|
|
|||||
|
Table of Contents
Reese's World: Perspectives from the Editor
So as I was saying, I came too early. It happens. Every once in a while, we men get a little too excited and can't control ourselves. As it happens, I came a whole week before it was time. I showed up at Jim and Andrew's home for an event featuring gay army veterans all dressed up and ready to swoon. And while Jim and Andrew were sweet to me that night, I still had that terribly embarrassing moment of realization when I was told by the men I was with that it was just too soon. Oh my, what's a gay boy to do? Finally, the next week came, and so did I, once again. Even though ill with the flu I still made time to visit with Jim and Andrew and meet these young military boys. And Alex and Jarrod did not disappoint! I may not have had the stamina I hoped, but I wasn't going to miss the opportunity. These military guys are doing an amazing thing. They are about to hit the road around the country putting a face on the discriminatory nature of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' And they'll be doing it in the most red of red-state areas looking to speak with conservatives who care about the military and its effectiveness and see how the discrimination hurts the military itself. And that these guys are just as good, or better, than any other recruits. Now, I must admit, I'm not that familiar with the military. I don't pretend to understand the ins and outs of it or its rules or what it means for us as a society. And I personally am quite glad I've never had to be personally involved in a war. I'm a writer; not a fighter. I can't imagine myself holding a weapon. I just can't ever fathom doing something like that. But I know that others have fought and died for my liberty and so I greatly appreciate that. I know that my father and my grandfather and probably many others in my family have served in wars and I admire them for that. And I know that liberty isn't as free as we may want to pretend. I also know discrimination when I see it. And while I don't understand the military world, I do understand how terrible the discrimination against our LGBT brethren has been, and continues to be. So I am happy to support and promote these brave young soldiers as they make their trip around the country. I hope you will too. Go to www.calltodutytour.org to meet and support them. Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P. Editor Alice Board of Directors 2006
Alice is extraordinarily lucky to have Richard Allman taking on the thankless and yet oh-so-important role of Club Secretary. Richard has been involved in Democratic Party politics for many years, having served a term on San Francisco's Democratic County Central Committee in the nineties. Many of us got to know Richard through his work on the Dennis Herrera and Kamala Harris campaigns. Besides politics, Richard devotes himself to affordable housing and community development, with a special focus on the Tenderloin. Susan Christian, who will be helping with Endorsements, is an Assistant District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, Writs and Appeals Division. Prior to joining the DA's office, Susan was a staff attorney with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Susan is a past Co-Chair of Lawyers for Human Rights, the Los Angeles LGBT bar association. Carole Coplan is General Counsel for Responsys, Inc., a marketing software and services company. Prior to working at Responsys, Carole served as in-house counsel for various companies, including the former First Nationwide Financial Corporation, Epylon Corporation and Online Partners (now known as PlanetOut Partners). Carole is active in the legal and LGBT community and served on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Lesbian Rights for several years prior to joining the Alice Board. Carole will be serving on our Membership Committee. Many of us got to know Nora Dye through her work as an organizer for the No on 73 campaign. Nora is currently the campaign manager for Ronnie Gail Caplane, running in the 16th Assembly District over in Oakland. Prior to her current gig, Nora has worked in public affairs and political organizing for Planned Parenthood Golden Gate and CARAL (now, NARAL Pro-Choice California). As a queer feminist activist, Nora comes to Alice passionate about empowering women to get involved in the political process and improving women's access to and control of their health care. She also serves on the Board of Directors of ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition, an organization dedicated to improving access to reproductive health care through information, referrals, and practical support. Nora will be helping coordinate Alice's field operations. Jody Hoenninger has been a community activist for over thirty years. Since serving as president of her NOW chapter three decades ago, Jody has served as co-chair of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Lawyers for Human Rights, and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (San Francisco's LGBT bar association). Jody was also the fundraising coordinator