Senior Unlimited Nudes

2005-05-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

SF: Nudes4peace in 2005 Bay2breakersCAL-SF: May 15 Sunday:PEACE WALKERS @ Bay2Breakers:Nudes4peace gather at 8AM on the north side of Hayes Street, near Octavia; to watch fast Bay2Breakers runners, then join slow walkers. Please bring peace signs, drums, flags, etc. To get there from Civic Center BART/Muni station, walk west on Grove to Octavia,walk south on Octavia to Hayes; look for Marlena's

2005-05-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

WALK NUDE 4 PEACE IN BAY2BREAKERS Every May, Bay To Breakers provides a huge clothing-optional gathering in SF, which progressives and queers could use to spread their messages. The participants aren't all progressives, but most tend to be intelligent and tolerant. Each year, some of the costumes, signs, wheeled objects, etc., carry political messages -- usually humorous or satirical.

2005-04-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

WHEN EVIL WEARS CLERICAL DRAG No woman can be a priest? No woman was a disciple? No woman can be a god? No goddesses can openly rule in the "post-pagan" temple? Never mind. The girlie-men (those supposedly sexless "grooms of Christ") will sneak her in the back door, to please the deep and ancient mother-need of the still-pagan masses. Just don't call her a Goddess openly, nor put

2005-03-17T23:33:00.000-08:00

S.F. QUEEREAS EVOLVE Recently, some SF queers have been wondering whether Polk Street is, or isn't, losing its queerity. So how do "queereas" and bohemias evolve in SF? Via bohemia and "vice"? By proximity? Circa 1969, Polk Street, the Tenderloin, SOMA and the Haight were considered the leading queer-friendly areas; while the Castro was still seen as mainly non-queer (

2005-03-13T00:10:00.000-08:00

QUAIL AS PETS?Does anyone else keep domesticated quail (NOT wild quail)as companion animals?I have rescued several live quail from retail butcher shopsin San Francisco, and I'm keeping them in my home, as companions. I've learned a lot about their behavior, tho I haven't yet written about it. **Does anyone else, especially in SF or nearby, keep quail as pets?** If you do, please send me a

2005-03-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

"SEXY QUAIL SINGLES" ?Some lovestyle I've never heard of?My friend "Dina Feral" keeps several quail as pets. I'm wondering if there are any other persons in the SF Bay Area who do so; and whether such quail-keepers (if they exist) ever communicate by phone, chat online, or meet in person.So, for starters, I google on the word "quail".No hits!?! What am I doing wrong?BUT there are "sponsored

2005-03-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

BARE-CHEST DANCE? Dear editor, 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, women, transfolk, and intersex persons? Truly,Pamela Phelan440 Eddy Street San Francisco, CA 94109-8110[ March 2005 ]http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/01/1717400.

2005-02-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

KOKO..........breastphobia, homophobia, gorillaphobia? Is Koko a bisexual female? A lesbian? .......... Apparently Koko, the famous female gorilla who communicates in Ameslan (American English Sign Language), likes to look at the bare breasts of human females.And at least three former employees are freaking out about this; in lawsuits where lawyers exhibitbreastphobia, homophobia, and

2005-02-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

"IN ODD WE TRUST"Most "normal" folks sleepwalk thru life, doing whatever their local culture or subculture expects of them; thus keeping their society stable.In the U$A, cultural change often comes from OUTSIDERS -- queers, blacks, Jews, bohemians, radicals, deviants,immigrants, writers, religious converts, utopians, neurotics, weirdos, idealists, Quakers, poets, manic-depressives,and

2005-02-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

YOUTH-ADJACENTQueer SF author Armistead Maupin, guesting on NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" at UC-Berkeley, gropes for a kind euphemism to label his post-youth phase of life. A woman panelist offers "youth-adjacent".Mercifully, she avoids mentioning what I experience --bohemia's "third childhood".Tortuga Bi LIBERTYSFSaturday, 19 February 2005....................................

2005-02-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

TENDERLOIN VALENTINEYet another death notice appears in the hallwaysof my Tenderloin SRO hotel:......................................................."To all tenants:It is with great sorrow and regretthat we inform you of the death of your fellow tenantJohn Schuett -- lived in unit #325on February 14, 2005.Management."......................................................That's a typical T-loin

2005-02-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

S.F. QUEERS AGAINST WAR, 1971 and 2005To the SF Bay Times:"Homosexuals Against The War" demonstrated on 24 March 1971. Now's your turn to march against neo-fascism, on 19 March 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:"HOMOSEXUALSAGAINSTTHE WAR".The photo's caption reads:" 3,000 'liberated'

