Brody's Notes & Scribbles... Arlington-Memorial Day 2010

Arlington Cemetery Memorial Day 2010   
Photo By Brody Levesque

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) May 31 | This morning I attended the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns and the attendant ceremonies & speeches by the Vice-President of the United States, Joe Biden, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, afterward in the amphitheatre behind the Tombs in remembrance of those killed in the service and defence of the United States. As has been my experience over the many years I have attended these ceremonies at Arlington, I was touched by the dignity and solemness of the proceedings as the American government and people gave thanks and remembrance to the countless soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who have paid the ultimate price for liberty and freedom that is enjoyed by every aspect of American society save for this;

The fact that Gay & Lesbian Americans cannot serve their country openly and without fear of reprisal and dismissal from the armed forces of the United States.

Prior to the ceremony, my assistant Mark Singer & I walked through the thousands of graves that stretch as far as the eye can see in the rolling hills of Arlington National Cemetery, and the thought did occur to us: 'Just how many Gay & Lesbians were buried under those simple starkly white headstones?' Mark asked me,

"Brody, do you think that there will ever come a time that a Gay Pride Flag could be flown proudly next to the national colours beside a headstone of a Gay brother or sister?"

I answered him honestly; 

"No, and I'd hope not Mark. What I'd rather see is the never ending lines of American Flags decorating the graves of these brave Americans as they have for decades but taking comfort in knowing that Gay & Lesbian Americans were able to proudly serve their country with dignity and honour. I'd pray that the end of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' would assist in propelling the LGBT folk into full assimilation as members of American society, as just a variant of humanity not unlike say hair colour. To me, that would be the greatest singular honour, that those Gay & Lesbians in uniform would be buried here at Arlington as simply American soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen Mark... just simply  as Americans."

Brody's Journal... How to Use a Condom: Brent Corrigan's Oral Exam

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) May 30 | Learn how to use a condom correctly in this hilarious spoof on a 1950's sex ed film, starring Matthew Rush and Brent Corrigan. For the adults only, unedited NSFW version visit www.dcfukit.org. Stop the spread of HIV. Choose condoms, monogamy or abstinence.

Brody's Notes... Moscow Pride Parade Staged Successfully

Moscow Gay Pride Protesters  Photo By Kirill Nepomnyaschiy

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) May 29 | The Associated Press reports that two Gay Pride parades were held without arrests in Moscow today, the first time the notoriously intolerant Russian authorities have not intervened since the inaugural attempt to hold the event in the capital in 2006. According to the AP's Jim Heintz, when asked whether he felt a thaw in official attitudes toward gays, parade organizer Nikolai Alexeyev said that there had been no change, and no detentions had been made because the activists had simply given the cops the slip.

"Our military planning was why there were no arrests. We had to organize these parades under strict secrecy, we turned away anyone we didn't know," he said, claiming the authorities were attempting to infiltrate the organizers.

Moscow riot police typically disperse such gatherings with brute force, emboldened by declarations from city Mayor Yury Luzhkov equating homosexuals with the devil. The activists also blame Russia's resurgent Orthodox Church, which publicly and sternly denounces gay culture, for fomenting homophobia.

Alexeyev told the few journalists who had managed to accompany the protesters afterwards:

"For the first time, we have been able to walk with a 20 meters Rainbow flag, in the streets of Moscow. We managed to fool the police and the anti pride protesters and as a result, the event went on peacefully, We showed today that despite what the Mayor of Moscow [ Yury Luzhkov ] is saying and despite the Court decision, it is possible to host a March in support of Gay rights in Moscow, We are now looking forward for the Court decision from the European Court and we do hope that next year, the first authorised Moscow Pride will take place in Moscow."

Alexeyev  also issued an apology to the Press Corps gathered near the EU Commission's offices as in what was termed a diversion tactic, Alexeyev on Wednesday had told journalists that the protest would be held outside the European Commission's office in central Moscow.  Moscow police and riot officers had apparently gathered at the announced location.

"We are very sorry for the journalists who were waiting for the March at the Office of the European Commission and who missed the action which took place today but we hope you understand that given the very particular context we have to face here in Moscow where the police is watching gay activists and journalists and our will to avoid any arrest and any beatings, the way we conducted the 5th Moscow Pride attempt was the most appropriate," he said. 

The activists, led by Alexeyev, also included British campaigner Peter Tatchell and German MP Volker Beck, ran along Leningradsky Prospekt in central Moscow with a huge rainbow flag. Earlier Saturday, a separate group of protesters led by left-wing activist Igor Yasin held a demonstration in support of gay rights on Stary Arbat street in central Moscow.

The protesters, who did not apply for permission from city authorities, also carried a rainbow flag and placards reading "Gays for equality without compromises" before running away from police, Gazeta.ru web site reported.

Brody's Notes... President Of Malawi Pardons Gay Couple Sentenced To 14 Years

Steven Monjeza & Tiwonge Chimbalanga Photo By Reuters

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) May 29 | The BBC has reported earlier today that Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika has given a full & unconditional pardon to the Gay couple that was convicted and sentenced to 14 years of hard labour last week for participating in their Gay commitment marriage ceremony.

