The Tuesday Evening Group in Visalia is inviting you to join us on a 3 day cruise to Ensenada. All the itinerary and other information is in the attached file. If you are having problems opening the attachment, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to give you the information. My email is kwander777@hotmail.com. I hope you can join us.
This coming Tuesday, November 22nd, we will be meeting at Cafe 225 at 6:00pm for a Pre Thanksgiving feast.
I would like to have seen a better article. For all her accomplishments, struggles and opinions, this article sure didn't do her or our fight justice. But alas, any coverage is coverage nonetheless.
The census is not necessarily the topic you've been waiting to hear about, I know, but bear with me for a moment.
It's coming up in March or April, and while it's supposed to be an accurate count of everyone in the country, there's no question that asks if someone is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
This is a huge problem. The data collected has a direct impact on issues that are critical to every American--issues like health care, economic stability, safety. And when LGBT people are not counted, individuals, families, and communities suffer.
The good news is that we can change this. Show your support of a census that counts everyone--say it right on your census envelope with your free Queer the Census sticker! And make sure to sign the petition telling the Census Bureau to make sure everyone is counted.
CONGRATULATIONS!!
We did it, we are a GLBT Lions Club. On November 16, 2009 the new Visalia Pride Lions Club was voted in. With a membership of 22, we were able to vote a full board of directors, also. This is a great event for our community.
Our new board is: President: Michael Sbei (Sbei), Vice-President: Steve Vollmer, Secretary: Sandy O'Neill, Treasurer: Bryan Hughes, Directors (3): 1yr term: Leonard Garcia, 2yr term: Cheryl Waynack, 3yr Term: David Newman, Lion Tamer: Pat Urruty, Tail Twister: Gailerd Swisegood, and two (2) Greeters: Alicia Crumpler and Ursula Almeida.
We are, also, the only second GLBT Club in the state. The first is in the Castro. Our sponsoring Club is the Visalia Charter Oak Lions Club. We want to thank Georgia Souza for all her hard work and her gaudiness she will give us to become a successful organization. We will meet on the 1st. and 3rs. Monday of each month at 6:30 P.M. (Location to be announced). Dues are $80.oo yr. with a one time $30.oo Lions International Fee due when you join. Club dues ($80) will be prorated for the Club Year ( July-June).
It will be in late December, we think, when we get our Charter form International, then it will all be OFFICIAL. At that time we hope both the Visalia Charter Oak Lions AND the Castro Lions Club will be our sponsor and co-sponsor, respectively. Did someone say PARTY!? I will keep you informed as we get closer to getting our Charter and if The Castro Club will join us.
SOO, you have plenty of time to join in on the fun. Become a Visalia Pride Lion now.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.
Sbei
The battle for an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the House of Representatives is heating up.
As we've always known, the vote on ENDA in the House is going to come down to a few votes. You may have heard that the committee vote has been pushed back a few weeks, so we're taking this time to call and email members of Congress to make sure that ENDA passes and to hold Democrats accountable on LGBT equality.
Members of Congress have been frank with us. What influences them most are calls and emails from people back home. So, along with the other organizations in the United ENDA coalition, we're asking all our members who care about ENDA passing - that's you - to take action today.
Here's how you can help:
1. Call your member of Congress. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Give your zip code and ask to be connected to your Representative's office. You can use the following language, or something more personal:
"My name is _____ and a proud resident of (your city, state). I am calling in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017), to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination. Please pass ENDA before the end of the year. I can be reached at _______ (give your phone number). Thank you."
2. If you can't call (but if you can, please call!) email your member of Congress by clicking here.
Passing an inclusive ENDA needs to be our community's top priority in these final weeks. Please take two minutes today to make your voice heard, and tell your member of Congress that ENDA is next, ENDA is NOW!
Fresno LGBTQ returns to Christmas Tree Lane. This evening the lane will be closed to cars (walking only).
We will sing a mix of traditional holiday favorites and some very special holiday songs with unique "equality" themes to them. Please review the following PDF for the songs list: http://tinyurl.com/EqualityCarols
We will be providing a FREE hat or scarf to a limited number of participating carolers!
Come and sing with the group or come to cheer us on and be supportive.
Directions:
If you are on N Van Ness Ave, we will be in the front of the empty lot on the west side of Van Ness, between Indianapolis and Holland.
About Us: Founded in 2005, we are a social activity group for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and allies. We get together once a month to interact socially and have fun. Get out from behind your keyboard, have a nice conversation in a non-bar atmosphere. This is a fun time, once per month to get together with like minded people.
In an effort to reach out to our larger community and make a difference, Gay Visalia presents our first annual Holiday Toy Drive. This year we are supporting Child Welfare Services (CWS) and their “Brighten a Child’s Winter Sky” program. There are many, many children who are in the system that deserve to have a happy holiday season. Please help us in putting smiles on those innocent little faces. Please open your hearts to those children who might not otherwise have a reason to be joyous.
