Not impressed by his pro bono work on Romer v. Evans, Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, National Center for Lesbian Rights and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays all announced yesterday that they have decided to oppose Roberts’ nomination to the Supreme Court.

“His writings as a lawyer, his rulings as a judge and his statements as a policymaker all lead us to the unfortunate conclusion that Judge Roberts would not vote to protect our civil rights from those who are, at this moment, fighting so hard to take them away,” the groups said in a statement.

White House spokesman Steve Schmidt said the administration was unconcerned about the statement because it expected liberal advocacy groups to oppose the nominee.

“There are a great many groups that made a decision a long time ago to oppose whomever President Bush put forward for the Supreme Court. The only question was the date,” Schmidt said. “The answer for these groups is Aug. 25.”

What else ya got for me? This:

*Judge rules gay sex laws illegal
*Dismissal of gay teacher upheld
*Closing Arguments In Transgendered Teen Killing
*Two Men and a Baby
*Belgian lesbian in TV sperm appeal
*Human rights complaint against Bishop dropped

The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center has filed a claim against the city, contending it committed a civil rights violation by shutting down performances of a touring musical revue.

An ordinance requiring a city theater license was selectively enforced against the center last week for a presentation of Naked Boys Singing because it is a gay organization, according to the claim filed Tuesday by attorney Richard Hart on behalf of the group. The claim said such a permit was never required for other productions in the past and that numerous other venues typically present theater performances without one. It contends that, even though the production contains nudity, that was no excuse for the city to shut it down Thursday.

The presentation was halted Thursday when officers from the Milwaukee Police Department’s vice control division arrived and said the center had failed to obtain a city theater license, required if a production charges to see a performance. Anne E. Schwartz, a department spokeswoman, said vice officers handled the case because of the musical’s title.

A city ordinance prohibits frontal nudity but exempts theater and other art performances from the ban as long as they have “serious artistic merit” and the predominant nature of the business is not intended to “provide sexual gratification.”

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Jen at Transcending Gender posted about ODD ONES OUT, a film documenting “four years in the courageous lives of three transgender teens,” here. Homelessness and family rejection are highlighted topics in the film.

Here’s an idea on how to deal with the issue of children being rejected by their families and ending up on the streets: If you throw your child out, you’re not having another one. Ever. Sterilize the women and men who throw their child out with the trash. And here’s a preventative measure we can take to work towards seeing less children grow up alone: parents should be forced to prove they are capable of love (we should probably get a definition of love from them too, just to be safe) before they can have a child.

Do you know how much the ASPCA asks of a person before giving them a kitten? You won’t get one if you’re not employed, you need references, they want know how many hours a day you will be home spending time with your pet. Yet, children… Well, it’s a right to have a child. Children are a gift from God. News flash: It’s not really a gift if you need to have sex to get it.

So, prove to me that you should be allowed to have a child. What type of kitty food do you plan on using? If you haven’t thought about this, you’re not ready.

I previously posted about TransGeneration here. The Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will present the New England premiere of the film on September 7th.

*Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for students and seniors. All proceeds will benefit the CT TransAdvocacy Coalition.

Click over to WOW Report for an interview with Gabbie, one of the stars of TransGeneration.

What else ya got for me? This:

*Mysterious ‘Piano Man’ is gay German
*Gay group offers questions for Roberts
*California Senate Passes Resolution Calling for Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’; SLDN Applauds Resolution
*Senate votes yes for gay rights
*Aruba Must Register Lesbian Marriage
*Lesbian Contestant on America’s Next Top Model 5

Protestors have a message for queer teens: “You’re going to hell, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Because lesbian sexuality has been represented as an element of heterosexual male fantasy, it does not have the capacity to inspire the sort of fear and loathing that is at the heart of the religious-right appeals to gay sexuality.”

— Andrew Seligsohn, political science professor at Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY, speaking to Kelly Griffith in the August 16 issue of The Advocate

Stolen from Don’t Quote Me: Lesbian Sex and The Religious Right.

Did you notice that the somewhat daily quote has become the not so daily quote? Pretty soon it will just be quotes. And then what? You can help, yanno. Send me quotes you want me to post, with or without commentary. Don’t let the cute little quote category die. It never did anything mean to you.

R.J. McKay applied to have Diversity Dayton, a group representing those in the GLBT community, participate in the Kettering Holiday at Home Parade and received an email from Don Tate, 2005 Kettering Holiday at Home Parade President, stating that “controversy is something we try to consistently and fairly avoid” and denying the group’s application.

