Articles by E. Ross
E. Ross is the founder of Bent Alaska.
Howl (trailer)
A new film Howl was the opening night feature at Outfest, the 11 day LGBTQ film festival in Los Angeles.
The film interweaves three stories: the landmark 1957 obscenity trial over Ginsberg’s epic poem, an imaginative animated journey through Howl, and a portrait of a gay man who found new ways to express himself and in doing so, galvanized a generation. Howl will open in select theaters on September 24.James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg – poet, counter-culture adventurer and chronicler of the Beat Generation. In his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style, Ginsberg recounts the road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career, the poem HOWL. Meanwhile, in a San Francisco courtroom, HOWL is on trial. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (Strathairn) sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defense attorney Jake Ehrlich (Hamm) argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the passionate as a host of unusual witnesses (Jeff Daniels, Mary-Louise Parker, Treat Williams, Alesssandro Nivola) pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban).HOWL is simultaneously a portrait of a renegade artist breaking down barriers to find love and redemption and an imaginative ride through a prophetic masterpiece that rocked a generation and was heard around the world.
Watch the Howl trailer:
Stephen for Emperor 38 of All Alaska
Stephen ‘Little Duck’ Moore, the previous Duke of Fairbanks, is running for Emperor. (Stephen and Miss Dixie stepped down at last Saturday’s Ducal Ball, a fundraiser for the ICOAA.)
To the Community Members of the Great State of Alaska:My name is Stephen Moore and I am also a Candidate for Emperor 38. Over the next few weeks, you will have a great time getting to know all of us candidates and learning what each of us want to do to support you! If you would like to know more about me, the Imperial Court of Alaska, or have any questions, please feel free to contact me.Vote Stephen for Emperor XXXVIII of Alaska is my official FB page that will be updated all along this awesome journey! I love to have fun and do outreach to the community as much as possible.Please come vote on August 21 at the GLCC in Anchorage, or in my hometown at College Floral in Fairbanks. Polls open at 9 am and will close at 8 pm. EVERY VOTE COUNTS!VOTE STEPHEN on April 21, 2010! Stephen for Emperor XXXVIII of Alaska!
Samantha for Empress 38 of All Alaska
Joseph Williams, the Alaska Make-up Queen, is running for Empress as “Samantha SoWrong.”
Hi EVERYONE, I am Joseph Williams, AKA Samantha SoWrong, and I am aspiring to be Empress 38 of ALL of Alaska!! Love, Unity, and Universal White Light FOR ALL! If you would like to know more about the I.C.O.A.A check out their web page: ICOAA. SEE YOU ALL ON THE CAMPAIN TRAIL! “gosh I hope I get a book deal…”
Samantha hosted a back yard grill and fundraiser last week, and will be at the Wii Wednesday candidate meet ‘n greets at Mad Myrna’s.
Greetings!!I am running for Empress 38 of All of Alaska under the stage name, Samantha So Wrong. Yes something so “wrong” really is SO RIGHT!The Imperial Court of All of Alaska started in 1971 and is the oldest Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered and Allied organization in Alaska. Their mission, to raise money and give it back to the community. As Empress, I will be representing the community and holding fundraisers and traveling out of state to represent our court on the circuit. I have to win first.I win by YOUR VOTES. Anyone who is an Alaskan Resident, is 18 and has an Alaskan ID can request an absentee ballot, but you have to do it now! You have to email your request. You will get a ballot that will have all the info on it. They will need proof you are of legal voting age. It will not count with out it!! (making sure I say it enough….) Email your request to Joani.Make sure you VOTE FOR SAMANTHA SoWRONG! I will need EVERY VOTE I CAN GET!! There are three of us girls running for the Title!!If you are going to be in Anchorage, vote at the GLCCA on Saturday Aug 21, 2010. If you’re in Fairbanks, you can vote at College Floral.I love you All, and thank you for your time reading this!JosephAka ” Samantha SoWrong ”
Republican senator apologizes for anti-gay career
Roy Ashburn, an outed Republican state senator from California, apologized for his years of anti-gay votes and explained why the republican party should support LGBT rights, in a guest essay on Gay Politics:
“I should begin with an apology. I am sincerely sorry for the votes I cast and the actions I took that harmed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Just as important to me, I am sorry for not stepping forward and speaking up as an elected official on behalf of equal treatment for all people. For nearly 26 years, the voters in my area of California trusted me as their elected representative. I look back now knowing there is so much more I could have done to inform the public about LGBT people and to fight for equal rights under the law. Regrettably and selfishly, I took another path in my life and political career—I chose to conceal who I truly am and to then actually vote against the best interests of people like me. All this was done because I was afraid–terrified, really–that somehow I would be revealed as gay.My past actions harmed gay people. In fact, all people are harmed when there is unequal treatment of anyone under the constitution and laws of our country. I do not believe in discrimination, and yet my votes advanced unequal of treatment of gay people and promoted the suspicion and fear that limits people from being forthright and accepted in society.Now, from what I have lived and learned, I want to do the best that I can to advance equality and freedom for all people. Given the shame and confusion that many feel over their sexual orientation, perhaps my situation can serve as an example of both the harm that can come from denial and fear, and the opportunity to try to make things right.