Equality Texas

-- PLEASE FORWARD FAR & WIDE, Thanks --

Texas Conference of the Equality Across America Network

Unite and Fight: Strategizing for LGBT Equality

May 21-23, 2010 -- Austin, Texas -- Austin Community College, Eastview campus
eaaTexas.org* http://eaatexas.org>
&
Harvey Milk Day March & Rally, Texas State Capitol, Saturday, May 22nd

The fight for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender equality is heating up.
Come join other activists and Equality Across America as we debate, discuss,
and strategize how we can carry on the fight here in Texas. Our one single
demand: EQUAL PROTECTION in all matters governed by civil law in ALL 50 STATES!

Confirmed featured speakers:

Nik Maciejewskihttp://equalityacrossamerica.org/about/Bios.html#b6>

(Equality Across America interim governing board),

Zoe Nicholson http://www.onlinewithzoe.com>

(author and longstanding activistfor women's and LGBT equality),

and more TBA.

Registration is $15 or $10 with student ID.
Registration is free for volunteers (volunteer assignments are first-come, first-served).

Details (registration page coming soon):

http://eaaTexas.org

Co-sponsored by: GetEqual-Dallas, Equality Across America-Houston, Equality
Now-Austin Community College, Equality Rising-Austin, International
Socialist Organization, jaysays.com, Join the Impact-Austin, Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (UT Austin), Queer LiberAction-Denton, Queer
People of Color and Allies (UT Austin), Qwee, Texans for Peace, Travis
County Green Party, and a growing list of activist organizations.

To get involved or co-sponsor, email: texasEAAconference@gmail.com

Click here http://equalityacrossamerica.org/conference> to find out more
about the Equality Across America network and
its 2010 regional conferences.



"The work begins anew, the hope rises again, and the dream lives on." -- Sen. Kennedy, August 2008

The Mayor of Castro Street

When it comes to being queer, there is a sixth-sense that lets you know you are different early in life. I can speak to it personally. And Harvey Milk was no different in realizing and yet hiding his sexuality since childhood.

If you saw the movie, you have to read the book. And if you didn't see the movie then you really have to read The Mayor of Castro Street, -by Randy Shilts.

I remember discovering this title on the spine of a book that was not to remain on the shelf for long. I was browsing in a bookstore near the street that is Jose Castro's namesake in San Francisco This street now possesses a permanent honorary mayor. I purchased the book and took it with me on the return flight back to Houston.

I read about Harvey's childhood and high-school years on the plane, and about the harassment by the Chicago police. These were the days when you could be arrested for indecent exposure for being shirtless in a public park. Archaic laws were selectively enforced, such as a law stating that male swimmers had to wear swimsuits extending from the navel to the thigh. (As mentioned by Randy.)

Events became history quite dramatically in the late 1970s. Diane Feinstein announced "Today San Francisco has experienced a double tragedy of immense proportions. As president of the Board of Supervisors, it is my duty to inform you that both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot."

Randy writes that Harvey new about the active gay liberation movement in pre-Hilter Germany circulating petitions for equality. And Harvey new, of course, the ultimate fate of homosexuals in Nazi Germany. And he knew about the fate of the Jews.

Harvey guarded the secret of his sexuality throughout much of his life. There was constant and open antisemitism in addition to the burden of the secret of his sexuality.

Randy Shilts gives us a view into that era; Harvey grew up during World War II, after all. He went to college during the 1940s and graduated in the early 1950s. See Far from Heaven, a movie that portrays the forced-closeted lives, lives dictated by homophobia, of homosexuals during the 1950s. I will never forget the scene with Frank's weeping as he tells his wife he was arrested for "loitering" in that movie. (Frank was closeted and cruising at that point in his life.)

Returning to The Mayor of Castro Street: Harvey's jaunts into New York City, starting at a very young age, were motivated by his love of music. The trips provided him the opportunity to discover gay romance, and, the means to its end; Central Park. "Four years later Seventeen-year-old Harvey Milk was arrested in a similar sweep in a Central Park cruising area: the police arrested the shirtless men they found there whom they suspected were gay, charging them with indecent exposure. They ignored the family men standing nearby with their shirts off but their children in tow." -Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the making of the male gay world.

