A M E R I C A’ S L A R G E S T C I R C U L AT I O N G AY A N D L E S B I A N N E W S P A P E R !
Gay City
S E R V I N G G A Y, L E S B I A N , B I A N D T R A N S G E N D E R E D N E W Y O R K • W W W . G A Y C I T Y N E W S . C O M
■ POLITICS
DOMA Litigator
Aims to Break
Up California
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
T
he attorney representing two gay
men who sued in state court and
now in federal court in south-
ern California to win the right to marry
hopes the case will spawn a political
movement that will result in residents
there voting by ballot initiative to divide
the state in two.
“We’re hoping to use the case in court
as a springboard to get a proposition on
the ballot that will break up California
into two states,” said Richard C. Gilbert,
a partner at Gilbert & Marlowe, a law
firm with two offices in California. “We
think if we can get this proposition on
the ballot, we think we’ll win.”
Gilbert said the ideal result would be
that all the counties north of Los Ange-
les would become New California while
the southern counties would remain
California.
Gilbert likened the circumstances of
his clients — Arthur Smelt and Chris-
topher Hammer — to Dredd Scott, who
sued for his freedom in the 19th century
only to have the US Supreme Court rule
in 1857 that no African-American, free
or enslaved, could be a US citizen. That
DOMA P. 6
THE COLUMBINE PROJECT
14
JONATHAN GROFF AND DEMETRI MARTIN STAR IN ANG LEE’S “TAKING WOODSTOCK.”
Peace, Love & Music
in the Closet
BY GARY M. KRAMER
D
irector Ang Lee’s latest film,
“Taking Woodstock,” is a warm,
affectionate comedy based on
a memoir by out writer Elliot Tiber. The
film, written by James Schamus, stars
comedian Demetri Martin as Tiber, then
a closeted gay man still known by his
birth surname, Teichberg, who finds
himself while trying to save his parent’s
failing Catskills motel in the summer
of 1969. Working with event producer
Michael Lang (a seductive Jonathan
Groff), Elliot becomes instrumental in
bringing the three-day festival of peace,
© GAY CITY NEWS 2009 • COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TM
NEWS YOUR FREE
LGBT
NEWSPAPER
AUGUST 20-SEPTEMBER 2, 2009
VOLUME EIGHT, ISSUE 17
■ POLITICS
Passannante-
Derr Comes
Out Swinging
Against Quinn
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
W
hile City Council Speaker
Christine C. Quinn’s cam-
paign experience showed in
a debate among three of the Democrats
vying for her seat, it was Maria Passan-
nante-Derr who brought the heat to the
August 13 event.
“You’re the second most powerful offi-
cial in New York City,” Passannante-Derr
said to Quinn when the candidates were
discussing a 2005 lawsuit brought by
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg that suc-
cessfully appealed a state court decision
allowing same-sex marriage. “You could
have used your influence to stop that
lawsuit. If you did, there would be same-
sex marriage in New York today.”
Quinn, who was unfazed by the
FOCUS FEATURES
attacks from Passannante-Derr and
milder shots from Yetta Kurland during
the 90-minute debate, countered that
she had opposed that suit.
“I think the lawsuit that Mayor
Bloomberg brought was outrageous and
I spoke out against it,” she said. Quinn,
an out lesbian, noted that she had lob-
bied Republican state senators in an
effort to enact same-sex marriage in New
York.
DEBATE P. 5
love, and music to Bethel, New York. His
efforts, both a blessing and a curse, also
provided the basis for ample comedy to
ensue.
In a recent interview, Martin acknowl-
HORROR
edged he had a bit of trepidation about
playing Elliot in his first acting gig. “I got IN IRAQ
[Tiber’s] book and read it,” he recalled.
“The memoir that he wrote is pretty
graphic about his coming of age sexu-
ally. Knowing that Ang [Lee, the director]
4
did ‘Brokeback Mountain,’ I was like…
‘I’m not gay or a trained actor. I think
you might have the wrong guy…’”
Martin elaborated on his concerns,
WOODSTOCK P. 17
2 20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009
NEWS BRIEFS
Justice
Department
Tries Again on
DOMA
In an apparent bow to protests
over the original brief it filed in
response to a lawsuit challenging
the federal Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA), the US Department of Jus-
tice made a new filing in the case
on August 17 laying out consider-
ably narrower grounds for opposing
the Smelt v. US suit (see Duncan
Osborne’s page 1 story about the
plaintiffs’ attorney). Still, the brief
drew renewed fire from LGBT advo-
cacy groups.
In this week’s brief, the Obama
administration focuses primar-
ily on the fact that Arthur Smelt
and Christopher Hammer improp-
erly filed a suit against the federal
government in state court and had
alleged no concrete injury from
DOMA. Missing were assertions
made in a June 11 brief that DOMA
did not discriminate against gay
people, since they were just as free
as anyone else to marry people of
the opposite sex, and that states
have always been free to refuse
recognition to marriages from other
jurisdictions, a right upheld in a
Connecticut case denying recogni-
tion of an uncle’s marriage to his
niece. The reference to incestuous
relationships caused considerable
outcry in June.
Where the new Justice Depart-
ment brief drew criticism was in its
assertion that the plaintiffs’ equal
protection and due process claims
are subject only to rational review,
the least demanding level of judi-
cial scrutiny. Courts are increasing-
ly subjecting laws that discriminate
against gay people to more rigor-
ous constitutional scrutiny, requir-
ing the government to provide a
more compelling rationale for such
policies.
Still, the brief signaled prog-
ress in discussions between LGBT
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advocates and the administration.
In a written statement issued in
conjunction with the brief, Presi-
dent Barack Obama said, “This
brief makes clear, however, that
my administration believes that the
Act is discriminatory and should be
repealed by Congress. I have long
held that DOMA prevents LGBT
couples from being granted equal
rights and benefits. While we work
with Congress to repeal DOMA,
my administration will continue to
examine and implement measures
that will help extend rights and
benefits to LGBT couples under
existing law.”
Several LGBT advocates noted
that the administration’s brief had
specifically repudiated the view
that sexual orientation had any-
thing to do with parenting ability.
Jenny Pizer, the Marriage Proj-
ect director at Lambda Legal, voiced
a view typical within the advocacy
community, writing, “While there is
much to like in today’s brief filed by
the Obama administration, we are
disappointed that it continues to
argue that anti-gay discrimination
does not deserve serious consti-
tutional scrutiny… Lambda Legal
and other LGBT groups had serious
conversations with the administra-
tion after the first brief was filed
and we appreciate the progress
made since then. But, clearly, seri-
ous conversation must continue.”
Kate Kendell, executive director
of the National Center for Lesbian
Rights, was more vocal in criticizing
the Obama administration’s contin-
ued arguments in favor of DOMA’s
constitutionality, writing, “We
believe that the Justice Depart-
ment would be unlikely to make
that argument in defense of a law
that discriminated against women
or other minorities. We call on
the Obama administration to stop
defending this abhorrent law that
hurts families and lacks any legiti-
mate justification.”
©
A Village Landmark
Serving The Community
For Over 35 Years
Clinton Says
Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell Is Our Fault
The Netroots Nation’s ’09 Con-
vention, a gathering of progres-
sive bloggers held August 13-16,
was treated to a lively exchange
between a prominent gay activist
and former President Bill Clinton
on the subject of the Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell military policy imple-
mented in his first year in office.
During Clinton’s appearance at
the Pittsburgh gathering, Lane
Hudson stood up and yelled,
“Mr. President, will you call for
a repeal of DOMA and Don’t Ask
Don’t Tell right now? Please.”
In what is becoming a trade-
mark style for the former presi-
dent, Clinton shot back, “You want
to talk about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?
I’ll tell you exactly what happened.
You couldn’t deliver me any sup-
port in the Congress and they
voted by a veto-proof majority in
both houses against my attempt to
let gays serve in the military, and
the media supported them. They
raised all kinds of devilment. And
all most of you did was to attack
me instead of getting me some
support in the Congress. Now
that’s the truth.”
Clinton went on to say that
under General Colin Powell, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff at the time, the original
policy “was defined while he was
chairman much differently than
it was implemented.” Clinton
claimed the policy was intended
to be far more liberal than it has
proven to be, saying Powell had
said, “If you will accept this,
here’s what we’ll do. We will not
pursue anyone. Any military mem-
bers out of uniform will be free to
march in gay rights parades, go
to gay bars, go to political meet-
ings. Whatever mailings they get,
whatever they do in their private
lives, none of this will be a basis
To Advertise in
Gay City News
please call
646.452.2496
“One of the 63 best bars
for dismissal.” The former presi- APA Honors
dent said the policy “turned out LGBT Mental
to be a fraud because of the enor- Health Pioneer
mous reaction against it among American Psychological Asso-
the middle-level officers and ciation’s Society for the Psycho-
down after it was promulgated logical Study of Lesbian, Gay,
and Colin was gone.” Clinton did Bisexual, and Transgender Issues
not explain why he was unable, has honored Dr. Caitlin C. Ryan
as commander-in-chief, to keep with the group’s Distinguished Sci-
control of a policy that from the entific Contribution Award. In the
outset actually increased the 1970s, Ryan produced the National
number of discharges of gay and Lesbian Health Survey, the first
lesbian military personnel. major study of lesbian physical and
Turning to Hudson’s question mental health needs, and a decade
about the Defense of Marriage later worked on policy guidelines
Act, Clinton also suggested he was for AIDS services. In 2002, with
hamstrung by Republican “devil- Rafael Diaz, she co-founded Fam-
ment,” though on that setback he ily Acceptance Project, now based
did not try to blame the gays. at the Marian Wright Edelman
Institute at San Francisco State
APA Speaks Out University. The Project works with
Against Ex-Gay families to help them accept their
Therapy LGBT children.
At its annual convention in Ryan received her award at the
Toronto on August 5, the Ameri- APA’s national convention in Toron-
can Psychological Association to on August 8.
(APA) approved a resolution
“stating that mental health pro- In California,
fessionals should avoid telling Equality
clients that they can change their Opposes
sexual orientation through thera- Courage
py or other treatments,” accord- Citing the input of vital stake-
ing to a release from the group. holders, the advice of leaders from
The APA warned young peo- communities of color, and the need
ple and their guardians to “avoid” to raise up to $60 million to launch
treatments based in the view an effective campaign, Equality
that homosexuality is a mental California (EQCA), that state’s lead-
illness or developmental disor- ing LGBT lobby, has decided to put
der. Instead, people working to off a ballot drive to overturn Propo-
resolve issues regarding their sition 8 until the 2012 presidential
sexual orientation should “seek election. “Waiting indefinitely to
psychotherapy, social support, return to the ballot is not an option,
and educational services ‘that but we must be strategic in select-
provide accurate information on ing the election that gives us the
sexual orientation and sexual- best opportunity to permanently
ity, increase family and school secure the freedom to marry,”
support and reduce rejection of said Geoff Kors, EQCA’s executive
sexual minority youth,’” in the director, in an August 12 written
resolution’s words. statement.
The group’s release quoted Dr. Just one day later, the Courage
Judith M. Glassgold, who headed Campaign, which describes itself
up an APA task force on the issue, as a network of more than 700,000
saying, “Contrary to claims of grassroots and netroots progres-
sexual orientation change advo- sive activists, announced that it
cates and practitioners, there is is moving forward with plans to
insufficient evidence to support mount a 2010 ballot drive, having
the use of psychological interven- met a $100,000 fundraising goal,
tions to change sexual orienta- half of what it said is needed to
tion… “At most, certain studies launched the effort. The Courage
suggested that some individuals Campaign’s announcement includ-
learned how to ignore or not act ed a statement from Steve Hildeb-
on their homosexual attractions.” rand, an openly gay Democrat who
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served as deputy campaign man-
ager for President Barack Obama
last year. “I feel strongly that 2010
is the right time to courageously
win back marriage rights in Cali-
fornia — as strongly as I felt when
I decided to devote two years of
my life to help Barack Obama run
for president despite warnings
from the pundits and pollsters that
he would never occupy the Oval
Office.”
The divergent conclusions leave
marriage equality advocates in Cal-
ifornia badly divided. The Cour-
age Campaign claims the support
of more than 40 organizations,
including the Stonewall Demo-
cratic Club of Los Angeles. Yes!
On Equality is the newly formed
group leading the charge on a
2010 ballot effort. Meanwhile,
a coalition of African-American,
Latino, and Asian-American gay
groups are counseling the 2012
option, arguing that outreach
in their communities has not
advanced sufficiently to push the
issue next year. San Francisco’s
Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club
also favors waiting until 2012.
Marriage Equality USA, the
umbrella group for grassroots
marriage activists nationwide,
said it had found “no consensus”
on which year was preferable.
Proponents of moving next
year hope to capitalize on the
anger over last November’s loss
on Prop 8, while those urging
2012 point out that two more
years will bring in more younger
voters more inclined to support
marriage equality and that the
presidential election will draw
larger numbers of Democratic
voters.
Significantly, Evan Wolfson,
who heads up Freedom to Marry
and in his years at Lambda Legal
was the first gay civil rights attor-
ney to focus on the marriage
equality issue, lauded EQCA’s
decision. “EQCA’s roadmap to vic-
tory in 2012 offers everyone com-
mitted to winning marriage back
a chance to pull together and
tackle the tasks without wasting
a moment,” Wolfson wrote in an
August 13 statement. “Equality
䉴 BRIEFS, continued on p.26
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009

Legal /3
“Gay” Not Per Se Defamatory
Anna Nicole Smith’s companion loses some ground, but case against Rita Cosby alive
BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD ways he contends harmed his never ruled on the question of
reputation. whether falsely imputing homo-

I
n response to a defamation
lawsuit brought by Howard
K. Stern, the late Anna Nicole
Smith’s attorney and compan-
ion, US District Judge Denny
Chin has ruled that under New
York State law, the court should
not presume that falsely calling
somebody gay is damaging to
that person’s reputation. Chin’s
August 12 ruling contradicts sev-
eral decisions by New York State
Appellate Division panels and
trial judges, as well as a recent
ruling by another New York fed-
eral district court judge.
The ruling came on summary
judgment motions by author Rita
Cosby and publisher Hachette
Book Group USA, the defendants.
Cosby wrote “Blonde Ambition:
The Untold Story Behind Anna
Nicole Smith’s Death,” a best sell-
er published by Hachette which
prominently mentions Stern in
Though common law sub-
jects writers and publishers to
liability for injury to a subject’s
reputation, courts, mindful of free
speech protections, have made it
very difficult for plaintiffs to win
such cases — especially when he
or she is judged a “public figure.”
The Supreme Court has held
that public figures must prove
“actual malice,” meaning, legally,
that those making the statement
either knew it was false or pub-
lished it with reckless disregard
for the truth. Truth is an abso-
lute defense against a defamation
charge.
Stern conceded that he would
be considered a public figure, so
he was faced with proving actual
malice. His lawsuit itemized 19
defamatory statements, two of
them related to homosexuality.
According to Chin’s summary,
Cosby’s book alleged that Smith
Howard K. Stern (right), seen here with Larry Birkhead.
walked in on Stern and Larry
Birkhead — a former boyfriend
of Smith’s who bested Stern in a
paternity battle for Smith’s sur-
viving infant daughter — engaged
in oral sex at a Los Angeles party,
“laughed, and later remarked
that Stern was gay.” The book
also alleged that “Smith, in front
of her nannies in the Bahamas,
used to regularly watch a video of
Stern and Birkhead having sex.”
Stern asserts that under New
York defamation law, such state-
ments are presumed to be harm-
ful to his reputation, entitling him
to monetary damages.
The lawsuit is in federal court,
but is governed by the laws of
New York, where Hachette is
incorporated. The state’s highest
bench, the Court of Appeals, has
sexuality to a person is defama-
tory per se — surprising given
that New York City is home to so
many print publishers and tele-
vision networks. Only the state’s
lower courts have considered
the question, so Chin concluded
his job was to predict what the
Court of Appeals would do if con-
fronted with this question today.
The question, the judge wrote, is
whether, in 2009, saying some-
body is gay “connotes the same
degree of ‘shame, obloquy, contu-
mely, odium, contempt, ridicule,
aversion, ostracism, degradation
or disgrace’ as statements accus-
ing someone of serious criminal
conduct, impugning a person
in his or her trade or profession,
implying that a person has a
‘loathsome disease,’ or imputing
unchastity to a woman,” all cir-
䉴 DEFAMATORY, continued on p.25

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4/ Human Rights
Horror In Iraq Detailed
Human Rights Watch documents four-year-old anti-gay murder campaign stepped up in ’09
BY DOUG IRELAND
I
n a 67-page report released
on August 17, Human
Rights Watch (HRW) — the
most prestigious international
human rights watchdog organi-
zation — has detailed an inten-
sive “sexual cleansing” cam-
paign of murder, torture, kid-
napping, beatings, and black-
mail carried out against those
perceived to be gay in Iraq.
The report, entitled “They
Want Us Exterminated: Mur-
der, Torture, Sexual Orientation
and Gender in Iraq,” is based on
interviews recently conducted
by an HRW team in Iraq with
more than 50 men who identi-
fied as gay, as well as with doc-
tors, journalists, United Nations
aid officials, and others.
It says doctors and morgue
attendants routinely see hor-
rifically mutilated bodies of gay
men. HRW said doctors have
confirmed an earlier Gay City
News report of men being killed
by having their anuses glued
shut before being force-fed laxa-
tives, causing painful and slow
death (see this reporter’s April
30-May 13 article, “Iraqi Gays
Face Gruesome Torture/Mur-
der Technique,” a link to which
appears in the online version of
this story at gaycitynews.com).
Since March 2006, Gay City
News has reported, in a series
of articles, on the anti-gay mur-
der campaign by fundamental-
ist death squads targeting Iraqi
LGBT people. The HRW report
confirms the deaths of hundreds
of Iraqi sexual and gender dissi-
dents in the wake of the security
chaos created by the U.S. inva-
sion and occupation of Iraq, but
it is largely focused on the chang-
ing face of the sexual cleansing
campaign, which has intensified
greatly since the beginning of
this year.
Typical of the heartrending
testimonies gathered by HRW
is that from one man, identified
as Hamid, 35, who developed a
speech impediment and went
into hiding after the murder of
his lover of ten years. Speaking
through tears to HRW just three
weeks after his partner’s mur-
der, Hamid said: “They came to
take my partner at his parents’
Ali Hili, a London-based gay exile who runs Iraqi LGBT, which runs safe houses for those targeted
by the anti-gay death squads and has documented more than 700 killings since 2005.
home. Four armed men barged
into the house, masked and
wearing black. They asked for
him by name; they insulted him
and took him in front of his par-
ents. All that, I heard about later
from his family. He was found in
the neighborhood the day after.
They had thrown his corpse in
the garbage. His genitals were
cut off and a piece of his throat
was ripped out.”
Hamid continued, “Since then,
I’ve been unable to speak prop-
erly. I feel as if my life is pointless
now. I don’t have friends other
than those you see; for years it
has just been my boyfriend and
myself in that little bubble, by
ourselves. I have no family now
— I cannot go back to them. I
have a death warrant on me. I
feel the best thing to do is just
to kill myself. In Iraq, murderers
and thieves are respected more
than gay people.”
The HRW report describes an
anti-gay, sexual cleansing “kill-
ing campaign [which] moved
across Iraq in the early months
of 2009… the campaign remains
at its most intense in Baghdad,
but it has left bloody tracks in
other cities as well; men have
been targeted, threatened
or tortured in Kirkuk, Najaf,
Basra. Murders are committed
with impunity, admonitory in
intent, with corpses dumped in
garbage or hung as warnings on
the street. The killers invade the
privacy of homes, abducting sons
or brothers, leaving their muti-
lated bodies in the neighborhood
the next day. They interrogate
and brutalize men to extract
names of other people sus-
pected of homosexual conduct.
They specialize in grotesque and
appalling tortures: several doc-
tors told Human Rights Watch
about men executed by injecting
glue up their anuses. Their bod-
ies have appeared by the doz-
ens in hospitals and morgues.
How many have been killed will
likely never be known: the fail-
ure of authorities to investigate
compounds the fear and shame
of families to ensure that reliable
figures are unattainable. A well-
informed official at the United
Nations Assistance Mission for
Iraq (UNAMI) told Human Rights
Watch in April that the dead
probably already numbered ‘in
the hundreds.’”
The HRW report was written
in July, but the killings of gays
continue. Ali Hili is a 33-year-
old London-based gay Iraqi
exile who coordinates the asso-
ciation Iraqi LGBT, which runs
safe houses in Iraq for those
targeted by the anti-gay death
squads and has documented
more than 700 killings of LGBT
people since 2005. He told Gay
City News this week, “We had
six people killed in the last
two weeks, and there is a sign
of new waves of attacks in the
south of Iraq. We have evacu-
ated four people and moved
them to Baghdad after receiving
death threats, and one of them
saw his name on a death list in
his neighborhood.”
The new report said, “Human
Rights Watch heard accounts
of police complicity in abuse —
ranging from harassing ‘effemi-
nate’ men at checkpoints, to
possible abduction and extra-
judicial killing.” The police are
under the control of the Min-
istry of the Interior, which had
been heavily infiltrated by the
Badr Corps, the armed militia
of the Islamic Supreme Coun-
cil of Iraq, the largest political
party in the Iraqi coalition gov-
ernment. Until this year, the
vast majority of killings had
been attributed to Badr Corps
militiamen, often operating in
police uniforms with full police
powers (see this reporter’s
March 23-29, 2006 article,
“Shia Death Squads Target
Iraqi Gays,” a link to which
appears in the online version of
this story at gaycitynews.com).
The HRW report says that
since the beginning of this
year, the latest wave of anti-
gay sexual cleansing is largely
the responsibility of the Mahdi
Army, the militia controlled by
radical Islamist Shi’ite cleric
Moqtada al-Sadr, as Gay City
News reported several months
ago. As HRW notes, the Mahdi
Army “strategically withdrew
from visibility at the beginning
of the 2007 US ‘surge,’ avoid-
ing confrontation with American
forces by melting into the popu-
lation.” But in the early months
of 2009, the Mahdi Army, “striv-
ing to rebuild its reputation after
this prolonged absence, sought
to rehabilitate itself by appear-
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009
ing as an agent of social cleans-
ing” and began the intensive
new wave of anti-gay murders,
the report said.
Among the many testimonies
harvested by HRW that con-
firmed this was that of Tariq, an
18-year-old gay man, who said:
“At the end of March, I started
to hear from friends that the
Mahdi Army was killing gays.
The newspapers also reported
there was an increase in the
“third sex” in Iraq, also known
as ‘puppies’ [jarawi, a very pejo-
rative term for gays which con-
notes immaturity and lack of
humanity]. Then on April 4,
I found out that two of my gay
friends, Mohammed and Mazen,
had been killed. I think those
were their names; within a gay
group, gays rarely give out their
real names. We were friends, we
met in cafes or chatted on the
Internet, and one day they just
disappeared.
“A few days later, I met the
brother of one of them and he
told me they were killed. They
were kidnapped on the street,
and then their bodies were
found near a mosque, with signs
of torture. One was 18, one was
19. A couple of days after that,
on April 6 or 7, I was in my par-
ents’ house, and someone threw
a letter at the door. I didn’t see
who. Inside the envelope was
a bullet. It had brown blood on
it, and the letter said, ‘What are
you still here for? Are you ready
to die?’ I think those two were
tortured into giving my name,
because two days after I learned
they were killed I got this threat.
“I spoke by phone to a friend
of mine yesterday night: he is
also gay, but he’s very mascu-
line and no one knows about
him. He said, ‘Get out if you
can and save yourself. They
are killing gays left and right.’ I
said, ‘Who is doing it?’ He said,
‘Everyone knows. Who do you
think? The Mahdi Army.’”
The anti-gay death squads
use torture and captured cell
phones and phone cards to
build hit lists of suspected gays
who are then targeted. One who
was tortured by fundamental-
ist Mahdi militiamen to extract
䉴 IRAQ, continued on p.27
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009

