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“Debutante Balls” benefits Out North

Thursday, 18 November 2010 – 6:00 AM | Comments Off

Out North needs our help. A national funder representing one-third of Out North’s budged has “changed direction,” and Out North need to raise money in order to keep giving us all the top-notch stuff they’ve been giving us for the past 25 years. One way you can help is to attend this Friday’s performance of “Debutante Balls,” all proceeds of which will benefit Out North.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Wednesday, 17 November 2010 – 6:00 AM | One Comment

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.

Tonight the University of Alaska Anchorage Women’s Studies Program will be holding a round table discussion honoring Transgender Day of Remembrance and those lives lost to violence. All are welcome.

November 17, 2010
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
UAA Consortium Library, Room 307

Candlelight vigil will follow immediately after the discussion.

Coming Out: A Work in Progress in Fairbanks this weekend

Tuesday, 16 November 2010 – 3:20 PM | Comments Off

Revive the Red Tent Productions would like to invite you to an evening in three parts:

“A Midnight Clear” by L.B. Hamilton
“Quintessential Image” by Jane Chambers
“Tree House” by Heather Warren

Sponsored by PFLAG Fairbanks and the North Star Community Foundation, this exciting night is Revive the Red Tent’s first installment of theatre dedicated to representing the LGBTQ community. Consisting of two one-act plays and a performative reading, the theme of the evening is centered upon the struggle of “coming out.” “A Midnight Clear” and “The Quintessential Image” are traditional one-act plays, in both the audience encounters characters struggling to make sense of their choices. “Tree House”, a piece written by local author, Heather Warren, is a semi-abstracted performance of a short story.

This theatrical production is primarily produced, designed, and performed by members of the local LGBTQ community. Performances will be at Dance Theatre Fairbanks on Nov. 19th and 20th at 8 p.m. Admission is $10.00 (more if you can, less if you can’t) and seating is limited. The show is not recommended for children under the age of 14.

Libby Roderick benefit for PFLAG Fairbanks

Tuesday, 16 November 2010 – 12:25 PM | Comments Off

Libby Roderick performs a benefit concert for PFLAG Fairbanks on Friday, November 19 at 8:00 PM. A limited number of tickets is available. Proceeds benefit PFLAG activities and the UU welcoming congregation. The concert will be held at the Unitarian Universalist church sanctuary (across the street from the Princess Hotel). The hall holds 150, so seating is limited. The UU is a welcoming congregation. *$32 each* cash or check only. Call 45-PFLAG pflagfairbanks@gmail.com.

I’m From Driftwood Story Tour in Alaska November 9-12

Monday, 8 November 2010 – 9:31 AM | Comments Off

The I’m From Driftwood Story Tour will be in Alaska from November 9-12. (That’s Tuesday through Friday this week).

Launched in the Spring of 2009 and inspired by the film “Milk”, I’m From Driftwood collects and shares true lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender stories from all over the world to help LGBT youth realize they’re not alone. This fall, the IFD crew has embarked upon an ambitious 4-month, 50-state Story Tour to collect and share more LGBT stories from the smallest towns and biggest cities across America. IFD believes LGBT people are everywhere and we’re out to prove it.

Nathan and Marquise are hoping to connect with as broad a cross-section of LGBT folks as they can during their short visit. We plan to visit Anchorage and Wasilla.

Stories

Anyone who would like to tell a story to the I’m From Driftwood team may contact Nathan Manske nathan@imfromdriftwood.com / 347-423-4444. Folks should give their name, preferred method of contact (email/phone) and when they’d like to meet up with the crew.

Nathan and Marquise are staying at The Copper Whale Inn which has generously donated rooms for the crew’s stay in Anchorage so folks can also call there (907) 258-7999 from November 9th – 12th.

Event

I’m From Driftwood is a 501(c)(3)-pending organization and is accepting donations to help fund the Tour as well as future projects that will continue their mission of collecting and sharing LGBT stories. Mad Myrna’s will be holding a fundraiser for IFM this Thursday:

Mad Myrna’s Fundraiser
I’m From Driftwood’s 50-State Story Tour
Hosted by Paige, Myrna and Bear
Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010
7-9pm
530 E. 5th Avenue
Anchorage, Alaska 99501

About The Story Tour Crew

* Nathan Manske (creator)
* Marquise Lee (producer, videographer and editor)
* Nick Manske (driver and logistics coordinator)

Previous Hosts and Sponsors

We’ve had a lot of luck working with wonderful people from LGBT community centers, various PFLAG chapters (Omaha, Spokane, Seattle, Grand Forks ND, Alamogordo NM and others) as well as university LGBT Queer Resource Centers such as Spectrum.

