Articles tagged with: video
Bent News, 9/28/11: Census data on same-sex married couples
Bent Alaska tweets the news, data from the 2010 U.S. Census on same-sex married couples, a “This Gets Better” video, and more in this edition of Bent News.
Tweeting the news
- Bent Alaska has added (we think) Selective Tweets to our FB profile (as well as page), so we can share news when we’re out & about. #
Bent Alaska has added the Selective Tweets app to our Facebook profile, so we can easily share news with our Facebook friends when we’re out and about — merely by adding a simple #fb hashtag to any tweet we wish. You can also follow us directly on Twitter @bentalaska.
But what if you’re not on Facebook or Twitter? We’ve also added a plugin called Twitter Tools to our blog, which will automatically creates a daily post from our tweets. And suddenly Bent News is reborn: a daily (at least when we tweet) summary of some of the interesting stuff we’ve found around the web. As we’re able, we’ll also supplement it with other news, photos, videos, etc., to try to make it interesting & informative. Our Bent News posts will post the day after the tweets were made.
Let us know how we’re doing! Write to us at bentalaska [at] gmail [dot] com.
Census data on same-sex married couples
- Census Bureau reports 131,729 same-sex married couples, and 646,464 gay couples in the country overall. http://t.co/NdHUdImC #
One of our Facebook friends asked, “Was there a category for LGBTQ persons overall?” Our answer: Not yet. Single people couldn’t self-identify as LGBTQ on the 2010 Census, so there’s no data on how many of us live in the U.S. We’ve got to get that added for 2020!
There’s a campaign by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGTLF) to do just that, called Queer the Census (Facebook page). In its blog post about the Census Bureau’s newly released data on same-sex couples, the Task Force writes,
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force played a key role in getting the U.S. Census Bureau to report the number of married same-sex couples in the 2010 census, and continues to work with policymakers to ensure lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are included in a broad swath of federal surveys and data collection.
See the U.S. Census Bureau’s official press release on the data.
Other tweets
- Biblical arguments for LGBT equality? Yes. @LambdaLiterary reviews God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality http://t.co/nPGV8TRw #
- Right wing claims TX student’s religious freedom being violated by teacher he harassed b/c he thinks teacher is gay http://t.co/i4lAVL2H #
Shared on our Facebook wall
“All the bullies I’ve known were insensitive jerks.” — so says Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia in this video for the It Gets Better Project. Watch:
The Daily Show covers the repeal of DADT
“A Few Gay Men”: Jon Stewart and Jason Jones of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show report on the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
Judge rules for three gay couples in Alaska property tax case
“Alaska’s gay and lesbian couples who are senior citizens or disabled veterans pay higher property taxes than similar heterosexual couples,” E. Ross wrote last August, “because we are treated like roommates or business partners instead of couples and families.” Now the lawsuit described in that story — Bent Alaska’s first on the lawsuit by three same-sex couples against Alaska’s biased property tax — has resulted in a victory in Anchorage Superior Court, the ACLU of Alaska announced today.
Homes for Our Troops: “Money from the fundraiser was lost” (Andrew Caleb “Drew” Pritt aka Diedra)
Questions emerged over the weekend about missing funds from a fundraiser held last month to raise money for the charity Homes for Our Troops (HFOT). The fundraiser, dubbed “Home for an Alaskan Hero,” was intended to help complete building of a fully accessible home for Army Sergeant Latseen Benson of Chugiak, who lost his legs to an improvised explosive device (IED) in Iraq in November 2005. Latseen is the son of Alaska politician Diane Benson, an ally of the LGBT community.
Focus on the Family leader’s antigay testimony demolished at DOMA repeal hearing
In a Senate committee hearing on a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Senators Al Franken and Patrick Leahy demolished testimony by Tom Minnery of the antigay organization Focus on the Family. Tom Minnery is a cousin to Alaska Family Council’s Jim Minnery.
Lauren Potter of “Glee” in Fairbanks and Anchorage to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act
Lauren Potter of the hit Fox show Glee will be in Fairbanks tonight and in Anchorage on Thursday to help Access Alaska celebrate the 21st Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In Fairbanks, she’ll also be joined by champion musher Lance Mackey.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), enacted by Congress in 1990, is a wide-ranging civil rights law which provides similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides against discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics.
We at Bent Alaska share in celebrating the 21st anniversary of this landmark civil rights legislation. Welcome to Alaska, Lauren!
Co-sponsors of Lauren’s appearances include University of Alaska Fairbanks, State of Alaska ADA Coordinator’s Office, and Fox 7 Fairbanks.
In Fairbanks —
- Date/time: Tuesday, July 19, 6:30–9:30 PM
- Location: Westmark Fairbanks Hotel & Convention Center, 813 Noble St, Fairbanks, AK (see map)
- Cost of admission: Free admission; donations appreciated
- Further info: see Facebook events page
In Anchorage —
- Date/time: Thursday, July 21, 6:30–9:30 PM
- Location: West Anchorage High School Auditorium, 1700 Hillcrest Drive, Anchorage (see map)
- Cost of admission: Free admission; donations appreciated
- Further info: see Facebook events page
Lauren Potter was joined by Glee‘s Jane Lynch to finish out a compelling PSA on the unacceptability of calling people by derogatory terms… including fag, including retard.
Watch. And then join the campaign to spread the word to end the word.
Brandi Carlile in Fairbanks and Anchorage this weekend
Brandi Carlile has two concerts in Alaska this weekend — at the Blue Loon in Fairbanks on Friday, and Saturday in Anchorage at the UAA Wendy Williamson Auditorium.
Anthony Romero of ACLU to speak Thursday at UAA
Anthony Romero, national executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Romero will be the featured speaker for Disparate Opportunity in America: The Ongoing Struggle for Equal Rights sponsored by the UAA Justice Center and ACLU of Alaska. The program will focus on recent developments in the continuing challenges faced by minority and underprivileged communities and the work of the ACLU in fighting for equal rights.
A Big Wild Lesbian at Netroots Nation
In which our erstwhile reporter dons her Radical Arts for Women t-shirt, which confers superpowers sufficient to push through another day of (mostly) interesting sessions at Day 2 of Netroots Nation, despite far too little downtime and an overabundance of stress hormones.
George Rekers, “Kraig,” and the lie of “ex-gay” therapy
An in-depth investigation exposes the true story of the “landmark case” that made disgraced ex-gay therapist George Rekers’ antigay career. Box Turtle Bulletin spoke with family and friends who knew the real “Kraig” to reveal the tragedy of a terrible experiment on a young boy which haunted him for the rest of his life.
