May 23, 2013
They did a very nice (and very fast) job with this. It will be in the Pride issue of Philadelphia Gay News, seen by the crowds coming into Philly for the weekend. Between this and our panel at NLGJA, I think that’s good promotion for us for the year.
May 23, 2013
Listen in as co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as welcome Dr. F. Lee Barham to the show. Dr. Barham is the author of ‘The Religious Right is Wrong, the Ethics of Religion and the Gay Community‘. The book is an exploratory journey through self-righteousness, ignorance, biased beliefs, and misinterpretations of the Bible and other ancient documents that have been used to oppress the gay community. The book explains why gay Christians should not believe everything they have been told or taught about gay sin and why the gay community should be denied the right to marry. SHOW LINK HERE
May 22, 2013
By Ed Bomba
Communications Chair, LGBT Elder Initiative
Originally Published in 10,000 Couples
The conversation about HIV/AIDS with LGBT seniors today is part prevention and part survival. There have been major changes in both. Whether you are neg or poz, partnered or single, you should have the latest information.
In prevention news
The FDA has approved Truvada, an anti-retroviral medication, as the first drug that can help prevent HIV infection: great news if you can afford it ($12,000 a year) and want to risk the possible side effects of the medication. This news is especially important for “sero-discordant” couples (one poz, one neg), sexually active singles and sex workers. With a daily dose of Truvada, if you are HIV negative, and your sex partner has a viral load that is undetectable, there is a much lower risk of infection than ever before. It is almost non-existent . . . almost. It is your decision about what risks you are willing to take.
Also on the prevention side for seniors is testing and diagnosis. Testing is now an easy swab of your mouth, in the privacy of your home. Testing is key because many doctors miss the signs of HIV infection in older adults. The symptoms of HIV infection often mimic symptoms associated with infections and age-related medical conditions typically found in seniors. If you are sexually active, make sure that your doctor tests you for HIV and all of the other STDs.
On the survival side
There are now 30 drugs approved by the FDA to treat HIV. For those of you who are poz and who have been paying attention, you know about the side effects. What many don’t know is that there are side effects from the medications, side effects from HIV, and side effects from aging.
More
May 22, 2013
Last year I read about Alex Sangha and his mission to create Dignity House, an affordable housing facility for LGBT seniors in Vancouver, British Columbia. Not long afterward, I interviewed him for lgbtSr HERE.
This coming June Alex has a new book coming out, a collection of commentaries titled ‘Catalyst’ that is intended to get people talking.
I’m also hoping to have Alex as a guest on our podcast in July. Here’s a description of the commentaries:
Vancouver, B.C. – An awareness of the problems around us isn’t enough.
Understanding the issues – how they connect and affect and ripple out to the edges of our lives – is the only hope for a better tomorrow. Catalyst: A Collection of Commentaries to Get Us Talking is a tool to encourage conversation about subjects that are sometimes hard to talk about.
Alex Sangha has produced a critical, yet positive, book that covers a range of table topics from environmental conservation to reconciling religion and sexuality, to depression and arranged marriage.
What sets Sangha apart is that he doesn’t just want readers to agree blindly with everything he says; he encourages critical thinking and debate by posing a question at the end of each article.
Catalyst is a great conversation starter and social discussion book designed for the informed citizen, as well as for parents and teachers who want to get young adults thinking and talking about the world around them.
Catalyst is a companion to The Modern Thinker, Sangha’s well-received book of 2011. All the articles in The Modern Thinker have been revised and 10 new articles have been added.
About the Author
Alex Sangha is an award-winning social worker and human rights activist who lives and works in the Metro Vancouver area of BC. Sangha has advocated for marginalized people including those with mental illness, South Asian immigrants, and gays and lesbians. Sangha is always interested in meeting new people, developing new friendships and relationships, and learning new things. He believes anyone can bring about social change and make a difference; all it takes is effort.
May 22, 2013
It’s about time!
Carol Burnett, the award-winning actress, comedian and Broadway performer, has been chosen by the Kennedy Center for the 2013 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the center announced Tuesday.
She is the first woman to win both the Mark Twain Prize and the Kennedy Center Honors, which she received in 2003. The 80-year-old is best known as the star of her eponymous variety show “The Carol Burnett Show,” which became one of the most decorated programs in television history, winning 25 Emmy awards and averaging 30 million viewers each week during its run from 1967 to 1978. She will be honored Oct. 20 at an awards ceremony at the Kennedy Center, which PBS will broadcast Oct. 30.
May 22, 2013
Peace out. But why do media outlets always grab the first photo of men kissing they can find for a gay story? Has anyone else ever noticed that? Apparently we can’t be readily identified any other way.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Peace Corps says it will begin accepting applications from same-sex domestic partners who want to serve together as volunteers overseas.
Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet says the change will diversify the pool of applicants who want to help improve the quality of education, health care and economic development in host countries around the world.
Married couples have been serving together in the Peace Corps since the organization was founded in 1961. About 7 percent of overseas assignments are currently filled by married volunteers who serve together.
Same-sex couples who want to serve together will be required to sign an affidavit verifying their relationship.
May 22, 2013
Unfortunately, the immigration bill has moved forward without some of its most vulnerable constituents: same-sex binational couples.
… Authors of the legislation hoped for a strong vote out of committee to help the bill as it heads to the Senate floor. Mr. Hatch’s support could help persuade other conservative Republicans to back the bill. He was joined in his “yes” vote by Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both Republican members of the bipartisan group.
The most emotional part of the committee process, which stretched over five days and 301 amendments, came late Tuesday, when Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who leads the committee, said that he would not offer an amendment allowing United States citizens to apply for permanent resident status, known as a green card, on behalf of their same-sex partners.
Mr. Leahy, according to immigration and gay rights advocates, was under pressure from the White House not to offer this amendment. Though both President Obama and Democrats in the bipartisan group support protections for same-sex couples in the bill, Republicans in the group have warned that such provisions would lead them to abandon the legislation.
Before Mr. Leahy announced his decision, Democratic senators, all of whom personally supported the provision, engaged in a lengthy and agonizing debate.
Continue at the New York Times
May 22, 2013
HIV rates among transgender people in Asia ‘disturbingly high’
Gay Star News
Attention to women’s diseases should reach beyond Angelina Jolie
MSNBC
White House To Honor 10 Openly LGBT Officials
By Jean Ann Esselink
US Airways touts diversity to LGBT group – Philly.com
Philly.com
LGBT marriage equality is at the halfway point – but what about NJ?
Out In Jersey
Sandoval signs transgender hate crime bill
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Advisors Missing Generational Shift?
Financial-Planning.com
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