Monthly Archives: April 2011

(Community Matters) Just announced: President Obama will be the keynote speaker at the LGBT Leadership Council Dinner on June 23 launching New York’s pride celebration. The evening will feature many of our community’s heroes from around the country. Join us.

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Like one of his heroes (Abraham Lincoln), Pres Obama will be remembered for his courage in further realizing the maxim “all men are created equal.”  Pres Obama promised to fight for our equality, and during his first two years, we’ve made greater legislative progress than in all previous years combined. Not only did we gain hate crime protections and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but the Dept of Justice has declared DOMA unconstitutional, the State Dept provides greater gender identity equality and rescinded the HIV travel ban, HUD has introduced LGBT nondiscrimination regulations, Health & Human Services requires hospitals recognize same sex directives and visitation privileges, and many other advances. President Obama is helping us lead many Americans in their evolution toward support for same sex marriage. Combined with strong, relentless advocacy from our community for full equality, the President is helping us get there more quickly than most imagined, albeit not fast enough for any.

I’m honored to be a co-chair along with my colleagues from around the country: Andy Tobias (NY), Terry Bean (Portland), Elizabeth Birch (DC), Wally Brewster & Bob Satawake (Chicago), Paul Horning (Atlanta), Barry Karas & Dana Pearlman (LA), Charles Myers (NY), Kathy Levinson (Silicon Valley) and Laura Rickett (Chicago).

Join us Obama Victory Fund 2012

(Community Matters) Great NPR story on our West Texas radio station that can

(Community Matters)

Vodpod videos no longer available.

(Community Matters) NYTimes: Even on Religious Campuses, Students Fight for Gay Identity – “It’s like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object,” said Adam R. Short, a Baylor freshman engineering student fighting for campus recognition of a club to discuss sexuality and fight homophobia.

(Community Matters) Hard to describe – started at one small stone house (thus the Stone House Fire) across the highway on the far west side of Marfa. Immediately spread across the street, at times the fire swept to the north so quickly our friend Paul (a volunteer firefighter) says their truck couldn’t keep up. Some cedar posts evaporated, cattle, coyotes, mountain sheep and other animals were burnt alive (if lucky, the others are being shot by compassionate men & women), up through the prairies along highway 17, at the end of the Marfa runway, spread across the highway, both sides of 17 – lunar surfaces today. The fire swept up houses on its way to Ft. Davis, and another 25 houses in Ft. Davis. Back along southern and western edges of Ft. Davis State Park, didn’t hit McDonald Observatory (yet. . .hopefully never . . . even today only 65% contained). Up through Wild Rose Path, the granite lined path from Ft. Davis to Balhmoreah. All the way up to the Boy Scout Camp – I read yesterday it was still just south of the camp – they now estimate 165,000 acres, 65% contained.  It takes over an hour to travel its distance by car

(Community Matters) Our Uncle Larry Tomlinson passed away on Saturday. He was a very strong man who maintained independence, optimism and playfulness in the face of challenges most of us don’t have to wrestle. I even enjoyed our political jostling since he could play right of Limbaugh.

Larry Tomlinson (right) at Thanksgiving (our cousin David on the left)

(Community Matters)

Happy Passover my friends

launching my first cup of wine

(Community Matters) S&P issuing downgrade assessment b/c of doubts US lawmakers can get it together. Better late than never (a credible Standards & Poor’s rating assessment). Our revenue & spending models are broken – both need to be fixed. Total bullshit to just look at one and not the other.

(Community Matters) Just out of a Marfa Public Radio board meeting – exciting things happening at the KTRS 90.5 public radio station. Soon we’ll announce a fantastic fundraiser (major headliner playing in Alpine) we think on Oct 22. We expect to close on the acquisition of the Odessa public radio station this summer (proceeding as planned). Many thanks to Joe Duran who served as our board president and to John Jennings who’s our new president. The staff is beyond outstanding; they (Tom Michael, Rachel Osier Lindley, Anne Adkins & our many volunteers) received special acknowledgment for the heroic work during the Marfa/Ft. Davis/Alpine fires.

btw, MPR is the presenting sponsor of the Fusebox Festival Late Night at Seaholm

(Community Matters) Celebrating 50 years – Toronto Star article

Hat Tip: Andrew Tobias

(Community Matters) Steven and I mostly chilled & caught up in each others’ lives yesterday – plus he mostly writing the monologue he’s performing at the People’s Community Clinic benefit on April 25; me mostly finalizing details of an April 23 event. Both of us standing by, seeking updates on Steven’s uncle Larry who’s in the hospital; it’s not looking good; our trip likely to be cut short.

Dinner last night with dear friends from New York and Marfa. The hosts, our friends Suzanne Tick & Terry Mowers live in Manhattan. Continue reading →

(Community Matters) I don’t even know the MTV show, The Real World but evidently one of its stars was bashing the idea of bringing on a gay roommate. Turns out the basher (Dustin Zito) was/is a gay for pay porn star – they always are aren’t they?

Pic from one of his movies as Fratman/Fratpad star, Spencer

Hat Tip: Towleroad