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Articles by E. Ross

E. Ross is the founder of Bent Alaska.

Christian singer Letting Go and coming out

Sunday, 16 May 2010 – 5:31 AM | Comments Off

Christian singer Jennifer Knapp returned from a seven year break with a new cd Letting Go, a new tour, and a new honesty about herself — she’s both a Christian and a lesbian.

It hasn’t been easy for Knapp. Many have condemned her, and she was forced to debate her soul on Larry King Live. But others have embraced her and created Facebook pages to show their support, including this one by an Anchorage fan who hopes to bring Knapp to Alaska for a concert.

Here is an acoustic performance of Dive In recorded before a show in February 2010 in Tennessee:

Ann Reed in Anchorage, May 22

Saturday, 15 May 2010 – 12:31 PM | Comments Off

Lesbian singer Ann Reed returns to Anchorage for a concert on Saturday May 22, at 7:30 pm in the Wilda Marston Theater at Loussac Library. Tickets are $22 in advance/ $25 at the door, order through her site or call 1-800-947-9180.

Listen to a clip from Not Some Far Away Place, the first song on her most recent CD (and 20th album) Where The Earth Is Round.

Considering her decades of performing, she should have plenty of videos, but there are none on her website. YouTube only has poor-sound-quality clips of her concert with the Twin Cities Women’s Choir in February 2010, and this 1996 video of Hole in the Day. The sound is ok, but the visuals stop half way through.

Listen to Ann Reed’s Hole In The Day:

At her Anchorage concert in the mid 1990’s, Ann sang new-at-the-time songs and classics, like the funny parody Power Tools (are a Girl’s Best Friend), Heroes, about the famous women who influenced her, and Life Gets Real, a song about turning 40.

Coronation, 2nd Celebration for F. Ken, Leaders & Cleaners

Saturday, 15 May 2010 – 8:17 AM | Comments Off

Gay AK – Notes from LGBT Alaska

Coronation 38, Labor Day weekend

Alaska Coronation 38 — “Kickin’ it old School…Back to our Roots” Labor Day weekend in Anchorage, Sept. 2-6, 2010! Call the Sheraton for reservations (907) 276-8700, mention ‘ICOAA’ for the special rate. Visit Imperial Court of All Alaska for updates throughout the summer.

2nd Celebration of Life in August for F Ken Freedman

F. Ken Freedman, a long-time member of the Anchorage LGBT community, a licensed professional counselor, Queer Activist and loving presence in the world, passed away on Saturday, May 1, 2010. Many calls and e-mails came in after the Celebration of Life was held on May 6th saying “But I did not know”, “Can we have a second service?” We decided to do so. Please send your name to Victoria if you would like to be kept in the loop about this service. His brother, who was very close to F Ken, spoke to him daily on the phone would love to meet all of F Ken’s Alaskan family. They are planning a second Celebration of Life in August 2010 to allow the greater community to mourn with them. More details to follow as they are planned. Please sign his guest book and share your memories with F Ken’s family of origin and family of choice.

Judge Lack wins Harvard fellowship

Judge Jonathon Lack, appointed in 2007, serves as the Superior Court Master and District Court Magistrate in the Alaska Court System, and he is one of ten LGBT leaders to win a Harvard fellowship this summer from The Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute. Congratulations!

New leader for the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance

Jessi Angelette, president of the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance and the student spokesperson for the effort to add gays to the UA non-discrimination policy, is moving out of state this summer. Lauren Tibbitts-Travis, current pres. of the GSA at Juneau Douglas High School, is graduating and moving to UAF where she will be their new GSA president and will continue working for the UA policy change. The Regents agreed to deal with it this year, their next meeting is June 3-4 in Anchorage, and Lauren will speak at the meeting. Thanks, Lauren! Congratulations to Jessi on the pregnancy, and good luck in your next state!

PFLAG thanks Mary Parker

The Anchorage PFLAG Board of Directors has accepted, with gratitude and thanks, the resignation of Board member Mary Parker. Mary has been a board member for the past 14 years, among many other things she has been our primary contact person with all aspects of Anchorage youth and UAA during that entire time. She plans to continue her work as a point of contact for both youth and UAA, but she wants to eliminate Board meetings from her busy schedule. The Board thanks Mary for her many years of valuable service and we hope her future schedule has a little more flexibility. Thank you very much for your time and efforts Mary, your wisdom will be missed!

Thanks to the Fabulous Nine

A great big Thank You to the Fabulous 9 people who showed up at 10 a.m. on Saturday and worked so hard to clean the highway for PFLAG Juneau. There were 4 men and 5 women who worked really hard! We collected 12-15 bags of garbage and quite a bit of recyclables. The sunshine was glorious, the lake was beautiful, and we got several waves and gratitude honks from passers by. That was community service you can see and feel good about, SEAGLA and PFLAG working together on improving the community in which we all live… Thanks!