Correspondent Karen Allen for the BBC News in Lilongwe, Malawi reports:

Mr Mutharika, speaking as UN chief Ban Ki-moon visited his country, said he had ordered their immediate release. Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were given 14-year jail terms earlier this month after being convicted of gross indecency and unnatural acts. The case has sparked international condemnation and a debate about homosexuality in the country. Mr Ban hailed the president's decision as "courageous".

"This outdated penal code should be reformed wherever it may exist," he said. 

Allen said that Mr Ban is trying to put pressure on parliamentarians to reform anti-homosexuality laws that date back to colonial times. Other news correspondents say Malawi is a deeply conservative society where religious leaders equate same-sex liaisons with Satanism.

President Mutharika, who has in the past dismissed homosexuality as alien, said he had set them free on humanitarian grounds.

"In all aspects of reasoning, in all aspects of human understanding, these two gay boys were wrong - totally wrong," he said after meeting Mr Ban. "However, now that they have been sentenced, I as the president of this country have the powers to pronounce on them and therefore, I have decided that with effect from today, they are pardoned and they will be released."

Monjeza, 26, and Chimbalanga, 20, were arrested in December 2009 after celebrating their engagement. They have been in custody ever since. Their lawyers say the two men are likely to be freed by Monday.

Allen reported that there are plenty of people who were not sorry to see the men go to jail, many of whom will be slightly puzzled at the president's announcement.

Gift Trapence, from the campaign group Centre for the Development of People, welcomed the decision.

"We're very happy and we praise the president for his maturity, but there is still a long way to go to end the culture of hate," he said.

Published today, British popstar and Aids campaigner Sir Elton John had written an open letter to President Mutharika in the UK's Guardian newspaper pleading for the release of the pair.

"Their trial and harsh sentencing will have a perilous effect on our continuing efforts to combat Aids in Malawi and potentially reverse the gains we have achieved," he said.

The two men were convicted under a law dating back to colonial rule by Britain. Many of Britain's former colonies have similar laws outlawing homosexuality; India overturned its anti-homosexuality law last year. In Uganda, MPs are debating whether to strengthen the laws to include the death penalty for some gay people - a move which has infuriated Western governments and rights campaigners.

Aid donors and human rights groups have been putting pressure on his government to respect the rights of minority groups. The UK government, Malawi's biggest donor, said it was dismayed by the sentencing, and the US labelled it a step backwards for human rights.

Brody's Notes... Keith Olbermann & Dan Savage On The Anti-Gay DADT Opponents

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Brody's Notes... Russian Court Upholds Ban On Moscow Pride Parade

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) May 27 | The Russian News Agency Interfax is reporting that Moscow's Tagansky Court has upheld a decision by the city's authorities to ban a gay pride parade planned for this Sunday. According to the Executive Officer of Moscow pride and CEO of Gay Russia, Nikolay Alexeyev;

"This was a denial. The court found lawful the Central Administrative District prefecture's ban on our three pickets in the center of Moscow," Alexeyev said.

Alexeyev also noted that he would appeal the ruling with a higher court and with the European Court of Human Rights. 

"Naturally, we will appeal this decision. I hope we will reach the European Court as well," he said.

Alexeyev said the parade would still take place despite the ban.

"Just as we conducted our actions [previously], we will continue to conduct them even despite the absence of permission," he said.

In a crowded Press Conference held at Moscow’s Holiday Inn on Lesnaya Street after the ruling, Peter Tatchell, the coordinator of the British LGBT Human Rights Group OutRage!, and Human Rights Spokesperson for the Green Party of England and Wales, told reporters that the Yury  Luzhkov, Mayor of the City of Moscow;

“...should be put on trial for banning Pride – the real criminals are not the organisers of Moscow Pride, but the Mayor and the judges who uphold this illegal ban.”

Tatchell then took aim at Russian President Medvedev & Russian Prime Minister Putin:

“I call on the Russian President and Prime Minister to show leadership by publicly condemning the ban and by calling on the mayor of Moscow to guarantee freedom of expression and the right to protest to the gay, and straight, citizens of Moscow and Russia. I call on them to reaffirm the human rights of all Russian people, many whose rights are under threat.”

Mr. Tatchell went on to say that Russia is a great nation with a proud and great history.

“So many important figures in Russian history have been gay, including Sergei Eisenstein, Peter Tchaikovsky, Rudolph Nureyev, Sergei Dagialev, Modest Mussorgsky,  and Nikolai Gogol.  These are just a few of the many great gay and bisexual icons of Russian history and culture. Their contributions to Russian history deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated,” he said.

German MP Volker Beck said that the ban again this year, and the banning of three small pickets, was not only a breach of Russian law on freedom of assembly, but also of the European Convention on Human Rights, which Russia signed as a member country.

“We have a clear precedent from the European Court of Human Rights in the case of the ban of the Warsaw Gay Pride,” Mr. Beck said. It is the same case here in Moscow as it was in Poland.  the right to freedom of assembly for LGBT people has to be respected and the government has to ensure it manages security. Security cannot be an excuse for banning a peaceful event and Russia will lose the case at the European Court because of the wrong decision of the mayor."

