Pride Goes Statewide Throughout The Summer
Statewide - Nationally the big city gay pride parties - San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee and more - have come and gone. In the “gay rights” Badger State however, pride is a summer-long celebration as upcoming events over the next eight weeks in Green Bay, Madison, central Wisconsin, LaCrosse, Eau Claire and Superior prove.
Pride Alive July 11-12
  First up: Pride Alive in Green Bay July 12. Over nine months in the making, northeast Wisconsin’s revitalized pride celebration actually kicks off officially the night before in Appleton with two showings of “For The Bible Tells Me So,” at the Harmony Café, 124 N.Oneida Street, at 7 and 7 PM. The movie documents the reactions and interactions of families of various religious backgrounds and beliefs as they discover their children are gay or lesbian.
The main event however is the day-long festival on Saturday at Joannes Park, located east of the Green Bay’s downtown and just south of East High School at 1430 East Walnut Ave. The day will begin with an interfaith prayer service at 11 AM.
  The formal kick-off ceremony will start at Noon and feature several local dignitaries, as well as a taped welcome by Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton, who had to cancel her planned live appearance to attend an out-of-state family memorial service.
  Music will continue throughout the day on the festival’s main stage. The rock, funk and blues band Grey Leaf will start at at 12:30 PM. Lesbian singer/songwriter Martha Berner’s concert .show is set for 2. At 3 PM
former Chief Operations Officer of the Human Rights Campaign Harvey Hurdle will deliver a short address followed by the alternative rock of German Art Students at 3:45. Acoustic Blues and jazz performer Nicki Sims is scheduled for 5PM, immediately followed by cabaret act Glamarama at 5:45. Festival headliners, the popular northeast Wisconsin rockers Annex  will take the stage at 7 PM.
  Additional programming will be offered in the park’s shelter facility, beginning with a gender issues panel discussion facilitated by the Transgender Transformation Group 12:30 PM. “Safeguarding Our Lives Together,” an interactive workshop and Q&A session addressing legal and financial planning issues specific for LGBT individuals, couples and families follows at 1:30. Harvey Hurdle will conduct a group session on LGBT rights at 3:30PM and the Madison chapter of Soulforce will conduct a panel discussion on faith issues at 4:30.
  Over 50 retail and not-for-profit vendors will offer food, merchandise, services and information throughout the day. ARCW will be offering rapid HIV testing at the festival. The Madison Minotaurs will hold a demonstration scrimmage. All festival goers will have a chance to add their creative input to a large “Express Yourself” mural located on the grounds.
  Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, featuring Budweiser products will be available. Dozens of food choices from traditional fare such as brats and burgers to items such as Native American fry bread, Spanish tapas, burritos, Greek gyros, shish kabobs, egg rolls, crab cakes and chili also will be on the menu at various food stands. For kids of all ages there will also be cotton candy, snow cones, ice cream and popcorn.
  Kids will have their own space for face painting, music and games in the children’s area. Bigger kids may want to join in the fun as they “dunk a hunk” or “drench a wench” in the Pride Alive dunk tank.
 Pride Alive will also be handing out giveaway items to all festival attendees. There also will be both a cash and “pick your prize” merchandise raffles running throughout the day.
  Admission to Pride Alive is free to all ages thanks to sponsorship by lead sponsor Rainbow Over Wisconsin and corporate sponsors Oneida Casino, Kimberly-Clark, Starbucks, Arketype, Inc., Avenue Jewelers, FresHair Salon, Green Bay Net, Triangle Distributing Company, Positive Voice, Quest, and Wisconsin Public Service. Proof of age will be required to purchase alcoholic beverage tickets.
  For more information about Pride Alive, visit the fesitval’s website at: www.newpride.org.
For Madison It’s “Back To Basics”
  The following weekend a mix of not-for-profit and commercial events will help make Madison’s officially scaled-back pride celebration festive.  The key events - a rally, march and picnic - organized by the Madison Pride organization will occur on Sunday, July 20, but the fun will start July 17 with IndieQueer, OutReach. Club 5 and WOOF’s Bar offering multiple diversions throughout the weekend.
  IndieQueer and co-sponsors such as the UW LGBT Center, AIDS Network, the Shamrock, Our Lives magazine, web blog Dane 101 and others, will host a Pride Premiere Party at the High Noon Saloon, 701 E Washington Ave., beginning at 9 PM on Thursday, July 17. The event will feature a Madison Drag Revue hosted by Ginger Devine and featuring an appearance by special guests The Battle Royale followed by dancing until bar closing. Admission for underage adults is $10, and $5 for those 21 and up.