We’ve been hosted/sponsored so far by The Salt Lick in Austin, The Olive It Cafe and Demsey’s lounge in Spokane, UnicornBooty.com and Lobby Bar in Seattle, The Center and tHERe lounge in Denver, Rainbow Vista Retirement community and Lents Commons cafe in Portland, Magnet and Lookout Bar in San Francisco and The Abbey and Lifeworks in LA, Equality Hawaii and Hulas in Honolulu and many others.

VOTE

Monday, 1 November 2010 – 8:16 PM | Comments Off

A message from Alaskans Together:

Tuesday is Election Day! Please remember to vote.

There are a number of high stake races from Supreme Court Justices to the U.S. Senate race which could be determined by a few hundred votes. It’s important that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community come out and vote during this very important election and help support pro-equality candidates.

We need strong supportive voices for equality at all levels of government.

We encourage you to get informed and learn about each and every candidate and ballot measure before heading to the polls.

Election Day – Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Not sure where to vote? Just text “where” to 30644, then enter your complete address and you will get a text with your polling location information. You can also visit the state division of election website.

Alaskans Together for Equality Inc. is a nonpartisan organization that neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate for office.

Miller, Moffitt and Phelps – Oh, my!

Sunday, 31 October 2010 – 1:02 PM | Comments Off

Tea Party candidate Joe Miller was born and raised in Kansas, stayed there after high school and met his wife there. She was also raised in Kansas. Later, he attended Yale and moved to Alaska, but his world view comes from Kansas.

When I heard about Miller’s background, my first thought was, “Let’s click our heels 3 times and send him home!”

My second thought: “I wonder if he knows the Westboro clowns?”

Just because he grew up in Kansas doesn’t mean he was influenced by the Kansas “GodHatesFags” Phelps family clan, does it? No, you can’t taint a whole state because of the antics of one crazy, media-obsessed family. Alaskans know that from painful experience.

I didn’t think much of Miller and the Kansas connection until I read the Mother Jones report saying that he hired a political consultant who runs a pray-away-the-gay project… AND a hate group that thinks God will punish America for allowing gay people to be gay.

Well, heck, that sounds familiar!

Could Miller be connected to Westboro?

“We’ve got deep, deep roots in Kansas – multi-generations,” Miller said.

Miller’s parents, Rex and Sharry Miller, live in Manhattan [Kansas], where Rex used to own Christian Books & Gifts.

Manhattan, Kansas is just a few miles down the road from west Topeka, the home base of Fred Phelps’ Westboro clan. It’s a good bet that a radical Christian activist would check out the local Christian bookstores and get to know their owners.

Miller was raised in Salina and stationed at Fort Riley. His wife grew up in Junction City. These towns are just down Highway 70 from the Westboro compound.

Joe “deep roots in Kansas” Miller is now running for US Senate in Alaska. He won the GOP primary with the paid help of consultant Terry Moffitt, an extreme anti-gay activist with a goal very much like the Westboro hate group.

Mother Jones has the scoop on Moffitt:

Moffitt is the chairman of the Family Policy Network, a group that passionately opposes homosexuality.

Moffitt’s Family Policy Network runs a project called “Hope for Homosexuals” that encourages “practicing homosexuals to ‘come out’ of that destructive lifestyle, and to ‘come home’ to the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ… While the homosexuals celebrate their perversions, they are confronted with the truth that there is hope for deliverance in Jesus Christ.” In June, the group hired an airplane to fly a banner near Disney World during a gay outreach day that read “Jesus Christ: WWW.HOPEFORHOMOSEXUALS.COM.” It has flown this banner in other spots where there might be a collection of gays and lesbians…

The group’s guiding principles, according to its website, include opposition to all fornication and homosexuality. It denounces “any efforts to convince society that homosexual behavior or ‘being gay’ is somehow normal or natural.” The organization explains its antipathy to homosexuality “is the result of a healthy fear of God’s judgment that will otherwise be wrought on individuals who reject God’s laws and our our nation for turning a blind eye.” That puts the Family Policy Network in the extreme camp of anti-gay activists—those who believe that God could punish the United States collectively, if Americans tolerate homosexuality. (This is reminiscent of when Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson partly blamed gay rights activists for the 9/11 attack.)