䉴 DEBATE, from p.1
The debate, at New York Uni-
versity and sponsored by Gay
City News and its sister news-
paper, The Villager, allowed the
three a minute-and-a-half each
to respond to questions.
Quinn typically gave com-
plete answers while using the
entire time. A veteran cam-
paigner, Quinn was first elected
to the City Council in 1999 and
was chosen speaker by her col-
leagues in 2006. Passannante-
Derr just as often ended her
answers with time left over.
Kurland, also an out lesbian,
frequently was unable to finish
her responses before one of the
two moderators called time.
Politics /5
we need change in City Hall,”
said Kurland, an attorney. “We
need a fresh voice... We need
somebody who is willing to
stand up to the powers that be.”
Quinn is perceived in some
circles as being too close to
Bloomberg and unwilling to
challenge the mayor, who is also
running for a third term, on
important issues.
During a “lightning round” of
questions that came at the end
of the debate, the candidates
were asked to give yes or no
answers to questions. Kurland
and Passannante-Derr both
said “yes” when asked if they
would commit to endorsing the
Democratic nominee for mayor,
presumably William C. Thomp-

While Quinn remains popular
in the district, which runs from
Greenwich Village up to Hell’s
Kitchen on Manhattan’s West
Side, some recent moves have
inflamed some residents.
Quinn’s support for the
mayor’s successful effort to
alter the city’s term limits law
to allow officeholders to serve
three four-year terms instead of
two enraged some New Yorkers.
Passannante-Derr began the
evening by lashing Quinn on
that issue.
“This election is about an
arrogant incumbent that has
sold out our community for a
right-wing Republican mayor,”
the attorney and longtime Com-
munity Board 2 member said.
Kurland struck a similar
though less confrontational note.
“I’m running because I think
JEFFERSON SIEGEL
son, Jr., the city comptroller.
Quinn’s “no” drew gasps and
howls of protest from some in
the audience.
Passannante-Derr’s com- Maria Passannante-Derr (left) was unsparing in her attacks on Christine Quinn at the August 13 debate.
ments during a discussion of
LGBT youth who congregate in during her opening remarks.
the West Village will surely rankle In her closing remarks, Quinn
advocates for those young peo- cited her endorsements by pro-
ple. She complained that a solu- gressive groups, such as pro-
tion must be found to their uri- choice organizations, a tenant’s
nating, “defecating,” and having group, and “the city’s major
sex on top of cars late at night. labor unions” as evidence of her
Quinn, for her part, repeat- continued allegiance to the left.
edly cited what she saw as her With major development proj-
left-leaning credentials and ects proposed for the district,
reminded the audience, which including a new Saint Vincent
was filled almost entirely with Catholic Medical Centers facil-
partisans from the three cam- ity and a waste transfer station
paigns, of the battles she had for the city’s sanitation depart-
fought alongside them. ment, Quinn was rapped for
“I have been proud to contin- being insufficiently forceful in
ue the progressive struggles that defending her district.
define the West Side,” she said “This is a perfect example
of how our current city coun-

cilmember cannot stand up for
our community,” Kurland said.
Passannante-Derr, who never
missed a chance to take a swipe
at the speaker, said of the sani-
tation facility, “This sanitation
garage will be Christine Quinn’s
legacy to the community.”
Quinn, as speaker, clearly
sees her role as being more
expansive than simply repre-
senting just one district. She
noted that nearby communi-
ties would also be served by the
sanitation garage.
“We’re working with those
who are opposed to try and
come up with an idea,” she said.
If Quinn can be said to have
stumbled at all during the
debate, that moment came
GAY CITY NEWS
JEFFERSON SIEGEL
Yetta Kurland (right) adopted a less aggressive line of attack than Passannante-Derr, while Chris-
tine Quinn emphasized her left-leaning bona fides in response to criticisms of her strong ties to
the mayor.
Council had for years allocated didn’t wait for them. We put
funds to phantom groups in the changes in place.”
city budget so members could The problem for Quinn is that
later distribute that cash to a sizable portion of that cash
organizations in their districts went to groups in her district.
nearly cost Quinn her speaker Passannante-Derr said, “You
position. had to know about it, because a
During the debate, Quinn quarter of the slush fund money
insisted she only learned about went to your district.”
the “slush fund” last year and Kurland said, “I do think the
immediately asked the city’s people of the Third District are
Department of Investigations owed some answers... Where is
and the US Department of Jus- the investigation?”

when she was asked about the tice to investigate. Quinn said
“slush fund” scandal that con- she instituted reforms. Video of the entire debate
tinues to roil the City Council. “We asked both of them to appears in the online version of
Anti-Quinn protesters turned out early at NYU to voice their displeasure with the incumbent. In 2008, revelations that the look into this,” she said. “We this story at gaycitynews.com.
6 20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009
䉴 DOMA, from p.1
decision contributed to the Civil
War, and Scott was eventually
freed.
“We don’t want a civil war,”
Gilbert said. “We just want to
have civil division in our state
between people who are will-
ing to respect the rights of all
people and those who are not.”
New California, in his view,
would be far more amenable to
arguments in favor of marriage
equality than the southern part
of the state.
The couple originally sued
in 2004 in state court, where
the case was dismissed, but
they have continued fighting
on procedural grounds into
federal court. They are battling
to keep the case alive in federal
court where, Gilbert said, their
chances of prevailing are poor.
“I would expect that we would
not succeed in the courtroom,
but that we have a much great-
■ LEGAL
Oklahoma DOMA Challenge Resurfaces
Five years later, two lesbian couples aim to take on federal law, state constitution
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
F
ive years after it was first
brought in federal court
in Oklahoma, a marriage
lawsuit may be back on course
as two lesbian couples filed a
new challenge to the federal
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
and that state’s gay marriage
ban.
“Our government is not treat-
ing us the same as it treats
other couples, other individu-
als,” Mary Bishop, who has
been with her partner Sharon
Baldwin for 12 years, told the
Journal Record, an Oklahoma
newspaper. “We just want to be
recognized the way other peo-
ple are recognized, instead of
being made second-class citi-
zens in our own state and our
own nation.”
Bishop and Baldwin had
a “church-recognized com-
mitment ceremony” in 2000,
according to the August 10
amended complaint. They are
joined in the suit by Susan
G. Barton and Gay E. Phil-
lips who have been together
for 25 years. Barton and Phil-
lips married in California last
November and in Canada in
2005. They entered into a civil
union in Vermont in 2001.
er chance of success in creat-
ing a New California, two sepa-
rate states, if we can spread the
word,” he said.
Federal judges are unwill-
ing to risk the heat that might
come with a ruling in favor of
gay marriage, Gilbert said. “We
think this is a very political case
and because there are politics,
it’s a hot potato,” he said. “You
wind up with justices who are
one step away from the United
States Supreme Court... Legal-
ly, the courts should rule in our
favor, but they don’t because
that’s not good for your career.”
Absent a federal ruling in
favor of same-sex marriage,
same-sex marriage licenses
currently granted by six states
are of little value because, as
happened in California last
year, that right can be taken
away, Gilbert said. “They can
revoke it tomorrow,” he said.
“You can’t do that with a man
and a woman. No state can
The lawsuit has had a trou-
bled history. Filed in 2004, the
year Oklahoma amended its
state constitution to ban rec-
ognition of same-sex marriag-
es, the couples sued the gov-
ernor, the state attorney gen-
eral, and the federal govern-
ment. A district court allowed
the suit to proceed, but the
state appealed that ruling in
2007. In a decision in June of
The ruling from the appeals
court reflected the problems the
couples had in getting appropriate
representation.
this year, a three-judge appeals
panel reversed the lower court
and dismissed the case against
the governor and attorney gen-
eral.
Marriage licenses in Oklaho-
ma are issued by court clerks
who work for Oklahoma’s judi-
cial branch of government, not
the executive branch. The 2004
amendment made it a misde-
meanor to issue a marriage
license to a same-sex couple,
but that law, if enforced by the
pass a law saying a man and
woman are not married. So all
of these same-gender marriage
licenses, they are no differ -
ent than a fishing license... It’s
really a fraud, it’s fraud to call
it a marriage.”
The Obama Justice Depart-
ment issued a brief seeking to
dismiss the case in June that
used arguments that angered
many in the community, with
the gay blogosphere express-
ing particular outrage. Another
federal brief, issued on August
17, attacked Smelt’s case on
procedural grounds in moving
to dismiss it.
Generally, gay groups, which
have won gay marriage fights
in six states, avoid criticizing
suits like the Smelt case. When
they do object, they are usually
chastised by bloggers and com-
munity activists who charge
that the groups are seeking to
preserve their standing in the
community.
attorney general, would apply
to a court clerk, not the couple
requesting the license.
“The alleged injury to the
Couples could not be caused
by any action of the [gover -
nor and attorney general], nor
would an injunction (tellingly,
not requested here) against
them give the Couples the legal
status they seek,” the panel
wrote. In their amended com-
plaint, the couples sued the
court clerk in Tulsa County and
the federal government.
The 2004 constitutional
amendment barred recogni-
tion of same-sex marriages per-
formed “in another state” and,
at the time they sued, neither
couple had married “in another
state,” so the lower court had
already dismissed some of their
claims. The appeals panel did
not consider that issue.
The case was also hurt by
This latest wrinkle drew some
fire. “His clients absolutely do
have a right to get married and
they were right to be upset that
they are not treated equally,”
said Evan Wolfson, executive
director of Freedom to Marry, a
marriage equality group. “The
question is how to fix that, and
reckless roll-the-dice schemes
and no or poor consultation are
not the way to create the free-
dom to marry and justice that
we all want.”
Gilbert has generally not con-
sulted with the legal groups that
won earlier marriage fights.
Wolfson was not happy to
hear that the Smelt case was
now a stepping-stone to a politi-
cal effort. “I think it is reckless
and intolerable to risk bad court
rulings through premature and
poorly executed litigation put-
ting gay people’s freedom to
marry and legal rights at risk
for other dubious agendas,” he
said.
repeated switching of attorneys
for the couples and those who
defended Oklahoma.
The couples originally hired
N. Kay Bridger -Riley, a part-
ner at Bridger-Riley & Associ-
ates, and three different law-
yers from that firm appeared
on their behalf in 2005. During
the same period, Bishop and
Baldwin were represented “very
briefly” by Timothy P. Stude-
baker, the solo practitioner told
Gay City News.
When Bridger-Riley withdrew
from the case in March of 2007,
she detailed the extensive turn-
over at her firm in a letter to
the judge and wrote that “the
overload of cases which she has
attempted to handle in the last
year by herself, has resulted in
sub-par representation for her
clients.”
The ruling from the appeals
court reflected the problems
the couples had in getting
appropriate representation, the
panel noting that it had repeat-
edly asked the couples for a
“compliant brief” in 2006 and
2007 after they missed mul-
tiple deadlines and filed a “late
and deficient brief.” The panel
gave them “a final opportunity
䉴 OKLAHOMA, continued on p.7
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
COMMUNITY
THU.AUG.20
The Urgent Roar of
Youth
The Hear Me Roar! Project uses artis-
tic expression to raise awareness about
the unique experiences and needs of
queer youth. Sylvia’s Place is the home-
less youth services and housing program
of the Metropolitan Community Church/
NY. Tonight, activists Alexis Handwerker
and Emanuel Xavier host a benefit per-
formance for these groups, featuring the
poetry and spoken word art of Xavier,
Chip Livingston, and Simply Rob, perfor-
mances by club/electro/punk musicians
Air Kiss on Mars, the percussion and
dance ensemble Segunda Quimbamba,
and Imani Henry, and an appearance by
the Village Voice’s Michael Musto. Bow-
ery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, btwn.
Houston & Bleecker Sts., 6-7:30 p.m.
Suggested minimum donation is $15.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
COMMUNITY
FRI. AUG. 21
Sistahs In Deed
S.i.S.T.A.H., Sistahs in Search of
Truth, Alliance, and Harmony, works to
put women first, and tonight hosts a dis-
cussion about the challenges of sex and
intimacy. Some women still have issues
when it comes to getting close with
their partner/lover. Why is that? What
do you think is going on? S.i.S.T.A.H.
thinks it’s time to chat. Refreshments
available. LGBT Community Services
Center, 208 W. 13th St., 6-8 p.m. Sug-
gested donation is $5, but Metrocards
are provided for those who can use one.
RSVP to 212-479-7886 or thewaysofasis-
tah97@yahoo.com. For information on
the group, visit http://thewaysofasistah.
vpweb.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
THEATER
Classics, Past &
Present
Redd Tale Theatre Company opens
its sixth year with the world premiere
of “Maddy: A Modern Day Medea,” an
adaptation of Euripides’ play written and
directed by Will Le Vasseur, followed
by Anton Chekhov’s “The Swan Song,”
directed by Lynn Kenny. “Maddy” is set
in the heartland of America at the Corin-
thian trailer park, with a woman seven
years into a relationship, with two chil-
dren, jobless, broke, and about to lose
䉴 AUG 21, continued on p.8
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
■ HUMAN RIGHTS
Gay Brazilian Man

1$
Loses Asylum Bid
Denver appeals court concurs that specific
evidence on persecution lacking
BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD
I
n a unanimous three-judge panel
ruling issued on July 31, the Den-
ver-based US Court of Appeals for
the 10th Circuit affirmed the reversal of
an order to grant asylum to a gay Brazil-
ian man apprehended while attempting
to enter the US unlawfully in 2004. An
Immigration Judge had granted asylum,
only to be reversed by a single member of
the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA),
an administrative court within the Justice
Department.
The appeals panel agreed with the
BIA that State Department reports show
that the Brazilian government is making
efforts to combat homophobia and has
legislation protecting gays from discrimi-
nation. The gay man failed to establish a
reasonable fear of persecution if returned
to Brazil, according to the court opinion
written by Judge Terrence L. O’Brien.
Because the man is returning to Brazil,
where he fears persecution on account
of his sexual orientation and gender pre-
sentation, Gay City News will identify him
only as M.H.
The hearing record before the Immigra-
tion Judge included lengthy testimony
by M.H., State Department reports on
human rights conditions in Brazil from
2002 to 2004, and documentary evidence,
such as newspaper articles and reports of
non-governmental human rights organi-
zations. M.H. testified to a difficult child-
hood and adolescence due to his marked
effeminacy, and claimed he was mistreat-
ed by classmates, neighbors, and family
members, but never subjected to serious
violence. He said he was also harassed
when he registered for military service as
䉴 OKLAHOMA, from p.6
to file a compliant brief by February 19.
On March 2, 2007, having received no
response from the Couples, we deemed
the appeal fully briefed.”
Don G. Holladay, a partner at Holla-
day & Chilton in Oklahoma City, took on
the case in July and wrote the amended
complaint. He said his work was not
affected by the earlier problems.
“Our firm, through myself and one
other lawyer, entered an appearance
in July of ’09,” Holladay told Gay City
News. “Nothing that has transpired has
impaired me.”
20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009 7
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4IBOBIBO
±"UUPSOFZ
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required by law, but was rejected due to
a history of childhood rheumatic fever. He
testified that he was frequently harassed
while using public transit to get to his job.
He also claimed that a boyfriend had bro- /FX
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ken up with him for fear of being identified -BXZFST
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as homosexual, and that a friend told him
about gay men being murdered in Brazil,
which led him to flee to the US.
Over A Decade of Experience
The State Department country reports
about Brazil presented a mixed picture,
Litigating Employment and Civil Rights
noting the severe social prejudice against
homosexuals and evidence of 180 gay
Cases for our Community
men being murdered in 2004 alone, but
also pointing to federal and state anti-
discrimination and domestic partner- 2007 - 2009 Deputy Commissioner,
ship laws and a Brazilian human rights
agency’s program to combat homophobia
New York State Devision of Human Rights
there.
The Immigration Judge (IJ) found 2006 Honoree: New York City Council -
M.H.’s testimony credible, and granted
his asylum petition, but failed to make
“Contributions and Service to New York City”
any express finding in his written opinion
that the man had been subjected to past 2003 Honoree: Common Cause
persecution or that he had a reasonable
fear of it if returned to Brazil. In sum- “Holding Power Accountable”
marizing the IJ opinion, Judge O’Brien
wrote, “They ‘are subject to persecution
Ethical New Yorker of the Year Award
by other individuals’ and ‘the govern-
ment hasn’t done a lot in the past.’ In the
IJ’s view, ‘when you are with a group of
people that are like you in large number,
Former Aide to Mayor David N Dinkins
you are okay, but I think once you go [to] and Public Advocate Mark Green
your separate city and so forth, that there
are problems in Brazil, and the Court has
read those articles indicating that Brazil
is one of the worst countries in the world
for this particular problem.’” O’Brien
underscored the lack of specific findings
EMPLOYMENT LAW / CIVIL RIGHTS
regarding M.H.’s past or prospects, but, ',6&5,0,1$7,21‡6(;8$/+$5$660(17
3$571(56+,3$*5((0(176',63,7(6‡&,9,//,7,*$7,21
䉴 ASYLUM, continued on p.27
0$75,021,$/&8672'<‡0(',&$/0$/35$&7,&(
The gay groups that have won mar-
3(5621$/,1-85<
riage victories in six states through law-
suits or legislatures have generally cau-
tioned against lesbian and gay commu-
nity members filing marriage lawsuits
Thomas D. Shanahan, P.C.
in federal courts. Those groups are con-
cerned that an adverse ruling in federal
court would set back the entire commu-
551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2010
nity’s effort to win marriage.
Holladay would not say if he has con-
sulted with any gay legal groups. Stude-
New York, NY 10176
baker said he recalled a meeting at the
Bridger-Riley offices early in the case.
“Right at the beginning when Kay tel (212) 867-1100 WWW.SHANAHANLAW.COM
came on the case, there was a meeting at fax (212) 972-1787 TOM@SHANAHANLAW.COM
her office,” he told Gay City News.

