Agenda 040815 issue 281 proof by Multi-Media Platforms

SAME-SEX PARENTS TO CREATE BABIES FROM SKIN CELLS WITHIN TWO YEARS

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NATION Indiana Faces Long Road To Restore Image After Uproar Over Religious Right INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana tourism agencies are rolling out campaigns emphasizing that everyone is welcome, but it might not be enough to quickly restore the state’s battered image after a backlash over its religious objections law.

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An uproar sparked by fears that the law would allow discrimination against gays and lesbians led a few convention organizers and performers to cancel events and some state and local governments to ban travel to the state last week. Revisions to the law’s language have eased some of the criticism, but experts say the state could be dealing with a damaged reputation for years to come. In a sign that Indiana is still under close scrutiny, hundreds of gay rights supporters marched to the site of the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis on Saturday as college basketball fans were arriving for the games. The marches called for the state to go further and enshrine in its civil rights law protection for gays and lesbians. Chris Gahl, vice president of Visit Indy, the lead promoter for Indianapolis, said he has been in “full crisis mode” since the furor erupted after Gov. Mike Pence signed the law late last month. Gahl said Visit Indy received more than 800 emails from people saying they were canceling trips for events such as the Indianapolis 500 or choosing a different vacation destination. The agency has been scrambling to prevent groups and businesses from either pulling out of negotiations for future conventions or canceling upcoming events altogether. Two groups, including the public employee union AFSCME, have canceled conventions, and Gahl said two others were on the fence. He put the economic impact of those events at a “healthy eight figures.” “What keeps us up at night is the fact that 75,000 people depend on tourism for a paycheck,” Gahl said. “And if we don’t fill the city with conventions and

visitors, they don’t work.” The crisis isn’t confined to Indianapolis. Fort Wayne, the state’s second-largest city, has had six national conventions express concerns about continuing business in Indiana. If all six pulled out, it would represent about $1.2 million in revenue, said Dan O’Connell, president and CEO of Visit Fort Wayne. Businesses say they’ve been inundated with emails from people asking for reassurance that they are welcome in Indiana, or canceling orders or plans. The famed French Lick Resort, a hotel in an historic town in southern Indiana, issued a statement Friday saying it has “always been open and inclusive” and that the new law won’t change that. Traci Bratton, owner of the Hoosier Candle Company in Dayton, about 50 miles northwest of Indianapolis, said she’s received emails from out-of-state customers who like her products but say they won’t be bringing their business to Indiana because of the law. “Hoosier Hospitality has been thrown out the window,” Bratton said. But the impact is being most keenly felt in Indianapolis, which has earned national praise for its transformation from a place once referred to as “Naptown” and “India-No-Place” to a vibrant, friendly city that used sports and a downtown renaissance to land a Super Bowl and become a popular pit stop in what was once called “flyover country.” Even though lawmakers have revised the language of the religious objections law to make clear that it’s not intended to discriminate, Indiana still lacks statewide civil-rights protections for the gay and lesbian community. And economic experts said perceptions about the law could prevent companies from attracting and retaining young talent.

Analysis: Religious Rights Law A Preview Of Rifts Facing Arkansas Governor

LITTLE ROCK (AP) - The 11th hour chaos surrounding a religious objections measure and widespread criticism that it was anti-gay was the

type of fight Gov. Asa Hutchinson had largely avoided over other divisive issues in his first legislative session. And though Hutchinson found a compromise that managed to soothe some on both sides, the drama surrounding the bill offers a preview of possible rifts to come with Democrats and even fellow Republicans in future years. A day after he called for changes to a bill that he had promised initially to sign into law, Hutchinson approved a compromise version that would still prohibit state and local government from infringing on someone’s religious beliefs without a compelling reason. But by modeling the proposal more narrowly to a 1993 federal law, Hutchinson and other supporters of the compromise measure said it addressed concerns from critics who said it would amount to a blank check for businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians. “It protects religious freedom. It is a framework for decisions by the courts that have to balance all the issues in our society,” Hutchinson said before signing the measure. “It continues to recognize in Arkansas and across our nation we have a diverse workforce and a diverse culture.” The governor’s role in the debate frustrated lawmakers on both sides of the issue. Running as someone who wanted to be the “jobs governor,” Hutchinson focused his campaign last year on fiscal issues like his middle class tax cut plan and a promise to expand computer science classes. Social issues like the religious freedom bill didn’t appear to be high on that agenda. Hutchinson had initially expressed reservations about the bill, but later said he’d sign the measure after it was amended to address his concerns about unintended consequences. But, less than a day after lawmakers gave the bill final approval last week, he asked for it to be recalled and changed to more closely mirror federal law. “How do we as a state communicate to the world that we are respectful of a diverse workplace and we want to be known as a state that does not discriminate but understands tolerance?” Hutchinson said to reporters at the Capitol Wednesday. “That is the

challenge we face.” The compromise proposal only applies to government action, not businesses or individuals. That move, supporters said, would prevent businesses from using the law to deny services to customers on religious grounds. The original bill “gave us a black eye. This bill ices it,” said Rita Sklar, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. “We still need some Tylenol.”

Washington Florist Who Refused Gay Couple Raises More Than $120K Through Crowdfunding RICHLAND (AP) - A florist in Washington state fined $1,000 for refusing to sell a same-sex couple wedding flowers and also facing a consumer-protection lawsuit filed by the state has netted more than $120,000 in a crowdfunding campaign. The Seattle Times reports that nearly half of the money on the gofundme.com page set up in late February for Barronelle Stutzman, 70, came in the last several days. Supporters compare Stutzman’s benefit page to an Indiana pizza shop that raised more than $800,000 after closing when a co-owner expressed support for the state’s new religious objections law to protect private business owners. The co-owner said the shop wouldn’t cater a gay wedding. But Indiana legislators, facing mounting pressure, tweaked the law late last week to address concerns that it would allow discrimination against gays and lesbians. The Washington state law, Attorney General Bob Ferguson has said, “clearly prohibits discrimination against same-sex couples.” Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Washington, was fined $1,000 in Benton County Superior Court in March after refusing to serve a same-sex couple in 2013. That’s a violation of that state’s anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws, the court ruled.

NEW YORK (AP) - The Boy Scouts’ New York chapter said Thursday that it has hired the nation’s first openly gay Eagle Scout as a summer camp leader, which is in public contrast to the national scouting organization’s ban on openly gay adult members.

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday ordered California’s corrections department to provide a transgender inmate with sex reassignment surgery, the first time such an operation has been ordered in the state. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco ruled that denying the surgery to 51-year-old Michelle-Lael Norsworthy violates her constitutional rights. Her birth name is Jeffrey Bryan Norsworthy. The ruling marks just the second time nationwide that a judge has issued an injunction directing a state prison system to provide the surgery, said Ilona Turner, legal director at the Transgender Law Center in Oakland, which helped represent Norsworthy. The previous order in a Massachusetts case was overturned last year and is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In his ruling in California, Tigar cited testimony that the surgery has actually been performed just once on an inmate, an apparent reference to a person who castrated himself in Texas then was given the surgery out of necessity. Norsworthy, who was convicted of murder, has lived as a woman since the 1990s and has what Tigar termed severe gender dysphoria - a condition

NY Boy Scouts Hire Gay Eagle Scout Despite National Policy

The Boy Scouts’ Greater New York Councils said they hired Pascal Tessier, an 18-year-old Eagle Scout who has been a vocal advocate of opening the 105-year-old organization to gay scouts and leaders. Board member Richard G. Mason said the councils see Tessier as “an exemplary candidate for employment as a camp leader.” “We welcome him,” Mason said in a statement. The Boy Scouts of America didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about the hire. The national organization changed its policy in 2013 to allow openly gay kids as scouts, but not adults as leaders, after a bitter debate over its membership policy. The change took effect in January 2014. Advocates for letting gays participate in scouting hailed Tessier’s hire. “This is a watershed moment,” Zach Wahls, executive director of Scouts for Equality, said in a statement. “We are proud to see such an important Boy Scout council standing up for the full inclusion of gay members.” When the national Boy Scouts began allowing gay boys as scouts, liberal Scout leaders and gay rights groups celebrated the shift but called for allowing gay adults to participate, too.