LGBT Caucus Joins Alaska Democratic Party

Friday, 14 May 2010 – 10:45 AM | Comments Off

Alaska’s first LGBT political caucus is official!

The Alaska Democratic Convention approved the new LGBT Caucus on Saturday as an adjunct to Alaska’s Democratic Party. The next meeting of the LGBT Caucus is May 24 at the Democratic Party headquarters in Anchorage.

“The LGBT community will now have an official voice in the Alaska Democratic Party,” said Bert Mead, long time Democratic activist.

“We hope to engage the LGBT community to participate in local, state, and federal campaigns, and provide the training and knowledge to get involved politically across the state.”

The LGBT Caucus will meet on a regular basis to support and endorse Democratic candidates running for office, meet and lobby elected officials, and recruit more LGBT Democrats to participate in the Alaska Democratic Party. Alaska’s other LGBT organizations are non-profits and cannot endorse political candidates or promote the activities of a political party.

“The Alaska Democratic Party welcomes the LGBT Caucus to our ranks,” said Patti Higgins, Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party.

“As the Democratic Party continues to lead the fight for freedom for all, we invite other groups to join and add their strength and voice to ours. It is our expectation that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will be gone before the end of this year. We also expect that the Employment Non‐Discrimination Act will be passed.”

The Grrlzlist noted that this first LGBT Caucus of Alaska’s Democratic Party is a “fitting tribute to Dan Carter-Incontro,” Alaska’s first openly-gay Democratic delegate. Dan passed away on April 18, 2010.

The next meeting for the LGBT Alaska Democratic Party Caucus is on May 24, 2010 from 6-8pm, at the ADP Headquarters, 2602 Fairbanks Street in Anchorage. Come meet other LGBT Democrats and discuss the future of the caucus.

For more information about the LGBT Caucus, please contact Bert Mead.

This Week in LGBT Alaska 5/14/10

Friday, 14 May 2010 – 7:45 AM | Comments Off

This week’s LGBT events from Alaska GLBT News.

Juneau

SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar.

Fairbanks

SOAP presents “Alice in the Underground” at the Empress Theater thru 5/15, at 7:30. Tickets $20 general/ $15 students, seniors, and military. Free for youth under 18.

Wednesday Social Group, contact Joshua for the location.

Mat-Su Valley

Mat-Su LGBT Community Center in Palmer is open M-F 5-8 p.m. (except 6-8 on Wed.) The social group meets Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m. at Vagabond Blues.

Anchorage

“Helping Transpeople Find Their Voice” on 5/15 at 9 p.m. A great show at Mad Myrna’s to benefit TransAKtion, the Transgendered Alaskan Social Group, and the TransAlaska Pipeline website.

LipGLoss Revue returns to Kodiak Bar & Grill on 5/15 at 10 p.m.

Community Bake Sale to benefit the Four A’s on 5/16 from 4-6:30 p.m. The annual Bake Sale at Mad Myrna’s includes a dessert competition this year!

GLBT Art Show entries sought by Out North, opens 5/21

Hater Alert: Sound Aviation

Thursday, 13 May 2010 – 11:16 AM | Comments Off

A Bent Alaska reader asked the owner of Sound Aviation – a flight-seeing company based in Anchorage – a few questions about his scenic tours and got a long homophobic rant in reply. Why? The reader’s email had a signature line supporting Alaskans Together for Equality, the statewide LGBT advocacy group, and Sound Aviation’s owner Bill Marsan felt compelled to tell a potential customer that gays can be cured – and pilot Bill can show us how:

God has created man to have fellowship with Him and gave man and women the desire to be fruitful and multiply—have children so that they too could enter into fellowship with God… He made sure that man knew why He had made him and gave him a book to instruct him. The Bible. This same Bible tells us that it is wrong and unnatural for men to burn with lust for other men and women to burn for other women. It is a crime against nature and the whole purpose and reason He made us. It is not loving but rather sinful. God has made a way for sinful man to be forgiven instead of being judged in the end. Since everything He asks man to submit to is right, just and loving —to do other than that is unloving and causes hurt, pain and misery to a society. The way to be forgiven is to stop sinning and submit to God’s rule of love which will bless all people you come in contact with. We are cleansed as we believe in the Lord Jesus and what He did on the cross—He came to allow a way for the law of God to be upheld and yet allow Him to forgive sinful man based on their faith in His substitutionary death on the cross–By faith in Him our pending doom can be canceled and we may begin a relationship with Him—It is really amazing to see how God deals with man–such patience with the wicked—waiting for them to turn to Him and His design for the universe. You to may enter into this amazing relationship TODAY—if you wish more information I would be happy to provide you with more. Homosexuality is NOT a civil rights issue —It is a SIN issue.

All that (and much more – this quote is only the second half of his reply) in response to a few questions about scenic tours.