for the first California AIDS ride. Jody is a lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, and she is a member of the Resolutions Committee of the Conference of Delegates of the State Bar. Jody came to the attention of a number of Alice members through her tireless efforts on behalf of LGBT for Kerry in 2004. Jody will be joining our Finance Committee. Myong Leigh is the Chief of Policy and Planning of the San Francisco Unified School District and has been an SFUSD staff member since August 2000. Prior to working for the SFUSD, he served as the Budget Director for the District of Columbia Public Schools. I met Myong when we were both in the Master in Public Policy program at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Myong was one of the organizers of the effort to combat discrimination in the Castro that grew into And Castro for All. Myong has been a member of Alice for several years, and happily, we finally convinced him to join the Board. He will be serving on the Membership Committee. Tia Martinez, joining the Board as a Policy Advisor, currently works as a management consultant at the Bridgespan Group, a non-profit strategy consulting firm affiliated with Bain & Company. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Tia has also worked for the Hewlett Foundation and the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and has served on the boards of several Bay Area non-profit organizations, including And Castro For All. Nathan Purkiss joins the Alice Board after many years working as a staffer for Mark Leno, first on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and then in the Assembly. Nathan is particularly proud of his work on Mark's transgender civil rights legislation (San Francisco's Transgender Health Benefit Ordinance and AB 196, which banned discrimination against transgender people in employment and housing), as well as the legislation establishing the San Francisco Entertainment Commission, the Equal Access to Services Ordinance requiring San Francisco government to be more responsive to the needs of non-English-speaking communities, and Mark's solar bill (AB 1685). Nathan is a longtime Alice member, having first gotten involved in the Club while working for Robert Barnes a decade ago. Sacramento's loss is definitely Alice's gain, and we are excited to have Nathan working on our Slate Card Committee. Bentrish Satarzadeh will be working on the Field Committee. A recent law school graduate, Bentrish is a Legal Research Attorney with the Alameda County Superior Court in the Civil Law and Motion Department. She is a member of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom and the American Constitution Society. Andy Wong will be joining the Alice Board's Marriage Committee. Andy is the Director of Development and Communications at Community United Against Violence and serves on the Board of the Equality for All campaign.  photo courtesy of Bill Wilson On Monday, January 9th, 2006 the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Democratic Club had a packed house of over 70 members and friends to shore in the new year and vote in a new Co-Chair and Board of Directors. Co-Chair Scott Wiener welcomed in his new Co-Chair Rebecca Prozan who will be taking the torch from now-former-Co-Chair Laura Spanjian who has served in this role for the last two years. The gender-parity-based Co-Chair system is staggered annually to elect one new leader, while one continues to serve for an additional year. Wiener noted, "The 2006 Alice B. Toklas board is a very strong one, both in terms of skill sets and diversity. We have a great group of returning members plus new members with impressive backgrounds in activism, politics, and community work. The Alice Board will also increase its diversity significantly, with one third of the board women and one third people of color. While we are not 100% where we need to be in terms of board diversity, we are moving in the right direction and making significant strides in ensuring that our club is representative of the LGBT community." This will be an important year in the history of the Club and the state. California will possibly see an anti-marriage equality ballot initiative this November. Additionally, statewide ballot contests-including a gubernatorial election featuring the incumbent who vetoed marriage equality legislation last year-will be front and center. "The strength and diversity of the 2006 Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club will help prepare us as a community to defeat anti-LGBT initiatives, support pro-LGBT candidates and campaigns, and elect a new Democratic governor who will not veto our equal rights," stated Wiener and Prozan. The full list of the 2006 Alice Board of Directors follows: Co-chairs: Scott Wiener, Rebecca Prozan Past co-chair: Laura Spanjian Treasurer: Jim Maloney Secretary: Richard Allman Slate Card: Ken Cleaveland (chair), Nathan Purkiss Endorsements: Rafael Mandelman (chair), Lisa Williams, John Lazar, Susan Christian Field: Tom Runge (chair), Nora Dye, Bentrish Satarzadeh Finance: Michael Costa (chair), Jeff Anderson, Jody Hoenninger Membership: Owen Stephens (chair), Greg Flores, Carole Coplan Programs: John Newsome (chair), Jerry Fuller, Robert Haaland, Myong Leigh Special Events: Matthew Goudeau (chair), Julius Turman, Luke Klipp Marriage: Michelle Ortiz (chair), Julian Chang, Andy Wong Newsletter: Reese Aaron Isbell Technology: Kirk Oatman Policy Advisors: Dan Bernal, Miguel Bustos, Joan Roughgarden, Tia Martinez Afterwords from District Attorney Kamala Harris
The first installment on transgender issues was presented on January 20, 2006 by Community United Against Violence (CUAV) staff members Shawna Virago and Pablo Espinoza. This training, titled "Transgender 101," dealt with basic issues of gender identity and outlined many of the concerns that have developed in the transgender community with respect to the treatment of transgender people by the criminal justice system. By the time this issue of the Alice newsletter is published, Chris Daley, Director of the Transgender Law Center, will have presented the second installment of the series. "Transitioning the Bar" will specifically address working with transgender co-workers, victims, witnesses and defendants. In the coming months, we look forward to a third presentation focused on transgender youth in the criminal justice system. To my knowledge, this is the first time that training presentations on transgender issues have been held in the San Francisco District Attorney's office. You have my guarantee that our office will continue working with all of the diverse communities in San Francisco, including the LGBTQ community, to ensure that crimes against our citizens are appropriately prosecuted and that every person who comes into contact with the Office of the District Attorney is treated fairly and with respect. Congratulations to the out-going members of Alice's Board of Directors, and especially to Laura Spanjian who is leaving her post as Co-Chair, on the amazing work that you have accomplished during your tenure. I am also very proud to congratulate Rebecca Prozan, who was elected to succeed Laura and serve with Scott Weiner as Co-Chair. Best wishes for a successful year to the newly-constituted Board. I look forward to being with all of you again soon. Kamala D. Harris District Attorney City and County of San Francisco On the 33rd Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
Over the past year, we have experienced continued attacks on a woman's right to choose. The FDA refused to make emergency contraception available over the counter for political, not medical, reasons, and in Kansas and Nebraska politicians demanded access to women's private medical records. The state and federal governments cut family planning funds at home, and the global gag rule kept desperately needed dollars from healthcare providers trying to stem the rise of AIDS in developing nations. Pharmacists refused to dispense contraception on "moral" grounds. Right wing legislators worked hard to establish fetuses as people with individual rights while restricting access to abortion. Here in California, we had to spend valuable resources to defeat a parental notification initiative that would have threatened the health and safety of our teens. While these attacks have focused on a woman's right to an abortion, the far-reaching consequences of government intrusion into health care and control over one's body should be a call to action for anyone concerned about privacy and individual rights. The right to privacy has been grievously undermined by the current administration. Newly appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Roberts, has deemed privacy a "so-called" right. Our court will tilt even further to the right if Samuel Alito is allowed to take the place of Justice O'Connor. Last month, an unrepentant President Bush admitted that U.S. citizens were being illegally monitored for "security" purposes. But just whose security is he protecting? And where will it end once the precedent has been set for giving politicians private medical records or letting pharmacists decide which prescriptions they will fill?
To get more involved, you can join the Planned Parenthood Golden Gate action network at our website http://www.ppgg.org. Be sure to join us May 18th for our annual gala. This year's keynote is Cynthia Dixon (Miranda) from Sex and the City. Dian Harrison President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Golden Gate Alice B Toklas LGBT Democratic Club General Membership Meeting 2nd Monday of each month 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 __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: |
|||||
There's a great feeling in the air. It's the beginning of a new year, and a great start - both for our community and for Alice.
In California, we have been extremely lucky. SB-644, legislation drafted by Senator Deborah Ortiz, now ensures that Californians will have all their prescriptions filled. In the Bay Area, we are even luckier. The special election brought out the best in Bay Area progressives. Energized by a common cause, our coalitions carried the day. Together, we were able to defeat the Governor's agenda.