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DES MOINES (AP) - In backing a pair of contentious religious freedom laws in Indiana and Arkansas, Jeb Bush this week earned some cautious credit from politically influential evangelicals who say some conservatives are still leery of the former Florida governor. That assessment didn’t change, either, after Bush told a group of donors in California that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence could have taken a better approach to the politics of his state’s law. “I’m glad Gov. Bush did what he did in lending his support to religious liberty,” said Steve Scheffler, a leading social conservative in Iowa and a member of the Republican National Committee. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday, Bush praised Pence for signing a bill aimed at giving heightened protections to businesses that object on religious grounds to providing certain services. Pence did “the right thing,” Bush told Hewitt. “This is really an important value for our country to, in a diverse country, where you can respect and be tolerant of people’s lifestyles, but allow for people of faith to be able to exercise

Judge Orders California To Pay For Inmate’s Sex Change

that occurs when people’s gender at birth is contrary to the way they identify themselves. “The weight of the evidence demonstrates that for Norsworthy, the only adequate medical treatment for her gender dysphoria is SRS,” Tigar wrote, referring to sex reassignment surgery. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials said they were considering whether to appeal the ruling. “This decision confirms that it is unlawful to deny essential treatment to transgender people” in or out of prison, said Kris Hayashi, executive director of the Transgender Law Center. “The bottom line is no one should be denied the medical care they need.”

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Jeb Bush Gets Cautious Credit From Evangelicals On Indiana Law

theirs,” he said. Most other members of the GOP’s likely 2016 presidential field also strongly backed the Indiana law, but it prompted a national backlash from critics who said it would discriminate against gay people. It also drew widespread condemnation from business leaders and threats of boycotts. Pence asked lawmakers to revise it, and on Thursday, they approved a new version that also bars discrimination based on several factors, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Lawmakers in Arkansas, having adopted a similar law earlier in the week, also made changes Thursday to win the support of their governor.

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The court’s ruling also requires Stutzman’s shop to make available to same-sex couples everything the shop sells to opposite-sex couples. But Stutzman said same-sex weddings go against her Southern Baptist beliefs. After she declined to agree to no longer discriminate, Ferguson said, his office filed the consumerprotection lawsuit. “It’s about freedom, not money,” Stutzman wrote Ferguson on Feb. 20, two days after the court ruling, in a letter obtained by the Seattle newspaper. “I certainly don’t relish the idea of losing my business, my home, and everything else that your lawsuit threatens to take from my family, but my freedom to honor God in doing what I do best is more important.”

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NATION

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SUNSHINE STATE adoption agencies, and if gay couples want to adopt, they can go to the Department of Children and Families or one of the agencies that doesn’t have religious or moral objections to their raising a child. “This does not have any prohibition on whether or not gay couples can adopt in Florida,” Brodeur said. But Democratic Rep. Dave Kerner of Palm Springs said no agency, regardless of whether it’s religion based, should discriminate against anyone especially if it’s receiving state money. And if it discriminates, it should get out of the adoption business, he said. “We should be thanking gay parents for adopting. We should be thanking them and blessing them,” Kerner said. “We should not be using our time here in the Legislature Photo by bigstock.com to continue these antiquated beliefs that folks that have a different sexual orientation than us would not make good parents.” Critics testifying against the bill compared it to the so-called “religious freedom” law enacted last month in Indiana. TALLAHASSEE (AP) - Private agen“These agencies are contracted by cies would be able to cite religious or the state to do the work of governmoral grounds to turn away gay couples ment. They are funded by taxpayers to seeking to adopt children under a bill do this, which means this bill is even that drew comparisons Thursday to worse than Indiana,” said Carlos Smith Indiana’s new religious objections law. of the gay rights group Equality FlorThe bill was filed after social conser- ida. “It promotes state-sanctioned and vatives criticized a vote last month by taxpayer-funded discrimination.” the Republican-dominated House to But several religious groups said they strip a gay adoption ban from state law support the bill, and Bill Bunkley said five years after it was declared uncon- it reflects what’s already happening in stitutional. The new bill (HB 7111) is Florida. now ready for a full House vote after “There’s a lot of talk about what being approved on party lines in the this bill is going to do, a lot of parade House Judiciary Committee, the legis- of horribles, but I’ll give you a news lation’s only committee stop. flash: This is the way we’ve been doing According to Equality Florida, the things,” said Bunkley, president of the Florida Senate will vote April 8 on the Florida Ethics and Religious Liberty earlier bill that would remove the ban Commission. on gay adoption from state law. Still, Florida National Organization Republican Rep. Jason Brodeur of for Women lobbyist Barbara DeVane Sanford said HB 7111 would apply to said the bill will hurt children. only a handful of the state’s 82 private “If you call yourself a Christian, just

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Bill Would Let Adoption Agencies Refuse Gay Couples

ask yourself: How would Jesus vote today? My Bible says we are all made in God’s image, not some of us,” DeVane said.

Seminole County Bakery Reports Anti-Gay Marriage Phone Call, Video ORLANDO--A Seminole County bakery was reportedly harassed by a former television and radio evangelist from Arizona via YouTube when he videotaped a phone call of himself asking for a cake with an anti-gay remark on it. Joshua Feuerstein reportedly contacted Cut The Cake in Longwood and asked them to bake a cake with the phrase “We do not support gay marriage” written on it. The person who picked up the phone for the bakery is heard asking if the call was a prank and then replied, “We wouldn’t do that, sorry,” before hanging up. Feuerstein says on the video that he called to make a point about why religious freedom legislation is justified. Religious freedom laws have come under scrutiny recently after governors in Indiana and Arkansas signed religious rights bills into law despite widespread public condemnation that the new laws discriminate against LGBT people. After the video was released, bakery owners Sharon Haller and Cyndol Knarr said they received additional threats and harassment. “People are telling us that we need to kill ourselves and all kinds of stuff,” Haller said. “We are just afraid for our business and our safety.” Feuerstein has removed the video from his YouTube page but Knarr uploaded it to her own YouTube page with the message: “This is the official video that was originally posted by Feuerstein that attacked us at Cut The Cake Longwood, Florida and then deleted after he was personally attacked.” Knarr adds that, “Please help put a stop to people like Joshua Feuerstein.”

Orlando Police Arrest Two Teenagers In Beating Of Gay Man ORLANDO--Orlando police have identified two suspects and are still looking for others after releasing a video of a gay man being beaten by a group of people in Parramore. According to police, the victim left his house on the evening of Mar. 26 and was walking east when about a dozen black males approached him. Several of them then started kicking and punching the man. Police say the suspects removed the man’s pants and took his wallet and mobile phone before fleeing on foot. The attack was caught on video and led to the arrest of two suspects, Deandre Florence, 14, and Dennis Florence, 16. Police are still searching for other suspects involved in the attack. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 1-800-423-TIPS. The 32-year-old alleged victim of the attack sustained minor injuries and refused medical attention, according to police, who were able to recover the man’s mobile phone but not his wallet. The alleged victim told police that there were too many attackers and the beating happened too fast for him to identify or describe the suspects, but he told police that he intends to press charges.