We read about the urban environment necessary, at that time, to pursue a gay life. And we are taken back to the cruising of the 1940s. This was a time when Judy Garland was still performing. Men would be arrested for "loitering" around public restrooms.

One can only imagine living with Harvey's double-bind.

Pleasure can be discovered accidentally. This was a time when it almost had to be. That is only one part of the tragedy in Harvey's life. There is pleasure mingled with sadness.

There is the pre-history that ends up being so important to the final occurrence of history on that fateful day in the late 1970s. The events appear to happen so suddenly.

Randy writes the story of the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the U.S. Harvey had been shunted into paddy-wagons along with other harassed homosexuals in New York, long before his political career began. He would be concerned about gay rights later in life.

Harvy Milk lived in New York, and then San Francisco. He worked as a teacher but was fearful of being outed.

The Black Cat Bar was a bar in San Francisco. "The Black Cat was at the center of a legal fight that was one of the earliest court cases to establish legal protections for gay people in the United States. " - wikipedia.

Oscar Wilde said: "Its and odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and posses all the attractions of the next world."

Randy's book mentions the Briggs Initiative in California.

The Mattachine Society: in New York, part of the Gay Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, was an early group whose purpose was to protect and improve the rights of homosexuals. It was inspired by a petition for presidential candidate Henry A. Wallace.

And the Band Played on, Conduct Unbecoming, and Familiar Faces Hidden Lives are Randy Shilts' other books.

GLBT Petition Face Book page

Visit my GLBT Petition Face Book page. -Jim

Bill White was just previously the Mayor of Houston. Bill is campaigning to become the next governor of Texas, leaving the job of mayor to the competent Annise Parker. To put it mildly, Texas has a lot of serious problems due to the decade-long mis-management of the current sitting governor. On Bill White's website there is an article pertaining to the quality of education in Texas:


Numbers don't lie: dropouts cost Texans and Texas dearly. -"In recent days, the media, education experts, and even a Republican State Representative echoed Bill White's critique and challenge of Rick Perry's false dropout numbers. Regardless of what some are calling Perry's "head in the sand" approach, the economic costs associated with Texas' students dropping out are astronomical."

Rick Perry: Fact vs. Fiction on Education, Dropout Problem

Texas has a serious drop-out problem. The long-term costs are tremendous both personally and financially and fiscally. Read Lisa Falkenberg's article in The Chronicle.

"n the face of years of research showing the rate upwards of 30 percent, and as high as 50 percent in some large urban districts, Perry's camp insisted it was only about 10 percent." -Lisa Falkenberg's article in The Chronicle.

"Since Rick Perry is continuing the strategy of sticking his head in a hole and ignoring real problems, Democratic Candidate, Mayor Bill White, sent out some information today informing the Governor of the real problems facing Texas dropouts.
" -Mat Glazer, Burnt Orange Report.

"The Bill White Campaign provided Texans some cold, hard facts on the state of public education in Texas: Rick Perry has failed our children." -

Rick Perry Creates His Own Dropout Rate. Follow the preceding link and download the pdf to read it for yourself. If you care about Texas, this is the sort of information you should have.


"The dropout rate can be calculated in various ways causing confusion among policy makers and analysts." -The ABCD's Executive Summary (the pdf).

"A recent study by researchers at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Policy found that actual dropout rates could be nearly double what TEA reports."

Read the Texas Supreme Court Case: Shirley Neeley, Texas Commissioner of Education Et. Al. v West Orange-Cove Consolidated. Argued July 6, 2005. Determined whether the funding of Texas schools violates the Texas constitution. The West-Orange Cove Consolidated School District et al were the plaintiffs in this case. The public school system in Texas cannot achieve a "general diffusion of knowledge." as required by article VII of the Texas Constitution due to the fact that the school system is underfunded. (California has the same problem, but, there it is due to prop 13 and other voter initiatives.)

"A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provisions for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools. " -Texas Constitution, Art. VII.

There is not equal access to educational funds. Is public education achieving the general diffusion of knowledge the Constitution requires? The district court found in favor of the school districts, but not for the inefficient operations (funding.) The legal battle is continuing.

Texas has a little over 4.3 million children in public schools.


http://www.billwhitefortexas.com/

JIM

Ellen’s Campaign Kick-off

You are cordially invited to make

Ellen’s Campaign Kick-off

even sweeter by stopping by

The Chocolate Bar

Rice Village

2521 University Blvd.
April 25, 2010

from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Special guests:

Mayor Annise Parker

and

Mayor Richard Rothfelder

Show your support for Ellen!