8/ Politics
An Urgent Man of Conscience
Eric Gioia says the public advocate’s job is to be the people’s lawyer
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
A
nearly eight-year incum-
bent on the City Council
at age 36, Eric Gioia has
the unmistakable air of a young
man with an urgent agenda.
Talking about his youth, the
Queens Democrat said, “We
didn’t have any money. We were
poor by any definition.” He was
the first in his family to go to col-
lege — working his way through
NYU, with jobs at night as a jan-
itor and a doorman — the first
to graduate from law school,
Georgetown. For him, getting a
law degree was “the great equal-
izer… It’s where David goes
to battle Goliath.” On the City
Council, he said, “I tried to be
an advocate.”
Now, Gioia is running to
become New York’s next public
advocate, a post he considers
“the people’s lawyer.”
In a one-hour interview with
Gay City News as he was first
gearing up his run more than
six months ago, Gioia spoke
passionately about his commit-
ment to social and economic
justice. In 2007, he took what
he called “the food stamp chal-
lenge,” living for one week on
the equivalent of what a person
on food stamps is allocated —
$28. He did so to raise aware-
ness, not only about the need
to enhance benefits for those
New Yorkers, often working
mothers, who must survive on
them, but also about the barri-
ers to access the city bureau-
cracy throws up in their path.
One result of his advocacy
was legislation simplifying the
process of signing up for such
assistance. Another was the
insight he said he’s gained into
the roots of why some New
Yorkers are simply not prop-
erly fed every day.
“When I started working on
hunger in New York, I did not
know the answer,” Gioia said.
“I think I have the answer. I
know how to end hunger in
New York City. Except among
the mentally ill who are home-
less and we can’t find.”
A devout Catholic, Gioia
unabashedly talks about the
“social Gospel,” the notion
based in Christian teachings
Eric Gioia hopes to take eight years of City Council experience to the post of city public advocate.
that everybody in society has
a responsibility toward one
another. He also quotes, at least
in shorthand, the late Robert F.
Kennedy, saying, “Each time a
man stands up for an ideal, he
sends forth a ripple.”
In Gioia’s telling, he has
sent forth ripples on behalf of
women and the LGBT com-
munity in his 26th Council
District that covers Sunny-
side, Long Island City, Wood-
side, and Maspeth. In his first
years in the Council, he voted
for a property tax hike, a ban
on indoor smoking, and a reso-
lution against the War in Iraq.
But most of the flak he received
as he approached the end of
his first, two-year term in 2003
was over his vote requiring
emergency contraception for
rape victims in hospitals and
his advocacy for same-sex mar-
riage equality. Recalling a town
hall meeting in Woodside early
that year where a woman told
him, “You know we worked so
hard to get you elected and it
just seems like you don’t want
to get reelected,” Gioia called it
“one of the proudest moments
I ever had.”
At another town hall,
pressed on his gay marriage
support, he assured the crowd
that he would never force any
clergy to act against their reli-
gion, but would make sure
that everybody is equal at City
Hall. A woman in her 70s sit-
ting alone in the audience
teared up, he recalled, “and I
wondered if she had been wait-
ing years to have someone say
that in this place.”
As his reelection campaign
grew hotter, however, the chal-
lenges became tougher. At
Mass with his grandmother at
St. Sebastian’s, he was con-
fronted by a woman who burst
out into the aisle, shouting,
“How dare you take Commu-
nion?” The bishop of Brooklyn
and the archbishop of New
York now have policies in place
barring politicians who have
taken the votes or positions on
choice and gay rights he has
from sharing in Communion.
In line with his social Gos-
pel philosophy, Gioia said, he
focused attention on what he
has called the “deplorable” liv-
ing conditions faced by home-
less New Yorkers living with
AIDS forced to accept quarters
in single-room occupancy, or
SRO, facilities. The result of
that investigation was the 2005
Keith Cylar Act, named for the
late co-founder of Housing
Works, which requires the city’s
HIV/ AIDS Services Administra-
tion to provide the City Council
with quarterly reports on the
timely delivery of benefits, ser-
vices, and housing to its roughly
41,000 clients.
In examining the state of
AIDS housing opportunities in
the city, Gioia was offended not
only by the squalor facing PWAs,
but also by the money the city
was putting out to house them
in such conditions. When tax-
payers learn that thousands of
dollars are going to a landlord
each month to house someone
in “a hovel,” a political “discon-
nect” results, he insisted.
“The other side wins that
argument every single time,
when we as compassionate
Democrats defend that status
quo,” he said. “Embrace the
goals of a compassionate soci-
ety but demand accountability
as though it’s your money —
and it is your money. Expand
the idea of what is possible.
Expand what it is a just, pro-
gressive government can do.”
If there is impatience in
Gioia’s temperament, there is
also a collegial spirit, perhaps
informed by the years he spent
right after law school working in
the White House counsel’s office
during Bill Clinton’s first term
and later at Milbank, Tweed, the
prestigious law firm. He specifi-
cally eschewed a confrontation-
al approach to the job of public
advocate.
“The job is to fight for people,
not to fight with people, and
there’s a distinction there, a sig-
nificant distinction,” he said.
“You need to be creative to prob-
lem-solve. You don’t always need
to sue or get into a fight. Some-
times, you can get things when
you ask nicely. Though you
need to have the ability to be
tough, because then you’ll be
taken more seriously.”
In a race where some of his
opponents are staking out
sharp policy differences with
Mayor Michael Bloomberg,
Gioia was reluctant to cast his
run in terms of oppositional
䉴 GIOIA, continued on p.13
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 AUG 21, from p.6
her lover. “The Swan Song” brings back
ghosts of the theatrical past, with an old
actor awakening from a drunken stupor
to find an empty stage, a candle, and
the former glories of his career. Nicu’s
Spoon Theatre, 38 W. 38th St. Aug.
21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 8 p.m.; Aug. 22, 23,
29, 2 p.m. Tickets are $12-$15 at smart-
tix.com or 212-868-4444.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
COMMUNITY
SAT.AUG.22
Pride in the Bronx
The Bronx Community Pride Center
presents an afternoon celebration of
the borough’s LGBT community, with a
rally, music and other entertainment,
and a marketplace. The event’s featured
performer is dance music singer and
songwriter Crystal Waters. The celebra-
tion’s theme is “This Year, It’s Personal.”
Barretto Point Park, Hunts Point
riverfront at Tiffany St. & Viele Ave.,
noon-7 p.m. Free shuttle-bus service
from Hunts Point stop on #6 train. For
complete information, visit bronxpride.
org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Andean Pride
In tonight’s “Gay Peruvian of the
Americas Social,” learn about the heri-
tage and culture of this community, enjoy
games, prizes, and shows, and buy some
tasty treats and refreshments to support
the charitable work of this community.
LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th
St., 5 p.m.-midnight.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
AT THE BEACH
Swim for a Cause
Thirty swimmers, along with 15 kay-
akers, six motor boats and likely about
150 spectators, will participate in the
first-ever benefit Stonewall Swim, a 5k
(about 3.5 mile) open-water swim
race launching from the beach at
Browns River Road in Sayville,
Long Island, and finishing in the Fire
Island Pines, at 517 Porgie Walk.
Each swimmer, in raising funds, was
paired with a Big Brother or Big Sister
who is an involved contributor to the
Stonewall Community Foundation, a
grant-making organization that supports
New York City’s LGBT community and
its service groups. Most of the swim-
䉴 AUG 22, continued on p.13
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009
A Community Organizer to the Fore
Bill de Blasio says public advocate post only works by mobilizing voters for change
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
L
ast September, at the Republican
National Convention in St. Paul,
“community organizer” was a
pejorative, spat out from the podium to
undercut the credentials and gravitas of
the Democratic presidential nominee. In
late June, at a diner in Park Slope, Bill de
Blasio, since early 2002 Brooklyn’s 39th
District representative on the City Coun-
cil, embraced the term as the mantle of a
warrior.
“This mayor is very powerful, more
so than we’ve seen in a long time, with
a greater hold over the media,” he said
of incumbent Michael Bloomberg, who
enjoys a comfortable lead in his bid for
a third term in November. “If he is being
unresponsive to any constituency, you
can’t take that on with standard tactics
— you have to do something much deep-
er and much more persistent. I’ve done a
lot of community organizing and a lot of
campaigns, that’s my mindset.”
In an interview with Gay City News
lasting about an hour, de Blasio
returned to the theme of community
organizing again and again to explain
why he is best suited to serve as the
city’s next public advocate, a post with
few defined responsibilities but which
puts its holder at the front of the line in
terms of mayoral succession. “When the
mayor or any agency is not doing what
they’re supposed to be doing, the pub-
lic advocate is the watchdog,” de Blasio
explained. “But you don’t just stand up,
you don’t just have a press conference,
you don’t just put out a press release,
you go and organize communities to
achieve political change.”
De Blasio comes to the public advo-
cate’s race from a good training ground
on the Council, having served as the
chairman of the General Welfare Com-
Metropolitan Community Church of New York
Homeless
Youth
ServicesSocial Spiritual
Service
and Sylvia Rivera
Food Pantry
The Reverend Pat Bumgardner, Pastor
Weekly Sunday Services: 9 am (Traditional), 11 am (Celebration)
3 pm (Mandarin) and 7 pm (Praise & Worship)
11 am features ASL interpreter (1st, 2nd and 3rd Sunday of each month)
446 West 36th St. bet. 9th & 10th Ave. NY, NY 10018
212-629-7440 website: www.mccny.org email: info@mccny.org
Politics /9
he was responsible for legislation requir- cal football in the budget negotiations
ing manufacturers to collect and recycle between the mayor and the City Council,
products they make which contain haz- but this year, de Blasio said, Bloomberg
ardous materials. Talking about a battle pushed the cuts on a Council unable —
his committee fought to block plans by out of the $300 million or so he termed
Bloomberg to close some senior centers, the “core money” the legislative branch
de Blasio reprised his theme of mobiliz- controls in a nearly $60 billion budget
ing voters: “If not for a massive public — to restore them. Though de Blasio
outcry, he would have done it.” disagreed as much with Council Speak-
As he seeks a post from which he er Christine Quinn as he did with the
hopes to hold the mayor, Bloomberg or mayor on the term limits issue, he does
his successor, accountable, de Blasio not blame the Chelsea Democrat for the
acknowledged a critical difficulty that will public advocate budget cuts or attribute
face the next public advocate — the loss the Council’s failure to restore the funds
of nearly 40 percent of the office’s fund- to any desire on her part for political pay-
ing in the city budget approved in June. back against Gotbaum.
While noting that Bloomberg has sever- Instead, he expressed amazement
al times stated his view that the public that Bloomberg would risk being seen as
advocate’s office should be abolished, playing political hardball as he prepares
de Blasio, referring to the current public for his fall reelection campaign. “I would
advocate, who is not seeking reelection, have thought that after term limits,” de
said, “I can’t for a moment believe that Blasio said, “where obviously there’s tre-
this is separated from the fact that Betsy mendous public sensitivities — you saw
Gotbaum was just such a critic of the the Times article a few weeks ago where
mayor during term limits.” people think he’s acting fairly imperial
Bill de Blasio, a Brooklyn city councilman since 2002, Over the years, the public advocate’s
thinks the public advocate’s office can be a needed coun- budget has frequently been a politi- 䉴 DE BLASIO, continued on p.26
terweight to the mayor.
mittee. Through 16 years of Republican
— or today Republican, tomorrow not —
leadership in the mayor’s office, it is that
committee that has often served as a
counterweight to fiscal priorities at odds
with New York’s tradition of progressive
government. The Democrat points to $84
million in additional funding he funneled
to the Administration for Children’s Ser-
vices to provide care for the children of
low and moderate-income families as
well as those at risk for abuse. He takes
credit for passing legislation to bar land-
lords from discriminating against pro-
spective tenants who present Section 8
vouchers or other sources of government
income, such as Social Security. He says
A church of lesbian,
Home
gay, bisexual
and transgender
people. Open to all.
Advocating
Marriage Equality and
Transgender Rights
 20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009

10/ Perspective
■ ALBANY ALERT
PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER

Why Tom Duane’s AIDS Rent Cap Matters To Me

JOHN W. SUTTER
JWSutter@communitymediallc.com
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER
BY JAMES W. LISTER
TROY MASTERS
troy@gaycitynews.com

I
am one of those “people To say I have difficulty mak- I’m extremely proud and for- ing away from costly arrears,
EDITOR IN-CHIEF & CO-FOUNDER
PAUL SCHINDLER
who don’t have a voice” ing ends meet would be an tunate to live in the Far West evictions, and emergency shel-
editor@gaycitynews.com that Senator Tom Duane understatement. Even when Village and be represented by ter placements toward keeping
ASSOCIATE EDITOR referred to in his historic speech my SSD increases for inflation, Senator Duane and Assem- people in their homes.
Duncan Osborne about New York’s HIV/ AIDS HASA just takes more for rent blymember Deborah Glick. Now it’s up to Assembly
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS housing crisis. After working for so that my monthly income They introduced legislation in Speaker Sheldon Silver, Ways &
Christopher Byrne (Theater), Susie Day, nearly 35 years — and 14 years remains the same. After the Albany that would fix this prob- Means Committee Chair Denny
Doug Ireland (International), Brian McCormick after I received an HIV diagno- rent each month, I worry about lem by providing approximately Farrell, and Governor David
(Dance), Dean P. Wrzeszcz
sis — I reluctantly applied for how to pay for bare necessi- 11,000 HASA clients like me Paterson to determine whether
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Betsy Andrews, Seth J. Bookey,
rental assistance through New ties. An extravagance I “saved with an affordable housing pro- thousands of low-income New
Anthony M.Brown, Kelly Jean Cogswell, York City’s HIV/AIDS Services up” for used to be something tection capping our rent contri- Yorkers with HIV/AIDS will be
Dean Daderko, Tate Dougherty, Andres Duque, Administration (HASA), as well like a vacation; now it’s things bution at 30 percent of income. given a fair chance to keep their
Michael Ehrhardt, Steve Erickson, Nick Feitel,
Jim Fouratt, Joe Fyfe, Deborah Garwood, as for federal Social Security like dish sponges, light bulbs, Although HASA’s rent pro- homes. The special legislative
Erasmo Guerra, Emily Harney, Andrey Henkin, Disability (SSD), in 2003. Two deodorant, pens, house-clean- gram is run by the city, Albany session anticipated for mid-Sep-
Frank Holiday, Andy Humm, James Jorden, Brendan illnesses had hemorrhaged my ing supplies, underwear, socks, actually sets the policies and tember is a perfect opportunity
Keane, David Kennerley, Gary M. Kramer, Arthur S.
Leonard, Rachael Liberman, savings, and I needed help. winter shoes, or the ultimate pays for half the cost. While for the Assembly to follow the
Michael T. Luongo, Lawrence D. Mass, After surviving the humiliat- luxury of a cup of coffee with all 45,000 low-income PLWHA Senate’s lead and pass this bill.
Winnie McCroy, Eileen McDermott,
Gregory Montreuil, Ioannis Mookas, Carrie Moyer,
ing approval process, imagine a friend. About four years ago, and their families on HASA Despite the fact that Assem-
Stephen Mueller, Christopher Murray, my surprise when I was told I started wearing clothes from would be more secure if this bill blymember Glick has had suc-
David Noh, Wayne Northcross, Lori Ortiz, my “budget” would be $330 a friends who’ve died. About two became law, it would directly cess in building support among
Pauline Park, Sheila Pepe, John Reed,
Nathan Riley, Andrew Robinson, Gerard Robinson, month. Effectively, HASA told years ago, I was forced to col- benefit about 11,000 clients her colleagues, the Assembly
Chris Schmidt, Sarah D. Schulman, me 70 percent of my SSD check lect bottles and cans to “save who currently pay between 50 leadership refused to let the
Jason Victor Serinus, Linda Shapiro, would be taken for rent pay- money.” I live in constant fear and 80 percent of their disabil- measure come to a vote during
David Shengold, Gus Solomons Jr., David Spiher,
Drew B. Straub, Stefen Styrsky, Jerry Tallmer, ments each month. The expecta- that I could fall behind in rent ity income toward rent each the final days of the regular ses-
Stefanos Tsigrimanis, Kathleen Warnock, tion I had while paying taxes all and lose the apartment that month. sion in June.
Benjamin Weinthal, Lee Ann Westover,
James Withers, Kai Wright, Susan Yung
those years was that there would has been my home for more I’ve taken vans and busses Ultimately, the government
be a safety net if I ever experi- than 30 years. to Albany with the New York response to the AIDS crisis has
ART DIRECTOR
Mark Hasselberger
enced a catastrophic situation. No wonder Tom delivered City AIDS Housing Network always been about political will.
But it was HASA’s rent pro- the speech of his, or any politi- (NYCAHN) week after week so Now Speaker Silver and Gover-
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Jamie Paakkonen gram that seemed catastroph- cian’s life, on the State Senate I could personally tell my story nor Paterson must demonstrate
ic. Here’s how it works: HASA floor in the early hours on July to elected officials there. I can they have the will to help those
SENIOR VP OF ADVERTISING/MARKETING
FRANCESCO REGINI “budgets” every client receiv- 17. Our city’s HIV/AIDS rental recite in my sleep the litany of “people who don’t have a voice”
francesco@gaycitynews.com ing rental assistance to keep a assistance program reflects the reasons to pass this bill, includ- to stay in their homes.
mere $330 a month — roughly worst of nearly three decades of ing reversing the trend of rising
ADVERTISING MANAGERS
$11 per day — no matter how government neglect mixed with homelessness among PLWHA, James W (Jim) Lister began
COLIN GREGORY
colin@gaycitynews.com much their disability income is. outright hostility and stigma ensuring HASA clients don’t his activism in 1979 with Greater
While tenants in Section 8 or toward people living with HIV/ have to choose between their Gotham Business Council, coor-
ALLISON GREAKER
allison@gaycitynews.com supportive housing programs, AIDS (PLWHA). HASA is the doctor and their rent, and sup- dinating “The Gay Market” in
JASON SHERWOOD
for example, pay only 30 per- only rental assistance program porting basic fairness by align- 1982 and serving on the board of
jsherwood@gaycitynews.com cent of their income toward of its kind in our state that does ing HASA’s policy with other directors. Currently he is a mem-
JULIO TUMBACO rent each month, some HASA not have an affordable hous- similar rental assistance pro- ber/leader of the 30% Rent Cap
julio@gaycitynews.com clients on SSD pay over 80 per- ing protection capping the ten- grams. Here’s one more — this Campaign with NYCAHN, and
DANI ZUPANOVICH cent of their disability check ant rent share at 30 percent of bill would actually save New a client and volunteer at Gay
dani@gaycitynews.com just for rent. income. York money by shifting fund- Men’s Health Crisis.
Please call (212) 229-1890 for
advertising rates and availability.
ACCOUNTING ■ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DAVID JAFFE
david@gaycitynews.com
NATIONAL DISPLAY ADVERTISING
WHY WE SHOULD were creating a grassroots, and march WHEN CAUTION LGBT activists for pushing for immedi-
Rivendell Media / 212.242.6863 MARCH organizing was the training ground. Today, KILLS ate suspension of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Web master we are looking to empower the thousands by executive order of the president/com-
Arturo Jimenez July 30, 2009 of existing grassroots groups as an alter- August 5, 2009 mander-in-chief, arguing, “Without a clear
Arturo@gaycitynews.com
Gay City News, The Newspaper Serving Gay and Lesbian NYC, is pub-
To the Editor: native voice to our assimilated national To the Editor: buy-in from the military and decisive sup-
lishedby Community Media, LLC. Send all inquiries to: Gay City News, Although I support the up-coming organizations and their limited agenda Thanks to Gay City News for your con- port in Congress, Obama would be walking
145 Sixth Ave., First Fl., NYC 10013 Phone: 646.452.2500 Written
permission of the publisher must be obtained before any of the contents March on Washington, the “Top-Down and non-existing strategy. We don’t need sistently excellent news coverage and into the same firing squad that doomed
of this paper, in part or whole, can be reproduced or redistributed. All
contents (c) 2009 Gay City News. ‘National March for Equality’ Won’t Wash” to spend a year organizing a march, we exceptionally insightful editorials. How- Bill Clinton’s effort to integrate the Armed
article (by Steve Ault, posted online, Jul. need to spend three months reorganizing ever, as an LGBT activist since 1971 and a Forces.”
Gay City News is a registered trademark
of Community Media, LLC. 26) makes some legitimate points about our movement. The prevailing issue today public policy consultant who has provided Your logic in recommending that
John W. Sutter, President
Fax: 646.452.2501; the process, though with antiquated analy- is not disenfranchisement from the march pro bono public relations services for the President Obama NOT act to immediately
E-mail: JWSutter@communitymediallc.com sis. The question of process, always impor- — it’s disenfranchisement from the move- past decade to the Palm Center/Center for suspend Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is literally
tant, is best examined in terms of intended ment. I see the March as a call to make a the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Mili- fatally flawed. How many soldiers’ lives
Subscriptions:
26 issues, $90.00 impact. The 2009 March it seems is intend- national quilt of local activists, and Octo- tary at the University of California/Santa — straight or gay — should continue to
(c)2009 Gay City News. ed to (1) increase the sense of urgency, and ber 10-11 as the first panel. Barbara, I must strongly disagree with your be sacrificed because services of an Arab-
All rights reserved. (2) broaden the demand from single-issue Todd Fernandez July 9-22 editorial, “Some Perspective on
bills to full equality. Twenty years ago, we Queens Washington,” in which you criticize some 䉴 LETTERS, continued on p.13
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009
■ A DYKE ABROAD
Y
ou see tons of Muslim
women in Paris near the
Institut du Monde Arabe
on the fancy Left Bank. They’re
mostly young and scholarly,
and charge down the sidewalks
with colored headscarves, or
black hijabs and abayas floating
behind them like capes.
They remind me of young
queers taking to the street in
their uniforms of leather brace-
lets and Doc Martens with pink
and black triangles on every-
thing, part fashion choice, part
remembrance, hopefully even a
symbol of resistance. Because
sometimes, if you’re lucky, you
can take the sign and means
of oppression and transform it
into a declaration of war.
Not always, though. It’s
enough to imagine what those
pink and black triangles would
mean on New York queers
if dykes and fags across the
river in New Jersey were actu-
ally obligated to wear them,
embodying discrimination.
Then, would the Nazi’s pink or
black triangle on your Manhat-
tan leather jacket be an act of
solidarity, or stupid ignorance?
Are we even allowed ignorance
any more in our tweet and blog
world?
That double-edged nature of
symbols arises every time some
■ SNIDE LINES
W
hat with all the lay-
offs and financial ruin
going on, a dyke’s
got to be plenty resourceful in
the job market, especially if a
dyke’s got standards. Like me,
see? There was a time I could
have done the whole corpo-
rate-panty-hose drag thing,
and maybe eked out a living as
a receptionist at some major
investment firm. Then I learned
that investment firms are a big
cause of joblessness in the first
place. I got so mad I wanted to
tie up all those companies and
inflict deep pain on them. A
nice dream, but anyone will tell
you it’s impossible to discipline
Goldman Sachs. That’s why I
became a dominatrix for the
Revolution.
Muslim Women in France
American jumps into the debate
about “the right” of Muslim
women to wear a headscarf or
body-covering abaya, usually
reducing the complicated social
debate, especially in France, to
a matter of religious freedom.
Women should do what they
want. Anybody considering
restrictions must be a Euro-
centric Islamophobe.
Besides the problem that
such critics erase Muslims who
are opponents of “covering,”
the truth is that religion is the
least of the matter. In Paris,
anyway. On the one hand, you
do have those mostly young
Muslim women of the scholarly
Left Bank wearing headscarves,
abayas, and sometimes even
the burkha, partly in religious
devotion, but often it seems
like a flag of cultural difference
that they wave at the charging
French bull in a big fuck-you.
And if they were the only
Muslim women in France,
maybe I’d say fashion, religion,
who cares? It’s not worth wast-
ing our breath.
Unfortunately, cross the real
and metaphorical river Seine
and those little fabric squares
covering hair, or bodies, even
faces, have little to do with God,
or even culture, but misogy-
ny in its purest form. A whole
Obey Me, Pay Me
See, for years, I did the whole
peace and justice bit. I joined
counterculture collectives to end
war; I supported labor, fought
AIDS, promoted womon-iden-
tified yadda-yaddas. All that
might have helped somebody,
sometime — but did you ever
hear of good deeds paying the
gas and electric? So one day,
I’m out of work and I walk by
this stoop sale. I see this clas-
sic self-help book: “Do What
You Love, The Money Will Fol-
low.”
I am, like any American,
intrigued when the wor ds
“love” and “money” coexist in a
title. “Okay, what do I love?” I
ask myself. The answer comes
crashing down: “I don’t know
what I love. I lead an overly
BY KELLY JEAN COGSWELL
range of women are actively
coer ced by br others, boy-
friends, fathers, even sons into
“covering” in public, and these
males enforce their will with
threats, beatings, rape, and the
Those little fabric squares covering
hair, or bodies, even faces, have
little to do with God, but
misogyny in its purest form.
occasional old favorite of acid
sprayed in any naked female
face.
Pressure to comply seems
worst in the banlieus, in the
suburbs, where segregation
and poverty are at their most
intense, and angry young men
are looking for ways to assert
themselves. But you see it often
enough in the poorer neigh-
borhoods inside the city — the
women creeping down the
sidewalks behind the men that
effectively own them. Tiny girls
already in scarves, veiled seeth-
ing teenagers, and their future
selves — not stylish liberated
women at the fancy Left Bank
Institut du Monde Arabe — but
sacks of exhausted flesh bro-
ken with childbearing and hard
BY SUSIE DAY
examined life in late capital-
ism’s post-hippie depressive
margins. I hate myself!” And
I rip the book in half. It felt
good. In fact, I loved it. But no
money followed.
Couple of days later, I’m
at the Gay Pride March, feel-
ing sorry for myself, when
this dude from the Commu-
nist Revolution Party sticks a
flier in my face. He says, “Our
platform once held that homo-
sexuality is bourgeois and
decadent, but we dropped that
belief, so more of you people
would buy things at our store.
Please sign our petition sup-
porting the rights of hetero-
sexual poor people.”
For a second, I lapse into
my old habit of visualizing
Perspective /11
work. There’s nothing sanctify-
ing or empowering at all about
the ugly black, dirty drapes that
hide older Muslim women as
they stagger down the street.
When I see them I want to
ban all the abayas, hijabs, and
headscarves I see. And give a
good hard kick in the balls to
the young men and boys with
their degenerate fathers saun-
tering several yards in front
of the women they despise as
trash. I also want to yank aside
those Left Bank Muslim girls
and remind them that the sym-
bols they’re obviously playing
with haven’t been fully trans-
formed. Black covering robes
and scarves may work as a
nose-thumbing gesture to the
predominantly Christian West.
But as a tool against the most-
ly masculine forces that have
imposed them, they’re not doing
anything subversive at all.
The logical conclusion of “cov-
ering” women is a mere 3,485
world peace. Then I get a grip
and remember what I love. I
say, “Eh, your mama drives a
tractor for Monsanto” — and
punch his lights out. “Now,
kiss my fist, CRP anti-imperi-
alist running dog of homopho-
bia,” I sneer.
I’m afraid this guy is about
to call the cops. Instead, he
tilts his head back to stop the
nosebleed and says, “Thank
y o u , m a ’ a m . We s t r a i g h t
white males who invade Pride
marches in order to coerce
gay people to join our sectar-
ian causes should be severely
punished! I feel much better
about myself.” Then he hands
me ten bucks and goes back
to the march to pass out more
fliers.
miles east in Afghanistan, where
that piece of compromised
shit Hamid Karzai is throwing
females to the Taliban wolves
in hopes of improving his elec-
tion chances there. The Shiite
Personal Status Law he allowed
to pass into ef fect in July
allows husbands to starve their
wives if they fail to obey sexual
demands, requires women to
get male permission to leave the
house, tolerates rape if the rap-
ist coughs up dough for the girl
or marries her. It strips women
of rights to their own children,
granting sole guardianship to
their fathers and grandfathers.
While this law theoretically
only enslaves Afghanistan’s
three million Shiite women, a
huge amount of Afghan women
of all origins have protested
because it is expected to have
an impact on all future legisla-
tion regarding family and wom-
en’s rights.
Given that reality, one thing
at least is clear. That it’s not
more freedom of religion most
Muslim women need, but free-
dom from the monsters that use
it to keep them safely hidden
and in chains.
Check out Kelly Sans Culotte
at http://kellyatlarge.blogspot.
com/.
This was my first real spiri-
tual experience. I did what
I loved and — woo-hoo —
money followed. So I toss out
my Birkenstocks, buy myself
some spike heels, a whip, cou-
ple of leather jumpsuits, a cat
costume, and become the ulti-
mate Madam of PC Thugggery.
I’m keeping things honest in
the social change racket, see?
And what a racket it is – I
mean, who knew? Change-
the-world types got this deep
need to suffer. And I make ’em
crawl for it.
I spent a totally fulfilling
first year, beating up the more
militant denizens of the sec-
tarian Left. It was a constant
䉴 OBEY ME, continued on p.13

