Thank you from Tenderloin Tessie Holiday Dinners

The board of directors of Tenderloin Tessie Holiday Dinners would like to thank all the volunteers who helped cook and serve twelve hundred guests on Thanksgiving Day. We especially would like to thank James Harris and Melon’s Catering - who cooked fifty...

Perils of Pot Legalization
I changed my mind about petitions recently, thinking working on the petition to legalize and tax pot would be easy. After all, isn’t it an issue that most people agree on? Sadly enough, no! Many of the “liberal population” is involved in the “black...

Where Do We Stand in Print?

An Open Letter to the SF Chronicle,
I have been a long time subscriber to your paper since I moved to San Francisco in 1988 and I have written a letter in the past about this issue.

In the paper of Nov. 11, I...

In a very disappointing loss for the LGBTI community, the voters of Maine appear to have voted to overturn a law passed by their state legislature which permits same sex couples to marry in the State of Maine.

According to the Bangor Daily News (a newspaper in the state...

About 100 protestors were if front of the DC Convention Center, sight of the HRC dinner featuring honorific speaker Pres. Obama, on the eve of the Equality March. The protestors were mostly working class activists who were asking Obama and the Democrats to keep their campaign promises made...

Re: “One Fag’s Story”
I wanted to take a minute to make a comment on the “Serial of Gay San Francisco” (By Don Baird; the entire serial can be read at  – click on Don Baird in the list of sections on the lower left.) that has been...

Bad Precedent
Slowly but surely we are giving away our natural heritage - our parks and open spaces.

The latest and not the only threat to our parks is Sate Senator Mark Leno’s SB792, which will sell off to Lennar Corporation for condos, 42 acres of state parkland on...

Nude is Not Lewd.
Open Letter to SFPD Chief George Gascon
Welcome to San Francisco and the issues of Public Nudity and the Civil Rights of public nudists to expand the Free Body Culture movement in America. I suspect that this is something that you have not dealt...

Dear President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Feinstein,

I am writing to you in my position as the Senior Minister of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCCSF). MCCSF is a congregation of several hundred members, representing and serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and our...

I totally disagree with the leadership of Equality California, which has decided to delay going back to the ballot to overturn Prop. 8 until 2012. This organization failed the LGBT community in 2008 with a campaign that sought little input from the grassroots. It is again ignoring the...

Yes! On Equality: Go for 2010

Yes! On Equality! is extremely disappointed, but not surprised, by Equality California’s decision today to wait until 2012 to go back to the ballot for marriage equality in California, especially since every poll we conducted shows majority support within the LGBT community (including...

Your lead article about California’s HIV treatment budget cuts  (“Schwarzenegger Decimates AIDS Services Funding,” by Rex Wockner, July 30 Bay Times) blames the governor’s refusal to raise taxes on the “uber-rich.” Many Democratic leaders opposed to raise tax cuts as well.

It’s time to tell the truth and face...

At Dore 2009, the SF police department will ban exposure of ERECT penises. Will they tolerate limp penises, on naked persons demonstrating  for freedom and for world peace? Or not?

Mayor Gavin Newsom,, please note: (1) There is NO law which prohibits mere nudity (nudity which isn’t “lewd”) on...

This is the first time I have written to a newspaper in my life, but after reading the article by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore and the rebuttal by Sr. Barbi Mitzvah I found myself enraged by what had been published. (“Pink Saturday: Party Or Police State?”by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore,...

Whatever happened to the word “gay”? If you go down to the Community Center on Market Street in San Francisco, you’ll have to look long and hard until you find it. Likewise if you visit the Historical Center on Castro Street. Not to mention that it fell out...

We thank you for your feedback, although I am surprised that you did not contact us directly, so we will continue and with your response publically.

Yes, Pink Saturday (PS) has drawn a younger crowd, but being public streets we cannot legally deny entrance based on age and likewise...

Dear de Bay Times

Supervisor Bevan Dufty was the first person to look at the 2,300 individual photos that make up Harvey Milk’s face in this photomosaic by Robert Silvers when it was unveiled at The Lookout June 23. You tell me what de Bevan’s just seen. There are...

The Stonewall Riot, which initiated the modern phase of the gay liberation movement, occurred at a Manhattan gay bar 40 years ago this June. Other gay riots occurred before Stonewall, but they were flashes in the pan. Stonewall was unique because its energy persisted in various organizational forms...

I am one who is deeply upset over this budget crisis in California. And a major reason it is happening is because for years the State Legislature, both Democrats and Republicans have refused to raise enough revenues to cover costs, but instead have played budgetary shell games. And...

Stonewall 40
On an early morning flight from Orlando, after appearing at the 19th Annual Gay Days at Disneyworld, I was sirred twice by a cab driver and flight attendant. All before 7 a.m. I would have thought the brand new faux leopard Croc flats I was sporting...

I was horrified to what I witnessed at 440 Castro on Saturday night, May 31. The bar showed extremely poor conduct, insensitivity, and unprofessionalism. A drunk patron was being escorted away from the bar by the bouncer. After telling the bouncer to stop touching him, the patron hit...

On Friday we are doing another Take Back the Polk March for visibility. I am so mad that I would like to throw bricks through the Court house windows!!! However in practicing nonviolence like two of my heroes; Ghandi and Martin Luther; we came up with a way...

May 17, International Day Against Homophobia, more than 100 people participated in the Castro Rally at Milk Plaza to raise awareness of LGBT Iraqis facing increased torture and murder.  Sadly, this story has been buried for five years in the mainstream media while 600 documented gay murders have...

Harvey Milk’s birthday is May 22. A lot of people will never forget this important activist who always fought for the underdog,whether LGBT or straight. To Harvey everyone deserved an even break.

If you live in San Francisco or visit here, please take the time to look at the...

In all battles for social change and justice, whether gay or straight, a multiplicity of approaches is necessary. No single approach is the answer to affect political change. It’s wise of activists to never put all of their eggs in one basket.

That is why, in addition to helping...

An open letter to Pollo del Mar:
I have met you many times while working in the community and doing outreach work. Primarily, I see you while working with Garza. My supervisor showed me your article today in the paper celebrating on your five years sober and reflecting...

An Open Letter to Carrie Prejean
Dear Ms. Prejean,
On a recent interview with FOXNews.com’s Courtney Friel, you stated that you did not mean to offend anyone when you stated your opposition to gay Americans having the right to marry. We believe you are sincere in that answer.

But...

We thank our international allies for their continued interest in the state of LGBT affairs in Jamaica. Your support over the years has strengthened our voice and made it possible for us to make progress where we hardly thought it possible. One of the most significant ventures in...

Here is a letter to me from the famous (straight) novelist John Irving (The World According to Garp) about the marriage bill in Vermont. He would like you to make it widely available. Thanks, Edmund White

Dear Edmund:
It’s interesting that, as you and I are comparing our calendars...

What follows is an outrage. If ever you have been used, been the victim of a scam or been hustled, you aren’t going to like what you read here. While so many try to help others, there are scumbags who live for taking the best of people’s efforts and translating...

Bashing Arthur Evans
I believe in freedom of speech, but why is Arthur Evans being bashed in Bay Times? (“Get a Life, Arthur,” Letters, March 19) He’s the “red queen.” It seems that if anyone has any different opinion than “progressive speak”, they get bashed. It’s PC Fascism...

Thanks to the San Francisco Imperial Council of Emperors and Emperor John Weber for electing me as an Imperial Prince. It is a thank you gesture, I was told- for publicizing their charity events in the Bay Times and other publications. And thanks for the impressive medallion that...

