LA LGBT GREENS-OUT AGAINST WAR NEWSLETTER MARCH 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  MARCH 2015  Volume 15  #3

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SAME SEX MARRIAGE
  Friction among the court cases pending before the Supreme Court on same sex marriage has arisen (FILA Feb 5 p16;Feb 19 pp14-15;Mar 5 pp11-12).
  The religious exemption to same sex marriage is gaining in popularity (LAT Feb 6 A13).
  Alabama’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop same sex marriage failed so licenses were allowed on Feb 9 but a new ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court stopped the marriages on Mar 3 (Time Feb 23 p14;  LAT Feb 9 A8;Feb 10 A1(2),A10;Feb 11 A6;Feb 13 A9;Feb 14 A12;Feb 15 A24;Mar 4 A9;   USA Today Weekend Feb 13-15 2A).
  The 1^st same sex marriage occurred in Texas between Sarah Goodfriend, 58, and Suzanne Bryant, 63, her partner of 30 years, with an appeal launched  (LAT Feb 20 A1; Feb 21 A8; Feb 27 A15(cartoon)).
   On Feb 25, caregiver rights of up to 12 weeks were agreed to by the Department of Labor (LAT Feb 26 C2).
  Other: FILA Feb 5 p64;Mar 5 p14; Time Feb 23 p9
 
 
LGBT  NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
   The film The Imitation Game, with 8 Oscar nominations, and starring best actor nominee Benedict Cumberbatch as father of the computer Alan Turing, appeared to lose hype because of its in-your-face campaign in the run up to the Oscars (Time Feb 23 pp98-99;Mar 9 p54,62; LAT Feb 5 S33,S36;Feb 19 E1(2);Feb 20 E8;Feb 22 E11,Parade p2;Feb 24 E9; FILA Feb 19 p44-47,64;Mar 5 p56).  Cumberbatch did not win for Best Actor at the Oscars on Feb 22, but Graham Moore won the best adapted screenplay Oscar. It did win the USC Libraries Scripter Award for best adapted screenplay for Graham Moore who shared the award with writer Andrew Hodges of the Turing biography Alan Turing: The Enigma, Andrew Hodges (LAT Feb 5 E4). It also won the Writers Guild of America’s Award for Best Adapted screenplay at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on Feb 15 (LAT Feb 16 E7; FILA Feb 19 p12).  Neil Patrick Harris, the Oscar host­who at one stage stripped down to his skivvies-, was at the nominees’ luncheon at the Beverly Hilton on Feb 2 as a practice for the Feb 22 awards (LAT Feb 3 E6; Feb 12 S6;Feb 17 E1;Feb 22 E13 (photo),Parade p2;Feb 24 A10,E4(plus photo)).   Elton John and the 23^rd Elton John Viewing Party were also mentioned (LAT Feb 24 E6).  Journalist Glenn  Greenwald referred to “really brave whistleblowers such as Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, and  Edward Snowden” at the Spirit Awards on Feb 21 in Los Angeles for Best Documentary for CitizenFour (LAT Feb 22 A3).  The documentary also won an Oscar for Best Documentary on Feb 22. Director Laura Poitras spoke and Greenwald accompanied her on stage along with Mathidle Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutsky (LAT Feb 22 E6;Feb 24 E4). As the party left the stage, Neil Patrick Harris quipped “The subject of Citizen Four, Edward Snowden, could not be here for some treason”, a sally protested later by the Director, but laughed off by Edward Snowden who thought it was funny.  The impact of Gay designer Tom Ford on Oscar night fashion was examined in LAT Feb 22 P6,P7.
    Openly-Gay British singer-songwriter Sam Smith, 22, is being successful in the U.S.  (6 Grammy nominations) parlaying his Gay experiences and perspectives in spite of the homophobic comments of Howard Stern (LAT Feb  8 F1). He won Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Stay With Me (about his breakup with his male lover), and New Artist, that is, 3 of the top 4 awards (LAT Feb 9 A1,E1,E6(2);Feb 10 E3;Mar 3 E3; FILA Feb 19 p12). He is the 1^st openly Gay singer-songwriter to win a Grammy.  He also won best pop vocal album award for In the Lonely Hour.
    A new gene therapy approach to prevent HIV infection is being explored (LAT Feb 19 A13).
    Tennis (March/April) p4 remarked on  there being more female coaches now, for example, Amelie Mauresmo for Andy Murray,  and Martina Navratilova for Aga Radwanska.
    Pope Francis was given an “incomplete” for his stance on sex abuse by his priests among other things (Time Mar 16 pp18-19).

