Picket NYT Today
Over Biased Quinn Coverage

Today, dozens of New York City voters and activists working on the campaign to hold City Council Speaker Christine Quinn accountable for her record will demonstrate at the New York Times' headquarters, and a new political banner will be unveiled for the first time:

What: Biased reporting favoring Quinn
Where: The NY Times Building
Location: 8th Avenue at 41st Street in Manhattan
When: September 12th 
Time: 5:15 - 6:45 p.m.
Contact: Donny Moss: donnymoss@me.com

Over the past couple of years, the Times has published extensive puff pieces about Christine Quinn -- from where she eats her meals to how she spends her summer weekends -- while failing to provide this type of coverage for the other 2013 Mayoral candidates. The paper is also not known for article critical of Quinn.

While the Times has compared Quinn's abuse of power to that of Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev and has exposed her illegal campaign practices, it has fallen far short of holding her accountable for her failed leadership -- consistently betraying her district constituents, New York City voters, the democratic process, the truth and the law in order to advance her career.

"We don't know why the Times is so biased in its coverage of Quinn, but we feel compelled to address well in advance of the 2013 Mayoral election," said protest organizer Donny Moss. "We demand honest -- and critical -- reporting from the Gray Lady when it comes to Quinn."

On August 28, activists staged a successful moving demonstration at the paper's headquarters deploring the most glowing and gushing of coverage overseen by Times assistant editor Carolyn Ryan. Here's a video of the demonstration:



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KGO-TV: MUMC Not Lowering
Flag on 9-11 Upsets Castro Gays



It's a small error, but one that I nonetheless must note. The reporter made it clear he wanted to speak to only one of us, Bill Wilson or myself. He wasn't interested in hearing from two flag-lowering advocates, so I deferred to Wilson. I never said I didn't want to speak on camera.

That aside, Mark Matthews did a good job of reporting this story and I am amazed at how not a single MUMC leader was willing to go on camera. Also, the papa bear Bill Eadie is wrong in his wild allegation that if the people are allowed to control their public property that the flag will rise and fall daily like a yo-yo. The only yo-yo with such thinking is Bill Eadie.

Finally, the leaders of MUMC had eleven years notice since the 9-11 attacks, and one year since they lowered it for the tenth anniversay, to prepare for lowering the flag today. Does MUMC need a special request from President Obama delivered on a silver platter in order to fly OUR flag at half mast?

Excerpts from KGO-TV's print version of their video report:

The president requested government agencies to fly the flag at half mast Tuesday in honor of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But in San Francisco some activists in the Castro District are accusing the local merchants association of being disrespectful because their flag has not been lowered.

The flag in question is not an American flag, it's the big rainbow flag that flies over the corner of Market and Castro streets. Community activist Bill Wilson calls it a disgrace.

"I think it's disrespectful to the request that the president made to honor all 9/11 people who were killed," he said. Wilson and blogger Michael Petrelis are taking on the merchants association that owns and controls the flag. Petrelis didn't want to talk on camera, but he's been going after the merchants of upper Market and Castro over this issue for years.

This time, the merchants association said the request wasn't submitted early enough to be considered.

"It doesn't explain the other problems we've had any time we've asked the flag to be lowered in honor of community members, in honor of international [LGBT solidarity] days," Wilson said.

The president of the merchant's association is the general manager of Cliff's Variety. She did not return ABC7 News' calls for comment. Another board member directed ABC7 News to the flag policy is on the association's website . . .

Last year, on the 10th anniversary of the attacks, the flag was lowered. This year it was not. San Francisco resident George Woyames admitted he hadn't noticed the flag's position.

"I'm glad you called it to my attention to it; I think it would be a good idea to fly it at half staff," he said.

Others were more adamant about not lowering it.

"If we let people control the up and down of that flag, that flag would be up and down every other day for all different purposes; it's a crazy notion that that flag should go down," San Francisco resident Bill Eadie said . . .

The president's request was for federal government offices and agencies to display the stars and stripes at half staff Tuesday . . .

Milk Club & Mirkarimi 
Loudly Zapped at Gay Center

Business as usual was loudly and unquestionably interrupted tonight as suspended San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi was speaking at the Harvey Milk Democratic Club tonight, on the third floor of the gay community center. First, some history.