2005-01-29T02:08:00.000-08:00

GENERATION NINE-ELEVEN: Are UC-Berkeley frosh turning liberal again? http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/01/27/BAGS0B12B31.DTL [ Comment by TBL: In the 60s and early 70s, students moved leftward because of the black Civil Rights movement, and opposition to the Vietnam War and the military draft. In the late 70s, some " new left" activists turned from politics to

2005-01-24T14:45:00.000-08:00

TIME TO DECLARE VICTORY AND GET OUT Open letter to President Bush: After the Iraq election, you will enjoy a brief window of opportunity, in which you can declare victory, and begin withdrawing U.S. troops (at least from Arab areas of Iraq). If you neglect this opportunity, the new Iraqi government will eventually kick you out. Here's your last chance to save face. CARPE DIEM!

2005-01-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

WINNING OR LOSING, WE'RE NOT RETREATING As we enter 2005, let's look back four decades to San Francisco queerdom in 1965, when these events happened: --1965 January 1 (New Year's Day): At a costume ball, sponsored by six queer groups to benefit the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, SF police harass attendees and arrest three persons. Next day, seven Protestant ministers publicly

2004-12-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

HOPE AND FEAR Dear freedom-seekers, KQED-FM's "California Report" (Dec. 6) reports debate among queer Democrats about tactics. One politician warns of backlash. Another says the go-slowers are afraid. [ For more, please visit: http://www.californiareport.org/domains/californiareport/ ] SUN calls these competing California Democratic camps the "Hope Faction" and the "Fear Faction

2004-12-03T08:26:00.000-08:00

CHRISTIANITY ? Not just for the Far Wrong? Can we queers seek allies among the "religious left"? As a non-Christian, I have warm feelings for silent-meeting Quakers, the Catholic Worker movement, Metropolitan Community Church, SF's Glide, and some other Christian liberals, progressives, pacifists. ( I leave my Unitarian-Universalist friends off this list of best Christians; because

2004-12-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

2 VIEWS OF QUEERS IN PALESTINE/ISRAELIndyBay editors write:"Jerusalem Hosts World Pride 200512/01/2004LOVE WITHOUT BORDERS IN A LAND WHERE THERE ARE STRICT BORDERSWorld Pride will take place August 18-28th, 2005 in Jerusalem. Gay Pride celebrations are a relatively new phenomenon in that city. As the World Pride website states, "Love without Borders - Jerusalem Pride has already succeeded not

2004-12-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

NEW BOOK ON AIDS HERO NKOSI JOHNSON "WE ARE ALL THE SAME", a new book by Jim Wooten, portrays the short and heroic life of South African AIDS spokesboy Nkosi Johnson, who made waves before he died at age 12. For info on the book, and on Nkosi's continuing projects, please visit National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4195336 ............

2004-11-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

BE THANKFUL FOR OUR U.S. CONSTITUTION Dear fellow U.S. citizens, The United States of America started out disunited -- as 14 independent countries ( 13 ex-colonies, soon joined by breakaway Vermont). Only the federal Constitution, and its first ten amendments (our Bill of Rights) allowed these entities to stick together, and then only until the Civil War. The electorate started out as a

2004-11-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

THIS QUEER I dreamt I saw this queer last night, As clear as I could see. Says I, "But man, you're gone so long." "I never leave," says he. ("I never leave," says he.) "The patriarchy finished you, At City Hall," says I. "Takes more than that to still my song," Says he, "My song won't die." ( Says he, "My song won't die." ) "I visit City Hall at night, To see what they're up to. I hope

2004-11-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

LOSERS I go to Stow Lake, trying to distract myself from the Hate Election, carrying a big bag of stale bread, hoping to feed the ducks. Seeing none, I wonder if they've migrated. Anyway, I cast bread on water. Screaming streamlined seagulls swiftly snatch up each scrap. Long minutes later, summoned by the gulls' cries, ducks and coots slowly paddle into view. Now I have nothing to

2004-11-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

CAN QUEERBASHING WIN PRESIDENCY AGAIN IN 2008 ? Or will the same-sex marriage issue be settled, state by state, before then? Bush's handlers effectively used the same-sex marriage issue to win the presidency on 2 November 2004, by attracting fundis and bigots to the polls. Probably this tactic worked best in eleven states where an anti-queer hate amendment was on the November ballot.