NATIONAL
   The battle for LGBT civil rights has still a long way to go (LAT Feb 15 A26;Feb 19 p13).
   The AIDS death rate in African Americans has declined, dropping 28% between 2008 and 2012 but were still 1.5 times more likely to die in 2012 than Whites and 3.2 times more likely than Latinos, and accounted for 44% of the new HIV infections, 43% of those living with HIV, 48% of those who died of AIDS, 15% of the case being unaware they were infected, and with 23% not being treated  (LAT Feb 7 A3).  HIV transmission and irrational thoughts about it were depicted in Out Mar p68
    Kansas removed its protections for its LGBT citizens (LAT Feb 11 A6).
    Openly Gay Star Trek star George Takei will make his Broadway debut in the musical Allegiance in Nov (LAT Feb 6 E2). The musical is about Takei’s memories of  US Japanese internship camps during World War II, and he plays a veteran reminiscing about his youth. Takei complimented Leonard Nimoy’s humanity on the latter’s death (FILA Mar 5 p12).
    Langston Hughes was featured in The Selected Letters of Langston Hughes compiled by Arnold Rampersad, David Roussel, and Christa Fratantoro (LAT Feb  8 F1).  His sexuality was hardly mentioned.
    Kate Brown, formerly Oregon Secretary of State, became the 1^st openly LGBT governor of a U.S. state when she succeeded former Gov Kitzhaber who resigned because of improper financial conduct (LAT Feb 19 A1).  She is openly bisexual with her husband, Dan Little.
    Former national power broker in Congress, Barney Frank, now bearded, was interviewed in LAT Feb 25 A15.  Predictably he was proud he was the 1^st member of Congress to be in a same sex marriage while a Congressman, bruiting socialism with a small s, reduced military spending, Ralph Nader scapegoating, Republican Party bashing, pro-marijuana, and pragmatism.
   An impromptu #TransLivesMatter demonstration on Feb. 6 by trans activists­led by Los Angeles-based TransLatin@ Coalition founder Bamby Salcedo­ energized 4,000 attendees of Creating Change Annual Conference of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force in Denver (FILA Feb 19 p11).  The whole place was screaming and cheering and chanting about Jessie Hernandez­‘Jessie Presente!’”  Hernandez was a 16-year-old trans Latina shot to death on Jan. 26 by Denver police in what the police chief later said was a “justified” shooting. The protesters decried the “epidemic” of violence against trans people. NGTLF’s current budget is about $8 million and it employs 41 people.
    LGBT rappers and hip-hoppers were discussed in FILA Feb 19 p48.
    Millionaire David Geffen’s %100 million gift to New York’s Lincoln Center (LAT Mar 5 E2) brought a whine from the LA Times’ music critic Mark Swed  (LAT Mar 6 E1).
    Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign and Bamby Salcedo of the TransLatin@ Coalition were recognized as civil rights leaders in LAT Mar 6 A14.
    The post office has revealed that it will issue a postage stamp for poetess/authoress Maya Angelou who died in 2014 (LAT Mar 6 E2).

CALIFORNIA
      San Francisco Roman Catholic Archbishop Cordileone has imposed morality clauses that include anti-LGBT actions on teachers, staff and administrators at the 4 high schools under his control prompting protests from students, parents and progressive Catholics (LAT Feb 12 A1).
He plans to march against same-sex marriage in Washington DC too.
   The state Republican party, to much dissent, considered whether to officially recognize the Log Cabin Republicans as a bona-fide charter organizational member according to its leader Charles Moran (LAT Mar 1 B4;  FILA Mar 5 p14).  The final vote was overwhelmingly in favor (LAT Mar 2 A1;Mar 3 A10). Signs of movement began when Republican candidate for Governor against Jerry Brown, Neel Kashkari, became the 1^st Republican state-wide candidate to march in the San Francisco LGBT Parade in 2014. Assemblyman Rocky Chavez supports same sex marriage. Log Cabin has complete California coverage with delegates from all Republican districts.