Tampa Bay Area Makes Cover Of Florida’s New LGBT Travel Guide TAMPA BAY--The glossy cover of Florida’s new LGBT Getaway Guide features two men walking hand in hand down a marquee-lit street. Reaching approximately 225,000 potential tourists across the United States, the guide, however, does not feature a cover shot from one of the state’s traditional, LGBT-friendly vacation destinations such as sunny South

Poverello Elects New Board Members, Executive Committee

FORT LAUDERDALEMultiMedia Platforms, Inc.,

president of sales and marketing overseeing 120-plus publications in 12 states and the Caribbean. Later, as president of a media sales training consulting business, Jackson helped multimedia groups make the transition from print to web, trained hundreds of advertising sales reps and has been a speaker at North America’s leading print industry associations including Inland Press, the New York Press Association and the Canadian Press Association. He has experience in LGBTQ media as well, having served at one time as sales director for a leading publishing group which included the Washington Blade, New York Blade, Southern Voice and Houston Voice. Jackson semi-retired to Fort Lauderdale in 2009. An avid fitness and nutrition advocate, he opened and owns Push Fitness, a personal training and group fitness business, Club One CrossFit and other fitness enterprises. “Three forces--political, social and economic, respectively--are merging like a perfect storm for the LGBTQ community in this nation,” said Jackson, “and the timing could not be better for LGBTQ Americans to have a strong international media network. Corporate America is showing its support for equality in unprecedented numbers and is awakening to the $850 billion economic power of the LGBTQ demographic. I am thrilled to be a part of it.”everyone can live in hope.”

the only LGBTQ media company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (OTCQB: MMPW), has announced the appointment of Peter A. Jackson as president and group executive publisher. Jackson will be responsible for the overall growth, leadership and operation of the Fort Lauderdale-based company and all its publications and digital media effective May 1, 2015. He will sit as a member of the board of directors. “This is a time of unprecedented opportunity for MMP as this nation’s only publicly-traded LGBTQ media entity,” said CEO Bobby Blair. “Peter’s vast knowledge and hands-on experience in publishing and digital media for nearly three decades will help us to identify and seize the best opportunities before us and emerge the force in LGBTQ media not only in North America but globally.” Jackson, 52, brings credibility and experience to the media group which recently purchased Fun Maps, LGBTQ city guide maps which cover 40-plus cities across the United States and Canada. The Agenda newspaper and Guy lifestyle magazine are its flagship publications. Additional print and online media platforms are being negotiated for purchase at the time of this release. Jackson is a 29-year veteran of the publishing industry whose career in the publishing business has run the gamut from journalist, editor, publisher and owner to experience on a national level as a corporate executive for one of the nation’s largest privately-owned media chains where he served as vice

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WILTON MANORS--Poverello has elected new board and executive committee members to lead the non-profit organization as it continues to provide assistance to those living with HIV/AIDS in South Florida. “We are thrilled with the addition of our newest board members who are committed to helping us plan for today and tomorrow as a caring provider of food and basic living essentials for those in need,” said Tom Smith, CEO of Poverello. “As of 2014, Broward County ranks number two in the state of Florida for the number of new HIV cases with approximately 17,632 people now living with HIV. For many, we are the lifeline to achieving maximum health and well-being.” Here are the new board and executive committee members: • Michael Goodman, GPR | Goodman Public Relations, Chair • Michael Berry, Hyatt Regency Pier 66, Vice Chair • Paul Schlegel, Esq., Schlegel Livingston, Secretary • Chris Berthelson, Real Living Infinity International, Treasurer • Justin Wyse, South Florida Gay News • Michael Murphy, Michael Murphy Photography • Marie Carmella Brunine David, formerly with Poverello, now retired • Jeff Grigsby, LIFE Program • Allan Snyder, Skin & Cancer Associates Founded in 1988, Poverello distributes free groceries, household items, medical supplies and clothing through its food bank and thrift shop. Clients also have access to a full-service gym as well as chiropractic, acupuncture and massage therapies at no cost.

Peter A. Jackson Named Multimedia Platforms’ President

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relentless in their efforts to attract gay tourists, especially after marriage equality arrived in Florida at the beginning of January. The 2015 guide comes out April 7 and will be distributed in several U.S. cities, including Boston, New York, Chicago, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

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Beach or melting pot Miami. Instead, the two men pictured are walking in front of the Tampa Theatre with the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival being featured on the marquee. The guide is produced by Madden Media for Visit Florida, the state’s main tourism arm in conjunction with local tourism agencies across the state. This year’s cover indicates that Tampa’s is increasingly seen as the Sunshine State’s hottest new destination for LGBT travelers from the U.S. and abroad. “This really does show the gay and lesbian community that Tampa Bay has something to offer in terms of Florida, that we’re an inviting and tolerant place,” says Kevin Wiatrowski, a spokesman for Visit Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County’s nonprofit tourism authority. One indication of how things have changed for the general metropolis is the St. Pete Pride Parade and Festival, scheduled for June 26-28. The celebration has now reportedly become the largest event of its kind in the Southeast U.S. Moreover, Tampa Pride held its inaugural parade just two weeks ago after a hiatus of 13 years. Both Visit Tampa Bay and its counterpart Visit St. Pete-Clearwater have been

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INTERNATIONAL

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COVER

BY RICHARD HACK

Indiana Law “A Good Thing” and Other Amazing Revelations from Barney Frank

arney Frank is all about coming out. The onetime Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts was not only the first openly gay member of Congress, he was also one of its most popular—easily winning reelection between 1981 to 2013 when he retired. He currently is on a national book tour for his latest release, Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It has provided a wealth of insight into the man regarded as the “brightest” in Washington during his time there, as well as its wittiest orator. Among the most telling comments that Frank has made this past week is one on the new Religious Freedom and Restoration Act from Indiana. After nearly a complete national condemnation of the law, which was presumably written to allow businesses to refuse to serve gay and lesbian customers under the guise of religious beliefs, Indiana Governor Mike Pence was forced to push through a rewording of the Act that explicitly stated that no “provider…may deny service to anyone on basis of sexual orientation, race, religion or disability.” Frank quickly countered, “When a conservative Republican governor in a culturally conservative state is reduced to self-pitying incoherence in trying to defend the invocation of religious freedom as a license for anti-gay discrimination, the end of legally sanctioned homophobia is in sight.” It’s a “good thing,” Frank said, when you suddenly have huge business conglomerates joining in the argument against LGBT prejudice, not because it is morally correct, but rather because it makes good business sense. Companies like Apple and Marriott, and Angie’s List were among the first, followed quickly by Eli Lilly, the drug company, NASCAR and Cummins-Diesel, which makes train locomotives. “There’s nothing new age, there’s nothing hip about diesel engines.

Cummins-Diesel — one of the mainstream Rustbelt heavy manufacturers — told them to knock it off,” Frank told Business Insider. “Eli Lilly — again, a very conservative drug company — and NASCAR,” Frank reminded what other companies that joined the lineup of businesses that questioned the logic of such a bill. NASCAR, for crying out loud, the vortex of all things heterosexual and Middle American. Frank, the eternal pessimist is suddenly happy these days. He’s got a husband, Jim Ready, who he married in July 2002. Frank lives in a studio apartment in Massachusetts, while his husband lives up in Maine, where he is a carpenter and welder who specializes in awnings and runs a small shop, Jim of Most Trades, in Ogunquit. Frank, who for much of his political career was known as a Jew, has now freely admitted he’s an atheist. Actually, he’s quietly been an admitted atheist for years, having come out about that bit of his history on a 2013 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. It’s a fact that didn’t help him politically, and he now advises other politicians to remain in the closet where religious beliefs are concerned. The first Jewish member of congress in 100 years says part of the problem is the word “atheist.” “The problem with atheism politically starts with the phrase,” he told Big Think. “I have advised people who are themselves non-believers, not to use the word atheist, it has a harshness to it. “Religion is important to people. It has a history of being seen as a source of good behaviour. From the politician’s

standpoint, the question is why pick a fight that doesn’t have to be waged?” He added: “In my own case there was another reason I didn’t talk about it, I’m Jewish. Obviously there was a strong terrible history of persecution of Jews. Judaism is a religion, but it is also an ethnicity. For many of us JewishAmericans today, it is an ethnicity more than, or even to the exclusion of, the religion,” he told Big Think.

