Newsgroups: bit.listserv.gaynet
Date:         Wed, 26 Aug 1992 15:12:32 -0400
From:         gaynet@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Subject:      GayNet Digest Volume 5 Issue 659

In this issue:
                      Far right gay baits to kill
                                 GayNet
                                 GayNet
                             Working Assets
                 ADVICE!  Also, if you want to write...
                        Unfriendly Name Calling
                               Ross Perot

Please send messages for the entire list to gaynet@ATHENA.MIT.EDU,
requests to be added or deleted to gaynet-request@ATHENA.MIT.EDU, and
personal replies directly to the other person, not the entire list.
Postings to GayNet are public communications.  If you must keep your
privacy, send your messages to gaynet-anonymous@ATHENA.MIT.EDU.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 25 Aug 1992 23:55:56 -0800
From: ASJR@acad2.alaska.edu
X-Hop-Count: 1

Subject: Alaska Update
From: asjr@alaska.bitnet
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 92 22:49:00 ADT

Fundies and Nazi's are the expected adversaries,  but what do you do about
a volcano?   The eruption of Mt. Spurr last week effectively cancelled all
activity in and around Anchorage, soooo the University of Alaska Board of
Regents meeting has been postponed until their next regular scheduled meeting
in October.  I think it will be in Fairbanks October 1st & 2nd.  This is not a
bad thing,  though we were prepared for a rousing battle and victory.  The
worst was having all that activist adrenalin built up and having to stay
indoors and do nothing because of the ash.  I can't complain too loudly,  I'll
take sand over a hurricane any day.  I was all prepared to testify for the
Regents, then get on a plane and go to D.C. for a March on Washington Executive
Committee meeting.  Instead I got to eat five dozen chocolate chip cookies
while watching That Girl re-runs.  We even had to turn off our computers.  It
has rained a little,  which helps,  but as soon as the stuff dries and the wind
picks up we have air quality emergencies.  PLUS the mountains had snow today,
which means that winter is about three weeks away.  Look out below.  Not only
did summer never arrive this year,  winter is a month early!
   Anyway,  there are fewer Fundamentalists likely to show up at the Fairbanks
meeting.  Plus, school will be in full swing so the student presence will be
much stronger.  Thanks to everyone who responded to my first posting.  Please
feel free to continue sending stuff our way and to the Regents.
    I promised last time to tell about other queer Alaska news.  We have
started the Anchorage Chapter of Queer Nation.  Our first decision was to
boycott Jay Jacobs for men because of some nasty homophobia.  I was the
Assistant Manager there until mid-July.  The manager, my immediate boss,  was
also a gay man.  We had two gay male sales staff, and an addition assistant
manager who happened to be straight.  One of the sales staff had been in a very
abusive relationship.  When he finally broke it off,  he went directly into the
arms of the Kerusso Ministries,  the arm of the local Baptist Temple that
"cures" homosexuals through Jesus.  These folks began coming to our store.
They recognized me immediately, because they have been fighting me and losing
at the University for the past four years.  I began to get harrassed by
evangelists every time I left the store.  Worse,  my boss received disciplinary
action from the company.  The mall manager reported to the Jay Jacobs corporate
office that he had received customer complaints about our store.  Men were not
comfortable shopping there because they were being inappropriately cruised.
One mother complained that her twelve year old was looked and felt up while
trying on clothes.  My boss was reprimanded for not controlling the
unprofessional behavior of his staff,  and directed to hire a more diverse
crew, whatever that means.  Two people of color and one female are evidently
not diverse enough.  The infuriating part is that no perpetrator was
identified,  so we have all been accused of child molestation based on hearsay.
The mall manager broke the law by not notifying The Division of Youth and
Family Services about a possible case of child molestation.
My boss got a lawyer,  who told us this was plainly defamation of character,
and to ask to see records of the customer complaints.  The mall manager had no
such records.  The lawyer then recommended that my boss demand that the
discipline action be removed from his file.  The company response was "This is
just a routine thing,  everybody has something like this in their files."  At
the same time we were also told that until the federal government enacted laws
recognizing gay relationships, our spouses could not use the employee discount
like heterosexual spouses are allowed.  Also,  the company has changed it's
customer profile to attract "a regular guy."  The anti-gay attitude apparently
stems from the vice-presidential level in the company.  My boss took a leave of
absence.  I quit.  I wanted to be able to tell this story without compromising
my employment status.  The end result has been the formation of Queer Alaska,
and a slowly growing boycott of the company.
   Our city Assembly set the date for a public hearing on a gay rights
ordinance today.  The hearing will be Dec. 1st.   The toughest part is that
even if the Assembly passes the ordinance,  our mayor will veto it.  We need to
build strong enough support to override the veto.  We have had a hard time
convincing local officials that discrimination is occurring.  They refuse to
accept all the examples we give them.  No official agency takes complaints from
gays or lesbians.  We get the bureaucratic shuffle,  and since none of the
official agencies have any cases on file, the discrimination doesn't exist,
right?  We could use some facts and figures from federal studies and from other
communities.    We did have the mainstream newspaper come out in favor of gay
rights.  We also had two prominent citizens come out publically in the paper
this morning.  A business owner and a retired judge told part of their stories
today.  The TV news picked up on the whole thing and covered it quite well.
I'm sure the local fundies are having apoplectic fits tonight.  I'll send the
Addresses of the Anchorage Assembly next time.   Ciao.

