Top 10 Wisconsin, World & National
LGBT Stories Of 2007
Plus Our Top 5 Predictions For 2008
 Two steps forward, one step back: The ancient Chinese proverb that speaks to the need for persistence in order to advance certainly characterized the top state and national stories involving LGBT community in 2007. There certainly were some bright moments in the past year, but they were tempered by a number of very visible losses, especially among our gay patriarchs. 2007 will be remembered was a year of notable legislative and presidential campaign firsts, wide stances, and a record-setting PrideFest where the onstage fireworks made up for the missing bursts over the Lakefront.
1. Domestic Partner Benefits Fail To Survive The Protracted Budget Battle
Governor Jim’s Doyle’s February 13 offer to extend group health insurance benefits to domestic partners of all state employees as part of his state budget proposal was a historic first. Then the on-again, off-again journey the DP initiative took as part of another precedent - the most protracted budget battle in Wisconsin history - ultimately left same-sex partners empty handed ten months later. First the Joint Finance Committee pulled pulled Doyle’s DP proposal, then the Democrat-controlled State Senate slipped them back into their version, while the GOP-led Assembly’s version did not. An October 9 Doyle “compromise” proposal offered to break the impassé failed to include “all the non-fiscal policy items” not included in both the Senate and Assembly versions and spelled the end of the line for DP benefits.
  On the plus side, however, the City of LaCrosse and the Milwaukee Area Technical College did extend DP benefits to their employees, while a proposal to allow similar benefits to a limited number of Milwaukee Public School employees (and thus open the door for full-fledged benefits bargaining by teacher and other unions) remained tabled at year’s end. On the negative side, the city of Madison rejected a grievance filed by one of its unions seeking greater health insurance benefits for the partners of gay and lesbian employees on February 27, effectively denying an expansion of DP benefits there..

2. Death Claims LGBT Leaders Statewide
2007 was a particularly somber year for Wisconsin’s, and especially Milwaukee’s LGBT community. Most notable was the passing of venerable 77 year-old Eldon Murray into the state and the nation’s gay civil rights history. After founding the first LGBT community center, the first LGBT hotline, and the first gay health clinic anywhere in the country, editing the nationally-distributed GPU News, co-founding SAGE Milwaukee and more, Murray was inducted in 1998 along with 30 other LGBT activists (including Barbara Gittings who also passed away February 18 to much greater national mourning) into the National Gay and Lesbian Hall fame as a “pioneer of the movement” by the One Institute and International Gay and Lesbian Archives.
  Murray’s death followed just a month after both Wisconsin Light publisher Terry Boughner, 66, and Milwaukee AIDS Project (the precursor to ARCW) co-founder Tom Boll, 59, died within days of each other. Both tragic and senseless were the sudden deaths of UW-Whitewater professor and LGBT advocate P.B. Poormann, 56, on June 27 and Central Wisconsin Pride President Charles Olszewski, 24, on September 18. Both were killed by drunk drivers with multiple traffic convictions and neither had the opportunity to avoid the wrecks that claimed their lives.
  The unexpected passing of STD Specialties Clinic Director and CEO Fred “Casey” Reilly, 49, from a massive heart attack on November 15 capped an already sad year.

3. ARCW Expands As A Major HIV Medical Center
The December 7 announcement that the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin had spent over a million dollars to treat more than 800 HIV+ patients and had expanded by 36% overall in 2007 may have surprised some but certainly not the nearly 3000 clients who seek case management, housing, legal, nutritional, physical and mental health services in the 59 counties the agency serves statewide.
  Still the numbers were impressive: ARCW provided $1.059 million in uncompensated health care through the ARCW Medical Center. This year ARCW became both the largest and most rapidly growing provider of outpatient HIV medical care in the state.
  ARCW’s second dental clinic opened for business in Green Bay on April 24, and by World AIDS Day had tripled initial projections of patients served by seeing 150 greater Wisconsin clients. Renovations to the agency’s Milwaukee dental and medical clinics began last summer with official openings due in early 2008. A second mental health office at ARCW’s Green Bay site is also expected to open next year.
  But building capacity was only part of the picture. ARCW Chief Operating Officer Michael J. Gifford was a leading figure among those who sought and obtained bipartisan support for the largest increase in spending for HIV/AIDS care in the state’s history. The $1.4 million budget package will underwrite health care costs over the next two years for those living with HIV who are uninsured and ineligible for other state medical assistance benefits.
  The medical expansion has been matched by the agency’s food pantries as well. In 2007 ARCW opened pantries in Eau Claire and LaCrosse and construction continues on a new panty in Wausau.
  ARCW’s rapid expansion came at a time where the state saw a 9% increase in new reported HIV infections. A significant portion of the new cases also occurred in people under the age of 25. The state report showed 11% of the 2006 cases in Wisconsin were diagnosed in adults between the ages of 20-24. That figure may underreport the number of young adults being infected during those four years. The largest age demographic for new diagnoses - 71% of all cases - begins at age 25.