Rachel Maddow covered the Miller/Moffitt story on her show before she came to Alaska. It’s the reason she was determined to interview Joe, even if she had to come all the way to Alaska and follow him around for two days until he spoke to her. Here’s her original story on Miller & Moffitt:

When she was in Alaska, Maddow asked Miller about gays being cured. He said it’s a state issue. (His absurd response is posted HERE.) So each state can decide whether or not the gay people living there can – or must – be “cured” by the dangerous and ineffective methods pushed by Moffitt.

As for Joe Miller: He isn’t in Kansas any more, and it’s up to the voters of Alaska to click our heels down to the voting booths and send him home!

Cheryl Wheeler performs in Alaska this week

Tuesday, 26 October 2010 – 3:20 PM | Comments Off

Alaskans have two chances to see singer/songwriter Cheryl Wheeler: a solo show in Palmer on Wednesday, and a combined show with Dan Tyminski in Anchorage on Saturday.

Cheryl Wheeler writes folk music and love songs that have been performed by many other singers, for example Dan Seals and Chris LeDoux. But she’s also known for her comedy songs, including humorous ditties about potatoes, politics and religion. From “Dubya, Dubya” to “Lady Gaga’s Singing Program” and “Your God”, she entertains audiences with funny stories and songs in between the love and folk songs.

Cheryl and her wife Cathleen were married in 2004:

Since Cheryl lives in Massachusetts, she and Cathleen were able to get married. Cheryl’s sister flew up for the ceremony. When talking about the experience during her shows, Cheryl has mentioned that they are both surprised how different they feel now that they are married. They had assumed it wouldn’t make that much difference (other than legal issues), but have come to find out that being married really does make a difference.

Watch a music video of Aces, a classic Cheryl Wheeler song:

Rachel Maddow in Alaska Tomorrow!

Monday, 25 October 2010 – 12:30 PM | Comments Off

The Rachel Maddow Show will be broadcast live from Anchorage on Tuesday! Shannyn Moore, host of Moore Up North, made the announcement on her radio show and blog today:

Grab a Redbull and buckle up, Buttercup. The Rachel Maddow Show is coming to Anchorage! Apparently, our tight, 3-way US Senate Race is generating a lot of national interest. Rachel did a great 10 minute segment on our crazy race last week… [posted Friday on Bent HERE]

So, here are the details. Rachel will be broadcasting live from the new home of Moore Up North, Taproot, TOMORROW, Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 5:00 pm.

Tickets are free but limited. Go to the announcement on Moore’s blog, Just a Girl from Homer, to request your tickets.

Thanks to Shannyn and Linda Kellen Biegel for convincing the incredible (and openly lesbian) Rachel Maddow to give national attention to Alaska’s election!

APU to Anchorage: Stop the Bullying!

Wednesday, 20 October 2010 – 8:49 PM | Comments Off

Students at Alaska Pacific University wore purple t-shirts and decorated the school with purple flags for national Spirit Day on Wednesday, to commemorate the recent teen suicides due to bullying and anti-gay prejudice.

The Spectrum club provided 50 purple shirts for students and staff to paint with supportive messages, and gained permission to raise awareness on campus.

APU is a private school with graduate and undergrad programs, and was originally a Methodist college. It’s the only major university in Alaska with an anti-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation.

There haven’t been any reported incidents at APU, but the climate off-campus is not as welcoming. The city of Anchorage has struggled with the need for equal rights for LGBT residents, passing and vetoing a non-discrimination ordinance again last year. The public University of Alaska system has been “studying” their non-inclusive policy for years without making progress.

In addition to raising awareness on campus, two Spectrum students were interviewed about Spirit Day on the local TV news. [I’ll post the videos when they’re available.] Here’s their press release:

APU to Anchorage: Stop the Bullying!

On Wednesday, October 20, APU students, staff and faculty will be wearing purple in support of an anti-bullying movement which started on Facebook.

After a series of what was five suicides by gay youth across the country, Facebook users rallied together to form a variety of groups to commemorate the lives of these youth and send a message to the nation – No more bullying, no more harassment and no more discrimination.

This movement slowly picked up steam and drew the attention of hundreds of thousands of Facebook users.

At Alaska Pacific University, we remember those who have taken their lives and, with one voice, remind Anchorage that the lives of all youth are valued.

The student government of APU, the Associated Students of APU, and Spectrum, the diversity club on campus, are co-sponsoring this event at the university.

Dr. Don Bantz, the new president of APU, gave permission last Friday to drape the log in purple and decorate the school grounds in purple flags and triangles.

We hope to raise awareness and understanding by unifying the many different voices at APU.