Central Illinois Spring Fling '06

Peoria's Differently Normal Association (DNA) has announced the the date for their Spring Fling '06. Last year's event was way fun, and this year looks to be even better. We at Rainbow Gifts will be there again this year with tables full of our best stuff. Please join us on April 22nd at the East Peoria Convention Center for an evening full of great music, games and an appearance by the St. Louis Gay Rodeo Association & Country Line Dancers.

Mom's genetics could produce gay sons

The arrangement of a mother's genes could affect the sexual orientation of her son, according to a new study. The finding, detailed in the February issue of the journal Human Genetics , adds fuel to the decade-long debate about whether so-called "gay genes" might exist. Scroll to the bottom of the article for a story about the relationship in men between finger length and......um, aggression.

"...undermining Catholic teaching on homosexuality."

DePaul University in Chicago recently announced that it's offering a new "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer Studies" minor. That wouldn't normally turn heads (several universities have similar offerings), but DePaul is the nation's largest Roman Catholic university—and the Vatican's official teaching is that homosexuality is "objectively disordered." Some conservative Catholic groups are calling for the program to be abolished. "It's clearly portraying the culture in a favorable way," says Patrick J. Reilly, founder of the Cardinal Newman Society, an organization that promotes conservative teaching on Catholic campuses. "There's no doubt that this program, at least in a subtle way, is undermining Catholic teaching on homosexuality." The story from NEWSWEEK Periscope through MSNBC.Com.

The men also could face hormone treatments

With the troublesome news that the Prez wants to turn over control of six of the nation's largest sea ports to the United Arab Emirates, you can add this to the list of reasons why they are not as "democratic" as some of our leaders would have us believe: Eleven of 26 men who were arrested in November at an alleged gay wedding in Ghantout, United Arab Emirates, were imprisoned for six years on Feb. 11, local media reported. The story is from REX WOCKNER of Chicago's Windy City Times.

Hopeful future for trans athletes

Kristen Worley, a 2008 Olympic hopeful in cycling, has a secret. But now, with great anxiety, she’s divulging it. A few years ago, the Canadian had sex-change surgery to change her gender from male to female. With the help of a steady regimen of estrogen, Worley looks female, sounds female and, to anybody who didn’t know her before, is female. If Worley competes in the Beijing Games in 2008, it will be a milestone in Olympics history. There have been rumors of transsexual athletes participating in the Games, but none has ever come forward. An in-depth article from MSNBC.Com.

Banning harassment of GLBT in Iowa Schools

Students, teachers and state leaders gathered in Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday to renew a call for statewide rules banning the harassment of homosexuals in schools. Gov. Tom Vilsack supports a bill that would ban bullying in schools, with a specific ban of bullying that is based on a student’s sexual orientation. Some legislative Republicans opposed the bill last year and continue to oppose it. The story from Dan Gearino of the Quad City Times.

Bush gives $500 Million to fight gay marriage as deficit reduction tactic

President Bush signed legislation giving $500 million to faith-based programs to promote and strengthen opposite-sex marriage, a provision that's part of the deficit reduction bill passed by Congress. How this reduced the deficit is anybody's guess. The story from Queer Day.com.

$36M+ Each Year To Kick Us Out

It cost the federal government just under $364 million to discharge and replace about 9,500 gay service members during the first decade of the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The figure is 91 percent more than previously estimated, according to a study conducted by a panel of military experts assembled by the University of California. Here's an in-depth report from LOU CHIBBARO JR. of the WashingtonBlade.com.

Matriarch of family that lost seven to AIDS dies

Mary Goedken of Monticello, Iowa, the matriarch of a family that lost eight people to AIDS, has died. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no other family in the U-S is known to have lost more members to AIDS than the Goedkens. The story is from Davenport, Iowa's, KWQC-TV.

Straight Students Harassed for Having Gay Friends

The Straight Student Ally Report is a report on the life experiences of straight students who are friends or allies of LGBT students in Iowa’s high schools. The Iowa Pride Network’s Straight Student Ally Report is the second component to its recently released Iowa School Climate Survey, which detailed the life experiences of LGBT students in Iowa. Ryan Roemerman, Director of the Iowa Pride Network, detailed the study’s findings. “The majority of straight student allies in Iowa high schools are extremely distressed when hearing the words “gay” or “queer” used in a derogatory way (such as, “That’s so gay”); and confirm that Iowa’s LGBT students are being specifically targeted for harassment and assault.” The complete report is available in PDF from the Iowa Pride Network.

