LA LGBT GREENS/OUT AGAINST WAR NEWSLETTER. JANUARY 2015

[shane que hee]

LOS ANGELES LGBT GREENS/OUT AGAINST WAR, 923 Levering Avenue Unit 102, Los Angeles CA 90024. Editor:Shane Que Hee. Phone: (310)208-1624; lgbtg...@hotmail.com ;  oa...@hotmail.com 
Other: www.cagreens.org/lacounty; www.gp.org; www.losanglesgreens.org; www.campusgreens.org; www.cagreens.org; www.greens.org; www.lavendergreens.org
cal-...@cagreens.org ; gplac...@cagreens.org ; lavende...@green.gpus.org; lavender-...@green.gpus.org
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LA LGBT GREENS/OUT AGAINST WAR NEWSLETTER  JANUARY 2015  Volume 15  #1

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SAME SEX MARRIAGE:
   Same sex marriages can begin in Florida on Jan 6 with 35 states now legalizing same sex marriage (LAT Dec 4 A18;Dec 26 A2;Dec 28 A2).
   The documentary film The Circle, about the 1^st same sex married couple in Switzerland in 2003, opened (LAT Dec 18 D6).  It is Switzerland’s official documentary entry in the 2015 Oscars.
   The role of young voters in popular approval of same sex marriage and other “liberal” causes was examined (LAT Dec 21 AA2).  The popular approval for same sex marriage in California was 28% in 1977; 30% in 1985; 38% in 1977; 44% in 2006; 51% in 2010; and 61% in 2013 (LAT Dec 21 AA2).
   Idaho  has appealed the legalization of same-sex marriages in its state (LAT Jan 3 A10).
   Unmarried couples including same sex partners and even roommates are buying mortgages together (LAT Jan 3 B1).
Other: Vanguard (Winter), pp6-11;14-15; Time Dec 29 p71,73; FILA Dec 25 p48; LAT Dec  26 A2;Jan 1 A17
 
LGBT  NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
   A dispute on the effectiveness of the new HIV antiviral Truvada pits prevention advocates against antiparty-drug advocates (LAT Dec 3 AA1). Among the latter is the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.  Truvada is a mixture of 2 drugs of the anti-HIV cocktail therapy, tenofovir and emtricitabine. It costs $13,000 per year. HIV is not mutating into more virulent strains as much as early on in the epidemic (LAT Dec 18 A21). Hopes were still held out for 2015 to be the year of the HIV vaccine (LAT Jan 3 AA2).
    A biography of courtieur Yves Saint-Laurent by Roxanne Lowitt has appeared (Time Dec 15 p60) as has The Andy Warhol Diaries by Pat Hackett (Time Dec 15 p61).
   The State Department expressed “deep concern” in Nov over Gambia’s new law imposing life imprisonment for committing homosexual acts (LAT Dec 25 p49).
   The International Olympic Committee, meeting in Monaco, unanimously approved a revision of its non-discrimination policy to include “sexual orientation” (LAT Dec 9 C5).  It will be recalled that the IOC banned the use of “Olympics” for “Gay Olympics”, subsequently and still known as the Gay Games.
   Lesbian tennis great Martina Navratilova has become the coach of World #6 woman, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland (LAT Dec 9 C5).
   The British film Pride directed by Matthew Warchus was nominated for a Golden Globe in its Musical/Comedy category (LAT Dec 12 D18(2)).  The film won the British Independent Film Award in Nov.
   Male monkeys who hang out with the boys can withstand stress better than male monkeys who are alone­REALLY? (LAT Dec 13 AA2).
   Composer Stephen Sondheim was interviewed about his stage musical and film Into The Woods along with star Meryl  Streep, and film director Rob Marshall (LAT Dec 14 D1).
   Vicious starring Ian McKellan and Derek Jacobi as 2 old queens was included in a story about the British Xmas TV fare for the U.S. (LAT Dec 22 D1).
   A gay man’s heroism precipitated the end of a 16-hour hostage drama at the Lindt Chocolate Café in the financial district of Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 16 (FILA Dec 25 p12). The gunman, Man Haron Monis, began nodding off about 12 hours after taking more than 30 people hostage. Several patrons escaped, but openly Gay café manager Tori Johnson, 34, instead charged Monis, trying to wrestle away his shotgun. Johnson was shot and later died in a hospital, but the shot prompted police to storm the café. Monis and another hostage were killed. Johnson’s male partner and family made press statements.
    An Egyptian appeals court upheld the Nov convictions of 8 men accused of “debauchery”  (same sex engagement party on a Nile riverboat) but reduced the 3 year sentence to one year for each (LAT Dec 28 A3). The military government of Egypt had cracked down on homosexuality, raiding steam baths in Cairo in early Dec, applauded by the conservative Muslims and Christian communities.