… Now, I am somewhat of a novelty in politics. I am a gay Republican. I have always been a Republican, even as an eight-year-old boy with an intense interest in campaigning, elections and government. To me, Republican principles hold that each individual is special and unique; each individual should have the maximum freedom and opportunity under our Constitution; that government has no business in the private lives of our citizens.If these truly are the guiding values of Republicans—how did we ever get into the situation where my party is viewed as the anti-gay-rights party? Well, maybe because Republicans, including myself, have voted and acted to oppose equality and freedom for gay people.It’s time for fair-minded Republicans to speak up for what our party really stands for—individual freedom and limited government. If we truly believe the greatness of America is founded on the individual achievements of ordinary citizens acting with the maximum amount of personal liberty, then there should be no debate over where Republicans stand on the rights of LGBT Americans.”
Read the full essay My journey, my party and LGBT rights.
I’m impressed that he apologized and seems to have learned important lessons. And he makes an interesting case for why the real values of the GOP support gay rights. He is being honest now, instead of denying the truth and crawling deeper into the closet, like other outed homophobes (Larry Craig, George Rekers, etc… there’s a long list.) I hope this new honesty will make his life more joyful and less stressful.
Too bad he built his fame, fortune and political career on voting against every LGBT issue that would have made life better for the people of his district.
Paige for Empress 38 of All Alaska
Miss Paige Langit, co-host of the Friday Night Diva Show at Mad Myrna’s, is running for Empress.
I am happy to announce that I am running for the title of Empress 38 of the Imperial Court of All Alaska! I would appreciate your support! I have a fan page up aptly titled Vote Paige for Empress 38 of All Alaska! LOL Follow me on the campaign trail!
Paige shared “just a lil’ bit” about herself:
My name is Paige Langit, and I’ve been an active member of the ICOAA for the past eight years.As a straight ally, I wish to enlighten the straight community as to what it is the Imperial Court does, and hopefully with that understanding, be able to form a more cohesive bond between the GLBT and straight communities, especially the new generation. (Not quite Star Trek…) I want to see more involvement in the fundraising efforts this organization puts together, because in the end, everyone benefits; from the students who are awarded the scholarships and charitable organizations that are given donations, to the people who donate their time and effort who will build and create better and new relationships and networks with others, regardless of their personal lifestyle.I’m 29 years old. I think my age gives me an upper hand at this point in time. During my time as Duchess, I found that I was able to associate with the younger crowd, and help introduce them to the Court and involve a new generation of the GLBT community who, in turn, help give back to their own community. (It’s a wonderfully vicious cycle…)I have never felt more part of something, as I have with the GLBT community and the Imperial Court of All Alaska. With the experiences that I have had in (most specifically) the last two years within the Court and community, with involvement in almost every fundraiser in the State, including Fairbanks and Juneau, I feel that I am ready to give back to the a community which has welcomed me and let me find my own place within it. (… kicking and screaming of course…)I know this isn’t really much about my past or what my favorite foods are… do I like long walks on the beach, etc… but it’s the important things that are going through my mind right now. :)
Starting this week, Mad Myrna’s is hosting Wii Wednesdays and the first few weeks are called “EnE Candidate Edition”. Miss Paige – Anchorage’s Diva will be hosting Wii Wednesdays, and all of the local candidates running for Emperor and Empress will be there to meet people and talk about the community. See the candidates in action and get your game on at the same time – Wii Wednesdays, 6-10 p.m. at Myrna’s.
"Why do you need a gay parade?"
In a letter from Homer PFLAG about the emcee who wouldn’t say the words gay and lesbian at the July 4th parade, Jennifer also responded to a loaded question asked by some locals, “Why do those gay people need to have a special float in the parade at all?” She wrote that “the reality of discrimination and ignorance towards LGBT people is very real in Homer, Alaska—particularly for young people.”
