"Another Wrong Turn"Oil on canvas
Wes Hempel
Sunday, March 6, 2011
"Same Gender Loving People - No. 590"
"Life's True Adventure Is Love..."
Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.
Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
"The Cost Of Freedom..."
In the radio interview below, we learn how great the cost of freedom can be... For this young man, who was one of our own, he gave "the final measure of devotion to duty and love of country." This was the price he paid not only for our future and perhaps that of the Afghan people, but more importantly, for his own freedom and the promises of liberty and justice for all...
Mother Recalls Soldier's Love of Classical Music, Numbers
by Elizabeth Dunbar and Curtis Gilbert
March 4, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. — Lori Wilfahrt remembers the day her son Andrew told her he was joining the military.
"I was speechless," Wilfahrt said. "I thought, 'How on earth did you come to this?'"
Andrew Wilfahrt was a peace activist, she said. Numbers fascinated him, and classical music was his passion. Like his mother, he opposed the U.S. wars in the Middle East.
He was also gay, and "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was still the law of the land. Wilfahrt was concerned about homophobia, and his mother was, too. But he said he needed the structure, so he went back into the closet and off to Basic Training.
Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, 31, of Rosemount died Sunday in Afghanistan when insurgents attacked his patrol with an improvised explosive device.
He is the first known gay member of the military from Minnesota to be killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Lori Wilfahrt spoke with MPR's Morning Edition about her son.
Cathy Wurzer: Tell us about your son. We hear he was a gentle soul.
Lori Wilfahrt: He was a gentle soul. He was very kind and compassionate. He was interested in a lot of things, but more at a level of detail than what I think most people pursue something. He was fascinated with numbers, and patterns with numbers and palindromes. He would often spot a series of numbers and say, 'Well, if you add up your birthday and your birthday it equals this.' Or, 'All of our birthday dates combined equals our home address.' Just odd things like that.
He was a very interesting person. I think he was very learned without going to traditional college system. He read a lot, he loved plays. He really loved music -- that was his passion. He composed music, he was a classical musician but not trained. He was self-taught. He spent many hours doing things like this and pursuing his own education.
Wurzer: Why did he join the military?
Wilfahrt: He had spent many years after high school going from job to job, wondering what he should do with himself. He moved home when he was about 24. He lived with us for five years, and I think he tried to grow up. He really turned out to be an interesting, wonderful young man. But I think he still sought something else. He was looking for a purpose, a life of meaning. I think he missed the camaraderie of a group of people that would be working together toward something.
Wurzer: You must have been concerned when he said he was going to join the military.
Wilfahrt: I was speechless. I thought, 'How on earth did you come to this?' He was kind of a peace activist and he hated war, and there was nothing in his life that indicated that he would ever be interested in the military, so yeah I was surprised.
Wurzer: He was also gay. How much did that concern you knowing he was joining the military?
Wilfahrt: It did a lot. I think it concerned him as well. He spent a lot of time thinking about it and he came to terms with it. He knew he would have to go back in the closet, that he would have to keep that to himself. And he did, for at least part of his stay in the Army. But when I talked to him (or when he wrote maybe) when he was in Afghanistan, he said nobody cares. He said, 'Everybody knows, nobody cares.' He said, 'Even the really conservative, religious types, they didn't care either.' He said it's about something else.
Wurzer: What did he get out of it?
Wilfahrt: When he said he was joining the military, he needed structure and discipline, which was true. But it was kind of funny, because that was always something he kind of rebelled at. He didn't like structure; he did not really like authority when he was a younger teenager and young man. But I think he needed to know what he was going to do when he got up every morning and he didn't have to hide that from himself. I think that was part of it. I think he really ended up really loving being with a group of people every day and working together toward something. I think he made some pretty tight connections when he was there with people, and I think that's what he got out of it.
Wurzer: Who has supported you since your son died?
Wilfahrt: Certainly our friends and family, we have very wonderful friends and family members, and all of our children have come home. All of that has been very helpful, but I have to say, the Army -- I had some stereotypes and preconceived notions about the Army and the military, but they have been amazing. They have been with us the whole way. They've been very careful and respectful. They've taken care of things, and they've told us what to expect. In fact, yesterday we had a phone call from four people from his unit that are still in Afghanistan, and they called our house to give us their condolences and to talk about Andrew. I just think they've bent over backwards to help us, and I just didn't know that this is what they were.