I attended the Town Hall meeting a few weeks ago. It was a useful gathering if for no other reason than a large number of people got to finally express themselves to the leadership of No on 8. I was among them, and when I spoke, I suggested...

How quickly we forget! It seems like yesterday when I marched for the first time in Atlanta 1960 for equal rights for everybody. Sure it was about legislation to guarantee equal rights for African Americans because we knew then if it was given to black people the door...

On Feb. 19, Colla Voce presented a gift check of $2,815 to Alexander Hamilton Post 448 of the American Legion to support Post 448’s work on behalf of all veterans. This check represented 100 percent of the concert ticket sales from Colla Voce’s Jan. 25 benefit concert for...

Krewe de Kinque Mardi Gras club would like to thank the individuals, organizations and businesses who supported our Bal Masque VI “Mardi Gras Mashup” benefit on Feb. 7. With your outstanding support, we were able to raise $3,200 for Under One Roof in a time when every dollar...

Thank you very much for taking the time to highlight last week’s Black Men’s HIV Summit in your Feb. 5 issue. By most indications, the Summit was a great success, attracting the Bay Area’s leading researchers, practitioners, and community leaders, as well as many community members concerned about...

Last Wednesday evening I was at the Police Commission meeting. It was quite the shock to believe they would be planning two meetings of the Police Commission to engage in a trial of Captain Greg Corrales. Over the past 25 years I have written much about Capt. Corrales. Let me...

SF Gay Leaders Do Prop 8 Debrief - in Denver
The absurdity of gay leaders that was abundantly on display, and driving the gay marriage agenda into the ditch, before the November 4 loss of Prop 8, continues today in chilling beauty. In the 12 weeks since the election,...

From President-Elect Barack Obama’s acceptance speech on Nov. 4
“What began 21 months ago, in the depth of winter, cannot end on this Autumn night. This victory alone is not the Change we seek. It is only the ‘chance’ for us to make that Change! 

“And that cannot happen...

It has just been announced that the ex-BART officer who shot Oscar Grant has been arrested.

I believe the question we should all be asking ourselves is - at the wake of the most important achievement an African American has ever aspired to, 44th President of the United States...

I read with puzzlement Sister Dana’s review of Home For The Holidays. The review states that the Chorus performed the whole of New World Waking, whereas (recognizing this was a holiday concert) only the the last movement of uplifting songs was sung. Nevertheless, the review is quite explicit...

I am very upset that Obama invited Rev Warren - openly homophobic evangelical preacher - to his Inauguration. First of all, this is like SLAP on my face because I was voting for him. Second, Obama is not stupid and he has a choice so, I CONSIDER his...

At a time when gay leaders should be apologizing to and trying to build bridges with African-Americans after exposing their closeted racism towards Blacks over the passage of California’s Proposition 8, the gays are at it again.

President-elect Barack Obama isn’t even in office yet and they are all...

Here I am in one of the world’s most recognizably gay...

Why I Zapped EQCA’s Leader Geoff Kors
Five weeks ago this week, the gay community and our allies watched $45 million dollars go down the toilet as the CA voters approved passage of Prop 8, stripping away the right of gays to marry. Since then, there’s been no...

(This letter is a response to feedback the writer received from his letter, “Pimping Blackness in the Fight Against Prop 8,” which was published in the Nov. 27 issue)

Being homosexual compromises or revokes the entitlement that most white gays and lesbians are born and raised into. Many feel...

Hank Wilson , I do believe, would be so delighted to the memorial to his life which surfaced at 18th and Castro. He would be even more excited about planning an upcoming celebration of his life. This time, however, it is our turn to say, “Thanks for Hank.”...

In the past five years, I’ve become more  familiar than I would have liked with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of grief. In  that time, both of my parents and my baby brother died, all too young - and in the case of my 40-year-old brother, completely unexpectedly. I’m...

I was very saddened to hear of the death of San Francisco gay activist Hank Wilson, who succumbed to lung cancer, secondary to AIDS. A favorite memory of mine of Hank is from the no-on-Prop-6 campaign of 1978. That measure would have prohibited gay people from being teachers...

An open letter to California Senator Sheila Keuhl:
I’ve been deeply and personally involved as an individual creative campaigner (and also It saddens and even angers me that a simple majority of citizens can “just like that” dictate to a citizen that their choice of a partner doesn’t...

Protect Marriage is the spearhead for “Yes” on Proposition 8, amending the California State Constitution to restrict marriage to one man and one woman. Protect Marriage has been as vicious as possible in its campaign, drawing major money from groups such as the Mormon Church. Their funding has...

Call Arnie - Demand He Keep Pledge to Fight H8!
Before you read any further, please pick up the phone right now and call Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s top two political consultants, who serve as his eyes and ears and help him decide which battles to fight. Call Julie...

What is wrong with the people running the Prop 8 campaign? I can’t believe the commericials I’m seeing on television. You would hardly know that Prop 8 is about gay marriage.

Where are all of the straight people who support us? Why isn’t the governor in a commercial? Why...

I chased a bigot out of my neighborhood today who was putting anti-gay flyers on everyone’s doorstep.  As I went back and gathered up all his trash, I distributed a flyer in its place that I hastily wrote myself:

   “10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE NO ON PROP....

On Sept. 24, the first Queer Sarajevo Festival was opened. The opening started with a magnificent exhibition at the Academy of Arts. The turnout was great, it was so genuine and touching at the same time.

There were more than 300 people at the opening, and their sexual orientation...

Senator Obama has called upon Americans to disagree without being disagreeable. We progressives should keep that ideal in mind as our brothers and sisters in the Log Cabin movement endorse Senator McCain for President.

Progressive criticisms of that endorsement have been too shrill and personal. McCain’s positions on the...

When the heck have White people told other Whites NOT TO VOTE for a person just because they are White? Has anyone dared say that to a crowd about John McCain to any White audience? Just today, there was a story in EURWEB.com that reiterated Marlon Wayans’ comment...

Gay”Log Cabin” Republicans
I first heard of gay Republicans in San Francisco in 1977, at that time they were called “California Young Republicans.” There were several gay candidates running in the same district as Harvey Milk. One of them was Kevin Wadsworth, His campaign brochure picture had him...

his is a note to ask all East Bay Bay Times  readers to support the   East Bay AIDS Walk which takes place at 10 AM. Saturday, September 6 at Lake Merritt.

 100% of donations pledged go directly back to East Bay AIDS   organizations.  Did you know that East...

A letter to the editor in the Chronicle dismissing Guadalupe Benitez’ California Supreme Court victory Aug. 18 as “plumbing the depths of narcissism” saddened me. The letter alludes to “endless sociological studies” citing the necessity of two heterosexual parents for a child’s proper socialization and totally ignores the...

Mike Jones gave the gay community a gift on a silver platter. TED HAGGARD. If the opponents of Prop 8 do not run all his clips on how to have a perfect marriage, etc. then everything Jones has done has been in vain. Ted said to have a...

Ignoring hints as to Naphtali Offen’s ideological preferences (anti-capitalist, rights-skeptical, health-conscious, etc. — attitudes which I share with him to some degree) I don’t see that there was much new in his response to my comments on his call for support of new anti-tobacco proposals to be voted...

In response to the Bay Times’ failure to report on the Left OUT Party in last week’s issue, we’d like to share some important highlights.
The Left OUT Party was organized in response to the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) ongoing refusal to stand with the rest of...