NATIONAL
    The Southern Poverty Law Center Report Winter p3 in an open letter published in the Washington Post called on the Republican National Committee not to legitimate hate speech against LGBTs and to break from the Family Research Council and other groups participating in the Values Voter Summit in Washington DC. in Sep.  Other groups who signed the letter were GLAAD, Faithful America, Human Rights Campaign, Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and People for the American Way.  Another LGBT item in that SPLC Rep Winter was on p5 (conversion therapy law case in Jersey City).
   A LAT Dec 3 A18 editorial called for an end of the ban on Gay blood donors (LAT Dec 3 A18). The FDA has lifted its 31-year ban on male Gay blood donors (LAT Dec 24 A1). The decision relied on the experience in Australia which in 2000 adopted a one-year deferral policy for men who had had sex with men, a procedure later adopted by Britain, Sweden and Japan.
  ENDA appears dead with the new Republican majorities in both Houses of Congress (FILA Dec 25 p11,).  Such attempts began in 1974.
  Oscar hype is building for Benedict Cumberbatch for his role as Gay scientist Alan Turing in the film The Imitation Game directed by Morten Tyldum, the film having 3 Screen Actors’ Guild nominations, 5 Golden Globe nominations, (Time Dec 22 p147;  LAT Dec 4 D2;Dec 11 D1,S18, S38; Dec 12 D18,D21;Dec 18 S24;Jan 1 S8;  FILA Dec 25 p39). It is already a winner at the Toronto International Film Festival.
   The film Life Partners directed by Sussana Fogel, a Lesbian romantic comedy, is in theaters (LA Weekly Dec 5 p47).
   Actor Alan Cumming was profiled in LAT  Elevate Dec 5 pp38-43.
   The Hollywood Celebrity scene was discussed in LAT Elevate Dec 5 pp48-55 with many LGBT artists mentioned such as John Waters; Divine, Bruce Weber, and Jason Streisand.
   Major League baseball umpire Dale Scotto revealed he was Gay and married to his male partner of 28 years, the 1^st Major League official in the US to come out as Gay (Time Dec 15 p24).
   A TV documentary Regarding Susan Sontag on HBO by Nancy Kates appeared on Susan Sontag (LAT Dec 8 D1).
   Chris Hedges, the new CEO of The New Republic since 2012, is faced with a quandary after his writers (including Andrew Sullivan) and editors resigned en-masse at the beginning of December after he fired his own hand-picked editor Franklin Foer and cut the number of issues to be published (LAT Dec 10 B1).    Hedges, now 30, obtained his wealth by his association with Mark Zuckerberg and the development of Facebook. The magazine was founded in 1914, hosted Gore Vidal during his years in the literary wilderness after his “gay” novel Williwaw came out in 1949.
  A video collection box set of bisexual talk show host/singer Merv Griffin, The Art of Talk on the talk show that ran from 1962-1986  premiered at the Paley Center for Media on Dec 10 (LAT Dec 10 D2). A memorable 1970 segment 10 days after the Kent State incident was when guest Gore Vidal called for Pres Richard Nixon’s impeachment. 
  The Golden Globes nominated Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart 3 times in its television movie categories, as well as the series Orange is the New Black  and Transparent 2 times each (LAT Dec 12 S18).
   When the Victory Fund formally launched on May 1, 1991, there were only 49 openly LGBT elected officials in America. When the current president and CEO Chuck Wolfe retires at the end of Dec, there will be more than 500 out elected officials serving at all levels of government, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (FILA Dec 11 p16).
   Time Magazine’s Man of the Year Issue of Dec 22 referred to LGBTs at p16 and p23 (Orange is the New Black’s Laverne Cox), p23 (same sex marriage), p29 and p38 (Ellen Degeneres’s selfie at the Oscars), p29 (Alison Bechdel’s award of a MacArthur Grant), p59 (Michael Sam’s draft into the NFL-also mentioned in LAT Dec 24 C3 as part of their year-end sports wrapup-, p59 (Apple CEO Tim Cook’s coming out),p144 (Glenn Greenwald in the documentary film CitizenFour); p148 (Transparent, the TV show); p152 (Against Me album Transgender Dysphora Blues).
   Admitting transgender students to women’s colleges was discussed in LAT Dec 15 AA1.
   Lou Reed will be inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame as part of the 2015 inductees (LAT Dec 16 D3).
    The increase in same sex (especially male) duets in ballet was discussed in LAT Dec 21 E9. Their advent by the male ballet group BalletBoyz, the Australian Ballet, and Ballet Priljocaj was noted.
    Ellen DeGeneres and her spouse Portia de Rossi have put their two Westwood California condominiums up for sale for $7.495 million and $8.495 million (LAT Dec 28 B1). They will move back to the Hollywood Hills West.
   The Golden Globes nominated Pride, directed by Matthew Warchus, the story of how a LGBT activists led by Mark Ashton helped a striking Welsh coal miner’s union in the Thatcher period in the UK in 1984, has been rereleased to general acclaim (LAT Dec 28 D10;Jan 1 S34). It also won 3 British Independent Awards including best British Independent film.
   Hasbro will yank off a toy in its Play-Doh Cake Mountain line that is alleged to look like a penis (LAT Jan 1 B3).
    Gay rights is seen by some as a leftover from the 1960s along with sex, drugs, racism, sexism, and rock n roll., and the wish of the Republicans to return to the 1950s (LAT Jan 4 A16).

CALIFORNIA
  The below summarizes the 2014 legislative program for Equality California with Jan 1 2015 being the effect date if signed by the Governor except where noted.

Modernize Birth Certificates | AB 1951
AB 1951, authored by Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez, would modernize California birth certificates by allowing parents to choose to self-designate as “father,” “mother” or “parent,” eliminating inaccurate designations and confusion for same-sex parents. Signed by Gov. Takes effect in Jan 1 2016.

Protect Students | SB 840
SB 840, authored by Senator Ricardo Lara, moves forward on recommendations from 2013’s statewide audit on school safety and nondiscrimination laws, to hold schools accountable for documenting responses to bullying and referring students to appropriate services. Died in Committee.

Youth Equality Act | SB 323
Clarifies that nonprofit youth organizations will only be rewarded with special tax exemptions if they comply with California’s existing nondiscrimination laws. Still in process.

Clean Up Marriage Language | SB 1306
SB 1306, authored by Senator Mark Leno, brings California statutory law into line with last June’s Supreme Court decision restoring the freedom to marry in California. References to “husband” and “wife” would be replaced with gender-neutral language such as “spouse” to recognize all married couples throughout California code.  Signed by the Gov.

