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By Ramy Eletreby
HIV/AIDS and gay groups oppose Bush’s surgeon general
nominee
 The HIV Medical Association, 35 members of Congress and
several gay organizations have expressed opposition to President
Bush’s nominee for surgeon general, James Holsinger,
reports Reuters.
Opposing groups, including the Human Rights Campaign and
the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, cite a 1991 document
Holsinger presented to a United Methodist Church panel studying
homosexuality. In the document, “Pathophysiology of
Male Homosexuality,” Holsinger writes, “[The]
varied sexual practices of homosexual men have resulted in
a diverse and expanded concept of sexually transmitted disease
and associated trauma.” Holsinger further goes on to
explain anatomically how anal sex is unnatural, reports The
Associated Press.
In a letter to Sen. Edward Kennedy, chair of the Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, HIV Medical
Association chair Daniel Kuritzkes writes, “[Holsinger’s]
perspective on homosexuality places him well outside the
medical mainstream and raises questions about his ability
to provide national leadership on behalf of all of our nation’s
people and to address one of our country’s most critical
public health problems.”
During Senate confirmation hearings, Holsinger has insisted
that he is not anti-gay.
In related news, former Surgeon General Richard Carmona
recently told a House committee that the Bush administration
routinely blocked him from speaking about or issuing reports
on issues that did not serve its political agenda, reports
the Washington Post.
Sex scandals continue to plague GOP
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) admitted on July 9 to contacting
a D.C. escort service operated by Deborah Jeane Palfrey,
the “D.C. Madam,” while serving in the U.S. House,
sometime before his current Senate stint began in 2004. On
July 10, Jeanette Maier, the Canal Street madam of a high-price
brothel in New Orleans, revealed to WDSU-TV that Vitter often
frequented her establishment in the mid-1990s, when he was
serving in the state House. Vitter built his political campaign
for the Senate around family values as well as aligning himself
against same-sex marriage, claiming that it violated the
sanctity of marriage.
“It is the pinnacle of hypocrisy for Senator Vitter
to be thundering about ‘family values’ and the ‘sanctity
of marriage’ and doing everything possible to deny
the freedom to marry to same-sex couples while apparently
paying for sex behind his wife’s back. If his wife
and family want to forgive him, fine, but this far surpasses
a personal transgression—he owes all Americans an apology,” said
Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force, in a statement.
In other news, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential
campaign co-chair and Florida Rep. Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island)
was arrested on July 11 for soliciting sex in a public restroom
in a Florida park from a police officer, reports PageOneQ.
In the arrest report, Officer D. Kavanaugh states, “Allen
engaged me in a conversation in which it was agreed that
he would pay me $20 in order to perform a ‘blow job’ on
me. Allen stated that he wanted me to ride with him across
the river before he performed that and gave me the money.
Before entering Allen’s vehicle, I identified myself
as a police officer and detained him.”
Allen faces misdemeanor charges for solicitation.
HIV-positive soldier charged for having unprotected sex
An HIV-positive soldier stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville,
N.C., is being charged by military and civilian authorities
for assault with a deadly weapon and for committing a crime
against nature after having unprotected sex with a partner,
to whom he did not disclose his health status, reports the
AP. According to an arrest warrant filed by Cumberland county
officials, Pfc. Johnny Lamar Dalton, 25, is being accused
of not telling his 18-year-old civilian male partner about
being infected with HIV, though he was given strict orders
by his commander not to have unprotected sex after his HIV
status became known in November. The civilian’s mother
alerted the authorities when her son told her about his relationship
with Dalton after he fell ill and was diagnosed with HIV.
North Carolina state law prohibits people with HIV from
having sex without condoms and requires all sexual partners
to be notified.
Ugly Betty, T.R. Knight, Neil Patrick Harris, Sir Ian McKellen,
Ellen DeGeneres get Emmy nods
July 19 was a happy day for gays with the announcement
of nominations for the 59th annual Primetime Emmy Awards,
to be televised by Fox on Sept. 16.