“When I was the first Jewish person to be elected to the Congress of the United States since 1884… it would have looked as if I was separating myself from the Jews, and I wouldn’t want to do that. Even today, secular as I am, when the high Holy days (come around), I am not going to be seen in public doing things other Jews wouldn’t do.”

BY RICHARD HACK

and Yugoslavia. Now add Venezuela to the list. “Venezuela’s product shortages have become so severe that some hotels in that country are asking guests to bring their own toilet paper and soap, a local tourism industry spokesman said on Wednesday,” according to a report issued by CATO, and quoting Fusion, a joint venture between Univision and Disney/ABC Television Network. “It’s an extreme situation,” says Xinia Camacho, owner of a 20-room boutique hotel in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada national park. “For over a year we haven’t had toilet paper,

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soap, any kind of milk, coffee or sugar. So we have to tell our guests to come prepared.” It seems that a roll of toilet paper, which previously sold for eight cents in supermarkets, now commands 110 bolivares [$0.50]. Horrible enough if you need to use the facilities; even worse if you own a hotel and can’t supply your guests. The shortage of products extends throughout the grocery shopping list

to things like cereal, printing paper, chocolate and condoms. Condoms? Yes, they are hard to locate and nearly impossible to afford as well. The cost of a pack of 36 condoms in Venezuela is currently $755, nearly as much as the minimum monthly wage in this country of 29 million. What makes this sticker shock unpalatable is that Venezuela has an extremely high teenage pregnancy, and one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in Latin America. Moreover, abortion is illegal in this mostly Roman Catholic country, including in cases where the mother’s life is at risk. Unfortunately, with U.S. dollars in short supply with the fallout from the oil industry glut, the country is turning to its primary alternative natural resource for funds: its rainforest. One of the most biodiverse countries on Earth, it is now one of the leaders of deforestation. Each year, roughly 287,600 hectares of forest are permanently destroyed and other areas are degraded by mining, oil extraction, and logging. Even as the deforestation continues, it is not the greatest of Venezuela’s problems. It’s crackdown on human rights has led to widespread condemnation in Latin America, including the surprise arrest of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, an outspoken critic of president Nicolas Maduro. It all makes toilet paper suddenly seems quite unimportant...Until next week...

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There is a think tank in Washington, DC, known as The CATO Institute that’s dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. It sounds so scholarly and professional…and it is. Occasionally, the folks at CATO come up with some incredible statistics, and even more incredible bits of news. The latest comes our way from Venezuela. Now normally, we dismissed all things Venezuelan as Hugo Chavezstyle propaganda. It’s a beautiful place, this Venezuela. Unless, of course, you actually live there, and have to operate within the insanity that is socialism in the 21st century. For those not in the know, there was something called the Vagrants and Thugs Law which was officially repealed in 1997, but still is used in a limited sense to ensnare gays, lesbians and prostitutes of both sexes whenever the police department decides to remember it. Repelled or not, it still is alleged to be used to place suspicious types in “re-educational programs” in special “confinement places” without trial—a predicament that has also happened in other countries, including the otherwise civilized Spain. The latest news out of CATO suggests that now that oil prices have plummeted, Venezuela is slowly going belly up to the point that its tourist industry is decimated and essential goods are nonavailable, except on a thriving black market. Case in point: toilet paper. I remember the days of yesterday when a visit to any communist country required a special suitcase full of toilet paper—so scratchy or completely unavailable was the essential stuff in places like Russia

FOUNDER MULTIMEDIA PLATFORMS

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Toilet Paper and Venezuela

April 8, 2015 • ISSUE 281

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AS I SEE IT

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April 08, 2015

BY LINDA PENTZ

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CAPITOL BEAT

Jeb Bush Praises Pence While Most Come to Bury Him

April 08, 2015

was saddened to read the pessimism in our friend and colleague LZ Granderson’s recent CNN column. Granderson was commenting in the wake of Republican Indiana governor Mike Pence’s signing of that state’s so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and the mushrooming of similar legislation around the country. “Sitting here, watching the life being sucked out of democracy year in and year out feels more like a defeat than a victory,” Granderson wrote. Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, was the first of the expected Republican presidential hopefuls to voice his enthusiastic support for the Indiana law. “We’re going to need this,” said Bush, seemingly oblivious to Pence’s political kamikaze act and subsequent frantic backpedalling. “This is really an important value for our country.” A slew of Republican hopefuls even further to the right of Bush quickly fell into lockstep praise of Pence’s action in signing the original law. Skewing the reality of the discriminatory law, Louisiana governor and self-proclaimed

“evangelical Catholic,” Bobby Jindal, made a flimsy attempt at political opportunism by trying to paint Democrats as hypocrites. Meanwhile, former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, wandered off into the theater of the absurd by warning that a failure to uphold an Indiana-style RFRA would spell the death knell of churches across America. Meanwhile, as the pen of Arkansas governor, Asa Hutchinson, hovered over a similar bill and then hesitated, likely Democratic presidential contender, Hillary Clinton, urged Hutchinson to veto, tweeting that the law would “permit unfair discrimination against #LGBT Americans.” The Indiana RFRA, as originally passed, could allow individuals and businesses to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and other minorities and even to sue in cases where they feel their religious rights are being violated. The hasty rewrite this week clarifies that the law “cannot be used to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity in public accommodations, employment, and housing,” according to a statement

from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). But it still leaves loopholes and “falls far short of adding non-discrimination protections for LGBT Hoosiers to the state’s civil rights laws,” the Campaign said. Granderson has reason to sound the alarm on the trend in anti-gay legislation. The assault on LGBT rights is so widespread that HRC has a special web page devoted to the tally, headlined “Wave of Anti-LGBT Bills in 2015 State Legislative Sessions.” In addition to RFRAs, it lists attacks on marriage equality; adoption; anti-transgender legislation; the promotion of conversion therapy; and the nullifying of local civil rights protections. But perhaps Granderson can also take heart from the widespread condemnation of the Indiana decision, coming from, among others, leading CEOs, corporations, state governors, rock bands, athletes and even the Republican mayor of Indianapolis. Swirling boycott threats continue to seriously jeopardize the Indiana economy. But Pence’s strategy may have spectacularly backfired in another way as well, unintentionally surfacing the true temperature of the country on this

issue, which doesn’t happen to agree with him and which instead abhors and condemns discrimination. “The level of outcry is really unprecedented and is helping to make a difference,” Stephen Peters, National Press Secretary at the Human Rights Campaign, told the Agenda. “The united front of civic leaders, corporations, and individuals speaking out against these anti-LGBT bills is truly encouraging and shows that fairminded Americans aren’t willing to put up with unjust discrimination against LGBT people.” “Fairness and equality are not Republican or Democrat values, they are American values,” HRC’s Peters continued. “If Governor Pence would have embraced these values and heeded the warnings, he wouldn’t be frantically backpedaling because of the economic and political fallout.” The Republican governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory, perhaps expressed it best when asked if he would sign a similar bill in his state: “What is the problem they’re trying to solve?” he asked. “I haven’t seen it.”