More than a year ago, at a packed club election endorsement meeting at the women's building, members unanimously and vociferously committed themselves to reclaiming the public rainbow flag at Milk Plaza. Since then, other than dicking me around at meetings and via emails, the club ain't don't shit.

Oh, but the club president and other leaders have gotten cozy with Supervisor Scott Wiener, who thinks MUMC control of the flag is just fine, and they have been appointed to commissions or moved up the local political ladder with his assistance. When it comes to Wiener, the Milk Club is a docile lapdog with no yapping allowed.

Tonight club meeting was zapped a few moments after I stepped into room 300 of the gay center, and began my rant:

ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF 9-11, IN THE CASTRO, HERO MARK BINGHAM WAS NOT HONORED WITH A FLAG LOWERING. THE CLUB HAS DONE NOTHING TO RECLAIM THE FLAG, WHICH IS PUBLIC PROPERTY. YOU'VE HAD A YEAR TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. THE FLAG ON 9-11 SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOWERED FOR MARK BINGHAM.

At the front of the room, Mirkarimi stopped speaking and no one challenged me to stop my rant, until former club president and Mirkarimi lawyer, and good man whom I respect, tried to engage me to no avail. More ranting, then I exited in the hallway where more members were milling about.

I continued to shout and a skinny white princess with a hand-held device told me to turn it down. Didn't happen:

PRINCESS, THE BUTTON SAYS 'SILENCE EQUALS DEATH' AND I WILL NOT BE SILENT. THE CLUB HAS DONE NOTHING TO RECLAIM THE FLAG FOR MARK BINGHAM.

A big baby appeared, kept her distance but said I had to leave and I walked down the metallic and cement stairs, with more yelling. In the atrium of the second floor overlooking the entrance, I demanded community control of the Milk Plaza rainbow flag for gay heroes.

Maybe four minutes after entering the meeting, I was out on the street breathing fresh air, but that was not the end of this zap. Seeing that the windows of the meeting room facing Market Street were open, I yelled up and heads looked down at me.

I unlocked my bike, ran into my friend Mira Ingraham in her wheelchair and chatted with her about the beauty of life and activism. She had not been in the center, and seeing her was like a blessing from the goddess.

Shame on the Milk Club and all the others I have named in almost two years of campaigning to return the rainbow flag at Milk Plaza to the gay public's control, who have not stood up to the bullies of MUMC and their City Hall patron Wiener. The club should change its name to the Wiener Club because of its allegiance to the supervisor who keeps OUR flags in the hands of MUMC.

Memo to Milk Club leaders: I look forward to attending more of your meetings this election season!

MUMC to Obama: Drop Dead;
Deputy Mayor Kawa Zap at City Hall

(SF Deputy Mayor Steve Kawa.)

As expected, the rainbow flag on public property at Harvey Milk Plaza was not lowered today out of respect for President Obama's proclamation calling for flying flags at half staff to honor the victims of 9-11 including Castro gay hero Mark Bingham. The Merchants of Upper Market Castro refused to heed our president's request.

My friend Bill Wilson arranged to meet KGO-TV political reporter Mark Matthews at the plaza at 11:30 am, for a story about the rainbow flag flying at full staff today. When Matthews showed up, it was to tell us the story was cancelled because of a fire. We told him to call Wilson's cell phone if the flag story was something he wanted to pursue in the afternoon.

Wilson and I headed down to the mayor's office at City Hall to zap Ed Lee, since we have tried for more than a year to arrange a resolution with MUMC over the city's rainbow flag and pole and have been stonewalled by him and his staff.

(Off the Mayor's Balcony, the Stars and Stripe flew at half staff.)

When we walked into Room 200, there were two administrative aides and three security personnel present but no mayor. The door to the inner office was ajar and exiting was deputy mayor Steve Kawa, who was ending a meeting with five associates.

As I was telling the aides and security detail that we had to speak with Kawa about the shameful failure of MUMC to lower the rainbow flag, Wilson pointed out that Kawa was a few feet away from me. I went over the him, shook hands and said we wanted the rainbow flag lowered before the end of today.

Kawa said the issue was the domain of the chief of protocol Matthew Goudeau. Told Kawa that yesterday Goudeau told me on the phone that the issue was not a City Hall matter and that we should complain to MUMC.

