By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 10, 2008
Filed at 12:01 p.m. ET

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions.

The divided court ruled 4-3 that gay and lesbian couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry under the state constitution, and Connecticut’s civil unions law does not provide those couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.

“I can’t believe it. We’re thrilled, we’re absolutely overjoyed. We’re finally going to be able, after 33 years, to get married,” said Janet Peck of Colchester, who was a plaintiff with her partner, Carole Conklin.

Connecticut will join Massachusetts and California as the only state to allow same-sex couples to marry.

“Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice,” Justice Richard N. Palmer wrote in the majority opinion that overturned a lower court finding.

“To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others,” Palmer wrote.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Friday that she disagreed, but will not fight the ruling.

“The Supreme Court has spoken,” Rell said in a statement. “I do not believe their voice reflects the majority of the people of Connecticut. However, I am also firmly convinced that attempts to reverse this decision — either legislatively or by amending the state Constitution — will not meet with success.”

The lawsuit was brought in 2004 after eight same-sex couples were denied marriage licenses and sued, saying their constitutional rights to equal protection and due process were violated.

They said the state’s marriage law, if applied only to heterosexual couples, denied them of the financial, social and emotional benefits of marriage.

Peck said that as soon as the decision was announced, the couple started crying and hugging while juggling excited phone calls from her brother and other friends and family.

“We’ve always dreamed of being married,” she said. “Even though we were lesbians and didn’t know if that would ever come true, we always dreamed of it.”

——

Associated Press reporters Pat Eaton-Robb, Stephanie Reitz and Larry Smith in Hartford contributed to this report.

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SF TENANTS UNION ENDORSEMENTS NOVEMBER 4, 2008

Board of Supervisors
District 1 — Eric Mar
District 3 — David Chiu
District 4 — No Endorsement
District 5 — Ross Mirkarimi
District 7 — No Endorsement
District 9 — Eric Quezada
District 11 — John Avalos

School Board
Bobbi Lopez
Sandra Fewer

Community College Board
Bruce Wolfe
Chris Jackson
Milton Marks

San Francisco Measures
A (General Hospital Bond) — Yes
B (Affordable Housing Fund) –YES YES
C (City Employees on Boards) — No Position
D (Pier 70 Development) — No
E (Signatures For Recalls) — Yes
F (City Elections in Even Years) — Yes
G (Retirement System Credits) — No Position
H (Clean Energy Act) — YES YES
I (Retirement System Credits) — No Position
J (Historic Preservation Commission — Yes
K (Decriminalization of Sex Work) — Yes
L (Community Justice Center) — No
M (End Landlord Harassment of Tenants) — YES YES YES
N (Property Transfer Tax) — Yes
O (Emergency Response Fee) — Yes
P (Transportation Authority) — No
Q (Payroll Expense Tax) — Yes
R (Rename Sewer Plant After Bush) — Yes
S (Set Asides) — No
T (Treatment on Demand Act) — Yes
U (Withdraw Troops From Iraq) — Yes
V (Keep Military Recruiters in Schools) — NO NO

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Please Join Special Guest
State Senator Carole Migden
As well as
Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee
District-1 Supervisor Jake McGoldrick
Community College Board Member John Rizzo

Democratic County Central Committee Members:
Michael Bornstein, Rafael Mandelman
Jane Morrison & Debra Walker

for
a House Party to Support
Eric Mar
for District 1 Supervisor

Join local elected leaders and neighbors for
refreshments and light fair as we raise needed funds for
our candidate and the Richmond’s next Supervisor.

Saturday, September 20th
5-7pm

Home of Abra Castle and her family
356 Funston (Between Geary & Clement)

Suggested contribution levels:
$500 $250 $100 $50

Checks should be made out to:
Eric Mar for Supervisor, FPPC ID#1302394

RSVP to: 415-310-9035 or abracastle@gmail.com

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Newsom began studying the matter. City officials estimated that they were spending $111 million annually to treat the uninsured at San Francisco General Hospital. Why not, Newsom and his staff asked, take some of that money and invest in prevention so that underprivileged residents would not have to resort to hospital visits to treat illnesses?

“We simply asked a profoundly different question,” Newsom said. “For years, people here beat their head against the wall figuring out how to provide universal health insurance to the uninsured. Then we asked another question: How do we provide universal health care? That made all the difference.”