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

* * * * * *    Jaime Rodriguez
 *       *     Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Student Association
  *     *      University of Alaska, Anchorage
   *   *       3211 Providence Drive
    * *        Anchorage, AK 99508
     *         asjr@alaska.bitnet

Executive Committee Member                     Join over one million
Related Events Liason                          lesbigays in Washington, D.C.
National March on Washington for               April 25th, 1993.
Lesbian, Gay & Bi
Equal Rights and Liberation                    National Office:
P.O. Box 242561                                1012 14th Street NW
Anchorage, Alaska 99524                        7th Floor
(907)338-0762                                  Washington, D.C. 20005
                                               1-800-832-2889
Send money!!!				       TTY 202-332-6219

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

------------------------------

Date: 26 Aug 92 07:47:24
From: KLangabeer <KLangabeer.MAILROOM@wylbur.kines.ucla.edu>
Subject: Far right gay baits to kill

                      Far right gay baits to kill PBS
	Action Alert!!
	Rev. Wildmon#213#s American Family Association, Tupelo, MS, 38803
 (601-844-5036),
is using lesbigay baiting to end federal funding for the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, which in part funds National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public
Broadcasting System (PBS).
	A bill that would continue federal funding for public TV and radio (HR 2977),
which was passed by Congress, now sits on Bush#213#s desk.  Bush must sign or
 veto
the bill by this Friday, Aug. 28.  According to my local NPR station, KCRW in
Santa Monica, CA, if Bush vetoes this bill, it will mean the end of public TV
and possibly the end of NPR and local public radio stations.
	Bush is being pressured to veto the bill by the Republican Party (they passed
a plank in their platform against federal funding for CPB) and by the American
Family Association, which has placed ads in papers and sent a mailing to
500,000 of its members urging them to call the White House and tell Bush to
veto HR 2977.
	The ad they placed in the Washington Times on Aug. 16 states as a headline:
 #210#DO YOU WANT 1.1 BILLION OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS SUPPORTING NUDE LESBIAN SEX
 AND A
PUSH FOR HOMOSEXUALITY ON PBS?#211#
	It goes on to mention the shows: #210#A Portrait of a Marriage,#211# #210#In
 the Life#211#
(the upcoming gay variety show), #210#The Lost Language of Cranes,#211#
 #210#Out,#211# #210#Behind
Censorship,#211# #210#Out Here,#211# and #210#Anthem.#211#
	In regard to #210#Tongues Untied#211# it states, #210#The pro-homosexual
 #212#Tongues Untied#213#
was so offensive (It was filled with the gutter four letter term for sexual
intercourse.) that more than 200 PBS stations refused to air it.#211#
	#210#...You could call PBS the Gay Pride Taxpayer Funded Network.  The PBS
homosexual crusade shows PBS#213#s contempt for those of us who are forced to
 pay
the bill.  PBS and the homosexual activists have their Gay Pride Taxpayer
Funded Network, and the taxpayer gets financially raped by PBS.#211#
	#210#...Tired of your tax dollars being used by PBS to promote homosexuality?
Join with others to make your voice heard.#211#  The ad then provides a form to
fill out and send to the American Family Association #210#to stop PBS from
using...tax dollars to promote homosexuality#211# and the phone and address of
 the
White House.
	You can bet that the far right will be calling Bush to urge him to veto HR
2977.
	He also must hear from supporters of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
and those appalled by the evangelical right#213#s use of hate mongering to kill
public broadcasting.
	Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111 (9 a.m. - 5 p.m. EDT) and
tell them you support HR 2977.  Or you can fax the White House at 202-456-2461.

Kris Langabeer
UCLA
ibn7kxl@mvs.oac.ucla.edu

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 26 Aug 1992 11:52:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: J_POULIN1@UNHH.UNH.EDU (Joe Poulin, UNH Registrar's Office, 862-1533)
Subject: GayNet

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 26 Aug 1992 11:54:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: J_POULIN1@UNHH.UNH.EDU (Joe Poulin, UNH Registrar's Office, 862-1533)
Subject: GayNet

Sorry about previous message.  I'm looking for info about GayNet, subscription
information, etc.