We don’t have to support business owners who force their anti-gay religious bigotry on us! Spend your ‘gay dollars’ on gay-positive businesses, like those in the LGBT-Friendly Business Lists linked in the right-hand column of the blog. ➨

Please spread the word about Marsan, so that no gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender visitor to our beautiful state becomes a captive audience to this hater and has to sit through a whole flight of his ugliness.

LGBT Art Show comes to Anchorage

Wednesday, 12 May 2010 – 6:10 PM | Comments Off

– a guest post by Zirrus VanDevere, owner of Art Works Gallery on the Kenai Peninsula, and author of the “Art Seen” column in the Redoubt Reporter.

—-

I own Art Works Gallery in Soldotna, Alaska, and recently held an invitational exhibit called “Celebrate”. The show was inspired by a speech President Obama gave to the Human Rights Campaign, and in it, he backed the LGBT community with no compromise, and I was incredibly moved.

I wanted this exhibit to be a celebration of the steps forward, rather than a rant, and feel that the artists rose to the challenge.

The Peninsula Clarion ran an article about it, and the response was entirely positive. I expected some sort of adverse reaction, but got absolutely NONE. It may actually be safe to come out on the Kenai Peninsula!

The show will now travel to Anchorage where the Out North Theater will display it in the large gallery space with new entries added to it. The show opens May 21st and runs through June 26th. Contact art@outnorth.org if you’d like to add your “voice”.

The Alaska Spirit lives in Seattle

Wednesday, 12 May 2010 – 5:54 AM | 3 Comments

Seattle’s LGBT chamber of commerce launched the website Travel Gay Seattle last week to reach and attract LGBT travelers to Seattle, and the press release included this quote from corporate partner Alaska Airlines:

“We work hard to provide all our customers with genuine and caring service, and invite travelers to experience what we call ‘Alaska Spirit’,” said Glenn Johnson, Alaska Airlines’ chief financial officer and executive vice president. “We are proud to partner with the GSBA [Seattle’s gay business group] and others to showcase the hospitality and diversity you’ll find in our hometown.”

Well, heck. Wouldn’t it be great to see Alaska Airlines bring some of that LGBT-friendly ‘Alaska Spirit’ home to Alaska… you know, the hometown they’re named after. Wouldn’t it be great if they sponsored an Alaska GLBT travel site… or were a sponsor of Alaska PrideFest, like they sponsor Seattle Pride? Seems they should support something gay in Alaska, if they’re going to brag about the ‘Alaska Spirit’ of diversity.

Because, really, what’s the point if Alaska Airlines only supports the ‘Alaska Spirit’ of diversity outside of the state of Alaska?

TODAY: Veterans Lobby Day on DADT

Tuesday, 11 May 2010 – 10:32 AM | Comments Off

All hands on deck! Today is Veterans Lobby Day for ending Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell, the military’s gay ban. Hundreds of veterans are gathered in DC to ask Congress and the President to repeal DADT this year, and supporters around the country are doing a national call-in.

Nearly 14,000 Americans have been abruptly fired from the U.S. military because of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell – including more than 800 mission critical specialists, and Jene Newsome, an Alaskan stationed in South Dakota.

Senator Begich supports the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but Rep. Young made some absurd comments about it and Sen. Murkowski has not given her opinion. Does she think gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve honestly in the military? Let’s find out.

Please give your voice to those who must be silent. Get the repeal of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell over the finish line in 2010.

1. Call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121, tell them where you live, and ask them to connect you to your Representative’s office. Tell the staffer who picks up: your name, where you’re calling from, and that you’re “calling to support the Veteran’s Lobby Day and urging Congress to repeal ‘Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell’ this year.”

2. Call the Congressional switchboard 2 more times asking for your Senators, and leave the same message.

3. Then call the White House switchboard at (202) 456-1111 and urge the President to lead the way this year by adding the “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” repeal to his current defense budget, which is being written this month.

This lobby day is one of our last chances to speak out before Congress takes action on the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that should contain the “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” repeal language.

That means it’s crunch time. Whether you’re a veteran, a friend or relative of a service member, or simply someone who believes in equality, make that call and add your voice to our fight to end “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell.”

If you are a veteran in Alaska who supports the repeal and are willing to speak out, please contact Alaskans Together, a co-sponsor of Veterans Lobby Day.

Repeal DADT this year!

Country music’s Chely Wright: lesbian white female

Monday, 10 May 2010 – 5:33 PM | Comments Off

So far this year, Latin pop star Ricky Martin came out, then Christian singer Jennifer Knapp came out, then country western singer Chely Wright (known for her hit song “Single White Female”) came out – 2010 may be the year for singers with conservative audiences to come out of the closet and tell their fans that they already know and admire someone gay or lesbian and it’s no big deal.

Here’s Chely on the Today show:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wasn’t k.d. lang was the first openly lesbian country music artist? Well, Chely’s great and we should invite her to Anchorage for a book signing and concert. Alaskans love country music!

Check out Chely’s website with her new cd Lifted Off the Ground and her book Like Me.