BY DANIEL HICKS

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line side, inspiring the term “two-spirit” people. Two-spirits were sometimes given special ceremonial roles because of their ability to occupy both worlds, he said. But the spread of Christianity contributed to a change in attitude toward marriage on the reservations, said Co-Cke’. The heterosexual influence of Christianity remains strong in many tribes more than a century after an era of mass conversions. “It saddens me, but I don’t blame them because they have been forced to give in,” said Co-Cke’, who leads twospirit retreats in Oklahoma. He respects the Methodist faith he was raised in, but learning about Native American traditions that date back further helped him become comfortable with being gay. “I started feeling that emptiness. That’s when the old ones started calling me,” he said. “I had to get healthy.” The Supreme Court will hear arguments April 28 and could decide by June whether gay couples can marry in the remaining states and U.S. territo-

ries where it’s not allowed. But while 27 states that allow sam-sex marriage got dragged over that threshold by federal judges, the sovereign status of federally recognized tribes means a U.S. high court ruling would not directly affect their laws because these tribes were not parties to the U.S. Constitution. Many provisions covered by the U.S. Bill of Rights are extended to tribal jurisdictions through a separate law, the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968. Claims made under that law must be heard in tribal courts, which would ultimately decide a challenge to a tribe’s marriage law. What is interesting is to witness how history has come full circle, with modern civil and human rights reinforcing what was once traditional wisdom about how human sexuality and gender identity exists on more of a continuum more than inside of a Holy Roman box. The Associated Press contributed to this column.

- The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma: “Person of the same gender will not be allowed to marry or divorce;” and - Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin: “A marriage may be contracted under this law between two adults who ... are of the opposite sex.” As with the U.S. states, however, opposition to gay marriage varies among tribes. At least 10 tribes, including the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma, the Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Michigan, have enacted laws since 2009 to recognize gay marriage, according to the New York-based advocacy group Freedom to Marry. The Osage Nation bordering Tulsa, Oklahoma passed a wide-ranging law in 2012 that doesn’t recognize gay marriage. John Hawk Co-Cke’ (co-KAY), a member of the Osage Nation who is gay, said that before reservations were created, many tribes had no problem with men who embraced their feminine side and women who lean toward their mascu-

April 08, 2015

t’s easy to forget that within the United States there are sovereign Native American tribes with their own customs, history and languages who retain some degree of official autonomy and self-determination when it comes to their internal governance. Florida has two federally recognized tribes: the Miccosukee and their more populous cousins, the Seminoles. The Seminoles have about 4,000 members, according to a tribe spokesperson. An official Seminole elder or high-ranking representative was not immediately available for an interview at press time due to the tribe’s ongoing negotiations with the state of Florida regarding casino gaming. Since 2011, as the number of U.S. states recognizing same-sex marriage hit an all-time high of 37, at least six tribes with almost 1 million members collectively have let stand tribal laws that define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Some tribes explicitly outlaw gay marriage. For example, the Cherokees in Oklahoma and the Navajo Nation, with about 300,000 members each, do not recognize same-sex marriage and show no signs of budging. In 2005, the Navajos voted to ban gay marriage on their 27,000 square-mile reservation that extends into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, U.S. states where same-sex unions are legal. Here are just a few federally recognized Native American tribes that have laws either defining marriage as between a man and a woman or explicitly prohibit same-sex marriage: - The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina: “The licensing and solemnization of same sex marriages are not allowed within this jurisdiction;” - The Kalispel Tribe of Indians in Washington: “No marriage license shall be issued or marriage performed unless the persons to be married are of the opposite sex and at least 16 years of age;”

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How Native American, Religious Rights Laws Converge, Diverge On Marriage Equality

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LEFT COAST

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24 April 08, 2015

Looking For A New Adrenaline Rush?

Try Laser Tag

WILTON MANORS

BY PATRICK ROBERT

4/9 Scarfone’s Singles Mixer

BY JAMEER BAPTISTE

Remember the days when you had to protect yourself from the ambush of secret assassins lurking behind your parent’s living room sofa? Or defend yourself from the zombies that raided your bedroom while you tried to ﬁnish your homework? It’s time to revert back to the childhood joys of silly G.I. Joe-style fun with a let loose, youthful activity. Laser tag has?become a popu?lar fun-loving?experience for?kids and the?young at heart.?Take the family?or just bring your?friends. All are?welcome and all?are guaranteed?to have a great?time. It is the?high-tech version?of the oldschool “hide-and-seek” and “tag! you’re it” games children around the country used to play until video games came out, and then of course, the ubiquitous mobile devices of today. Each player is equipped with a sensor pack and a hand-held laser gun. The sensor pack straps onto each player’s chest and keeps score by storing the number of times each player has been tagged by an opponent’s laser gun. The object of the game is to

THE WEEK

One of Wilton Manors’ hottest new restaurants, Scarfone’s, features a contemporary blend of Italian dishes, coal ﬁred pizzas, and jumbo handmade meatballs. Along with their delicious menu, the Wilton Manors location is also host to a few gay-friendly events throughout the year. Tonight the establishment hosts a singles mixer. Along with the opportunity to meet professional single guys in a well-lit setting, the event also offers two-for-one drink specials, complimentary appetizers, and the chance to win various prizes. 6:30 p.m. Scarfone’s. 2150 Wilton Dr. Wilton Manors. 33305.

4/12 Tortuga Music Festival

dodge opponents’ lasers by ducking behind inanimate objects scattered throughout the indoor arena and which enable players to ambush their opponents. It’s a total adrenaline rush and at the end of each 15-30 min?ute session, a tally of each player’s score is displayed publicly and winner is declared. Laser Quest (2101 N University Dr, Sunrise, FL 33322; 954-747-1474) is played with energetic music, special lighting and fog machines in a multilevel arena that accommodates 32 or more players at a time. At Boomers (3100 Airport Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431; 561-3471888), the arena is illuminated with black lights. Both arenas also house an arcade and conces- sion stands to attract large groups of people. Laser Quest rents out its entire venue for private parties or corporate events.

Fort Lauderdale’s premiere country music festival takes place on Fort Lauderdale Beach Park and includes some of the hottest artists working today. The most interesting aspect of this festival is that its venue is the white sands and beautiful ocean of Fort Lauderdale. Along with Rock the Ocean Foundation, Tortuga Music Festival is trying to increase public awareness about the issues impacting the world’s oceans and to support scientiﬁc research, education, and ocean consideration initiatives. This year’s lineup includes Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band, Jake Owen, The Band Perry, and Little Big Town. 11:00 a.m. Fort Lauderdale Beach Park. 1100 Seabreeze Blvd. Fort Lauderdale. 33316.

4/13 Boz Scaggs Boz Scaggs gained fame for being the guitarist and sometime lead singer for the Steve Miller Band. A solo career in the 1970s followed with a few hits, including “Lowdown” and “Lido Shufﬂe.” The album Silk Degrees was a critical darling, infusing pop with sophisticated R&B sounds. His later career included forays into jazz and pop standards. Recent release Memphis included covers of his favorite singles. 7:30 p.m. Broward Center for the Performing Arts. 201 SW Fifth Ave. Fort Lauderdale. 33312.