Urgently Seeking Witnesses
Upon leaving our Bay of Pigs event at 535 York Street, San Francisco  at approximately 2:00 am Sunday morning July 27, one of our patrons  was brutally attacked and stabbed repeatedly. He was walking west on  Mariposa, when he was jumped by a group of...

An Open Letter to the MeNotMeth campaign

I know that a multi-faceted approach to fighting substance addiction is necessary, but I have kept silent about this long enough.

Your MeNotMeth poster campaign has been visually assaulting us in the Castro Street Muni station for MONTHS. No other ads are present....

Remembering Matthew Shepard
As we approach the 10th anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard on October 12th of this year, I hope everyone in the LGBT community will reflect on ways that we can appropriately remember Matthew.

Each of us needs to find some way that we can...

No More Stereotypesa
We have a rule here at And Castro for All: whenever we *uck up, we take personal responsibility, apologize profusely and sincerely, and try to make things right.

A few days ago, I wrote a mocking advisory about an HRC protest event in SF this coming...

A Really Big Deal
I was at that 1978 Board of Supervisors meeting Kim Corsaro referred to in her article “Spouses for Life,” about the Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon marriage (Bay times, June 19). The debate on the Certificate of Honor went on for at least two...

Some of you may or may not know me. I see a trend every year at Folsom Street Fair and Dore Alley. I see more and more minors at the fair, not just teens but 5 to 11 year olds. Besides me thinking "what the hell are the...

On a recent visit to one of my favorite Castro lunch spots, I was handed a card which informed me  “dear guest”, that a $1.25 per “guest” per check surcharge would be added to my bill to offset the  restaurant’s new city requirement to provide health care insurance...

I  wanted to thank Sister Dana for “Homoerotic Fabulous Faerie Film Fundraiser “ (April 24). I’m studying Leonardo da Vinci’s homoerotic sexuality and wish some gay arts column would carry a related blog story I found that shows that Leonardo was a real person, not a plaster saint,...

I am an ex-volunteer at the SF SPCA and, on behalf of a group of other ex-volunteers, I am writing to request your help.

We have all recently left the SPCA because of the behind-the-scenes slash-and-burn policies that are secretly being instituted there by the new President, Jan...

Mr. James Strzalkowski, who wrote a Letter to the Editor (“One Gay Voice: Why I Cannot Support Obama,” Bay Times Letters, April 24. )  that you published, as have some other newspapers, has been revealed to be a publicist by the Miami Herald. One would assume that a...

A supes’ committee today (Monday) approved a 10-month extension for “medical marijuana dispensaries” to register with the city. This was the second extension granted the dealers since the supes’ law on the subject went into effect in January 2006. All but one of the city’s 33 dealers have...

This is in response to the letter to the editor “Is Elitist code for “Uppity Negro”, in the April 17 Bay Times:
I would like to point out, what appears to be a gross misrepresentation of fact on the part of Pearl, Jr. from Los Angeles. On the...

Tortuga Bi LIBERTY writes, "All smoke is bad for your lungs, so  cannabis should be eaten, never smoked" (Letters, APRIL 17). This is  only partly correct.

Yes, all smoke is unhealthful to the lungs and can increase one's   chances of cough, bronchitis, and other lung problems, though the  ...

In the most recent Sparks column, 26 year old Alex Sarmiento writes a heartfelt, but at times, misguided article about what people his age “need, want and demand” of the world and of the gay communities at large (“Twenty-Somethings Seek Something More,” APRIL 10). Now I understand that...

Editor’s note: Bay Times has received the following correspondence from Concerned Women for America’s chief hate speech writer Matt Barber, about the homophobic remarks made by Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern. We’re reprinting here, just so you know what they’re up to. We’ve included Matt’s e-mail and phone number...

Admittedly, the Human Rights Campaign doesn’t belong in the company of media moron Bill O’Reilly, or any murderous dictator, extremist characters who frankly don’t care what we think. The Human Rights Campaign should, however, care what we think. And we think HRC deserves the Pink Brink.
It’s important...

This letter is a reply to Brett Warner’s letter, “Pilfered Drug at Magnet?” (Letters, March 13) In his letter, Mr Warner claimed that Magnet staff have stolen HIV drugs that were destined for Africans with HIV. This is an outrageous and irresponsible claim.

For those who do not...

I am writing this email because I am appalled and disgusted at the process by which individuals are able to take advantage of people in need; in desperate need, of HIV medications. In October 2007, I called Magnet, a place for gay men to get tested for STD’s...

I am thrilled to hear about Trauma Flintstone’s nomination for Grand Marshal of this year’s Pride parade. People should know of his many accomplishments.

Trauma has appeared in over 50 theatre productions since 1993, including ten years in “Christmas with the Crawfords;” in “The Andrews Sisters’ Hollywood Canteen;” the...

As a former physician specialist with the Department of Public Health and certified personal trainer, I have followed the concerns generated by the recent UCSF press release which unfairly targeted gay men with the growing incidence of methcillin resistant staphlococcal skin and soft tissue infections seen primarily in...

Save Medical Pot in SF
BOOOO to supervisor Elsbrand for not standing up to the DEA{“SF Supervisors Postpone Resolution Protecting Pot Club Landlords for Feds and DEA,” by Dennis McMillan, Feb. 14). I guess he doesn’t want to be elected again.

Who is the Shona person and how did...

The significance of the Swiss study, and especially the new guidelines, cannot be underestimated. (“Swiss Experts Say HIV Positive People With No Viral Load Cannot Transmit HIV Virus,” by Rex Wockner, Feb. 7) They are simply the biggest event in HIV prevention in a decade or more. The...

Opportunities like this don’t come along very often. Sign the open letter asking the Governor to tell the California Supreme Court that the current law is unconstitutional and that all loving couples deserve the freedom to marry. With the Court expected to rule on the legal right for...

Project Homeless Connect (PHC) provides access to needed services for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. PHC clients can access, in one-day, what may otherwise take over 8 months to achieve. Services offered at PHC include: medical and dental services, employment, legal assistance, DMV IDs, and much more....

Did you hear that Barack Obama announced during his Martin Luther King, Jr., birthday celebration appearance at the latter’s former Atlanta church that he was going on a water-only fast until DOMA and DADT are repealed and a trans-inclusive ENDA is law? That he and his wife would...

We progressives in San Francisco often wonder what’s up with middle America consistently  voting against their own self-interest. They keep voting for Republicans, like Bush, that  pander to their emotions, then use their power for their own empowerment.

I cannot help but find similarities in the queer and progressive...

The issues raised by contributor to “Sparks”, Brent Calderwood in his essay, “The Swish Beneath the Swagger. Liberating Our Queer Selves” [Jan. 3] begs a response. Before addressing the essay itself, we need to look at our use of the word “queer.” When black Americans decided to take back the...

As Advocate.com reported, Allan Berube died of complications from stomach ulcers. Berube had been the recipient of a grant from...

Dear Sirs: a very good read and congratulations to you guys for having the balls to create this and print it. (“Homeless at the SROs of San Francisco,” Beat This column by Don Baird, Nov. 30)

I live in an SRO on 6th Street in SF, the Hillsdale Hotel,...

Your coverage of last week’s 12th-Annual Miss Trannyshack Pageant (“Pollo Del Mar Grabs the Trannyshack Crown,” by Sister Dana Van Iquity, Nov. 22 issue) was fantastic! For more than a decade, the wildly creative contestants, glamorous celebrity judges and, of course, controversial results have made the pageant one...

