December 12, 2007
Congressional leaders drop plans for vote on hate crimes
Democratic congressional leaders dropped legislation last week that would have expanded federal hate crimes laws to cover attacks against gays and lesbians after House Democrats said a major military spending bill would fail if the hate crimes law wasn’t cut from it... Full Story
Huckabee believes people with AIDS should be ‘isolated’
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public, opposed increased federal funding in the search for a cure and said homosexuality could “pose a dangerous public health risk"... Full Story
Opinion
Mitt Romney scares me.
Not because he’s Mormon, which has been the center of conversation for the past few weeks. I’ve had plenty of friends and colleagues who are Latter Day Saints, and I know that they can think and act independently of the church... Full Story
It is clear to nearly everyone that fundamentalists—Christians who believe in Biblical inerrancy—are the chief obstacle to equal freedom for gays and lesbians. It would not be so irritating if they limited... Full Story
Nation Report
Arizona governor moves to extend partner benefits
PHOENIX—Ariz. Gov. Janet Napolitano said Dec. 4 that she wants Arizona to provide health benefits for state employees’ domestic partners for fairness. “To me it’s an issue of employees all getting the same benefits"... Full Story
Federal court hears parents’ objections to gay discussion
BOSTON—Parents who objected to discussions of gay families in their children’s classrooms have taken their case to a federal appeals court... Full Story
Boy Scouts facing eviction in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA—The Philadelphia Boy Scouts chapter moved a step closer Dec. 3 to being evicted from its city-owned home after ignoring a deadline to either reverse the organization’s ban on gay... Full Story
Georgia trans politician loses bid for reelection
RIVERDALE, Georgia—A transgender city council member lost a re-election bid in a runoff Dec. 4 after a lawsuit that claimed she tried to fool voters by running as a woman. Michelle Bruce said that even though a judge dismissed the... Full Story
Navy chaplain sentenced for failing to disclose HIV
QUANTICO, Va.—An HIV-positive Navy chaplain was sentenced Dec. 6 to two years in prison after pleading guilty to forcible sodomy and other charges. Lt. Cmdr. John Thomas Lee, 42, of Burke, Va., was sentenced after entering a plea... Full Story
Court rules lesbians can’t get divorce in Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A lesbian couple that married in Massachusetts cannot get divorced in their home state of Rhode Island, the state’s highest court ruled Dec. 7... Full Story
Recount bounces openly gay mayor out of office
VALLEJO, Calif—For a while there, it appeared that the city of Vallejo had elected its first openly gay mayor. After a vote recount, it turns out the city actually has its first.. Full Story
Seattle GLBT community center may close by new year
SEATTLE—The Seattle Times reported Dec. 6 that the Seattle LGBT Community Center owes some $30,000 in unpaid bills and will likely not be able to keep its Capitol Hill office open beyond Dec. 31... Full Story
Civil unions numbers fall in Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn.—State figures in Connecticut show there has been a significant drop in the number of same-sex couples entering into civil unions in the past year... Full Story
Freestyle: arts, entertainment & lifestyle
Moonswept away: an interview with Suzzy Roche of The Roches
It’s been a few years (almost a dozen) since The Roches—sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy—released a new CD as a trio, but their new album “Moonswept” (429) made the wait worthwhile. Since they first introduced themselves in song... Full Story
If you saw the musical “The Light in the Piazza” in its pre-Broadway Goodman Theater production in Chicago or in its initial Broadway run, then you were probably fortunate enough to see the wondrous Victoria Clark as overprotective mother... Full Story
Variations on an Italian theme
The Addington Gallery’s modest show of recent still-life paintings by Chicago artist Susan Kraut is as beautiful an exhibit as Chicago has seen all year... Full Story
‘Fruitcake’— Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus dazzles again
Its musical excellence would be triumph enough but, adding ingenious style to reliable substance, Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus never ceases to surprise. Short and very sweet, “Fruitcake,” performed last weekend at the Athenaeum Theatre, was a perfect... Full Story
Starting Out in the Evening (Roadside Attractions)—Heather (Lauren Ambrose), an intelligent and aggressive graduate student, contacts Leonard Schiller (Frank Langella in a performance worthy of Oscar buzz), a “New York intellectual” writer... Full Story
Remember that hodge-podge of ornaments adorning the family Christmas tree and the mélange of holiday heirlooms here and there throughout the house... Full Story
Duran Duran, Pat Monahan and Sara Bareilles play the Chicago Theater, 175 N. State, at 7:30 p.m. Call (312) 462-6300. More
Ford revamps Freestyle to launch new Taurus X