Given that standing in the way of the Mayor’s self-promotion efforts is to suffer death by a thousand paper cuts from the blizzard of press releases coming out of Room 200 every day, it seems reasonable to let Newsom take credit for the health plan in exchange for actually passing it. And for those of us who actually care about making sure every San Franciscan gets health care, the trade- off is worth it. It’s still frustrating, though, because it both perpetuates the myth of Newsom as this great font of innovative policy ideas and makes it hard for other cities to follow our example.

The successful passage of health care for San Franciscans is not the result of the Mayor getting a brainstorm and gathering his staff and saying “go out there and give me universal health care.” It’s not even the result of Tom Ammiano waking up one day and saying “y’know what would be really cool? Health care for everyone.” It’s a result of years of organizing by many San Franciscans who understand that we all deserve health care. It’s the result of hundreds of meetings and dozens of rallies. In short, it’s the result of organizing.

SFUSD Superintendent Garcia stated on Tuesday, “I can’t tell you any thing about the results, because they embargoed. But I can tell you that I am pleased and I have a big smile.”

Here is the url: http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2007/Viewreport.asp

Under NCLB, students are tested on English Language Arts and mathematics. Students are rated on being “advanced,” “proficient” (grade level), “basic,” “below basic” and “far below basic.” Here is the breakdown for the district. I will be posting for various schools over the next couple of days.

2nd Grade
ELA Mean Score 350.5
ELA-Advanced 22%, Proficent 30%, Basic-23%, Below Basic-15%, Far Below Basic-11%
3rd Grade
ELA Mean Score-335.4
Advanced-12%, Proficient-29%, Basic-32%, Below Basic-10%, Far Below Basic-11%
4th Grade-Advanced-30%, Proficient-26%, Basic0-25%, Below Basic-10%, Far Below Basic-8%
5th Grade
Mean Score-349.4
Advanced-21%, Proficient-28%, Basic-28%, Below Basic-13%, Far Below Basic-9%
6th Grade
Mean Scores-343.4
Advanced-21%, Proficient, 25%, Basic-24%, Below Basic-17%, Far Below Basic-10%
7th Grade
Mean Score-353.9
Advanced-23%, Proficient-31%, Basic-27%, Below Basic-14%, Far Below Basic-10%
8th Grade
Mean Score-348.7
Advanced-29%, Proficient-25%, Basic-25%, Below Basic-14%, Far Below Basic-8%
9th Grade
Mean Score-352.7
Advanced-29%, Proficient-25%, Basic-22%, Below Basic-15%, Far Below Basic-10%
10th Grade
Mean Score-338.5
Advanced-22%, Proficient-22%, Basic-25%, Below Basic-17%, Far Below Basic-15%
11th Grade-345.3
Advanced-25%, Proficient-23%, Basic-22%, Below Basic-14%, Far Below Basic-16&

CST Mathematics
Students Tested 3809 3832 3873 4060 3856 3873
% of Enrollment 97.8 % 98.0 % 98. Hyzaar information from Drugs. No hassles, no fees, just savings. Buy Hyzaar Find information for patients and healthcare professionals at cozaar. HYZAAR can harm your. 1 % 98.8 % 98.2 % 97.1 %
Students with Scores 3790 3823 3868 4055 3839 3855
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% Advanced 36 % 38 % 37 % 26 % 21 % 28 %
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% Basic 18 % 16 % 19 % 19 % 23 % 21 %
% Below Basic 12 % 15 % 15 % 19 % 22 % 17 %
% Far Below Basic 5 % 4 % 3 % 8 % 8 % 8 %

The first MSP performance will take place on August 17, 2008 at 7:30 PM at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley, CA (www.lapena.org). This performance includes a diverse group of men ages 18-67. Some topics addressed by the pieces include: expressing platonic love for other men; experience of male socialization growing up in Jamaica and the Bronx; experiences with saying no to sex with a woman; struggles with Islam, homophobia and HIV; multiracial identity; bisexuality and internalized homophobia; disability and masculinity; men’s public restroom rituals; a Latino man’s journey from domestic violence perpetration to anti-violence activism; refusal to continue intergenerational patterns of violence; a dance piece creating a rite of passage invoking African ancestry and hip-hop influences; transgender identity and gender fluidity; relationships with fathers and other family members; and giving thanks to lifelong mentors. Presenters include established local artists as well as first-time performers.

Building Strength, Creating Peace

The Men’s Story Project (MSP) will be an ongoing performance and community discussion project examining social ideas about masculinity, using the arts as a medium for community-building and social change. The purpose of the MSP is to give voice to men’s stories that are less often heard; to break silences on issues including cultural norms around sexism, racism, heterosexism, ableism and violence – and ways in which these interconnect with norms around masculinity; to celebrate men’s beauty and strength; and to stimulate active discussion on what being a man today can be all about. The ultimate goal of the project is to increase the presence of genuine personal expression, peaceful relationships, and social justice in local communities through collective dialogue, honest reflection, and celebration.