Beck told the journalists that:

 "We are here to support this right to freedom of assembly and I can understand the anger of Nikolai Alekseev and the activists of the organisation Gay-Russia that the support of the international community is weak. The International community can no longer ignore the basic breach of freedom that LGBT people face in Moscow simply because of geopolitical concerns.  The European Convention on Human Rights applies in Russia in the same way it applies in Lithuania or Romania.”

Brody's Scribbles... New Zealand’s Olympic Speed Skater In Defence Of 'Out' Athletes

New Zealand’s Olympic short track speed skater Blake Skjellerup says Aussie footballer Jason Akermanis, has caused damage & emotional distress, when Akermanis suggested this past week that there's no room for openly Gay & Lesbian athletes in competitive sports.

Blake Skjellerup   Photo By Rachel Hepner

By Blake Skjellerup (Calgary, Alberta) May 27 | When I first read Australian footballer Jason Akermanis's commentary Tuesday morning urging gay players to stay in the closet, I had to laugh. I was not laughing with him, or at him, but at the irony of the whole story. Akermanis plays in a tough sport. It's hard-hitting and physically demanding. His comments about homoerotic activity in the locker rooms almost had me in tears, both tears of laughter and tears of sadness. I had to laugh, as here was Akermanis admitting that yes, "I engage in homoerotic activity, but I’m not gay." These are comments we have come to expect from the homophobic, intolerant, and ignorant society of today.

In a football locker room somewhere in Australia, a young gay boy, teenager — or even one of Akermanis's teammates — is reading these comments, and Akermanis's words have the power to send athletes into such disarray about their sexuality, they'll likely be left feeling confused and alone.

In my experience as an athlete — dealing with my sexuality as a teenager — the times I cried and fought off thoughts and feelings about my sexuality number in the hundreds. These players in locker rooms — not just in Australia, but all over the world — will read Akermanis's comments and take away one thing ... the same thought I had growing up: I cannot be gay. I cannot be a successful sportsman and be gay. They will be left battling themselves and their sexuality on a a deep and disturbing level.

Akermanis's comments to MTR Radio three days after his initial statement are directed toward athletes like myself, Gareth Thomas, and Matthew Mitcham — the ones who are not afraid to stand up for equality and to combat homophobia in sports.

"There's articles everywhere written from these guys and all of them, of course, are gay so they think they know everything and they know more. They're making it personal about me, which is a very dumb thing to do because all I wanted to do was debate the facts. ... Maybe I've got a problem with it. What am I supposed to do? Do you think I'm the only one? That is an uncomfortable situation to be in.""

We do know more than you, Mr. Akermanis, because we are gay and we have been there. Did you ever contemplate suicide because you were born a heterosexual male? I don't think so. It is personal, and when you sit there and slaughter the hopes of gay athletes all over the world, we are going to make it personal. Yes, it may be uncomfortable for you to have a gay player in your locker room because, after all,  what would become of those harmless homoerotic games? Your stereotype of gay male athletes is incorrect. Gay rights are a human rights movement, Mr. Akermanis. We do suffer from prejudice because of people like you. Instead of welcoming diversity and being a strong role model to your peers and the youth of Australia, you send the message that if you're different, you should hide it, because it personally makes you uncomfortable.

Brody's Notes... Family Research Council: End Of DADT Means More Gay Rape In The Military

Evan McMorris-Santoro  Photo Courtesy of Talking Points Memo dot Com

By Evan McMorris-Santoro (Washington DC) May 27 | Here's how the Family Research Council envisions things going if Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed: first, more straight soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines will be fellated in their sleep against their will. Then, commanders afraid of being labeled homophobes will refuse to do anything about it. Eventually, the straight service members will quit out of fear. 

On a conference call with reporters today, FRC Senior Fellow for Policy Studies Peter Sprigg delivered the results of what he said was the first-ever study of "homosexual assault" in the military. Joined by several former military officers opposed to allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces, he warned Congress that the DADT repeal language currently under discussion with the agreement of the White House will turn the U.S. military into a terrifying free-rape zone where no heterosexual is safe.

"We are today releasing an analysis of publicly available documents which show that homosexuals in the military are three times more likely to commit sexual assaults than heterosexuals are relative to their numbers," Sprigg said. "We believe this problem would only increase if the current law against homosexuality...were to be repealed."

Sprigg said his "analysis" was military documents tracking sexual assault cases. According to his figures, 8.2% of sexual assaults reported to military authorities in fiscal 2009 were homosexual in nature.

"Yet homosexual activists themselves have admitted that less than 3% of Americans -- 2.8% of men and 1.4% of women -- are homosexual or bi-sexual," Sprigg explained. "Taken together," he continued, "these figures suggest that homosexuals in the military are about 3x as likely to commit sexual assaults as heterosexuals are."

And the "most common type of homosexual assault" according to Sprigg? "one in which the offender fondles or performs oral sex on a sleeping victim," he said.