Bring your family and friends.

Enjoy some delicious, delectable treats.

And take home your Ellen Cohen t-shirts and magnets.

See you Sundae, April 25!

*******************************

I live just a few blocks from University Village. This is a fabulous chocolate bar boarding the vibrant shopping village where there is plenty of parking and delightfull little shops. Not to mention a micro-brewery.

-Jim

Ellen Cohen

Volunteer to help the Ellen Cohen campaign. ellencohen.org. Ellen Cohen has a challenger in November, as I was told at The Caucus meeting this April. We need to re-elect this State Representative who respects our cherished ideals, looks out for the interests of Texas, and strives to make the local economy work for all of us.

Join them for the campaign kick-off at the chocolate bar; the in-place for political discussion unless you are not into that sort of thing. Then it is just chocolate. I believe it is the chocolate bar at Rice Village; where commerce in merchandise is joining commerce in ideas.

Re-electing Representative Ellen Cohen is an excellent idea and a worthwhile project if you want to volunteer. I have spoken to Ellen in Austin personally. She worked hard and was effective in her capacity managing and directing The Women's Shelter.

It was a heck of a drive to Austin, but worth it. You can only get so far without getting involved in politics. Also, the Redbuds were blooming. (The grow in the craggy terrain of California as well.) Also, they are purple, not red.

Ellen Cohen cares about historical accuracy in schools for our children. And if that doesn't send you to the Chocolate Bar I don't know what will. Ellen is an effective leader.

ellencohen.org/

GLBT Petition Face Book page

Dear Everyone:
Thank you for joining this face-book page: GLBT Petition. (Find it on face book) This is a face-book page dedicated to inspiring people to make the world more GLBT friendly.

At The Caucus I have been hearing about Yolanda Jones and Houston mayor, Annnise Parker, working to make Houston more hospitable for Trans-gender persons. More specifically; Annise has been signing Executive Orders.

I remember from the days I lived in San Francisco there was this thing called: Dining Out For Life. For those who may be in San Francisco, or are just visiting, please go to the restaurants that give a portion of their proceeds to help organizations that assist people with AIDS. There is a Dining Out for Life icon on my face-book page.

The Montrose Counseling Center, located in that other beautiful city called Houston, is another non-profit that does help GLBT people.

But most of all, ask your elected representatives if they support the petitions that was authored by Equality Texas and was on their web site available to download. (And I did download it.)

I downloaded the petition for Equality. They had some others as well. Hopefully, these petitions are making their way into the Democratic platform. Last year was a good year in Austin, according to the Equality Texas president at The Caucus (or whatever his title was. I was too distracted by the cute guy sitting next to me. It wasn't my partner, he never goes to these meetings.)

Click on the Pride Houston icon on my face-book page, or go to their website. Or, better yet, have pride in who you are. And be that person every day. That is the point of this, after all.

Life isn't a dress-rehearsal. We aren't back-stage at the opera. (The Houston Grand Opera in this town by the third coast.) We aren't in the orchestra pit, either.) Our feet are planted on Terra Firma and so are our liberal ideals.

Dine Out for Life, take part in this delightful San Francisco tradition. Or volunteer for Dining Out for Life. What better way to make the world a better place; one portion at a time. And what a city for restaurants. Legendary. You'll want to discard your return ticked from you jaunt to San Francisco. (They have used and new book stores to suit any taste or language.)

And remember, in a democracy you get to fire your representatives if they don't represent you.

Unfortunately Harvey Milk was assassinated and that is a permanent part of history. Once the ink and blood are spilled their mark can never be altered. But the story can be told again and again.

And it wasn't just part of a fiction and melody and Aria of Opera. In real life there is struggle too. But Harvey's ideas weren't killed. So read the book or see the movie: Milk.

-and be inspired to be yourself.

Healthcare for all

http://www.texastribune.org/blogs/post/2010/mar/22/tribblog-abbott-explains-health-care-lawsuit/
The Texas Tribune has an article where Abbott explains the constitutional challenges to the Washington health care legislation just passed and signed by Obama which seeks to solve the health care crisis throughout the U.S.