I have been a loyal patron of Cafe Flore since around 1981. Throughout the burgeoning years of “coffee house culture”, and radical changes in the Castro, Cafe Flore has always been my favorite hangout. To this day, if it’s nice outside and I just want to go somewhere...

On behalf of the Bob Basker Post #315 of the American Legion, the Veterans For Peace Chapter 69 and the San Francisco Veterans Speakers Alliance, I would like to thank the hundreds of citizens of San Francisco and visiting guests of our City who took the time out...

Dear President Bush,
Hey there Mr. President, it’s me Jasmyne. I know you’re busy running the country - into the ground (just kidding), but I need to let you know something.

I just came back from Washington D.C.. Yeah, your neck of the woods. In fact, I passed by...

I read with sadness the dialogue with an alleged former lover of Rev. Donnie McClurklin who claims he and Rev. McClurklin were actively intimately involved while Donnie was very verbal regarding his negative views about homosexuality. I remembered the pangs of the double church life. I also once...

Beautiful: A Gender Bending Theatre Party: In Erin Gilley’s direction of Sue Butler’s experimental work, elastic future deconstructs art with cross dressing, cartoonish evil villains, and a lot of leg. Love and corsets in a private world of sex, drag and rock and roll. But who’s that at...

An open letter toDavid Perry, Mayor Newsom, and Supervisor Dufty:
Re: Home for Halloween: Contradictory and Economically Absurd

The Home for Halloween public awareness campaign is contradictory and confusing: The slogan claims “I’m stayin’ home for Halloween!” but www.homeforhalloween.com links to five double-column pages of “Alternative Events” in and...

When I heard about the shootings in the Castro last Halloween, which occurred only two blocks from where I lived, I contacted my Supervisor, Bevin Dufty, offering my ideas about dealing with the problem of the enormous crowds and dangerous conditions that have ruined this holiday for so...

The Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club (HMLGBTDC) firmly opposes any watering down of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that would exclude transgenders from receiving employment protection. Our stance joins that of our brothers and sisters (however self-defined) in such organizations as National Stonewall Democrats, Pride At Work (AFL-CIO),...

A statement from Donna Rose in response to the recently announced Human Rights Campaign position on ENDA:

Community. Integrity. Leadership. Vision. These are the foundational pillars of Equality. These are the values that draw many of us into advocacy roles. Those tenets provide a clear roadmap when things like...

Irrelevant
An open letter to Don Baird, Bay Times music critic:
You have become so fucking irrelevant. Don’t you realize that homosexuals don’t listen to rock music? We listen to electronic house music - on our iPods, on the radio at breakfast, brunch and dinner, and while we’re...

The historical insight and general pearls of wisdom Reverend Irene Monroe offers in expressing her displeasure with Oprah Winfrey for backing Barak Obama provide food for thought. She also reveals n her letter a degree of political naivete and a harboring of a paradigm that warrants questioning.

In seeking...

Queen of daytime talk Oprah Winfrey is omnipresent and omnipotent. Her monthly oracle O, The Oprah Magazine pontificates the principles of self-help, self-love, and self-giving. Her image floods newsstands. Bookstores stockpile their inventory with her choice for the book of the month. And presidential hopefuls genuflect before her...

Thanks from Hole in the Wall
We’d like to thank our loyal patrons and much-loved friends for standing with us during our troubles this past year. To all who sent letters of support to the planning commission or signed petitions or penned articles about our situation, thanks greatly....

DJ Pusspuss Is Real
This letter is in response to “Missing Baird,” by Steve Gilman in the Aug 23 letters section.

I suppose some folks do use DJ in their name who are not DJs but that’s not true with me. I’ve been spinning (mostly with CDs) since 1995...

Not Queer Enough?
This letter is in response to “Not Queer Enough,” the Aug. 2 TransNation column by Jacob Anderson-Minshall:
As a post-op MtF TS, I self-identify as a[trans]lesbian w/bi tendencies. But it makes little difference as I’m 65, look and dress like I’m in my 40’s or...

TV Zingers
Dear de Bay Times,

Craig Ferguson: “Bart Simpson’s voice isn’t even done by a guy. It’s done by a woman named Nancy Cartwright. She also, by the way, does the voice for soccer star David Beckham.”

Jay Leno: “Barry Bonds might break the home run record here in...

Solidarity
I was glad to see you report that gays in Paris are protesting the murder of gays by the Iranian government (“Parisian Queers Protest Hangings,” Bay Times Aug. 2). By comparison, Bay Area area “activists” do NOTHING for the Arab LGBTs who are being murdered across the Arab world....

Getting the Hate Crimes Bill Passed
On May 3, the House of Representatives voted 237 to 180 in favor of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (H.R. 1592). This historic vote was the first time that a major piece of pro-gay legislation had an up-or-down vote in the...

Impeach!
Is Ann Rostow (“Big Swinging Dick,” National News by Ann Rostow, July 12) trying to justify not impeaching Bush because his poll numbers may rise?  That is like saying let’s not indict a murderer because he may gain sympathy or even better get away with murder because he has...

A Baby’s Request
I am 10 weeks and two days old and feel compelled to write despite me not yet knowing my ABC’s. I was please to see your front page coverage of Immigration Issues for bi-national same-sex couples on July 5 (“Call For Fairness in Immigration Policy For Gay...

Bowler’s Bomb
Imagine a “straight” (hetero) woman, age 22, who plans to marry a straight man. Anne-Marie remembers only a female life, from infancy into adulthood. Her birth certificate says she’s female. Her heart inclines only toward men. She seems to epitomize normalcy.

But in her teen years, her parents told...

“Patient Zero” Research
I am a gay Ph.D. student from Vancouver currently studying history at the University of Oxford in the UK. The focus of my research is the emergence of the “Patient Zero” myth in the North American AIDS epidemic.

As many of your readers are likely aware, Gatan Dugas,...

Latvian Pride
Thank you for your article on this year’s Riga Pride (“This Year’s Latvian Pride is Peaceful,” June 7). As a gay Latvian-American, and dual citizen, articles like this are important and of interest to me.

As the closed, former Soviet-bloc nations in eastern Europe modernize and continue their transition...

Do We Still Need A Gay Community?
Of course we need it! (“Do We Still Need a Gay Community?” by Tim Vollmer, Sparks, June 14). The point is, gay San Francisco is B-O-R-I-N-G”. Yes it is. Look on the Castro: very limited by gay’s bars and clubs, no gay porno...

Protesting Lesbian Censorship at Frameline
An open letter to Michael Lumpkin & Jennifer Morris
We are writing to protest Frameline’s recent decision to pull the short science fiction film The Gendercator by lesbian filmmaker Catherine Crouch from your June 15th program of films (See “Itty Bitty Titty Bit Annoyed... at...

We Need to Act Up
Personally, I have given up on Geoffrey Kors, executive director of Equality California and the organization as a whole. They will no longer receive my support – financial or otherwise. On Tuesday , June 5, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke at the PG&E Auditorium to present...

Mitch Katz and DPH
News that San Francisco’s Director of Public Health is planning to move on is of such significance that adequate notice to the public that the Health Commission was beginning discussions about how to replace Dr. Mitch Katz should have been announced prior to any Health Commission...

Harvey’s Birthday
May 22 was Harvey Milk’s 77th birthday. My wife Helen and myself met Harvey in 1973 when he moved into his home at 573 Castro and opened his camera shop at 575 Castro, with his lover Scott Smith. Harvey along with many other gays are responsible for saving...