Ipso facto:

"If open homosexuality was permitted in the military, these numbers can only increase," Sprigg said. "The number of homosexuals would grow, the threat of discharge for homosexual behavior would be eliminated and protected class status for homosexuals would make victims hesitant to report assaults and make commanders hesitant to punish them for fear of appearing homophobic."

The end result is obvious, according to the men on the call today: recruitment will be tougher and retaining straight servicemembers will be harder too.

On the call, I asked Sprigg to elaborate -- was he really saying that non-consensual same-sex assaults would go unreported if Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed?

"In a number of these cases the victim was sleeping or intoxicated," he replied. "Under those circumstances, their memory may be clouded and so the evidence may not be strong enough to stand up in a court-martial and actually prove guilt on a charge of forcible sodomy for example. Nevertheless, something inappropriate may have happened...and the victim will think twice about coming forth."

Retired Col. Dick Black, who said he served in the Pentagon during the creation of DADT in 1993, said that essentially, allowing homosexuals to serve openly would create an environment where straight soldiers wouldn't report attacks for fear of being told they "asked for it."

"We faced this when we started tightening up on rape," Black said. "Women were intimidated about coming forward -- they'd be called sluts or you know they hung out in bars or whatever."

When it comes to homosexual assaults, if the perpetrator is allowed to serve openly, it will be the straight men who find themselves facing embarrassing questions about what they were wearing the night they were attacked, Black said. "I think we're going to see the opposite direction when it comes to homosexual assaults," he said. "You've got typically a one-on-one situation and there would be tremendous political pressure placed on the victims to remain silent. It will be very similar to the situation we had with women 50 years ago when they were reluctant to come forward and report rape because they would be mislabeled."

Evan McMorris-Santoro is a senior journalist-blogger for Talking Points Memo dot Com.

An award-winning community journalist and former small town daily newspaper reporter, his professional life in politics and journalism began at age 12 when he discovered one of the houses on his paper route belonged to his congressman. Since then, he's covered politics from the front row of county commission meetings in Lebanon, TN to the press riser at the 2008 Republican National Convention in his short career. His stint as a D.C. journo began at Atlantic Media Co., where he was a staff writer at The Hotline and a freelancer for National Journal magazine prior to joining the team at Talking Points Memo.

Brody's Scribbles... Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Whatever!

Palo Alto, California based Writer & Comedian Ethan August, gives his spin on the DADT compromise & current political atmosphere surrounding the ongoing debate in Washington. August holds a degree in Psychology and has volunteered for numerous LGBT non-profits. His blog, This-Gay-Life, features his own comedic and politically incorrect commentary on Gay life, politics, movies and other interesting events. He is working on his first book, a collection of comical short stories on some of the most serious and hilarious Gay issues.

Photo By Getty Images

By Ethan August (Palo Alto, California) May 26 | It never ceases to amaze me that the world’s most powerful country is so far behind the curve on Gay issues. Most of our allies already allow Gays to serve in the military and some even allow Gays to get married and/or adopt children. England has even gone so far as to elect first openly Gay Prime Minister – David Cameron. 

Yet the United States of America is still arguing about letting Gay people sign up and be killed – willingly. This raises an important question… Why in the hell do Gay people want to sign up to die for a country that doesn’t provide them with equal rights? I might go fight for the Netherlands, but not a country that treats us like second class citizens. 

If I was on the front line before a battle and General Petraeus came riding along on his white pony like Braveheart That would get me fired up sir!”. yelling about freedom - I’d raise my hand and say…

“um sir, excuse me sir, yes over here, the guy with the feather in his helmet. You just mentioned freedom, but I’m Gay, that’s not very inspiring. Could you have Jake Gyllenhaal ride by on another horse, naked, shouting about a free weekend pass to the White Party and that there are lots of bottoms in Heaven?"

I mean really… what would WE Gays be fighting for? To possibly liberate another country so they can treat their Gays like second class citizens and deny them equal rights? To enable them to fire people just for being Gay? To make it illegal in some parts of their country to adopt children if their Gay? To make some forms of Gay sex illegal in some parts their country? These aren’t values I want to be propagating around the world. When I think about our highly qualified, highly educated, highly skilled and employable Gay citizens marching off to their deaths in hopes that someday this will change, I become infuriated. Seriously, I start foaming at the mouth. Note to potential partners: Do not bring this up on the first date.  

I think all the Gay people in the military should submit their resignations and apply tomorrow at the Gap, you'd get paid more money. It would seriously cripple our nation’s ability to wage war and I think it would bring a lot of idiots to their senses. I’m certain there is at least one right wing strategist in a board room somewhere saying “Let them join up for the military! More of them will die.” Yet we cower and beg. Do you know what a person that works as hard as the others do but has no civil rights is called? A slave.
 
Before I would go to war for our country, a few things would need to change…
It goes without saying that we should be able to marry, adopt children, have sex legally in all states, and not be discriminated against in the workplace prior to risking our lives in a conflict.
 