  IndieQueer will also offer DiscoTech at the Majestic Theatre on July 18 and a Pride foam party at the Cardinal Bar on July 19. More information about IndieQ pride events is available at the group’s website: indiequeer.wordpress.com.
  Slain Madison activist will be honored and remembered at Club 5’s Felicia Melton-Smyth Tribute Show at the bar, 5 Applegate Ct., also set for July 17 at 9 PM. There will be a $4 cover charge through all of the cover plus performer and main bar tips will be donated to AIDS Network in Felicia's name.
  Club 5 will also offer a Pride Kick-Off Party July 18, a Pride Country Dance with the Dairyland Cowboys and Cowgirls, 10 PM, two DJs and a Midnight Drag Show on the patio on July 19, and afternoon tea dance and picnic-style dinner buffet from 5-8 PM on July 20. For more information go to the club’s website at: www.club-5.com.
  The city’s newest gay bar, WOOF’s, 114 King St., has also risen to the occasion and is offering a weekend of special events including a July 18 Lake Monona “Spit-and-Sea-Men”cruise (sold out as Quest went to press) on the Miss Forward party boat. Also planned: A Rough Waters Party from 10:30 PM until closing on July 19, a “High Seas Tea Dance” from 3-7 PM and a “Bear Beer Bust” from 4-8 PM on July 20. Admission to all bar events is free. Additional details are available at the bar or online at: www.woofsmadison.com.
  Also scheduled for July 18 are the annual OutReach Awards at the organization’s 16th Annual Banquet at the Grand Ballroom of the Monona Terrace, beginning with cocktails at 5:45 PM. (See State News for additional details).
  Madison Pride officially begins at 11 AM on Sunday, July 20 with a rally on the State Capitol steps featuring Congressional Representative Tammy Baldwin, Assembly Representative Mark Pocan and other elected officials and dignitaries. The annual Pride March will step off at 11:20 AM following a route around the Capitol.
  From Noon to 6 PM there will be a “Back To Basics” potluck picnic at Brittingham Park, which will feature music by The Cowboy and the Frenchmen, appearances by various members of Lexi Ravyn Productions, team members from Madison LGBT sports leagues  and other local talents.
  Additional information about Madison’s Pride Weekend can be found online at: www.madisonpride.org.
LaCrosse Revs Up A Pride Ride July 19
  A fundraising event for LaCrosse Pride will be held on Saturday, July 19 as well. A Motorcycle Run and Bicycle Trail Ride followed by a family picnic are among the activities planned for the Second Annual La Crosse Pride Ride in Holmen. The event is a fundraiser for the annual La Crosse Pride Festival set for August 23 at the South Side Oktoberfest Grounds in La Crosse.
  Registration for motorcyclists will begin at 9 AM at Halfway Creek Park, Shelter A in Holmen, located behind the Holmen American Legion building. Motorcyclists (cars are welcome too) will leave  at 10 AM for a 100-mile ride through the scenic Coulee Region (route to be announced).
  Two options are available to bicyclists: the 3.1-mile Halfway Creek Trail that requires no trail pass or the 10+ mile state trail that requires a State Trail Pass which can purchased at the ride registration for $4 a day or $15 a year for ages 16 and older. Children 12 and younger ride free. Bicycle registration is at 11 AM. at the Shelter A).
The family picnic will begin at 1 p.m. in Shelter A location.
  Pre-registration for the event is $15. Pledge sheets along with pledges raised must be returned by Monday, July 14 to La Crosse Pride Ride, P.O. box 3313, La Crosse, WI 54602-3313, or the cost of the ride is $20 with all pledge money due the day of the ride. Those wishing to attend only the picnic pay $4.
  A Pride Ride T-shirt will be given to those who have pre-registered with pledges of more than $50. The t-shirts also will be available during the La Crosse Pride Festival.
  Registration and pledge forms can be downloaded from the La Crosse Pride website at: lacrossepride.7riverslgbt.org.  Click on the Pride Events link to view information and forms. Forms also are available at the 7 Rivers LGBT Resource Center, 303 Pearl Street in downtown La Crosse, at FedEx Kinko's, 9432 Hwy. 16 in Onalaska or at River Trail Cycles at 500 N. Holmen Drive in Holmen.
August Pride Events A-Plenty
  Plans for Central Wisconsin Pride, being held this year at the Portage County Fairgrounds in Amherst Junction on August 2, were still being finalized as Quest went to press. Details about the Central Wisconsin, LaCrosse and other August events will be available in the July 24 issue of Quest.