2004-11-03T08:23:00.000-08:00

DON'T STOP WORKING TOWARD FULL FREEDOM In SF, please support 4 protests on Wed., Nov. 3, "The Day After". Homophobia won openly in 11 states, and sneakily helped Bush everywhere. But we queers "DON'T STOP working toward full freedom!" (sung to the Clinton era tune of "Don't stop thinking about the future!") Despite bungling the war on terror, the Incredibly Incompetent Incumbent

2004-11-01T08:19:00.001-08:00

REPUBLICAN WING of California Democratic Party Open letter to U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein: I too believe that Bush's handlers cynically fanned the foul flames of homophobia in order to win the Presidency on Nov. 2. (I'm not saying that Bush or Cheney or Karl Rove are personally homophobic; merely that they don't let conscience get between them and victory.) In response to this "

2004-11-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

SF Castroween- tens of thousands gawk at fab costumes SUN's report on Castroween 2004, with Chron link.... 31 October 2004: Three members of SUN (including two nude male seniors) demonstrated for peace at Castro Halloween II (Castroween II), circa 9pm to midnight. SF Police ignored our nudity, as did safety volunteers. Most of the crowd were either friendly or neutral toward us.

2004-10-31T06:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Bay Area Naturists, SUN applauds the San Francisco activism of Daniel Odu (naked bike rides) and George Davis (naked yoga). We would, however, suggest some tactical caution when dealing with powerful political factions -- such as the SF police, or the Fisherman's Wharf merchants. If we file a complaint against a nudophobic cop, he may ask his police union to

2004-10-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

"STEPHANIE COHEN" On 21 October 2004, Stephanie Charlene Cohen and Keith Calvin Lindell became DOMESTIC PARTNERS within the City and County of San Francisco ( under Chapter 62 of the San Francisco Admin Code ). SF's MUNICIPAL form of domestic partnership, which is available to unmarried adult couples of ANY gender, was established on Valentine's Day in 1991. It differs markedly from the

2004-10-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

FIRST ANNUAL "NUDE PEACE DAY" Recently, a dozen or more peaceniks, including three women, celebrated the first annual Nude Peace Day at Baker Beach, SF, on Saturday, 9 October 2004. Ravens, brown pelicans, and red-tailed hawks flew overhead, in perfect weather. SUN thanks San Jose Frank for transporting supplies in his truck, and homeless Stephanie for coordinating the event. Nude

2004-10-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

"SHERYL LYNN CHARLES" Dear friends of Sheryl Lynn Charles, SUN is posting this notice so that you may find her on the net, by googling (we hope). Sheryl lived in Illinois and Florida, and served in the U.S. military briefly, before moving to San Francisco, California. Very recently, she has legally changed her name to "Mandy Lynn Magallane", for a fresh start. Currently she lives

2004-09-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

STATES NEED HELP In Missouri and Louisiana, freedom lost [when voters approved state constitutional amendments against marriage equality]. Now, for November state elections, please help anti-amendment groups in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Ohio. You can find them thru [ http://www.loveisloveislove.com/

2004-08-26T06:44:00.000-07:00

CHENEY SAYS 'FREEDOM MEANS FREEDOM FOR EVERYONE' I. In Iowa, on August 24, Dick Cheney publicly differed from George Bush, regarding same-sex matrimony. "Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it's an issue that our family is very familiar with," said the veep. "With respect

2004-07-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

EROTIC ERASING, from A to Z .......... Surely THOSE people can't do it.... Or those people shouldn't do it.... Or those people have no erotic feelings, no desires, no needs.... Or those people can't find partners.... Right? Yeah, right -- FAR right! ........... A is for Ability differences, and Ableism, and Age. B is for Body-fascism, and for Bears. C is for Color

2004-06-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

OUTNESS At least one optimist thinks we queers don't need to identify out queer politicians anymore [ Bay Area Reporter, letters, 27 May 2004]. Like, isn't out the new normal? Not yet. Certainly not among politicians, public officials, the military, professional athletes, Muslims, Mormons, nor most Christian clergy. And probably not among most corporate executives, K-12

2004-06-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

USER-UNFRIENDLY TRANSIT VEHICLES To the San Francisco Chronicle: Columnist Debra J. Saunders quotes the Sierra Club's Dan Becker, saying higher gas prices have given us "no improvement in mass-transit ridership" (SF Chronicle, 27 May 2004). Saunders cites speed and convenience as reasons why most middle-class persons flee from mass transit. She's too polite to discuss social and

2004-06-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

LEATHERFOLK SHOULD DENOUNCE ABUSE "Abuse Ghraib" should concern queers, nudists, and leatherfolk. Two of these "behavioral minorities" have been heard from. How about the third? Abuses at Abu Ghraib involve psychological and cultural aspects, including: forced pseudo-queer contacts, forced nudity, and coercive practices superficially resembling BDSM play. Some media and politicians

2004-05-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

ENDANGERED NATAL CLEFTS Open letter to the free people of Louisiana: Reacting to the Derrick Shepherd Buttcrack Act, we may soon move the Senior Unlimited Nudes (SUN) from San Francisco to New Orleans. Why? To launch a new "Save Our Natal Clefts Louisiana Action" (SONCLA) campaign. Not only will SONCLA defend low-slung pants, but also we'll demand full legalization