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16) NAKED GRAPE 2163 Wilton Drive Wilton manors

15) MONKEY BUSINESS 2740 N Andrews Ave Fort Lauderdale

14) MONA’S 502 E Sunrise Blvd Fort Lauderdale

13) THE MANOR 2345 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

12) LIPS 1421 E Oakland Park Blvd Oakland Park

11) LE PATIO 2401 NE 11th Ave Wilton Manors

10) LE BOY 1243 NE 11th Ave Fort Lauderdale

30) VILLAGE PUB 2283 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

29) TROPICS 2000 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

28) 13 I EVEN 2037 Wilton Dr Wilton Manors

27) THE STABLE 205 E Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale

26) SMARTY PANTS 2400 E Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale

25) SIDELINES 2031 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

24) SCARFONE’S 2150 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

23) SCANDALS SALOON 3073 NE 6th Ave Wilton Manors

8) INFINITY LOUNGE 2184 WIlton Drive Wilton Manors

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9) JMARK’S 1245 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale

22) RUMORS BAR & GRILL 2426 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

21) ROSIE’S BAR & GRILL 2449 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

20) RAMROD 1508 NE 4th Ave Fort Lauderdale

19) PROGRESS 2440 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

18) PJ’S CORNER POCKET 2340 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

17) NEW YORK GRILLED CHEESE 2207 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

7) HUNTERS NIGHTCLUIB 2232 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

6) DAPUR 1620 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale

5) CUBBY HOLE 823 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale

4) CORNER PUB 1915 N Andrews Ave Wilton Manors

3) BOARDWALK 1721 N Andrews Ave Fort Lauderdale

2) B BAR AND GRILLE 2209 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

1) ALIBI 2266 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

BAR MAP

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April 08, 2015

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Distribution Locations FORT LAUDERDALE/ WILTON MANORS

April 08, 2015

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7-11… Los Olas 13 Even 4 Men Clothing 7-11….26th St 78 Degree Spa AHF-Oakland Park AIDS Museum Almost New Anderson Auto Andrews Living Art Studio Atlantic Realty ArtServe on Sunrise Barton Miller Cleaners Best Buy Bill’s Bio Care Pharmacy BioScript Pharmacy Boardwalk Boc a Tanning Body Tech Bona Pizza Boomerangs Bo’s Barber Brian Scott Realty Broward House.. Andrews Ave Broward House… SE 3rd Buddha Happy Calypso Inn Care Resource Castelli Real estate Castrato Law Cheston House Chic Optique City County Cr. Union Clippers Too Clubhuose II Coast Chiropractic Coral Reef Guest House Corner Pub Courtyard Café

Critters with A K Crunch CTR Spiritual Living Cubby Hole CVS Dapur DaVinci Real Estate Decades Furniture Deep Tissue Therapy Dennis J’s Barber Shop Double Dippers Dunkin Donuts Ed Lugo resort Elysium Resort Fetish Factory Flip Flops Floridian Fredrick Fine Art FTL Pizza Fusion Galanga’s Gateway Cinema Gay Mart Genesis Georgie’s Alibi Monkey Bar Grand Resort Green Jade Spa Hidden Treasure Holiday Park Library Humpy’s Pizza Hunters I.C.E Infinity Inn Leather Inn On the Drive Intense Fitness Island Sands Inn J. Miles Java Boys Jenkins Law Jet’s Pizza Joe’s Barber Shop Juice Blendz Karl Grace Ins Latino Salud

Le Patio Restaurant Leatherwerks LeBoy Lemon Grass Lips Lotus Chinese Manor Manor Inn Mattress Expert Mind your Manors Mix Clothing Mojo Barber MoJo Restaurant Mona’s Monkey Business Naked Grape North Point Medical Nuts About Yogurt Office Out of the Closet… Wilton dr Out of the Closet… Sunrise Out of the Oven PJ’s Palm Plaza Peter Pan Pharos Hair Oasis Pineapple Point Pink Submarine Plush Royale Resort Ponciana Car Wash The Pride Center Pride Factory Pride Pharmacy Progress Bar Pump N Inc Rainbow Laundromat Ramrod ReMax Realty Rendez-vous Bakery Richard’s Hair Rock Hard Ron’s Barber Shop Rosie’s Bar & Grill Rowan Tree Medical

Royal Palms Rumors Sarfones Scandals Scissorium Secret Moments Siam Cuisine Sidelines Slammer South Smarty Pants Smoke this Too SoBe Tanning Starbuck’s Steel Gym Sterling Stonewall Storks Suan Thai & Sushi Sun Serve Sunshine Cathedral Tee Jay The Athletic Man The Cabanas The Club FTL The Gables The Stable To The Moon Toni’s Cleaners Trantalis Tropics Restaurant Tropixxx Video Unity Church USA Auto Care Village Pub Walgreen’s Specialty Wilton Creamery Wilton Manors Dental Wilton Manors Library Wilton Tower Windamar Beach Resort Wings & Things Winners Pizza World’s Gym Worthington Guesthouse

MIAMI

11th St Diner Beatnix Betsy Hotel Care Resource Ctr Century SoBe Chesterfield Hotel Clevelander Creative Male Discotekka is now Front Porch Gathering Hotel Gay & Lesbian Visitor Ctr Island House Hotel Magnum Mercury SoBe MEKKA Nasseau Suites News V Cafe Out of the closet... Alton Rd Out of the Closet... Biscayne Blvd Palace Food Bar Rufskin Clothing Score Shelly Hotel Studio W Tokyo Valentino Adult Store Twist World Erotic Art Museum

ORLANDO

Barcodes Orlando Club Orlando Gay & Lesbian Center Hamburger Mary’s Orlando Hanks Bar Joy MCC Parliament House Pulse Bar Ritzy Rags Orlando Savoy

Southern Nights St Matthews Tavern Stonewall

TAMPA

Baxter’s Bradley’s on 7th City Side Lounge G Bar Hamburger Mary’s Liquid Tampa MC Film Metro Wellness Center Ybor Resort & Spa

ST. PETE

Enigma St. Petersburg Flamingo Resort Georgie’s Alibi LGBT Welcome Ctr Metro Wellness Center Mr. Sun Liquors Pepperz The Oar House The Queen’s Head

CAPE CORAL

Tubby’s City Hangout

FORT MYERS

Office Pub Rascals The Bottom Line

LAKELAND Pulse Bar

JACKSONVILLE The Metro

KEY WEST

Bourbon St Pub Equator Resort

FloridaAgenda.com For advertising or sponsorship opportunities, contact Kevin Hopper at 954-380-8563 x2101 or kevinhopper@mmplgbt.com.

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April 08, 2015

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THE WEEK

TAMPA/ST.PETE

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BY PATRICK ROBERT

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4/10 Tampa Bay Blues Fest One of the finest blues music events in the world and also one of Tampa Bay’s biggest music festivals, the Tampa Bay Blues Fest brings the greatest musicians to the Vinoy Park on the shores of Tampa Bay. This year’s line-up includes Tower of Power, Boz Scaggs, Southern Hospitality, and the Lee Boys. 12:00 p.m. Vinoy Park. 501 Fifth Ave. St. Petersburg. 33701.

Plain White T’s Before breaking through in the mid-naughties, Plain White T’s were an underground punk group from Chicago. Everything changed when they released the number-one hit song “Hey There Delilah.” They received two Grammy nominations and the song achieved platinum status. Their newest album is named American Nights and was released a few weeks ago. 9:00 p.m. State Theatre. 687 Central Ave. St. Petersburg. 33701.

4/12 Smokey Robinson

The Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation

ERE

NCE ONE

LIF

E A T

April 08, 2015

provides complimentary Health and Wellness services to financially challenged people living with HIV/AIDS and offers a global LGBT athletic mentoring program for amateur and professional athletes ranging from grade school to the professional ranks.