You may visit the CWS website (click link above) to learn more about their program and also to get gift ideas. You can select an age group and even buy for individual children if you wish. Otherwise, we really need toys for ages 5+, boys and girls. Let’s not forget about those teens either! Gift cards are accepted and would make an easy purchase for you. Also, if you don’t have time to go out and buy something I will accept cash donations and do the shopping myself.
You may drop off your NEW, UNWRAPPED toys at Lawrence Tractor Co. in
Visalia
or at my house (address upon request). Also, if you are a business owner or individual who would like to provide a drop off location please contact me so I can let people know (thank you!). If you work or go to school you can always have co-workers and friends get involved too.
I would love to see us collect 200 toys, please help us reach that goal! Our toy drive will last through December 10th. We will be dropping off our collection on their deadline of December 11th. Those wonderful social worker’s will then have the pain staking task of wrapping them all but then the emotional satisfaction of delivering them and seeing happy little faces.
Thank you all in advance for your participation! Thank you for making a difference in our society. This will be the first of many outreach activities we will be hosting. Change is on the horizon and it’s up to us to make that change. A better world is everyone’s responsibility. We can do a lot of good while trying to sway mindsets. After all, the quickest way to an adversaries mind is through his heart. Let’s love them to death!
The campaign to collect signatures in order to qualify a ballot initiative
for the 2010 election has officially started. On Monday, November 16th, Love Honor Cherish
launched Sign For Equality,
an online site dedicated to gathering enough signatures to place an initiative
on the ballot in November of 2010 which, if successful, will repeal California's
Proposition 8.
The site offers Training
Videos, ways to organize
and find teams locally and downloadable
petition and signature forms. While the website offers the resources,
signatures cannot be gathered online or through email, all signatures must be
obtained in person, pen to paper. Gathering of signatures will not be driven by
major gay groups as has happened in the past. This campaign will rely on an all
volunteer army of signature gatherers, working locally on their own or in
teams. This appears to be a much smarter approach, rather than a select group
of volunteers standing post at shopping malls.
In order to be eligible to be placed on the ballot next year, 700,000 valid
signatures are required. Since there are always signatures which are
disqualified during the approval process, about 1,000,000 signatures need to be
gathered. The deadline for signatures to be gathered and submitted is APRIL
5TH, 2010.
The approved language of this ballot initiative is the following...
We, the undersigned, registered, qualified voters of California,
residents of __________ County (or City and County), hereby propose amendments
to the Constitution of California and petition the Secretary of State to submit
the same to the voters of California for their adoption or rejection at the
next succeeding general election or at any special statewide election held
prior to that general election or otherwise provided by law. The proposed
constitutional amendments read as follows: This amendment would amend an
existing section of the California Constitution. Existing language proposed to
be deleted is printed in strikeout type. Language proposed to be added
is printed in underlined type.
Section 1. To protect religious freedom, no
court shall interpret this measure to require any priest, minister, pastor,
rabbi, or other person authorized to perform marriages by any religious
denomination, church, or other non-profit religious institution to perform any
marriage in violation of his or her religious beliefs. The refusal to perform a
marriage under this provision shall not be the basis for lawsuit or liability,
and shall not affect the tax-exempt status of any religious denomination,
church or other religious institution.
Section 2. To provide for fairness in the
government’s issuance of marriage licenses, Section 7.5 of Article I of the
California Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 7.5. Only
marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Marriage
is between only two persons and shall not be restricted on the basis of race,
color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.
If you plan to help the campaign, be advised that there are strict
guidelines for forms and signatures gathered. Signatures can be disqualified if
all procedures are not followed, so please visit Sign For Equality
and read all the details.
Mosaic (Out)
November 19, 2009
Meeting at 7:30PM at Border’s Visalia at Sequoia Mall on Mooney.
Mosaic is an community of grace, hope, and healing seeking to make the world more human.
To be fully human we have to exercise the mental, physical, and spiritual parts of our life.
Mosaic out is on the mental and spiritual and this month we ask the question for Thanksgiving.
“What are you thankful for?”
LGBT Legislation Status Update: DADT Repeal Likely Next Year
Written by Chris Johnson - Washington Blade
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
The effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will likely
come next year as an amendment to the Defense Department spending bill, rather
than through a standalone bill, according to gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). Frank
said in an interview with the Blade that repealing the 1993 law barring gays
from serving openly in the military would happen as part of the fiscal year
2011 defense authorization bill.
“The House will take up and the Senate will take up ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
repeal,” he said. “That will again, like hate crimes, even more so, will have
to be done, I believe, in the context of the defense authorization. You can’t
do the standalone bill. It belongs in the defense authorization.”
Frank said lawmakers would seek to amend the defense measure to include a
provision repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Such a move would mimic the way
Congress recently enacted the hate crimes measure.