2004-05-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

SF's ANTI-FEMALE ORDINANCE In San Francisco, the Bay Guardian found "no municipal ordinances whatsoever regarding not-for-profit, everyday nudity," despite asking lawyers and police officers. [SFBG, "The Naked City,"19 May 2004] Alas, we've got one, hidden away in The City's "Park Code" (not in the Police Code). This little-known code affects only city parks (as defined in

2004-05-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

HUMILIATION OF NAKED MEN Being forced to mimic homosexual acts, while cameras click and observers laugh? Being stripped naked in full view of male and female strangers? Does this sound like light-hearted academic and/or military hazing in England, France, or the USA? Not this time. On Friday, April 30, Arab TV viewers were shocked and angered when

2004-05-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

DEMOCRATS SEEN AS IMMORAL? Democrats and my fellow queers should consider carefully this report by progressive economist and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who did an informal survey while driving across the country: "Middle America -- at least the Republican states -- feels that Bush is honest and that Democrats are immoral. I'd ask why they thought Democrats were

2004-05-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

SEASON OF HATE Recent U.S. marry-ins, including SF's "Winter of Love", are being followed by a fascist backlash -- a "Season of Hate". In Seattle, around twenty thousand bigots, mobilized by reactionary "Christian" churches, rallied on May Day against equal marriage rights for queers. How clever of the right wing, to promote fascism on a left-wing holiday! San Francisco recently saw two

2004-05-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

QUEER ELDERS VIEW PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE San Francisco, 17 April 2004: "I'm a geriatrician and an Okla-Homo," said one guy at the spring program sponsored by ASA's Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network [http://www.ASAging.org/LGAIN/ ]. Another said, ""I'm a gay Cuban Jew -- pick your prejudice!" In the morning we queer seniors and allies discussed "where we've been" in the past. Many added

2004-04-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

QUEERS LESS MILITANT IN TORONTO? Are Canadian queers less marriage-militant than Yanks? Persecution often makes a minority more extremist; while toleration may nurture mellowness. In Canada, where full same-sex marriage has peacefully become accepted law in three provinces, Toronto gaymag "fab" takes an unscientific online poll. A large plurality, 47 percent, choose a mild middling

2004-04-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

WILL CONGRESS DELAY THE HATE AMENDMENT(S)? Some marriage-equality advocates may be hoping to send a busload of activists to DC, in early October, around National Coming Out Day, to protest proposed anti-marriage amendment(s) to the U.S. Constitution. By that time, most Senators and Representatives will be eager to go home. Most will want to campaign in their own states, either for

2004-04-03T08:35:00.000-08:00

HOW MUCH CASH WILL BUSHITES GIVE NADER? How much will Ralph Nader help George Bush electorally in November 2004? And how much will Bush supporters help Nader financially? We won't know until after the election, if ever. Or so I think, after reading a detailed analysis by Mark Simon ("Nader a threat to Kerry, polls say," San Francisco Chronicle, 1 April 2004). We know that

2004-04-01T06:09:00.000-08:00

VIVA España ! Dear freedomseekers, Will Aphrodite dawn afresh in Spain? When can one say that a country is going thru a "sexual revolution", either in behavior or in ideology? In the USA, I think our First Sexual Revolution began in the 1920's -- the "Jazz Age", famous for "flappers" (who called themselves "new women"), for woman's suffrage, for struggles to

2004-03-23T20:02:00.000-08:00

EQUAL FREEDOM OR EQUAL NONFREEDOM? Dear sisters and brothers: Benton County commissioners had hoped to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses soon. Until Oregon's attorney general threatened them. So, instead, they're adopting a more extreme tactic. "Benton County stops all marriage licensing," report Mark Larabee and Jeff Mapes in The Oregonian, March 23. County

2004-03-20T19:45:00.000-08:00

SF DYKE CHEERLEADERS "No borders! No states! We just wanna MASturbate!" What are these women chanting? As I peacemarch in the Marriage Equality contingent, on this hot-hot first day of spring, I doubt my old ears. Am I guilty of wishful hearing? So I ask a younger queer man, "Are they really saying MASTURBATE?" Yes they are, he assures me. Later I move closer to the radical

2004-03-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

FUTURE OF SAME-SEX MARRY-INS? Dear sisters and brothers, "Never predict anything," warn the wise ones, "especially the future." But this freedom-seeker rushes in where moderates fear to tread, offering a barely possible crystal-ball-ogy of the historic marry-ins of 2004, intertwined with the U.S. presidential slog. Phase One: mid-February to mid-March 2004: the historic

