Monthly Newsletter of the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club
April 2005

Table of Contents

• Dates With Alice
• Co-Chairs' Report: March Madness
• Reese's World: Perspectives from the Editor: Mine’s 15+, How Long Is Yours?
• On the Mark in Sacramento with Assemblyman Mark Leno
• Owen Stephens' Sermon to his hometown church
• Quotes from Judge Kramer's decision on same sex marriage
• Alice Membership Form
  

Dates With Alice

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Co-Chairs' Report
March Madness

If only our current political madness was confined to the month of March. Then we’d have something to work with. But with feeding tubes as crucifixes, opening precious Alaskan refuges for oil drilling, trying to steal our future investments and raid seniors of their current livelihoods, it’s only the most recent of many injustices.

Mostly just mad
Your heard it at Alice first: A policy shift in the Bush Administration announced today, by, yes, the president himself.

The president told the press recently, “I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others.”

That sounds cool. We’re excited. Maybe we were all wrong about Bush. He wants to protect gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, our civil rights and our right to marry; the Iraqi children and the Iraqi adults and the Americans in Iraq; seniors and our children’s future; and maybe even the polar bears and salmon in Alaska. Maybe we should hold a press conference. We’ll wait a few days, just to be sure.

Apparently, you’re never supposed to talk about sex, politics or religion…for fear of upsetting people. But here it goes anyway.

First on our list: Religion
According to the mourners outside Woodside Hospice House in Florida, Jesus just died (again…depending on your beliefs and all).

John Danforth (R), a minister, wrote: “I do not fault religious people for political action. Nor has political action been unique to conservative Christians. In America, everyone has the right to try to influence political issues, regardless of his religious motivations. The problem is not with people or churches that are politically active. It is with a party that has gone so far in adopting a sectarian agenda that it has become the political extension of a religious movement.”

Thus, Democrats vs. Jesus. Who wins that battle? Maybe we need to start gathering signatures to put an Ethics Initiative on the ballot for churches. Start having them report their sermons as slate mailers. We can call it the Schiavo Ethics Initiative. We bet it polls at 62%.

Next up: Politics
Oh, we just talked about it in the religion section. Hmm.

Last on the list: Sex
Well, that’s easy. Tom Delay (R). What, you think he only is involved in a dizzying array of ethics violations and corruption scandals? Yeh, you’re right. But we wanted to fit him in somewhere in this article.

Now if we’re talking about sex appeal, well there’s none other than Phil Angelides (yes, we’ve exhausted the Schiavo theme here). You question our judgment on this issue of Angelides and sex appeal? Please. The guy’s hot (with finances). A perfect anecdote to Arnold. Trust us…poll numbers are moving in our direction. Even the Los Angeles Times recently wrote, “A Schwarzenegger-Angelides contest definitely would offer voters what Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater once called ‘a choice, not an echo.’”

From National Depression to State Hope…and Now, Local Glee (the thank goodness we are in San Francisco section)
Yes…hello out there San Franciscans. There’s an election coming up. We may have passed by March quietly, but we’re running fast into November.

Who to watch out for? Alice favorites: Former Alice Board Member and now Treasurer, Jose Cisneros; and City Attorney Dennis Herrera.

Cisneros will be running in his first election after being appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom to fill the Treasurer’s position, vacated by Susan Leal last year after she was appointed by Mayor Newsom to run the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and rebuild our Hetch Hetchy water system. Treasurer Cisneros has wasted no time in making his mark on the agency, implementing, in his first six months, the Working Families Credit, a direct cash payment available to low-income, working San Francisco families with at least one dependent child.

Herrera won our hearts when he was just a glimmer in the eye of the San Francisco political establishment. He is running for his second term this November and has more than a term’s worth of work to talk about. Fighting for our right to marry, combating PG&E to make them accountable for their on-going unreliability and making sure our consumer rights are protected, Herrera has been a model city attorney for the nation. As Herrera said in a 2004 Los Angeles Times profile of his office, “Doing what we can do to ensure civil rights for everyone is not something we are going to back away from.” We are proud to stand with him as he successfully fights for our rights.

Cisneros and Herrera have been endorsed by the Alice B. Toklas LGBT PAC. The full Alice membership will vote on these endorsements at the May membership meeting. Cisneros will be addressing the club at our April 11th Membership meeting. And Herrera has been invited to speak at our May membership meeting. Come meet and listen to what San Francisco’s new generation of politicians are doing to help make this City great.

We’re happy it’s April…spring showers and all,

Laura Spanjian and Scott Wiener
Alice B. Toklas Co-Chairs

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Reese's World: Perspectives from the Editor
Mine’s 15+, How Long Is Yours?

Paula Abdul was popular telling us straight up that opposites attract. And the only Idol wasn’t American at all, but rather a British Billy. We were on the verge of the Persian Gulf War for Oil while Bush the First was in office. Ellen & Rosie were still little-known stand-up comics. And not even Elton John was fully ‘Out.’

1990 was a transitional year in my life. And it officially began on March 26th of that year. This recent March 26th, I celebrated my 15th anniversary of coming out.

Think about how far we’ve come in the last 15 years. And how far we still have to go. We are becoming part of the mainstream and fighting for equal rights we never dreamed possible before. But we also have Bush II in office and a right-wing stronger than ever.

I’m purposely keeping my column short this month. Instead of reading my usual diatribe, I encourage you to reflect. Think about how long it’s been since you came out. How many years? It’s been 15 years for me, how long has it been for you? Or if you’re a straight-ally, how long has it been since the first time you met someone openly LGBT.