LGBT Cultural Competency for Health Care Providers | AB 496
Clarifies that existing cultural competency training for health care providers should include discussion of LGBT issues. Also appoints an representative of the LGBT community to an existing task force on cultural competency for health care providers. Signed by Gov.

End the Panic Defense | AB 2501
AB 2501, authored by Assemblymember Susan Bonilla, would eliminate the so-called “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses, outrageous tactics used by defendants who claim their violent acts were triggered by the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Signed by Gov.
Respect After Death | AB 1577
AB 1577, the Respect After Death Act, authored by Assemblymember Toni Atkins, would make sure death certificates for transgender Californians accurately reflect their authentic, lived identity. Signed by Gov. Take effect July 1.
 
LOS ANGELES
   The story about the special Gay section of the Los Angeles Central Jail, the only such section in the US, attracted much comment (LA Weekly Dec 5 p6).
   WeHo has a noteworthy public art program with Art on the Outside showing in WeHo Park on Dec 6 12 noon-2p (The Game by Wang Delong), 2-4p on the Santa Monica Blvd median at Doheny (Abandoned Relics by Gustavo Godoy), and 4-6 p in the Santa Monica Blvd median at Holloway (Illumetric by Shana Mabari) (.LA Weekly Dec 5 p33).
   The alternative night scene was covered in LA Weekly Dec 5 p66;Dec 12 p63;Dec 19 p56;Dec 26 p45;Jan 2 p44)..
   Millionaire David Bohnett donated $20 million to the LA Philharmonic on Dec 10 (LAT Dec 11 D1; FILA Dec 25 p12).
   A protest against the ongoing mansionization of Beverly Grove in West Los Angeles featured a sign saying: “We have loud parties with Gay People” with the usual overtones of racism and elitism (LA Weekly Dec 12 p10).
  The Penis Chronicles , by Tom Yewell and directed by Randall Kleiser,  is extended to Jan 11 at the Coast Playhouse in WeHo
  Open LGBT canvassers were more effective at changing votes in favor of same sex marriage than heterosexual canvassers­NO SURPRISE! (LAT Dec 13 AA1).
   Gay mariachis was thought to be a redundant description, a response to an article on Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles (LA Weekly Dec 19 p8).
   Bill Kaiser, Juan Risuleo and Shane Que Hee attended a great Dec 21 performance at Theatre Asylum of The Santa Closet by Jeffrey Solomon (actor and writer) directed by Joe Brancato.  It was the one-man show to explain why Santa only appeared for Christmas and under duress because he was hiding a secret­guess what?  Some of the characters included Gay child Gary, his parents, Rudolf the Red/Purple nosed Reindeer, the chief elf, Santa’s male lover, Geppetto, Santa’s manager, and a right winger female leader modeled on Phyllis Schafly.  The transitions were hilarious.  We thought the ending could be more effective after the assassination attempt on Santa.  Solomon cofounded the New York City based Houses on the Moon Theatre Company in 2001 and is still its Artistic Co-Director, and he has also written Tara’s Crossing, De Novo, and the episode The Mural in City Kids.
   Former  USC Anthropology and Gender Studies Professor Walter Williams, 66, was sentenced in Los Angeles to 5 years for sex with minors overseas and has to pay seven victims $25,000 each (FILA Dec 25 p12).  He was arrested in Mexico in June 2013 after 2 years on the run after his USC “retirement” in 2011. He was an important activist in Cincinnati and Los Angeles, and wrote a popular book on the berdache.
   The AIDS Healthcare Foundation scored a victory Dec. 15 when the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Los Angeles County ordinance adopted by voters in 2012 requiring actors in porn shoots to wear condoms (FILA Dec 25 p13).. A bill that would have imposed the condom requirement statewide died in committee in the California Senate in August.
    There are 12 qualified candidates running in the Mar 3 local election for 3 seats on the West Hollywood City Council for four-year terms (FILA Dec 25 p`9). Mayor John D’Amico and Mayor Pro Tem John Heilman are seeking re-election; Abbe Land is not. The other candidates, as of Dec. 17, are John Allendorfer, Larry Block, Brian Funnagan, Joseph Guardarrama, Lindsey Horvath, Christopher T. Landavazo, James Duke Mason, Lauren Meister, Matthew Ralston and Tristan Schukraft. March 3 is also Primary Day for Los Angeles City Council elections, with the General Election runoffs taking place May 19. Longtime LGBT advocate Fred Mariscal is among 12 other people seeking to replace retiring Tom LaBonge in C.D. 4. If Mariscal wins, he would join out councilmembers Mike Bonin (C.D.11) and Mitch O’Farrell (C.D. 13), who are not up for re-election. The incumbent for L.A. City College Board of Trustees, Seat 5. is longtime LGBT ally Scott Svonkin, but he is opposed by former WeHo Mayor Steve Schulte, now an environmental science instructor. The WeHo City Council also decided to hold a special election on June 2 to fill the vacancy left after Councilmember Jeff Prang was elected L.A. County Assessor, instead of appointing someone to fill out his term. 
   The last party at Jewell’s Catch-One disco on Pico Blvd occurred on Dec 31 after 42 years. 
   Billionaire David Geffen has been stalked by his 21-yr old male footballer boy-toy ex (LAT Jan 1 AA2).
   The 1990 ACT-UP brief stoppage of the Rose Parade in Pasadena on Jan 1 1990 was noted in LAT Jan 1 AA2.
   Kinky Boots by Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein opened at the Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa to run through Jan 11 (LAT Jan 1 D10(photo)).
   Sheila Kuehl, newly elected LA County Supervisor, wants reforms to address abused and neglected children (LAT Jan 2 AA1).
Other: Doonesbury (LAT Dec 7 H1) foreshadowed a story line with a LGBT nephew of Gay character Zonker;