The gay-positive ABC hit Ugly Betty received 11 Emmy nominations,
including nods for America Ferrera, Vanessa Williams, Salma
Hayek and Judith Light (outstanding guest actress; she is
now a series regular).
Openly gay Grey’s Anatomy star T.R. Knight was nominated
in the supporting actor/drama category while Neil Patrick
Harris was nominated in the supporting actor/comedy category.
Sir Ian McKellen was nominated (for playing himself in HBO’s
Extras) in the supporting actor/miniseries or movie category.
Ellen DeGeneres was nominated for her performance hosting
the 79th annual Academy Awards on ABC.
Other gay favorites who were nominated include: Felicity
Huffman for Desperate Housewives, Queen Latifah for her role
in HBO’s Life Support, Debra Messing in The Starter
Wife, Holland Taylor for Two and A Half Men and Kathy Griffin
for Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List on Bravo for outstanding
reality program. Project Runway, American Idol and Amazing
Race also got nominations. The “Gay Witch Hunt” episode
of The Office was also nominated in the comedy writing category.
Causing a few giggles during the telecast of the announcements
was the nomination of “Dick in A Box,” the hysterical
song performed by Justin Timblerlake and Andy Samberg on
Saturday Night Live.
For all the nominations, go to www.emmys.org. —Karen
Ocamb
Log Cabin Republicans honor five GOP allies in Congress
On July 12, the Log Cabin Republicans gathered in Washington,
D.C., to honor five of their most inclusive GOP allies in
Congress. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), Congressmembers Mary
Bono (R-CA), Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
and Christopher Shays (R-CT) were all recognized by Log Cabin
for their dedication to introducing legislation that would
secure equality for gays and lesbians.
Pryce, the chief Republican co-sponsor of the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act, said she expects the law banning
job discrimination based on sexual orientation will pass
the House this summer. Both Smith and Bono encouraged gays
and lesbians to stay loyal to the Republican Party in order
to secure a solid, new identity in the future. Ros-Lehtinen
highlighted the importance of ending “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell,” and called for the passing of the
Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would allow thousands
of skilled gay and lesbian service members to serve openly.
“These members of Congress represent the Republican
Party’s future,” said Log Cabin President Patrick
Sammon. “We thank them for standing up as strong
advocates for basic fairness and equality. Log Cabin is proud
to support them and work with them to return our party to
its core unifying principles.”
Transgendered woman sues IRS for disallowing sex-change
surgery to be deducted
A transgendered woman is suing the IRS for not allowing
her to write off the $25,000 in medical expenses for her
sex change operation on her 2001 tax return, reports the
AP. The IRS ruled in 2003 that Rhiannon O’Donnabhain’s
sexual reassignment surgery was cosmetic rather than a medical
necessity, sparking a debate on what should be considered
a deductible medical procedure.
According to the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, 1,600-2,000
people undergo sex-change operations every year. Transgender
advocates argue that O’Donnabhain’s case should
force the IRS to treat sex-change operations the same way
it treats appendectomies, heart bypasses and other deductible
medical procedures.
“Every mental health textbook and medical dictionary
recognizes the legitimacy of both the diagnosis and course
of treatment,” said Jennifer Levi, an attorney with
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. The case is
set to go before the U.S. Tax Court on July 24.
Numbers As of noon, July 18, 2007
American Deaths in Iraq: 3,628 www.antiwar.com/casualties
American Wounded in Iraq: 26,806 www.antiwar.com/casualties
Iraqi Dead since 2003: Between 67,265-73,611 www.iraqbodycount.org
Cost of War: $444,518,000,000+ www.nationalpriorities.org
National Debt: $8,896,439,968, 736.94 www.brillig.com/debt_clock
U.S. Trade Deficit: $406,921,000,000.00+
www.americaneconomicalert.org/ticker_home.asp
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