Human Rights
As the new year unfolds, one unmistakable fact remains unreported in America’s submissive mainstream media: our President George W. Bush is a war criminal. Any attempt to state this obvious fact is ignored and any Democratic Presidential hopeful who suggests we repudiate the new Bush doctrine of American imperialism and instead, work for world peace, is dismissed as a “vanity” candidate and told to drop out of the race.
The not-for-profit site QBliss, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Intersexed and Allies Community and Life Site! (www.qbliss.net) has launched a new anti-hate campaign. QBliss' Stop Hate Campaign Which began this month with launching the sites first multi-cover story that includes, 15 features done by 13 QBliss' writers all dealing with Hate. (www.qbliss.net/hate/intro/)
The QBliss' Stop Hate Campaign will also continue throughout the rest of this year and all of 2004, with more features, information, profiles, programs, sponsored events and an ad campaign of public service announcements.
The Hate features include:
a.. Legacy Of A Scarecrow, Five Years Later... Matthew Shepard, by QBliss Editor in Chief - R. Olivera Jr.
b.. Turning Point - Harvey Milk, by QBliss writer and author - Paul D. Cain.
c.. This Little Light -The Legacy Of Sakia Gunn, by QBliss writer, columnist and author - R. A. Melos.
The QBliss' Stop Hate Campaign will also continue throughout the rest of this year and all of 2004, with more features, information, profiles, programs, sponsored events and an ad campaign of public service announcements.
The Hate features include:
a.. Legacy Of A Scarecrow, Five Years Later... Matthew Shepard, by QBliss Editor in Chief - R. Olivera Jr.
b.. Turning Point - Harvey Milk, by QBliss writer and author - Paul D. Cain.
c.. This Little Light -The Legacy Of Sakia Gunn, by QBliss writer, columnist and author - R. A. Melos.
As we head into our own experiment with regime change, gay issues will be pushed yet again towards the forefront of American political debate. But this will not be a rehashing of the '92 cycle, with a potential president making lofty promises to the gay community only to break them when a conservative wind blows his way. Instead, candidates will rush to assure the American voter that they will oppose any attempt to legalize homosexual unions or support a codified definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. Unfortunately, with the conservative Republican party entrenched against them and the more moderate Democratic party having abandoned them, gays and lesbians can be assured that this promise will remain inviolate.
Over 50 GLBT and allied community members attended a Candidate’s Night on Thursday evening at the King Avenue United Methodist Church hosted by Stonewall CAN (Community Action Network), Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio and the Log Cabin Republicans. Sixteen candidates and campaign representatives attended the forum and presented on various issues, including, discrimination against GLBT persons, domestic partner benefits and ensuring a safe environment for GLBT youth in Columbus public schools.
Beacon Fellowship is shocked and appalled over the comments and intentions of President Bush regarding same-sex marriage.
During a press conference yesterday, Bush made it very clear that he opposes same-sex marriage and that he has government lawyers working to ensure that the only legal definition of marriage is between a man and a woman.
"Clearly, Bush and his religious taliban supporters are determined to make gays and lesbians into third-class citizens, despite the fact that gays and lesbians are also taxpayers, are employed by the government, and serve proudly in the military" says Perry Slone, Director of Beacon Fellowship.
"The same type of hate and rhetoric was used against African-Americans 30-40 years ago, just take out the word "homosexual" and replace it with "black" or "colored" and its the same thing" says Mr Slone.
During a press conference yesterday, Bush made it very clear that he opposes same-sex marriage and that he has government lawyers working to ensure that the only legal definition of marriage is between a man and a woman.
"Clearly, Bush and his religious taliban supporters are determined to make gays and lesbians into third-class citizens, despite the fact that gays and lesbians are also taxpayers, are employed by the government, and serve proudly in the military" says Perry Slone, Director of Beacon Fellowship.
"The same type of hate and rhetoric was used against African-Americans 30-40 years ago, just take out the word "homosexual" and replace it with "black" or "colored" and its the same thing" says Mr Slone.
ANTI-VIOLENCE WEEK OCTOBER 6-12, 2003
The purpose of the Week is to educate and raise awareness about violence and explore ways to reduce and prevent violence in our homes and communities. This year will mark the 5th anniversary of the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. Matthew was murdered in October of 1998 because he was gay.
So far, the plans for the Week include an anti-violence resource expo, a town hall meeting to discuss violence, and a memorial service to honor and remember Metthew and all victims of violence.
WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT FOR THE ANTI-VIOLENCE WEEK....