LOS ANGELES
  Los Angeles County will decrease its support of AIDS/HIV patients because some will be supported through ObamaCare, this leading to another clash with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (LAT Feb 11 B3;   FILA Feb 19 p13).
 The alternative night scene was covered (LA Weekly Feb 6 p52;Feb 13 p59;Feb 20 p53;Feb 27 p49. Mar 6 p45).
  LA Weekly’s review of Dame Edna’s Glorious Goodbye  (The Farewell Tour) involved terms like the audience was “abused”, and was “masochistic” and she (Barry Humphries, 80) was described as “a living, rampaging cartoon legend”, and  “a monument to imperious self-satisfaction and gratuitous cruelty” (LA Weekly Feb 6 p34).  The show at the Ahmanson Theatre ends on Mar 15. Shades of Julian Entinge. FILA Mar 5 p57 thought the show was a hoot!
   The Pan African Film Festival documentary In Full Bloom: Transcending Gender directed by Michael Brewer and a play within a play involves 13 transgenders and 2 Gay males (LAT Feb 5 E2).  Another documentary, Out in the Night, tells the story of 4 African-American Lesbians in New Jersey defending themselves against the assault of a homophobic African-American street vendor in Aug 2006 and how the media of the day took the side of the vendor trumpeting “The Attack of the Killer Lesbians” (LA Weekly Feb 6 p38). The festival ran through Feb 16 at the Rave Cinemas in Baldwin Hills.
   Anti-LGBT sentiment still pervades Little Saigon (LAT Feb 6 B1).
   The WeHo City Council race with its 14 candidates and flying lawsuits for 3 open seats heated up (LAT Feb 7 B1; FILA Feb 19 p13).  The eavesdropping and subsequent internet broadcasting by the aide of John Duran (Ian Owens) of donor details for John Heilman, both of them being Gay, added more juicy details as tales of being sexually spurned and whistleblowing filled the air (LAT Feb 17 B1;Feb 18 B3; Mar 3 B3;Mar 5 B6).  On election night, John D’ Amico (1,892) headed the vote, followed by Lauren Meister (1,750) with Lindsey Horvath (1,692) edging out incumbent John Heilman by 28 votes in a 16% registered voter turnout.
   The openly–Gay composer John Corigliano’s 1991 opera The Ghosts of Versailles was performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion through Mar 1 and conducted by James Conlon (LAT Feb 28 E1;  LA Weekly Feb13 p43).
   Brokeback Mountain returned at the Egyptian Theatre on Feb 13 and The Kiss of the Spider Woman  at the Wyler Theatre on Feb 14 (LA Weekly Feb13 p45).
   Drag classical ballet is rather rare, in spite of the Trocaderos, and was featured in the piece The Watershed in the person of its choreographer Kyle Abraham in Abraham.In.Motion, a 10-member multiracial company, at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Feb 13 (LAT Feb 14 E10). Same sex duets also punctuated the history of the oppression of Black people.
    A moot court at UCLA’S Williams Institute debated LGBT discrimination with 42 teams from across the U.S. competing (Daily Bruin Feb 17 p1).
  A second year medical student, David Lyons, wants changes in LGBT health care (Daily Bruin Feb 20 p1). He is the Co-Chair of the Annual Southern California LGBT Health Conference, held this year at USC on Feb 21.  Mike Haymer, a 3^rd year medical student, is an advisor and helped organize a similar conference in Spring 2013.
   1984 Olympic gold medal wrestler Mark Schultz, 54, the model for the Channing Tatum Character in the 2015 Oscar nominated film Foxcatcher, was alleged to have had a same sex liaison with rich philanthropist John du Pont who also murdered Mark’s 1984 Gold Medal wrestler brother Dave in 1996 (LAT Feb 20 A1).
   An exhibition by Daniela Comeni of gender bending movie posters where the titles and some movie stars have their genders reversed was at the Charlie James Gallery (LAT Feb  22  F2).  Some examples: The Postwoman Always Rings Twice starring Johanna Garfield; Queen Kong.
   Henry Rollins in his LA Weekly Feb 27 p44 column expanded why he was no trouble with a person’s sexual orientation.
   The parents of Tyler Clementi, an 18-yr old Rutgers student violinist who suicided in fall 2010, after he found his roommate had videotaped his sexual encounter with a male and broadcast it all over the internet, were in Los Angeles for the performance of Heartstrings by the Feb 28 Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles based on the incident (LAT Feb 28 E3).
     The Transgender Day of Action on Mar 3 was celebrated in the UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center by a Candlelight vigil and a protest an Meyerhof Park to demand a safer campus for transgenders (Daily Bruin Mar 4 p1).
 
Other: Prickly City LAT Feb 25 E13 (George Takei);

LGBT PASSINGS
    Manual Bautista, 67, died in Vail Colorado while skiing on Feb 3, leaving his husband, Rick Gallant who married in 2013, but met in 1985..  He was a Filipino who attended Yale University School of Medicine 1971-75, did his residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, and then was an emergency ward surgeon at Lawrence General Hospital 1975-1993. The two moved to California in 1993 and Manny practiced with Janzen, Johnston & Rockwell Emergency Medical Group at White Memorial Hospital in East Los Angeles until his retirement in 2012.  They then purchased a Vail condo to complement their Los Angeles home on the Sunset Strip.
    Radical Faerie John Roberts died Feb 14 of neuropathy of AIDS in  Minnesota.  He had a Cockette lover, Wally.
   Singer Lesley Gore, 68, known for her song It’s My Party (1963) and You Don’t Own Me (1963) died on Feb 16 in New York of cancer, leaving her partner of 33 years, Lois Sasson, a jeweller.  Her real name was Lesley Sue Goldstein. She studied English at Sarah Lawrence College, New York, where she also did stage roles.  She was Pussycat to Catwoman in the campy Batman TV series.  She returned to singing in 1975 with the album Immortality.  She was nominated for an Oscar for her song Out Here on My Own that she wrote with her brother, Michael, for the film, Fame (1980).  Her most recent album was the 2005 Ever Since.
    Artist John Borozan, 89, died in San Fernando Valley on Feb 16, being predeceased by his long-time partner, Chuck Bowdlear.
    Float designer Raul Rodriguez, 71, died of cardiac arrest on Feb 18 in Pasadena, Los Angeles, leaving his long-time partner, Robert Cash.  He designed some 500 floats in the Pasadena Rose Parade since 1960 with some 30 Sweepstakes trophies. He did designs also for Las Vegas hotel/casinos.  He graduated from Cal State Long Beach and served 2 years in the army.  He was too ill to build floats in 2015.
   Comedian, producer, actor, and writer Harris Wittels, 30, died of an overdose on Feb 19 in Los Angeles.  He was an alternative stand-up comedian and also appeared in such TV shows as Parks & Recreation.  He published his memoir Humblebrag in 2012, and appeared on such podcasts as You Make It Weird.  Ge was also a writer on The Sarah Silverman Program of 2007.
   Nicholas Maravich, 65, died of cancer on Feb 19 in Yucaipa, leaving his spouse of 32 years, Owen.  They worked at AT&T for 23 years., transferred to Minneapolis, Kansas City and retired back to Los Angeles in 2007.
    Rev Malcolm Boyd, 91, of the LGBT Episcopal, group Integrity, died of pneumonia on Feb 27 in Los Angeles, leaving his lover of nearly 30 years, author/therapist Mark Thompson.  During Hollywood’s Golden Age, he worked as a producer and business partner of Silent Screen icon, Mary Pickford (from 1949) and a consultant to Cecil B De Mille for The Ten Commandments. In 1951, he decided to become an Episcopal priest, and was ordained in 1955.  He marched with King at Selma and conducted a sit-in mass at the Pentagon for peace.  He is probably best known as the author of 30 books, including Are You Running With Me, Jesus? of 1965, his 1969 memoir  As I live and Breathe, and Take off The Masks of 1977 just after he came out in 1976. He was shunned by all his clerical “friends” but a few after his coming out.  He was canon at St. Augustine by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Monica (appointed 1982), and ministered to PWAs from the beginning of the AIDS epidemic when other priests refused to do so.   In later years after his retirement from the clergy, he was writer-in-residence at the Cathedral Center of St Paul, which is the site of his memorial service on Mar 21 at 2p. He participated in the major LGBT Marches on Washington (1979, 1987, 1993).  He and Mark, were married in July 2013, and went through an unofficial marriage in 2004. The documentary, Malcolm Boyd: Disturber of the Peace by Andrew Thomas will be released soon.
 