Since the military is so worried about how the straight soldiers may react, we would need to implement sensitivity training. If you wanted to join the military you would first be required to do a tour of duty at Disneyland. It’s the Gayest place on earth! Plus, if you can handle those crowds, you can babysit the rest of the world. It takes a lot of exposure to large crowds of non-American Asians to develop patience – no better place than Disneyland!
 
We would then need to assign a bottom to every unit. I mean if I’m going to go fight for this nation, in the heat, and the dust, with bad food, little water, no makeup, and ugly retarded guys from Alabama who joined for the dental plan – there had better damned well be a bottom in my unit. We already allow women in the military, which is good for the straight guys, fair is only fair! Just for the record, I don’t wear makeup unless I’m on television or there is really bad lighting at a club I’m going too. I don’t want half my readership to abandon me. 
 
Next, we would have to create a new ultra elite fighting force called Tops Delta. You would have to be a top to fight in this unit. They would be responsible for rescuing Gay prisoners of war, which would need to be a top priority. You don’t even have to torture queens and they’ll tell you everything you want to know, we’d have to get them out quick. They would also be responsible for interrogating straight prisoners – 

“Listen…Muhammed Akbar Bin Laden or whatever your name is, we need to know everything now or you’re going to be able to tell your grandchildren about your personal experience of Sodom and Gomorrah”. 

In peace time, they’d be responsible for decorating bases and in charge of military parades. No more boring tanks coming down the street! You throw a few drag queens on those things and the parade would really get exciting, especially if the straight guys couldn’t tell them apart from real women. Madonna would have to be in charge of all Gay forces, we already do everything she commands. Plenty of Gays are dying from overdoses on the dance floors to her music, so I’m certain we’d go to war for her. Thank God she’s not wearing denim and kissing the feet of black religious figures anymore! I did it then, but it would hurt now.
 
Last, every Gay service member would be entitled to an additional 15% pay increase. After the military shuts down its Department of Witch Hunts and Persecution they will save tens of millions of dollars per year. Let’s think of it as reparations. In addition, Gays take extremely good care of their uniforms, which is a huge cost savings for the military. We iron them, we never get them dirty and we can sew. Even though I’m not in the military, I have 4 military uniforms that I’ve worn at various times throughout the week for the last 10 years – all in perfect condition. There is also all the cost savings on armaments! Gay people aren’t as gung ho about shooting everything up. Do we really need to put 100 bullets in that thing? We can probably get by with five. I'm all about smart bombs - never let them see you cumming! We’ll be lucky if the bottoms can even pull the trigger.
 
Don’t get me wrong - I like driving Hummers, playing soldier, shooting people up and getting shot at just as much as any other top – that’s why I play paintball. You get the same adrenaline high, but you don’t have to die as a slave. If you’re Gay and in the military, first – I love you! Please send me your picture! But don’t try to tell me that you’re serving your country. You’re serving yourself. You have a job, structure, a career path, super duper uniforms, and you ENJOY the military or need it for college tuition and poor medical coverage. An ex-boyfriend of mine died in Haiti. If I was his partner then, would I have received the same benefits as a wife? Or even been notified of his death? No.
 
We’ve simply put the cart before the horse here… instead of begging for the right to die, we should be bringing the military infrastructure to its knees and showing them that the need us. I received an email from the Human Rights Campaign today asking me to write my Senator about this policy (which is what started this tirade). I wrote them and I said “ Please don’t vote for this until we have civil rights”. If you’re brave enough to die for your country, you’re brave enough to hand in your resignation and do something for the good of your community. Dan Choi has chained himself to the fence of the White House TWICE – what have you done? 

Brody's Notes... Christian Group: If We Repeal DADT, Soldiers Will Get AIDS

Joe Jervis, publisher of Joe.My.God reports that the Christian Newswire Service released the following video report from an Ultra-Christian outfit called America's Survival entitled 'Disease-tainted Gay Blood Threatens Our Troops!'

By Joe Jervis (New York, New York) May 26 |  Christian Newswire, which normally flogs the bleating(s) of the Family Research Council, has just sent out the below press release: 

"A vote to repeal the homosexual exclusion policy would inevitably mean more disease and death for members of our Armed Forces," stated Cliff Kincaid, the veteran journalist who runs ASI. "It is unconscionable to add this danger to the risks they already face in fighting for our freedom around the world." Another danger, the video explains, would be the admission of transgendered individuals who want to dress up as members of the opposite sex and would cry "discrimination" if they are not allowed to do so. "If Congress repeals the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' homosexual exclusion policy," declared Kincaid, "Corporal Klinger could become a reality in the Armed Forces." Klinger was the bizarre character on the MASH comedy show that dressed up as a woman so that he could be kicked out of the service. "Klinger may now give way to the Pentagon actually permitting transgendered male soldiers that look like Klinger to openly wear women's clothing," noted the ASI president.

Note how they made the immediate jump from DADT and HIV to men in dresses. The press release does note that all soldiers are tested for HIV prior to induction, but it then it cites the singular example of an HIV-positive soldier infecting a 17 year-old male he met in a chat room. Because if it happened ONCE out of all those millions of soldiers....