OCSJ is looking for organizations and individuals to develop and conduct workshops and programs on the following issues:
Family violence/Youth violence Same-sex couples and domestic violence Guest speakers for the town hall meeting
You or your group, business, organization, church, etc can also support the Week by becoming co-sponsors. For a donation of $125.00, we'll gladly list your name or the name of your group, etc in all flyers, press releases and other PR that we will be doing for the Week.
The purpose of the Week is to educate and raise awareness about violence and explore ways to reduce and prevent violence in our homes and communities. This year will mark the 5th anniversary of the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. Matthew was murdered in October of 1998 because he was gay.
So far, the plans for the Week include an anti-violence resource expo, a town hall meeting to discuss violence, and a memorial service to honor and remember Metthew and all victims of violence.
WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT FOR THE ANTI-VIOLENCE WEEK....
OCSJ is looking for organizations and individuals to develop and conduct workshops and programs on the following issues:
Family violence/Youth violence Same-sex couples and domestic violence Guest speakers for the town hall meeting
You or your group, business, organization, church, etc can also support the Week by becoming co-sponsors. For a donation of $125.00, we'll gladly list your name or the name of your group, etc in all flyers, press releases and other PR that we will be doing for the Week.
That GLAAD's campaign against the 'Savage Nation' show on MSNBC has itself generated strident criticism should surprise no one. Though considered by many "an act of faith," as William Fulbright so eloquently referred to it, and as GLAAD apparently grasps it, dissent seems today a much-maligned concept both within our community and nation.
Fear of terrorism, the war in Iraq and one party control of all three branches of the federal government have together helped foster an environment in this nation hostile to dissent--however loyal or reasonable it may be. Those who express unpopular or critical views regarding our nation's policies and actions are oft labeled "unpatriotic," and calls for "unity" are frequently utilized by those in power to bully opponents and suppress dissent.
Fear of terrorism, the war in Iraq and one party control of all three branches of the federal government have together helped foster an environment in this nation hostile to dissent--however loyal or reasonable it may be. Those who express unpopular or critical views regarding our nation's policies and actions are oft labeled "unpatriotic," and calls for "unity" are frequently utilized by those in power to bully opponents and suppress dissent.
Ten days after Governor James A. Rhodes assumed office on January 14, 1963, a Cincinnati FBI agent wrote Director J. Edgar Hoover a memo stating: “At this moment he [Rhodes] is busier than a one-armed paper hanger . . . . Consequently, I do not plan to establish contact with him for a few months. We will have no problem with him whatsoever. He is completely controlled by an SAC [Special Agent in Charge] contact, and we have full assurances that anything we need will be made available promptly. Our experience proves this assertion.”
Why would the FBI assert that the newly-inaugurated governor of Ohio is “completely controlled”? Media sources like Life magazine noted the governor’s alleged ties to organized crime and the Mafia in specific. Gov. Rhodes’ FBI file, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, suggests that it may be because of the FBI’s extensive knowledge of Rhodes’ involvement in the numbers rackets in the late 1930’s that the Bureau could count on his cooperation.
Why would the FBI assert that the newly-inaugurated governor of Ohio is “completely controlled”? Media sources like Life magazine noted the governor’s alleged ties to organized crime and the Mafia in specific. Gov. Rhodes’ FBI file, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, suggests that it may be because of the FBI’s extensive knowledge of Rhodes’ involvement in the numbers rackets in the late 1930’s that the Bureau could count on his cooperation.
The only reason George W. Bush is president today – unleashing the dogs of war and pushing the U.S. into becoming a hard right, authoritarian and militaristic state – is the unconscionable “War on Drugs.”. Like Benito Mussolini in the 1920s, drug wars are usually the harbinger of encroaching authoritarianism, as the state utilizes its police forces to disenfranchise voters and silence dissent.
A February 23, 2000 USA Today article summed up the impending impact of the drug war on the 2000 election complete with the usual bar graphic. The key figure, of course, was that 31% of Florida's black male population was prevented from voting due to felony convictions. Florida, and eleven other states of the former Confederacy, disenfranchise felons for life, rather than restoring their voting rights after they are released from prison.
A February 23, 2000 USA Today article summed up the impending impact of the drug war on the 2000 election complete with the usual bar graphic. The key figure, of course, was that 31% of Florida's black male population was prevented from voting due to felony convictions. Florida, and eleven other states of the former Confederacy, disenfranchise felons for life, rather than restoring their voting rights after they are released from prison.
James Coleman, Chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, testified before Congress on June 20 urging reform: “When the criminal justice system wrongfully sends an innocent person to prison or death row, it threatens all of us. The unimaginable horror of the execution of an innocent person should give us all the resolve to do what is necessary to fix what now clearly is a broken system.”
“Poor compensation almost inevitably means that virtually the only lawyers who are available to handle capital cases are inexperienced, ill-prepared and under-funded,” Coleman testified.