability to save lives, and that's what the It Gets Better project is all about.
Now it's time to follow those words with deeds that actually make it better for LGBT youth and adults.
On Friday, Dan Savage responded to President Obama's video, voicing the mixed feelings expressed by the LGBT community:
Thanks to Dan Savage and his husband for creating a project that brings national attention to the problem of anti-LGBT discrimination and the harm it causes our youth and our society.