Background/context

Across cultures and communities, there are social norms regarding gender roles – expectations of how boys, girls, men and women should look and behave in all areas and stages of life. In many cultures, men are taught that being a ‘real man’ requires elements such as being emotionally and physically tough; being physically sizable and able; being heterosexual; having lots of women; having dominion over their partner/spouse; not fully expressing feelings such as vulnerability, sadness or fear; and being financially successful.

Socialization regarding what it means to ‘be a man’ often contributes to real costs for both men and women. For example, many boys and men find themselves in a so-called ‘box,’ where the range of emotions they feel they can outwardly express is limited; where sexual orientations other than heterosexuality are met with rejection and violence; where men are feminized and called ‘pussies’ and ‘fags’ if they are not strong enough, tough enough, or straight enough; where violence becomes a normal and necessary means to earn respect from peers; where objectification of women is the norm and violence against women is acceptable.

Gender role norms that are established for men can therefore contribute to a variety of social problems, including male-male violence, violence against women, homophobia and transphobia, substance abuse due to insufficient emotional outlets, youth getting kicked out of their homes because they are not heterosexual and ending up on the streets, patterns of HIV/STI transmission, and taboos against men expressing platonic love for other men.

Just as social training is learned, however, it can be unlearned. Social norms around masculinity can be critically exposed and examined, positive traditions can be celebrated, and new ways of relating and being can also be taken on.

While the movement for women’s liberation and empowerment has been quite public in the U.S. for many years, the ‘men’s movement’ — helping men to critically examine their traditional social training and the positive and negative impacts of this socialization — is still in more nascent or behind-the-scenes stages.

Men’s Story Project – Description and Purpose

As a response to these realities, the Men’s Story Project (MSP) will be an ongoing public performance and community discussion series examining social/cultural ideas around masculinity, using the arts as a medium for community-building and social change. The MSP is getting started in the San Francisco Bay Area, but has potential to be replicated far and wide.

In each MSP performance, a diverse group of approximately 16 local men of all ages will share short pieces they have created about their own lives, on subjects including sexuality, romantic relationships, friendship, family, mentors and role models, rites of passage, HIV/AIDS, perpetration of and healing from violence, immigration, personal transformations, and the men they wish to be – all with a framing focus on critical examination of masculinity and men’s roles. Performances will include a range of mediums including spoken word, monologues, prose, music and dance, supported by local musicians and an emcee. Visual art may be also displayed depending on the venue. Each MSP performance will be followed by a facilitated group discussion between audience and performers. Performances will include both established artists and first-time performers.

Development of performers’ pieces will be supported by local artists through a series of group workshops preceding each performance. These workshops will also serve as an opportunity for the presenters to get to know each another, hear each other’s stories, share their motivations for participating in the project, and develop a sense of community and solidarity within the group; this promises to be a growthful and powerful experience in of itself.

The purpose of the MSP is thus to give voice to men’s stories that are less often heard; to break silences on issues including cultural norms around sexism, racism, heterosexism and violence – and ways in which these interplay with norms around masculinity; to celebrate men’s beauty and strength; and to stimulate active discussion among participants and audience members on what being a man can be all about. The ultimate aim of the project is to increase the presence of genuine personal expression, peaceful relationships, and social justice in local communities through collective dialogue, honest reflection, and celebration. We believe this will be a groundbreaking and influential performance/discussion series, and are also excited about the possibility of it being replicated far and wide as a performance model.

First MSP Performance

The first MSP performance will take place on August 17, 2008 at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, a 200-seat venue. The performance lineup includes a diverse group of men ranging in age from 22-60. Some of the topics addressed include experiences with expressing platonic love for other men; experience of male socialization growing up in Jamaica and the Bronx; learning that it is ok to say no to sex with a woman; desire to transcend the ‘player’ image and be in a committed relationship; transgender identity; one man’s experience of being kicked out of his Muslim home because he was gay and subsequently contracting HIV on the streets; an African American pastor’s letter to his son; a Latino man’s experiences with machismo, perpetration of domestic violence, and subsequent anti-violence activism; a young man’s realization that he is both bisexual and homophobic; a dance piece invoking African ancestry and hip-hop influences to create a rite of passage; and a spoken word piece where a man thanks his father, who had polio, for all he taught him about what it means to be a man. The performance will be followed by a facilitated audience/performer discussion.