2004-03-12T14:41:00.000-08:00

WHO CAN DEFINE MARRIAGE? (a debate) by SUN SaveFreedom@yahoogroups.com WHAT DOES "MARRIAGE" MEAN? WHO DEFINES THIS TERM? Here's a debate from SaveFreedom Yahoogroup. RobGood writes that "marriage" arose thru "custom, as reflected in common law"; NOT thru government or religion; and so no government can rightly alter its definition, neither judicially nor legislatively. Liberty argues

2004-03-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

NEW YAHOOGROUP OPPOSES THE HATE AMENDMENTS Dear sisters and brothers, I hope all freedom-seekers will defend our U.S. and state constitutions from anti-marriage amendments, perhaps via MeetUp ( http://antiban.meetup.com ). I've been actively supporting the historic San Framcisco marry-in, mostly at IndyBay ( http://www.indybay.org/lgbtqi/ ). And I've written a protest shantey, "

2004-03-05T18:23:00.001-08:00

NAME IT AND BEAT IT: THE MUSGRAVE AMENDMENT Dear sisters and brothers, "Name it and claim it." That's a powerful principle in linguistics and in politics, meaning that terminology shapes discourse. Right-wingers have mastered this very well. That's why they speak of a "Federal Marriage Amendment", as if an anti-queer amendment would somehow assist different-sex marriages. Please don't

2004-03-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

2004-03-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

ON VOTING SYSTEMS, SEE THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN To the San Francisco Board of Supervisors: board_of_supervisors@ci.sf.ca.us For a scientific comparison of voting systems, please see the March 2004 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, in which economists Partha Dasgupta and Eric Maskin discuss "The Fairest Vote of All" (pages 92-97). [Or visit http://www.sciam.com.]

2004-03-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH A HATE AMENDMENT? .................................................................. [Concerning a proposed anti-gay amendment to the U.S. Constitution, this protest song loosely follows the tune of a traditional sea shantey, "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?", sung rapidly and loudly. ] ...................................... [CHORUS:] What shall we do with a HATE

2004-02-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

S.F. HALF-SHUTS MARRY-IN WINDOW http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/02/1671232.php [Monday, Feb. 23:] San Francisco city-county bureaucrats will allow merely 52 couples to get marriage licenses each day, as of Feb. 23. This new restriction half-shuts the window of opportunity for S.F.'s historic same-gender Marry-In, which started Feb. 12. Many same-gender couples will

2004-02-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

QUEER FREEDOM SONGS FOR S.F. MARRY-IN San Francisco, Friday, Feb. 20: On Day Nine of SF's Marry-In, hostile evangelists harangue same-sex couples waiting in a long line outside City Hall. Pro-freedom responses include sidewalk debates, a jazz band, and a leaflet of queer freedom songs. Here's the text of the song leaflet: .............. Sing truth to those who hate you..

2004-02-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

MARRY-IN: Day 8 San Francisco, Thursday, 19 Feb. 2004: Outside SF's ornate City Hall, at 0745 AM, the line of same-sex fiancees stretches almost one and one-half blocks. They wait for doors to open at 8AM, so they can get marriage licenses on Day Eight of the Marry-In. In cool dry weather, some wannabe spouses read the Bay Area Reporter, the city's leading queer weekly.

2004-02-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

MUSLIMS VERSUS FREEDOM-SEEKERS IN SF Dear freedomseekers, On the damp chilly afternoon of Sunday, 15 February 2004, I walked thru Civic Center Plaza toward SF City Hall. Noticing some folks in the Plaza holding signs, across the street from City Hall, at first I assumed they were supporters of queer freedom. Getting closer, I realized they were Muslims, denouncing "homosexuality". I shouted

2004-02-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

QUEER MARRIAGES IN SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 12 thru 16 ...... Dear freedomseekers, By public radio, I hear that San Francisco City Hall's marriage license bureau will stay open thru the three-day weekend, Feb. 14-15-16, to issue marriage licenses -- mainly to same-sex couples. Fascists will try again to stop such licenses from being issued. But their first chance won't come until a court hearing

2004-02-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

SF: LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY BRINGS MARRIAGE RIGHTS Around noon on Thursday, 12 February 2004, I attended a rally for equal marriage rights, outside San Francisco's City Hall. At the time, I didn't realize how effective and historic that event would be. In the evening, my friend Pam Feelin and I attended an excellent class presented by the Society of Janus (SOJ.org), on

2004-02-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

REGRESSIVE JUSTIFIES DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GAYS David Benkof (the regressive reactionary formerly known as David Bianco) opposes equal rights for queer persons, and advocates letting fundis discriminate against us. He wants to restrict "civil marriage to male-female couples", so as not to offend the feelings of medieval bigots. In the mainstream press, Benkof claims that