12/ Politics
Lesbian Aims for Council Seat
Lynn Schulman, with strong labor backing, takes on two former elected officials in Forest Hills
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
“I
think there will be an
opportunity for us to
form a progressive bloc
and make some major changes
on items that people have been
looking to get done for years
and never have been able to
just because of the structure of
the Council,” Lynn Schulman
explained about her bid for the
29th City Council District seat
in Queens in the September 15
Democratic primary. “With one
or two people, it’s very difficult
for them to do, but if there’s
a bloc that can push and put
some leverage together, I think
that that’s really important.”
Schulman explained that in
putting together such a bloc
should she win, her endorse-
ments give her the beginnings of
a foundation — she is supported
by out lesbian District 2 Coun-
cilwoman Rosie Mendez from
the Lower East Side, District 7
Councilman Robert Jackson,
who represents Harlem, Wash-
ington Heights, and Inwood,
District 21 Councilwoman
Julissa Ferreras from Queens,
and District 39 Councilwoman
Sara Gonzáles from Brooklyn.
But in talking about challeng-
ing “the structure of the Coun-
cil,” Schulman inevitably invites
questions regarding her assess-
ment of the leadership provided
since early 2006 by Speaker
Christine Quinn, who repre-
sents District 3, stretching from
the West Village to Hell’s Kitch-
en. Both Quinn and Schulman
are out lesbians.
“I think she has pushed a
progressive agenda, but there
have been some items on which
there needs to be a balance with
the mayor, and I think on some
level there’s been some conser-
vatism there, depending on the
issue,” Schulman said of Quinn.
“I think that there needs to be a
balance but that everyone has
a say, so I would hope that as
a City Council member that I
would have a say, and that we
could go to the speaker and to
the mayor and say, ‘These are
issues of concern to us, and we
want to work together on them
and not just have somebody say
that this is going to be the policy
Lynn Schulman hopes the second time will be the charm in her run for the 29th District City
Council seat.
moving forward.’ And I’ve heard
some complaints from some
people on the Council that that
is sometimes what happens.”
Schulman made her point,
but was careful in choosing her
words to do so.
Asked what issues she had in
mind when referring to “items
that people have been looking
to get done for years,” she men-
tioned problems with the city’s
Living Wage Law. The measure,
passed in 2002, ensures a mini-
mum wage level for employees
of companies with certain types
of service contracts with the
city. At the time of its passage,
the Brennan Center for Jus-
tice at the New York University
School of Law hailed it as cover-
ing more workers than any such
law in the nation — providing
a living wage for up to 60,000
home healthcare and child care
workers.
The pr oblem, Schulman
said, is inadequate provision for
cost-of-living increases to keep
pace with inflation and also
lagging enforcement. Since the
law went into effect, it has also
been faulted for covering fewer
workers than advocates origi-
nally intended. Large corpora-
tions receiving taxpayer-funded
grants and tax abatements
under city economic develop-
ment programs were not cov-
ered.
It’s not surprising that Schul-
man focused on the living wage
issue in addressing progres-
sive future directions for the
Council, since she is the recipi-
ent of two of the plums of labor
endorsements in New York City
— the Working Families Party
and 1199 SEIU United Health
Care Workers East, as well as
the Communications Workers of
America, the Freelancers Union,
the Retail Workers and Depart-
ment Store Union, and the
Mason Tenders’ District Coun-
cil of Greater New York, among
others. She also has the support
of out gay Chelsea State Senator
Thomas K. Duane, who similar-
ly enjoys strong labor support.
One endorsement that Schul-
man does not have is Quinn’s.
The speaker endorsed Karen
Koslowitz, who represented the
district for ten years before term
limits barred her from seeking
reelection in 2001. The Council
member since then, who beat
Schulman in her first run for
Schulman inevitably invites
questions regarding her assessment
of the leadership provided since early
2006 by Speaker Christine Quinn.
the seat, is Melinda Katz, who
has chosen not to run again
and is instead seeking the open
city comptroller post. Schulman
speculated that Quinn might be
eager to secure Koslowitz’s vote
in next January’s speakership
race should the former council-
woman re-gain her seat, while
betting that Schulman would
support her anyway. Quinn is
also certainly mindful of the
critical role the Queens County
Democratic organization played
in helping her first become
speaker in 2006 — Koslowitz is
the endorsed county candidate.
Schulman sat down with
Gay City News just two days
after City Hall newspaper ran
a 10,000-word investigative
piece probing the relationship
between the Working Families
Party, a for-profit political con-
sulting affiliate, Data and Field
Services (DFS), that it created,
and seven candidates in the
September primary — Schul-
man included. The City Hall
story, and a series of follow-ups,
suggested that in creating DFS,
the Working Families Party was
flouting the spirit, if not the let-
ter, of city campaign finance
law.
Schulman dismissed the
issue, saying the contract her
campaign has signed with DFS
is “like any vendor relation-
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009
ship… In any campaign, people
get hired to do petitioning, peo-
ple get hired to do canvassing.”
Saying of the City Hall story,
“Where the actual complaint
stems from, I’m not clear on,”
Schulman added, “I thought the
article went in a round-about
way to try to say something.”
She argued that the candidates
mentioned in the story are “folks
who are trying to level the play-
ing field, who are not part of the
old politics, who don’t get their
support from that network.”
Schulman added, “I know
that my campaign is very above-
board. The Campaign Finance
Board has told my campaign
that we’re very good in how we
document everything.”
Schulman very much sees
herself as challenging the
“entrenched” powers that be
in Queens. In addition to her
county-endorsed rival Koslow-
itz, another of her opponents is
also a former elected official —
Michael L. Cohen, who served in
the State Assembly until 2005.
“They were well known when
they represented the district,
but the district has changed
considerably since they repre-
sented it,” Schulman said of
competing with two Democrats
who have already won election.
She argued that with the steep
rise in real estate prices in Man-
hattan and Brooklyn, until late
2007 at least, areas like the 29th
District — which encompasses
Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Rego
Park, and portions of Richmond
Hills, Elmhurst, and Maspeth —
have seen a huge influx of new-
comers, many of them young
professionals, both single and
married with children, and a fair
number of them LGBT.
“Lots of people 40 or below
don’t know the two candidates
䉴 FOREST HILLS, continued on p.26
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 AUG 22, from p.8
mers are New Yorkers, but the 30 also
includes Carlos Arena, a member of the
1996 Mexican Olympic Swimming Team,
Michael Holtz, a former US National
Swim Team member, Win Chesson, an
International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics
record holder, and Brian Wadley, an Iron
Man competition winner. The swim
begins in Sayville at 10 a.m. For more
information or to pledge your support,
visit stonewallfoundation.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ immediately suspending Don’t Ask, Don’t
Ebersole & Stritch
In Concert
Christine Ebersole, the veteran stage
actress perhaps best known recently
for her appearance in “Grey Gardens,”
appears with pianist Billy Stritch in
concert at Brandon Fradd Theatre,
Whyte Hall in the Fire Island Pines, 9
p.m. Tickets are $10-$150 at fipap.org or
in the Pines harbor.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ While you argue that President Obama
GALLERY
Mom & POP
Artist Olan Montgomery releases
the first bound collection of his work in
a pocket-sized, hardcover coffee table
book, “POP- Art inspired by New York’s
own subcultures from celebrity to sub-
way.” Olan’s work takes digital based art
to a thrilling new level, combining fine
art photography and hand painting, along
with poetry and famous art quotes. The
bound collection examines and shines
a neon glow stick on New York’s hidden
subcultures including the city’s home-
less, its colorful nightlife personalities,
and its bold gay icons. Select art from the
book as well as work by his mother, art-
ist Eslye Moore, is on exhibit in a show
entitled “Mom & POP” at Ward-Nasse
Gallery, 178 Prince St., btwn. Sul-
livan & Thompson Sts, throughout
August, Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m.; Sun.,
1-6 p.m. A reception will be held
tonight at 7 p.m.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ leave their kids with the nanny
TELEVISION
Coming Together
“In the Life,” public television’s
monthly LGBT magazine, presents an
hour exploring Caffe Cino, a Green-
wich Village coffee house that Joe Cino
launched in 1958 as a bohemian refuge
home to burgeoning gay playwrights and
performers inspired to create experimen-
tal and daring works of self-expression;
The program also includes a conversation
with writers Edmund White and Doric
䉴 AUG 22, continued on p.18
䉴 LETTERS, from p.10
language interrogator, a medic, or a high-
ly-trained and decorated combat hero is
unavailable because they were dismissed
on a totally irrational premise?
Your central argument that President
Obama would be walking into a political
firing squad akin to Bill Clinton’s experi-
ence when he sought to open military
service to openly gay personnel in 1993
fails to take into account that public sup-
port for repeal of this policy since 1993
has grown to overwhelming proportions.
Every major national poll shows not only
that a vast majority of Democratic voters
support immediate repeal, but so do clear
majorities of Republican voters and self-
described conservatives; there is simply
no political “trap” for President Obama in
Tell.
It’s astonishing to me that even some of
our own organizational leaders don’t grasp
what 16 years in contemporary culture
means. Think of the political, cultural and
social differences between 1940 and 1956,
or 1956 and 1972. Tremendous shifts occur
during 16-year periods in our fast-transi-
tioning global and national cultures, but at
the risk of mixing metaphors, some people
want to fight the last war over again.
should spend time getting “buy-in” from
Congress and the Pentagon, gay men and
women are daily being drummed out of the
service, including many mission-critical
personnel. Also, and critically, the tens of
thousands of closeted gay and lesbian per-
sonnel in the armed forces will continue to
䉴 OBEY ME, from p.11
high. Many CRP members, for
instance, loved for me to tie
them up and call them scabs.
“I’m alienated from the means
of production,” they’d whim-
per. “My parents sent me to
Harvard Business School
— please — more hot wax.
Whack me until I bleed like a
worker.”
Soon, I moved on to the
more upscale, complex cases.
You know, the pacifists who
hit their wives? The wives who
while they’re off writing books
䉴 GIOIA, from p.8
politics. Asked to assess the
job Bloomberg and City Coun-
cil Speaker Christine Quinn
have been doing, he demurred,
saying, “I’ll leave that to others
to assess. I think they’re both
doing the best they can. Fair
enough?”
Gioia undoubtedly faces
long odds in the September 15
20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009
live in fear — not fear of the Taliban or Al
Qaeda, but because their careers may be
destroyed. This high anxiety among gay
service members is what contributes to
any possible breach of unit cohesion —
no one functions at their best while living
a lie.
President Obama has said that repeal-
ing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a matter of
national security, and he’s right. If the pres-
ident truly believes that ending this harm-
ful policy is a matter of national security,
then the only rational response is for the
president to suspend Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
immediately and stop the hemorrhaging of
expensively-trained and urgently-needed
troops.
The GCN editorial spoke of the need
to gain “buy-in” from the military. The
Palm Center has held dozens of meetings
with high-level strategists and planners in
the Pentagon — and almost every one of
these senior officers is eager for repeal.
They know that commanders in theaters
of combat are typically distraught when
they are about to lose their gay soldiers
because so many of them are invaluable to
the mission.
And recent studies have shown that
a majority of new recruits are perfectly
comfortable serving alongside openly gay
troops and that a large number of returning
combat veterans say they knew gay per-
sonnel in their units and were not troubled
by their presence. So this supposedly dif-
ficult transition will be relatively smooth.
Why wait until the antediluvian block in
Congress relents?
Representative Patrick Murphy, Demo-
crat of Pennsylvania, a terrific young con-
on progressive parenting?
White people who feel terrible
they can’t find any people of
color to validate their 501(c)(3)
boards of directors? They’re all
aching to be punished, so they
can go back to saving the world
through their careers.
By venturing into the liberal
end of the political spectrum, I
have even acquired a few celeb-
rity clients. Guess what Cali-
fornia attorney general likes
to be spanked? Professional
ethics forbid me from dropping
names. Let’s just say that,
knowing what I know now, I
understand Linda Ronstadt
Democratic primary, squaring
off against three opponents,
one of whom is the former pub-
lic advocate and 2001 Demo-
cratic mayoral candidate, Mark
Green, and another, his City
Council colleague from Brook-
lyn, Bill de Blasio, who boasts
a very long list of progressive
endorsements. Public support
for Gioia is more modest — the
Queens County Democratic
gressman and Iraq combat veteran who is
leading the effort to gather support in Con-
gress for repeal — and with whom I had
an opportunity to talk this week — should
keep on aggressively gathering votes for
full repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. But that
effort would be not at all inconsistent with
an order by the commander-in-chief imme-
diately suspending this appalling policy
while Congressman Murphy continues to
round up votes for repeal.
But because Rep. Murphy knows that
the president doesn’t want to adminis-
tratively suspend Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, as
a good soldier he is cooperating with the
president’s misconceived political assess-
ment.
This is a rare instance when our com-
munity can rightfully claim the mantle of
national security to support a key plank
of our policy agenda. We should do so —
and aggressively press the president to do
the right thing, and do it now.
Ethan Geto
Manhattan
Gay City News contributing colum-
nist Nathan Riley responds:
My friend Ethan Geto is surely correct
that President Obama should be pressed to
do something about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,
and other issues important to the LGBT
community. But despite the justice of his
criticism, Obama is doing a remarkable job
and deserves support.
Obama decided that he couldn’t govern
without the support of the financial com-
munity and the Pentagon. He also prom-
ised that he would not lead a crusade, but
would govern according to the laws. His
much better. Then there’s the
radio humorist who harbors
these Roman slave fantasies
that make even me sick. But
I do him, anyway, just to get
free passes to “A Prairie Home
Companion.” One of my long-
range goals is to work for the
Soros Foundation. But first,
they have to admit they need
help.
Of course, it ain’t all roses.
You’re only as good as your last
whack in this biz, and I’m get-
ting old. It’s hard to get health
insurance, and last Saturday
night I dislocated my shoul-
der on Bill Moyers. My mistake
organization, the state League
of Conservation Voters, several
uniformed officers associations,
former Congresswoman Geral-
dine Ferraro and a handful of
current office holders, and sev-
eral labor unions, the largest of
which are the Retail, Wholesale
and Department Store Union,
the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers, and the
Teamsters Joint Council 16.
13
commitment to financial stability led to the
bailout, which is looking good, but unhap-
pily he slighted folks facing foreclosure and
the unemployed. His support of the military
hurts when he defers to the Pentagon on
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. On the other hand,
this alliance led to one of his many Con-
gressional victories, the F 22 airplane was
canceled. The Defense secretary opposed
the plane, but traditionally Congress over-
ruled the military and added funds to
finance this boondoggle. It is a major vic-
tory, and the same bill added protections
for queers in the Federal Hate Crime law.
Thus, queers won a recent victory, a
reason why smoldering dissatisfaction
may be appropriate, but breaking with
the president will only help our enemies.
I recently wrote in favor of the March on
Washington (“It’s time to March,” Jul.
9-22). The angriest critics of the March are
also incensed about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
If the March becomes directed at Obama,
I won’t support it. The foes are Sarah Palin
and the organized bigots that ban marriage
equality. President Obama will do us proud
by the time he runs for a second term.
WRITE US!
Address letters to the editor, of no more
than 250 words, to:
Editor@gaycitynews.com ;
Or fax them to 646-452-2501;
Or mail them to 145 Sixth Ave.,
1st fl., New York 10013.
Please include your phone number, for
confirmation purposes only. The editors
reserve the right to edit all letters due to
space constraints.
was in admitting I forgot the
safe word — now I got to pay
for the x-rays myself.
I like to think I help every-
body who comes to me. “Guilt
is only useful to justify what
you’ve always done and will
continue to do,” I tell my cli-
ents. “Otherwise, you should
get rid of it.” Then I beat ’em
senseless. They get a little jus-
tice; I get a little peace. Nothing
really changes. It’s activism for
the 21st century, see? But you
know, ultimately, it doesn’t
matter if what you do changes
anything for the better. You
just got to keep loving it.
Gioia, however, is clearly
comfortable with the way he
has held true to the beliefs that
have animated his public ser-
vice. Recalling those encounters
where some of his more conser-
vative constituents have chal-
lenged his social liberalism, he
said, “I think I’m a validator of
a set of beliefs. We should not
have a conversation where we
all agree.”

