CA-SEN: Boxer Phone Bank Flashmob In Weho 2pm Today

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer who is in a tightening re-election race with failed former Hewlett-Packard CEO Republican Carly Fiorina that could decide who controls the upper house of Congress will be in West Hollywood today at 2pm for a Phone Bank Flashmob.

Yesterday Fiorina was hospitalized with an infection yesterday and still has not returned to the campaign trail but the National Republican Senatorial Committee has bought another $3 million of television ads supporting her.

Boxer is a strong supporter of LGBT equality and last week released a list of LGBT community leaders supporting her (that includes MadProfessah).

With even Meg Whitman endorsing Jerry Brown for Governor, the Senate race is the most important race in the State we must focus on. Come out today to meet Boxer at 2pm at Plummer Park and make some calls to friends and family urging them to vote for Barbara Boxer today!

LA TIMES Covers Health Justice's Condom Distribution Program

Monday's Los Angeles Times carried a story about the distribution of condoms in Los Angeles County jails by the Center for Health Justice:

Inmates call Ron Osorio "West Hollywood" because the words are printed on the cream-colored cloth bag he carries inside Men's Central Jail each Friday.

The bag is filled with 300 Lifestyle condoms. Osorio, who works for the nonprofit Center for Health Justice, has been visiting the jail almost weekly since 2001, when Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca approved a small but groundbreaking program that allowed the health group to pass out prophylactics to inmates in a segregated unit for gay men.

"We go to the dorms and a guy hands out the bagged lunches. There's another guy that hands out the juice. . . . and I stand between those two as they go through the line. They get their lunch, they get a condom, and they get their juice," Osorio said.
[...]
Eight years after Baca first approved the program, the sheriff is pondering whether to expand it by doubling the number of condoms distributed to the 300 inmates within the segregated unit.

His decision comes as a yearlong pilot condom distribution program at the California State Prison at Solano enters its eighth month.

Health advocates say that a successful review of that program could lead to widespread distribution of condoms in prisons throughout the state.

It would be one of the most aggressive measures in the nation's jails and prisons to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, experts say.

Sheriff's officials acknowledge that the virus is a prominent problem in the jails.

They spend about $2 million each year in federally refundable money on HIV/AIDS medication and identify about 65 new cases each month.

On average there are about 1,400 people in L.A. County jails with HIV each year, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department.

Great coverage for the great work that Center for Health Justice does (MadProfessah is Board President of the agency).

MadProfessah at Weho Gay Men's Forum SAT MAY 2

MadProfessah will be appearing at a panel on queer politics at the West Hollywood Gay Men's Forum on Saturday May 2nd.

The Gay Men's Forum is free, all-day event being held in Fiesta Hall at Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood. The theme of the event is "Where We've Been. Where We Are. Where We're Heading." The particular panel on which I will be appearing, with John Cleary (President of Stonewall Democratic Club), Michael Colorge (CSU Northridge LGBA leader) and moderated by Josh Kurpies (Deputy to West HOllywood Mayor Jeffrey Prang).

The title of the session at which I will be appearing is "Politicizing the Gay Community: Activism Past, Present and Future" and starts at 1:30pm.

Hope to see you there!

Video of John Duran Speech at Prop 8 Protests

Yesterday I posted the text of John Duran's truly powerful speech (as transcribed by Karen Ocamb) at Wednesday's protest in West Hollywood on the passage of Proposition 8. Now the video is available:

Speech By John Duran at Weho Protest Over PROP 8

John Duran, openly gay, HIV+ Latino former Mayor of West Hollwyood and Board President of Equality California gave the following powerful remarks last night from the stage about Proposition 8, LGBT civil rights and racism (as transcribed by lesbian reporter Karen Ocamb):

My voice has been horse almost gone but I had to get out of bed to be
here with all of you. I was so happy last night at the Music Box at
8:01 when California put Barack Obama over the line to be our next
President of the United States.

(Cheers.)

And I rejoiced watching (?) in Times Square in New York and Grant
Park, in Chicago at the Old Court House in Atlanta – all across this
country people cheering for Barack Obama as we did as a gay and
lesbian, bisexual and transgender community at the Music Box. We
shared that joy together.

And then, within 30 minutes, as the numbers started to come in – I
felt the joy being deflated by the fact that we were falling behind
on Proposition 8.

And then I was crushed when I heard that people of color were voting
against the GLBT community.

(Boos)

And I started to wonder to myself – how could this be? After all we
have struggled together as one coalition – in the Rainbow Coalition –
how could it be?

And then the stories started to come in from last night from my own
Latino culture on Santa Monica Boulevard – that there were Latino
males with Yes on 8 banners screaming “faggot” and “queer” at our
people along Santa Monica Boulevard.

(Boos)

As I heard the story of our black lesbian volunteer at a polling
place who was told by another black woman that “her kind” didn’t
deserve civil rights – how could that be?

(Boos)

My friends Alan and Jeff – who I married on Sunday – when they were
passing out No on 8 literature – had an old woman come up and spit
upon them. How could that be?

(Boos)

These were the stories I heard – so what it told me – and I get this
now – is that Yes on 8 – it was supported by black and white and
Latino and Asian and young and old people – that is true.

But the OTHER HALF of the vote was also black and white and Latino
and Asian and young and old.

(Cheers)

Never again. Never again will I assume that just because somebody is
of one race they are more likely to be supportive or opposed to me.
Or if somebody is of one religion – that he or she is more supportive
or opposed to me. Or of one political affiliation.

I need to start the same question with every person I meet,
regardless of those characteristics: Are you with the gay and lesbian
community or are you not?

(Cheers)

I completely get that the history of our country – and I completely
get the black community’s struggle against slavery and being denied
the right to vote and the lynching and the Jim Crows laws. And it
moves me with compassion when I hear those stories.

And I get the stories of Cesar Chavez and the farm Workers and the
xenophobia and what they had to fight for here in California. And it
moves me with compassion to hear about it.

And Asians being taken away to concentration camps during World War
Two. And Jews suffering in the Holocaust. I get all that.

But what about our chapter in the civil rights history? (Cheers)

(This is only partial because of the applause) If you want us to vote
for you or fight for you – then you must vote for us as well.

(Cheers)

But I am not here to compare our civil rights struggle to their civil
rights struggle. There’s no winner in the game for the bottom rung on
the ladder – we’ve all suffered. That is a no-win game.

I am here to say you must respect our same call for justice as we
respect your call for justice….
(cheers) because we too know brutality – the brutality on the
schoolyards when we were children and we know the brutality that AIDS
decimated our community over the last 25 years.

And we know the indecency now of not only being called threat to
children – as if we are a threat to our own children – but now to be
told indecently – we don’t have the right to marry the person we love.

That is not right in this America.

(Cheers)

So our stories are a call for justice – the same tonight. Remember
these dates: remember this night because this night is a new page in
the history our gay and lesbian community’s struggle. This week – we
will remember it from this time forward – just like October 11, 1987
when ACT UP was formed in Washington DC during the March on Washington.

And just like September 30, 1991 when we rushed into the streets when
Gov. Peter Wilson vetoed AB 101.

This night is our decade’s call to action…(much screaming and cheers)
– God Bless you all….

Wow. Channeling Harvey Milk. Remember the date: November5, 2008.

Rally in Weho To Protest Prop 8 at 7pm Today!

Jeff Prang, The Mayor of West Hollywood, the Los Angeles County's most predominantly LGBT neighborhood, sent out this annou ncement about a public reaction to Proposition 8's passage:

As deeply disappointed as we all are that California voters passed
Proposition 8, we must not allow that disappointment to linger. This
vote is a temporary defeat in the long march toward equal rights for
all citizens in America.

Please join me for a protest rally tonight at 7 pm on San Vicente Blvd
between West Hollywood Park and the Pacific Design Center (647 N. San
Vicente Blvd. West Hollywood CA 90069) as we move forward towards
restoring equality for all in California.

San Vicente Blvd, between Santa Monica Blvd and Melrose Avenue will be
closed tonight starting at 6 pm. San Vicente south-bound traffic will
be directed to make left or right at Santa Monica Blvd. Signs have
already been posted to help divert traffic.

For more information about tonight's rally, please contact (323) 848-6460.

Wade and Noah Get Married!

So, contrary to previous reports on this blog, the very fine Jensen Atwood will be appearing in Noah's Arc: Jumping The Broom after all, continuing his portrayal of Wade, the boyfriend (and husband?) of lead character Noah, played by Darryl Stephens.

The film is in theaters Friday October 24.

NOAH'S ARC: JUMPING THE BROOM In Theaters Fri Oct 24

Wilson Cruz

Jensen Atwood

There are reports on the web that th release date for the upcoming Noah's Arc movie has ben set. Noah's Arc: Jumping The Broom will be released in movie theaters on Friday October 24th.

According to the IMDb page for the movie, Jensen Atwood who plays the incredibly attractive Wade (and Noah's on and off againlove interest) is NOT in the cast! Sadly, it appears as if hottie Wilson Cruz who plays HIV-positive doctor Junito will also not be appearing in the Noah's Arc movie.

John Morgan Wilson book signing in Weho today

An annnouncement from my favorite mystery writer, John Morgan Wilson:

The first Benjamin Justice mystery, Simple Justice, is about to reissued in trade paperback by Bold Strokes Books. There will be a 7:30 p.m. reading and brief Q&A at A Different Light Books in West Hollywood.

Simple Justice launched the Benjamin Justice series, which has won three Lambda Literary Awards for best gay men's mystery. Sinple Justice also won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from Mystery Writers of America for best first novel, the first "gay mystery" by an openly gay author ever to win the prestigious Edgar. The eighth novel in the series, Spider Season, will be published by St. Martin's Minotaur in early December.

Mad Professah will try to attend the book reading and try to get all my copies of the first seven books signed.

John Morgan Wilson's SPIDER SEASON is coming!

My favorite mystery writer, John Morgan Wilson, wrote me an e-mail note today thanking me for MadProfessah's review of his most recently published book, Rhapsody in Blood, and to tell me that he has a new book, entitled Spider Season coming out late this Fall! December 9, 2008, according to Amazon.com. You can read the first chapter of the book at Wilson's personal website.

First of all, how cool of it is to get a letter from a writer whose work you admire and they tell you that they like the review you wrote of their work?

Secondly, how exciting is that finally after two long years, a new episode in the Benjamin Justice series will be out soon?

If you haven't heard of Benjamin Justice, he is the fictional openly gay, ex-reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for the Los Angeles Times that had to be returned after a huge scandal.

He always seems to find himself in complicated murder mysteries set in Southern California and Los Angeles (the first several books are actually set in the heart of the gay ghetto itself: West Hollywood).

The first seven books in the series are: Simple Justice (1996), Revision of Justice (1997), Justice at Risk (1999), The Limits of Justice (2000), Blind Eye (2003), Moth and Flame (2004) and Rhapsody in Blood (2006).

I am thinking of re-reading (and reviewing) the first 6 books or so for this blog before the 8th one comes out in December. I would strongly recommend reading them in order, although each one is self-contained, the impact of the events on the character is deepened if you have experienced the events of the previous books.