Squibs
Squibs
It was more of a shock than it should have been, given the WPTZ Channel 5 news team’s propensity for sensationalizing news stories. But I did sit bolt upright when Thom Hallock announced that a gay group had been granted a permit for a “nudist camp.”
The short (45 seconds maybe?) story indicated that the camp was Faerie Camp Destiny in Grafton and Chester. It was pretty outrageous – the release could have been written by the die-hard opposition whose primary issue with the permit was the possible devaluation of neighboring property because of nudity on the site.
Next day the story in – of all places – the Burlington Free Press had it right: Gay Retreat Gains Permit.
Cyber-Advocacy
Just thought you might want to know that the San Franciso Bay-area based Online Policy Group (www.onlinepolicy.org) caters to underserved populations. Who, for example? Queer parents, a leather fetish group, and a women’s peace group thrown off their ISP for some recent examples. It’s a nonprofit organization dedicated to online policy research, outreach, and action on issues such as access, privacy, and what they call “digital defamation.” Its motto is “One Internet With Equal Access for All.” OPG “focuses on Internet participants’ civil liberties and human rights, like access, privacy, safety, and serving schools, libraries, disabled, elderly, youth, women, and sexual, gender, and ethnic minorities.”
Its featured website this time around: Prospective Queer Parents, a forum for the exchange of information and a social gathering space for queer (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc.) people who are interested in childraising and parenting (www.queerparents.org).
Its featured domain name: Leather Leadership Conference, an organization “dedicated to strengthening the SM/Leather/Fetish community through the development of the leadership skills of community members and fostering a greater sense of connection between and within community groups (www.leatherleadership.org).
Godless Americans March
Well, it’s about time! An estimated 2500 atheists and humanists marched on Washington last month, representing over 200 organizations in what was billed as the first national civil rights march “by and for freethinkers.”
Among the signs: “Al-Quaida Is a Faith-Based Initiative.”
Counter demonstrators lined the march route and chanted, shouted and prayed that the “godless” would go to the hell they refuse to believe in.
Among the marching throng: Gay and Lesbian Atheists and Humanists (GALAH), which has apparently been around for 18 years. Its goals include supporting glbt equality, educating people about atheism and humanism, supporting the separation of church and state, and providing social opportunities for its members to meet. The Washington-based organization, which identifies religion as the source for most anti-gay hatred and bigotry, offers a monthly newsletter and has a website: www.galah.org.
Advocate’s 35th
It’s the darndest thing. I wanted to put a little piece in The Rest of Our World about the 35th anniversary of The Advocate, but apparently a person has to buy the print version in order to get a look at the actual anniversary issue. On the website, there’s a brief article by Boy George celebrating Scotland’s beating England to the punch in eliminating infamous antigay provisions and a virtual gallery of photos and artwork – and that was it! Ah, well, Happy Birthday any way.