14/ Theater
Killer Instincts
Docu-play about Columbine massacre digs beneath the headlines
BY DAVID KENNERLY
A
full decade has passed
since the diaboli-
cal, munitions-crazed
Eric Harris and Dylan Kle-
bold unleashed their wrath on
humanity by slaying 12 stu-
dents, one teacher, and them-
selves — far below the 250
they’d hoped to annihilate — in
the most deadly high school
shooting in American history.
Who can forget the images of
distraught students, hands
above heads, being marched out
of Columbine High by police,
replayed on the news?
The word “Columbine” is
now synonymous with school
shootings. While the tragedy
was reported ad nauseam by
the media, portrayed in films
Justin Mortelitti and Artie Ahr as Columbine killers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.
(most notably Gus Van Sant’s
“Elephant”), and analyzed in
an array of blogs and books,
no major play has been staged
until now.
In the valiant if uneven work
“The Columbine Project,” writ-
er/director Paul Storiale is not
satisfied with simply recount-
ing the tragedy or highlight-
ing its myriad themes — gun
control, social cliques, bullying
of misfits, school security, vio-
lent video games, head-banger
rock, homophobia, deadly anti-
depressant side effects.
Pushing one level further,
Storiale harnesses the hind-
sight of ten years to puncture
myths and ask prickly ques-
tions. Why did police wait to
enter the premises, allowing
the carnage to continue, and
CAROL ROSEGG
THE COLUMBINE PROJECT
Actors Temple Theater
339 W. 47th St.
Mon., Wed., Thu. at 8 p.m.;
Sat. at 7 p.m.
$31.50-$56.50; Telecharge.com
Or 212-239-6200
later withhold crucial evidence?
Why hasn’t their investigation
been fully investigated? Was the
teacher in the library a hero or
a coward? Must the murderers’
parents, badgered by blame and
lawsuits, suffer for the sins of
their sons?
Thankfully, the ruthless kill-
ers aren’t portrayed as, well,
mere ruthless killers, but com-
plex, smart, seriously dam-
aged kids whose impulses were
allowed to run amok. Sure, Har-
ris (Artie Ahr, who looks just
like him) and Klebold (Justin
Mortelliti, a tad too good-looking
for the role) are damaged by a
heartless caste system, where
jocks ruled the halls and lorded
over the teachers, and everyone
else was pretty much relegated
to faggot-loser status. Although
persecuted by bullies, the killers
were bullies themselves. And
contrary to reports, they were
not members of the school’s
“Trenchcoat Mafia.” But it made
for a snappy sound bite.
Speaking of faggots, some
have posited the pair was
secretly gay, but besides a con-
trol-freak bond where psychotic
Harris dominated the disaf-
fected, lovelorn Klebold, they
appear to like girls. Storiale has
inserted a moody, guitar-strum-
ming misfit named Chris (Brad-
ley Michael), who struggles with
his sexuality and represents the
outcasts whose lives were hell-
ish at Columbine well before the
massacre.
If “The Columbine Project”
calls to mind — indeed, begs
comparison to — another play
about an iconic tragedy, “The
Laramie Project,” it’s no acci-
dent. The gripping exploration
of the senseless slaying of Mat-
thew Shepard, which occurred
six months prior to the Colum-
bine incident, is one of the most
poignant, successful docu-plays
ever. Like this work, “The Col-
umbine Project” incorporates
text from actual interviews,
Marguerite Wiseman is utterly gripping as the mother of the only African-American student
(played by Garland Gregory) killed at Columbine.
journal entries, videos, and
other primary sources to piece
together a painfully intriguing, if
incomplete impression.
Storiale’s instinct to partially
pattern his play after “The Lara-
mie Project” is a good one. The
actual 911 calls, played during
scene transitions, are bone-
chilling. And the affecting solilo-
quies, where a spotlighted char-
acter faces the audience, speak-
ing actual words of the victims
and their families, feel all too
real. Some of the contrived, fic-
titious exchanges are less suc-
cessful, however.
From the start, the confused
urgency of the attack is ampli-
fied by the bumbling newscaster
(Derek Meeker), who breathless-
ly reports scant, error-ridden
details from “the war zone.” Ini-
tially all students were consid-
ered suspects until police could
identify the shooters.
Standouts include Evan
Enslow as Brooks, whose life
was spared when his pal Har-
ris told him, “Get out of here.
Go home.” Initially maligned
as the third murderer, his
courtroom plea for a special
investigation is heart-wrench-
ing. Marquerite Wiseman, as
the mother of the only African-
American student slain that
day (“nigger boy,” they call him)
is utterly gripping, her brief
turn the emotional highpoint
of the evening. As the compas-
sionate Christian Rachel Scott,
who reportedly answered Har-
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009
CAROL ROSEGG
ris’ question “Do you believe
in God?” in the affir mative
just before he pulled the trig-
ger, R ya Myers conveys the
light and love that the slain girl
apparently exuded in real life.
At over two hours and stuffed
with an unwieldy cast of 19,
“The Columbine Project” regis-
ters as unbalanced and agitated
as the killers themselves, with
the action ricocheting before,
after, and during the horrific
“judgment day.” The first act,
occasionally tripped up by
uneven performances, a sur-
feit of detail, and clunky scene
changes, could use some trim-
ming. The more concise second
act is much better.
The bulky drama also uncov-
ers some creepy premonitions
— like the boy’s journal entries
threatening to “hijack a plane
and fly it into New York City,
cause as much devastation as
possible” and that Klebold’s
birthday was September 11.
A sketch that the God-abiding
Rachel doodled soon before she
died depicts her looking down
from Heaven, with 13 tears
streaming onto a Columbine
flower.
Minutes before the attack,
the boys made a video, fantasiz-
ing about their fame once they
become martyrs. “They’re gonna
make a movie about us. There’s
gonna be a lot of foreshadowing.
Fucking dramatic irony.” They
forgot to mention a thought-
provoking play, as well.
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009

Theater /15
Hot and Not So
Dancing ignites delight in “Burn the Floor”; “Evening at the Carlyle” fizzles
BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE BURN THE FLOOR ning of razzle dazzle athleticism and
Longacre Theatre energy that will knock your socks off,

T
hanks to such television phe-
noms as “So You Think You Can
Dance” and “Dancing with the
Stars,” ballroom dancing has taken
220 W. 48th St. this is the show to see right now.
Tue. at 7 p.m.; Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.; Remember, these are trained profes-
Wed., Sat. at 2 p.m.; Sun. at 3 p.m. sionals. Don’t try this at home.
Through Oct. 18

on a new level of popularity. It’s also
become bolstered by a new level of
athleticism (called “dancesport”) that
would have left Arthur Murray in the
dust long ago. Watching the TV com-
petitions and listening to the judges,
one gets an understanding of this form
that enhances the pleasures of experi-
encing it live.
“Burn the Floor,” a dance revue, is
nothing short of dazzling. An inter -
national cast of 20 dancers and two
singers blazes through 25 numbers
with precision, verve, and what looks
like utter abandon but is really precise
choreography, amped up to a fever
pitch by director and choreographer
Jason Gilkson. The styles performed
include cha cha, waltz, samba, rumba,
paso doble, jive, and tango, and the
dances move fluidly from one to the
$59.50-$111.50; Telecharge.com
Or 212-239-6200
AN EVENING AT THE CARLYLE
Algonquin Theatre
123 E. 24th St.
Sun.-Tue. at 7 p.m.
Through Sep. 29
$35; Smarttix.com
Or 212-868-4444
next with lighting-fast costume chang-
es. The talented cast is clearly having
the time of their lives, their enthu-
siasm infectious. The audience was
practically dancing in their seats.
But after two hours, the pieces begin
to become repetitive, and the singers
are undistinguished, critically injured
by an inferior sound design that over-
whelms their voices. Still, for an eve-
“A
n Evening at the Carlyle” is
another new musical revue
that cobbles together 24 woe-
fully unoriginal songs and purports to
give us a glimpse into the kind of under-
world of personalities who rotate through
Bemelmans Bar at the Hotel Carlyle.
It’s fitting that this show is down on
24th Street because Al Tapper’s music
and lyrics should be allowed no closer
to the Upper East Side cabaret, which
has famously hosted some of enter -
tainment’s greats. The unmemorable
music comes off as pallid imitations
of the Great American Songbook, and
Tapper’s thudding lyrics, with rhymes
anticipated bars before they clank to
the ground, are generally gruesome
and painful. The songs’ subject matter
Giselle Peacock and Robin Windsor in “Burn the Floor.” 䉴 HOT AND NOT SO, continued on p.22

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16/ Film
LIEV SCHREIBER TALKS DRAG
Liev Schreiber gives a scene-stealing performance as Vilma, a cross-
dresser who happens to protect the Tiber family property in “Taking
Woodstock.” In this Q&A, Schreiber talks about dressing up and being
comfortable in one’s own skin.
GARY M. KRAMER: Audiences first saw you don drag in your fea-
ture debut, “Mixed Nuts,” and in “Taking Woodstock” you are doing
drag again. What appeals to you about putting on a dress?
LIEV SCHREIBER: Not much. It’s awful. The depilatory aspect is
really enough to make you not want to do it anymore. The thing is, once
you put the clothes on, it starts to be fun. It’s just infectious. I think any
man who has ever worn women’s clothing will admit that. It just releas-
es something –– an inner vanity you never knew you had, a femininity.
It’s just fun.
Cockettes [men in drag who for the most part had beards]. This new
movement was more about defying the traditional definitions of gender
in theater work and drag work and things like that. Before the 1960s,
guys would dress like their mother, or iconic Hollywood actresses. And
now you had guys incorporating masculinity into the drag world.
I thought that was really interesting, and the idea that a man
could contain that duality, that he could, with a drag character, also
manifest elements of his masculinity, and that a drag character, that
a homosexual man could have all of those aspects of feminine and
masculine, and actually something else that I think was fueled by
hallucinogenics, was really quite wild. That seemed a good place to
start with Vilma, because it pushed the boundaries of acceptance the
furthest, and if he could be comfortable in his skin like that, then he
could be comfortable.

GMK: You don’t play Vilma as over the top. Your give her self-confi-
dence, especially when she tells Elliot, “I know who I am.” How did you
approach the character?
LS: Ang said to me very early on that he saw Vilma as an angel. That
was a very big note. I didn’t know what that meant at first. But then kind
of working on it, I saw that, if nothing else, Vilma was certainly some-
one who was about contradictions and also someone who seemed to
be remarkably comfortable in her own skin, strange as it was. And that
delivered a really significant message, I thought. Having done a trans-
vestite before, I think they are really risky parts because they really run
the risk of being cliché.
FOCUS FEATURES
GMK: Did you base your character on anyone you knew?
LS: I knew a guy — a friend of my mother’s when I was a kid —
named Silver Bell, and he wore dresses and long flowing silk pants.
And Silver Bell was probably in his 60s, and he had this big gray beard
and long gray hair, and I got this sense from him, which I believed about
Vilma as well, that he probably had been a drag queen, and that now he
had decided he wanted to live somewhere in the middle. There were
plenty of men who didn’t want surgery, but wanted to live and dress as
women — and what happened was the organic elements of being a
man, like hair growth and size, kind of made them develop a different
way of dressing and looking. It’s not about putting on an outfit and doing
a gig at night, it’s about this is how they live.

Liev Schreiber does his second film turn in drag.
GMK: What kind of research did you do for playing Vilma? You did
the Catskills period before, in “A Walk on the Moon.” GMK: Was it difficult to run in heels? You’re chasing those guys in
LS: I [looked] into what was going on in terms of the sexual revo- that one scene.
lution within gay culture and the subset of drag culture in the ’60s, LS: [Sassily] In all fairness, I had wedges.
and I found that there was some really interesting stuff going on, par-
ticularly in San Francisco. There was a group in the Haight called the

JONATHAN GROFF AND EMILE HIRSCH TAKE ON HAIR & NUDITY

Some of the more prominent ele-
ments in “Taking Woodstock” are hair,
nudity, and mud. Actors Jonathan Groff,
who plays music producer Michael
Lang, and Emile Hirsch, who plays
Elliot’s friend Billy, a Vietnam war vet,
talk about getting into their characters.
GARY M. KRAMER: Jonathan: You
have the iconic Michael Lang hair. Was
that your real hair or a wig?
JONATHAN GROFF: I grew out my
hair. They were going to use my real
hair and perm it, but with the humidity,
it was too unpredictable. We had to get
this just right, we can’t chance it. So
they put my head in plaster, and made
me a wig.
GMK: At least you are spared hav-
ing to get naked or muddy. Were you
grateful?
JG: I did watch the mud sliding and
I think “Oh My God! I want to do that!”
I should have gone to the set that day,
and just jumped in. Nudity, I’ve done so
much of that on stage that I certainly
don’t feel I missed out. I’ve experienced
that many times before, but the mud
would have been fun.
GK: Emile, you did both the nudity
and the mud sliding. Can you describe
your experiences?
EMILE HIRSCH: I got fucked! I had
a lot of fun doing the mudslide stuff.
When I first saw it, it looked so dirty.
And where do you find a mudslide? You
can’t make a date to do that. But it was a
lot of fun. The vegetable oil and pig dung
that made up the movie mud was kinda
gross, though. The nudity was a little
sketchy, because we had 300 extras and
a lot of them were old women and young
children. It was kind of weird exposing
FOCUS FEATURES
yourself in that way. It wasn’t like your
average Chippendales crowd. It was like
the Disney Channel. There were some
teenage girls I had to get naked [in front
of] and dance around like a buffoon. Plus Emile Hirsch is Vietnam War vet Billy in “Taking Woodstock.”
there were cell phones everyone was
holding. In between takes people would GK: What about the hair and affinity for bygone eras? as I get to keep my hair. [He combs it all
be trying to take photos, but we put a clothes? This is your second period EH: I’m done, dude, done! No, I like forward in front of his face to look like
stop to them. piece, after “Milk.” Do you have an period movies. They’re cool — as long Cousin It on “The Addams Family.”].
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009
Revenge Romp Falls Short
Tarantino offers up misplaced Pitt, chilling Waltz
BY STEVE ERICKSON
W
ith “Inglourious
Basterds,” whose
title is deliberately
misspelled, Quentin Tarantino
has finally found a politically
correct outlet for his oft-crit-
icized sadistic streak. There
are no mutilated ears here,
just a group of Jewish-Ameri-
can soldiers who love scalping
Nazis, beating them to death
with baseball bats, and carv-
ing swastikas in the foreheads
of the ones they leave alive.
“Inglourious Basterds” revels
in bloodlust and gore, most of
it committed by its heroes, to
a degree that would seem dis-
tasteful in a film about any war
other than World War II. Here,
it offers up an edifying revenge
fantasy — Jews kicking Nazi
ass! One might even see a
touch of self-critique in the
extended shootout that com-
prises the Nazi propaganda
film-within-the-film. “Inglou-
rious Basterds” also serves
up the heartfelt — and, for
the Gentile Tarantino, prob-
ably more personal — vision of
cinephiles changing history.
Divided into five chapters,
“Inglourious Basterds” begins
in the French countryside in
1941. The idyllic view is dis-
turbed by the arrival of SS
Colonel Landa (Christoph
Waltz), searching for hidden
Jews. Finding several chil-
dren hidden in a farmhouse,
he has his men spray the cel-
䉴 WOODSTOCK, from p.1
saying, “Any qualms I had were
more about my ability to por-
tray [Tiber] believably. Not that I
can’t seem like a gay person, but
simply that there’s a difference
between kissing somebody you
are in love with or have a huge
crush on and [acting]. I want
to really sell that. When I saw
that in the script, I thought
that might be tricky.”
But screenwriter and Focus
Features head Schamus
assured the comedian that
the film would focus more on
Tiber’s relationship with his
family in the weeks prior to the
Eli Roth as Sergeant Donny Donowitz and Brad Pitt as Lieutenant Aldo Raine.
lar with bullets, but Shosanna
(Mélanie Laurent) escapes
and manages to open a movie
theater in Paris several years
later.
In the film’s second chap-
ter, we’re introduced to the
“basterds,” a group of eight
Jewish-American soldiers led
by Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt). The
basterds are renowned among
G er man soldiers for their
anger and cruelty. Raine’s
squad plans a mission against
Hitler, to be carried out at the
Paris premiere of a Nazi propa-
ganda film.
Judging from the early
reviews of a different cut
festival than on his struggles
over his sexuality. Martin rose
to the challenge, making his
Elliot likable and endearing.
Schamus explained that
queer sexuality is not the
central concer n in “Taking
Woodstock,” comparing it to
other films Focus Features
has produced and distrib-
uted. “[Ang and I had] already
done the ‘coming out’ story
with ‘The Wedding Banquet,’”
he said. “Oddly enough, I felt
like ‘Brokeback Mountain’
was a movie where being gay
was a problem, and you had
to deal with it. In [Gus Van
Sant’s] ‘Milk,’ the problem
of “Inglourious Basterds”
screened at Cannes, its pac-
ing has been tightened, its
talkiness lessened, and Brad
Pitt’s role made larger. Never-
theless, its tone swings wildly
from chapter to chapter, and
its cast sometimes seems as
though they’re acting in com-
pletely different films. As writer
Dennis Cooper has observed,
Tarantino has trouble assem-
bling an entire cast who can
deliver his stylized dialogue
without sounding clumsy.
Pitt’s performance is load-
ed with a swagger that never
seems really convincing. He
may be one of America’s big-
was homophobia. Being gay
is fine. We’re happy we’re gay.
Homophobic assholes suck.
Then we got to ‘Woodstock,’
and I thought, ‘How about just
have the main character as
gay? He’s our hero. So what?’”
T iber’s homosexuality is
downplayed in the film. The
sex he has — a minor romance
with a festival construction
worker and a threesome with
a couple he drops acid with
— are discreetly presented,
an apparent effort on the film-
maker’s part to shift dramatic
focus away from Elliot being
gay. “I didn’t avoid it, but I
didn’t’ want to make too much
Film /17
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS”
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
The Weinstein Company/Universal
In English,
And French and German with
English subtitles
Opens Aug. 21
Citywide
line of conversation. His allure
is the kind sociopaths are
reputed to possess. In another
context, one can easily picture
him playing a serial killer like
Ted Bundy.
Tarantino’s career has pur-
sued an odd trajectory. He
followed the near-unanimous
FRANCOIS DUHAMEL/ TWC
acclaim for “Pulp Fiction” —
and subsequent backlash, as
it influenced dozens of less
talented filmmakers — with
a stab at maturity, “Jackie
Brown.” That film featured his
only character of color who
gest movie stars, but he can’t didn’t seem like a product of
pull off the charisma this part his blaxploitation-fueled fan-
requires — or convince us that tasies, and it also drew more
a moonshine-brewing Jew from life than cinema. Then,
from the hills of Tennessee having pr oven that point,
isn’t a glorified joke. Aldo’s her- Tarantino went back to mak-
oism and bravado exist within ing films about his video col-
quotes. One keeps wondering lection. I’m not sure that he’s
if his Southern accent is sup- capable of the gravity the set-
posed to ring so false. ting calls for — Paul Verho-
If anyone walks away from even may be equally attracted
“Inglourious Basterds” with to violence, but his World War
his star power enhanced, it’s II drama “Black Book” has a
not Pitt but Waltz. Colonel sense of genuine tragedy to go
Landa embodies the seduc- along with its sadism. “Inglou-
tiveness of evil. He offers a rious Basterds” just plays like
disar mingly char ming face a carefree romp about fas-
to the world, acting friendly cism. It’s rarely as fun as it
while pursuing a menacing wants to be.
out of it either,” director Lee is moved by the stories featur-
explained about how Tiber’s ing these characters.
sexuality is presented. “It’s just “T aking Woodstock” has
part of the whole big party. It a more laid back tone than
just exists that he’s gay. Like Lee’s previous work. Its casual
he’s Jewish.” He added, with a style is part of its charm, and
laugh, “Not that I have anything much of the appeal is courtesy
to say about [being] Jewish.” of Martin’s ingratiating per -
The Oscar-winning filmmak- formance — he is the anxious
er acknowledges that in his center in a sea of wackiness.
previous films, “The Wedding Said Schamus, “It was
Banquet” and “Brokeback,” important that we showed that
“being gay was the central through the course of this one
issue.” He appreciates that the weekend that there were peo-
gay characters in his films are ple around who were angels to
“outsiders,” who, like Tiber, do Elliot, like Vilma (Liev Schreiber,
not fit into mainstream soci- see sidebar) and others who
ety. “I very much identify with would say, ‘Be yourself, this is
them,” he said, explaining he what [the festival] is all about.’”