Tate hopes all groups who want to participate (”participate” meaning walk around with a forced smile pretending the world is perfect - see photo above - and women, if you could also show just the right amount of skin as to not be an angel or a whore along with that smile… that would be great, again- see photo above) will be sure to hold back on anything that would cause others to use their brains:

Before groups apply to be in the parade, Tate would like them to question themselves about their reasons for wanting to participate: “Is it to make a political statement or is it to be entertaining?”

For those of you who didn’t notice while viewing the Holiday at Home website, Clear Channel is listed as a major sponsor. Can we be shocked?

Are we shocked to get this news from Ohio?

Upset that they have been excluded from the planning of the Millions More Movement, black gay rights activists are planning their own rally.

Black gay rights activists plan to hold a rally at the same time and in the same town as the Millions More Movement, the 10th anniversary celebration of the Million Man March this fall.

Organizers of the concurrent rally are upset that their leaders have been excluded from the planning process of the anniversary event, set for Oct. 15.

Millions More Movement leaders have said gay people are welcome to attend the rally. Nation of Islam head Minister Lewis Farrakhan, who led the Million Man March, included gays in the list of the people he hoped would participate in the celebration, but so far no leaders from the LGBT community have been scheduled to speak. Nor have they been asked to take any kind of visible role in the celebration.

There were no openly gay speakers at the original rally, either.

“To say we’re welcome isn’t enough,” Philip Pannell, a longtime activist in the Washington, D.C. area, told the Washington Post. “There’s a big difference between simply being invited to stand on the Mall and actually being invited to speak and to bring up the issues that concern us, like homophobia, which the Movement is not addressing.”

There are also concerns about some of the leaders in charge of the Millions More Movement. Among their ranks is controversial minister Willie Wilson. Wilson, pastor of Union Temple Baptist Church, caused a stir when he gave a homophobic sermon back in July. The Rev. Wilson warned congregants that “lesbianism is about to take over our community” and the impetus for women to become lesbians is that “sisters [are] making more money than brothers, and it’s creating problems in families.”

About 100 people attended a Sunday meeting to discuss the alternate Oct. 15 rally. Organizers have reserved space in downtown Washington on Freedom Plaza, but there is no word yet on who will speak at the rally.

What else ya got for me? This:

*Violent sex attack denied
*Bishop of Worcester supports gay civil partnerships
*Gay Marriage Rankles Conservative Aruba
*Senate votes to clarify that civil rights law applies to gays
*DFAT defends efforts to help Aussie jailed in Fiji
*The Terry McMillan Divorce Case: Will She Get an Annulment? Will He Split Her Book and Film Money?
*Schools have role in helping gay youth feel safe
*More South Carolina gay groups donating to politicians

California’s highest court, becoming the first state supreme court ever in the US to deliver this decision, ruled yesterday that lesbians who conceive children while they are a couple must both be treated as parents, even if they are not registered as a couple, giving them rights and responsibilities similar to unmarried heterosexual parents.

“The Aggressives” documents the lives of six very different women, each of whom identifies herself with the concept of aggressives. The street word is AG, a term popular among women of color to describe females very much in touch with their masculinity. Historically, the words used to describe such women have been butch, passing woman, bull dagger, bull dyke, and stud. AG has joined this corner of the language of gender expression, as a positive word that these women use to communicate both empowerment and community…

The representation in Peddle’s film is principally black, though he sensitively includes Asian and Latina aggressives and their femme girlfriends. Audiences everywhere can see a world of gender expression that is almost Genet-like, with heightened femme and butch identities. Significantly, the AGs identify as female despite their amazing expression of masculine gender in hair, clothes, names, and role-playing.

Peddle takes his camera inside of a Newark contest hall where the best aggressive is to be chosen. The gender presentation would confuse even those most sensitive to varieties of masculine and feminine expression. These “men” are stunning in their strutting of female masculinity, with the swagger and self-confidence of seductive Olympians. The film offers a clear perspective on butch women who express their female masculinity gender while remaining identified as lesbians, rather than living a male identity in presentation or through medical intervention.

Men, in particular, will also learn much from how these aggressives treat the women they love. Peddle realistically shows expression of male braggadocio, but there is none of the dismissive and sometimes violent behavior some men express toward women they desire. It is important for these images to be seen on the screen, and not only by those who identify with femme/butch gender expression. It would be a loss if this film were simply nitched as such.

click over

Catch The Aggressives at BAM in Brooklyn, NY on Friday, August 26th.