4. PrideFest Turns 20 And A Record Number Celebrate
If you’re going to going to throw a 20th anniversary party, you send out the invites and hope everyone will come - and that the weather will cooperate. The stars aligned the weekend of June 8-10 as more than 30,000 gay men and women and their allies came out to celebrate the biggest Gay Pride celebration in Milwaukee history.
  The stars shined both onstage and off at the Henry B. Maier Festival grounds as 27,467 passed through the PrideFest turnstiles over the weekend, a 15% increase over 2006’s previous record attendance of 23,839 attendees. Both Friday’s 8,389 and Saturday’s 13,300 attendance figures were record single-day totals. Combined with the estimated 2,500-2,700 participants and parade watchers out for Sunday’s nearly two-hour long Pride parade, it was a weekend for the record books.
  The PrideFest grounds filled up quickly Friday afternoon with thousands anticipating headliner Kathy Griffin’s performance. Griffin herself, fresh from co-hosting ABC’s “The View” earlier that morning, announced the attendance increase following her show and stated that it was both the largest audience and “the best experience” in her career. Her over the top D-list dish was certainly a peak experience for many of her rabid twenty and thirtysomething fans in attendance.
  Saturday night belonged to the triumphant performance offered up the legendary Chaka Khan. In offering up her all-time top seller “I Feel For You” as the kick-off number, Chaka signaled that that was not going to be an evening of nostalgia: she was back and offered up fresh evidence that she is a 21st Century funk icon.
  Khan shared two numbers from her new CD “Funk This.”  Both the affecting ballad “Angel” and especially the sassy funk concoction “Will You Love Me” were warmly received by the diverse crowd that ranged from twentysomethings to seasoned Chakaholics.
  The finalé of Khan’s ninety-plus minute show provided the audience with the fireworks that went missing on the Lakefront. Chaka and her twelve-member entourage launched into her first solo hit “I’m Every Woman.” By the end of the number, Chaka had not only reclaimed her song from pallid Whitney Houston remake, she was ready to remain center stage for some time to come.
  Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s presence at the 2007 LGBT Pride Parade Sunday afternoon certainly stole the show at what has become the most elaborate public show of the state’s gay pride statewide.  Barrett and State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) followed just behind this year’s Grand Marshall County Supervisor Peggy West. The official 39 units in this year’s parade belied the sometimes extravagant number of individual elements that made up each unit in the one hour and forty-five minute march.
  Lots of everyday people who love rock & roll or just wanted to be in touch with their fellow community members filled the Summerfest grounds later that day for PrideFest’s festival finalé. Many came to party hearty with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and relive their two decades of chart-toppers, plus get a taste of the quartet’s hook-laden latest album “Sinner.” The 49-year old Jett, looking and acting half her age, did not disappoint the nearly two thousand who stuck around to the final licks Sunday night.
  PrideFest’s 2007 musical line-up outclassed major pride events in Los Angles and New York City. In fact, this year’s entertainment lineup was the biggest LGBT Pride entertainment lineup in the nation, something again missed by the bi-coastal event driven “major” LGBT media.

5. FORGE Conference Sets Records, Draws Raves
Nearly 500 people from around the country converged in Milwaukee March 29 - April 1 for “FORGE Forward 2007,” Wisconsin’s largest-ever gathering of transgender and SOFFA (Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies) people, and the first national FTM (female-to-male)/SOFFA conference held anywhere outside of the east or west coast.
  FORGE Forward 2007 included nine full-day “Intensives,” more than 2-1/2 days’ worth of plenary keynote speeches and entertainment, a film festival, authors’ readings, a vendor hall, a dance, and nearly 90 planned and “propose-it-on-the-spot” workshops and caucuses.
   The conference provided participants with in-depth training on issues ranging from gender identity formation to HIV and safer sex practices among transpeople to working with trans survivors of violence. Keynote speakers articulated connections between gender identity and race, disability, male privilege, sexuality, and other issues, urging attendees to listen and learn from the community’s own diversity.  Many attendees took the advice to heart: “Great conversations about difficult topics” was one of the best aspects of the conference, one attendee said.