LGBT PASSINGS
   The LA Times Passings column for 2014 (LAT Dec 28 AA6) mentioned the deaths of Amira Baraka  (LeeRoi Jones ),79, on  Jan 9; poetess Maya Angelou, 86, on May 28, and actress Elaine Stritch, 89, on July 17. 
Film Sound Editor Thomas Small, 51, died of cancer on Nov 27 in Los Angeles.  He worked for Paramount, Sony, and 20^th Century Fox. He was nominated for  9 Golden Reel Awards, and won one in 1998 for his work on Titanic.  Some of his other films included: The Amazing Spider Man I and II; Star Trek; Pirates of the Caribbean; At World’s End; Mission Impossible I and II; The Italian Job; Lara Croft-Tomb Raider; Sleepy Hollow; and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  He was also associated with the AIDS Research Alliance, ASPCA, and Project Angel Food.
 
Psychologist Andrew Berner, 69, died on Dec 2 of lung cancer in Los Angeles, leaving his partner Marvin Haberman.  He attended Loyala High school and the U of San Francisco, and obtained an MA and PhD from Claremont Graduate University. He formerly directed clinical services for the Natl Council on Alcoholism of Orange County; a consultant to Hoag Memorial Hospital Chemical Dependence Center; and clinical preceptor at the Substance Abuse Counseling Center at El Toro Marine Corps Air station.  He was also adjunct Professor at Cal State Fullerton and IC Irvine.
 
Deshawnda Sanchez, 21, was the third transgender woman killed in SoCal since June. She  was shot at 4 a.m. on Dec  3.   There was a rally on Dec. 5, calling on police to investigate the murder as a hate crime.   
 
Businessman and Broadway producer Martin Massman, 67, died of cancer on Dec 6 in Los Angeles, leaving his partner Mike Hiles.  He, after graduation from USC, and his brother Bruce, founded M&B Mini Blinds in 1975 that the brothers sold in 1990. He founded Studio Movie Grill. On Broadway he produced Of Mice and Men, The Glass Menagerie, Buyer and Cellar, The Best Man, and Porgy & Bess. 
 
Dana Miller, 59, was found dead by his partner, Brody Robertson on Dec 9 in their Pasadena home.  He was a talent manager, producer and major checkbook activist for AIDS Project Los Angeles during the height of the AIDS crisis. He was a columnist for Frontiers and Frontiers INLA.  He regularly criticized Christopher Street West after every recent LGBT Pride parade in Frontiers INLA. He produced Toy Box every Christmas for APLA for 19 years. He knew Elizabeth Taylor (he produced some of her fundraisers), Elton John, and David Geffen. He helped AIDS Healthcare Foundation produce its Elizabeth Taylor tribute float in the 2011 New Year’s Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, the first time a gay or AIDS float appeared in the parade.
  
(Leelah) Josh Alcorn, 17, committed suicide by jumping in front of a semitrailer on the I-71 in South Lebanon near Cincinnati on Dec 28.  She was despondent on having to move out of her home, her differences with her right-wing parents, her lack of love prospects, and worrying about how to finance her college career. She knew she was different at age 4, came out to her unsympathetic mother at age 14, and who took her to Christian therapists, and refused any thought of transitioning surgery at age 16. She then came out at school, made friends, but her parents demanded she leave her school, give up her social media,  and have no sympathetic friends.  The parents recanted at the end of the school year but her friends gradually left her to be as alone as ever.
 
GREEN PARTY NEWS
 INTERNATIONAL
  Many countries are corrupt, with 2/3rds of the 175 sovereign countries scoring below 50% in corruption index (Time Dec 15 p14;  LAT Dec 3 A2). Denmark and New Zealand were the best two and North Korea and Somalia were both the worst. The US was the 17^th least corrupt.
  Ebola’s effects continued with 7,373 official dead and 19,031 more cases in the recent epidemic in Sierra Leone, Guinea (2,453 deaths and 1,550 more cases), and Liberia (LAT Dec 3 A19;Dec 4 A8;Dec 5 A19;Dec 7 A11;Dec 8 A7;Dec 11 A8;Dec 12 A24;Dec 13 A4;Dec 17 A17;Dec 18 A7;Dec 21 A9(2);Dec 24 A1;Dec 25 A14;Dec 26 A2;Dec 27 A2;Dec 29 A5;Dec 30 A4;Dec 31 A4;Jan 1 A4;Jan 4 A3,A16) as “The Ebola Fighters” were named Time Magazine’s Men of the Year (Time Dec 22 covers, p9,14, pp64-107,164). Another CDC lab worker in Atlanta was being monitored for the disease (LAT Dec 25 A14).
  Mexico is still grappling with the disappearance of 43 university students (LAT Dec 4 A1;Dec 7 A1,A7;Dec 9 A12;Dec 10 A1;Dec 27 A1).  In other countries, 6 have died in Mali, 8 in Nigeria, and 1 in the U.S. (LAT Dec 21 A9).
  Climate change continued to be news as 2014 continued to be the hottest year globally as well as at the negotiation table currently at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Lima Peru where most of the 190 nations there dragged their feet on wanting to curb their environmental emissions even after 12 days of being closeted together –finally agreeing grudgingly to submit their plans to lower emissions by Mar 31 2015 (Time Dec 29 p46;  LAT Dec 4 A3;Dec 5 A6;Dec 6 A1;Dec 7 A3,AA4;Dec 12 A4,A27;Dec14 A29;Dec 15 A4;Dec 16 AA4;Dec 22 A13;Dec 31 AA4;Jan 3 AA3).
  Internet piracy and freedom were hotly debated (LAT Dec 5 A18).
  European economic conditions have led to protests and political unrest, the latter especially in  Greece and Spain  (LAT Dec 7 A6;Dec 18 A8;Dec 30 A3).
  Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe won reelection 326 out of 475 seats in the Lower House in a landslide in a 52% turnout, the lowest since 1945, and retained the same composition of his cabinet except for adding a general as Defense Minister (LAT Dec 15 A3;Dec 25 A9).
  The announcement of normalization of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the U.S. came as a surprise (Time Dec 29 p11,12-15;    LAT Dec 18 A1(2), A6,A22,B1;Dec 19 A1,A7, A21 (cartoon);Dec 20 A4,A8;Dec 21 A4,A8,A26;Dec 22 A1;Dec 23 A3(2);Dec 25 A1;Dec 26 A2, D10;Dec 28 A21;  FILA Dec 25 p13)