Gay Visalia would like to thank all of those Veterans who served our country and fought for our protection and freedoms. We also hope that one day our country will proudly allow ANY person to serve openly and honestly.
Lions,
On Monday November 16 at 7:00 P.M. at the Visalia Lamp Liter Inn, 3300 West Mineral King, in the Amber Room, we will have our meeting and election of two guiding Lions. We will also meet at 5:30 for dinner in the back of the Lounge, for a social get together. Please join us and bring anyone you know that would be interested in becoming a Lion to the dinner and/or the meeting. If you do not want to eat, just come for the fun of it. We will elect a Coordinator and a Vic Coordinator/Sectary. We will also vote on a name for our Club.
At our last meeting it was decided that we would become a branch of the Visalia Charter Oak Lions Club. Georgia Souza will be our guiding Lion and will give us all the tools we will need to become a successful organization. After the election of our new guiding Lions, we will be totally in control of our Club. Georgia will be there to help us to succeed only. Only Lion members can vote. So, if you are not sure and/or you're sitting on the fence, NOW would be a time to become a member and vote on one of our most important events. It is very important that all of our members try to make this meeting and please bring a new member with you.
If you want your name on the ballot or want to nominate someone, a member only, or if they become a member that night, for one of the two offices. Please let me know before Friday 13th. I need to get your name on the ballot and contact the nominee and ask them if they accept the nomination. We will open the floor for nominations, also. As for names of our Club, suggestions we have are: Visalia Pride Lions Club, Visalia Lions Pride Club, Visalia GLBT Lions Club, and Visalia Rainbow Lions Club.
Please sign the petition urging President Obama to help support the overturning of Prop. 8 and then urge your family and friends to do the same! Thank you.
This is a very detailed book, set in Hawaii. The author out does himself and actually gives you enough information of the surroundings that you actually feel that you are there. You can hear the sounds of the surf as it rushes in, the sounds of rain as it hit pavement and roofs. He also added a little something unique to a book I’ve ever read so far. This author is also a poet. He included Haikus written in his adolescent years. This coming-of-age story of a native Hawaiian boy is very moving and appealing to all generations, I would think. There hasn’t been a person who’s had their eye on someone who didn’t even know what feeling stirred within you as you stood in their presence. Giving this book a read through may surprise you.
A wanna-be punk rocker who writes bad haiku poetry, 15 year-old Sam is fed up with his middle-class parents, his geeky best friend, and his inability to do the raddest skate board tricks. Then he meets Clay. Mistaking lust for fate, Sam becomes obsessed with the 17-year-old surfer boy; who’s island cool masks an internal conflict even darker than Sam’s. Directing his furious energy toward winning Clay’s heart, Sam goes on a reckless odyssey to become everything Clay seems to be. Through hurricanes, car accidents, teenage parties, and monster waves, they ricochet off each other until one night on a remote beach, in the flickering light of torches and campfires, the violence and tumult of Clay and Sam’s dynamic propels them both through the hardest decisions and obstacles of their young lives.
“A gay Catcher in the Rye. A terrific, auspicious debut by a writer we will surely be hearing much more from.”—John Rechy, author of City of Night“Thrilling, sexy, terrifying… I recommend this book to all adventurous readers.”—Susanna Moore, author of In the Cut
I had a wonderful time watching it. I was not only drawn in to its magical plot but it was emotionally moving. I had to have it for my collection. That same night I saw it I went on Logo and bought it. This would be a great addition or gift. I was so captivated by it; the ending came too soon for me. A must see if you haven’t already. Made me wish I can do a few things the main character did to his heart throb desire and some of the people of his town.
When Timothy is cast as Puck in A midsummer’s Night Dream, the young gay man stumbles upon a secret love-potion recipe hidden within the script. He creates comic chaos as he turns much of his narrow-minded town gay, starting with the rugby jock of his dreams.
CRITIC’S PICK!—“ENCHANTING! ENDEARING! STRIKING!” - Stephen Holden The New York Times
“Inspired! Puts ‘High School Musical’ to shame.” - Village Voice
“A rousing, warm-hearted spectacle.” – Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter
Come and join us for a traditional service of readings, carols and choral pieces. The Fresno Gay Men's Choir has been providing quality choral performances since its founding in 2005
Future Lions;
Our next Orientation/Formation meeting of the GLBT Lions is Monday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 P.M. at the Visalia LampLiter Inn, 3300 West Mineral King, in the Cambridge Room. We will, also, meet for dinner at 5:30 P.M. in the Lounge, anyone who can join us is welcome.
Please come with suggestions for a name of our club. Some of the names so far are:
Visalia Pride Lions Club, Visalia Lions Pride Club and Visalia GLBT Lions Club. The name of the City, Visalia, has to be first in the name. Also, any suggestions on meeting places and times.
We are half way to becoming a new charter club. Please bring a future Lion with you to the dinner and meeting.