6. Madison Oath Protest Draws National Attention
In what is believed be the first protest of its kind in the United States, the Madison City Council voted 13-4 January 16 to give city leaders the option to denounce the state’s constitutional ban on gay marriage when they take their oath of office. The resolution allowed hundreds of elected and appointed officials to add a statement saying they are taking the oath under protest because the amendment “besmirches our constitution.” The approved statement also included a promise to work to overturn the gay marriage ban and prevent discrimination resulting from its passage.
  Supporters on the council and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz say the protest will allow city leaders to take the oath of office - a pledge to uphold the state and U.S. constitutions - with a clear conscience. Gays and lesbians also might be more likely to serve in public office, they said.
  City officials developed the plan after long-time gay activist Dan Ross resigned from the city’s Equal Opportunity Commission rather than swear to uphold the state constitution. Bert Zipperer, president of the city’s Equal Opportunities Commission,  brought the proposal to the council.
  The city council’s move drew the ire of “social conservatives” nationwide, among them Fox News flamethrower Bill O’Reilly who excoriated the city on his evening screamfest. Perhaps the heat kept other municipal and government bodies from following the Capitol city’s lead.
  The Dane County Board of Supervisors on April 19 briefly considered then balked at creating an optional protest statement against the recently passed gay marriage and civil union amendment that could have been read while taking oath of office.
 Supervisors appeared to be uneasy in their desire to show support for gay peoples’ civil rights while still pledging to uphold the state constitution. The board voted to send the oath of office protest resolution back to committee, a move that effectively killed the initiative.

7. Soulforce Riders Arrested At Wisconsin Lutheran College
Eight gay activists involved with a local demonstration by the national Soulforce Equality Ride initially faced charges for trespassing at Wisconsin Lutheran College on March 13. The protesters had gone on campus after administrators had told them to stay away a day earlier. The protesters spent about three hours locked up at the Milwaukee Police Department’s District 3 headquarters before they were allowed to post bail.
  A campus security guard initially had warned the activists to stay off the private college’s property. Six Soulforce protesters and two local activists were taken away in handcuffs by Milwaukee police for trying to set up outreach tables there.
  Wisconsin Lutheran College administrators turned down Soulforce requests to speak on campus on March 12. That day Soulforce members stood in silent, non-violent protest on a sidewalk near the college’s main entrance, some singing hymns.
  The Wisconsin arrests came in the second year of Soulforce’s Equality Ride. Volunteer riders have travelled around the country to Christian campuses by bus to promote gay and lesbian acceptance.
  Prior to the Wisconsin arrests, Equality Riders were harassed and their bus was defaced with spray-painted gay slurs at another Christian school, Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. Three carloads of students reportedly circled the motel where the riders were staying in the early hours of March 7. Dordt College officials later publicly apologized for the anti-gay conduct of its student body.

8. Both Sides Re-Group After Marriage Ban Battle
What do you do for a follow-up when you’ve been involved in the most extensive and expensive ballot measure battle in Wisconsin history? For starters, you change your name. Both the former Action Wisconsin and Family Research Institute of Wisconsin changed their monikers in 2007, to the Wisconsin Family Council and Fair Wisconsin respectively.
  Julaine Appling continued her leadership of the WFC and launched - with the help of a deep-pocketed Green Bay group - an initiative called “Think Marriage” that used brochures and billboards to dispel myths about heterosexual marriage. Getting hitched to suppress your genetically-driven same sex attractions wasn’t one of them. The life-long bachelorette also took a bit of heat for her on-the-record feelings about public breast feeding.
  Fair Wisconsin went through four Executive Directors, three interim and one hired. The ink was barely dry on Quest’s cover story interviewing newly-hired Eve Shiffrin when she decided that she wanted to return to her first love: direct legal advocacy for social justice. Fair Wisconsin and the Fair Wisconsin Education Fund announced November 1 that Shiffrin had left the organization for a position at Disability Rights Wisconsin, effective October 31. At year’s end, latest interim Exec Glenn Carlson had overseen the statewide LGBT advocacy group’s return to full financial balance and the development of soon-to-be-revealed 2008 political strategies.