As the vote in Congress draws near, Kincaid predicted that the pro-homosexual liberal media will deliberately ignore the fact that a decision to repeal the policy would mean that gay soldiers could be put in the position of donating infected blood to other soldiers in desperate need of blood transfusions. "A soldier desperate for life-giving blood could die as a result of the transfusion from a gay soldier," Kincaid said. "By the same token, a profusely bleeding gay soldier could threaten those caring for him on the battlefield, ultimately taking the lives of his fellow soldiers."

Here's their repulsive fear-mongering video, which goes on about bathhouses, circuit parties, and "tea rooms:"

Brody's Notes... Current TV To Air 'Missionaries Of Hate- ' Anti-Gay American Evangelicals In Africa

Mariana Van Zellar  Photo By Current TV

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) May 26 | Mariana van Zeller, Peabody-Award-winning correspondent for Current TV’s no-limits documentary series, “Vanguard," premieres her documentary 'Missionaries of  Hate,' tonight at 10PM Eastern/9PM Central on Current TV.

In an interview on Monday, van Zellar said; 

"As California marked its inaugural Harvey Milk Day this past weekend, celebrating the gay rights icon, I couldn’t help but remember an interview I recently conducted in Uganda, the east African nation that is home to proposed legislation that would make being gay a crime punishable by life in prison or, in some cases, death.

“I was shocked the other day when I was watching this American movie ‘Milk,’” said Sylvia Tamale, dean of law at Makerere University in Uganda, referring to Gus Van Sant’s 2008 biopic. “I was shocked to see that the arguments put forward by the proponents of anti-homosexuality sentiments were exactly the same, almost word for word. These arguments are not new at all that Ugandans are using to justify the anti-homosexuality bill.”

I met with Tamale while filming the documentary “Missionaries of Hate” for the new season of Current TV’s Vanguard. While I was in Uganda, the campaign to push through the controversial anti-gay bill was reaching a fever pitch, with backers of the legislation drumming up support by holding mass rallies and marches condemning homosexuality.

Just as it was during the life and times of Harvey Milk, the movement against homosexuality in Uganda is being led by a group of conservative Christian evangelicals. And the arguments they’re using are an echo of Anita Bryant and the Save Our Children campaign.

"I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children,” Bryant said in 1977. “Therefore, they must recruit our children.”

More than 30 years later, our cameras were rolling as Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa brought a young woman to a press conference to testify about how she had been allegedly recruited to be a lesbian.

“American money...is being used to seduce our children into homosexuality,” Ssempa said. “This bill is in response and desire to protect our children.”

The connection, while decades apart, is perhaps not so surprising if you believe those who trace the current anti-gay campaign in Uganda back to March 2009. That’s when three American evangelicals were invited to speak at a conference in the country about how Africans can protect themselves from homosexuality. Being gay in Uganda was never easy. But according to many local gay and human rights advocates, it was that conference where the depiction of homosexuality as predatory by nature gained currency in Uganda.

From there, local politicians and pastors—many with long-standing relationships with American Christian groups—took this notion and ran with it. Ssempa, as you’ll see in the documentary, went so far as showing hardcore gay porn in church in order to demonstrate the “sickness” of homosexuality.

It’s been more than three decades since Harvey Milk’s assassination, but the battle he led continues and is now open on new fronts.

 “I believe that the Christian fundamentalists in the US have found fertile ground in Africa to fight their battles,” Tamale told us. “Obviously they are not making a lot of the headway in the U.S., and they can very easily find allies here to fight their wars on the continent.”

Even after Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill drew the ire of international human rights organizations and governments around the world, another American evangelical, Lou Engle, traveled to Uganda to hold a rally with many of the leaders of Uganda’s anti-gay crusade.

Despite their best efforts, the anti-gay bill is still wavering in Ugandan parliament. Few now believe it will pass in its current form. But the public campaign to push it through created one of the most hostile environments for gays in the world today.

Yet even in this extremely charged climate, we managed to find gay men and women, activists and ordinary citizens who were willing to speak openly about their struggle.

“Admitting I’m gay is no longer a shame to me,” explained Long Jones, a gay man we met in Kamapala who had already been jailed, beaten and blackmailed because of his sexual orientation. “I’m not afraid because this is the opportunity that most people are getting to know that we really exist.”

Mariana van Zellar began her journalism career in her native Portugal, where she was a producer and correspondent for SIC Televisão, the nation's largest private news channel. In 2001, Mariana moved to New York to attend Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. A month into the program, she was reporting live back to Europe on the events of 9/11. Mariana's master's thesis on children asylum seekers in the US won a number of awards and earned her a job at Insight News Television, an award-winning documentary production company in London. In 2003, Mariana went undercover to report on Syrian mujahideen crossing into Iraq to fight against the US invasion. 

She has since camped out in the Amazon jungle to cover the battle between Brazil's Indians and miners over South America's largest diamond mine, rode the Death Train to report on the desperate risks Central American migrants take to reach the US and snuck into the swamps of Nigeria to meet with militants fighting for control of the country's oil wealth.