A straight couple visiting from Texas asked me a similar question at the Anchorage Pride parade, the week before July 4th: “Why do you need to have a gay parade?”
The tourists were stuck at the intersection of 6th Ave. and I St. because the APD blocked the cross streets along the route for the hour long parade without bothering to divert traffic or even warn the cars to turn at 7th. (Who’s bright idea was that?)
Like Jennifer, I started to answer the question as asked, explaining about the ordinance veto and the red-sirts demanding that we be fired for being gay… but the parade wasn’t a protest, and the answer felt incomplete because the question was biased.
The question asks us to prove why we need a gay parade, or an LGBT float, as though we were taking something we might not deserve. It makes us defensive, and lets them argue that we don’t need the parade and shouldn’t be allowed to have it.
But the parade is a celebration, not an argument.
“Well, why do we need a July 4th parade?” I asked. “We don’t – we have it because we want to celebrate our country.”
“Even if we didn’t need a gay pride parade, we’d want to have it to celebrate the LGBT community. We celebrate our LGBT groups, mostly run by volunteers, we celebrate the LGBT people in Alaska, we celebrate our friends and allies, and we celebrate that we can have a gay parade in Anchorage, that we have the right to peacefully assemble and celebrate our community. Like the 4th of July parade.”
The woman just stared at me, but the man nodded. “OK, I can see that,” he said.
Five candidates run for Emperor & Empress 38
The Imperial Court of All Alaska has five candidates running for their highest positions of Emperor and Empress this year, and the campaigns are in full swing. Four of the candidates sent introductions to Bent Alaska, and they’ll be posted over the next few days. Get ready to meet the new top title holders of the ICOAA!
If you are 18+ years old and have a valid Alaska ID, you can vote. Voting day is August 21, in Anchorage at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center (336 East 5th Ave.), in Fairbanks at College Floral (3260 College Road) and throughout the state by absentee ballot. (To request an absentee ballot, contact Joani.)
The candidates for Emperor are Stephen Moore and Cory Crowder. The Empress candidates are Mariquita, Paige Langit and Samantha SoWrong. The new Emperor and Empress will be crowned at Coronation on Labor Day weekend.
Samantha held the first candidate meet ‘n greet back yard barbeque on Thursday. Starting tonight, Mad Myrna’s is hosting “Wii Wednesdays – EnE Candidate Edition” featuring Wii games and the candidates every Wednesday from 6-10 p.m.
The candidate intros will be posted one a day, starting tomorrow. Good luck to all of the candidates!
Homer July 4th emcee "would not say the words lesbian or gay" *Updated with contact info
Tim White, DJ at K-WAVE, was the emcee who dissed the LGBT float in Homer’s July 4th parade, and Jennifer Baker of Homer PFLAG wrote this letter to the local newspapers about the incident:
I am writing on behalf of the Homer Chapter of PFLAG, to express my heartfelt appreciation to the community of Homer for the cheers and support we received for our float during this year’s 4th of July Parade. This year, PFLAG (Parents, Friends of Lesbians and Gays) marched with the newly-formed Homer Youth Gay-Straight Alliance, in order to strengthen efforts at providing support and solidarity for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered) youth in Homer.I am also writing to express my concern about the significant omissions by the emcee of this year’s parade, Tim White, while he was reading the description of our organizations and float. Rather than reading the prepared statement as written, he omitted the names of our organizations and would not say the words lesbian or gay, which were part of our statement. This omission was quite obvious and did not appear to be accidental.It is tragic to think that this incident might be related to anything other than a logistical mishap, especially on a day when we are celebrating a day that is all about freedom. It is my sincere hope, and that of Homer PFLAG, that the Homer Chamber of Commerce is committed to having the voice of the 4th of July Parade be one that would never in any way be associated with discrimination, censorship, or homophobia.Some people have said, “Why do those gay people need to have a special float in the parade at all?” I would answer, that the reality of discrimination and ignorance towards LGBT people is very real in Homer, Alaska—particularly for young people. The intention of PFLAG and the GSA in our community is to promote equal treatment of all people—regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In the words of the ACLU, “freedom does not protect itself.” Silence is deadly—and the silence of this year’s parade emcee has given us an opportunity to speak a bit louder.