 
GREEN PARTY NEWS
 INTERNATIONAL
   US/Cuba relations are being negotiated (Time Feb 23 p9,13(2);  LAT Feb 3 A3;Feb 7 A1;Feb 11 A12; Feb 17 A1).
   Problems continued in Venezuela with an attempted coup and arrest of the mayor of Caracas (Time Mar 9 p10; LAT Feb 6 A5;Feb 13 A4;Feb 21 A4;Mar 3 A4).
   Ebola Vaccines are being tested (Time Feb 16 p9;  LAT Feb 3 A4;Feb 17 A3(photo);Mar 2 A7, B2;Mar 3 A4,A7;Mar 6 A3).
   European Economic troubles continued especially with the newly elected radical lefitist Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and a 4-month extension of Greece’s bailout payment deadline as the Euro dropped into parity with the US dollar (Time Feb 16 p9;Feb 23 p12;Mar 9 p10  LAT Feb 6 A4;Feb 12 A4;Feb 13 A4; Feb 15 A8;Feb 17 A4;Feb 21 A3; Feb 22 A4;Feb 24 A4; Feb 25 A3; Feb 28 C5;Mar 7 C2; Daily Bruin  Feb 27 p2).
   Climate change still had naysayers (LAT Feb  8 B1;Feb 11 A8,B4;Feb 28 A14;Mar 5 B2;Mar 6 A17).
   The Trans Pacific Partnership was criticized in LAT Feb  8 C1;Mar 3 A11.
   The missing 43 students in Mexico continued to raise questions (LAT Feb 14 A4;Feb 24 A3).
   The aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear spill during the March 2011 earthquake/tsunami continued (LAT Feb 18 A5).