Brody's Scribbles... Judge Dislikes T-Shirt, Jails Woman— & Media Play Coy

By Dr. Marty Klein (Palo Alto, California) May 25 | A woman observing a trial was arrested and jailed for 48 hours because she wore a t-shirt with a political slogan.

Are you curious about the political slogan? Can this be legal? Would you agree that the specific slogan would be a crucial part of the news reporting this story? Now try this actual event, reported in the Chicago Tribune:

“Jennifer LaPenta, 20, was jailed this week by Lake County Associate Judge Helen Rozenberg who held her in contempt for wearing a T-shirt in her courtroom emblazoned with the words: “I have the (slang for female body part) so I make the rules.” LaPenta was sitting in the gallery waiting for a friend’s case when the judge called her forward.

This is a horrible incident—a judge jailing someone not even on trial because she didn’t like the woman’s T-shirt. But the Tribune is so busy protecting readers’ eyeballs from being burned by the “slang for female body part” that we don’t get to evaluate the judge’s actions for ourselves. We don’t get to be outraged that whatever-the-word-was landed someone in jail.

On the progressive side, the Huffington Post was no better—in fact, they were worse. Huffington ran the headline and lead, then simply directed readers to the Lake County News Sun, which of course couldn’t possibly mention the word that made the woman a criminal. Worse, Huffington ran a photo of the woman wearing her T-shirt—with the word blacked out.

In recent years adults have been insulted by media inventions like “the N word” and “the F bomb.” These are the same media that are willing to not show 4,000 American corpses being shipped back from Iraq. The media don’t trust us. They’re busy protecting us from the truth instead of reporting it.

The words on the T-shirt are a crucial detail. Without them, the LaPenta story is reduced to gossip, to a reality show. Instead of being angered, we chuckle.

So here’s what the T-shirt said across her chest:

“I have the pussy, so I make the rules.”

Stupid? Sure.

Offensive? Contemptible?

Not as much as a judge jailing her for it. And not as much as the national media refusing to let us know exactly what happened.

Brody's Notes... Stonewall UK's Asylum Research Uncovers Damning Home Office Failures

British Home Secretary Theresa May  Photo By Reuters

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) May 24 | A year long study by the LGBT Activist Group, Stonewall UK, released today, documents the fact that ‘Institutional homophobia’ in Britain's asylum system means almost all legitimate LG & T asylum-seekers are refused sanctuary.

No Going Back, published by Stonewall, features for the first time detailed evidence not just from lesbian and gay asylum-seekers but from staff at the UK Border Agency. They acknowledge that they receive no guidance on interviewing gay applicants from countries such as Uganda, Jamaica and Malawi and that determinations are often made on the basis of out of date or inadequate information about an asylum-seeker’s country of origin.

Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said: 

"This report provides both shocking and clear evidence of institutional homophobia in Britain’s asylum system. Legitimate asylum-seekers are frequently being deported. We’ll now be pressing the UK Border Agency and the Home Office urgently to implement the manifesto promises made by both partners in the new government to end this profound injustice."

The report reveals that UKBA don’t know how to question Lesbian and Gay people about their experiences and often assume that they’re either lying or will be able to avoid detection if they’re returned to their home country. Stonewall has developed a series of recommendations to ensure that fundamental errors of judgement made by UKBA staff are urgently rectified. These include robust policy, guidance and training of all UKBA decision-makers to ensure legitimate LGB asylum-seekers are questioned effectively and given fairer case hearings. Home Office Country of Origin services should be improved to reflect up-to-date, accurate information on the scale and nature of anti-gay persecution in countries where it’s currently happening – including the 80 member states of the United Nations where consensual acts between same-sex adults are criminalised.

In Sunday's Edition of The Independent UK, staff correspondents Emily Dugan and Jane Merrick noted that the hard-hitting study will add to pressure on the Home Secretary, Theresa May, and the new coalition government. 

This weekend, in a move applauded by campaigners, the Home Secretary said she would block moves by the Ugandan government to force the extradition of Ugandan gay asylum-seekers who had fled to the UK.

Between 2005 – 2009, 98 per cent of cases involving people claiming asylum in the UK on the basis of their sexual orientation were refused by the Home Office. (UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group, 2010). Between 2005 - 2008, 76.5 per cent of all asylum applicants were refused by the Home Office. (Information Centre About Asylum and Refugees, 2009).

The report quotes one UKBA staff member admitting: 

"Someone from Jamaica claiming they're gay will just automatically be disbelieved." Another said "Colleagues have said that they don't know what questions to ask; we feel rude prying and embarrassed about asking these questions."

Many cases are turned down simply on the basis that someone fleeing a country where homosexuality is punishable by death or hard labour could simply "live discreetly" – in other words, go into hiding. UKBA staff admitted this was discriminatory.

A Home Office spokesman said: 

"The new Government is committed to stopping the deportation of asylum-seekers who have had to leave particular countries because their sexual orientation or gender identification puts them at proven risk of imprisonment, torture or execution. We are considering the best way of implementing this policy. In terms of extradition, the UK will only extradite someone if they are wanted for an offence that is also a crime in the UK. Clearly this does not apply to homosexuality."