A 501(c)3 organization providing services to financially challenged people living with HIV/AIDS in Fort Lauderdale

2435 North Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305

BRIANNEALFITNESS.ORG

Throughout his illustrious career, Smokey has crooned his way to the top of the charts numerous times: “Tears of a Clown” shows that behind every jokester is a fragile heart while “I Second that Emotion” finds a man incapable of saying “I Love You” outright. Smokey Robinson founded The Miracles back in the 1950s when he was still in high school and continued a successful solo career. Tonight he offers his voice to the Mahaffey Theater. 7:00 p.m. Mahaffey Theater. 400 First St. St. Petersburg. 33701.

rockin’ superstar extraordinaire” self. Of course, the execution of the plan won’t be easy, with conflict arising at pool party leading to the Heathers’ revenge and comeuppance. The resulting comedic circumstances that lead to the finale are as funny as they are flaky. Writer/star Brandon Alexander III took some big risks here that actually pay off, beginning with the wordplay of the title. Cassie and Maggie, the drag characters, could have grown tiresome (and come close!), but eventually grow on the viewer (like the body hair Cassie’s mother mentions to her). Incorporating references such as Heathers, John Hughes, Square Pegs, Girls Will Be Girls, and even Revenge of the Nerds, the colorful First Period keeps the laughs coming at a friendly pace. Supporting players, including Judy Tenuta (as psychic Madam Mulva), Jack Plotnick (as pervy teacher Mr. Klein), Cassandra Peterson (as Cassie’s double-talking mother) and Diane Salinger (as a whacked out art teacher), each add something to the story. DVD bonus features include audio commentary, deleted scenes and a deleted song, and an interview featurette with cast members.

In First Period (Falling Anvil), Cassie (Brandon Alexander III), the new girl at school (relocated to her mother’s hometown), writes in her diary about the major milestone of her approaching Sweet 16, bemoaning the bad timing of it all. But Cassie is nothing if not self-assured, which is good because she’s going to need every bit of personal fortitude she can muster to get through the school year. If Cassie’s middle name isn’t “Inappropriate” then it should be. Confident in spite of everything, Cassie makes enough bad first impressions on her first day, with everyone from classmates to counselors, to mark her for life. Her “totally rockin’ superstar extraordinaire (you’re welcome!)” persona is the only thing she has to sustain her as she comes up against mean girls Heather (Lauren Rose Lewis) and the Other Heather (Karli Kaiser), and their hot but devious boyfriends Dirk (Lance Bass’s husband Michael Turchin) and Brett (Leigh Wakeford). With five days to become popular (before her Sweet 16), Cassie devises a plan incorporating new BFF Maggie (Dudley Beene) and the school talent show. Maggie has mad rap skills and Cassie... well, Cassie is just her “totally

April 08, 2015

Tatiana Maslany as the young Maria and Max Irons as young Maria’s husband Fritz), Curtis gives the film a classic look and feel. Mirren is, as usual, riveting, embodying the survivor’s will to continue surviving. Reynolds is the revelation here. In crooked teeth, unflattering haircut and shlumpy clothes, he has to rely on his acting skills, which he does with unexpected aplomb. Co-writer/director Susanna Fogel’s Life Partners (Magnolia) takes an affectionate look at female friendship with a queer twist. Under 30 pals Sasha (Leighton Meester), a struggling musician and receptionist, and lawyer Paige (Gillian Jacobs), have always been there for each other. But Paige’s engagement to dermatologist boyfriend Tim (Meester’s real-life husband Adam Brody), threatens the delicate balance. Sasha, who isn’t having much luck in the lesbian dating pool, is also miserable at her day job and seriously questioning her musical aspirations. Relationships with Vanessa (Abby Elliott) and Mia (Greer Grammer) quickly sour. Friendships with Jen (Gabourey Sidibe) and Jenn (Beth Dover) can’t compare with Sasha’s camaraderie with Paige. The question that is asked and answered in Life Partners is whether the friendship can be saved. Life Partners is a contemporary comedy along the lines of Obvious Child and The Skeleton Twins, although it’s not nearly as funny or poignant as those films, and thankfully avoids the tired mumblecore trend trap. DVD special features include “A Look at Life Partners” by AXS TV and behind the scenes featurettes with cast, crew, and production and costume design teams.

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Look out, Meryl Streep! Helen Mirren is gaining on you as the new queen of accents. Onscreen, she’s done French (The Hundred Foot Journey), Israeli (The Debt) and American (Love Ranch) accents, among others. In Woman In Gold (The Weinstein Company), based on a true story, Mirren mounts an Austrian accent as Maria Altmann, the woman who sued the Austrian government so that she could regain possession of a family heirloom artwork, Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, Maria’s aunt and the titular “Woman In Gold,” taken by the Nazis during World War II. Following the funeral of her older sister Louise in California, Vienna-born Maria (Mirren), who has been living in the States for 50 years, embarks on a personal restitution mission. She contacts Randol (Ryan Reynolds), the down-on-his-luck lawyer son of a family friend, in desperate need of a successful legal outcome for his stalled career. Randol also has an Austrian connection. He is the grandson of composer Arnold Schoenberg. As unlikely a team as you will ever find, Maria and Randol begin the process of seeking restitution from the Austrian government, leading them on a voyage to Vienna. Maria, who swore she would never return to her homeland after escaping to America, struggles with the scenario, but eventually overcomes her anxiety. What follows is a variation on theme of one person (or two, in this case) challenging a much larger entity, suffering all sorts of abuses and insults, visits from ghosts of the past, and emerging triumphant. There’s even a character, a magazine editor played by Daniel Brühl, assisting them in order to erase an unfortunate element of his family’s past. No spoiler here – it’s a true story; Google it. Woman In Gold is the Philomena of 2015. Director Simon Curtis (My Week With Marilyn), pulls out all the stops. Interweaving flashbacks that incorporate a recreation of Vienna before and during the Nazi invasion (featuring

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Partner Power

SCREEN SAVOR

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BY GREGG SHAPIRO

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THE WEEK

JACKSONVILLE BY PATRICK ROBERT

April 08, 2015

4/9 Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience JK Rowling’s imaginative adventure into magic, friendship, and true evil took seven long books (and eight movies) to fully tell. BBC Television hosts Daniel Clarkshon and Jefferson Turner are taking it upon themselves to conquer the task of telling the entire tale in seventy madcap minutes. The parody will include multiple costume changes, silly props, witty one-liners, hummable songs, and, of course, lots and lots of wizardry. 7:30 p.m. Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. 300 W. Water St. Jacksonville. 32202.

4/10 Disney on Ice The latest incarnation of Disney on Ice is named “Let’s Celebrate!” and features over

fifty Disney characters magically jumping double axels and spinning Hamel camels while honoring holidays from around the world. Some of the characters expected to be a part of the “celebration” include Pinocchio, Snow White, Aladdin, and Belle. Anyone in love with either Disney or figure skating will surely love this beloved American tradition. 7:30 p.m. Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. 300 A. Philip Randolph Blvd. Jacksonville. 32202.

4/12 One Singular Sensation: Music of Marvin Hamlisch The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra presents a performance of the indelible music of Marvin Hamlisch. Led by guest musical conductor Michael Berkowitz, the production will celebrate the unparalleled musical legacy of Hamlisch with music from A Chorus Line and The Way We Were. Celebrated American composer Marvin Hamlisch is one of only twelve people to win an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). Other accolades include a Pulitzer Prize and two Golden Globes. 3:00 p.m. Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. 300 W. Water St. Jacksonville. 32202.

A FITNESS AND NUTRITION TRANSFORMATION BLUEPRINT

FITNESS

This is the 7th weekly installment of a 10-part series to help Agenda readers improve their health and fitness.

DEWAYNE SCRUGGS

demonstrates the Dumbbell Squat and a Deadlift, another great butt-building exercise.

DEADLIFT • •

DUMBBELL SQUAT •

• •

Peter Jackson is a fitness and nutrition professional and the owner of Fort Lauderdale fitness businesses including Push Fitness, a private training gym. He can be reached at Info@PushFitnessFTL.com.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart holding a pair of dumbbells in each hand, palms facing one another. Your back should be naturally arched. Push your hips back, bend at the knees and lower your body as low as you can. Pause, then use your hips and knees to lift your body back to the starting position

•

Stand with the bar against the shins, feet parallel under the hips. Keeping the back arched, bend from the hip and place the hands shoulder width on the bar. The knees may bend slightly in order to keep the back arched. The shoulders should be in front of the bar at the bottom position. Push the hips back to activate the hamstrings. You should feel a stretch in the back of the leg. Keeping the head neutral and the back arched stand up to a fully vertical position.