2004-01-31T10:29:00.000-08:00

B-25 HIT EMPIRE STATE BUILDING A B-25 Mitchell bomber "crashed into the seventy-eighth and seventy-ninth floors of the Empire State Building, barely causing it to shake," writes John Tytell (Reading New York, NYC:2003, p. 90). This crash happened in 1945. Why is the Empire State Building still standing, unlike the World Trade Center? Was the Empire State

2004-01-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

ATOM Disappoints "Your search - sex - did not match any answers in our knowledge base. Please change your search terms and try again." ------------------------------------

2004-01-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

DON'T VANDALIZE OUR CONSTITUTION NGLTF's Matthew Foreman foresees "a strong likelihood we are going to lose" the fight against an anti-queer federal constitutional amendment. [Bay Area Reporter, 29 January 2004] He gives up too easily, too soon. The Constitution of the United States, unlike that of California, sturdily resists vandalism. Silly ideas may fly thru Congress, but few

2004-01-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

DOES OSE PROPOSE CENSORING BIBLE? U.S. Representative Doug Ose (R-CA) wants to banish certain "profanities" from the airwaves. By doing so, his law may prohibit certain Bible verses from being recited or read aloud on radio and TV. Congressman Ose's bill, HR 3687, would prohibit broadcast of certain "profane" words and phrases. The bill provides that "the term 'profane',

2004-01-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

U-U FORUMS, Jan. 18 & 25 Upcoming: 25 Jan. 2004, First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco: S.O.S. -- Save Our Services: "Join Forum guest Rocio de Mateo Smith for this important discussion of the Governor's proposed cuts in services for elders and the disabled.... Find out how to fight proposed cuts to Medicare providers, IHSS (in-home support services), and California

2004-01-10T08:32:00.000-08:00

TEFLON TYRANT Dear freedomseekers, At least two U.S. Presidents have been quoted as saying "Life isn't fair". That thought must be echoing thru the minds of prisoners at Guantánamo, who have been given no legal rights at all, at least so far [as of 10 January 2004]. Legally, the Bush regime has power to execute them after a kangaroo trial, or to keep them in prison for

2004-01-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

IN 2004, BEAT THE "ANTI-MARRIAGE AMENDMENT" < http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/01/1667209.php > When outgoing SF Mayor Willie Brown spoke on KQED-FM, Jan. 6, I sent in a question by email, asking: Which Democrat has the best chance of beating Bush in November? His answer boiled down to this: None of them, even if they ran as a pack. Alas, Bush has a natural gift for campaigning, which he

2004-01-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

WHAT RIGHT-WINGERS ARE GOOD FOR Sometimes, in foreign policy, only a right-wing leader can move his/her country to the left. Republican President Richard Nixon had plenty of anti-Communist (and even McCarthyite) cred, so he was allowed to recognize Red China (the PRC mainland). No Democratic president would have dared to do so, since Republicans could have successfully painted

2004-01-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

IN SF, DOES "SECURITY" JUSTIFY VIOLENCE? ............................................................... < http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/01/1667179.php > ..... SAN FRANCISCO, Haight-Ashbury (former "hippie" district), Monday, 5 January 2004, circa 3:45pm to 4pm: As I walk past Rockin Java Coffee House (1821 Haight, SF 94117), I notice two men standing face-to-face, almost

2003-12-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

BRING BACK CHAMBERPOTS by Tenderloin Turtle < http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/12/1668569.php > In San Francisco's SRO (single-room-only) residential hotels, we need to bring back a common 19th-century object -- the chamberpot. At one Tenderloin district hotel, staff recently found human feces in a trash bin, endangering health. Why did somebody dump

2003-12-26T18:55:00.000-08:00

THE LESSON OF THE BLOODY RAG For Neo-Platonists, ideal abstractions were more important than physical objects. So "the Idea of Beauty" meant more than any actual beauty perceived by the senses. Philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, a life-long virgin, taught this unworldly precept harshly when: "... one of Hypatia's regular students fell in love with her. Unable to control his feelings,

2003-12-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

NEW YEAR 2004 HAIKU Birds seek nesting-leaves, In my hotel window-box. Their work makes love real. .....................................................

2003-12-20T09:05:00.000-08:00

LYSISTRATA IN WEST AFRICA Dear freedomseekers, Here's a real-life strike similar to the fictional protest in LYSISTRATA. I wonder if the ancient Greek playwright had heard rumors of such actions in "barbarian" tribes? Contrarily, I wonder if these modern rural Cameroonians had (previously) heard of the famous play? (If not, I suppose city slickers have mentioned it to them recently.)