Wilson was busy on the phone with reporter Matthews who said he would be back at Milk Plaza at 1 pm, and he want back on the story. Soon, we left the mayor's office and headed back to the Castro. Once there, Wilson was interviewed, the cameraman got shots of the flag flying as if the president had not made a simple request to MUMC, and we displayed photos of Bingham. Tune in to KGO-TV at 4 pm and 6 pm today and catch the story.

In related news, the Human Rights Campaign lowered the American flag and their logo flag atop their headquarters in Washington, DC, today. I thank HRC's leadership for this important gesture and applaud their act of decency, in respecting Obama's proclamation without hesitation.

9/11 Picket at Cliff's Variety Over
Castro's Dissing of Obama, Bingham

Enough is enough with the unrelenting b.s. and lack of democracy with the Merchants of Upper Market Castro.

Tomorrow, on September 11 from noon till 1 pm, I'll be staging a one-man picket with a bullhorn in front of Cliff's Variety where Terry Bennett, the president of MUMC is general manager. The store is located at 479 Castro Street, pictured.

The latest rejection to lower the flag to honor President Barack Obama's proclamation and 9/11 and Castro gay hero Mark Bingham, is a damn good reason to picket Cliff's Variety. Frankly, I really don't want to be out at Bennett's place of business, but after nearly two-years of MUMC refusing to keep it's promise of holding a public dialogue about sharing responsibility and control of the rainbow flag on public property at Harvey Milk Plaza, it's time for me to send a message this way to MUMC.

MUMC's previous director Steve Adams, vice president of Sterling Bank, offered these lame excuses why the flag couldn't be used by grassroots LGBT community members. He said, without any independent proof, that so many requests came in if he were to honor them all the flag would perpetually be at half-mast.

Look at some examples of inconsistency from MUMC. They claim rare flag lowerings should be only for locals, which is why they wouldn't lower it for Elizabeth Taylor when she died, MUMC did fly the rainbow flag at half-mast when lifelong Washington, DC, resident Frank Kameny died.

MUMC wouldn't raise the New York state flag when gay marriages began in the Empire State last year because the request came from me, they did fly the brown bear pride flag for Bear Weekend this past February.

The group also grants special privileges (forget about "equality" in the Castro) to the kink community every September, when the Leather Flag flies for entire week before the Folsom Street Fair brings thousands of visitors to town. MUMC uses that week-long occasion to attract rainbow dollars.

When Bill Wilson and I worked last October with then-head of the General Services Administration for San Francisco, Amy Adams, the agency that oversees the Department of Public Works which controls the plaza property, to bring key stakeholders to the table to work on a resolution to this flag control problem, Supervisor Scott Wiener killed the process.

Members of MUMC bemoan the hostile homeless folks congregating at Milk Plaza, and they allege a desire to activate the plaza, yet every attempt by activists to do exactly that and use the flag and pole for fabulous actions to attract responsible people to the plaza is rejected. The policy of MUMC is to keep _all_ folks away from _their_ flag and then kvetch the plaza isn't vibrant.

Since MUMC is a private membership organization, the public is prohibited from addressing the group at their meetings. In short, there is no way to directly communicate with MUMC and propose ideas to end this impasse, leading me to take my message to their president's business during the height of the business day.

Obama's Third Flag-Lowering 
Request Rejected by Castro Merchants

(No question: This man would honor President Obama's proclamation and 9/11 hero Mark Bingham.)

For the third time in as many months the iconic rainbow flag on city property at Harvey Milk Plaza in San Francisco, controlled by the private Merchants of Upper Market Castro, won't be lowered out of respect for a proclamation issued by President Barack Obama. Earlier today, the leader of the free world, released this decree:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2012, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. I call upon all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States to display the flag of the United States at half-staff on Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the individuals who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. I invite the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and interested organizations and individuals to join in this observance.

Longtime LGBT community documentarian Bill Wilson, after reading the president's words, made a written request to MUMC to lower the rainbow flag. Here's MUMC's reply from their president Terry Bennett, pictured, general manager of Cliff's Variety:

Thanks for your email, just received late morning today, the day before the effective date for your Rainbow Flag request. This does not provide sufficient time for MUMC's volunteer Board to consider the request, and so we cannot respond definitively. Please see MUMC's publicly-posted Policy regarding the Rainbow Flag at Harvey Milk Plaza, posted on our website at http://castromerchants.com/castro-merchants-flag-policy. Please especially note portions of that Policy regarding the fundamental principle of the Flag Policy, and timing of requests.