NATIONAL
 Fines have been issued over nuclear waste mishaps in the nuclear waste dump at Carlsbad  New Mexico perpetrated by the Los Alamos National laboratory (LAT Dec 7 A8)
  Federal versus state rules on pot continued to roil the waters (Time Dec 29 p70,72;   LAT Dec 3 AA3;Dec 7 (Cal Magazine)p8;Dec 8 AA5;Dec 10 AA3;Dec 11 B1;Dec 16 A14;Dec 17 A11;Dec 18 AA5;Dec 19 A17;Dec 21 AA3;Dec 22 A8;Dec 24 AA1;Jan 4 A16).
  “Green diesel” is being tested by Boeing (LAT Dec 4 B4).
  Republicans mulled whether to shut down the government in view of their 54/100 seats in the Senate and no Democratic Senators in the Deep South [Carolinas to Texas] and just 3 amongst the 22 old Confederate states, two from Virginia and one from Florida as unemployment was 5.8%  (Time Dec 15 p11; LAT Dec 3 A9;Dec 4 A6;Dec 7 A8;Dec 9 A6;Dec 10 A17;Dec 12 A1).
A $1.1 trillion budget, 1,600 pages long, filled with pork, but good until Sep 2015 was eventually passed 219-206 by the House on Dec 11 with prodding by Obama and the Republicans, allowing the Senate to pass it 56-40 on Dec 13 , packed with more pork  with Obama signing it on Dec 16 before the Dec 20 adjournment (LAT Dec 12 A20;Dec 13 A1;Dec 14 A12;Dec 18 A12;Dec 21 A10;Dec 26 A21(plus cartoon);Dec 29 A1).  The Senate also confirmed the new Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, 51-43 , after months of wrangling as well as others (LAT Dec 16 A9;Dec 18 A12;Dec 21 A10).  The prospects with the new Congress were gloomily discussed in LAT Jan 1 A1,A17;Jan 4 A2,A14.

   In yet another case of police using excessive force, a New York jury on Dec  3 did not indict the white officer who applied a disputed prohibited chokehold on an unarmed asthmatic African-American, Eric Garner, 43 [“I Can’t Breathe”], during a scuffle in July (LAT Dec 4 A1,AA6;Dec 5 A5;Dec 10 A2;    Dec 14 A28;Dec 22 A8;Dec 23 A6(2),A12,A13;Dec 24 A6;Dec 26 A2;Dec 27 AA4;Jan 1 A2,AA4;  FILA Dec 25 p48).  Still reeling from the non-indictment of a white police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson on Aug 9 (Time Dec 15 p11;13, 16,26, Dec 22 pp110-114;  LAT Dec 4 A18,B2;Dec 5 A1,A2,A19(plus cartoon);Dec 8 A6,A13;Dec 9 AA4;Dec 11 AA4;Dec 12 A27;Dec 14 A19;Dec 16 AA6;Dec 17 A16;Dec 19 A12,AA2;Dec 24 AA5;Dec 26 A2;Dec 27 AA4;Dec 29 A6;Jan 1 A2;  Daily Bruin Dec 5 p4; Dec 11 p1,4;Dec 15 p1(also photo); SPLC Rep Winter p5(photo)), this provided grist for more demonstrations across the country. Demonstrations after the verdict were reported in New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.  This was in addition to the shooting death by a white policeman of a 12-year old African American boy, Tamir Rice, brandishing a toy gun in Cleveland on Nov 22  (LAT Dec 13 A7), and an “accidental” shooting-killing of Akai Gurley, 28, on Nov 20 in New York City. Another shooting death occurred on Dec 7 in Compton Los Angeles (LAT Dec 8 AA4). A jury in South Carolina on Dec 3 did indict a policeman for shooting dead in May 2011 of an unarmed African American (LAT Dec 5 A12). Nine police officers have accused the City of Cleveland of racial bias in a Nov 29 2012 incident that left 2 unarmed African Americans dead during a high speed chase (LAT Dec 7 A14). Marches of thousands in Washington DC (down Pennsylvania Ave), New York City (Washington Square then down 5^TH Avenue), and Los Angeles (some 200, starting at Pershing Square) against police brutality on Dec 13 were some of the nationwide protests (LAT Dec 14 A14,A27,AA5,AA8 (photo),AA9).  The New York City situation was made more complex by the shooting deaths of 2 New York Police Department officers and the suicide of the gunman on Dec 21 (LAT Dec 22 A8; Dec 23 A6(2),A12,A13;Dec 24 A6;Dec 25 AA3;Dec 26 A2;Dec 27 A8;Dec 28 A8;Dec 29 A9;Dec 30 A7;Dec 31 A7;Jan 1 A2;Jan 3 A8;Jan 4 A8). Another young African-American man, Antonio Martin, 18, was shot dead by a White policeman in Berkeley some 20 miles from Ferguson in Missouri on Dec 24, leading to scuffles (LAT Dec 25 A14;Dec 27 AA4;Dec 28 A12;Jan 1 A2). Some 29 were arrested in a violent protest in Oakland on Jan 1 (LAT Jan 2 AA2).
   Some 17 states have sued to stop Obama’s immigration actions in his Executive Order as a drop in deportations was reported, this being joined by 7 more states on Dec 10  (LAT Dec 4 A6;Dec 5 A12;Dec 8 AA1;Dec 9 A1,A2;Dec 10 A10,B2;Dec 11 A10;Dec 15 AA3;Dec 16 AA6;   Dec 17 AA3;Dec 18 A11;Dec 19 AA3;Dec 22 A8,A13;Dec 23 A1;Dec 24 A8;Dec 26 A2,AA5; Dec 27A10;Dec 28 A19;Dec 30 A2,A10;Dec 31 AA1;Jan 2 A14;Jan 3 A1;   SPLC Rep Winter p4;  FILA Dec 25 p48).
  ObamaCare induced 462,125 to sign up in the 1^st week of enrollment in November (Time Dec 15 p11,71;  LAT Dec 11 A16,B2;Dec 14 A1;Dec 16 B2;Dec 17 B3;Dec 24 B1;Dec 25 B1;Dec 26 A2;Dec 28 B1;Jan 2 AA1;Jan 3 AA1).
  Work may stop on the Keystone pipeline because oil prices are so low making it uneconomic (LAT Dec 16 A1).
  Gov Cuomo of New York state intends to ban fracking (LAT Dec 18 A24).
  Euthanasia is back in the headlines (LAT Dec 28 A20).
  Corporations having the same rights as individuals came up for discussion again (LAT Dec 31 A12).
   Death sentences are started to being commuted in Maryland (LAT Jan 1 A8).