April 08, 2015

America has a new-found appreciation for a well-rounded booty thanks, in part, to Megan Trainor and her super charttopping hit, “All About That Bass.” But the head-turning fascination and delight of a tight, toned bubble butt has been one of the best-kept secrets among gay men for years – and we know exactly how to create those buns of steel. The ass, or more precisely the gluteus maximus or “glutes”, is actually a group of three muscles located at the back of each hip. Of the 639 named muscles in the body, they are the largest and potentially the strongest. As we age, special attention should be placed on exercising the glutes as they play a surprisingly important role in our stability and flexibility. These muscles actually help to keep us upright and function in an anti-gravity role to allow us to climb stairs and hills. And let us not forget another important benefit to having strong butt muscles: more muscle means more calories burned daily and a higher metabolism overall. Weak glutes usually result from sitting at an office desk for hours on end as well as general inactivity. This causes the hips to tilt forward, compromising the spine, and can ultimately lead to back pain. There will be little disagreement from my colleagues in the fitness industry that the Squat is the best exercise to strengthen the glutes (and one of the best exercises, period). Beginners can perform a simple bodyweight squat using the back of a chair for stability or support if needed. More commonly, a pair of dumbbells or a barbell is used to provide resistance, microscopically tear the muscle fibers and force the glutes to rebuild bigger and stronger.

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Yeah, it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size two But I can shake, shake it, like I’m supposed to do ‘Cause I got that boom boom all the boys chase And all the right junk in all the right places…

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YES, IT’S ALL ABOUT THAT BASS

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Text By Peter Jackson, CPT

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The Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation

ERE

NCE ONE LIF

April 08, 2015

A 501(c)3 organization providing services to financially challenged people living with HIV/AIDS in Fort Lauderdale

2435 North Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305

BRIANNEALFITNESS.ORG

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April 08, 2015

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THE WEEK

MIAMI/ MIAMI BEACH BY PATRICK ROBERT

4/11 Miami Beach Gay Pride One of the most elaborate gay pride festivals takes place on South Beach and has drawn over 80,000 participants in years passed. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festival is bound to be as exciting with more than 125 LGBT-friendly vendors, celebrities (including MC Mario Lopez), musical performances, refreshments, and a family-friendly play area. Located at Lummus Park, the gay pride festival includes an early morning 5K run/walk and a full day of music, dancing, and performances. 9:00 a.m. Lummus Park. Ocean Drive 5th - 15th St. Miami Beach. 33139.

Hannibal Buress Back in October, young, hip comedian Hannibal Buress made a socially important joke about Bill Cosby hypocrisy and started a media frenzy. Other than controversially exposing elder comedic statesman, Buress is also considered one of the funniest stand-up performers working today. He has appeared on numerous shows, including The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. 8:00 p.m. The Fillmore Miami Beach. 1700 Washington Ave. Miami Beach. 33139.

April 08, 2015

4/5 Diana Krall Diana Krallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smoky voice has allowed her to become one of the most successful jazz artists of her time, having sold over fifteen million albums worldwide. She has won five Grammy Awards, eight Juno Awards, and her records have consistently debuted atop the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Some of her most popular albums include Love Scenes, The Look of Love, Quiet Nights, and Glad Rag Doll. 8:00 p.m. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. 1300 Biscayne Blvd. Miami. 33132.

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1226 NE 4TH AVE FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33304 954.761.1236

LEATHERWERKS.COM

April 08, 2015

Copyright © 2015 The Werks Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Werks, LeatherWerks, PaddleWerks, Lifestyle Club, BootWerks and “Where Leather is a Lifestyle” are Registered Trademarks of The Werks Company, LLC

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April 08, 2015

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April 08, 2015

PU Z Z L E

1098 NE 45th St Oakland Park, FL 33334

954-530-4304

Across 1 Lorca’s stick 5 Bandleader Shaw 10 Like a stereotypical wrist 14 Wife of Buck’s Wang 15 Quick raid 16 Canal of New York ferries 17 With 34-Across, “a sort-of survival guide” by Leighton-Dore 20 Reeves of _My Own Private Idaho 21 Bear with a small package 22 Where to find a date in a hot place 23 Beatle Bailey dog 25 Revolting 27 Delinquent 30 Flockhart of The Birdcage 34 See 17-Across 35 Author Leighton-Dore 36 Islands instrument 37 Brings indignity to 41 Gift of Ellen DeGeneres 42 Abound (with) 44 Screwed up 45 Edna, for one 46 Like an active partner 48 Lubricant 49 Language of Leif 50 Poet ___ Wu 52 Cold feet 54 Leighton-Dore’s kiddie

lit book about coming out 59 Strip a fruit 60 Rub it in 61 Sound of being banged? 63 Tutti-frutti ingredient 64 Wonder Woman star Carter 65 Put in a position 66 Cleans the floor 67 Day one 68 Go up and down Down 1 11th U.S. president 2 Soothing agent for skin 3 Composition of some beds 4 Monotonous 5 It’s south of Eur. 6 A gangster shoots it off 7 Long pants, for short 8 Like Shakespeare’s feet 9 Optimist’s place for a cock? 10 Toast of the cut 11 Bisexual writer Murdoch 12 Skimpy skirt 13 Sheehan’s tees, e.g. 18 Went one one better 19 Stein’s Alice 24 Eliza Doolittle, for one 26 Checked out the joint 27 Breakfast on ___ 28 Clay of _American Idol fame 29 Shooting type

31 Type of daddy 32 Lions and Tigers and Bears 33 A Delicate Balanceauthor 38 Area of the Audre Lorde Project 39 Paul Newman role in Exodus 40 Successful on one’s own 43 Heather’s parents, in kiddie lit 45 Oz visitor 47 Letter before omega 49 Beauty sleep 51 West Side Story Jet, e.g. 53 Annoy during a blow job? 54 Otello villain 55 Bend in a sink pipe 56 Charged particles 57 John Goodman’s Normal, 58 Intense rage 59 Cager Parsons 62 To God, in Latin

For the solution to this puzzle, go to www.floridaagend.com/puzzle

ORLANDO

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THE WEEK

BY PATRICK ROBERT

MegaCon, one of the largest conventions in the Southeast for science fiction and fantasy fans, will have a very special guest this year: comic book icon Stan Lee, creator of Spider Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, and Iron Man. Also expected to attend are Cary Elwes, Lou Ferrigno, Hulk Hogan, and actors from popular shows Firefly and The Walking Dead. Some of the events scheduled include panel discussions on Saturday morning cartoons, speed dating, and the first annual MegaWalk. 11:00 a.m. Orange County Convention Center. 9800 International Dr. Orlando. 32819.

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MegaCon

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4/12

The Beach Boys Uncle Jesse’s favorite band will be performing at the Hard Rock Live, featuring special guest Uncle Jesse himself (John Stamos). The Beach Boys is one of the most revered bands in music history and one of the best-selling. Their most famous hits include “Good Vibrations,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “I Get Around,” and “God Only Knows.” They recently won a Grammy Award for The Smile Sessions in 2011. 8:30 p.m. Hard Rock Live Orlando. 6050 Universal Blvd. Orlando. 32819.

4/15 OK Go

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This quartet has experimented with different genres throughout their fifteen year career. Their newest album (due out in the fall) is titled Upside Out and features pop-rock music building upon the group’s penchant for melancholic fireworks and IMAX-sized choruses. Their career has included viral videos, New York Times op-eds, a major label split, and the creation of their own Paracadute label. 8:00 p.m. The Beacham 46 N. Orange Ave. Orlando. 32801.

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