King a "fag enabler"?

Twelve hateful/hate-filled members of Fred Phelps' virulently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., protested at Coretta Scott King's funeral Tuesday. Camped out on the grass next to the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s stone-carved sign, the protesters, who made a name for themselves protesting at the funeral of slain gay college student Matthew Shepherd and most recently at the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, held signs that read Mrs. King was in hell because she was a “fag enabler” who advocated for gay rights. Follow the link to Dyana Bagby's story at the Washingtonblade.com.

And...an interesting couple of lines from one of our local papers "This Day In History" area -
1856 -- 150 years ago:
One of the many notoriously bad women who infest this city has made several public exhibitions of herself lately in male attire. Saturday evening while passing along Illinois Street, dressed out in the same style, she was arrested by officers Reddig and Lavee and lodged in the county jail.

"...appears to hunt down and kill HIV."

Researchers, including a BYU scientist, believe they have found a new compound that could finally kill the HIV/AIDS virus, not just slow it down as current treatments do. Assuming continued positive test results in animal and eventual human trials, it's estimated that it could be three to seven years before the compound is available by prescription. That transition could be accelerated, however, if the Food and Drug Administration should decide to fast-track the drug. Here's the link to the story in today's Salt Lake Tribune.

Dubuque includes sexual orientation as protected class

The Dubuque, Iowa, City Council has approved sexual orientation as a protected class under the city's human rights ordinance. Judy Haley Giesen, chairwoman of the Dubuque Human Rights Commission, said the council's approval of the amendment was long overdue. Here's the story as published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette online edition.

8000 (more) Hotties in Chicago This July

Gay Games VII, set for July 15-22 in Chicago, now has 8000 registered participants from more than 30 countries (including Sir Elton). You can keep up on all the news about the games at Gaygameschicago.org.

"We get our gay card punched on the way out"

The quote in this posts title is attributed to comic Kate Clinton, who claims homosexuals are mandated to see Brokeback Mountain. The line is in this article from USATODAY.com which has examples of the "culture of gay cowboy jokes". Note: there is a pop-up on the site.

The needed are still being lost

Early last year the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, estimated it cost the Pentagon nearly $200 million to recruit and train replacements for the nearly 9,500 troops that had to leave the military because of [it's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"] policy. The losses included hundreds of highly skilled troops, including translators, between 1994 through 2003. Opponents of the policy on gays acknowledge that the number of those discharged is small. But they say the policy exacerbates a shortage of medical specialists in the military when they are needed the most. The article from the Associated Press is at MSNBC.com.

De-gaying

Mark Hadrak, at his "My Gay Nerve..." blog has this thoughtful opinion on those who would "de-gay" us.

Cruise ‘South Park’ Show Censored

Tom Cruise has reportedly stopped an episode of South Park that mocks him from being aired in Britain. Here's the story from Hollywood.com. Last time we looked, the entire video was still here on YouTube.

AZ wants your money - VA apparently doesn't

Two stories seen on the online edition of the WASHINGTON BLADE this week illustrate the varying attitudes of humans vs. politicians. In this one titled Arizona wants gay dollars, the Associated Press says "Conservatives may be working to add a gay marriage ban on the ballot, but Arizona cities are working to welcome more gay tourists into the state." Phoenix leaders are planing to discuss ways to strengthen the city's gay tourism plan. In this other one, titled "Va. Senate panel passes severe marriage amendment", the Blade's ELIZABETH WEILL-GREENBERG outlines Virginia's proposed constitutional amendment. The article includes the text of the amendment.

"...demand equality and risk being clobbered."

Tom Scharbach of PurpleScarf has a post from January 11th entitled "Civil Unions Unmasked" in which he states that "...the idea that abandoning the push for civil marriage and instead pushing for civil unions would defuse social conservative backlash against gay and lesbian equality" is wrong. "The idea that gays and lesbians can somehow move to civil marriage in "increments" by appearing to give up the fight for full equality is an idea that has been tested, now, and proven false." In his opinion, "It is this simple: If gays and lesbians want be "tolerated", then gays and lesbians should be "sensible" and ask to be "tolerated", accepting something less than full citizenship. If, on the other hand, gays and lesbians want to be treated as every other American citizen is treated, then gays and lesbians have no choice but to demand equality and risk being clobbered." A thoughtful read at his PurpleScarf blog.