CALIFORNIA
  The lack of a supermajority in the Assembly and state Senate was bewailed as the state faced a shrinking workforce and a shrinking voter percentage (31% of those registered), as state  unemployment was 7.3% in Oct and 7.2% in Nov, and as Gov Brown began a historic 4^th term ( (LAT Dec 4 A17 (cartoon),B1;Dec 7 AA2, AA4;Dec 20 A1;Jan 4 A1,A17)
  The recent rains have helped but drought still reigns (Time Dec 29 p11;   LAT Dec 3 A1,A18,AA2(2),B1;Dec 4 AA3,AA4;Dec 5 AA2,AA4;Dec 10 AA4;Dec 11 A1,AA1,B1;Dec 12 AA1,AA3;Dec 13 A1;Dec 14 AA3;Dec 15 AA1,AA2;Dec 19 A21,AA4;Dec 21 AA1;Dec 22 AA1;Dec 23 AA1;Dec 27 A1;Dec 28 AA4;Dec 29 AA4;Dec 30 A11;Dec 31 AA4;Jan 1 A17).
  Homeless colonies are being continually forced out of their encampments (LAT Dec 4 AA1).
  The UC Regents faced more criticism over their proposed fees increases (LAT Dec 11 A21, AA2;Jan 1 A17;  Daily Bruin Dec 4 p1).
  The state’s plastic bag ban for groceries is meeting resistance (LAT Dec 5 A18;Dec 16 AA4;Jan 1 AA1).
  The San Onofre nuclear power plant cleanup was hotly criticized by Laguna Beach residents who wanted the nuclear rods removed much faster than planned-35 years-to a naval base in Kern County (LAT Dec 10 AA8;Dec 21 AA4).
   The 2^nd stage of the bullet train project from San Francisco to Los Angeles with a train running at 220 mph, is underway with 65 miles of line from Fresno south to the Kern County line contracted out to be finished by 2017 and another 130 miles north of Fresno by 2018 (LAT Dec 12 AA4;Dec 14 AA1;Dec 18 A23(cartoon);Dec 20 AA4;Dec 22 AA1).
   The state has agreed to release more minimum-custody inmates to relieve jail crowding (LAT Dec 13 AA1;Dec 14 AA1;Dec 28 AA1;Dec 29 A13).
  Cap and Trade is working for Indian tribes (LAT Dec 16 AA1).
  Corruption in California government agencies was published by the California State Auditor on Dec 24 (LAT Dec 25 AA4). Some items included: embezzling funds from recycling; holding 2 full-time jobs; excessive travel expenses; losing state property by improper inventory; and lack of followthrough on previous violations.
   Opposition against Prop 13 has surfaced again (LAT Dec 29 AA1).