The 2008 Ford Taurus X is a tall wagon. No, it’s a mild version of a sport utility vehicle. Whatever the description, the Taurus X is an easy-to-drive, nice-riding vehicle with room for up to seven people and flexible cargo space... Full Story
More News
One of the few instances in which the Bush administration got some credit in gay circles was when the president tapped openly gay diplomat Michael Guest to be ambassador to Romania... Full Story
HBHC offering free breast and cervical cancer screenings
Howard Brown Health Center signed on last week for Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s expansion of breast and cervical cancer screenings and related services, one of three agencies to do so... Full Story
Meth Task Force to move its focus to other substances
The Chicago Crystal Meth Task Force has decided to reshape its focus and change its name in 2008. At its Nov. 28 meeting, members decided to implement a change that had been contemplated for many months... Full Story
TPAN panel discusses HIV prevention in black community
An early winter storm did not stop a small group of community members and AIDS advocates from gathering at Test Positive Aware Network’s Edgewater headquarters Dec. 5 for a discussion about the impact of HIV/AIDS... Full Story
Area AIDS service providers meet to work out 2008 goals
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Service Providers Council Advocacy and Policy Committee met Dec. 10 to decide where the organization should focus its lobbying energies in 2008... Full Story
Diocese votes to leave Episcopal church over gay issues
SAN FRANCISCO—The conservative Diocese of San Joaquin in California has voted to split from the Episcopal Church, becoming the first full Anglican diocese to secede from the denomination in the debate over... Full Story
Kids’ questions about AIDS form basis of new short film
BALTIMORE—When married human-rights and public-health advocates Brian Hennessey and Radia Daoussi traveled to Toronto last year for the International AIDS Conference, they brought their two young daughters along—as they normally... Full Story
Argentine trans teen wins fight for surgery
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—A 17-year-old Argentine has undergone surgery to become a female only months after winning a court battle in the first case of its kind involving a minor in Argentina, a representative... Full Story
Editorial
Last week our community was let down yet again when Democratic leaders in Congress dropped the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act from the defense authorization bill that had passed the Senate... Full Story
We are truly dismayed to find that Congress now will put aside its leadership on passage of federal hate crimes legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity... Full Story
Freetime
I was interested to read about four Texas cops who are suing the Houston Police Department over a 2005 ban on beards; apparently, gas masks worn in bio-terror attacks cannot be sealed when placed... Full Story
“Help!” (Capitol/Apple)—Beatle Ringo Starr’s supposed love of rings gets him into hot water (and worse) in director Richard Lester’s silly 1960s musical comedy “Help!” Following the success of the more documentary style... Full Story
On This Day in 1970 A Roman Catholic mass with a homily on the Christian homosexual is held in the apartment of Wayne Evans, 642 W. Aldine... Full Story
Some mystics say that life is a long corridor of doors and we walk down it opening them to see what’s inside. Others say that life is a trampoline on which we bounce up and down hitting our head on... Full Story
Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean you’re going to be good at interior design or doing hair, right? It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a snappy dresser, that you have a gym-toned body or that you like show tunes or Madonna. Being gay... Full Story
Theater
If he were alive today, actor Jackie Coogan would probably be tied up in court trying to have a new Chicagoan Holiday Law enacted. Coogan, famous for giving Charles Addams’ Uncle Fester a face and for helping... Full Story
That stomping sound you hear? That’s the noise of herds of musical theater and jazz lovers alike, rushing out of the city to see the season’s most ebullient show: A no-nonsense tribute to the First Lady of Song, otherwise known simply... Full Story
The Hipmas Carol’ and ‘The Snow Queen
Chicago theater’s huge season of revivals chugs along, and sometimes the sheer number of reruns trotted out every December feels like enough to make even Tiny Tim melancholy. Still, just as some ornaments shine more brightly than others... Full Story
Home
Decking the halls…with a little help from the experts
If you haven’t done it already, it’s high time to start decorating your home for the holidays. But who says you need to use those same old, tired decorations you’ve been using for the past 10 years... Full Story
Dining
If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the gourmet in your life, you can almost never go wrong with a cookbook. Even cooks who seldom follow a recipe enjoy perusing cookbooks. Think of it as culinary porn. Just a peek at a photo of an artfully arranged dish... Full Story