9. OutReach and Cream City Foundation Celebrate Silver Anniversaries
Some turn 25 and celebrate, others mark historical events. Both Madison’s OutReach and Milwaukee’s Cream City Foundation celebrated silver anniversaries in 2007.
  OutReach celebrated the 25th anniversary of the passage of Wisconsin’s first-in-the-nation Equal Rights legislation April 13 with several of those who help get Assembly Bill 70 passed in 1982 present, most notably co-sponsor David Clarenbach. AB70, the nation’s first successfully enacted gay civil rights legislation, was introduced before the Wisconsin legislature in 1981 by representatives Clarenbach, Leopold, Coggs, Ulichny and Becker; and signed in March, 1982 by the Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus. The bill added sexual orientation to a list of characteristics - such as race, age, gender, and ethnicity - that may not be used to discriminate in employment, housing or other public accommodation. Thirteen other states have followed Wisconsin’s lead in the last quarter century.
  In Milwaukee, the Cream City Foundation marked its 25th year of charitable giving by holding a series of special events over the course of 2007. To kickoff its yearlong celebration Cream City Foundation hosted a Winter-Get-Away celebration at the Milwaukee Domes on February 22 and ended up with a cocktail party in the rotunda at City Hall last Fall.
   As part of its 25 Year Celebration, Cream City Foundation and Joseph Pabst, local philanthropist, joined forces to create the Lesbian and Bisexual Women 25/25 Venture, which distributed $25,000 to recognize current and future LGBT programs.
  Founded in 1982, Cream City Foundation originally spun-off from the former Cream City Business Association, an association of LGBT business owners formed to promote LGBT entrepreneurship and business support for LGBT communities. Initially begun with $500 in seed money, it has grown to provide over $500,000 in grant dollars to organizations and projects working to improve the quality of life for the state’s LGBT people.

10. Madison Minotaurs Hit The Rugby Pitch
First it was bowling, then it was softball and hockey. Now rugby has gotten an official gay Wisconsin twist. Last  August 11, Madison Minotaurs competed in the Stuart Daily 10’s tournament held here with  three games played that day. The Wisconsin Rugby Club acknowledged the Minotaurs’ effort at the end of the tournament by honoring the Minotaurs with the receipt of the special the Kim Pederson award, for exemplifying the true spirit of Rugby on and off the playing field, known as the pitch.
  The following day the Madison Minotaurs were admitted into the Wisconsin Rugby Union. “We are the first ever gay-identified team to be inducted into the Wisconsin Rugby Union,” Minotaur organizer Shawn Neal said, while thanking other teams for their support. The Minotaurs became officially part of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB) on August 25th when they played their first 15’s match against the Minneapolis Mayhem.
  At year’s end soccer also was getting the gay re-do as Milwaukee began organizing its first-ever Gay Soccer League, set to debut in 2008.
1. Presidential Politics Goes Gay
In 2004 Karl Rove may have used gays as a wedge issue to re-install George Bush in the White House, but the 2008 Presidential campaign went gay in a completely different way in 2007.
  Billed as the “Visible Vote ‘08,” the Human Rights Campaign and LOGO cable channel offered up a “gay presidential debate” August 9.  From a political standpoint it was ground-breaking: all of the top contenders for the Democratic Party’s candidate for President in 2008 were present. After making a lot of noise so were several of the lesser lights. Though offered their own fifteen minutes of gay fame none of the Republican presidential candidates took the bait - not surprising since several believe gay people (not to mention evolution) don’t actually exist.
  That doesn’t mean gay issues didn’t crop up in the GOP debates. The dark horse GOP presidential candidacy of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson received one of several fatal blows following a May 4 flip-flop that likely soured his standing with both moderate independent voters and his own party’s religious extremist base. Thompson was asked during the first GOP presidential candidate’s debate in California May 4 if it would be acceptable for a private employer who finds homosexuality immoral to fire a gay worker. Thompson concluded by saying “yes” to a confirmatory question fielded by John Harris, editor in chief of politico.com, one of the event’s co-sponsors.
  When the story broke big in the Badger State the next morning,the Thompson campaign arranged a hasty telephone interview with CNN. “I made a mistake, I misinterpreted the question,” Thompson told CNN’s John Roberts. “I didn’t hear the question properly and I apologize. That is not my position. There should be no discrimination in the workplace.”
  Thompson also claimed that he supported Wisconsin’s gay rights bill 25 years ago, but was caught in a lie when OutReach Director Steven Starkey pointed out the had voted against AB70 in 1982.  Thompson ended up being the first GOP hopeful to drop out of the Republican race.
  Flips flops on gay issues also have haunted top-tier GOP candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney as well. Meanwhile former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee’s presidential standing soared among the party faithful after he defended his 1992 suggestion to quarantine AIDS patients.