Remember?
During the 1970s, there were many timely bumper stickers. With the death of Rev. Jerry Falwell, I am reminded of my favorite of that era in the Bay Area...” THE MORAL MAJORITY IS NEITHER!”

Jerry Pritikin
Chicago

End Misogyny
It has recently occurred to me, nearly two years after the death...

Dear Friends of SOMA Gay Culture,
The great amount of support we’ve received in the form of letters to the Planning Commission, to city supervisors, and just plain e-mails wanting to help out has been astonishing and really touching. We’ve always felt that South of Market’s gay life was important...

The dominant HIV service provider in the San Francisco Bay Area, the SF AIDS Foundation, just got a bit bigger today. In a news release on the foundation’s web site, they herald merging with two smaller groups, Magnet, an HIV/STD testing and treatment facility in the Castro neighborhood, and the...

Jr. Aron’s accusations of “Straight Bashing” at the Eagle Tavern (“Straight Bashing,” Letters, Bay Times, April 12) present a very one-sided (and misguided) picture of the bar, and of his experience there. My girlfriend and I are the “two lesbians” referred to in that letter.

Aron’s accusations are undoubtedly transparent to...

Defamed by Review
I am the Writer/Director/ Producer/Co-Star of Cowboy Junction which was mentioned in Mr. Kramer’s interview of my actor James Michael Bobby. (“Playing Gay, A Lot,” Bay Times, March 8). A few of Mr. Kramer’s comments were very disparaging to me, specifically a line in which he insinuated...

I am writing in response to Don Baird’s article “Are We Losing the Eagle and The Hole in the Wall?” (Bay Times, April 5, 2007). Baird misrepresents the dispute about the Hole in the Wall. The owners want to move from 8th Street to 1369 Folsom by converting a building...

Poor Rita Nelson of Minnesota (“Stop Flaming, Darn it!,” Bay Times Letters, March 29). You have to wonder why, in the first place, she is reading the Bay Times, especially since she does not “accept the way gays live.” She doesn’t want us to have children, to get the benefits...

Clash of the Titans
Thirty years ago, when I began involving myself with Queer PACs, we had a vision of having viable Queer candidates in all races, not just in our strongholds. We also had a vision (dare we dream) of multiple queer candidates in all races. Although we aren’t...

Message for Pace

Thank you, General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for hating homosexuals. Please go a step further and forbid homosexuals, even those who “don’t tell,” from serving in the military. True, there are plenty of gay men in love with uniforms, plenty addicted to pain...

Condoms Always
First, I want to thank you for such the nice review of my Lebanon movie. (“Hot Desert Doings In Lebanon,” Bay Times, Feb. 22, www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=6141) However, I do take issue with one item in the review that states: “Note: If you go slo-mo in the part just...

Clinton Tosses Ball To Obama

After pledging to support gays, can Obama do the same? Will he go after the gay vote?

Okay, so it’s really starting to heat up. Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton has upstaged her rival Senator Barack Obama, and I am not talking about her Selma...

Thank You

Thanks to everyone who voted for me as a Inter Club Fund 41st Motorcycle Awards Man of the Year. I have coverd the Motorcycle/ Leather/SM Community since 1969, and I look forward to future events.
Rink Foto
San Francisco

What’s Up with HRC/Crain?

Is there...

While I fail to understand it, I’m beginning to view his fascination with me almost as a badge of honor. In his most recent article, “No Snickers for Snickers” Bay Times, Feb. 8, 2007), Chris Crain, once again, misses the bigger picture.

The Human Rights Campaign and other...

I found the SuperBowl Snickers commercial amusing, not offensive. In fact, the effect seemed the opposite of homophobic. Never on mass media have I seen such a juicy male-to-male liplock. I want to thank Chris Crain for stating that point of view in the Bay Times (“No Snickers...

Casting Stones

So our mayor isn’t perfect.
Let he/she without sin cast the first stone.

Michael Brownstone
San Francisco

Who’s Accusing Newsom?

Wowsa! Political Consultant Jack Davis gives lectures on morals and mental health?

In last week’s Chronicle coverage of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s affair with his campaign manager’s...

We the Northern California Coalition of Black LGBT Freedom Fighters are writing to express our collective outrage that one of the Castro’s few African American businesses has been the target of a hate crime: earlier this week, some individual(s) spray painted the letters KKK on Guy Clark’s flower...

Dear Grey’s Anatomy Producers:

I’m a 48-year-old African-American lesbian who lives in Oakland, CA. A few years ago, I met Mr. Isaiah Washington’s mother in Oakland when she was requesting support on Mr. Washington’s behalf for a television drama that was about to be cancelled.

On more than...

B.S.

The current threats by congress to limit the president’s ability to deploy more troops to Iraq reminds me of Teddy Roosevelt’s desire to send the Great White Fleet around the world to establish America’s place on the world stage. Congress wouldn’t have it, so he told them...

Join the ANSWER Coalition and many other organizations at an emergency protest today, Thursday, at 5 p.m. at Powell and Market Sts. in San Francisco to demonstrate against President George Bush’s escalation of the Iraq war. The night before the protest, Bush will set out his administration’s new...

Rodeo Scam

California rodeo law (Penal Code 596.7) requires that animal injury reports be submitted to the State Veterinary Medical Board within 48 hours of the injury. Amazingly (and unbelievably), not a single report was filed with the Board in 2006. And only one in 2005. Something’s obviously amiss,...

Thanks

Thanks Kim, Dennis and Rink for the great coverage in the Bay Times of the MUMC Holiday Design Competition. I feel the contest helped build community and excitement and a more colorful neighborhood this year. Thanks for your part in communicating the effort and winners! Happy Holidays.

Bound to Repeat with Ammiano

The philosopher George Santayana once remarked that those who are ignorant of history are bound to repeat it. The same can sometimes can be said even of those who know it. That appears to be the case with Supervisor Tom Ammiano. He recently...

Dreamgirls Nightmare

So Dreamgirls is on its way to a multiplex near us all very soon, and I'm sure that hundreds of thousands of us gay men are all a-twitter with anticipation. I can certainly understand why. Ever since I heard Jennifer Holiday sing "And I Am Telling You...

Once again Mayor Newsom is reinterpreting the will of the voters and proving he’s a slower learner than Willie Brown, Arnold Schwarzeneger or President Bush which bodes poorly for San Francisco. His recent decision to circumvent the election and meet with voters in a series of Town...

Passion is a good thing, so is unconditional love. But to spoil an errant child and to support his every move like a stage Mother is wrong. Editors and publishers seem to be acting with uncharacteristic unity in denouncing those who now find fault in our Mayor’s bumbling leadership and...

There’s been some community-wide debate about the Department of Public Health’s AIDS Office’s latest in a never-ending series of social marketing campaigns to force people with AIDS to break their alleged silence about HIV, and it’s been reported that the men behind the ads provoking folks to...

Arthur Evans need not be so fearful of Tom Ammiano’s proposal to make enforcement of private marijuana offenses the lowest priority for San Francisco law enforcement (“Regulate Pot,” Letters, Nov. 9). Similar measures have been in force for some time in Oakland and Seattle without any of the problems Evans...

I thought Cheney and Bush would rig this election. Looks like they did not succeed. So we are taking the bums out. Next step is to impeach Bush and Cheney for crimes against the US. We need to begin dialog with our allies and work together towards world...

Halloween Solution

Although I am mainly against “Halloween in the Castro” if it must be, why not turn it into a “San Francisco institution” like Pride. Instead of banning beer and other alcohol get coporate beer sponsors and sexy men’s underwear sponsors to help sponsor the event. Have...

Computer Policy at LGBT Center

I would like to respond to Tortuga Bi LIBERTY’s letter about a recent software installation in our Cyber Center (“Censorship at The Center?” Bay Times Letters, Oct. 19). Although Tortuga Bi LIBERTY did not contact us directly, we are soliciting community feedback...

To Pete Wilson and KGO Radio,

I am deeply disheartened that you and KGO Radio found it necessary to attack a loving family for bringing a child into this world. The story of Bevan Dufty and his family is one of love, commitment and caring. Bevan and...

The wedge issue that won the Republicans control of Congress back in the ‘90s will be the same issue that will bring them down this year – queer civil rights. With the ball now in the GOP’s court, thanks to Florida Republican Mark Foley’s shenanigans with underage congressional pages as...

PawPAC, California’s political action committee for animals (since 1980), has just released its 2006 Voting Record for the State Legislature, along with its endorsement recommendations for the November election. Find out how your state representatives did on legislation to protect animals and the environment. You might be surprised. For a...

Please report the following behavior to your nearest

Lesbian Avenger.

Did they:

- Say "meh" instead of "me"?

- Say "uum" instead of "I'm"?

- Use "i" instead of "I"?

- Say "tin" instead of...

I registered as Republican the other day. I’m going to be a “progressive Republican” like some of my friends. We’re into women’s rights as well as LGBT rights. You see I’m tired of some of the Democratic Party (I have friends that are Democrat as well) being anti-gun,anti-privacy, pro-criminal and...

I would like to take a moment, before another day passes, to thank everyone who helped make this year’s Greasy Jockstrap #22 Contest on Saturday, Aug. 19, such a fun and successful event, raising $867 for Stop AIDS, as well as much-needed awareness of athletic supporter history & trivia, plus...

It is disappointing how little attention and coverage the Bay Times gave the recent AIDS Housing Alliance/San Francisco “Desperate Divas 2007” pageant. Sponsored by a wide array of local bars, retailers and AIDS service organizations, the fundraiser saw a great cross-section of the Bay Area’s best-known and rising drag talent...

I celebrate my 70th birthday August 26 and look back on the gay pioneers who were friends before they became notorious nationally in the gay community.
In the late 50’s, I read an article in that infamous magazine, CONFIDENTIAL, about the gay publication, ONE Magazine. This resulted in my...

This Friday in Chicago at the biannual Democratic National Committee (DNC) meeting, Gov. Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic Party, will hopefully have his political players, senior staff, and chits lined up to give the LGBT community increased representation within the Democratic Party process by requiring that all 50 state...

Letter writer Luke Adams is apparently unfamiliar with the current research on marijuana (“What’s a Safe Drug?” letters, Aug. 3). His claims of such harmful effects as depression, psychosis and lung cancer have all been quite thoroughly debunked by unbiased researchers.

In a report issued earlier this year, the British government’s...

I want to commend about 98 percent of the article by Richard Broussard (“Meth: Silence=Death,” July 27, 2006) in the last edition of the Bay Times.
The problem I found in Richard’s article was this statement: “Even getting high (on safer drugs) once in a while is cool too.”

So, I’m...

To put the current Mideast situation in perspective, picture Israel, approximately the size of the Bay Area counties, surrounded by foreign regimes dedicated to their destruction covering an area equivalent to the rest of the U.S.A. The population of which are peace loving people but among them were fanatical zealots...

Thanks for PRIDEIt is with great PRIDE that we thank the community for their support of the 8th Annual Pride Brunch on June 24 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel. We had a record attendance and proceeds totaled more than $9,000 for Positive Resource Center!

Each year it is our pleasure to...

What an amazing article about the lesbian firefighter Tracy Jarman who has risen to the top (“Lesbian Fire Chief Takes the Reins in The City of San Diego,” by Rex Wockner, Bay Times, JULY 13.). She says she never encountered any prejudice on her way to the top.

We are on...

On Gays & the Mid-East Conflict
A Comment on your Letters:
Quite a few misguided (even “lost”) gay souls (beyond sexuality...) hide behind the superficial (& many times, false) sense of security that there apparently is in “numbers” (The masses make more “noise”! They “must” be right.). Mind you, as...

Open letter to SF Pride:

At the SF Pride celebration, I was leafletting and picketing nude for peace, at Larkin near Fulton, on Sunday, 25 June 2006. Several police officers walked by, ignoring my nudity. Later, two other police officers approached me, and politely told me I had to “cover up”....

On Wednesday, July 19, gay and human rights advocates in five cities around the globe will take to the streets to mark the one year anniversary of Iran’s public hanging of two gay teenage boys, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni.

In 2005 the Bay Times provided excellent and extensive coverage of...

For the last few weeks, there have been ceremonies, vigils, talks, special reports and various reminders of the last 25 years of living with AIDS. But has it changed many hearts? Has the attention on this chilling anniversary sobered anyone enough to create more funding, more research, more education?

We...

Tom Moon’s advice columns over the years have included a lot of quackery. He has high risk behaviors that put people in harm’s way. His latest column (Examined Life, “Can I Get Sober Without AA?” June 1, 2006) is a new low, and does a disservice to everyone who suffers...

In response to your reader’s letter suggesting that the Castro remain as it is with sexually explicit material exhibited in stores window displays, I cannot help but disagree.

As gays and lesbians with children continue to move into the Castro it is entirely appropriate for the Castro to change its ‘tone’...

I’d like to say something for ALL who wants to make CASTRO “ convenient “ for everybody : DON’T DO THE CASTRO A VATICAN CITY, PLEASE! CASTRO is the Heart of San Francisco GAY Community so let keep it the greatest gay’s neighborhood in the World. For the people who...

Dear Mr. Leno,

I live in New York City. I’m a playwright and the author of Avenue Q, which is a musical currently running on Broadway.

I’ve been watching your show a bit, and I’d like to make an observation: when you think of gay people, it’s funny. They’re funny folks. They...

Jon Sims Center at Risk of Closing
One of the Bay Area’s oldest centers dedicated to LGBT arts faces closure unless the community acts now. The Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts (JSC) must raise $22,000 in back rent by July, or be shut down. Founded in 1978 with...

Pursue Bathhouse Equality

What Jack London wrote of San Francisco after the ‘06 earthquake — “Nothing remains of it but memories” — could also be written of the City’s gay bathhouses after AIDS. “All gone except those on the outskirts” applies likewise, those on the outskirts regarded as surviving in Berkeley...

I’m a voter who has supported Gavin Newsom since former Mayor Brown appointed him Supervisor. Like a slim majority I cast my ballot for him over Matt Gonzalez in our last Mayoral election, in large part because I believed his “Care Not Cash” promises. I frequently take the 27 Bryant...

My lover just returned from Iraq. He is in his mid 20s, as were many of the personnel he served with. His “war stories” are far different than mine and are quite disturbing.
As a Korean vet, I receive to this day every GI benefit that was offered, i.e.: GI...

A committee of the supes voted 3 to 0 today to change the zoning laws in the Haight Ashbury so that Red Vic movie house can serve beer and wine to its patrons.

Members of the committee who were present throughout were Sophie Maxwell and Gerardo Sandoval. Jake McGoldrick, the...

We Have Common Roots
This is to respond to David Alexander’s attack on the position I have taken in my letters condemning the anti-Muslim hysteria we are mired in (“Note to Mr. Khan,” SF Bay Times Letters, March 2, 2006). I wanted to thank him, since in one short...

Barebacking
I am in disagreement with your articles, “Newest HIV Campaign Launched”(San Francisco Bay Times, March 10, 2005) and Sucking for Safety at Magnet Forum” (San Francisco Bay Times, March 3, 2005) on the discretion that is put on anal intercourse and oral sex within the gay community. Anytime...

Non-Stick Surface
Like their straight Republican comrades, Log Cabin Republicans seem to think if you throw enough doo-doo against the wall, it’ll stick and people will believe anything you tell them. Take Matthew Veristas Tsiens’ letter in the Feb. 23 Bay Times for example (“GOP Must Include and Defend Gays.”)

GOP Must Include and Defend Gays
The great conservative icon Ronald Reagan understood that gay people deserve to be treated with basic fairness and common decency. In 1978, California State Senator John Briggs proposed a statewide ballot initiative to prevent gay and lesbian people from teaching in public schools....

Hip Surgery For Everyone!
I just finished reading Don Baird’s article entitled “The Religion of Prince” (San Francisco Bay Times, Feb. 9, 2006) and I cannot believe how misinformed Mr. Baird is.

If Mr. Baird cared enough to check out what Seventh-day Adventists believe he might not have made such...

Les Natali’s Secrets
Despite the recent agreement between Castro business owner Les Natali and And Castro For All, the Badland’s issue of its pattern of racism against African-Americans and the overt racist tactics of it’s owner, Les Natali, is unresolved.

For many years, LGBT African-Americans have shared stories about racism...

The Passing of the Great Coretta Scott King
As a gay man, I am also saddened by the passing of Coretta Scott King because in addition to being a tireless, outspoken symbol of the civil rights movement and a human rights advocate, this great lady spoke out about the...

Recognizing Jose Sarria
This past Monday I had the pleasure of speaking before the Board of Supervisors in support of Supervisor Bevan Dufty’s proposal to rename the street immediately in front of the Eureka Valley / Harvey Milk Branch Library in honor of Jose Sarria. Jose, whose papers are...

Please Support Resolution Demanding Impeachment Of Bush And Cheney

Next Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 6PM at the Democratic County Central Committee meeting (455 Golden Gate, in the basement), we will be considering a resolution to urge the State Democratic Party and all Democratic elected officials to demand the resignation or...

Mountain Movement
I have been moved to write to the Bay Times regarding this astonishing phenomenon of a movie because I think it is genuinely going to precipitate a cultural shift. Not in gay culture because we empathize already. I am talking about culture generally.

It’s perplexing me that some...

Martuni’s: Part II
I read with interest the letter to the editor (“Martuni’s is No More,” SF Bay Times, Dec. 22, 2005) and was not at all surprised by what I read. I had a similar encounter with Skip on Nov. 15, 2004 and hand delivered a letter to...

More on Sex & Bent
On Dec. 8 you printed a long letter of complaint about The Rhino’s ad campaign for Bent. (Letters, “Using Sex to Sell Bent?” Dec. 8, 2005) I was grateful that the author of that letter, while incensed by our marketing campaign, had come to...

Martuni’s is No More
Tuesday, Dec. 20, was the end of gay San Francisco. After only three weeks in the city, my date and I went to Martuni for an after dinner drink.

Now, Martuni is a Market Street bar. Right on the very edge of greater Castro. In the...

What’s Wrong with Naked Men at MCC?
David M. says that when he and his friends attended an event promoted as featuring male porn stars and the always-provocative Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which was hosted at the gayest church in the gayest neighborhood in the gayest city in the...

Sex at MCC?
I am a long time fan of the Sisters or Perpetual Indulgence, their antics have made me laugh for years. They have been in the forefront of fighting for equality of the LGBT community since before I came out. I am also good friends with members...

Censorship or Common Sense?
As shocking as it might seem to many people, I am gay, I have done my share in the fight for gay rights, and I don’t like seeing bulging crotches and penises in store windows as I walk along the main street in my neighborhood....

Mint Julies and Julie Newmar
Dear de Bay Times,
I first wore my “Nobody Knows I’m a Lesbian” tee to march with Catwoman Julie Newmar in the “Lesbian and Gay Cat Lovers of America” contingent in San Francisco’s 1995 Pride Parade. Ten years later the letters have faded a...

The Real Bad Guy In Charge
Though I marched briefly in SF’s Nov. 2 anti-Bush demo, for a few non-violent minutes as the march returned to Civic Center Plaza, I knew the organizers had picked the wrong rallying cry—seeking to force Bush to resign.

If Bush were to resign, then...

Reject Supreme Court Nominee Alito
The National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA-US) today calls on the U.S. Senate to reject Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., based on his record concerning the civil rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.

We urge the U.S. Senate to carefully examine...

Queers To Join Mass Demo
Queers will be walking out of our jobs and leaving work early to join the millions expected to mobilize on Nov. 2 for the “World Can’t Wait” mass anti-war, anti-Bush demos that will be taking place throughout the country.

Locally, the rally will assemble at...

Bad Politics, Bad Ideas
With less than three weeks to persuade voters to rubberstamp his package of propositions in the Nov. 8 special election, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is pulling out the stops to get his agenda approved.

One day, maverick Senator John McCain appears publicly at the Governor’s side, praising...

Crazy Religions
I’m born gay (not homosexual), practiced a quasi-hetero-bisexuality, and then, turned into a celibate pro-homosexual advocate because I don’t want to propagate on this backward-ass planet. ((Now... when I did have non-anal sex with women (at their bequest) I used condoms (notice the plural)... and so forth.......

We’ve Lost Our Senses
I’m not gay, but I do have many gay friends and as a Conservative, I support your civil rights to do what you do in private (and with reasonable “PDA”). In fact, I’ve had a transsexual roommate couple, so, yeah, I’m fairly loose...

However, aggressively speaking,...

Stop Religious Zealotry
Hello, to all Gay people who need to get involved, who should get involved, who want to get involved and who are involved:
I’m worried. The topic after Human Rights for the blacks became one of Human Rights are now Civil Rights for them...and does that...

Why Are Gay Groups Whoring For Coors???
Could someone in the responsible gay media please investigate why other gay media such as the Window Media conglomerate (as you know, publisher of The New York Blade, Genre, et al.), TWN, Scene Magazine, and here! TV, and, unbelievably, gay organizations, the...

$250,000 Raised for Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts
The LGBT community all across the United States has responded in force to help their fellow Americans. Hundreds of fund-raisers in the LGBT community have taken place or are planned, from impromptu beer busts to elaborate parties and concerts. Since Katrina hit...

Take Action Now! Call The Governor!
On Monday, Sept. 6, the California Assembly voted 41-35 to pass AB 849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, after the California Senate passed it the week before 21 -15. The bill now goes to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature or...

The Supremes
The only duty of the Supreme Court is to read, understand, and enforce the Constitution of the United States, the finest flower of the Age of Enlightenment.
The chief virtues of the constitution, often overlooked, is its ability to protect the individual against the state, and the...

What Does it Cost to Save a Black Gay Man’s Life?

My name is Roosevelt Mosby, Jr. and I am 43 years old. As a Black gay man, I have recently begun questioning and examining the value of Black gay male life, whether in or outside of the closet.

When will...

Nearly Half of Us May Already Be Infected. Who Gives a Damn?
An Open Letter to Black Gay and Bisexual Men

Men who have sex with men (MSM) bear a greater burden of HIV than any other group in the U.S. We account for an estimated 45 percent of people...