2003-12-18T16:58:00.000-08:00

ON THE MONEY I used to write "Liberate Women" on the money which passed, often too quickly, through my hands. Lately I've been drawing peace symbols. The other day, after pacifying a twenty, I noticed that it already bore a message: "Lesbian Money". -- Tortuga Bi Liberty, San Francisco. [ -- San Francisco Bay Times, 11 December 2003] ........................................

2003-12-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

IN SF & CALIFORNIA, VOTE ABSENTEE < http://www.sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/12/1665216.php > Advice to my fellow progressives & queers: Next time, please vote absentee. San Francisco's mayor-elect, Gavin Newsom gained many votes, perhaps his winning 5 percent, by encouraging supporters to do so. Anyone who voted by mail, or who voted early at [SF] City Hall, wasn't discouraged by the bad

2003-12-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

SF UNITARIAN-UNIVERSALISTS DISCUSS MEDIA OLIGOPOLY [ http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/12/1664181.php ] "Without the right to protest, Where would we be? There'd be no votes for women yet, And no democracy." So sang San Francisco Unitarian-Universalists on Dec. 7, echoing The Raging Grannies, at their Sunday Forum on social and political issues. This morning's theme is the

2003-12-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

DUELLING LOUDSPEAKERS IN SF http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/12/1664165.php Walking past San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7, I stumble across a rally for Green mayoral candidate Matt Gonzalez. The Gonzalez stage sits on the western end of the plaza, just across the street from the front steps of City Hall. At first, I enjoy

2003-12-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

POLITICAL UNMENTIONABLES http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/12/1664146.php Who says that politics can't be sexy? In the special election for California governor, one of the 135 candidates attracted attention by selling thongs to raise campaign funds. She was also noted for researching and publishing policy statements, more thoughtful and detailed than those of

2003-12-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

RHINESTONE HERO Bush the Lesser continues to pose as a military hero, hoping to profit from the genuine bravery of U.S. troops. First he jets onto an aircraft carrier, very near the California coast, boasting victory in Iraq. After that premature ejaculation dries up, he sneaks into Baghdad for a substitute video-clip. Yet the pilot who avoided Vietnam can only be a Rhinestone Hero, a

2003-11-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

CHANGING MILK-MOSCONE DAY To the San Francisco SPECTRUM: [queer monthly] "Several hundred people turned out in the bitter cold to commemorate the annual Milk/Moscone Candlelight March," reports Dan Miller [SF SPECTRUM]. On this 25th anniversary, turnout was larger than in most recent years. We can't reasonably expect so many night-marchers on the 26th, 27th, 28th, or 29th

2003-11-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

TRASHING VERMONT To the San Francisco Bay Times: Ann Rostow, of the TEXAS TRIANGLE, now trashes Vermont. If the divided Massachusetts court had allowed for the possibility of Vermont-style civil unions, writes Rostow, then that court's slim majority "would appear cowardly". And queer litigants "would have been devastated". She paints partial victory as defeat. If

2003-11-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

PRANKSTERS VISIT HIPSTERIA San Francisco, 19 November 2003, Wednesday night: Young hipsters and ancient hippies wait together outside the historic Park branch of the SF Public Library, near Golden Gate Park, in the Haight-Ashbury district. Up rolls the Merry Pranksters' moving mural, the motherbus of Sixties psychedelia. "Cool," exclaims a streetperson, "here's the box

2003-11-16T01:22:00.000-08:00

LEADERSHIP -- a CaliFable < http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/11/1659644.php > Once upon a time, on the edge of an old forest, there stood a peculiar egg farm. Unlike most, it was run by chickens, at least indirectly. Every four years, they elected a governor to manage their farm. Only chickens could vote, but almost anyone could run (except for known predators). Few of the

2003-11-15T12:38:00.000-08:00

ASK NASA After a night of little sleep, spent caring for a friend with AIDS, I stumble across a photo-ad in a queer newspaper. Wherein a strong, healthy, handsome man leaps joyfully, out in nature on a sunny day. Presumably thanks to vitamins designed for people with AIDS. I hope we all can migrate to his planet, where my sick friends will become models of health and

2003-11-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

"INVISIBLE ORIENTATION" [-- Bay Area Reporter, 13 November 2003 ] As a bisexual, I hope that Prince Charles turns out to be bi, as rumored. And if he is, I hope he'll come out and embrace his identity. Why do I suspect he's bi, and not 100% gay? After all, he might have married Diana from a sense of royal duty, merely to produce heirs. But he also has had a mistress for many