18/ Opera
Dysfunctional Dystopia
Glimmerglass revives “The Consul,” but extinguishes its raw power
BY ELI JACOBSON
R
ecession can take the
bravery out of arts
administrators. When
the donor money to subsidize
risky programming disap-
pears, bread and butter reper-
tory becomes the comfort food
to attract a wider audience.
The connoisseur is always left
hungry for more esoteric fare.
The Glimmerglass Festival this
summer scheduled three well-
worn repertory pieces with one
neglected 20th century work.
Both “La Traviata” and “La
Cenerentola” were scheduled last
season at the Metropolitan Opera
with starrier casts, and Purcell’s
“Dido and Aeneas” is a staple of
chamber and student groups.
The one novelty on view, Gian
Carlo Menotti’s “The Consul,” has
become a historical artifact that
doesn’t even have a healthy after-
life in the regional companies as
“Amahl” and “The Medium” do.
Menotti’s first full-length
opera, “The Consul” premiered
on Broadway in 1950, where it
ran for 269 performances and
won both the Drama Critic’s Cir-
cle Award and the Pulitzer Prize
for Music. It made the rounds of
the European houses and New
York City Opera for 20 years —
often with the electrifying origi-
nal star, Patricia Neway.
Encountering it for the first
time, I found it musically worth-
while — this is not watered-
down Puccini as Menotti’s
detractors label his operas
(though Scarpia-like chords
punctuate the Secret Police
Agent’s interview of the Sorels in
Act I). I heard a challenging mix
of Kurt Weill’s astringent tonal-
ity and pungently spare Elmer
Bernstein film noir underscoring
rising at times to a broadly lyri-
cal eloquence unique to Menotti.
The libretto mixes flat banalities
with passages of prose poetry
for the downtrodden protago-
nists. Unfortunately, the stag-
ing by Sam Helfrich made overly
abstract — to the point of incom-
prehensibility — a libretto that,
while repetitive and predictable,
has a certain raw power.
The story, inspired by the
plight of European refugees
attempting to flee totalitar -
Robert Kerr as the Secret Police Agent, Leah Wool as the Secretary, and Michael Chioldi as
John Sorel in Glimmerglass Opera’s production of The Consul.
ian regimes after World War II, is
still relevant. I know several gay
Middle Eastern men who had
trouble renewing their visas after
9/11 and were forced to relocate
abroad. The Kafka-esque depic-
tion of bureaucratic indifference
and dehumanizing governmental
control is reminiscent of Orwell’s
“1984,” published the year before
“The Consul” premiered.
Act I and II have the exact
same structure — the first scene
depicting the political persecu-
tion of the Sorel family in their
small flat, and the second scene
set in the waiting room of the
never-seen Consul’s outer office
where Magda and various char-
acters futilely attempt to get a
visa to leave the country. Dra-
matic points are made the first
time and then repeated as each
character’s desperate plight is
related to the jadedly indiffer-
ent Secretary. The magician’s
15-minute show in Act II pro-
vides a lighthearted episode
that stops the plot cold but pro-
vides a bravura turn for charac-
ter tenor John Easterlin. Act III
descends into personal tragedy
punctuated by surreal dream
sequences with a more interest-
ing dramatic arc. Menotti would
have been better jettisoning the
unwieldy three-act structure
and streamlining the work into
a 100-minute one-act like Berg’s
“Wozzeck”.
Director Helfrich set the work
in an existential Hell many of
us lived through — the 1970’s.
Hideous yellow and orange poly-
ester leisure suits, pant suits,
and minidresses in mod prints
K
evin Newbury’s pro-
duction of Rossini’s “La
Cenerentola” turned out
to be a winner. Set in 1933 as
a zany screwball comedy with
sets and costumes evoking the
golden age of Hollywood, this pro-
duction had the humanity and
RICHARD TERMINE/ GLIMMERGLASS OPERA
charm that the Met’s Cesare Lievi
staging, set in a similar period,
lacked. The first act was set in a
real kitchen with a fireplace nook
for our heroine to read her fairy
tales. The prince’s palace was the
wood-paneled library of a Long
Island mansion.
Julie Boulianne’s heroine was
initially overly subdued vocally
but had real naive charm and
abounded except for an ’80s modesty, which the coolly aris-
number for Magda with leggings, tocratic Elina Garanca entire-
leather coat, and boots. One unit ly lacked at the Met last May.
set had to suffice for both the Boulianne rose to the challenges
Sorel home and the Consul’s of the final rondo with more élan
office; it resembled a brightly-lit and power than she had ear-
high school cafeteria with four lier shown. John Tessier’s adroit
sets of tables and chairs front stage demeanor and bright lean
and back. The lighting and stag- tenor, even from top to bottom,
ing failed to differentiate the made a dashing Prince Ramiro.
locales or delineate the dream Eduardo Chama and Kevin
sequences, and there was no Phares as Don Magnifico and
stove for Magda to stick her head Dandini may have lacked vocal
in for her Act III suicide. The last agility but were superb slapstick
scene was entirely incomprehen- comedians never crossing the line
sible, with Magda simply sitting into vulgarity. Joseph Colaneri’s
in a chair upstage blankly star- conducting had a winning mix-
ing at the audience, who didn’t ture of bubbling champagne fizzi-
know what exactly happened to ness and humane warmth.
her. Menotti was a better dra-
J
matist than Helfrich, and never onathan Miller’s con-
would have left an audience so cert staging of “Dido and
confused and alienated. Aeneas” showed a veteran
A better case was made for director recycling his own best
the music. David Angus con- ideas. Repeating his concept for
ducted superbly, and a vocally the Bach “St. Matthew Passion,”
strong cast illumined each role, this was performed on a minimal
large and small. Melissa Citro set –– two white walls with two
may have lacked the trenchant park benches –– with the cast in
dramatic intensity that Neway casual contemporary mufti as
imparted to Magda Sorel, but a group reenacting the myth as
her radiant soprano with easy a communal rite. The witches
expansion in the upper octave
gave another dimension of
emotional power. Joyce Castle
wore black hoodies and spoke in
disconcertingly campy cockney
accents led by a vocally strong
brought a veteran’s author - Anthony Roth Costanzo as the
ity in capturing the embittered Sorceress. Silly jokes, such as
pragmatism of the Mother, while two choristers taking photos of
Michael Chioldi sang with power the hunt with their cell phones,
and mellow war mth as the contrasted jarringly with the
doomed John Sorel. Leah Wool’s international festival quality of
attractive tone made the Secre- the singing and orchestral play-
tary infuriating as she blandly ing. Joelle Hervey was a vocally
stonewalled each supplicant. radiant and emotionally direct
Diction was surprisingly clear all
around. 䉴 GLIMMERGLASS, continued on p.24
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴
AUG 22, from p.13
Wilson, who share first-hand accounts of
the Stonewall Riots and how they shaped
their work, and highlights Crayton Robey’s
2009 documentary “Making the Boys,” a
tribute to Mart Crowley’s 1968 play and
William Friedkin’s subsequent film adap-
tation of “The Boys in the Band.” WNET,
Channel 13, Aug. 22, 5 a.m. & Aug.
25, midnight. The program can also
be screened at or downloaded from
inthelifetv.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
FILM
SUN.AUG.23
A Flash of Camp
This summer, Jersey City’s Chill Fest
has 0ffered up four evenings of sex, hor-
ror, and sci-fi queer cinema. The series
concludes with Dino De Laurentis’ 1980
“Flash Gordon,” with inspiration directly
from the comic strip and movie serials of
the 1930s in a colorful rainbow of camp
delights, with bleach blond Sam J. Jones
as quarterback hero Gordon and Mel-
ody Anderson as his love interest, Dale
Arden. Automata Chino, 99 Greene
St., one block from Exchange Place
PATH, Jersey City, next door to Iron
Monkey. Admission is $10. You must be
21. Complete information at myspace.
com/chillfestjerseycity.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
COMEDY
Lilith Fairly Funny
Brad Loekle welcomes comedians Amy
Beckerman (the Dykes on Mics troupe),
Gloria Bigalow (Logo’s “Laughing Mat-
ters”), Kate McKinnon (Logo’s “Big Gay
Sketch Show”), and more to his weekly
“Electro Shock Therapy Comedy Show.”
Therapy, 348 W. 52nd St., 10 p.m. No
cover charge, and $6 cosmos all evening.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
CABARET
MON.AUG.24
Danny Do
Danny Calvert appeared in “Altar
Boyz” and won an LA Drama Critics Cir-
cle Award for his turn in “Zanna Don’t.”
Tonight, he sings from the current Broad-
way songbook at “Scott Nevins’ Curtain
Call” at Splash, 50 W. 17th St., 11:30
p.m. Admission is free until 10 p.m.; $5
after that. You must be 21.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
䉴 14 DAYS, continued on p.20
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009

Opera /19
The Bravoing of Summer Lawns
Mozart and Rossini operas enliven Tanglewood and Caramoor
BY DAVID SHENGOLD several centuries; Eduardo pants and boots, he panther-
Sicangco supplied the costumes prowled, postured, and leapt

E
ach summer, Tangle-
wood Music Center pres-
ents a fully staged opera,
with a renowned conductor and
the impressive staff preparing a
top-notch student orchestra and
singers from America’s major
graduate programs. July 29’s
“Don Giovanni,” capably and
and the remarkably attractive,
flexible set — layered inset wood
panels fronting Moorish-detailed
architectural units that revolved
and fashioned various playing
spaces, eventually trapping Gio-
vanni.
Elizabeth Reiter’s fully inflect-
ed, knowing but adorable Zer-
incessantly, with enviable energy
but diminishing returns in terms
of nuance or dramatic inter -
est. More dimensions will surely
come; the Canadian Madore, only
22, is already a fine Belcore.
Evan Hugues’ baritonal voice
proved light for Leporello’s weight-
ier utterances, but he’s a cultivat-

excitingly led by conducting fel-
low Christoph Altstaedt, bore the
mark of James Levine, who had
rehearsed it and led the first two
performances. A proto-Romantic
sound prevailed, with precious
few appoggiaturas marked except
in second verses of the most for-
mal arias.
Multi-talented Ira Siff directed
a clear, lively, compelling show —
the rare “Don Giovanni” in which
Act Two’s pace didn’t drag. Siff
drew detailed, telling work from
his musically well-schooled cast.
Costuming and affect spanned
lina showed a fresh light lyric
voice ready to assume this role
anywhere. Dressed like 1950s
high school sweethearts, she and
Michael Weyandt’s game, excit-
able Masetto made a cute, sono-
rous peasant couple.
There was nothing remotely
aristocratic about Elliot Madore’s
“school of Schrott” Giovanni
— basically an extremely sexy,
shark-like rock star out for kicks,
no philosophical dimensions
explored. Madore’s generally fine,
dark-edged singing was effective;
dressed chiefly in black leather
ed singer and an inventive, amus-
ing actor — imitating Madore’s
stances and gestures devastat-
ingly in a particularly well-staged
“Ah, taci, ingiusto core,” the ser-
vant evidencing more charm than
his master.
Layla Claire’s superb Anna
showed considerable accomplish-
ment and much future promise;
with a lovely presence melding
Janet McTeer and Tilda Swin-
ton, Clare commands a pearly,
individual timbre and phrasing
of considerable distinction. Along
with some gag images on the
Elliot Madore (Don Giovanni), Mark Van Arsdale (Don Ottavio), and Layla Claire (Donna Anna) in
the Tanglewood production of “Don Giovanni.”
surtitle screens, Devon Guthrie’s
Elvira probably most showed the
artistic influence of Siff’s fabu-
lous La Gran Scena Opera alter
ego, Mme. Vera Galupe-Borszkh.
Entering with designer luggage,
not to mention plenty of issues,
like Galupe-Borszkh’s Manon
Lescaut and Isabella, she proved
a whirlwind throughout the eve-
HILARY SCOTT
ning; Guthrie’s somewhat Muset-
ta-ish soprano took time to settle
down, but she gave words full
value, capping a strong second
act with an excellent “Mi tradi.”
Mark Van Ardsdale, best in soft
passages, made a musically cor-
rect, traditionally milksoppish
䉴 SUMMER LAWNS, continued on p.24

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20
■ IN THE NOH
Funny Ladies
Marvelous Marilyn, delightful Dawson, holy Toledo, Kate the Great
BY DAVID NOH
I
recently caught up with two
performers who stand firm-
ly in the glorious tradition of
hilarious broads who also really
know how to sell a song — Fan-
nie Brice, Sophie Tucker, Judy,
Barbra, Judy Holliday, Barbara
Harris, and Bette Midler. I grew
up watching Marilyn Michaels
doing her convulsive imitations
of all the famous divas on the
Ed Sullivan Show, and she has
a new CD out, “Wonderful at
Last,” in which her voice sounds
as fresh and clarion clear as
ever. She sings standards like
“Here’s that Rainy Day,” as well
as selections from a musical
“Alice,” based on Lewis Carroll,
which she is writing with her
son, Mark Wilk.
“Talk about working with
your mother!” Michaels told me
in her West Side apartment, the
walls of which are covered with
her skillfully executed paint-
ings. “Now I see why writers
become alcoholics, because it’s
so hard to work alone, sitting in
front of this blank page, making
it fresh.”
One entire wall displays pho-
tos of Michaels taken with a
jaw-dropping array of celebri-
ties, from presidents to George
Steinbrenner, with whom she
worked on an early show and
who gives her Yankee tickets
when she calls. I wanted to hear
about them all. “I performed
at the old Huntington Hartford
Museum, and Bette Davis was
there. I was a big hit that night
and noticed her daughter, B.D.
— horrible woman who wrote
that tell-all book about Davis
before she was even dead —
walking around with a crown
on her head, acting like she was
Bette Davis and Bette was her
lady-in-fuckin’-waiting. Such
an attitude! I just worshipped
Davis and she was sweet as
could be because all of a sudden
I find myself in an elevator with
her, and in the 1960s, she still
looked good, and she said, ‘You
are fan-tas-tic! What a talent!”
Joan Crawford went even
further “at a Pepsi-Cola event
I did. She was very gracious,
MGM-trained, but I noticed that
she dressed very strangely. She
didn’t have Adrian to dress her,
Kate Dawson had a delightful turn on stage at the Triad in “The Asshole in My Head.”
so she wore these little plastic
Cinderella shoes and I was like,
‘Those are so 1962 and no one
is here from MGM to tell her.’
I’d finished performing, and she
ran out and grabbed me, took
me by the hand, and ran me
around the dance floor intro-
ducing me to everyone. She was
doing two things — she wanted
to be a part of it and was jump-
ing into my act, but she was
also extolling my performance.
Everyone was standing back
and applauding, and of course I
got the requisite thank you note
from her on the famous blue
stationary which I treasure.”
In Vegas, Michaels opened for
Roger Miller, who took her to a
party to meet Judy Garland: “I
was going to see my idol and I
remember she was extreme-
ly diminutive, very thin. She
appeared to be the hostess of
the party, like something you
do –– you’re the star, you host.
But she seemed to be on some-
thing and extremely vulner -
able. Speaking to me, she was
pleasant, but going through the
motions without really being
there. It’s like it was yesterday.
I didn’t expect her to look robust
but did expect her to be present,
and it was very sad.”
Michaels starred in the origi-
nal road company of “Funny
Girl” and naturally met its origi-
nal star, Streisand: “I was in
rehearsals, and Larry Kasha,
the assistant director, took me
to meet her for a night out on
the town. This was before she
became a monstrous movie
20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009
GALE FRANK-ADISE
icon, but she was already a huge
star. We went up to her beauti-
ful dressing room, all done in
paisley –– she already knew how
to live like a star.
“We went out with her coterie
in a limo, and she was wonder-
ing what ever happened to this
certain girl singer from the ’50s
and ’60s who had disappeared.
Barbra was very aware of her,
and reading between the lines,
it was as if to say that she was
never going to disappear. We
went to a screening of a Marcello
Mastroianni film, and at the end
a reporter came over and want-
ed to shoot us talking together.
He was directing the shot, with
me, just a kid at this juncture
and the new girl on the block.
He was like, ‘What’s new? Who’s
this one?’ and I could suddenly
feel her entire body go like that
— how threatened she was. I
could understand it and felt for
her. That’s the nature of our
business, but it was a fantastic
night and I know she had heard
my just-released first album —
with all this fabulous singing.
I remember her looking at me
and saying, ‘You have nice lips.’
And I thought, ‘What a very nice
compliment.’
“She was a big movie star
by the second time I met her,
at this Vegas New Year’s party.
Everybody was there, and at this
point she was just in another
sphere, but I sensed that there
was a loneliness about her.”
Joan Rivers was another story:
“I worked with her, not a very
gracious person. It was on her
show and she was very competi-
tive, even though there’s noth-
ing to be competitive about –– I
don’t do stand-up. But anybody
else who’s funny… it was just a
feeling and it was not nice.
“First of all, I’ve never had
anything done to my face, which
is not to say I never will, but I
don’t understand that kind of
thing — to do that much? There
is no stop sign, as with any-
thing — drinking, eating, sex —
and it doesn’t look normal, like
the children in ‘Village of the
Damned,’ a science fiction per-
son.”
Michaels is a very happy lady,
personally, these days, having
recently gotten married again
to Steven Portnoff, a lawyer
she met on JDate. At first, her
friends were horrified that she
was going online, but she said,
“I’m like, ‘Hello!?’ You know, sit
there or do something! The well
of introductions had somehow
dried up, and I was like a kid in
a candy shop. I ended up meet-
ing many people who became
an important part of my life at a
time when I needed supportive
friendship — a financial guy, a
psychiatrist, and now a lawyer.”
With her friends hissing,
“He just wants to get into your
pants,” even coming off as a
perfect gent did not completely
win her over, desperate as she
was to maintain her anonymity
— which was blown when she
finally succumbed to his request
for a photo and mistakenly sent
him her headshot, before cut-
ting off her name in the caption.
But the clincher occurred when
he wrote a letter to her describ-
ing how he’d taken his demen-
tia-suffering father on Father’s
Day to see her show “Catskills
on Broadway,” and, at the end
of it, a lucid Dad said, “She was
very funny.”
As for Ed Sullivan, Michaels
said, “He was wonderful to me
and my family, but he had a
habit of standing on the stage
while you performed, another
situation of somebody wanting
so desperately to be a part of
that moment. He just wouldn’t
leave, and I’d be performing
and looking over at him. It was
so fucking weird! Sometimes I
䉴 FUNNY LADIES, continued on p.24
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 14 DAYS, from p.18
CABARET
TUE.AUG.25
Shimmering,
Seductive & Vegan
Evan Laurence, on vocals, Nancy Mace,
on drums and vocals, Steven Dworkin, on
accordion and cello, and David Slone on
vocals present an evening of burlesque,
with guest starts Rubie Fizz, who shim-
mers, shines, and seduces, and Leibya
Rogers, a vegan lesbian who sings it out to
the world ’cause it’s the green thing to do.
Parkside Lounge, 317 E. Houston St.,
near Attorney St., bwn. Aves. B & C,
9:30-11:30 p.m. Admission is free.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
GALLERY
The Subjective Eye
The Leslie/ Lohman Gay Art Founda-
tion recommends “As We See It 2009,”
the fifth annual NYC Photo Club exhibition,
featuring stunning imagery, from erotic
to political, from pop art to politically
incorrect, from travel to portraiture, and
everything in between. LGBT Commu-
nity Center, 208 W. 13th St. Through
Sep. 3. To preview the exhibition, visit
nycphotoclub.com. All sale proceeds
benefit the Center.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
BOOKS
WED. AUG.26
Speed Shrinking
Celebrate Susan Shapiro’s new novel
“Speed Shrinking” and “speed date” for free
with mental health pros: Psychologist Diana
Kirschner (“Love in 90 Days”); Sociologist
Jon Fast (“Ceremonial Violence”); Sherry
Amatenstein, LMSW (“The Complete Mar-
riage Counselor: Relationship-Saving Advice
from America’s Top 50+ Couples Thera-
pists”); Diet coach Connie Bennett (“Sugar
Shock”); Psychotherapist Jay Crosby; Self
magazine editor Paula Derrow (“Behind the
Bedroom Door”); and Vatsal Thakkar, M.D.,
Director of the Graduate Medical Education
Wellness Team at the NYU Langone Medi-
cal Center and author of two adult textbooks
on psychiatry. Wed., Aug. 26, at 7:00 p.m.
Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby Street, 212-
334-3324.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
MEDIA
Signs of the Times
New York Times advertising col-
umnist Stuart Elliot moderates an Out
䉴 AUG 26, continued on p.22
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009 21