Brody's Notes... British & Israeli Defence Officials Respond To Comments Made By Tony Perkins & Sen. John McCain On DADT

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) May 23 | In an interview with Arizona Senator John McCain, (R) aired on a weekly radio programme this past Friday by the vehemently Anti-Gay Ultra Christian Family Research Council, FRC head Tony Perkins is quoted as saying; 

"Absolutely, without question – I know a lot of people point to militaries that have allowed homosexuality within the ranks – there’s twenty-five of almost two hundred nations but the top militaries in the world do not allow homosexuality to be openly engaged in, in the military – I mean, if you want a military that just does parades and stuff like that then I guess that’s okay."

The New York Times, in an editorial Friday, urged Congress to repeal DADT writing that don’t ask, don’t tell is a culture war scar on military honour that finds the U. S. alone among the major Western allies in denying qualified Gay men and Lesbians the chance to defend their country. Military generals from Britain, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Israel were in Washington last week offering assurances that ending the Gay ban became a nonissue once their services were integrated.

McCain had remarked that;

"Tony, you and I would agree on, but a preemptive repeal without any study, without any assessment on the impact of battle effectiveness is in my view putting our social agenda, or the liberal social agenda, ahead of national security."  He also noted that "The Commandant of the Marine Corps has come out flat out saying he opposes repeal – in fact the Commandant of the Marine Corps said that they would have to look at living arrangements that the Marine Corps has. [currently]"

A Senior British Defence official took exception to the inference made that Her Majesty's Armed Forces were apparently ineffective militarily because of integration of Gay & Lesbians, which the official noted has been the case for longer than a decade. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the British official said:   

"Mr. Perkins is spouting massive rubbish, as well as unfortunately is unafraid to insult the integrity of other sovereign nation's armed services based on deeply flawed  archaic theological doctrines that have no value in modern society."

An Israeli Defence Forces official put it more bluntly; 

"Perkins & the Senator are showing their true colours of ignorance, spite, and fear based on assumptions that have proven to be non-issues. It is truly troubling that the United States is still a repository for this type of hate mongering and ill will that is completely inappropriate.  Unfortunate that Perkins in particular chose to denigrate the character of other countries' military services just to drive home a mistaken political viewpoint."

Brody's Notes... Dustin Lance Black Delivers Speech On Milk Legacy

Dustin Lance Black  Photo By Getty Images

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) May 23 | In a short six minute informal speech delivered to a gathering sponsored by Equality California yesterday, Academy Award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, honoured the observance of California's inaugural Harvey Milk Day, in celebration of what would have been the slain LGBT Equality Rights activist's 80th birthday.

Speaking to the group of volunteers who spent the day canvassing for marriage equality in East Los Angeles neighborhoods, Black told the volunteers, that during his testimony last year in front of the California State Senate committee hearing on creation of the holiday to honour Milk, he had explained to the Senators that the number one lesson he had learned as he grew up attending a Salinas, California High School, was that being Gay meant being "less than," and as he looked upon the faces of the conservative Republicans on that committee, he emphasized that learning about Milk took a turn of luck to realise that there was a 'forefather' who'd inspire him that it was okay to be Gay. Black noted that the legacy now would be told to countless LGBT California students because of the creation of the day to honour Milk and that it would have a profound impact on those future generations of LGBT youth.

Brody's Scribbles... California Recognises 'The Mayor Of Castro Street'

Stuart Milk accepts the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, for his uncle Harvey Milk, August 12th, 2009  

Official Photo By Pete Souza  The White House

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) May 22 | Today marks the first Harvey Milk Day in California, a day of recognition for the slain gay rights activist and politician. Fellow activist and Palm Springs resident Cleve Jones, who was close friends with Milk in the 1970s, said the commemoration is long overdue. Harvey would have been 80 years old today. 
What would he think of the movement that he helped found and eventually was martyred for in 1978? Would Harvey be pleased? Gratified? Overjoyed? His old campaign manager, Anne Kronenberg, once wrote of him:

"What set Harvey apart from you or me was that he was a visionary. He imagined a righteous world inside his head and then he set about to create it for real, for all of us."

More-so than anything else that Harvey left as his legacy was an indelible mark on American society that being LGBT was not anymore different than the colour of one's hair. Harvey always preached that 'Hope was never silent.'

In what is generally agreed upon by historians and his closest aides as Harvey's finest speech, Milk said: 

"And the young gay people in the Altoona, Pennsylvanias and the Richmond, Minnesotas who are coming out and hear Anita Bryant in television and her story. The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be all right. Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us'es, the us'es will give up."

"And if you help elect to the central committee and other offices, more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised, a green light to move forward. It means hope to a nation that has given up, because if a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone I cannot prevent anyone from getting angry, or mad, or frustrated. I can only hope that they'll turn that anger and frustration and madness into something positive, so that two, three, four, five hundred will step forward, so the gay doctors will come out, the gay lawyers, the gay judges, gay bankers, gay architects ... I hope that every professional gay will say 'enough', come forward and tell everybody, wear a sign, let the world know. Maybe that will help."