What MUMC doesn't understand is that President Obama is not familiar with their hurdles for lowering the rainbow flag. He's kind of busy with other issues right now. Too bad MUMC does not provide for any flexibility when our president issues such proclamation. In early August, when the president and Mayor Ed Lee requested flags fly at half-staff to honor the shooting victims in the Sikh Temple killings in Wisconsin, Wilson made a request to Bennett for a flag lowering. Bennett's reply:

We're also working on clarifying the City's intent here, and on a mechanical issue with the Flag, for both of which we hope to have answers in the morning. 

Um, the mayor's intent was clear: Lower flags on city property. Bennett never stated what her mechanical excuse was. This lame rejection came a few short weeks after the bloody massacre in late July in Colorado, when MUMC again refused to lower the LGBT pride flag. 

The disrespecting of the LGBT community and President Obama, for a simple lowering of a rainbow flag, is a blot of shame on MUMC. They have come up with endless ridiculous reasons why they need to control this crucial piece of public property, and how burdensome it is to fly the flag at half-mast.

It would take all of ten-minutes to insert the key into the control box of the flag pole and bring down half-way. Oh, the heavy burden that requires of the stewards of the public flag at Harvey Milk Plaza!

While MUMC again shows irrational resistance to respecting the president, allowing the Castro's LGBT community to symbolically join in solidarity with other American communities tomorrow and lowering flag, they are also dishonoring local 9/11 hero Mark Bingham. He perished in the fields of Pennsylvania eleven years ago, along with thousands of other Americans and folks from foreign lands.

Thanks to Bennett, MUMC, Supervisor Scott Wiener and Mayor Ed Lee, the entire San Francisco LGBT community won't be allowed to use our public rainbow flag for a patriotic and cost-free purpose.

Robert Navarett 
of ACT UP/LA Has Died at Age 72

My friend Peter Cashman on Friday circulated the sad news that activist Robert Navarret, pictured on the left, passed away at the end of August. I believe Navarret and I were at national demonstrations together during they heyday of ACT UP's work.

Right now, I can't place him exactly at any specific action but out of a sense of wanting to recognize his life and advocacy, I am sharing excerpts of an obituary about him. It was penned by JT Anderson, pictured on the right.

We LGBT people need to honor our comrades and colleagues when they die, whether they were high-profile names or not. They served our community well, during some truly dark and terribly deadly times, and we are wise to share obits and photos when they pass away.

A Remembrance and Celebration of Robert Navarret
by JT Anderson 

Robert Navarret, ACT UP/Los Angeles member and Radical Faerie, died at his home in Venice, California, August 30, 2012. He was born in 1940 and would have been 72 years old September 21. 

Robert was raised in Lancaster, CA, the town where Judy Garland and her family lived when her father, Frank Gumm, owned the Valley Theatre. Life in Lancaster was no Oz, however, for a gay boy in the 1940s and 50s. After graduating from high school, Robert joined the military and was stationed for a while in Turkey. 

LGBT and AIDS causes became his passion when he was arrested on the steps of the Supreme Court in 1987 and joined ACT UP/Los Angeles in the summer of 1989. Photography was his specialty and he documented many of ACT UP/LA's actions.

His compassion for people with AIDS lead him to help provide cushions for the AIDS ward at the LA County/USC hospital where many patients had been forced to endure long hours on hard benches.

He was at the historic SANOE stopping of the Rose Parade in 1990, and participated in anti-war protests, including wearing his faerie skirt at the downtown Los Angeles march against the first Gulf war. He was especially proud of his work with Clinic Defense, risking his life in many pre-dawn freeway chases to get to clinics in order to stop the domestic terrorist organization Operation Rescue from blocking women's access to legal health care. 

During his activism he also had time for the Radical Faeries, attending circles and gatherings. He was known as Mooncalf in faerie circles. He was never ashamed or afraid to wear his faerie skirt. He last wore it recently at a tribute to Harry Hay in Silver Lake. 

Robert also enjoyed photographing the physique events at Muscle Beach and photographed many of the participants in body-building competitions in California. He took classes in painting and drawing and used many of his friends as subjects. Robert was a member of the Fabulous Monsters acting troupe, providing support, building sets and acting in many productions. He loved to travel and spent extended periods of time in France, Italy, China and Tibet. 

Robert is survived by two sisters and many family members, and by countless friends and fellow activists.

Bravo! 
GLAD Posts Four IRS 990s On-Site

Remember last week I told you Lee Swislow the executive director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, would update her group's About Us page to include IRS 990s? This past week, Sislow kept her promise to expand GLAD' transparency to the community and their tax returns were posted on their site.

I'm so pleased with this development and have to note, and praise Swislow, for sharing four years' worth of 990s. This is significant because it's one more transparent LGBT advocacy organization going beyond sharing a single return or the more common number of three.

As the gay sunshine continues to expand due to my advocacy, smart executive directors embracing or increasing their commitment to fiscal accountability to donors and the LGBT public, the expansion should serve as an nudge to groups that currently do not post any 990s on-site.

Such groups include the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the Courage Campaign, Freedom to Marry, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Center and the National Minority AIDS Council.

I hope the leaders of those groups follow the fabulous example of GLAD regarding transparency and that before we see President Obama elected to a second term in November, we are able to inspect three to five years of IRS 990s on those groups' sites.

Hey Lee Swislow, you're my gay sunshine heroine of the week!

Weekend Woof #6:
San Francisco Men Around Town

I've got a great new batch of photos of terrific San Francisco guys to share this beautiful Saturday afternoon. Previous batches of woofy man are here, here, here, here and here.

Meet Damien, who manages the front desk at the Immune Enhancement Project. He's also an excellent massage therapist who gives wonderful Reiki treatments. Many thanks to IEP's dedicated team of healing practitioners for their service to people with AIDS and anyone in need in alternative healing.

This handsome fellow was tending to the trees on Valencia Street recently. His comportment seemed native Italian in nature, so I used my rudimentary Italian on him. "I am from Turkey," was his response. So much for my ability to spot an Italian! Sorry I didn't get his name.

I don't know why Pedro, who works at Lucca's Ravioli Store on Valencia Street, wears a smock with the name Junior on it. Another one of the friendly crew at my favorite San Francisco Italian deli.

HRC Still Sucks:
Embracing David Koch for Gay Marriage



The relatively new president of the Human Rights Campaign is Chad Griffin and his hiring raised hopes for a new day at the group, but an HRC blog post last week shows that some fundamental problems still exist, and are reason why I remain critical of the group:

Support from prominent influencers like [arch conservative David] Koch, [pictured,] and Paul Singer indicates that the growing momentum for LGBT equality nationwide is certainly present with the Republican Party. Last week, we talked about how the anti-LGBT tone of the platform – and Mitt Romney’s positions on equality – would one day soon be unconscionable for any political figure with national ambitions to espouse. David Koch’s support for marriage equality is a powerful reminder of why that day is not far off.

I can understand HRC embracing Koch's gay marriage stand and that's not to say I agree with their embrace, but to omit mention of all the dangerous items on his political agenda that would or do threaten LGBT Americans is illustrative of the same old shit at HRC. Not one damn word about Koch's endangerment to our democracy. To paraphrase Lillian Hellman, there is no conscience at HRC to cut to suit this year's political fashions.

Let's get up to speed on Koch's agenda beyond gay marriage with details from The Nation, and bear in mind that thousands of LGBT seniors and disabled persons would be impacted if he gets his way on America's safety net, and he funds that suppress the minority vote which includes LGBTs of color:

Take Social Security, which the Koch Brother are working to dismantle by funding an echo chamber of think tanks. Brave New Foundation researchers reveal a $28.4 million Koch effort that has manufactured 297 opinions and commentaries, 200 reports, 56 studies and six books distorting Social Security’s effectiveness and purpose.

“The Koch Brothers are funding think tanks spreading an enormous amount of disinformation about Social Security,” Senator Bernie Sanders says in the film ["Koch Brothers Exposed"].

Koch-backed groups are also pushing onerous voter ID requirements on minorities and the poor. They have funded efforts to potentially thwart 21 million Americans from voting by writing and proposing voting suppression bills in thirty-eight states.

“The Koch Brothers support laws that are the most aggressive attempt to roll back voting rights in this country that we’ve seen in over a century,” says Benjamin Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP.

There is a new boss at HRC, but it's still same elitist, narrow-focused organization with tunnel vision that will do nothing to challenge the 1%.