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22/ Books
Eddie Sarfaty’s Head & Heart
Without shtick or contrivances, comedian explores the subtle and absurd
BY DEAN WRZESZCZ
W
hen friends invited me
to spend some time at
their country house,
I hesitated at the prospect of
being a third wheel. Did I really
want an extended reminder that
I’m single? After weighing my
options — endure another week
of Manhattan’s oppressive sum-
mer or subject myself to cud-
dling displays of domestic bliss
— I accepted the offer. Instead
of a man, I brought the next
best thing — Eddie Sarfaty’s
debut book of autobiographi-
cal essays, “Mental: Funny in
the Head”
Gay and Jewish standup
comedian Sarfaty, 44, shares
his experiences of family, pet
adoption, career, sex, and
even suicidal thoughts, with
hyper -keen observations
supported by dry wit and
disar ming poignancy. He’s
not shy about his dark side,
e i t h e r. H e a d m i t s t o s u f -
fering from low self-esteem
and depression, and self-
deprecatingly maintains
that funny people travel
with heavy baggage. Some-
times he turns to sweets for
emotional comfort, but it’s a
love-hate relationship; after
one episode in which he com-
pulsively eats an entire row
of Oreos, he dumps the rest
of the box into the garbage
and then sprays them with
Lemon Pledge to make them
irretrievable. When confront-
ed with hopeless situations, he
retaliates by fantasizing final
exits and transcribing them
for a children’s book on sui-
cide that he and his compat-
䉴 HOT AND NOT SO, from p.15
mines such New York themes
as Donald Trump, songwriters
who have a love/hate relation-
ship with Sondheim, alcoholic
women desperate for a lay,
and Liza, Barbra, and the Yan-
kees. These mines have been
tapped out long ago, but Tap-
per goes digging and comes up
with nothing remotely novel
or refreshing — every single
time.
ible cousin threaten to publish
some day.
In one essay entitled “Can I
Tell You Something” — a versa-
tile phrase the funnyman uses
to describe awful people, places,
and things — he bemoans pass-
ing out flyers for his P-town gig
while competing with towel-clad
gym boys and towering drag
performers dressed like Scar-
lett O’Hara. When two thespi-
ans in his audience offer him
a position teaching a comedy
class, his recently adopted
policy of saying “yes” to every-
thing lands him in Washing-
ton, DC, at “Comedy Boot
Camp,” where his challenge is
to prepare a group of amateurs
for their first set on stage. The
cast of comic wannabes varies,
from an eleven-year-old whose
mom writes all his material
to a septuagenarian with a
mouth that would make Lisa
Lampanelli blush. The class
has a high rate of attrition —
comedy ain’t for sissies — and
The company is mostly
game, but so hampered are
they by the material that the
result is nearly catastroph-
ic. Amanda Gabbar d does
impressions of Barbara and
Liza that ar e amateurish;
you’ll see much better around
the piano at the Monster.
Ditto for Jason Rowland’s
Donald Trump. Kelli Magu-
ire has to act drunk, which is
never good, and she doesn’t
do it well. Michael F. McGuirk
MENTAL: FUNNY IN THE HEAD
By Eddie Sarfaty
Kensington Press
$15, 288 pages
culminates with the remain-
ing handful performing at a
local open mike. Student and
teacher are a hit, but their
success generates the scorn
of the venue’s diva emcee, a
vicious drag queen with bad
skin and a giant schlong. Sar-
faty provides insight into what
it takes to make it in stand-up
while allowing us the kind of
guilty pleasure akin to watch-
ing “American Idol” auditions.
In another story, he adopts
a cat from A Pound of Love,
an animal shelter run by a cat
woman with dubious social
skills. The result is a bloody
horror story and a testament
to how far one is willing to go
when deter mined to do the
right thing. When castration
seems imminent — no, not the
cat’s — the trip is cut short.
Family, the tie that binds for
better or worse, is not immune
to Sarfaty’s acerbic scrutiny.
A European trip to Paris and
London, in which he agrees
to accompany his ridiculing
mother and a father suffer -
ing from dementia caused by
Pick’s Disease, is both hys-
terical and heartbreaking. A
scene in the Louvre involv-
ing the Mona Lisa elicited a
range of emotion that knocked
me off guard. I didn’t know
whether to laugh or cry, so I
did a little of both, causing my
concerned host to remind me
to take my medication.
In order to mend his broken
heart, Sar faty jumps dick-
gets to be charming, which he
does. However, Rachelle Rak
“as herself” performs a song
called “Breathe” with such
shamelessly aggressive sexu-
ality as to be both embarrass-
ing and unrelievedly vulgar —
like someone’s grandmother
coming on to you.
The whole undertaking is
simply painful. “An Evening
at the Carlyle” feels like an
eternity in a more commonly
known underworld.
first into the instantly gratify-
ing world of Beef4Beef, a gay
hookup site. The hit-and-
miss endeavor forces him to
set limits on his online profile
after each kinky encounter.
One sexcapade involving a
demanding master, a cross-
country trip, and a chastity
belt was particularly terrify-
ing.
The author captivates, and
I felt we’d gotten closer by the
time I read his travails with a
cheapskate lover who address-
es the couple’s financial dis-
parity by taking a vacation —
solo. I found myself audibly
warning him to beware, like
a T imes Square moviegoer
shouting at the unsuspecting
protagonist of a slasher film.
Smart and original, Sarfaty
doesn’t rely on shallow shtick
or contrivances. While dem-
onstrating a command of the
subtle as well as the absurd,
overall his prose seems organ-
ically channeled. He writes
from his heart as well as his
head, courageously giving
us permission to live vicari-
ously inside his world, which
although distinctive in its cir-
cumstances, is emotionally
universal. As a friend reas-
sures him, “We all have our
own fucked-up shit.”
Indeed we do. Reading
“Mental” left me feeling liber-
ated, encouraging to me to
embrace my own humanity.
In a world filled with so many
“Can I Tell You Somethings”
who take themselves too seri-
ously, Sarfaty would rather be
seriously funny.
He also makes an excellent
traveling companion.
PIERRE
The best that can be said of “An Evening at
the Carlyle” is that Michael F. McGuirk gets
to be charming.
20 AUG - 2 SEP 2009
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 AUG 26, from p.20
Professionals panel on the future of
advertising, with participants Stephanie
Blackwood, managing director of Double
Platinum, Rachel Sklar, Mediaite’s editor-
at-large and former senior contributing
editor for the Huffington Post, and Stephen
Hahn-Griffiths, the chief strategy officer at
the Mullen Agency. Is there any reason to
be optimistic about slumping media adver-
tising? Will social media kill everything
else? New York Times Building, 620
Eighth Ave. at 40th St., 6:30 p.m.-8:30
p.m. Free, but RSVP to outprofessionals.
org at least 24 hours in advance.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
PERFORMANCE
Never Too Much
Hairspray
Follow closely, because this one is
complicated: Miss World Famous *BOB*
presents a one-man, autobiographical
show about a 15-year-old new wave farm
girl, raised by a pack of homosexuals in a
Camaro, who becomes a sex worker and
later a drag queen in order to learn how to
be a woman. It’s an evening of heartache,
amazement, and laughter, and a life directed
by John Hughes, John Waters, and Fellini
all at the same time, the world famous one
says. In fact, it is Kate Valentine who directs,
David Quinn who did the gowns, and Karl
Giant responsible for face and video. Ice
Palace Cherry Grove, 10 p.m. Admission is
free. Miss World Famous *BOB* brings the
show into the city on Thu., Sep. 10 at Joe’s
Pub, 425 Lafayette St., below Cooper
Sq., inside the Public Theater, 9:30 p.m.
Tickets are $18 at joespub.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
GALLERY
THU.AUG.27
Women Look At
Women
“The Female Gaze” is a group exhi-
bition of women artists depicting the
female form. With this premise, the
show presents a collection of works
which reclaim the traditional domina-
tion of the “male gaze” and reorient the
significance of the female figure to allow
for more varied interpretations. A variety
of mediums will be shown —sculpture,
photography, video, painting, and instal-
lation — and several different women
artists represented, including Berenice
Abbott, Ghada Amer, Diane Arbus, Lynda
Benglis, Louise Bourgeois, Julia Mar-
䉴 AUG 27, continued on p.24
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009 23

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䉴 GLIMMERGLASS, from p.18
Belinda, while Tamara Mumford
brought dark brooding anguish
to Dido. Michael Beattie led a
superb consort of viols, and the
chorus of 2009 Young Ameri-
can Artists outdid themselves
whether portraying Carthagin-
ian courtiers, sailors, or witch-
es. English diction again was
excellent.
M
iller also directed a
new production of “La
Traviata” with Mary
Dunleavy repeating her famil-
䉴 SUMMER LAWNS, from p.19
Ottavio.
The only fully professional
“ringer” was the Met’s Morris
Robinson (Commendattore),
whose massive, granitic bass
was thrilling to hear center
stage, unhampered by amplifi-
cation, even during his punitive
dinner visit.
O
n July 31, Westchester’s
music-devoted estate
Caramoor offered
Rossini’s “Semiramide” — a rare,
welcome spectacle hereabouts
–– in a concert presentation
with four Metropolitan- baptized
leads offering a feast of impres-
sive vocalism. “Semiramide” has
moments evoking Mozart — not
least “Idomeneo,” with which it
shares some similarities of plot:
divine curses and oracles, inter-
rupted ceremonies, complicated
romantic triangles among princes
and princesses. It also presents
musical situations, particularly
in ensembles, that clearly made
their way (melodically or har-
䉴 IN THE NOH, from p.20
want to say that to [‘Broadway
By the Year’ producer] Scott Sie-
gel [laughs].”
R
epresenting the new
crop of funny musical
ladies is Kate Dawson,
whose delightful show, “The Ass-
hole in My Head,” I caught at
the Triad on July 26. In it, she
recounts the travails and daily
life of someone who came to New
York with Broadway dreams and,
instead of making it big, made it
“a little.” It’s the story of so many
of our lives, and Dawson man-
aged to be both sidesplitting and
poignant, while displaying a rav-
ishing voice which ranged over
material from “Great Big Stuff,”
iar role of Violetta. This pro-
duction aspired to Zola-like
psychological realism with
modest, almost bourgeois
period costumes and scenery
that contrasted sharply with
the conspicuous consumption
and gigantism of the Met’s
Zeffirelli spectacle. Each set
was simply a reconfiguration
of gray-papered walls, while
the costumes were decid-
edly downscale for Paris’
demi-monde, the puffy pastel
muslin gowns suggesting the
ante-bellum American South.
Played as a subdued BBC tele-
monically) into Verdi’s brain while
he wrote “Macbeth” and “Un ballo
in maschera.”
It’s a long, very challenging
piece, which demands four top-
notch bel canto stylists — an
opera people travel to hear. I’ve
heard such casts twice — at San
Francisco in 1981 with Montser-
rat Caballe, Marilyn Horne, the
youngish James Morris, and
(close enough) Dalmacio Gon-
zalez, and when the Met finally
caved to Horne’s pleas for a
revival after nine decades of
neglect, with June Anderson,
the indomitable Horne, Samuel
Ramey, and the undervalued
Stanford Olsen. Will Crutchfield,
who runs and casts “Bel Canto
at Caramooor,” didn’t have quite
that level of vocal power avail-
able; yet the leading quartet was
excellently chosen and all shone
stylistically (trills abounded) and
in most ways vocally in their kill-
er assignments.
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee, as
the somewhat ancillary Prince
Idreno, stole the evening’s high-
est honors with superb Rossin-
an ode to materialism, especially
her beloved Chanel bag, to “The
Light in the Piazza,“ all in strict,
succinct service to her universal,
but individually wrought, theme.
Dawson told me, “I had been
really unhappy in the business
and stopped auditioning. I didn’t
know what I wanted to do, but I
got a regular job with real ben-
efits and got married. I got the
book ‘The Artist’s Way,’ and did
one of the exercises — writ-
ing the morning pages — every
morning for two and a half
years.
“I knew I wanted to say some-
thing and would think, ‘Maybe I
could do a show about this,’ but
as soon as I said that, I’d think,
‘Well, that’s stupid. That doesn’t
make any sense.’ This went on
20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009
vision period drama and abet-
ted by Mikhail Agrest’s flat,
slow conducting, which failed
to whip up exciting climaxes,
the opera came off as taste-
ful and intelligent, but rather
bloodless and dull.
Dunleavy was more vivid and
certainly looked more glamorous
at the Met and City Opera, but I
was glad to hear that the glassy
brittleness that was afflicting her
tone recently was largely gone.
A post-pregnancy boon? Ryan
MacPherson doesn’t have the
largest or most tonally beguiling
lyric tenor, but his Alfredo was
ian lines and runs, bright ring-
ing timbre, and verbal clarity;
it’s hard to imagine it sung bet-
ter. His gracious manner suits
concert opera –– confident yet
humble in acknowledging wild
applause.
The other three leads all
sounded below their best on
entering; returning to the stage,
all had improved their vocal
form considerably. When Vivica
Genaux started Arsace’s entry
aria, one had to push Horne and
Ewa Podles’ versions out of one’s
ear. Genaux, an intense, rivet-
ing actress, has a very different,
very personal timbre, not plush
and almost occluded. Yet she
does wonders with it. Tending to
avoid sustained high notes, she
sang dazzling divisions.
As Assur, Daniel Mobbs, like
Genaux a Caramoor regular and
favorite, didn’t wield Ramey’s
tonal expansiveness, but he’s
a fluent, ever-stylish performer
with a wide range, remarkable
agility, and finely crafted diction.
Young Angela Meade, in the
name part, had the most to prove
for weeks until I got angry and
realized no matter what my idea
was, I always had a reason not
to do it. I realized that I was
talking to this asshole in my
head, telling me things I didn’t
want to think about. That’s
where the title came from, and
what’s interesting is that, in a
way, it has freed me from that
asshole. I’ve become friends
with it more, but it still gives me
a hard time.
“When I was growing up, the
asshole in my head was nicer
to me. But 13 years in New York
made it meaner, making me hear
things I’d hear at auditions or
from agents or casting directors.
That’s when it got nasty. I’d stud-
ied opera in college, and always
had more of a legit sound than
every inch the country boy in
over his head in love rather than
the star tenor competing with
the soprano. Baritone Malcolm
MacKenzie was a welcome change
from the lyric baritone Germonts
we have been getting recently,
even at the Met — his sounded
like a large, warm and important
Verdian instrument. However, as
those gray walls converged yet
again around Violetta’s death-
bed, I was reminded of another
fallen creature who died in Paris
alone and forsaken, Oscar Wilde,
whose dying words were: “Either
that wallpaper goes or I do.”
in her first major scheduled area
appearance (she had jumped in
for a Met debut in “Ernani”). Her
large, lustrous voice lacks the
instant “ID print” of Brownlee’s
or Genaux’s, but aced many bel
canto refinements, not to men-
tion a luminous sustained high
E natural. Under Crutchfield’s
tutelage, she gave an informed,
highly inflected performance,
with “Bel raggio” particularly
stunning. Meade will cover Renée
Fleming in the Met’s “Armida”
with Brownlee — watch for news
bulletins!
Christopher Dickerson (Oroe)
wielded a weighty, well-knit
voice rather muffled at regis-
ter extremes. Crutchfield led a
notably taut overture and paced
the music well; sometimes the
strings entered marginally flat in
punctuating accompanied recits,
perhaps a casualty of wet condi-
tions. But this was a very reward-
ing, memorable concert.
David Shengold (shengold@
yahoo.com) writes about opera
for many venues.
Broadway belters like Sutton
Foster. This did limit me in a peri-
od when everything they wanted
was ‘Rent’ stuff, which I don’t do
or want to — and most of those
kids don’t have a voice any more.
But it was pretty hard seeing
Kelli O’Hara and Laura Benanti,
the same type as me, soar to the
top. You wonder what did you
not do — maybe you need to lose
weight, go blonder, a makeover. I
became very insecure about my
looks because nothing seemed
good enough.”
Dawson feels blessed to have
assembled a “dream team”
around her: Director “Don Amen-
dolia came in while he was acting
in ‘33 Variations.’ It didn’t have a
䉴 IN THE NOH, continued on p.25
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 AUG 27, from p.22
garet Cameron, Victoria Civera, Rineke
Dijkstra, Anh Duong, Nan Goldin, Katy
Grannan, Jenny Holzer, Roni Horn, Chan-
tal Joffe, Sally Mann, Joan Mitchell, Alice
Neel, Cindy Sherman, Mickalene Thomas,
Hannah van Bart, Hellen van Meene, and
Lisa Yuskavage. Cheim & Read, 547 W.
25th St. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. through
Sep. 19. 212-242-7727 or cheimread.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
MUSIC
FRI.AUG.28
Baroque, Standards
& Discoveries
The 4X4 Festival presents hour-long
concerts of baroque music showcasing
works by well-known composers such as J.
S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell, and
Claudio Monteverdi while also shedding
light on some of their unjustly neglected con-
temporaries. Avi Stein directs an ensemble
that features violinist Robert Mealy, singers
Jolle Greenleaf, Kirsten Sollek, and Scott
Dispensa, and many of New York’s finest
musicians of 17th & 18th century baroque
repertoire. Church of Saint Mary the Vir-
gin. 145 W. 46th St. Aug. 28 (Vivaldi)-29
(Purcell), 31 (Bach) & Sep. 1 (Monte-
verdi), 8 p.m. Admission is free, but a $20
donation is suggested.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
COMMUNITY
SAT.AUG.29
Jersey City Pride
The Hudson River waterfront is the
locale for the ninth annual Jersey City
LGBT Pride Festival, the theme of which is
“Change=Possibility.” The daylong event
includes a rally, entertainment, dancing, and
a marketplace. One Exchange Pl., noon-8
p.m. From noon-4 p.m., Chillfest, Jersey City’s
mostly LGBT film festival, hosts Chillfest
Lounge (you must be 21), an opportunity to
duck in out of the sun for a bit. Automat Chino,
99 Greene St., one block from the festival. Fol-
lowing the festival, there’s an afterparty, the
Hard Grove Café Block Party, at 319 Grove St.
at Columbus Ave., until closing. A $10 entry
buys you a Latin buffet and two beers, and an
evening of music and dancing. For complete
information, visit jclgo.org/.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Hombres Unidos
The Mpowerment Project is a program
for Latino gay and bisexual men. Tonight,
the group hosts a fundraising party to
䉴 AUG 29, continued on p.27
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
䉴 DEFAMATORY, from p.3
cumstances where New York courts have
traditionally found per se defamation.
“I conclude that it would not,” Chin
wrote.
Courts often previously relied on crimi-
nal sanctions against homosexuality to
uphold defamation claims, but the 2003
US Supreme Court sodomy ruling fore-
closed that conclusion. Chin also looked to
recent public polling that showed a major-
ity of New Yorkers in support of marriage
equality and an even more disproportion-
ate number favoring civil union rights.
While the Court of Appeals in 2006 reject-
ed any constitutional claim by same-sex
couples to marriage rights, its opinion gave
no “indication that it perceives widespread
disapproval of homosexuality in New
York… the plurality opinion clearly recog-
nized, however, that social attitudes toward
gay and lesbian New Yorkers had changed
dramatically in the past few years, and
that the New York legislature could permit
same-sex marriage if it chose to.”
Just last year, however, another federal
district court judge, Colleen McMahon,
faced the same question, and reached the
opposite conclusion from Chin. Her ruling,
Chin wrote, “was based largely on the fact
that prejudice still exists against gays and
lesbians in our society.” Chin did not quib-
ble with that observation, but argued that
did not mean “that there is a widespread
view of gays and lesbians as contemptible
and disgraceful” or that they “belong in the
same class as criminals.”
Even as he concluded that the state-
ments that Stern is gay were not defama-
tory per se, Chin found that they were
䉴 IN THE NOH, from p.24
directorial structure. You get so close while
you’re writing it. He said, ‘Okay, this song
is not your opening, the second one is, and
we need to move these three. It’s a very
emotional show for me, and I really had
problems not crying. But he’d say, ‘Let us
cry, you can’t,’ which is a hard lesson for
actors because you get such rewards for
crying, like Julianne Moore, that’s all she
does and I’m not a fan.”
The brilliant Doug Oberhamer replaced
Dawson’s original music director: “He
loved and believed in this, found the
band, and is someone who really takes
charge, so organized and such a great
musician. After we did our first show,
Don said, ‘We’ve got to cut a song –– “How
Glory Goes.”’ I didn’t want to, but Doug
agreed, and now it’s one of the best parts
of the show, because when I start to sing
it, my asshole [deliciously played by Lau-
ren “Coco” Cohen] screams, ‘Not another
>Ê˜œÜ
ballad!’
T
wo free exhibits you should catch
before they end are “Isabel Toledo:
Fashion from the Inside Out” at
Fashion Institute of Technology (www3.fit-
nyc.edu/museum/Isabel_toledo) through
20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009 25
“susceptible to a defamatory meaning”
in alleging he engaged in oral sex during
a party and participated in making a sex
video. “A reasonable jury could find that
engaging in oral sex at a party is shameful
or contemptible,” wrote Chin. The fact that
the allegation also suggested that Stern
was being unfaithful to Smith in having
sex with Birkhead “would be further rea-
son for a jury to find that the statement is
defamatory.” Finally, the allegation that
Stern made a sex video would expose
him “to contempt among most people —
even if, arguably, not among the social
circles in which he and Smith traveled.”
Chin rejected “as absurd” Cosby’s argu-
ment that the sex tape charge had no
potential “defamatory meaning because
sex tapes are commonly made by celebri-
ties, and do not expose those celebrities
to contempt.”
Consequently, Chin did not dismiss
Stern’s defamation claims regarding
allegations of sex between him and Birk-
head. He found that there would be no
legal presumption that those statements
harmed Stern’s reputation, but he should
be given the chance to demonstrate
financial injury based on the specifics
of the sexual encounters alleged. Chin
found that Stern could not sue the pub-
lisher, Hachette, for defamation because
it had reasonably relied on Cosby, an
experienced journalist and author, to get
the facts correct. No actual malice could
be proved on Hachette’s part. Cosby is
now the sole defendant, and eleven of the Gay,
claims against her — including allegations
about criminal drug use, pimping, and Str8,
other sensational charges — remain alive Bi,
in Stern’s defamation suit. Curious?
September 26, and “Katharine Hep-
burn: In Her Own Files,” at Lincoln Cen-
ter Library for the Performing Arts (nypl.
org/research/lpa/) through October 10.
The first features the genius, innovative
work of the woman who may be America’s
greatest living designer, and you can see
the famous Inaugural dress she made for
Michelle Obama.
The second is a mesmerizing survey of
Hepburn’s career, culled from her personal
papers she left to the library. The empha-
sis is on her stage work, with her diaries
and opening night telegrams from famous
friends reflecting Broadway’s Golden Age. I
respectfully disagree with curator Barbara
Cohen Stratyner, who opined at the open-
ing that Hepburn’s stage photographs are
more telling than those taken by Hollywood
photographers, who tried to impose the
look of, say, Garbo or Ingrid Bergman, on
her. Hepburn adored being photographed,
and her work with studio lensers like Hur-
rell, Clarence Bull, and RKO’s marvelous /ÀÞʈÌÊÀiiÊUÊ
Ernest Bachrach comprise some of the
most exciting feminine images of the last
646-731-6657
century.
Contact David Noh at Inthenoh@aol.
com and check out his new blog at http://
nohway.wordpress.com/. 1800GayLive.com MC 7002 Ent only 18+ *Limited Free Trial Photography by Kevin E. McPherson
26 20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM

䉴 BRIEFS, from p.2
California’s plan to win is not a
call to “wait.” It is a call to action,
and the work is at hand now.”
Wolfson suggested that activ-
ists, in the near term, should
instead focus on protecting the
marriage equality law in Maine,
which faces a voter referendum
this November.
Battery Park
Kissers Stand
Up to Mormons
A nationwide “kiss-in,” held
nationwide to protest the arrests
on trespassing charges of gay
couples who were affection-
ate while standing on Mormon
Church property in Salt Lake
City and later San Antonio and
El Paso, drew a crowd up to 70
in Battery Park on August 15.
The August 15 action grew out
of a July 9 incident in Salt Lake
City, where two gay men were
arrested after sharing a kiss as
they walked through a formerly
public plaza now owned by the
Church of the Latter Day Saints.
According to a police report, the
gay couple sat down on the plaza
were approached by Church
security guards who told them
to leave because their conduct
was “unwanted.” When police
arrived, the two men were hand-
cuffed and one was pinned to
the ground. Kiss-ins at the Salt
Lake City site have taken place
several times since then, and the
actions have spread across the
country. Tensions between the
Mormon Church and the LGBT
community have been strained
since last fall, when Mormons,
many of them from out of state,
played a key role in raising
money to defend California’s
Proposition 8. Several weeks
after last November’s elec-
tion, thousands of New Yorkers
marched on Manhattan’s Upper
West Side Mormon Temple.
Pride Agenda
Boosts Quinn
In what was billed as its only
foray into this year’s New York
City primary election campaign,
the Empire State Pride Agenda
on August 6 endorsed Christine
Quinn, the out lesbian Chelsea
Democrat who has served as City
Council speaker since January
2006, for re-election in Manhat-
tan’s District 3. “Speaker Quinn
has a solid record of leadership
and public service supporting
the LGBT community and all New
Yorkers, and she has earned our
endorsement for re-election,”
Alan Van Capelle, the executive
director of ESPA, the state’s LGBT
political lobby, said in a writ-
ten statement. “Whether it be
strengthening the city’s domestic
partner law or using the power
of the speaker’s office to educate
New Yorkers about bias-based
crimes and the importance of a
strong community and neighbor-
hood response, Christine Quinn
has continued championing the
issues she was first elected to
address.”
Although ESPA has always
been active in city politics, the
chief focus of its public efforts
this year has been the State
Legislature in Albany, where
bills are pending to legalize
same-sex marriage, provide
civil rights for protections for
transgendered New Yorkers,
and enact school anti-bullying
legislation that would include
protections for gay and trans-
gendered youth. Earlier this
year, as advocates pressed the
State Senate to move on mar-
riage equality, Quinn twice
traveled to Albany to lobby indi-
vidual members.
Quinn faces unusually spir-
ited challenges in the Sep-
tember 15 Democratic primary
from Maria Passannante-Derr,
an attorney and Community
Board 2 member, and Yetta Kur-
land, an out lesbian civil rights
attorney (see Duncan Osborne’s
page 1 story on the candi-
dates’ August 13 debate). Crit-
ics of Quinn have charged she
has been too close to Mayor
Michael Bloomberg since she
became speaker, and fault her
for working with the mayor last
fall to legislatively overturn the
term limits law twice approved
by voters in the 1990s. The
extension of term limits allowed
both the mayor and the speaker
to seek re-election. Quinn was
first elected to the Council in
1999 to fill the vacancy left
when Thomas K. Duane won his
State Senate seat.
Equality Forum
Names History
Month Icons
Equality Forum, the Phil-
adelphia-based group that
produces a weeklong program
of LGBT symposiums, panels,
and social gatherings in that
city each Spring and hosts an
online celebration of gay his-
tory every October, has named
31 “icons” to be recognized on
each of the days of that month.
Among those living icons
n a m e d a r e N e w Yo r k C i t y
Council Speaker Christine
Quinn, Wisconsin Congress-
w o m a n Ta m m y B a l d w i n ,
MSNBC commentator Rachel
Maddow, historian Joan Nes-
tle, financial guru Suze Orman,
retired pro basketball player
John Amaechi and football
player Erasa Tuaolo, fashion
designer Todd Oldham, Tony-
winning actors Cherry Jones
and B.D. Wong, singer k.d. lang,
filmmaker Gus Van Sant, and
painter Jasper Johns.
Those honored posthumous-
ly include choreographers Alvin
Ailey and Jerome Robbins, nov-
elist Paul Monette, composer
John Cage, painter Robert
Rauschenberg, filmmaker Rainer
Werner Fassbinder, philosopher
Michel Foucault, early pioneers
in the study of homosexuality
Magnus Hirschfeld and Alfred
Kinsey, and pioneering activists
Harry Hay and Ruth Ellis. Ellis
died in Detroit in 2000 at the
age of 101.
Biographies, videos, bib-
liographies, images, and
educational resources on the
31 icons will be available on
equalityforum.com beginning
October 31.

䉴 FOREST HILLS, from p.12
who previously won election,” Schulman
said.
Certainly, Schulman has held her
own in raising campaign funds. Both
she and Koslowitz have maxed out on
the city public match of $84,122, and
the most recent Campaign Finance
Board figures show Schulman edges
out the for mer city councilwoman
$80,684 to $75,454 in private contribu-
tions. Cohen lags behind both women.
A fourth candidate, Heidi Chain, has
opted out of the public financing pro-
gram, so Schulman, Koslowitz, and
Cohen will all enjoy a bonus round of
public matches.
Though she casts herself as an out-
sider bucking the status quo, Schul-
man is no stranger to public life in New
York. A graduate of NYU and Brooklyn
Law School, she first became politically
active during the late Congresswoman
Bella Abzug’s 1976 US Senate cam-
paign, and three years later became
district liaison for West Village Assem-
blyman William Passannante, the first
legislative sponsor of New York State’s
gay rights bill. She has also worked for
former West Village City Councilwoman
Carol Greitzer and Brooklyn Council-
woman Gonzáles, one of her endors-
ers. In recent years, Schulman headed
up the communications department at
Gay Men’s Health Crisis and just prior
to launching her campaign was a top
executive at Woodhull Medical Center
in Brooklyn.
Schulman said she has been sur -
prised as she’s traveled the district at
how often voters ask her about gay
issues, the surest indication she’s
found of the influx of LGBT community
members into the area. Still, she makes
clear, as typically is the case with LGBT
candidates, that she’s not the lesbian
candidate, she’s the candidate who
happens to be lesbian. The issues she
talks about and the ones she hears
about are the same — jobs, housing
affordability, and education. There’s “a
small minority” in the district, she said,
who might not vote for her because
she’s a lesbian, but such “anti-LGBT
voters” are likely the same crowd who
are “anti- a lot of the other progressive
issues.”
“I think I have my finger on the pulse
of the district,” Schulman said.

䉴 DE BLASIO, from p.9
— I would have thought he’d have said,
‘This is not the message I want to send,
that I’m going to cut back an office
that’s been critical of me.’”
For now, however, de Blasio is not
voicing concerns about the prospects
that the public advocate staff may
need to fall to as low as 30 from a
high of more than 40. “That office has
never been first and foremost about
staffing,” he said. “It’s not about staff-
ing, it’s about taking the office and the
platform and the bully pulpit and hav-
ing the maximum impact and stand-
ing up to the mayor when he has to
be stood up to.” However, acknowl-
edging that “the stronger the office is,
the harder it will be to cut the budget
going forward,” he endorsed the con-
cept that all the “watchdog” agencies
— the public advocate, the comptrol-
ler, the Civilian Complaint Review
Board, among others — have a formu-
la-driven budget allocation to insulate
them from political interference.
On LGBT issues, de Blasio hews to
a progressive line. Asked about the
HASA for All proposal, in which home-
less people living with HIV who do not
have an AIDS diagnosis would become
eligible for the housing entitlement
already available to those with AIDS
under the city’s HIV/ AIDS Services
Administration — an idea Speaker
Quinn has rejected as “radical” — de
Blasio said it is “a good idea that is
beyond our reach right now, but that
we should work toward.” On a propos-
al advanced by Dr. Thomas Frieden,
the former city health commission-
er, to end the requirement that doc-
tors obtain informed written consent
before administering an HIV test, de
Blasio acknowledged that there are
“people of conscience on both sides of
the question,” but said he agreed with
Chelsea State Senator Thomas K.
Duane, who is gay and HIV-positive,
who has proposed legislation to pro-
tect the current policy.
The recent false arrests of perhaps
dozens of gay men by undercover cops
on trumped up prostitution charges
are, in de Blasio’s view, part of a pat-
tern of “lots of concerns about polic-
ing.” Community policing, which he
worked on in the Dinkins administra-
tion, was “gutted” by former Mayor
Rudy Giuliani, he said, adding that the
Civilian Complaint Review Board lacks
the funding and grassroots presence
it needs to be effective. While grant-
ing that Bloomberg has cooled the
harsh racial overtones that poisoned
the policing debate in the Giuliani
years, de Blasio said, “I’m not con-
vinced there’s been a systematic policy
change.” The widespread arrests and
prolonged detention of protesters dur-
ing the 2004 Republican Convention
in Manhattan represent one example,
he said; the repeated harassment of
Critical Mass bicycle riders, another.
De Blasio, who became a house-
hold name in New York City politics
when he managed Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton’s 2000 US Senate
run, is benefiting in a tough field of
four candidates, including the former
public advocate, Mark Green, from
endorsements by a long list of pro-
gressive elected officials and organi-
zations, including Congressman Jer-
rold Nadler, State Senators Duane,
Liz Krueger, Eric Schneiderman, and
Bill Perkins, out LGBT Assemblyman
Micah Kellner, out lesbian City Coun-
cilwoman Rosie Mendez, the Work-
ing Families Party, 1199 SEIU United
Health Care Workers East, the Com-
munications Workers of America, the
Freelancers Union, and ACORN. In
addition to Duane, Kellner, and Men-
dez, de Blasio is also supported in the
LGBT community by Brooklyn’s Lamb-
da Independent Democrats, the Gay
and Lesbian Independent Democrats,
and the Stonewall Democratic Club.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 AUG 27, from p.24
reach its goals for its Annual Retreat ’09.
LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th
St., 6:30 p.m.-midnight. Admission is $5.
For complete information, contact mjulca@
latinoaids.org or 212-967-8530.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ in the area. The place they took
CABARET
SUN.AUG.30
I Love & You Love
& We Love...
Mark Alan Jones tells stories of love
using songs by Cole Porter, Rupert Hol-
mes, and John Mayer, among others,
exploring love from a first date to heart-
ache, from the love of a friend to a life-
time of happiness. David A. Shenton is
on piano, with Matt Aronoff on bass. The
Metropolitan Room, 34 W. 22nd St., 7
p.m. Admission is $15, plus two drinks.
Reservations at metropolitanroom.com
or 212-206-0440.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ he lived. I knew four who were
AT THE BEACH
FRI.SEP. 4
It’s No Drag, Man
The Little Sisters of Hoboken are
back, proving once again that nunsense
is habit-forming. “Nunsense A-Men”
is a variation on the original, cabaret-
style “Nunsense,” except that the
Little Sisters are men of the Pines. The
Fire Island Pines Arts Project presents
Sister Mary Amnesia and Sister Julia,
Child of God, who sing about leprosy,
do vaudeville with a hand puppet and
get stoned while pretending to do the
Australian crawl suspended on a stool.
Dan Gogin, the creator, directs. Bran-
don Fradd Theatre, Whyte Hall, the
Pines. Sep. 4, 8 p.m.; Sep. 5-6, 6:30
& 9 p.m. Tickets are $50 at fipap.org or
at the Pines harbor.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ The Department of Home-
COMEDY
SUN.SEP. 6
United Colors of
Brad
In his weekly “Electro Shock Therapy
Comedy Hour,” Brad Loekle presents
headliner Helen Hong, Dana Lovecchio
(from P-town’s Crown & Anchor), Chantal
Carrere (of ABC’s “Fat March”), and Lisa
Kaplan (from the Lesbians of Laughter
tour). Therapy, 348 W. 52nd St., 10
p.m. No cover charge and $6 cosmos all
evening. 䉴 JUMP, continued on p.27
䉴 IRAQ, from p.4
more names for their hit list was
Mashal, 41, who owned a small
store until recently. He told
HRW: “It was about 4 p.m. and
four men came inside the shop.
They lingered, and when I tried
to get them to leave, they pulled
out guns. They had three cars —
one a black Daewoo — and they
put me in one and covered my
eyes. It was the Mahdi Army —
they are the ones who operate
me to wasn’t far away: it was
very close to a mosque or actu-
ally in the courtyard, because
I could hear the call to prayer
very clearly. When they hauled
me out of the car, they beat me
until I fell unconscious.
“Late the next day, they
came to me and said, ‘We know
you are gay, we know you’re
farakhji [a derogatory term
used in Iraq for men who have
sex with men]. They pulled
out a list of names and started
reading them: you know these
perverts, you know X and Y
and Z. They gave the first name
and the neighborhood where
still alive. One they had already
killed.
“They had killed my friend
Waleed in February, before I
was kidnapped. He was walk-
ing down a big street between
Hayy Ur and al Shaab [in
northeast Baghdad near Sadr
City] at dusk. I asked Waleed’s
brother about it later, and he
told me, ‘Waleed was slaugh-
tered in the street. Don’t
ask more.’ I am sure he was
killed because he was gay. He
䉴 ASYLUM, from p.7
regarding the IJ’s conclusions,
noted, “One might infer, howev-
er, he found the presence of past
persecution, a reasonable fear of
future persecution, or both.”
land Security appealed the IJ’s
decision. Although the BIA has
the power to consider appeals, a
single member of that board nor-
mally does not have authority to
reverse an IJ decision unless it
is clearly wrong. More thorough
review of IJ decisions is generally
undertaken by three-members
panels. The one BIA member who
overturned the IJ ruling in favor
of M.H.’s asylum issued a “terse”
opinion, according to O’Brien.
O’Brien pointed out that M.H.
should have objected to the BIA
about the one-member review,
20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009
was walking with a bunch of
straight friends, and he was
killed, not them: he was the
one they targeted.
“He was the first name on
the list they read me. There
were many more names I
didn’t know. I admitted know-
ing those four, but I said it was
only because they were cus-
tomers in my shop. They inter-
rogated me for three hours that
night. They kept me blindfold-
ed and gagged, and when they
wanted me to speak, they took
Murders are committed with
impunity, with corpses dumped
in garbage or hung as warnings
on the street.
out the gag. They demanded I
give them names of other gays.
At night they got a broomstick,
and they used it to rape me.
“After that, they negotiated a
ransom. They asked my family
for $50,000 US. My brothers
sold my shop, my car, every-
thing I had to put together half
that. When they let me go they
said, ‘We have our sources, and
we know exactly what you do.
If you step outside your house,
you are dead.’ I never left the
house for more than a month,
until I fled Baghdad. One of the
people whose names they read
to me ran away from Baghdad,
with his parents. Two others I
know are just hiding in their
houses. A few don’t answer
their phones, and I don’t know
but that the 10th Circuit panel
was precluded from considering
such a procedural objection.
On the merits, O’Brien wrote,
the record supported the BIA
decision to overturn M.H.’s asy-
lum win. “The record indicates
that M.H. relied mostly on child-
hood events and the cumula-
tive effects of discrimination
and harassment by diverse
individuals in his adulthood,”
wrote O’Brien. “The most trou-
bling incidents occurred before
[his] homosexuality was appar-
ent to others and without any
connection to action or inac-
tion by the government or enti-
ties or individuals it is unable or
unwilling to control. He testified
credibly as to the bleak nature
of his life in Brazil and is deserv-
ing of sympathy. But other than
childhood ‘beatings’ at the hands
what has happened to them.”
The HRW report emphasizes
the intimidation caused by this
reign of terror, noting, “Perhaps
the most disturbing aspect
of the campaign is its public-
ity and impunity. The death
squads treat murder as a mes-
sage, aimed at other presumed
‘deviants’ and at the popula-
tion at large. The brutality of
the killings, the proliferation
of mutilated corpses discarded
in the trash, not only conveys
the power of the killers and the
dispensability of the victims,
but makes the dead a savage
example. Bodies — castrated,
broken, tortured — become
billboards, on which punish-
ment is less imposed than
inscribed. As one man told us,
‘It is a slaughterhouse on the
streets.’ ”
The association Iraqi LGBT,
which has a network of some
100 members throughout Iraq,
has had 17 of its members,
including two lesbians, killed
for their gay activism. (See,
for example, this reporter’s
December 7-13, 2006 article,
“Iraqi Gay Activists Abducted,”
a link to which appears in the
online version of this story at
gaycitynews.com). The group
at one time had five safe hous-
of other children, he related no
instance of violence directed
toward him because of his sexual
preference. Nor is there evidence
of credible threats to his safety or
well-being. Moreover, there is no
evidence the unpleasantness he
experienced came from the gov-
ernment or individuals or enti-
ties it was unable or unwilling
to control.”
Addressing specifically the evi-
dence that 180 gay men had been
killed in one year, O’Brien mini-
mized that data, writing, “The
unvarnished fact that 180 homo-
sexuals were killed in one year
is not remarkable in a country
of over 180 million, particularly
when the report does not identify
the killings as murder, contains
no mention of the reason for the
killings, or any description of
the perpetrators (by type, not by
27
es in Iraq for LGBT people tar-
geted by the death squads, but
was forced to close three of
them for lack of funds. The two
remaining safe houses have
been temporarily funded by a
Dutch human rights organiza-
tion, but given the intensified
level of the murder campaign
this year, Iraqi LGBT is desper-
ate for funds to open new safe
houses to protect those being
pursued by the “sexual cleans-
ing” campaign.
In welcoming the HRW
report, Iraqi LGBT’s Hili said,
“We are the only people offer-
ing support to our fellow Iraqi
LGBT inside Iraq, but because
we do not have the funds we
have had to turn people away,
which is heartbreaking for us.”
Contributions to Iraqi LGBT
— which recently issued a
detailed financial accounting
of how it spends the monies
it has raised, which is avail-
able on the group’s web site at
http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.
com/ — can be made with a
credit card via PayPal through
that website or by sending a
check to Iraqi LGBT, 22 Notting
Hill Gate, United 111, London,
W11 23JE, United Kingdom.
The full text of the 67 page
Human Rights Watch report,
“They Want Us Exterminated:
Murder, Torture, Sexual Ori-
entation and Gender in Iraq,” is
available online at http://www.
hrw.org/node/85050.
Doug Ireland, Gay City News’
contributing editor for Interna-
tional Affairs, can be reached
through his blog, DIRELAND, at
http://direland.typepad.com/.
name). The reader is left to specu-
late – were they homophobic kill-
ings or were they motivated by
other factors (jilted lovers, drug
dealing, prostitution, etc.) and
only coincidently involved homo-
sexuals?”
In other words, as difficult as
things may have appeared to an
“effeminate” gay man in Brazil in
2004, they were not bad enough
to warrant a grant of asylum. The
court’s opinion demonstrates,
yet again, that under prevailing
interpretations of asylum law,
refuge is unlikely to be granted
in the US for foreign nationals
whose governments have dis-
avowed anti-gay policies and
undertaken affirmative efforts to
protect gay rights, even if those
efforts have not yet significantly
alleviated discrimination and
harassment.
28 20 AUG – 2 SEP 2009 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM

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