Hangings in Iran
It was with great sadness that I read your cover story on the two young Iranians who were hanged simply for being gay (even though the authorities later tried to change the story and say it was for rape). The two photos on your front page,...

Debbie and Agnes
While I always enjoyed Debbie Reynolds not as any great talent, but as a very hard-working all-around entertainer, I always find her interviews disingenuous. The recent event with Marc Huestis was no exception (“Debbie Reynolds Does The Castro,” by Sister Dana Van iquity, SF Bay Times,...

Remember Rove!
Have you forgotten that a CIA agent was put in danger because of the revelation by Karl Rove of her name to the press?

I would ask your readers to contact all the local newspapers with letters and phone calls to keep this story alive. Contact your representative...

What’s Up with the ABC?
What’s going on in Sacramento with the ABC? When has the State Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control ever revoked a liquor license due to discrimination by an establishment against people of color? Didn’t the ABC recently pull the license of a popular South of...

Gay TV Needs Your Help 

Logo, the new 24/7 LGBT channel, launched on June 30. Already it’s been picked up by Direct TV & Comcast. Direct TV has announced it’s intent to pick up a second gay network, Q Television, in the fall. Q Television is already airing on...

HIV Test Discrimination
For several years, I’ve been getting my annual HIV test via the API Wellness Center’s booth at our SF Pride celebration. But this year, to my surprise, they refused to test me, saying tests were available only to Asians and Pacific Islanders. Doesn’t such a policy...

Stop AIDS Inflates Numbers
An Open Letter to Stop AIDS Project Media Coordinator, Jason Riggs:
I wish to register a complaint against you and your organization for spreading grossly inaccurate statistics about the number of San Franciscans who die every year from AIDS.

Your multimedia HIV prevention campaign this Pride...

Time for Drastic Measures
I commend you for your efforts to raise a million bucks to try to turn back the inevitable denial of our civil rights in the upcoming marriage battle in California. Unfortunately, the “Tone-it-down-Howard-Dean!” moderates in our camp will likely prevail when the time comes to...

A Little Trans History
At a trans event in SF’s LGBTI Center, June 10, one performer contrasts the recent few years of trans activism with the preceding “four thousand years” of patriarchal sexism and genderism.

Then an audience member calls out, “EIGHT thousand years!” The performer weaves the revision into...

We have a right to protest. After receiving complaints for years from African-Americans for unfair treatment by Les Natali at Badlands, a group came forward to let the public know that the civil rights of Black people were being violated. The Human Rights Commission conducted a 10-month investigation and concluded...

There is Hope After All
I attended a demo Saturday night (May 28) at the Badlands, a gay bar in the Castro, aimed at owner Les Natali.

The city’s Human Rights Commission says Natali discriminates against African-Americans. Natali disagrees, saying the commission’s investigative process was flawed. I was convinced by...

The right-wing American Family Association is protesting a gift by tobacco-affiliate Kraft Foods to the Chicago gay games. I received emails this week urging me to call Kraft to thank them for supporting the community. I did not.

Instead, I contacted the organizers of the games, urging them to return the...

It’s bad enough that Les Natali has been discriminating against people of color and women for so many years, despite receiving numerous verbal and written complaints over time from patrons, community leaders, elected officials, and even the City’s Human Rights Commission.

ut it’s even worse that, even after an extensive City...

The supes voted today (May 10) to amend the proposed extension of the moratorium on new marijuana dealers from 60 days to six months, on a motion from Jake McGoldrick.

After that, they postponed the whole question of the extended moratorium for another week. The vote on both motions was 10...

How about holding a dance party for bare-chested womyn and transmen and intersex persons, of all orientations? Annually, one week earlier than the dyke march? As a benefit for groups helping queers, womyn, transfolk and intersex persons?

Pamela Phelan
San Francisco

Boycotting Andrea Dworkin
I’m betting (nothing in the wallet to...

Badlands is Bad and Spawn of SatanYesterday, the SF Human Rights Commission found Les Natali, owner of Badlands, guilty of discrimination against African American gay men. While the Commission cannot levy a fine, the people who have worked on this issue for the last year are totally vindicated. They...

From Nazi Youth to Popehood
It’s official: The new pope is a former Nazi youth member (he says he was forced to join) and rabid homophobe (he’s unapologetic about that).
Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger, Pope John Paul’s Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the church...

We have a powerful political sect here in San Francisco, the progressives, who take both their name and their attitude from that special word, progress. In effect, they say this: Progress is real, and we are its vanguard. Those who question or disagree with us, oppose progress.
The current leader...

A Flawed Virtuoso
Those who mourn the recent death of Pope John Paul II are entitled to their grief. However, members of the public are also entitled to assess the career of any important public figure that dies. That’s especially true for the heads of proselytizing religions. These put...

Motivate the Minority
Exactly when did a minority’s civil rights ever become up to majority vote? Imagine living in Alabama in 1964 and having the opportunity to vote on whether or not African Americans should have equal rights. Imagine giving Southern Californians a vote on whether or not to...

Seniors Seek Porn For Non-Profit Fundraiser!
While it may seem early, time goes quickly and the sixth Annual Porn Sale, a benefit for the San Francisco Prime Timers the former G40+ Club is coming soon. The sale will take place on Saturday, June 18, from 10 am to 2...

Disabled Transman harrassed at GLBT Center by Pitbull Special Cop
I rarely write letters to the media, but today’s incident at 4pm, Wednesday, March 9 at the GLBT Community Center in San Francisco warrents it. I am a disabled 62-year-old transman, writer (with 45 books on Amazon.com, and archieved...

Real Journalism on the Decline
I’d really like to know how a phony reporter using the false name of “Jeff Gannon”—a man who was a gay male escort renting sexual favors by the hour—gained access to the White House for over two years without proper credentials, and why the...

Support Leno, Stop Ellis Evictions
State Assemblymember Mark Leno is showing true bravery in taking on the real-estate lobby in this state by introducing a bill that would require a buyer to own a building for five years before doing an Ellis Act eviction. Ellis is used to evict...

Be a Bitch: Gay Shame Loves Bitches
Why do we love bitches? Oh honey—come on. Bitches are the best thing since the Ice Age. A bitch brings femininity to new levels of devastating, defiant ferocity, tearing up social norms faster than your average SFPD Robocop can rape and kill....

March For Peace
“Homosexuals Against The War” demonstrated on March 24, 1971. Now’s your turn to march against neo-fascism, on March 19, 2005.
As I leaf thru Gay By the Bay, a B&W photo seems too familiar. Lots of somber hippies sitting on the ground, beneath a banner proclaiming:...

Care Not Cash Backlash
At this year’s public mourning for San Francisco’s homeless dead, Jan. 30, outdoors at Civic Center Plaza on a mild Sunday evening, queer Assemblyman Mark Leno, straight Supervisor Chris Daly, and queer Supervisor Bevan Dufty show their support. Linda Hirschorn performs her song, “Are You...

AIDS Memorial Controversy
I have just returned from viewing the entries for the “International AIDS Memorial Competition” and I have to say I am pretty angry about the five finalists. A warning to queer San Franciscans—we are about to lose the AIDS Memorial Grove. What are the five finalists?...

A Magic Show
For Openings, The Bay Times is a winner! This has been a dramatic year in our most unique Bay Area GLBT communities. Like the historic English poet William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, and dramatist, I quote, “The world is a stage, it is the people who are the...