Thanks,

Joe Poulin

------------------------------

Date: 26 Aug 92 08:58:51
From: CJones <CJones.MAILROOM@wylbur.kines.ucla.edu>
Subject: Working Assets

                      Working Assets
Working Assets is a San Fancisco-based company that offers long distance
service, mutual funds, credit cards, and a travel agency.  They donate a
certain percentage of their revenue (not profits) to liberal, social action,
environmental,  and economic justice groups.

Their long distance service has rates comparable to AT&T, MCI and Sprint and
they offer a 20% discount to anyone you call with their service (like Friends
and Family, except it's anonymous).  They lease their lines from Sprint and
offer lower rates.  Their bills are printed on 100% post-consumer waste paper
and with soy ink.  On the first Monday of the month, you can call two
designated numbers for free to tell Congressmembers, Ambassadors, corporations,
etc, what you think about their policies.

At the end of the year, you vote on which groups you think the donations pool
should go to.  In addition to the amount Working Assets contributes, you can
add to this donation pool by adding it to your check (e.g. if your bill is
$15.32, make your check for $16.00 and the extra .68 is donated).

I've had this service for quite a while and I'm pleased with their service.  If
you'd like information on joining, call 1-800-788-0898.  That's the customer
service line.  (I hope I don't get in trouble putting an advertisement on int
Internet, but I won't get any reward from them for referring new customers.
Darn.)


 Chad Jones
 UCLA Department of Physiological Science
 cjones@kines.ucla.edu
 "Oportet ministros manus lavare antequam latrinam relinquent"

------------------------------

From: <MARKD@urjwc.ucla.edu>
Subject: ADVICE!  Also, if you want to write...
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 09:37:00 PDT
Encoding: 105 TEXT

Reprinted from "The Cincinnati Enquirer" editorial page.  FYI - a fairly
conservative paper, this is the second anti-ordinance piece they have run
recently.  Also, note of interest, the publisher is Thomas Keating, brother
of the infamous Charles.  Oddly enough, the paper's coverage of the S&L
scandal was spotty.
    I'm asking for help.  A friend of mine (straight mother of two, weekly
church-goer, by the way) is angry and wishes to draft a response to this
drivel.  I already know to hammer away at the "special rights" thing, and to
ask "One percent or 90?  Is it right to discriminate?"  Could anyone offer
further advice?  Particularly, statistics or articles/reports to answer his
"expert" references?  I suspect that some of these are blatant right-wing
propaganda rags.  HELP PLEASE!
    Also, if you wish to respond yourself, the people, places, and addresses
are listed at the end of this message.

Gay-rights law unwarranted
     by Jim Emerson, guest columnist

    Much has already been written about Cincinnati's proposed Human Rights
Ordinance, which would primarily outlaw discrimination based on sexual
orientation.  The gay-rights groups, represented by people like Scott
MacLarty and Ted Good, have written in support of the ordinance.  Religious
leaders and conservatives, such as Charles Winburn and Nick Vehr, have
written against them.
    I have yet to read, though, an analysis of the assertions presented by
the propnents of the ordinance as to its necessity.
    The two main assertions worthy of consideration are these: (1) since 10%
of the population is gays, gays deserve legal protection against
discrimination; and (2) protection is also warranted since homosexuality is
an immutable genetically based orientation.
    It is routinely reported in the media that 10% of the population is gay,
but where does this percentage come from?  It comes entirely from the studies
of sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey in the 1940s and 1950s.  Kinsey's highly
questionable methods and ethics have long since been discredited, but the 10%
figure, at which he arrived, caught hold and is going strong.  Recent studies
show that the incidence of homosexual behavior in the general population is
less than 3% and may be as little as 1% (British Medical Journal, 298, 1989;
Pediatrics, 89, 1992; Family Planning Perspectives, May/June 1991).  That the
10% myth has been perpetuated has not been by accident, as the figure is
central to the homosexuals' movement to legitimate their lifestyle.
    Homosexuals also claim that homosexuality is immutable, genetic
characteristic, much like skin color.  They point to two recent studies, one
of brain nodes, the other of identical twins, as proof of this.  Both of
these studies, however, have collapsed under scrutiny (see Sexual
Disorietnation: Faulty Research in the Homosexual Debate," Family Policy,
Family Research Council).
    This claim is further refuted by the existence of men and women who have
changed their sexual preference and left the homosexual lifestyle.  Masters
and Johnson report a 79.1% immediate success rate, and a 71.6% success rate
after five years, for their clients who attempt to discontinue their
homosexual practices (The Masters and Johnson Treatment Program for
Dissatisfied Homosexual Men, American Journal of Psychiatry, Feb, 1984).
    Homosexuals, therefore, have no basis for equating their struggle for
special legal privileges with that of the civil-rights movement.  Simply put,
one can becme a former homosexual, but not a former hispanic or
african-american.
    What is really at issue here is not civil rights, since gays are already
afforded the same civil rights as anyone else.  What homosexuals are after is
acceptance and support of their lifestyle.  Jeff Levi, as spokesman for the
National Gay and Lesbian TAsk Force remarked in 1987 that "...we are no
longer seeking just a right to privacy and a prtoection from wrong.  We halso
have a right - as heterosexual Americans already have - to see government and
society affirm our lives ... until our relationships are recognized in the
law - through domestic partner legislation or the definition of
beneficiaries, for example - until we are provided with the same financial
incentives in tax law and government programs to affirm our family
relationships" (Homosexuality's Legal Revolution, The Freeman, May, 1991).
    Gays know, though, that this legal revolution won't succeed without
coercing heterosexuals, most of whom realize that the gay lifestyle is
detrimental and costly to society, into a masked acceptance of homosexuality.
 This, then, is where the government comes in, through laws like the proposed
Human Rights Ordiancne pushed through the system by self-serving politicians
who cave in to the pressure applied to them by the small but vocal gay-rights
groups.
    The simple conclusion to all of this is that since gays have no basis for
their claims to special legal protection against [sic] they have no right to
force others to accept or support their lifestyle.
    Jim Emerson, a resident of Forest Park, is a member of the Hamilton
County Republican Party Central Committee.