NATIONAL
   Obama’s $4 trillion budget (15% to the Pentagon) with its $474 deficit included increases for higher education, Los  Angeles light rail transit projects,  extension of BART to San Jose, San Diego light rail projects, and higher taxes for the wealthy and ending sequestration measures as Jan unemployment was 5.7% and that in Feb was 5.5% Wwith the US trade deficit falling to $41.8 billion (LAT Feb 3 A1,A6,A10,A11;Feb 4 A8, A15;Feb 6 A19;Feb 7 C1;Feb 13 A17;Feb 15 A11,A26;Feb 20 A15;Feb 22 A25;Feb 25 A2;Feb 26 A8,A15;Feb 27 A6;Feb 28 A6;Mar 1 A1;Mar 2 A7;Mar 3 A7;Mar 4 A6;Mar 7 C1,C2;  Daily Bruin Feb 3 p1)
  Some 25% of people in the US were worried about money most of the time (LAT Feb 7 B2).
  Police shootings continued (LAT Feb 4 A6;Mar 3 A10).
   Republicans still want to repeal ObamaCare (LAT Feb 4 A10;Feb 5 A8;Feb 10 C3;Feb 12 C1; Feb 13 C4;Feb 14 C3;Feb 15 B3;Feb 16 A1;Feb 18 C2;Feb 26 A1;Feb 27 A15;Mar 2 A5;Mar 3 C1; Mar 4 A12,C1;Mar 5 A1;Mar 7 A14;  FILA Feb 5 p16).
   Immigration reform continued to splutter (LAT Feb 10 A1;Feb 17 A6,B1;Feb 18 A1,A2,A8, A10,B4;Feb 19 A7,A15(2 plus cartoon);Feb 20 A2;Feb 21 A1,B1;Feb 24 A6(2);Feb 24 B5;Feb 25 B3;Feb 27 A15;  Daily Bruin Feb 20 p2).
  The race to fill Barbara Boxer’s Senate seat has engendered some heat with Kamala Harris the only official aspirant but with others like Antonio Villaraigosa mulling it over and declining the race on Feb 24 (LAT Feb 4 B1;Feb 5 B1;Feb 6 B4;Feb 12 B1;Feb 15 B2;Feb 16 B1;Feb 18 B4; Feb 19 B1(2);Feb 25 A1;Feb 26 B1;Feb 27 A1;Feb 28 B4;Mar 4 B4; Daily Bruin Feb 27 p2).
   Pot still caused dissension (Time Mar 16 p11;  LAT Feb 6 B4;Feb 7 A7;Feb 18 B4;Feb 25 A8;Feb 26 A15;Feb 27 A7;Feb 28 B7;  FILA Feb 5 p48).
  Ferguson, New York and Los Angeles and their police shootings still continued to rankle as more such incidents continued and as the federal government decided not to prosecute the officer who shot Michael Brown but also decided that Ferguson police violated Black’s rights with Brown’s parents suing instead (Time Feb 23 p15;  LAT Feb 10 A5;Feb 12 B3;Feb 18 A7;Feb 22 B3;Mar 3 A6;Mar 4 A1,B6;Mar 5 A7, A12;Mar 6 A1,A2,A12,B5;Mar 7 A6;   USA Today Weekend Feb 13-15, 2A; Daily Bruin Mar 6 p3,4).  Racism has grown subtler since Selma (LAT Mar 7 B1).
   Benzene has been found in fracking waste at 700 times its linit (LAT Feb 11 B1).
   The Keystone Pipeline was approved by Congress but Obama vetoed it on Feb 24 (Time Mar 9 p18;  LAT Feb 12 A9;Feb 13 A11;Feb 25 A6;Mar 7 A2;  Daily Bruin Feb  25 A4;Feb 26 p4).
  Hate crimes against Muslims are alleged with the killing of 3 students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Feb 10 (LAT Feb 13 A8;Feb 14 A8,A9;Feb 17 A7; USA Today Weekend Feb 13-15 2A;  Daily Bruin Feb 13 p1;Feb 17 p4).
  Net neutrality is opposed by Republicans (Time Mar 16 p22;  LAT Feb 13 C1;Feb 16 A15;Feb 17 C1;Feb 25 A1    Feb 26 A14;Feb 27 A1,C1(2);Feb 28 C1;  Daily Bruin Feb 27 p2).
   Lobbyist corruption in Washington DC is as bad as ever (LAT Feb 17 A11).
   Walmart grudgingly raised its minimum salary to $9/hour in Spring and $10 /hour in 2016 (Time Mar 9 p20;  LAT Feb 20 A1,A14,C1).
   Gun control is becalmed (LAT Feb 20 A14).

CALIFORNIA
   The wastes from fracking in California’s groundwater were a source of alarm (LAT Feb 13 A16;Feb 27 B1).
   The bullet train is already in trouble with environmentalists (LAT Feb 3 B4;Feb 16 A15;Feb 24 A1;Mar 3 B1).
   Disabled inmates now cannot be put into isolation in California prisons (LAT Feb 4 B4).
   Gov Brown’s non-decision on fracking was protested (LAT Feb 6 A19).
   Unemployment in the state in January was 6.9%, the lowest since May and the Febraurt unemplotment was  2008  (LAT Mar 7 B1).
   Drought is still prevailing in spite of one California county near Lake Havasu being dubbed “normal” (LAT Feb 6 B4;Feb 7 B4(2);Feb 14 B1;Feb 15 A11;Feb 17 A1;Feb 28 A1;Mar 3 B1; Mar 5 B2).
   Prop 14 or Top Two was criticized in LAT Feb  8 B2;Feb 10 A10.
   Prop 47  was ignored by Lancaster City Council who just tacked its own tax to the existing state tax for misdemeanors created by 6 former felonies being made misdemeanors (LAT Feb 19 A14). Other effects of Prop 47 were also debated (LAT Feb  22 A1;Feb 26 B1,B2;Mar 2 A13).
   A state-wide ban on grocery plastic bagging will be on the Nov 2016 state election ballot (LAT Feb 25 B4; Feb 26 A14).
   The state Air Quality Management Board has cut the current allowable lead emission level by half and made daily monitoring mandatory (instead of every 3 days), a move aimed at Exide in Vernon and Quemetco in the City of Industry, the only 2 secondary lead smelters west of the Rockies (LAT Mar 7 B7).