LOS ANGELES
  Only 31% of registered voters in LA County actually voted in the Nov election (LAT Dec 7 AA2;Dec 31 A13).
  The Ballona Wetlands project to build a $50 million visitor center has been scrapped but restoration goals have not (LAT Dec 3 AA3).
   Plans to ban the growth of GMOs within the city limits have been delayed, the LA Times criticized the ban, and Biotechnology Industry Organization lobbyists eroded the previously firm support (LAT Dec 9 AA3;Dec 11 A20;Dec 29 AA1).
    A new lawsuit has been filed against the Exide secondary lead smelter in Vernon (LAT Dec 23 AA3).
  LA Mayor Garcetti has called for buildings to be retrofitted against earthquakes as flack over the minimum wage also arose  and as Los Angeles’s $8.1 billion budget was discussed as was voter apathy because only 23% of those registered actually voted in local elections (LAT Dec 9 A1,A12;Dec 17 AA3;Dec 24 AA1;Dec 26 B1;Dec 27 A1;Dec 31 A13).
   Gangs continued to be troublesome (LAT Dec 3 AA4;Dec 11 A1;Dec 19 AA2;Dec 28 AA1).
   LAPD Chief Beck acknowledged that the Dec 13 shooting of an unarmed man, Brian Beaird, 51, by 3 officers after a chase violated LAPD policies and the City of Los Angeles paid his family $5 million in settlement (LAT Dec 4 AA1).  More reforms were discussed (LAT Dec 17 A1(2);Dec 18 A22;Dec 26 A1;Dec 27 AA1;Dec 31 A1) as more lawsuits were filed against the LAPD (LAT Dec 20 AAA5) and as the much delayed Edsell Ford autopsy report was  still awaited (LAT Dec 29 AA3)  That report was released on Dec 29, and detailed how there were 3 shots, one in the back, that contributed to the death of the unarmed and mentally-ill Ford, 25, on Aug 11 (LAT Dec 30 A1;Jan 3 AA1).  Protests immediately followed (LAT Dec 30 A1;Jan 3 AA1).
   The Orange County District Atty ruled that the killing of a 22-yr old mentally ill San Clemente hairdresser man by 2 Newport Beach police officers on May 29 was justified because the man  was running at the two with a metal hook (LAT Dec 12 AA4).
   A man struck by a LA County Sheriff’s deputy in a Maywood parking lot on Nov 23 2010 was awarded $900,000 by a jury (LAT Dec 13 AA6). Another LA County Sheriff’s deputy was given 18 months jail for obstruction of justice (LAT Dec 16 AA3). A civil jury awarded $8 million in damages to the family (wife and 5 children) of a man who died on Aug 15 2012 after his Aug 3 2012 arrest in which he was punched, kicked, tased, choked and suffocated by LA County deputies in Compton (LAT Jan 1 AA3). Violent crime (<70,000) decreased by 4% and homicides (148) decreased by 11% in 2014 relative to 2013 in LA County (LAT Jan 2 AA1).  There was a call to replace the County Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles (LAT Jan 4 A15).
   Corruption continued to be uncovered and tried (LAT Dec 4 AA4).
   County Supervisors sound ready to oversee the new Sheriff and opted for civilian oversight (LAT Dec 5 AA1;Dec 10 A1,A18,AA3).
   Transit problems continued and with a fatal shooting at the Artesia metro station and a train collision death on Jan 2 (LAT Dec 7 AA1;Dec 8 AA1;Dec 9 AA2;Dec 10 AA2;Dec 13 AA2,AA3;Dec 14 AA3;Dec 27 AA3;Jan 1 A17;Jan 3 AA3).
   Hundreds of marchers thronged Hollywood Blvd on Dec 6 to protest the killing of unarmed African Americans Michael Brown and Eric Garner in an action termed Blackout Hollywood (LAT Dec 7 AA5).  They also protested the LAPD officer killing of White man in a theatrical suit armed with a toy pocket knife on Dec 5 as they marched from Hollywood/Argyle to Hollywood/Chinese Theatre. A march of some 200 starting at Pershing Square against police brutality on Dec 13 also occurred (LAT Dec 14 A14,A27,AA5,AA8 (photo),AA9).  Pouring rain did not deter more than 250 attorneys, law students and others from staging a “die-in” on the steps of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 16 (FILA Dec 25 p12). Some 5 arrests occurred on Dec 19 in the Hollywood/Highland march to Hollywood/LA Brea protest involving 50 protestors (LAT Dec 21 AA10). Hundreds marched on Dec 27 in the Millions March for 1st Amendment Rights on Beverly Blvd (LAT Dec 28 AA9(photo)). The publication of the Edsell Ford autopsy report on Dec 29 caused protestors to gather at Leimert Park and in front of LAPD Headquarters generated by 1 of the 3 shots being in the back (LAT Dec 30 A1;Jan 3 AA1). Some blocked the 110 Freeway and also the intersection of Martin Luther King Blvd/Crenshaw. Some shots were fired at a police cruiser in South LA with 2 men being apprehended (LAT Dec 30 AA1;Dec 31 AA3;Jan 1 AA2;Jan 3 AA7).
   Use of drones by the LAPD was protested on Dec 9 outside the downtown LAPD Station (LAT Dec 10 AA3(photo)).
   The homeless were still a hotly debated focus (LAT Dec 15 AA1;Dec 24 AA1).
   Safety in County LA jails was discussed (LAT Dec 17 A16,AA3).
   Wages for workers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach were still hot topics (LAT Dec 23 B3;Dec 26 B1).
   A LA Weekly cartoonist drew interesting prison scenarios during her 2-month stay in the women’s division of LA County jail system (LA Weekly Jan 2 pp 11-17).
 
OUT AGAINST WAR
   On Dec 10, Out attended 2 demos.  Bill Kaiser, John O’Brien and Shane Que Hee were at the LA Times Building at 5p to protest how it mistreated its own reporter Gary Webb.  What was strange was that at 5:30p some 85% of the 21 in attendance disappeared to attend their party meeting.  Then at 6:30p in front of the nearby Police Department building on 3^rd street, some 75 celebrated International Human Rights Day organized by the Marin Luther King Jr Coalition’s  Kwazi Nkrumah. After an array of speakers who decried what happened in New York City, Ferguson, Los Angeles, and Cleveland relative to Dr Martin Luther King’s travails, the crowd silently dispersed.
     Ten cities (Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Istanbul, London, Philadelphia, Rome, San Francisco, Venice, Vancouver) celebrated Chelsea Manning’s 27^th birthday on Dec 17 http://www.refusingtokill.net/Chelsea%20Manning/Happy%20Brday%20Chelsea%202014%20CALENDAR.htm   Chelsea’s birthday message is appended. Some greetings from notable are at: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/16/-sp-dear-chelsea-manning-birthday-messages-from-edward-snowden-terry-gilliam-and-more?item=nav7
 
    Out Against War has decided to organize a anti-corporate solidarity rally in front of Raytheon, 299 N Euclid in Pasadena on Sat Feb 14 12 noon-2p on the theme Make Love Not War-Protest the Merchants of Death.  We ask for endorsements at oa...@hotmail.com for this protest against the 7^th  largest supplier of death weapons to the US government.  More logistics will follow.