The Cincinnati Enquirer
312 Elm Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Cincinnati City Council
801 Plum Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
FAX (513) 352-1517
Members:
    Nick Vehr, against
    Bobbie Sterne, for
    Roxanne Qualls, for
    John Mirlesena, undecided
    David Mann, leaning against
    Mayor Dwight Tillery, undecided
    Peter Strauss, undecided
    Nell Surber, undecided
    Tyrone Yates, for


Mark, former queen city queen
MARKD@urjwc.ucla.edu

------------------------------

From: <MARKD@urjwc.ucla.edu>
Subject: Unfriendly Name Calling
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 09:48:00 PDT
Encoding: 40 TEXT

To everyone out there,
    Could we please refrain from referring to a certain multiple-Gold
Medalist diver by that foul nickname.  I didn't think it was very funny when
I heard it on a Cincinnati rock-n-roll station several years ago, and it
really doesn't seem any funnier now.  And I have serious doubts that anyone
calls him that outside of some homophobes making disgusting jokes. It seems
to me rather disrespectful to someone who has done nothing to earn that
disrespect.
    In fact, I believe Mr. Louganis has done us all a great service.  I used
to date a diving coach, and once, during practice, I heard his divers
discussing Greg.  As someone else pointed out, Louganis' sexuality is common
knowledge in diving circles.  These kids, ranging from about 8 to 17, were
involved in a hot discussion of the man.  One kid was downing Greg Louganis,
and the others jumped to his defense.  They're attitude was "Who cares?  What
difference does it make?"
    Who else in the American public eye has that kind of effect on kids that
age?
    Besides, another friend of mine did Greg's hair and makeup for a photo
shoot and says he's the most adorable, sweet guy to walk the planet.
    So stop slagging him with that childish nickname, OK?

    Mark, who isn't amused at all by that nasty nickname

------------------------------

From: <MARKD@urjwc.ucla.edu>
Subject: Ross Perot
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 12:15:00 PDT
Encoding: 30 TEXT

I meant to respond to this earlier...
    Does anyone know what's going on with Ross "Weasel" Perot?  I heard a
report -- on CNN I think -- that even as he announced his withdrawal from the
campaign to the national media, he was working behind the scenes to keep his
name on the ballot in most states.  He is currently trying to get his name on
the ballots in a few remaining states -- most notably Illinois.
    Speculation is that he withdrew in order to take his candidacy out of the
public eye and to avoid the scrutiny he so detested, but that come October,
when people are tired of Bush (as if we aren't already) and Clinton, he would
reactivate his campaign.  At that time, he would get a great media blitz for
re-entering the campaign and it would be too late for the media to truly
scrutinize him.
    Currently, he is registered in enough states to win the Electoral
College.  Actually, if you add up the votes from the states where he is
registered, he has the potential to win 100 more votes than he needs.
    WHY ARE WE LETTING HIM GET AWAY WITH THIS?
    I believe that if he chooses to keep his name on the ballots, he should
be hounded and scrutinized and placed under a microscope like any other major
candidate.  I think he's playing the American public for fools, and I'm
frightened that it will work.
    Any comments or suggestions as to what we can do to combat this?

Mark
"NO CLAUSE 28" -- Boy George, who's not as flaky as you may assume.

------------------------------

End of GayNet Digest
********************
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