2003-11-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

BINARISM Hurrah for the citizens of Cleveland, Heights, Ohio. According to Wayne Friday, they "voted to become the first city in the nation to give recognition to gay and straight unmarried partners" [Bay Area Reporter, 13 Nov. 2003]. Except that same-sex partners aren't always gay, and different-sex partners aren't always straight. Binary thinking overlooks bisexuals,

2003-11-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

SOMALIA SYNDROME? Fellow Americans: Critics of the clueless Bush regime have been comparing Occupied Iraq to Vietnam. Perhaps they could learn more by studying the U.S. intervention in Somalia (1992-94). There the American public wanted to help Somali civilians, on a humanitarian basis, at first. But after one Somali faction killed 18 U.S. troops, then desecrated the body of a

2003-11-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

LESS UNEQUAL? Dear freedom-seekers, In the inland (eastern) part of San Diego county, California, wildfires destroyed the nudist Swallows Sun Island Club. Shall we soon see the "Reverend" Mr. Fred Phelps* trying to erect a monument there, warning of Divine wrath? Or are some "sinners" less unequal than others? Tortuga Bi Liberty, for Senior Unlimited Nudes** San Francisco, CA .

2003-11-08T21:24:00.000-08:00

QUEER POLL [published in SF Bay Times, 6 November 2003] When San Francisco Pride polls for grand marshals, our ballots should also include a presidential straw poll. If the nominees of opposition parties aren't yet known, the question could ask which party (if any) each queer voter favors. Tortuga Bi Liberty. for Senior Unlimited Nudes, San Francisco ................................

2003-11-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

CENSORSHIP BY MENSA [Comment by Tortuga: Mensa always claims it "has no opinion". That supposed neutrality doesn't stop Mensa from practicing prudish censorship, based on Judaeo-Christian religious beliefs. ] ......... > To: "TORTUGA LIBERTY" > Subject: RE: ad submitted by Mensan in SF > Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2003 > > Sorry, but I don't find this suitable for IJ. > > Donna Jadis [

2003-10-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

SO BIG Anonymous madman, overheard on the streets of San Francisco's Tenderloin district, 18 October 2003: "My problem is, my dick is too big. I asked 'em to cut it off, but they wouldn't do it. I'd be happy if I could just get rid of three-quarters of it!" ........

2003-10-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

LOSE BALLS TO LIVE LONGER "Cats, dogs, and even humans live years longer than average when they are castrated." -- DISCOVER Magazine, November 2003. .... [ Comment by Tortuga (seniornude@prodigy.net): I'm interested in (possibly) having my testicles removed. Can anyone give me some info on how to get this done, cheaply or free, in the San Francisco Bay Area? Also

2003-08-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

SF: SIX HUNDRED PROTEST OCCUPATION OF IRAQ by Senior Unlimited Nudes (SUN) Saturday August 09, 2003 at 07:53 PM [ http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/08/1633972.php ] In San Francisco, on Aug. 9, around 600 persons demonstrated, demanding that the USA withdraw its troops from Iraq. Most of the protesters, including one nude, marched thru the (Latino) Mission District, starting at

2003-08-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

CARL VAN VECHTEN, WHITE GAY "NIGGER-LOVER" ...................................................................................... Who was Carl Van Vechten? For decades, I've thought of him merely as a white writer who helped (and exploited?) the Harlem Renaissance, by explaining it to white intellectuals and to potential patrons. Only now do I learn he was gay (see:

2003-08-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

MUU-MUUS MOVING When Europeans first visit Polynesia, they find bare-breasted maidens. Don't expect such attire on the dancers at San Francisco's Aloha Festival. Indeed, don't even expect grass skirts. On Saturday afternoon, August 2, most of the female dancers wear flowing gowns, down to mid-calf. Modified missionary muu-muu? Based on Mother Hubbards sewn by pious

2003-08-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

REFORM CALIFORNIA'S ANTI-DEMOCRACY LAWS Dear fellow Californians, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, seeking to reduce conflicts between Greens and Democrats, calls for statewide ranked-choice voting in California ["No more Green bashing", 30 July 2003]. Here the Guardian isn't radical enough. We need many more reforms of California's current anti-democracy laws. First, NOTA (None

2003-07-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

NUDE PRUDES Nude Motorcyclists Gather for Festivities MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - (AP) [28 July 2003] [.....] Turner said he wanted to dispel the myth that the nudist culture was perverse. "This is a family park," he said; anyone perpetrating lewd shenanigans in public areas is immediately booted out. _____ http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030728/

2003-07-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

MIKAL M Tortuga recommends the live journal of Mikal M, a hip nudist writer and bibliophile active in the San Francisco "Bare" Area [ http://www.livejournal.com/users/mikalm ]. The 26 July 2003 entry, "More Shameless Silliness in San Fran", gives his personal take on a recent "Perverts Put Out" literary reading. ......................................................................