What changes—in your life and in society and in politics—have occurred since?

And then dream. Spend another moment imagining where we might go in the next 15 years. Where do your hopes lie in the future? What fears do you have? Where do you think our movement will head next?

Pause from reading for just a moment. Close your eyes. Reflect, dream, imagine.

Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P.
Editor

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On the Mark in Sacramento with Assemblyman Mark Leno

Dear Alice Friends,

I was recently honored to stand with Treasurer Phil Angelides, many Alice members and other citizens of this state who have come together to launch a grassroots effort against the Governor and his wealthy corporate cronies who are pushing for an unnecessary Special Election that will cost $70 million. These citizens, who have formed ‘California For Democracy,’ announced their efforts to inform California voters online and in shopping centers throughout the state that California is being hijacked by special interests that are poised to spend $50 million to buy their agenda through 30-second television commercials.

Instead of working with the Legislature in good faith to address the complex issues facing the state, the governor has chosen to spend his time with out of state corporate interests, raising campaign dollars to fight teachers, firefighters and nurses. This is not what the people of California elected him to do. He should be in Sacramento, working with legislative leaders and others to tackle the state’s budget crisis.

Even while the Governor points the finger at the legislature for stalling his agenda and claims he wants to work with them, the truth is he is rarely in Sacramento to negotiate. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on March 17 that the Governor is spending much of his time outside Sacramento, in fact: “In the 10 weeks (70 days) since he threatened to bypass the Legislature and go straight to voters, he has spent just 18 full days in Sacramento.” You can read the full story here

The governor and his corporate allies are asking Californians to foot the $70 million bill for a special election so he can ram through his agenda—essentially stripping public employees of their pension system, including death and disability benefits for firefighters and police. If the governor is successful in privatizing the public pension system $300 billion would be placed in the hands of Wall Street brokers. Corporate oversight provided by CalPERS would come to an end. That’s why wealthy fortune 500 CEOs are throwing tens of millions of dollars at Governor Schwarzenegger.

What would $70 million pay for? We could provide an education to more than 9,000 UC students and more than 11,000 Cal-State students. We could also provide healthcare for 50,000 uninsured, poor children.

Governor Schwarzenegger claims that “the people” are the motivating force behind his special election plan, even though Citizens to Save California will pay signature gatherers up to $10 per signature to get the 600,000 signatures needed to quality each of his initiatives for the ballot.

California for Democracy does not pay signature gatherers and they don’t raise money. They are simply providing real Californians with a voice to protest the Governor’s unnecessary $70 million boondoggle.

You and others within Alice can help stop Arnold's waste of taxpayer money by logging on to the California for Democracy website.

At that site you can connect with an on-line petition to sign, download your own petition form, and make copies of flyers to hand out to friends and neighbors. By signing petitions and distributing flyers, you can stand up and tell Governor Schwarzenegger no on his special election to benefit corporate special interests! Not with our $70 million!

Yours,
Mark Leno,
Assemblyman, 13th District

P.S. Should you have questions or thoughts, please feel free to contact me at any time through my District Office at 415-557-3013 or keep updated on the web via: www.markleno.com

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Owen Stephens' Sermon to his hometown church

Board Secretary Owen Stephens gave a sermon last month at his family's church, the First Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in his hometown of Murphys.

He was asked to speak by his pastor on the topic of growing up gay in a rural, conservative enviroment and how the church needs to 'come out' as a an openning and affirming congregation.

Via this link on the Alice website, you can download and watch a video of his sermon.

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Quotes from Judge Kramer's decision on same sex marriage

From the San Francisco Chronicle: "Judge strikes down ban on same-sex marriage; THE RULING: Law violated 'basic human right"

"The idea that marriage-like rights without marriage is adequate smacks of a concept long rejected by the courts: separate but equal."

"One does not have to be married in order to procreate, nor does one have to procreate in order to be married."

"The marriage laws establish classifications (same gender vs. opposite gender) and discriminate based on those gender-based classifications."

"Family Code Sections 300 and 308.5 (the laws defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman) implicate the basic human right to marry a person of one's choice."

"Under our present opposite-sex only law, marriage is available to heterosexual couples regardless of whether they can or want to procreate. As long as they choose an opposite-sex mate, persons beyond child-bearing age, infertile persons, and those who choose not to have children may marry in California. ...Unlike the other similarly situated classifications of non-child bearers, same-sex couples are singled out to be denied marriage."

Read the full decision

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Alice Membership Form

Alice B Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
1800 Market Street PMB#18
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: 415-707-2010
www.alicebtoklas.org
Alice Reports Editor: Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P.

General Membership Meeting 2nd Monday of each month

Month of April:
Monday, April 11, 2005
6:30 PM - - 8:00 PM
LGBT Community Center
Market Street @ Octavia

You can now join online www.alicebtoklas.org/abt/joinonline.asp, or fill out the application below

Membership Application

Yes, I want to join the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club!

__$35 Regular
__$100 Supporter
__$250 Sponsor
__$500 Champion
__$20 Special Needs
__Other

__I am renewing my membership        __I will be a new member

__I am a registered Democrat

Name ______________________________________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________

City ____________________________________State: ______Zip: _____________

Phone: Day __________________________Eve: _____________________________

Email: _________________________________________

Please send checks payable to “Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club” and mail to:

Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
1800 Market Street, PMB#18
San Francisco, CA 94102

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