LOS ANGELES
   There are no Green party candidates on the ballot in LA County for the Mar 3 elections.
   The very Green fight of Nanette Barragan against Measure O in Hermosa Beach on Mar 3 against oil drilling and the intimidation tactics of the oil company E&B Natural Resources of Bakersfield were highlighted with all 5 Council members against the measure (LAT Mar 1 B3; Mar 5 B6;  LA Weekly Feb 20 p9). The measure lost 3,799 against with 1,016 in favor, with 34% of registered voters casting ballots.  As a result the City has to pay the oil company $17.5 million to the oil company not to drill 34 wells within city limits.
   The municipalization of a water utility in Claremont after it tried to penalize customers for not using enough water was profiled in LAT Feb 15 C1 and the current battle over Measure W at the Mar 3 election.
   The Jose Huizar (incumbent) and Ex-County Supervisor Gloria Molina clash in City Council District 14 has been making headlines (LAT Mar 1 A23;Mar 4 A1;Mar 5 A1,A12,B1;Mar 6 B5;  LA Weekly Feb 20 p11). Huizar won more than 50% of the mere 10% registered who voted.  All the incumbents (Jose Huizar, Paul Krekorian, Nury Martinez, and Herb Wesson) won with the unopposed incumbent Mitchell Englander. Voter runout for most of the races was a miserable 5-7% of registered voters. Charter Amendments 1 and 2 to synchronize local elections with state/federal elections also passed.
   The LA City Council Fourth District election with its 14 challengers to replace termed out  Tom LaBonge attracted attention (LAT Feb 28 B2; Mar 1 A23; Mar 2 B1,B3).
   Los Angeles light rail transit fared well in the Obama budget with $330 million for the extension of the Purple Line from Wilshire/Western to Westwood and traffic problems still abounded (LAT Feb 3 A1,A6,A10;Feb 10 B2;Feb 20 B3;Feb 25 A1(2),B2;Mar 1 B1;  Daily Bruin Feb 3 p1).
   LAPD officers will soon be wearing body cameras (LAT Feb 5 B1;Feb 7 B1). No charges will be laid for LAPF officers killing an unarmed man at the end of a car pursuit (LAT Feb 24 B1). A skid row man was killed by the LAPD on Mar 1 and another in  Burbank on Mar 5 while a 8.2%  raise for the LAPD was proposed (LAT Mar 2 A1;Mar 3 A1(2),A10,B1(2);Mar 5 A13(2 plus cartoon),B3;Mar 6 B2,B3(2);Mar 7 B1,B3;   Daily Bruin Mar 6 p3).
   Racism is still rampant in Southern California (LAT Feb 7 B3).
   Problems are still occurring at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (LAT Feb 7 C1;Feb 10 C3;Feb 12 C1;Feb 13 B1;Feb 14 C1;Feb 15 A1;Feb 17 A11,C1;Feb 18 A1,B2;Feb 19 A14,C1;    Feb 20 B4,C1;Feb 21 B1;Feb 22 A1;Feb 24 C1;Feb 25 C1;Mar 1 A1,A24,C1;Mar 7 C2).
   LA Mayor Garcetti is trysting with the unions (LAT Feb  8 A1;Feb 11 B3;Feb 27 A14; Mar 4 B1).
   Gangs still provoked much hemming and hawing (LAT Feb  8 A31;Feb 21 B2).
   Southern California Edison, the operator of the becalmed San Onofre white elephant, is laying off more workers (LAT Feb 11 C1;Feb 17 A10;Feb 18 C1).
   The homeless were still the butt of violence and derision (LAT Feb 12 B1;Feb 16 A15;Feb 27 A14; Mar 1 C1).
  The County Sheriff’s office was still in the news (LAT Feb 13 B3).
   Corruption is still being unearthed (LAT Feb 15 A25).
   

OUT AGAINST WAR
    Some 9 people came to Out Against War’s action Make Love Not War­Oppose Merchant of Death on Sat Feb 14 at Raytheon’s Pasadena site on top of the University of Phoenix at Corson/North Euclid.  This included a film crew. Shane Que Hee opened with the following:

Raytheon Company, with 2014 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees worldwide, is a technology operation specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history spanning 93 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as cyber security and a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.

• "The combat-proven Tomahawk is unmatched in its capability," said Mike Jarrett, Raytheon Air Warfare Systems vice president. "Raytheon and the U.S. Navy are working together to enhance Tomahawk and provide the warfighter with even more options in the battlespace."