Potential for replication/expansion

We have searched through Bay Area and California performance projects and nothing along the lines of the MSP seems to be taking place here, so we seem to be filling a new niche with this project. The MSP has clear potential to expand to become a non-profit organization that facilitates the development of awareness-raising/discussion-provoking performances in California and beyond, in a variety of contexts — including language-specific performances, performances that focus on specific issues such as healing from violence, and performances focusing on men within specific cultural or spiritual communities. We may also aim to do at least one performance that includes well-known men - to expand project reach and visibility, and increase social discussion around these topics.

Men’s Story Project Website

The MSP website will be include: a) texts of performance pieces and links to videos from MSP performances; b) information on how to organize a local MSP performance; and c) space for people to post about local Men’s Story Project performances they are initiating. The website will have links to other men’s movement and anti-oppression work websites.

Men’s Story Project Publications

The MSP will create a chapbook for each performance, which will include the written pieces that are presented and additional pieces written by the performers. These books will be sold at the performances to raise funds for the MSP and contribute to its sustainability. Larger book projects may also be developed.

Excitement!

In summary, the Men’s Story Project is an independent project in its initial stages. It has been consistently met with excitement by the men and women with whom we have shared the idea, and submissions for the first performance have been steadily rolling in by word of mouth and personal recruitment efforts – we already have an overflow of submissions which will be used in the second performance. We believe that are onto something timely and powerful with this project, and that it has genuine potential to become a widespread “performance movement” contributing to social discussion and progress in California, the U.S., and beyond. Artists, activists and others in Richmond, Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Santa Fe, Spain and Chile have already expressed interest in replicating the project.

MSP Funding Needs

Each MSP performance will require approximately $5000 to pay performers, producer, director, and writing workshop facilitators, as well as to cover space rental, stage tech, and publicity. The fiscal sponsor for the MSP is YES! (www.yesworld.org), an amazing and long-standing nonprofit organization that supports visionary youth activists and leaders from around the world. Tax-deductible donations, made out to YES!/Men’s Story Project, can be sent to YES!, c/o Men’s Story Project, at 420 Bronco Rd., Soquel, CA 95703.

For more information, please contact Josie Lehrer: josie@mensstoryproject.org

After decades of working to define ourselves, our community adopted the inclusive initials: LGBT. Whether or not a majority of queers took a vote on this, it is how we have come to define ourselves in the world. I believe that, for the majority of us, it represents more than just a symbolic collection of letters that we display in rainbow colors on Pride weekend. Nor is it merely a quick way for the press to identify us without having to go speak or spell out each of these identities. ‘LGBT’ defines the inclusivity of our community. It tells the world that we’re a diverse, complex and unique community that can’t easily be placed in a stereotypical box. But how much pride can we honestly feel if we don’t embrace a significant segment of our community? And how do we leave transgenders out of a job discrimination bill that would have the greatest impact on them? How do we legitimately call ourselves a community if we allow our collective interests to be expediently compromised away so that some of us can get our piece of the pie? We’re not talking about degrees of compromise. We’re not talking about decreasing the amount of money or percentages of affordable housing or differences in the number of votes or public notices that must be obtained. We’re talking about consciously omitting whole segments of our community. For me, agreeing to leave the transgender community out of ENDA would amount to selling our collective queer soul.

No one disputes that politics is a blood sport. Sacrifices do need to be made. I’m enough of a realist to know you have to act strategically, and rarely do you get everything you fight for. But our political “successes” cannot simultaneously support us and divide us lest unless we’re willing to be accountable for creating a divided community. Our successes should be defined by the ways in which we stand tall, honorably and ethically, as a single community, whether we win or lose any given battle. If we don’t, we are all vulnerable to divide and conquer tactics. We stand to lose sight of what holds us together as a community.

Segmenting out those groups that are less palatable to mainstream America dishonors us all as a community. It tells the world that we’re open to appeasing their homophobia. That Congress was willing to accept the faggots and bulldykes if we agreed to dump the freaks isn’t my idea of a success story.

We will win freedom from discrimination in the workplace when our entire community is represented, not simply those Congress chooses to tolerate. Until then, it’s neither ego, hypocrisy nor political naivete that makes so many members of the LGBT community want a United ENDA, it’s pride. And none of us are disposable.
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August 28, 5pm @ Local 2
209 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco

Learn more about the current campaigns at Le Meridien Hotel
and Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel. Hear the stories of
workers who are seeking a fair process to form a union.

CONTACT:
Rev. Israel I. Alvaran
209 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 415.863.1142 Fax: 415.864.4158
Email: ialvaran@clueca.org