********
"A life lived in fear is a life half-lived..."
"Love Is In The Air.."
Mexico City Records 700 Weddings In First Year of Law Allowing Same-Sex Marriage
4/03/2011
MEXICO CITY - Seven hundred gay and lesbian couples have married in Mexico City since the capital enacted the first law in Latin America explicitly allowing same-sex marriages a year ago.
The city government says there have been 367 marriages between men and 333 between women since March 4, 2010.
The government said Friday that 73 foreigners were among those married, and the rest were Mexican citizens. It says nine of those who got married were between the ages of 71 and 90 years old.
The federal government challenged the law but Mexico's Supreme Court upheld it in an August ruling.
********
"A life lived in fear is a life half-lived..."
"A life lived in fear is a life half-lived..."
"Same Gender Loving People - No. 589"
"The Greatest Adventure... Love, Marriage, Family"
Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.
Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.
"The End of Don't Ask, Don't Tell...?"
Navy Seeks to Discharge Sailor Found Asleep in Bed with Another Male Sailor
By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 4, 2011; 12:17 PM
To hear Navy Petty Officer Stephen C. Jones tell it, what happened in his bedroom one night last month was purely innocuous: Another male sailor came by to watch "The Vampire Diaries," and they both dozed off in the same bed. "That is the honest, entire story," Jones said.
Navy officials, however, have a different view of his bedroom behavior at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, near Charleston, S.C. Even though there is no evidence the 21-year-old sailor committed any hanky-panky or that his friend was not permitted to visit, Jones has been charged with dereliction of duty. The Navy is seeking to discharge him, a move that he is contesting.
"The subterfuge is, they believe this kid is a homosexual, but they have no proof of it," said Gary Myers, Jones's civilian attorney. "So what they've done here is to trump this thing up as a crime. This is not a crime."
In December, President Obama signed legislation that will eventually allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the ranks for the first time. But the law will not take effect until 60 days after Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and other officials formally certify to Congress that the military is ready to fully integrate gays and lesbians.
In the meantime, the Pentagon has effectively frozen many pending investigations into whether individual service members are gay. A Defense Department spokeswoman said Pentagon officials have not approved the discharge of anyone for violating "don't ask, don't tell" since at least October.
But some gay rights advocates have questioned whether individual commanders opposed to the new law might try to subvert it by pressing other disciplinary charges against people they suspect of being gay.
"It's been the case for years that commanders had at their disposal the means to chapter someone out of the military for something other than homosexual conduct," said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, a group that pushed for an end to the "don't ask, don't tell" law. "If you want to get rid of somebody, you can always find something to punish them for."
Jones, who under current policy cannot say whether he is gay, has been charged with a vague transgression: "willful failure to exhibit professional conduct" in his bachelor enlisted quarters.
Military official declined to comment on Jones's case, citing privacy rules. But Thomas Dougan, a spokesman for the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, denied that officials were discharging anyone based on sexual orientation.
In an e-mailed statement, he noted that it is the Defense Department's policy "not to ask service members or applicants about their sexual orientation, to treat all members with dignity and respect, and to ensure maintenance of good order and discipline."
According to the Navy's investigative summary of the episode, the trouble started shortly after midnight on Feb. 6, when Jones's roommate, Tyler Berube, returned from an out-of-town trip.
As he opened the door, Berube saw Jones "asleep in bed with another male sailor," according to a statement that Berube gave to investigators. Berube stated both were wearing only boxer shorts but got dressed and left after he woke them up.
Jones said in his account to investigators that he was wearing pajamas but that neither he nor his friend, Brian McGee, had intended to fall asleep or spend the night together. He said the encounter was platonic.
The investigative summary and charging documents do not specify how Jones's actions constituted unprofessional conduct. Jones said his friend often stopped by his room to watch videos, and noted that visiting hours lasted until 2 a.m. that Saturday night. He and his attorney said they have repeatedly asked the Navy for clarification.
Dougan, the Navy spokesman, acknowledged that no regulation specifically prohibits sailors from falling asleep in the same bed. But he said rules do require them to "behave professionally in the barracks" and that Bailey, the commanding officer, concluded that Jones and McGee had not done so. "The determination was that two sailors sharing the same rack was unprofessional."
McGee was also charged in the case. Unlike Jones, he agreed to accept lesser disciplinary proceedings that resulted in docked pay but allowed him to stay in the Navy.
Neither man was officially charged with being gay. But Jones said McGee told him their commanding officer, Capt. Thomas W. Bailey, "asked him if being a homosexual was going to be an issue" if he stayed in the Navy.
McGee declined to be interviewed for this story. Bailey did not respond to a request for comment.
Jones, who is from Pensacola, Fla., said he was contesting the charge against him because he hadn't done anything wrong. He said he has not had any other disciplinary problems since he joined the Navy last summer, nor any run-ins with his roommate or superior officers.
"I have always been one to stand up for what I think is right," he said.
Asked by a reporter whether he was gay, Jones said: "Under the circumstances, that is my business and my business alone."
By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 4, 2011; 12:17 PM
To hear Navy Petty Officer Stephen C. Jones tell it, what happened in his bedroom one night last month was purely innocuous: Another male sailor came by to watch "The Vampire Diaries," and they both dozed off in the same bed. "That is the honest, entire story," Jones said.
Navy officials, however, have a different view of his bedroom behavior at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, near Charleston, S.C. Even though there is no evidence the 21-year-old sailor committed any hanky-panky or that his friend was not permitted to visit, Jones has been charged with dereliction of duty. The Navy is seeking to discharge him, a move that he is contesting.
"The subterfuge is, they believe this kid is a homosexual, but they have no proof of it," said Gary Myers, Jones's civilian attorney. "So what they've done here is to trump this thing up as a crime. This is not a crime."
In December, President Obama signed legislation that will eventually allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the ranks for the first time. But the law will not take effect until 60 days after Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and other officials formally certify to Congress that the military is ready to fully integrate gays and lesbians.
In the meantime, the Pentagon has effectively frozen many pending investigations into whether individual service members are gay. A Defense Department spokeswoman said Pentagon officials have not approved the discharge of anyone for violating "don't ask, don't tell" since at least October.
But some gay rights advocates have questioned whether individual commanders opposed to the new law might try to subvert it by pressing other disciplinary charges against people they suspect of being gay.
"It's been the case for years that commanders had at their disposal the means to chapter someone out of the military for something other than homosexual conduct," said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, a group that pushed for an end to the "don't ask, don't tell" law. "If you want to get rid of somebody, you can always find something to punish them for."
Jones, who under current policy cannot say whether he is gay, has been charged with a vague transgression: "willful failure to exhibit professional conduct" in his bachelor enlisted quarters.
Military official declined to comment on Jones's case, citing privacy rules. But Thomas Dougan, a spokesman for the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, denied that officials were discharging anyone based on sexual orientation.
In an e-mailed statement, he noted that it is the Defense Department's policy "not to ask service members or applicants about their sexual orientation, to treat all members with dignity and respect, and to ensure maintenance of good order and discipline."
According to the Navy's investigative summary of the episode, the trouble started shortly after midnight on Feb. 6, when Jones's roommate, Tyler Berube, returned from an out-of-town trip.
As he opened the door, Berube saw Jones "asleep in bed with another male sailor," according to a statement that Berube gave to investigators. Berube stated both were wearing only boxer shorts but got dressed and left after he woke them up.
Jones said in his account to investigators that he was wearing pajamas but that neither he nor his friend, Brian McGee, had intended to fall asleep or spend the night together. He said the encounter was platonic.
The investigative summary and charging documents do not specify how Jones's actions constituted unprofessional conduct. Jones said his friend often stopped by his room to watch videos, and noted that visiting hours lasted until 2 a.m. that Saturday night. He and his attorney said they have repeatedly asked the Navy for clarification.
Dougan, the Navy spokesman, acknowledged that no regulation specifically prohibits sailors from falling asleep in the same bed. But he said rules do require them to "behave professionally in the barracks" and that Bailey, the commanding officer, concluded that Jones and McGee had not done so. "The determination was that two sailors sharing the same rack was unprofessional."
McGee was also charged in the case. Unlike Jones, he agreed to accept lesser disciplinary proceedings that resulted in docked pay but allowed him to stay in the Navy.
Neither man was officially charged with being gay. But Jones said McGee told him their commanding officer, Capt. Thomas W. Bailey, "asked him if being a homosexual was going to be an issue" if he stayed in the Navy.
McGee declined to be interviewed for this story. Bailey did not respond to a request for comment.
Jones, who is from Pensacola, Fla., said he was contesting the charge against him because he hadn't done anything wrong. He said he has not had any other disciplinary problems since he joined the Navy last summer, nor any run-ins with his roommate or superior officers.
"I have always been one to stand up for what I think is right," he said.
Asked by a reporter whether he was gay, Jones said: "Under the circumstances, that is my business and my business alone."
Yes, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is nearly complete, but I doubt that will stop homophobes from using whatever means they can to keep GLBT service members either in the closet or out all together.
The photo I chose to depict this story is not of Stephen C. Jones, but I suspect it probably does represent a pretty fair approximation of what the roommate saw. I remember BEQ rooms well, they resemble college dorm rooms usually with smallish twin size beds. If two sailors were in one of these beds, they'd very likely be this close to one another. And, even if this was the case, he's right, even under current law (DADT is not dead yet) he (they) did nothing wrong in falling asleep together.
The Navy's Nuclear Power program is an elite part of the service, only the best and the brightest make it in. And like any elitest group, "Nukes" have their own culture and code of conduct and I suspect that's what's at work here... institutionalized homophobia.
Yes, the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is in sight, but clearly homophobia is still alive and well in the U.S. Navy.
"Fear Eats the Soul"
"In The News Today..."
By Steve Brewer
3 March 2011
Mike Gin would be the first openly gay Republican in US Congress The mayor of Redondo Beach, California is planning to run for a seat in US Congress, which would make him the first openly gay Republican voted into the House.
Mike Gin, 48, has been a councilman in Redondo Beach for eight years and is in his second term as mayor.
There are no openly gay Republicans currently serving on Capitol Hill, but he would be the fifth openly gay member of the House. According to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, Gin would be the first out gay Asian American to run for Congress.
“Certainly, being a gay man has always been who I’ve been, and for me, it never really has been a factor or reason for doing things,” Mr Gin told the Bay Area Reporter. “It is a part of me just as much as being a Chinese American.”
Mr Gin and his husband, Christopher Kreidel, were part of the 18,000 gay people married after the California Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that same-sex marriages were legal, but before the Proposition 8 vote overturned the decision.
“Christopher is the first person I asked before I ever started exploring this race. He has been with me since 1995 when I first got elected to the city council,” said Gin. “He is very supportive of me in everything that I do.”
Mr Gin is a member of Log Cabin Republicans, an organisation that advocates for gay and lesbian equality in the Republican Party.
3 March 2011
Mike Gin would be the first openly gay Republican in US Congress The mayor of Redondo Beach, California is planning to run for a seat in US Congress, which would make him the first openly gay Republican voted into the House.
Mike Gin, 48, has been a councilman in Redondo Beach for eight years and is in his second term as mayor.
There are no openly gay Republicans currently serving on Capitol Hill, but he would be the fifth openly gay member of the House. According to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, Gin would be the first out gay Asian American to run for Congress.
“Certainly, being a gay man has always been who I’ve been, and for me, it never really has been a factor or reason for doing things,” Mr Gin told the Bay Area Reporter. “It is a part of me just as much as being a Chinese American.”
Mr Gin and his husband, Christopher Kreidel, were part of the 18,000 gay people married after the California Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that same-sex marriages were legal, but before the Proposition 8 vote overturned the decision.
“Christopher is the first person I asked before I ever started exploring this race. He has been with me since 1995 when I first got elected to the city council,” said Gin. “He is very supportive of me in everything that I do.”
Mr Gin is a member of Log Cabin Republicans, an organisation that advocates for gay and lesbian equality in the Republican Party.
Friday, March 4, 2011
"In The News Today..."
One of the founding fathers of "Hip-Hop" music and culture, Russell Simmons comes out in favor of marriage equality.
"Same Gender Loving People - No. 588"
"The Truth of Love Is Trust..."
Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.
Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
"Never Be Ashamed Of Who You Are..."
Charles Pugh, Detroit City Council President
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Pugh (born August 3, 1971 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American television journalist and politician, who was elected council president of Detroit City Council in Detroit's city elections in 2009. Pugh is best known for his early career as the news anchor on the WJBK, the Fox affiliate from 1999 to 2009.
A former news anchor for WJBK, Pugh resigned from the station in March 2009 to pursue his political campaign. He won the most votes of any council candidate on election day, giving him the title of council president, despite a controversy late in the campaign when he acknowledged that he had been struggling financially and his home had been foreclosed.
Pugh, who came out as gay in 2004, is the city's first openly gay elected official.
**********
"Fear Eats the Soul"
"Fear Eats the Soul"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)