• Michael Daly, chief technology officer for cyber security at US defense giant Raytheon, believes that the “web needs to be divided into communities” “some people just shouldn’t be allowed into certain corners of the web” “If we’re going to tackle this problem we’re going to have to change the architecture of the way we’re using the internet. That’s where I think you’ll see the US government building next slowly, which is to say developing new security architectures that protect individual communities. Let’s say the pharmaceutical sector, healthcare, or the defense industrial base, education,” he told Forbes. “Right now we’re operating on a big flat internet… Now when we put pacemakers online and garage door openers and cars and traffic lights, we’re going to have to start locking things down more tightly. They shouldn’t be open to anybody on the planet…“You’ll have to do that smartly because everything needs to communicate with other things in order to make use of the information, but it means you might have to have more tightly controlled gateways that are community-based gateways… I think that’s where we have to go.“You can’t connect all this stuff on a giant flat network and hope that somebody on the other side of the planet doesn’t try to hack it.” This was followed by a march to the Raytheon sign where Grim Reaper Raytheon appeared prepared to cow all who dared to question his sovereignty and jurisdiction.  John O’Brien as the Reaper certainly won that battle, spilling forth factoids and litanies against those who questioned him­ as some –including Shane Que Hee and Bill Kaiser- heckled
  
  
  
  
  
  
      The Army and Navy boards responsible for records correction announced they will issue new discharge papers reflecting correct names and identities to three transgender veterans­Retired Army First Sergeant Dayna Walker, Retired Army Major Evan Young and former Navy Lt. Paula Neira (FILA Feb 5 p16).
      The army will pay for the sex-reassignment operation for Chelsea Manning (USA Today Weekend Feb 13-15, 1A; FILA Feb 19 p13).  Manning is serving a 35-year sentence for sending classified documents to WikiLeaks.  She is eligible for parole in 7 years.  She is a trans U.S. Army private who will become a contributing opinion writer for The Guardian U.S., the American website of the UK’s prominent Guardian newspaper. He will not be paid, and will write occasionally from Fort Leavenworth prison on the subjects of war, gender and freedom of information.
       Journalist Glenn  Greenwald referred to “really brave whistleblowers such as Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, and  Edward Snowden” at the Spirit Awards on Feb 21 in Los Angeles for Best Documentary for Citizenfour (LAT Feb 22 A3).  The documentary also won an Oscar for Best Documentary on Feb 22. Director Laura Poitras spoke and Greenwald accompanied her on stage (LAT Feb 22 E6;Feb 24 E4). As the party left the stage, host Neil Patrick Harris quipped “The subject of Citizen Four, Edward Snowden, could not be here for some treason”, a sally protested later by the Director, but laughed off by Edward Snowden who thought it was funny.
   
   
  WAR NEWS
  INTERNATIONAL
      Al Qaeda linked rebel activities continued in Yemen as the US embassy closed along with those of Britain and France (LAT Feb 6  A3;Feb 7 A1;Feb 8 A30;Feb 9 A4;Feb 11 A4;Feb 12 A4;Feb 20 A3;Feb 21 A3;Feb 22 A3;Mar 1 A3;Mar 6 A3); Nigeria (Time Feb 16 pp32-37; LAT Feb 9 A4;Feb 15 A6), France (LAT Feb 9 A4; Feb 26 A4),  Libya (LAT Feb 15 A6;Feb 16 A1;Feb 17 A1,A10;Feb 18 A3;Feb 19 A2;Feb 20 A15;Feb 21 A4;Feb 24 A13;  Daily Bruin Feb 20 p2),  Somalia (LAT Feb 21 A3), Denmark (LAT Feb 16 A3;Feb 17 A3;  Daily Bruin Feb 20 p2), and Australia (Time Mar 9 p7;  LAT Feb 24 A5).
     The ISIS rebels in Iraq burnt alive a Jordanian pilot hostage, an act followed by the hanging of two ISIS prisoners in Jordan and air attacks on ISIS (Time Feb 16 p9;Feb 23 p22;Mar 9 pp24-33;   Mar 16 p14;   LAT Feb 4 A1,A3;Feb 6 A3,A6;Feb 7 A4;Feb 8 A3,A4,A11,A30;Feb 9 A2,A3,A4;Feb 11 A3;Feb 15 A1,A22;Feb 18 A10;Feb 21 A2;Feb 25 A3;Feb 27 A1,A6;Feb 28 A1,A4;Mar 1 A4, A6,A25,E1;Mar 2 A3;Mar 4 A3;Mar 6 A4;   Daily Bruin Feb 6 p3(2);Feb 26 p1;Feb 27 p2).
     Afghanistan financial aid has become “classified” with the formal end of US occupation (LAT Feb 3 A10;Feb 8 A8;Feb 10 A3;Feb 18 A3;Feb 19 A3;Feb 22 A3,F4;Feb 24 A3;Feb 26 A3).
     Drones and killings continued in Pakistan (LAT Feb  8 A8; Feb 14 A6).
     War continued in Syria (Time Feb 16 p6,9; Feb 23 p13;   LAT Feb 3 A4;Feb 6 A4;Feb 8 A11; Feb 10 A4;Feb 12 A4;Feb 14 A4;Feb 18 A4;Feb 19 A3;Feb 20 A4;Feb 24 A3;Mar 1 A2,A4; Mar 5 A2).
      Death sentences for 230 accused of an attack on Cairo   police during the Morsi counter uprising after the latter was deposed were confirmed and Egypt declared Hamas a terrorist group (Time Feb 16 p5,8;  LAT Feb 3 A4;Feb 5 A4;Feb 13 A3;Mar 1 A3;Mar 2 A1).
     The Tunisian coalition government under prime minister Habib Essid took office (LAT Feb 6 A6).
     Talks are still going on about Iran’s nuclear technology (Time Feb 23 p12;Mar 16 p34;  LAT Feb 9 A3; Feb 15 A6; Feb 22 A26;Feb 24 A5;Feb 26 A3;Mar 1 A4,A23,A24; Mar 2 A3;Mar 3 A1;Mar 6 A4, A17).
     Israel and the Palestinians are still at loggerheads with not all things sweetness and light between Netanyahu and Obama (Time Mar 16 p11(2),34;  LAT Feb 4 A3;Feb 6 A6;Feb 11 A1;Feb 13 A1,A3;Feb 14 A3;Feb 16 A2;Feb 18 A3;Feb 20 A4;Feb 24 A4;Feb 26 A3;Feb 27 A15;Mar 1 A4,A23,A24;Mar 2 A1,A13(cartoon);Mar 4 A1,A2,A12,A13; Daily Bruin Feb 27 p2;Mar 6 p3).
     Arming Ukraine was advocated as fighting kept Donetsk airport a ruin after over 6,000 people were killed since last April (Time Feb 23 p9,pp44-51;Mar 9 pp8-9;Mar 16 p15;  LAT Feb 3 A10;Feb 4 A5;Feb 5 A5(2),A15;Feb 6 A3;Feb 7 A3;Feb 9 A1;Feb 10 A3;Feb 11 A2;Feb 12 A3;Feb 13 A1,A16,A17 (cartoon);Feb 14 A3;Feb 15 A3;Feb 16 A3;Feb 17 A3;Feb 18 A5;Feb 19 A3;Feb 20 A3;Feb 22 A7;Feb 25 A4;Mar 1 A4;Mar 2 A3;Mar 4 A3;Mar 6 A4;   Daily Bruin Feb 20 p2).
     The new Cold War will include China as well as Russia (Time Mar 16 p46-51;  LAT Feb 4 A3;Feb 17 A11 (cartoon);    Feb 18 A4;Mar 1 A3;Mar 2 A1;Mar 3 A4; Mar 5 A4;Mar 16 p16).
     Obama’s foreign policies received kudos and brickbats (LAT Feb 7 A3;Feb 11 A13;Feb 12 A1;     Mar 1 A23).
     Julian Assange of Wikileaks continues on at the Ecuadorian embassy in London , his refuge since June 19 2012  (LAT Feb 13 A2)
     Time Feb 23 p29 discussed the connection between Al Qaeda and Saudi Arabia.
     A Guantanamo prison conviction has been overturned for the 1^st time re Australian David Hicks because it was not a war crime (LAT Feb 19 A3).
  