2. Gay Civil Unions Move Forward
Gay civil unions moved forward in several states in 2007. New Hampshire became the fourth state to legalize civil unions May 31 when Governor John Lynch signed legislation into law saying it was in keeping with the state’s anti-discrimination tradition.
  The bill went to the governor after the New Hampshire House voted 243-129 in support and the Senate passed the bill 14-10 in April. Same-sex couples plan to celebrate New Hampshire’s new civil unions law by holding a group ceremony the minute the law takes effect January 1, 2008.
   Oregon also passed civil unions legislation with a 2008 start date.
  In Washington state, a raucous cheer went up from a crowd of gay and lesbian couples in Olympia as the doors were opened July 23 for domestic partnership. Within an hour of opening, the secretary of state’s office had registered about 85 same-sex couples. Registered Washington couples will get more rights as domestic partners, including hospital visitation, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations and to inherit without a will.
  New Jersey’s civil unions also went into effect and New York State agreed to recognize out of state civil unions by couples who later relocate to the Empire state.
  Gay marriage has some small victories as well. Massachusetts legislators turned back a ballot measure that could have undone the only legal gay marriages in the country. In Iowa gay marriage was legal for one day following a court ruling that was stayed by an appellate court 24 hours later.
  At year’s end, however, Florida residents learned they would likely have a gay marriage ban measure on their November, 2008 ballots - conveniently coinciding with the Presidential election.

3. Oregon Passes Gay Equal Rights Law
Oregon’s Gay and lesbian residents won a victory more than three decades in the making April 19 when the state’s Legislature passed a law protecting them from discrimination in housing, work and public places. Governor Ted Kulongoski signed it into law May 9.
  Oregon is now the 18th state to adopt a law protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination. According to National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman, equal rights protection for gay and lesbian people now covers more than half the U. S. Population.
  The neighboring state of California has a similar anti-discrimination law. Washington’s went into effect last year. The passage also comes just weeks after Wisconsin - the first state in the country to pass such legislation - quietly celebrated the 25th anniversary of its equal rights law.

4. ENDA Splits The Gay Community
The House passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) November 7 with a 235-184 vote. The historic first, however, came at a cost - a split amongst the nation’s LGBT activists. The reason? ENDA passed without protections for the transgendered community.
  Leading the fight for a trans-inclusive ENDA was Wisconsin’s own Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison). She was joined by nearly 300 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender activist groups and allies that included state organizations Fair Wisconsin, Milwaukee’s Center Advocates, Madison’s OutReach and the Wisconsin chapter of American Civil Liberties Union.
  “This is the first time in the history of the civil rights movement that a bill that does not have the support of a single constituent organization is being moved to the House floor,” NGLTF Executive director Matt Foreman said in response to the October 18 committee vote to recommend the trans-free bill for a  House vote. However Forman missed one group - the nation’s largest. The Human Rights Campaign worked with Representative Barney Frank  (D-Massachusetts) to move the revised ENDA bill to a vote.
  Despite passage in the House, ENDA likely will fail to become law. The White House has promised a veto.

5. Larry Craig, Bob Allen And Others Tumble Out Of The GOP Closet
Any claim that the Republican Party might have had to moral leadership was clearly undone nearly weekly revelations of closet case GOP shenanigans in public bathrooms and other places throughout the summer and fall of 2007. The list seems almost endless: Florida representative Bob Allen finally resigned after he was found guilty of offering $20 blow jobs to black undercover officers. Idaho Senator Larry Craig’s airport bathroom toe-tapping and wide stance both entered the nation’s lexicon. Craig plead guilty, then appealed, promised to resign then took it back, pleaded his case in a low-rated interview with hunky Tom Brokaw, and ended up a yuletide novelty gift in the form of a talking doll.
  Others in the Republican homofest? Louisiana Senate candidate Joey DiFatta, Washington State Representative Richard Curtis, Brown County GOP Chair Donald Fleischman, former Daytona city commissioner Mike Shallow, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham and national Young Republican Federation president Glenn Murphy, Jr. to name a few.
  Democrats were also caught up in the homosexual hue and cry as well. Presidential contender Hillary Clinton denied lesbian rumors on record to The Advocate and openly-gay Wisconsin 2nd District Democratic Party Chair Randy Udell was caught in a Rock County public bathroom sex sting.

6. Hate Crimes Bill Passes, Then Dies
Federal Hate Crimes legislation that would have added gender, sexual orientation and gender identity and disability to the Federal Hate Crimes Act died after achieving a historic first by passing both houses of Congress. The Matthew Shepard Act, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, first passed the House of Representatives. However, when the Senate took up the measure, with was attached as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, a Department of Defense spending bill. The White House promised to veto the defense bill because of the hate crimes amendment. Senate leaders believed it would not pass and okayed its being stripped from the final bill approved by both houses.

7. Westboro Wackos Get A $10.9 Million Wake-Up Call
Members of the fundamentalist Kansas Westboro Baptist Church were ordered to pay nearly $11 million in damages to a grieving father October 31. Albert Snyder sued the anti-gay church after a protest last year at the funeral of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. He claimed the protests intruded upon what should have been a private ceremony and sullied his memory of the event.
  However, they vowed that the verdict would not deter them from protesting at military funerals. “Absolutely, don’t you understand this was an act in futility?” said Shirley Phelps-Roper, whose father founded the tiny church.
  Members of the church announced on November 2 that they would resume their pickets of military funerals with placards bearing such slogans as “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates fags.”
  The group claims that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality. They also claim that they are entitled to protest at funerals under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion. The group first rose to national prominence during the funeral of Matthew Shepard.

8. “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Comes Under Fire
Joint Chiefs Chairman General Peter Pace started off 2007 by supporting the military gay ban calling homosexuality immoral. That didn’t sit well with Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason Knight who came forward to expose the hypocrisy of the military’s adherence to DADT in wartime. He was called back to active duty in the Navy, with a promotion to Petty Officer Second Class and served in Kuwait as an openly gay sailor. His revelations eventually got him kicked out.
  Later in the year retired military leaders came forward to oppose the fourteen year old policy. At year’s end CBS newsmagazine offered fresh evidence of openly gay personnel serving in war zones. Most of the Democrats  seeking their party’s presidential nod have also come out in sunsetting the gay ban.

9. Episcopal-Anglican Gay Row Deepens
The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams sought to assert his authority in the long-running row over homosexuality in December warning that Anglicanism would not be dictated to by one church.
  In his pre-Christmas letter to heads of member churches around the world, Williams recognized that the US Episcopal Church’s ordination of gay bishops and blessing of same-sex unions threatened to split the Church.
  The past year has seen Anglican leaders snubbing U. S. prelates at international conferences, South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu chided fellow bishops for being “obsessed with gay sex,” and an Episcopal diocese in Central California vote to secede from the national church.

10. Survey Says: Americans, Japanese Get Laid The Least
Are Americans possibly more violent because they get laid less often? Did the Japanese develop ritual suicide and Harikairi fighter pilots due to a lack of nookie? That might be one way to explain the results of a 2007 study that looked at how frequently the world’s citizens get their freak on.
  Condom maker Durex recently released its 2007 Sexual Wellbeing Global Survey. Among the many conclusions they drew from the 26,000+ respondents was which country has the most frequent sex. Olives and feta cheese appear to be aphrodisiacs, as the Greeks came out on top with 87% of that country’s respondents reporting that they had sex on at least a weekly basis.
  Rounding out the top three were Brazil (82%) and Russia (80%).  The world’s most populous nation came in with 78% reporting weekly sex. Other countries in the 70 percentage range included Poland, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, Switzerland, Mexico, South Africa, Austria and France.
  The USA limped in at 19th place with only 53% respondents claiming weekly satisfaction, just a squirt ahead of the always reserved British (55%). Japan make make the world’s cars but little goes on in all those back seats: The Land of the Rising Sun was eclipsed by all others in the sex department, with only 34% of its respondents reporting a weekly romp in the futon.
  Some might think that there might be a more important story to close out the top ten, but the factoids contained in the above study might just be the root cause of all the conflict the world sees. A happy and satisfied 2008 to all, and to all good night!
Before looking at our new predictions lets see how we did in 2007. Here were the five forecasts:
  The UW System Will Get Some Form of Domestic Partner Benefits. Nope, but not for trying. The political winds blew for months in Wisconsin’s protracted budget battle, but not hard enough to overcome GOP opposition. However, as predicted, WFC’s Julaine Appling waved the 59-41 marriage ban win in the Assembly’s face. Then again, my dear Julaine might counter, some things are just too predictable to really be considered true forecasts.
  California’s Supreme Court Will Set Up The Federal Test On Gay Marriage. A pass. Due to the record number “friend of the court” briefs filed on the gay nups case, the Golden State’s Supremes spent all their time reading and not scheduling a 2007 date to hear arguments and make a decision. No decision, no-set-up. 2008? Perhaps, but an election year decision could turn the Presidential race into a  re-run of 2004 without Karl Rove to add the spin.
  Jim Doyle Will Make At Least One Notable Openly-Gay Appointment. Yes. Doyle’s appointment of Tammy Baldwin’s spouse Lauren Azar to the state’s visible but lower profile Public Service Commission made that prediction a bullseye.
  The Episcopal Church Will Teeter But Not Fall Into Schism. Yes. The year’s end defection of an entire California diocese was a certainly troubling teeter, but not a full break by the Anglican Communion with U.S. Episcopals over gay issues.
  There Will Be Little Progress In Undoing The Wisconsin Marriage Ban. Yes. Even the promised rhetoric on the issue was minimal. The one mild surprise - a pro se lawsuit by Oshkosh prof William McConkey - got a tiny go-ahead at year’s end when Dane County Judge Rick Niess gave McConkey standing as a possibly-harmed voter.
  Three and a half for five wasn’t so bad, compared to my dear departed prognosticating idol Jeanne Dixon. Once again dabbing on a bit of her brilliant red lip polish, here are my predictions for 2008:

1. Milwaukee Will Elect Its First Openly-Gay Alder. With three candidates already declared - Patrick Flaherty and Sura Faraj in the 3rd and Victor Ray in the 12th (we won’t know who actually is running until the filing deadline passes January 2) - the odds look better than they have in a decade. Flaherty has already announced that he has filed, and Ray has been highly visible for almost a year. Both districts have significant numbers of LGBT residents, though the February 4 primary could elevate turnout that may also impact local run-off races also to be decided that day. My confidence in this prediction is 70%

2. The Marriage Ban Ballot Lawsuit Will Falter. Several other states - most notably Georgia and Kentucky - have looked at complaints similar to McConkey’s do-it-yourself lawsuit and decided their marriage ballots’ look-alike phrasing was okay. Even if it gets to Wisconsin’s Supremes, the balance there tips conservative. It’s one of the reasons bigger names like Fair Wisconsin and the ACLU didn’t try something similar sooner. While you gotta admire McConkey’s pluck, the case is going to end up being a feel-good footnote in the slow march to marriage equality. My confidence here is 70%

3. The Wisconsin State Legislature Will Remain Houses Divided. While Wisconsin Democrats certainly have the most decent shot at taking the Assembly they’ve had in a decade, the current anti-incumbent mood of the populace statewide spells ill for both political parties. With Governor Doyle mulling a third term and quietly building a campaign war chest, the Republican loving “north of Highway 29” folks likely will return GOP candidates to office and perhaps even take out some the freshman Dems elected in 2006 upsets. Net effect: even more closely divided Assembly and Senate splits with neither house changing party leadership. My confidence here is 60%.

4. Democrats Retain Congressional Control. Though the polls currently may say that more folks want Democrats than Republicans in Congress, the U. S. House of Representatives and the Senate numbers will look pretty much the same after the dust settles in the 2008 election. The number of competitive seats in both houses remain minimal, and a number of freshman Dems may lose their re-election bids in closely fought races. Confounding pundits across the board, President Bush’s “surge” actually seems to have worked, the economy - while soft - won’t slip into full recession and 2007’s GOP sex scandals will be really old news next November.  My confidence here is 60%

5. President Obama. For the first time since 1952 there is no incumbent president or vice-president running for the nation’s top two offices. Both the Democratic and Republican presidential races currently are wide open. The possibility of Michael Bloomberg running as an independent third-party candidate remains genuine. Whether this prediction  is a just a guess or unconscious wish fulfillment I honestly cannot say, but I think people may finally be willing to want to change from politics as usual. That gives Obama the edge. With so many wild cards yet to be played, my confidence is 30%, but that’s still better than the current 20% I feel for Clinton and MCain, or the 10% I’ve got in the gut for Edwards, Romney, and Giuliani. However, I do know that I’ll vomit 100% if the Holier Than Thou crowd currently fueling the Huckaboom actually prevails next November.

State News:

Avenue Q To Make A February Cream City Debut
Milwaukee - The three-time Tony Award winning Avenue Q will make its Milwaukee debut at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts here February 26 thru March 2, 2008.  The smash-hit Broadway musical about real life in New York City is told by a cast of people and puppets through a hilariously irreverent book and score.
  Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who moves to NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. The only apartment he can afford is way out on Avenue Q, where everyone's looking for the same things he is: a decent job, a stable relationship, and a "purpose." Eventually, Princeton learns to embrace the ups and downs of city life and realizes that "the real world" isn't so bad, after all.
  The New York Times hailed Avenue Q as "a breakthrough musical of a very different stripe. Savvy, sassy and delicious!" and Entertainment Weekly claimed it was "one of the funniest shows you're ever likely to see!"
  Avenue Q features music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty, based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx; and is directed by Jason Moore; puppet design by Rick Lyon, musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, choreography by Ken Roberson, scenic design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Mirena Rada, lighting design by Howell Binkley, and sound design by Acme Sound Partners.
  Avenue Q is produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, Jeffrey Seller, Vineyard Theatre and The New Group.
  Performance dates for Avenue Q are Tuesday, February 26 through Sunday, March 2 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 North Water Street, Milwaukee. Show times are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 2 PM and 8 PM; and Sunday at 1 PM and 6:30 PM.
  Tickets for Avenue Q are now on sale and range in price from $20 - $62 depending upon performance time and seating preference. All prices include applicable facility fees, however, additional charges may apply. Tickets may be purchased at the Marcus Center Box Office at 414-273-7206 or through Ticketmaster at 414-276-4545 or by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com.
  Groups of 15 or more should call 414-273-7121, Ext. 210 for information and reservations. Due to adult situations (like full-puppet nudity), Avenue Q may be inappropriate for kids under 13.

Cream City Chorus Brings Choral Theatre to Milwaukee
Milwaukee - Imagine a choral concert that includes actors, staging, costuming, sets, spoken word, musicians and more: that’s choral theatre. A cutting-edge trend still rare on this continent, choral theatre draws on a much wider sampling of the performing arts to enhance a standard choral concert, creating a more engaging - and certainly memorable - experience for the audience.
  Although this may be a unique concept among the choruses of Milwaukee, it is nothing new for the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus (WCCC). The group’s Artistic Director, Kristen L. Weber, explained that, “Over the last 20 years, the WCCC has added these elements to many of our concerts, one or two at a time.”
  According to Weber, the group is anxious to take it to the next level.  “For our first full-scale endeavor - our April concert – we’ll be adding a dozen or more actors and singers, plus making use of staging, costumes and a few well-placed solos,” he said 
  Weber expects this to “bring to life a world of characters and ideas created through our music.”  In keeping with its mission to celebrate the diversity of our community through quality choral music, the WCCC’s April 12 concert will explore social issues related to compassion.
  “Milwaukee has a rich tradition for choral music,” Weber said. “It supports more choruses than any other city its size.  In addition, Milwaukee’s community theatre is bubbling over with incredible talent - talent worthy of professional stages in most communities.”
  The chorus has sent out the call for actor-singers, ASL interpreters, ASL actors and musicians interested in participating in making choral theatre a part of Milwaukee’s performance community. Auditions for actor-singers and other performance roles will be held on January 30 & 31 at 7 PM, and will consist of readings, sight-singing and movement. Resumés are requested.  The group is also seeking a stage manager and stage hands for the event.  Additional information can be found at www.creamcitychorus.org/auditions.asp.
  The concert, entitled “Safe Harbor: Signs of Compassion,” will be held on Saturday, April 12 at UUCW, 13001 W. North Avenue in Brookfield.  Tickets are available: $15 for adult; child rates also available.
  More information about the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus, the concert, and ticket availability is available online at www.creamcitychorus.org.  The group can also be contacted at 414-276-8787, or 315 W. Court Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212.