Apologies to those looking for international war news.  Had computer problems.

OCCUPY
INTERNATIONAL
   The Occupy movement morphed in Hong Kong to a tent city to defy the Chinese Communist authorities for over 2 months encompassing 300 arrests, as its leaders shooed its followers away and surrendered to the authorities (Time Dec 15 p15;  LAT Dec 3 A5;Dec 4 A1;Dec 7 A6;Dec 10 A1;Dec 12 A2,A3;Dec 14 A2).

   A discussion sparked by Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous by Gabriella Coleman appeared in LAT Dec 21 B3 about Anonymous, the international organization whose members wear Guy Fawkes masks, that prioritizes collective action over individual action, and does not believe in one-person leadership.  Countries covered included Australia, the U.S., Canada, Tunisia, Britain, and Iraq. 

NATIONAL
   The Republicans rolled back Dodd-Frank banking reforms (passed to limit recession related bank excesses) in the current House budget negotiations (LAT Dec 11 B1). 
   The gap in wealth between Whites and minorities is the greatest in the US since 1989 with Whites having a median household wealth 13 times that of Blacks and 10 times that of Latinos in 2013  (LAT Dec 13 B5).  There is also a wealth gap between upper middle income and middle middle class incomes (LAT Dec 18 B2).
   The former corporate Board whistleblower in the Bank of America mortgage fraud that required it to pay $16.7 billion in settlement also reaped $57 million in the settlement (LAT Dec 18 B2).
   The tax differential between who work and people who live off the earnings of their investments was decried in LAT Dec 26 A21. A family that makes $150,000 from 2 wage owners will pay 3 times as much tax as a 2 family non-working investor making the same total.  That is fundamentally biased.  From the New Deal with its limit to profits to the beginning of Bill Clinton’s reign as President, the two paid about the same taxes. By the end of the Clinton era, the couple who invested would have paid 1/3rd less tax. In 2014, the investment couple would pay 1/3 rd the tax of the working couple. Some investors now pay more in their state income taxes than they do in federal taxes. The federal tax code has no tax on capital gains or qualifying dividends for people in the 15% income tax bracket. Both Dems and Republicans have made this situation worse since Clinton started as President.
    Wage stagnation has put the squeeze on working families hence the urgency of the minimum raise movement (LAT Dec 28 B1).  The median worth of upper income families is $639,400 in 2013 some 7 times the median income for the lower end. Boeing, Ford, Chevron, Citigroup. Verizon Communications, JP Morgan Chase,  and General Motors each paid their CEIs more than what each had to pay in Federal taxes, and now CEOs make 350 times what the average worker makes.

LAVENDER GREENS MISSION STATEMENT(June 24 2003): 
The National Lavender Green Caucus (NLGC) is the Green Party's advocacy group on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (GLBTIQ) issues. NLGC works for the elimination of heterosexism and all its manifestations such as homophobia, violence, prejudice, and injustice against GLBTIQ communities. NLGC also works for the elimination of racism and sexism and all their manifestations in GLBTIQ communities and in society as a whole, and our work is centered in ten key values and four pillars of the Green Party of the United States. The caucus recognizes that freedom and social justice for GLBTIQ individuals will only come with the liberation of all people, and we actively view ourselves as a part of a broader movement for social justice.

EVENTS:
ANTIWAR VIGILS: Fridays 5-7p at Vista Theater at Sunset Blvd./Hollywood Bl./Hillhurst Av./Virgil Av. junction; Echo Park, intersection of Glendale/Alvarado, S of the #2 freeway entrance; 5-6p at Pico/La Cienega; 6.30-7.30p at Mar Vista Park at Palms/McLaughlin; Topanga Fri 4:30-5:30p Pine Tree Center, 120 S Topanga Canyon Blvd; Costa Mesa Fri 5-7p Bristol/ Anton;
ARLINGTON WEST MEMORIAL AT SANTA MONICA PIER BEACH: Sundays until Troops Come Home, 7:30-9:30a to 6:00-7:00 p at Santa Monica Pier (North Side)
OCCUPY LOS ANGELES GENERAL ASSEMBLIES, Have shut down. https://www.facebook.com/occupyLA; Occupy Fights Foreclosures meets Sun 2-6p Dennys,,530 Ramirez St, behind Union Station  occupyfightsforeclosures.org 
OCCUPY VENICE GENERAL ASSEMBLIES, Still meeting, 681 Venice Blvd, Mon 8p  https://www.facebook.com/OccupyVeniceCA
HELP CHELSEA MANNING: Sign the Chelsea Manning Presidential pardon at http://pardon.privatemanning.org
Write a letter for clemency for Chelsea Manning. Directions and information are at  
http://www.privatemanning.org/featured/write-a-letter-supporting-pvt-mannings-request-for-clemency . 
We also recommend general support of Trayvon Martin and all actions aimed at excessive police force such as at Ferguson, New York, and Los Angeles and of anti-Syria and -Iraq War related actions.
 
Sun Jan 11 Close Guantanamo, Pacific Palisades Park nr Santa Monica Pier,12 noon-3p followed by 5-6p Beverly Hilton silent vigil, Wilshire/Santa Monica Blvd to picket the Golden Globes..
 
Sat/Sun Jan 24-25, GPCA General Assembly, Monterey.  http://www.cagreens.org/ga/2015-01/

Sat Feb14 12 noon-2p Make Love Not War: Protest the Merchants of Death:  Raytheon, 299 N Euclid, Pasadena.  Spread the word.  Bring yourselves, friends, banners, flyers, noisemakers, energy.