  US WAR NEWS:
     Drones were in the news on the domestic front when one was found on the White House lawn and the FAA issued some draft rules (Time Feb 23 p9,18;  LAT Feb 4 A15;Feb 16 A12;Feb 17 C1,C4).  The US will sell drones to military allies (LAT Feb 18 A1).
    Divestment from Israel has heated up again on US campuses (Daily Bruin Feb 5 p4;Feb 23 p2).
    Henry Rollins take on American Sniper was interesting, anti-corporate, pro-veteran, and antiwar (LA Weekly Feb 6 p47).
    The Boston Marathon bombing trial will remain in Boston and it finally started on Mar 4 (LAT Feb 7 A12;Feb 13 A7;Feb 17 A7;Feb 24 A2;Mar 1 A19;Mar 5 A6;Mar 6 A8;).
    Obama’s National security policies were thought to aid domestic terrorist attacks rather than deter or stop them though apologists replied (LAT Feb 10 A11;Feb 18 A11;Feb 22 A24.A26).
     A new federal cyberintelligence center is to be created to forestall cyberattacks (LAT Feb 11 C1,C3).  Cyberterrorism was opposed by Obama (LAT Feb 13 C4;Feb 14 C1;Feb 27 A12).  The CIA has created a new digitial spying division (LAT Mar 7 A1).
     The question of whether US terrorists can be allowed home again was debated (LAT Feb 15 A27).
     Robots and humans were discussed (LAT Feb 15 C1).
     The 50^th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X was marked in many US cities (LAT Feb 22 A20).
     A harder line against suspected terrorists has begun (LAT Feb 24 A5;Feb 26 A6,A14;Feb 27 A13).
   
   
  OCCUPY
  INTERNATIONAL. 
    The book Age of Acquiescence by Steven Fraser examined why the 99% does not rise up against the 1% (LAT Feb 22 F1).  The take home message is that people like being kept and if comfortable want to maintain that, the labor unions have been co-opted, and the 1% control the media.
    The Hong Kong Occupy activist movement still hopes to prevail (LAT Feb 25 A4).
   
  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 recommend general support of Black Lives Matter; actions aimed at excessive police force such as at Ferguson, New York, and Los Angeles and of anti-Syria and -Iraq War related actions.
   
  
  
  

  Sat Mar 21 12 noon, 'NO' TO THE U.S. POLICY OF ENDLESS WAR, CNN Building in Hollywood, 6430 Sunset Blvd.  MARCH to the Armed Forces Recruitment Center. Sponsored by ANSWER LOS ANGELES