White owes an apology to PFLAG, the GSA and the people of Homer! And the Homer Chamber of Commerce needs to choose emcees who will read the LGBT group’s prepared statement as it’s written, the same way they introduce all the other floats and marchers.
Make sure the LGBT youth of Homer are not dissed again – Call the Homer Chamber of Commerce at 907-235-7740, or write a letter to the Homer Tribune and the Homer News.
And if White doesn’t apology, don’t listen to K-WAVE.
Mailbag: the Good, the Bad and the Clueless
As Alaska’s only LGBT news and events blog, Bent gets mail with a variety of questions, suggestions and tips. In addition to events and news from locals, this week included a donation, a hater, a rude reporter and a clueless outsider.
The Good
A wonderful reader made a donation to Bent Alaska through the donation button on the blog. THANK YOU. As a volunteer blogger, I write because it’s important and useful and fun. I also appreciate contributions, for the financial support and for the compliment that you consider Bent worthy of support.
If you like Bent, please consider making a contribution through the Donate button on the top right side of the blog. Thanks!
The Bad
As an LGBT blog in the moderate main city of a conservative state, Bent also receives mail full of anger, fear and hate. I don’t take it personally — those messages say more about the person who spent several minutes of their life attacking someone they have never met just because that person is different. For example, today’s hater said that I’m going to Hell for being gay, a common theme:
“Homosexuality is a sin against God. God loves you so much. He will allow you to live a lie if you so choose; not because He hates you, because He is HOLY, set apart from sin. Your sin will result in death. You will spend eternity in hell — forever seperated from God. You must repent of your sin, and except Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. If you are a homosexual, repent. Your eternity draws near.”
This comment was on a post about Jerry Prevo calling gay Christians “deadly” and attacking the popular Christian musician Ray Boltz, who is gay and recently performed in Anchorage. Since Prevo is not HOLY and he spreads lies about us all the time, I guess this hater thinks Prevo’s lies will result in his death.
The Good and Bad
Bent gets media requests from local reporters as well as from LGBT news agencies all over the country. The national focus is often “What is it like to be gay in Sarah Palin’s home state?” and “I’d like to interview someone gay in Wasilla.”
The local reporters ask about specific topics, and they’re reporting LGBT stories more often since the equal rights ordinance. The LGBT community has developed good connections with the local reporters.
Last week, I had an unpleasant exchange with a straight young reporter I’d never heard of. He kept asking for my phone number, over and over, but offered no reason to work with him – no story, no introduction, no knowledge of LGBTQ issues — and was rude when I declined.
This reminds me to be grateful for all the polite media professionals — print, online, TV & radio – who report our community’s news with accuracy and respect. Thank you.
The Clueless
Bent Alaska has many readers who subscribe to the blog through RSS and email. They get each post when it’s published, with all the photos and links, including the title linked to the post’s permanent page and the words “You are subscribed to Bent Alaska” with the blog name linked to the home page. [The subscribe tabs are on the top right side of the blog.]
One subscriber from the Lower 48 clicked the Reply link and asked, “Do you have a website?”
We all have brain-dead moments, and I try to be polite no matter how absurd the question. I explained that yes, this post came from my website.
His reply: “What is the address of your website?”
Clueless.
FotF targets Murkowski on DADT
Focus on the Family, a radical anti-gay group based in Colorado, is pressuring Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski to vote against the 2010 Defense Budget because it includes the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
A Bent Alaska reader received a pre-recorded call from CitizenLink, FotF’s political action wing:
“… After their intro remarks, they summed up by using all the buzz words and concepts, something like “if you don’t condone ‘open homosexuality’ in the military or want your tax dollars spent on abortions at military bases, call Lisa Murkowski and tell her to vote no on the defense budget which has amendments to repeal DADT and bar abortions on military bases.”“There was absolutely no opportunity to talk to a live person at the end… We need to counter by calling her to vote YES!”
The repeal of DADT is attached to the Defense Budget, and the Senate will vote on it soon, but I have not heard of an abortion amendment on this year’s military budget.
Murkowski claims to be a fiscal conservative and a moderate Republican. She should resist the pressure from outsiders like FotF and vote for the repeal of DADT. It will allow gays and lesbians currently serving in silence to serve with honesty, and allow many qualified Americans currently barred from the military to join and defend our country.
Call Senator Murkowski and urge her to vote YES for the repeal of DADT: 202-224-6665, or toll free in Alaska at 1-877-829-6030.
Her other Alaska phone numbers and online email contact page are HERE.