World & National News:

Gay Marriage Issue Nudges Onto November Ballot
George Bush may not be on the ballot. Karl Rove no longer guides the GOP election strategy. But thanks to the recent California Supreme Court ruling on the issue, gay marriage once again has nudged itself into the issues mix that may influence who controls the White House next January.
  Just days after the May ruling, California’s ballot measure was certified for the November ballot. On June 27 after first briefly stalling a vote on the issue Arizona added a one sentence definition of marriage referendum to its Fall ballot. Florida will also have a similar measure on its presidential election ballot.
  Both presidential candidates have now weighed in on the California measure. On June 26 the sponsors of a ballot initiative that seeks to ban same-sex marriage in California announced that Republican presidential candidate John McCain has endorsed the measure, saying it received an e-mail from McCain in which the Arizona senator expressed his support for the group's efforts "to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman." McCain has previously said that while he does not back banning same-sex marriage at the federal level, he thinks it is appropriate for states to do so.
  Two days later Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who previously had said the issue of gay marriage should be left up to each state, announced his opposition to a California ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriages. In a letter to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club read June 29 at the group's annual Pride Breakfast in San Francisco, the Illinois senator said he supports extending "fully equal rights and benefits to same-sex couples under both state and federal law."
  "And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states," Obama wrote.

Baldwin, Frank Launch Gay Civil Rights Caucus
Washington, DC - Openly-gay Congressional Representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) and Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) have announced the creation of a new House caucus focusing on gay civil rights. The bipartisan LGBT Equality Caucus has received the support of fifty other members of the House, though none of Wisconsin's seven other House members had joined the caucus as of its formal debut June 3.
  Baldwin hopes to use the caucus to inform other lawmakers about issues important to the LGBT community. "Corporate America and the American people are far ahead of where Congress is right now," Baldwin said in the caucus announcement press release.
 Although the caucus is bipartisan, only two Republicans have joined thus far: Chris Shays of Connecticut and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. "This has not been part of the Republican agenda," Shays said, noting his belief that advancing rights for all Americans is a matter of honor.
  The idea for a proactive LGBT caucus came about after Democrats took control of Congress, according to Frank. "Before that, those who supported gay rights had focused most of their efforts on fighting proposals to diminish rights for gays and lesbians," Frank said.

National News Briefs:
Anti-Gay Warrior Jesse Helms Dead At 86: As most in America celebrated their freedom July 4, one of the nation’s best known obstacles to full equality for African-Americans, women, gay folks and those stuggling to live with HIV/AIDS breathed his last. Former North Carolina Republican Senator Jesse Helms passed away  at a nursing home in Raliegh at age 86.
  Fondly remembered by America’s right wing as “Senator No” for his lifelong opposition to civil rights for just about any group you care to name during his six terms in the Senate, Helms was instrumental in slowing the U. S. response to AIDS in the mid-to-late 1980’s because some interventions might “promote homosexuality.” Though late in his career he actually advocated for increased funding for HIV after meeting and beccoming friends with U2 singer Bono, Helms’ legacy is largely viewed negatively by most in the LGBT community.
  Unlike many of those HIV sufferers whose lives he likely shortened by his actions, Helms died peacefully of natural causes. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Presbyterian Leaders OK Gay Clergy: Leaders of the U. S. Presbyterian Church overturned a long-standing ban on the ordination of gays and lesbians June 28, the latest example of a religious denomination struggling with how to incorporate homosexuality into church life.
However, the church's national governing body, meeting in San Jose, refused to alter its definition of marriage, calling it a "covenant between a woman and a man." The actions by the General Assembly came the week after same-sex marriage became legal in California. They also follow the decision of a gathering of Methodists from Southern California and Hawaii, who went against their national church by voting to support same-sex couples who marry and the pastors who welcome them.
No Big Macs For Bigots: The American Family Association (AFA) launched yet another of its largely ineffective boycotts July 3, this time targeting fast-food giant McDonald's.  McDonald's decision to join the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce first fried the AFA several months ago. Then the Golden Arches placed an executive on the group's board of directors and  donated funds to the chamber.
  After McDonald's refused to reverse its decisions the AFA sprung the boycott with the usual "Our rednecks don't like spending their dollars at joints that don't kowtow to our values" rhetoric.  "Hatred has no place in our culture," McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman said. "That includes McDonald's, and we stand by and support our people to live and work in a society free of discrimination and harassment."
  Last March, the AFA dumped its ineffective two-year boycott of Ford claiming the automaker had "largely stopped" advertising its Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in the gay media. Other unsuccessful AFA boycotts include those against retailer Target for substituting "holiday" for "Christmas" in its ads, and the Walt Disney Co. for its "embrace of the homosexual lifestyle" with the offering same-sex partner benefits and for doing nothing to stop "gay days" at its theme parks.
Gay Episcopal Bishop Weds In New Hampshire Civil Union: Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, and his partner of twenty years Mark Andrew legally formalized their relationship June 8 in a private civil union. Gene Robinson was legally joined to Mark Andrew in a civil ceremony, the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire announced. Civil unions became legal in New Hampshire this year. The union was performed five years to the day after New Hampshire Episcopalians elected him bishop.
Extortion Charges Dropped In GOP Lawmaker’s Sex Case: The gay hustler who outed an anti-gay Washington Republican following a night of condom-free sex no longer faces allegations of extortion.  The Spokane County prosecutor's office recently dropped all charges 27 year-old sometime porn model Cody Castagna after learning that State Rep. Richard Curtis refused to testify in the case. Curtis, whose political career was destroyed by the scandal, wrote to prosecutors on June 16 asking that the case be dropped. Castagna had denied the charges last October when his sexual tryst became public and pleaded innocent  to charges of extortion, theft and conspiracy last January. Three people charged with being Castagna's accomplices will also have charges dismissed. Curtis, who voted against gay rights bills in the Legislature, did not face any charges.
Discredited Obama Accuser Gets Hauled Off in Handcuffs: Larry Sinclair, the Minnesota man trying to get mainstream exposure for his claims that he once enjoyed sex and cocaine with Barack Obama made a scheduled appearance at the National Press Club in Washington, DC June 18, and was promptly picked up by law enforcement on an out-of-state warrant. He was allowed to deliver his presentation to the smattering of reporters in attendance before deputy U.S. Marshals led him away in handcuffs. Already burdened with a long rap sheet, Sinclair was wanted on a criminal warrant in Delaware.
  Last February, the website Whitehouse.com offered Sinclair $100,000 if he could pass a polygraph test verifying his claims. The polygraph organizers later said his results "indicated deception.” Details of Sinclair’s criminal record surfaced after he filed a defamation suit against online critics had shown that he was living in a mental institution at the time he allegedly met Obama. The subsequent investigation revealed that Sinclair has a 27-year criminal record, among which are forgery charges in two states, one of which drew Sinclair a 16-year jail sentence. Colorado records also list Sinclair as having 13 aliases, including "Larye Vizcarra Avila" and "Mohammed Gahanan."

Health Beat:
25% More HIV Cases In USA: The United States has had an average 50,000 new case of HIV annually for the last 14 years, not 40,000 as researchers had  previously determined. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced the statistical 25% increase in cases was determined by new methods of calculating the rate of infection. Fauci made the announcement at the United Nations' 2008 High Level Meeting on AIDS. In the United States 1.1 million people are infected with HIV, of which 25% do not know it. Globally, an estimated 33.2 million people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS and 25 million have died to date.
Gay Brains Structured The Opposite Of Straight Counterparts: Brain scans have provided the most compelling evidence yet that being gay or straight is a biologically fixed trait. The scans reveal that in gay people, key structures of the brain governing emotion, mood, anxiety and aggressiveness resemble those in straight people of the opposite sex. The differences are likely to have been forged in the womb or in early infancy, according to Ivanka Savic, who conducted the study at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. "This is the most robust measure so far of cerebral differences between homosexual and heterosexual subjects," she said.
  The researchers used MRI and PET scans to find out brain volume and shape and look at blood flow patterns in a group of 90 volunteers consisting of 25 heterosexuals and 20 homosexuals of each gender. The results showed that straight men had asymmetric brains, with the right hemisphere slightly larger  and the gay women also had this asymmetry. Gay men, meanwhile, had symmetrical brains like those of straight women.
  Researchers also found that the patterns of connectivity in gay men matched those of straight women, and vice versa. In straight women and gay men, the connections were mainly into regions of the brain that manifest fear as intense anxiety. Those regions are involved in phobia, anxiety and depression and fit with data showing that women are three times as likely as men to suffer from mood disorders or depression. Savic added that gay men have higher rates of depression too but it's difficult to know whether this is down to biology, homophobia or simply feelings of being "different".
  The brain study is the latest in a series of scientific efforts over the last decade and a half that have measured everything from finger length, birth order, and handedness to hair growth patterns and genital size to confirm what most gay men and women will tell you without a doubt: they were born that way.

State News: