Agenda 120315 issue 315 by Multi-Media Platforms

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

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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING... SOCIAL MEDIA SOUND BYTES Ted Cruz’s Comments Cause Outrage

TOM VON CT (@TOM_NEWS2): Ted simply has no limit to his mendacity. No limit to the depth of the depravity he will use to lull voters into his fold. GREG WALKER (@GJWALK): Based on what I know about transgenders (Caitlyn Jenner), the shooter is a Republican.

SINEAD O’CONNOR,

“COUNTDOWN 2016 IS OUR ANNUAL ICONIC, PUBLIC EVENT FOR SINGAPOREANS TO COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE NEW YEARʼS EVE, AS ONE. ALLOWING ADAM LAMBERT TO PERFORM SHOWS DISREGARD FOR THE VALUES OF A MAJORITY OF FAMILYCENTRIC SINGAPOREANS WHO HAVE CONSISTENTLY RESISTED THE PROMOTION OF WESTERN LIBERAL IDEAS ABOUT FAMILY VALUES.” CONCERNED CITIZENS in a petition in protest of the gay singer’s ‘lewd acts’ and ‘LGBT rights’ activism

CHEERS

“It is our responsibility as human beings to do everything we can to protect our fellow people.“ -Miley Cyrus speaking at Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Vanguard Awards

JAKE GYLLENHAAL

JEERS

discussing the legacy of Brokeback Mountain 10 years later.

“The overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats.” -Ted Cruz discussing recent Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting

“WHEN YOU’RE HOT, YOU’RE HOT. WHEN YOU’RE NOT, YOU’RE NOT. WHEN YOU’RE ON THE POT, YOU GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT.” ANDY COHEN reading old letters he wrote to his parents ftom camp on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

NYC COUNCILMAN COREY JOHNSON discussing Governor Cuomo’s announcement about further HIV/AIDS support throughout the state of New York.

STEREOGIRL (@GIRL_IN_STEREO): Ted Cruz is a crazy person. He needs to seek help immediately. Meanwhile, we all need to ignore him. Our attention feeds him.

December 03, 2015

“GOVERNOR CUOMO’S LEADERSHIP IS A GAME CHANGER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS. AFTER YEARS OF STEADY PROGRESS BUT UNCERTAIN DIRECTION, WITH TODAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE WILL SEEK AN ADDITIONAL $200 MILLION FOR SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS,”

via Facebook, revealing her suicide attempt following what she described as “a horriﬁc set of betrayals” committed by her family.

“WHEN THE SUPREME COURT [ISSUED A RULING] JUST A LITTLE WHILE AGO, I FELT LIKE WE HAD BEEN PART, A LITTLE PART AND PARCEL OF THAT MOVEMENT. BUT WHEN WILL IT BE OK FOR AN ACTOR TO BE GAY? I MEAN, IT’S OK NOW.”

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“I have taken an overdose. There is no other way to get respect.”

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Random thoughts from social media and beyond this week

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COVER STORY

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PERFECT STORM: KKK and Anti-Discrimination Turn Jacksonville into Hotbed

December 03, 2015

By Richard Hack

The first flyer to be distributed showed stick figures of two gay men having what appeared to be anal sex and stated that “Homosexual Men And Their Sex Acts Are Disgusting and Inhuman.”

JACKSONVILLE—It’s being called a “perfect storm.” First, Jacksonville’s on-going community meetings to engage citizens in its current debate over whether to change its current Human Rights Ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity met with heated exchanges. Then the Ku Klux Klan added to the controversy by distributing offensive flyers headlined “STOP AIDS. Support Gay Bashing.” The flyers came in two varieties and targeted gays, “nonwhite” immigration, Haitians, and “mud people” as well as Muslims. The first flyer to be distributed showed stick figures of two gay men having what appeared to be anal sex and stated that “Homosexual Men And Their Sex Acts Are Disgusting and Inhuman.” The flyer went on to demand that non-white immigration be banned, and stated: “Outlaw Haitians” and “Deport Mud People.” The flyer was distributed in the Jacksonville neighborhood of Riverside, an historic district that contains several gay bars as well as a bohemian neighborhood that has architecture ranging from mansions on the river to onebedroom bungalows.

In the Baymeadows neighborhood, the Baymeadows Islamic Center on Dix Ellis Trail was also papered with fliers, this one featuring a drawing of a hooded Ku Klux Klan members. Sameh Khayet found the racist material outside the mosque and at first thought the artwork depicted a veiled muslim. Jacksonville is the largest city in the nation whose leaders have never enacted civil rights protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. For Mayor Lenny Curry, who is the driving forced behind the on-going community conversations on potential changes in the Human Rights Ordinance, the flyers were just another controversy in his determined effort to deal with the hoopla surrounding the move toward anti-discrimination. Last month, before his first community conversation, a bomb threat was received during a call to a reporter at the Florida Times-Union. Benjamin Harris Manses, 25, was later arrested for making the threat during which he is alleged to have said that the bomb would “kill all the LGBT *******... I recommend that you ******* just not show up, because if you do you’re going to die. This

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Anyone who would do that has no concept at all of what gender identity truly is and how hateful and hurtful that is.” Parker told WFOX-TV

Photo: bigstock.com

Simon’s Island in Georgia, who posted a photograph of himself in a wig, promising to protest the gala at which Houston mayor, Annise Park, was the featured speaker. “Tonight at 6pm at the Duval Democratic Banquet, Miss Jane in her very short Red Dress will deliver a message to the Homosexuals that have taken over the Duval Democratic Party,” Adkins wrote. “I am gonna ‘pee’ next to your women in the women’s bathroom and let’s see how y’all feel.” While Adkins failed to make an appearance, Parker said that “Anyone who would do that has no concept at all of what gender identity truly is and how hateful and hurtful that is,” Parker told WFOX-TV. Parker’s appearance coincided with her strong support for adding LGBT protections in the city’s Human Rights Ordinance, referring to the recent defeat of a similar bill in Houston which she says was due to the argument that granting LGBT rights would allow sexual predators to get into women’s bathrooms. “It wasn’t because we didn’t have a good message. It wasn’t because we didn’t have a good ordinance. It wasn’t because we didn’t have a strong campaign,” Parker said. “It was because the other side planted a fear and just planted that fear over and over again. A completely baseless fear and they wrote a lie.”

December 03, 2015

is a ****** bomb threat.” In an interview with FloridaPolitics.com blog, Curry condemned both the bomb threat and the KKK flyers. “Clearly we see that there are still the lowest forms of human behavior and bigotry,” he said, adding that Jacksonville will “continue the democratic process” nevertheless, as it relates to the discussion of expanding HRO protections to the LGBT community. He cited public safety as his primary concern, pledging that more security would be evident at the remaining two community conversations. “Religious Freedoms, Thoughts and Beliefs” will be the topic of the next meeting set for Thursday, December 3 at Edward Waters College Adams-Jenkins Music & Sports Center, 1859 Kings Road, Jacksonville, FL 32209. The final meeting takes place at the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute, 2800 University Blvd. N., Jacksonville, FL 32211 featuring the topic: “Under the Law and Its Effects on Business.” All meetings begin at 6 pm. Rodney Lawrence, a LBGT advocate, said that the timing of the community conversations along with the Ku Klux Klan leaflets and last Monday night’s Blue Gala for the Duval County Democratic Party created the “perfect storm” of elements to attract zealots. Among them was homophobic pastor Kenneth Adkins of St.

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OPINION

December 03, 2015

World AIDS Day: HIV--yep, it’s still a thing Every Dec. 1, humanity marks World AIDS Day. We see HIV covered extensively on the Web, in newspapers, on radio and on TV. The efforts around World AIDS Day often seem shallow or pointless to many of us, and I’m sure a lot of them are. BY MYLES HELFAND

A few weeks ago, it became ofﬁcial: HIV is loathsome. It all had started so innocently: Back in 2013, the New York State Division of Human Rights posted a public awareness ad that featured the image of a woman alongside the text “I AM POSITIVE(+)” and “I HAVE RIGHTS.” The intent was to inform people with HIV that the state’s laws protected them from discrimination. The folks who created the ad grabbed the model’s photo from Getty Images, a stock photo service. Only the model in that picture, Avril Nolan, didn’t have HIV – and she didn’t want anyone thinking she did. Heck, can you blame her? I hear people get unlawfully discriminated against for having that virus! Someone should put out an ad reminding folks about that. Anyway, Nolan (and her lawyers) sued the state for defamation. In October, a New York State Court of Claims judge ruled that she (and her lawyers) was right, and that her lawsuit could continue. The judge was reasonable. The judge was rational. The judge was, let’s face it, realistic. “It would be hoped that an indication that someone ... has been diagnosed as HIV positive would not be viewed as indicative of some failure of moral ﬁber, or of some communicable danger, however our society is not so advanced,” Judge Thomas H. Scuccimarra wrote in his decision. He added that the ad’s incorrect portrayal “that Ms. Nolan is presently diagnosed as HIV positive, from the perspective of the average person, clearly subjects her to public contempt, ridicule, aversion or disgrace and constitutes defamation per se.” (“Defamation per se” is legal term that’s typically employed when a person has been falsely accused of having a “loathsome” disease, according to the New York Law Journal.) In other words, this is where our society is at today, more than 30 years into our tumultuous relationship with HIV in the U.S.: People are still afraid to be associated with the virus for fear they’ll be discriminated against – and that includes people who appear in ads informing the public that people with HIV can’t be discriminated against. My head hurts. This is the awful environment in which Charlie Sheen decided to publicly disclose on Nov. 17 that he was one of well over a million people in the U.S., and one of roughly 35 million folks on the planet, who are living with a particular virus inside their bodies. You’ve already heard more than enough about Charlie Sheen lately; you probably don’t need me to retread that ground. (In case you

do, note that TheBody.com and all of the websites who team up for this column have written some outstanding content covering various angles of the story online.) But the Nolan defamation case testiﬁes to just how desperate Sheen’s situation must have become that he felt he needed get his status out in the open – out into a public that, generally, still ﬁnds HIV-positive people worth contempt, ridicule, aversion and disgrace. Every Dec. 1, humanity marks World AIDS Day. We see HIV covered extensively on the Web, in newspapers, on radio and on TV. We witness public awareness events, testing campaigns and speeches – at least one of which will have taken place somewhere pretty close to you, given that HIV affects every type of person in every region of the country (and the planet). Experts rattle off all sorts of big, sobering, scary numbers, and they talk about prevention, treatment and the search for a cure. Politicians politicize, activists advocate, blowhards bloviate. The efforts around World AIDS Day often seem shallow or pointless to many of us, and I’m sure a lot of them are. It’s easy for a grass-roots movement to lose some of its sense of soul when its primary day of activism becomes a regularly scheduled event. But let’s not forget what the point of all this is. The point is that having HIV doesn’t make someone a bad person. Being a person living with HIV is not comparable to any other state of existence: You’re not a smoking gun, you’re not a car with no brakes, you’re not a ticking time bomb. You’re a person living with HIV, a treatable virus. Avril Nolan shouldn’t feel like she has to sue somebody to avoid being associated with it. Charlie Sheen shouldn’t feel like he has to go on national TV and tell the world he has it so that people will stop blackmailing him. Living with HIV isn’t loathsome; the way we treat people with HIV too often is. We need to do better – and we can, each of us, one person at a time. Hopefully Avril Nolan and Charlie Sheen will help. Hopefully, one day soon, HIV anti-discrimination ads will be unnecessary, defamation lawsuits won’t need to happen, and the decision to disclose one’s HIV status in public will be a matter of personal preference, not compulsion.

Myles Helfand is the editorial director of TheBody.com and TheBodyPRO.com. Find him on Twitter @MylesatTheBody.

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December 03, 2015

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WORLD AIDS DAY NEWSWATCH

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Russia HIV infection bucks trends as World Aids Day marked BY KATHERINE JACOBSEN

December 03, 2015

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW (AP) - On a frigid evening on the outskirts of Moscow, two HIV-prevention activists unzip backpacks, pull out packs of hypodermic needles and start discretely approaching people leaving a nearby pharmacy with an offer that could save their lives. One man, cheeks sunken and behavior jittery, takes a plastic bag full of needles, a tube of ointment for sores and a pamphlet of material about disease prevention. “Thank you,” he says, quickly making eye contact before hurrying away. While the rate of HIV infection is on a global decline as World AIDS Day is marked Tuesday, the number of new infections in Russia continues to rise. By 2016, the country’s Federal AIDS Center estimates the total number of those diagnosed with HIV will reach 1 million. The majority of new infections occur among injecting drug users when dirty needles are shared. So-called harm reduction programs - which distribute clean needles and condoms as well as provide methadone substitution therapy - are shown to reduce the spread of diseases such as HIV. But the Russian government has refused to fund such initiatives, saying this approach to treatment enables addicts to continue living their dangerous lifestyle.

Activists have tried to bridge the gap. “We know we can’t reach everyone and you can’t force anyone to stop using, but at least this provides the tools people need to reduce the spread of diseases,” said Lena Groznova, who has been participating in the Andrey Rylkov Foundation’s outreach program for the past three years. The foundation’s activists are out nearly every day in Moscow, waiting around pharmacies that sell non-prescription eye drops used to enhance the effect of opiates. Though such clean needle distribution programs are allowed to operate, a decline in international funding severely limits the scope of their activity. In 2009, Russia was supposed to take over the work of one of the major HIV prevention and treatment donors, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria, which operates exclusively in lowincome countries and no longer considers Russia eligible based on this criterion. “We assumed that the government was picking up all the pieces and taking over the treatment component for all of the people in need. However, the treatment that was being done by the community was not being supported by the government,” Nicolas Cantau, the Global Fund

project manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, told The Associated Press. “We were all taken by surprise.” After learning Russia would no longer fund grassroots outreach organizations, the Global Fund decided to continue its work within Russia, but with a fraction of the previous budget. As a result, only 4,300 people have received antiretroviral drugs this year, compared to 66,000 people in 2009 who had access to the HIV medication with the help of Global Fund aid money. The Fund has again made plans to leave Russia by the end of 2017. Approximately 30 percent of Russians in need of anti-retroviral drugs currently do not have access to them, according to the Health Ministry. The U.S. Agency for International Development and the Open Society Foundation, which collectively sponsored over 200 organizations working with HIV, were both forced out of Russia in 2012. Methadone substitution therapy is widely used globally to wean addicts off intravenous drugs. In Russia, however, the outdated “cold turkey” method is the only available rehabilitation route for addicts; distributing methadone can bring a prison sentence of up to 20 years. In neighboring Ukraine, whose

HIV epidemic has mirrored Russia’s, methadone therapy is legal and increasingly prevalent. After years of rapid growth in infection rates, the number of new HIV infections among drug injectors was down in 2013 by 33 percent, according to the HIV/ AIDS Alliance of Ukraine, a decline that has largely been attributed to the introduction of methadone therapy. Crimea is frequently cited as an example of what happens when methadone therapy is suddenly made unavailable. After the Ukrainian peninsula was annexed by Russia in March 2014 and methadone became illegal, an estimated 80 to 100 of its 12,000 HIV-positive residents died from suicide and overdose, according to UNAIDS. “Russia decided to come up with its own plan to deal with its drug problem, but 15 years have passed and there is no alternative plan,” said Vadim Pokrovsky, the head of the Federal AIDS Center in Moscow, who diagnosed the ﬁrst HIV case in the Soviet Union in 1987. In October, Russia announced it would double spending on HIV care and prevention next year to $600 million. Maxim Malyshev, who runs a clean needle distribution program with the Rylkov Foundation, is skeptical that the increase in y

campaign. He and Olivia Wilde will host (SHOPATHON), a tongue-in-check play off of home shopping, and the special episode will feature celebrity guests like Tom Brady, who is offering one donor a chance to learn how to pass a football, and Shaquille O’Neal, who will take a photo with a winner for his or her 2016 holiday card. And Kimmel is offering himself up, too: He is willing to give someone’s kid “the talk.” “There’s no age limit - if you have a 45-year-old kid, I’ll explain it to him, too, as long as the parents are OK with it. I’m happy to do the job,” said Kimmel, who appears in a promo video for the campaign with Scarlett Johansson and Barry Manilow. Other “experiences” that can be earned after donating on Omaze. com/RED include a contour makeover with Kim Kardashian; a portrait painting by James Franco; or attending a University of Texas at Austin football game with alum Matthew McConaughey. Entries close on January 21, 2016. “Even though red is the color

of emergency, there’s a sort of optimism about the whole campaign and a kind of deﬁant humor. We have always had that, but the (SHOPATHON) will really take it to another new level,” Bono said. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match every dollar raised up to $20 million. R&B singer The Weeknd is offering fans a chance to hang backstage at a concert; there is a one-day

Russia HIV infection bucks trends was this sense that the epidemic doesn’t affect me. It doesn’t affect the average Russian. It only affects marginalized groups like injecting drug users and therefore is not something that is relevant or of concern for Russian society, or the average Russian person,” Vinay Saldanha, the director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, told the AP. Saldanha, however, is hopeful that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s recent remarks on the scale of the HIV epidemic in Russia could signal a change in the way the illness is perceived at the upper levels of the Russian government.

NEW YORK (AP) - Taraji P. Henson and Alicia Keys are joining forces to ﬁght HIV and AIDS. Henson, Janelle Monae and Laila Ali are signing on as ambassadors for the newly formed power council on Keys’ charity, Keep a Child Alive. The announcement was made Tuesday to coincide with World AIDS Day. Henson, Monae and Ali will offer support to Keep a Child Alive, which Keys launched in 2003 to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. Keys held her annual Black Ball charity event in New York City last month, raising $3.8 million.

sexual education,” he said. Sexual education programs in schools, also widely believed to slow the spread of HIV, have also been shot down by conservative government ofﬁcials who say they promote sexual activity among children. “I am often asked: When will you have sex education? I say never,” Pavel Astakhov, the president’s children’s rights commissioner, said at a press conference last year. Astakhov has also famously remarked that the best sex education is Russian literature. “For the last 20 years of the HIV epidemic that I’ve been involved in the Russian Federation, there

Taraji P. Henson lends hand to Keys’ HIV & AIDS charity

December 03, 2015

government funding will have much positive effect. “Look at what they are currently doing with their budget. Will we get more signs on the metro telling us HIV doesn’t occur in monogamous relationships?” Malyshev said, referring to a current public information campaign on the Moscow subway. The signs read: “Love and loyalty to your partner is your protection from AIDS” and “HIV isn’t transferred through friendship.” Bishop Methodius runs purity education programs at Russian Orthodox Churches, advocating a wholesome life to protect against HIV infection. “For us, the lessons of chastity are more important than

“wellness break” with Snoop Dogg in Colorado; and Ryan Seacrest will let someone announce the No. 1 song on his radio show. “When you see how much work Bono does personally to ﬁght AIDS, it’s almost embarrassing, it’s the least we can do or anyone can do to help,” Kimmel said. “Also, it’s Christmas season, you have to ﬁgure out what to buy. It’s almost like my Oprah’s favorite things list,” he added. Bono won’t appear on the special episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” which airs on ABC and tapes in Hollywood. Instead, he will be in New York celebrating the 10-year anniversary of (RED) at Carnegie Hall with Vice President Joe Biden, the Edge, Stephen Colbert, Miley Cyrus, Trevor Noah and others. “It’s a big day, World AID Days. It’s crucial this year. This is the most crucial year,” Bono said. “We can feel people going, ‘Oh yeah, that AIDS thing is done now,’ and we’re like, ‘No! It’s not!”

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NEW YORK (AP) - Would you like to spend quality time with George Clooney as he showers you with compliments? How about walk a red carpet with Meryl Streep or visit the set of “Game of Thrones”? They are all possible: Bono is a launching an all-star campaign featuring “once-in-a-lifetime experiences” that can be won after donating at least $10 to his organization (RED), which raises funds to ﬁght AIDS. The campaign kicked off Tuesday to coincide with World AIDS Day, which is Dec. 1. And Bono isn’t just the face for the movement: The U2 frontman will go on a bike ride with one donor - a year after he was seriously injured in a bike accident in New York’s Central Park that forced him into surgery. “I’m not sure that was as funny to my band as it was to me,” Bono said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But I think we’re going to have fun and yeah, we’ll go visit the scene of the crime.” Jimmy Kimmel is dedicating his Tuesday late-night show to the

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Bono, Clooney, Kardashian part of all-star campaign for AIDS

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WORLD AIDS DAY NEWSWATCH

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Publisher Maura “Mumball” Lane

2000 Oakland Park Blvd. Suite 106 | Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306 Phone: 954-380-8563 | www.ﬂoridaagenda.com

AS I SEE IT

REMEMBERING BARRY GOLDWATER

have to admit that I don’t remember a lot about the Presidential election of 1964. That was the one where Barry Goldwater ran against incumbent Lyndon Johnson. and since I wasn’t old enough to vote, what I know about Barry Goldwater comes from my civics classes.

December 03, 2015

Art Director Kevin Broady

Editor-In-Chief Richard Hack richardhack@mmplgbt.com

That being said, a quick look on-line reminds us that Barry lost the election to Lyndon B. Johnson who was re-elected with the largest popular vote margin in U.S. history. LBJ received 61 percent of the vote, and carried 44 out of 50 states to earn 486 electoral votes, which had the double whammy effect of giving By the Democrats the biggest Richard majority they Hack had ever held since 1936. This bit of information is currently relevant because the Republican party is once again setting itself up for a momentous meltdown, a fact being made clear to even the most conservative rightwinger. The Republican brand is broken, shred apart by a machine that’s being maintained by a bunch of older white politicians who rely on a group of religious rights fanatics for its pomp, and a group

of anti-tax business thugs for its circumstance. The Republican party has now been absent of its Lincoln luster for so long that no amount of logic can explain its downfall. The operative word these days is panic, and the closer we move into 2016 and the actual presidential election, the more obvious this will become. Doubt my word? Then let’s review the facts. There was word coming from the Washington Post last week that a group of old school Republicans were attempting to draft Mitt Romney to announce his candidacy. (Update: Mitt said “no.”) Yes, that would be the same Mitt Romney who lost the 2012 Presidential election despite having won the popular vote of 60% of white voters. That election, like the one ahead, did not take its cue from the establishment. The seats at the head of the table are now occupied by Hispanics, Asians, blacks, and, yes, gays. And if that list looks familiar that is because these are exactly the folks that favored Republican candidate Donald Trump loves to mock—along with the disabled,

women, journalists, Iowans, Muslims, and Seventh-Day-Adventists. Mercilessly. And right behind The Donald is Ben Carson. Now, they tell me that Dr. Carson knows how to separate twin babies conjoined at the head. Presuming that we accept that as fact, it doesn’t put the Republicans any further up in the win column. Unfortunately for Dr. Carson, politics isn’t brain surgery; and unfortunately for The Donald, politics isn’t bombastic rhetoric either. All of which leaves the Republicans without a winning candidate. And even the privileged white men who run the party are beginning to realize that even the most sophisticated GPS can’t get them back on track. The old Republican guard is clean-cut, inside the beltway, well-educated and privileged party elites—and have been for as long as anyone living can remember. Screw the minorities, women of all colors, and non-establishment conservatives. You don’t count except for the occasional snide remark. It can therefore have come as no real surprise to anyone on the inside looking out that Donald

Trump and Ben Carson are the Teﬂon leaders of a rudderless campaign. Throw in Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina—plus a host of junior varsity politicians that can’t even make the cut to the “real” debates let alone win an election for president—and we’re left with confused voters and a party in chaos. Political fundraiser Austin Barbour, recently hired by Jeb Bush, let it be known to the Post that, “If we’re not careful and we nominate Trump, we’re looking at a race like Barry Goldwater in 1964 or George McGovern in 1972, getting beat up across the board because of our nominee.” Across the board could mean not just the presidency, but the Senate, where the seats up for grabs give a nod toward Democrats in 2016. All of which brings us back to Goldwater and 1964. The elitists weren’t listening then either.

Richard Hack is the award-winning author of 26 books, and the Vice President of Content for Multimedia Platforms’ publications.

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If we’re not careful and we nominate Trump, we’re looking at a race like Barry Goldwater in 1964

Father Bob of All Saints Catholic Mission has been a Catholic priest since 1986. In 1990, he began a program to feed the poor. In recent months, Father Bob and his Mission have had to overcome legal battles with the City of Oakland Park to continue helping the needy. We had the opportunity to touch base with Father Bob and find out what is happening.

KACALA: Tell our readers a little bit about how you started feeding the poor. FATHER BOB: I have been here since 1990. I began getting involved in the city of Oakland Park and had friends there at that time. I was inducted as a Chaplain of the police force and stayed with them for four years until they were included in BSO. I rode bike patrol for one complete shift a week and learned a lot from my friends at the police. That was important work with them and in the community. The church was growing. We had two masses in English and Span-

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Father Bob speaks out

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AN INTERVIEW BY ALEXANDER KACALA

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THE AGENDA INTERVIEW

ish. We enlisted volunteers early on for working with the poor starting with sandwiches and chips and then we progressed to half star restaurant status (laughs) with meals prepared by the church people. They collected food clothes and yard sale items. People wanted to get involved. They stepped up readily and willing. There was no paid staff. We allowed people to sleep in our church. I had several people living there including Michael Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neil who now has his own apartment. He lived there and then to pay us back cleaned the church on Sunday mornings and helped me with delivering food. Continued on page 16

PAUL BERGE

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THE AGENDA INTERVIEW Continued from page 15

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I thought someone being involved in my “town” would help our people who have no voice. KACALA: What are some obstacles you have faced helping the poor? FATHER BOB: A young family lived with me in about 2003. They stayed in my home and ate at the soup kitchen. I didn’t know the father had a drug problem. He sold things in my home for his addiction. I eventually sent the young mother and baby to live with her family in the north. I guess you win some and lose some, but I would take a chance again. KACALA: Recently, the city has been trying to shut down your efforts to feed the needy. Tell us about that.

December 03, 2015

FATHER BOB: Last year, they put down a new zoning order in our area so we moved the soup kitchen to our church. The city gave us a cease and desist order after we moved. They said that we were still breaking the zoning rules they put in place to push us out. We appeared in front of a magistrate. I went to the meeting with two lawyers but they dismissed the charges because the magistrate couldn’t rule on this. He kicked it back and on January 19th we will return to the court to ﬁght this. The city can’t tell us what we can and what cannot do with our religious building. KACALA: Why is the mission’s relationship with the city so strained? FATHER BOB: I was never one to complain or sit and cry. Our city of Oakland Park has always been against people helping others in their town. The city began their in-

terests in getting rid of the homeless in early 1995. The old administration had me as part of their chaplain program in the Oakland Park Police. They called me to pray at their city meetings and had me publically show up for meetings. It seems a bit like all they wanted was having a token priest at their side when they needed. One person, whom I knew for many years, came to my house to eat, shared ideas of helping the poor and was a mayor for many years - ended up campaigning literally against us helping the poor. She used the phrase “feeding program” because she said “soup kitchen is not what we do.” Those words were offensive to their sensitive politically correct ears. I stayed my course. We kept feeding. I thought someone being involved in my “town” would help our people who have no voice. You know what ... it didn’t matter. They have in their minds the homeless just need to move on. KACALA: How can our readers help? FATHER BOB: Of course, money. People can help with donations, prayers and come out to the events for vigils and protests. December 2nd we are having a protest at City Hall (3650 NE 12th Ave.) at 6:00pm. People can also add us on Facebook where we post updates and information. I am trying to learn more about social media to get our message out.

Follow Father Bob and the soup kitchen on Facebook at facebook. com/soup.kitchen.16.

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Join Us Every Friday Night

Campus of the Pride Center

At our New Home on the

Shabbat Services 8pm

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Congregation Etz Chaim 2038 N. Dixie Hwy Wilton Manors, FL 33305 www.EtzChaimFlorida.org 954-564-9232

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December 03, 2015

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CAPITOL BEAT

December 03, 2015

Bringing back community to LGBT retirement living Dr. Imani Woody remembers a man she heard about. A man who died alone, anonymously, in his room at a retirement home.

“He was in a nice retirement community,” Woody said with emphasis. “He had stopped playing bingo. He had stopped playing golf. He had stopped doing those things, probably slowly. And they found him ﬁve... days...later.” She pauses. “And then I found out he was a gay man.” That story, in part, was Woody’s inspiration to create something different for LGBT elders when they can no longer live at home. BY Only in part, LINDA because, as Woody pointed PENTZ out, “he didn’t have to be a gay man because that kind of isolation happens to us all.” It can be worse, however, in the gay community because, particularly in the current generation of LGBT elders, many never had children. They are once more alone. “A lot of people go back in the closet,” Woody said. Woody’s father also went to a “nice” retirement home. “He went in continent and he came out incontinent,” she said. “They treated him like he was a number, he was room 223. I began to wonder, being a lesbian, what would have happened if he had been a lesbian or if he had been a gay man or if he had been transgender? You couldn’t even imagine what would have happened.” And so, when Woody’s father died, she realized she had two assets: the house he had left her and the motivation to change senior living for the LGBT community. Thus Mary’s House was born, named after Woody’s mother. The house itself, located in Southeast Washington, DC, turned out not to be structurally safe so it has since been demolished. But the site remains the ﬁnal destination for Woody’s dream; a communal residential living space for senior citizens and in particular, but not

necessarily exclusively, LGBT seniors. “But it will be LGBT-friendly focused,” Woody emphasized. “LGBT needs to be at the forefront. That makes it different to everything else that is out there.” Mary’s House, says Woody, will be “a place where you can bring your whole self. You can bring your white self, your black self, tall self, fat self and your LGBT self. You don’t leave it outside the door.” Hiding that self, said Woody, which LGBT seniors may have to do in a traditional retirement facility, means “you kind of lessen yourself as a person. I’m not doing that.” The process of getting a facility designed, permitted and approved has been daunting. Woody is three years into the project and still wrestling with the rules that govern Washington, DC planning. Sometimes, Woody says, the frustration gets to her. “We have land. I’m giving it! Why can’t we do this?” she asks rhetorically. “There is the zoning commission. The tax commission. It is freaking hard! And we have a housing crisis. We’re trying to build a house. Here’s a house! We have a house. Sometimes,” she smiles, alluding to the movie The Matrix, “I think I should have taken the blue pill.” At a recent fundraising event, architectural drawings of Mary’s House were unveiled to show how the property would look and function. It will be a rental residence, with 15 units consisting of private rooms with bathrooms and a communal kitchen, living area and library. Planning includes the acknowledgment that communal living can be fraught with the inevitable complications of 15 unique individuals trying to live together. It’s a problem faced in any cohabitational relationship, but potentially harder with seniors more set in their ways. Applicants will be screened and interviewed. Three people have already applied. Mary’s House hopes to have up to 60 applicants by year’s end. “It’s not easy,” said Ken South who has experience establishing

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Mary’s House in Washington DC for the older LGBT community

culture,” she said. “We are already used to it.” The Mary’s House board is working hard on a number of fronts to get the facility built and opened before the end of 2016. It will be the ﬁrst community of its kind in the Washington, DC area but Woody’s vision includes a proliferation of such housing opportunities around the region. There are similar such concepts in areas of high LGBT populations including San Francisco and Florida. But it remains, Woody says, a crying and largely unmet need. “As we get older, I feel I’m becoming more invisible.” she said. “I have to stand straighter as a woman. I have to talk louder. Agism is oppressive.” As the questions began to die down and the hors d’oeuvres to dwindle, a man raised his hand with the most important question of the afternoon, about the Mary’s House location. “Can you walk to The Eagle?” he asked with a broad grin, referring to Washington DC’s historic gay leather bar on nearby Benning Road, NE. The room erupted into laughter. It was a bit of a hike, Woody said, but yes you could get there. Past 60 we may longer be able to ﬂy like an eagle, but at least we can still walk there.

Linda Pentz is the Washington correspondent of the Florida Agenda. She can be contacted at lindapentz@mmplgbt.com. Follow her on Twitter @CapitolAgenda

December 03, 2015

similar facilities in Connecticut and Florida and who is helping develop Mary’s House. “It’s a lot easier to have compliant people locked in their rooms. But it’s a higher vision to have people in a community.” Part of the impetus for Woody was to restore a sense of community that she enjoyed as a child, where aunts down the street called your parents if you weren’t back on the porch by dusk. Much of that has become lost, she observed, as we tend to live in greater isolation. “Society as it is set up today is to go in your condo or your apartment and lock the door,” Woody said. “We have developed a communal living curriculum so people will learn how to live with each other.” This will include quarterly “family meetings” with a social worker guiding the conversation, to help maintain the equilibrium and sort out potential conﬂicts. Restoring that sense of community can be especially important for LGBT seniors who may have felt rejection by their own families, as Woody did, because of their sexuality. “I have a biological family and I have a logical family,” Woody told the guests at the fundraiser. “My logical family includes Chico,” she said, embracing one of her hosts. “I chose Chico. I have biological family that has not chosen me. So Chico’s part of that communal living that I experience.” The Mary’s House concept, one audience member pointed out, is an easier ﬁt for LGBT seniors because “communal living is part of our

Photo: facebook

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CREEP OF THE WEEK

bPeter Sprigg By D’Anne Witowski

December 03, 2015

o ho ho or whatever greeting you choose this season, but the holidays are upon us. For the majority of Americans that means spending a shit load of money on stuff nobody needs or wants. Still, shopping is a patriotic duty in this country so let the games begin! Of course, for LGBT shoppers and the people who love them, it’d be nice to have a list of corporations who are naughty and nice when it comes to equality. Thankfully, that exists. The Human Rights Campaign recently released their Corporate Equality Index (www.hrc. org/cei) and hundreds of companies you know and love earned a 100 percent equality rating. So if you drive your Ford over to Barnes and Noble for a book, hit Macy’s for a holiday sweater, stock up on staplers at Office Depot, get condoms at Walgreens and grab some Starbucks on the way home, you’d be having a pretty gay-friendly shopping day! Or you could go to Bed, Bath and Beyond for a salad spinner, stock up on balls at Dick’s Sporting Goods, get lumber at Lowe’s, hit Big Lots for some slippers, get cheap holiday decorations at Dollar Tree and smoke a Marlboro on your way home, and your spending spree is not very LGBT merry. (Also, you should quit smoking.) Now, a low score on HRC’s CEI doesn’t necessarily mean a company is anti-LGBT. But the higher a company’s score, the better that company is to its LGBT employees. And considering that in many states across the country you can get fired just for being LGBT, working for a company that values equality goes a long way. Of course, some folks think the CEI is a bunch of baloney. Like Peter Sprigg of the virulently anti-LGBT Family Research Council.

“I’m not sure that all of these policies have been adopted because these companies think that it helps to operate their businesses better,” he told the American Family News Network. “I think it’s more of a matter of bowing to political correctness and, in some cases, actually wanting to avoid the threat of being accused of bigotry. So, I question the sincerity of some of these policies.” In other words, companies are just pretending to be LGBT friendly because they don’t want to look like meanies. It has nothing to do with the bottom line. “If they want to hire homosexuals and transgender employees, that is certainly their business,” Sprigg adds. Aww, how generous. He’s implying that he wouldn’t hire such people, but acknowledging that he’s not the boss of the world, which is probably very difficult for him. “But when you get to the point of trying to impose that sort of policy on others, on the country through our legal system, or even on suppliers and contractors and so forth, then I think it’s gone too far,” continues Sprigg. “I think we should stick with the free market and let the free market operate.” Yes, heaven forbid that the disease of equality spread throughout the land. Keep it in the board room, boys! Seriously, though. I am not a business major, but I have sold a couple of things on eBay (which has a CEI score of 100, by the way), but know that corporations don’t do things that don’t make them money. It’s all about the bottom line. If shareholders ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. So if more and more companies are scoring 100 on HRC’s equality index, it’s because equality is good for business. Not because HRC is strong arming Fortune 500 companies to make nice with the gays. So Sprigg can hope this is some kind of fad, but the smart money is on equality.

Peter Sprigg

“

photo: frc.org

If they want to hire homosexuals and transgender employees, that is certainly their business,” ...declares Spriggs

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December 03, 2015

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INTERNATIONAL

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Vietnam passes transgender law

HANOI, VT (AP) - Gay and transgender activists in Vietnam say a new law recognizing their rights will pave the way for gender reassignment surgery in the communist country and reduce discrimination. Vietnam’s National Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the law, which will take effect in 2017 as part of the revised civil code. According to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the law was passed to “meet the demands of a part of the society in accordance with international practice and not counter to the national tradition.” Those who have undergone transgender reassignment will be allowed to register under their new gender with their personal rights protected accordingly, the Thanh Nien

newspaper quoted the committee as saying. Huynh Minh Thao of ICS, an LGBT group, said the law will make it legal for hospitals to perform gender reassignment surgeries. So far, Vietnamese had to travel to neighboring Thailand for such procedures. “This is a good opportunity for the Vietnamese health services to perform transgender surgeries, which are illegal now,” Thao said. Last year, the National Assembly passed a revised law on marriage and family, which lifted the ban on same-sex marriages. However, the government still doesn’t recognize them. There are estimated 270,000 to 450,000 transgender people in Vietnam, which has a population of 90 million people.

Pope: There are bigger issues than condoms and HIV

African Republic. Africa in general in particular have been hard-hit by the AIDS epidemic, and the Catholic Church has faced criticism that its position has contributed to the problem. Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, earned the wrath of health care professionals, gay rights activists and the U.N. by saying on a visit to Africa that condoms weren’t the answer to ﬁghting HIV and can actually make it worse.

December 03, 2015

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) Pope Francis has dismissed a question about whether condoms can be condoned in the ﬁght against AIDS by saying there are more important issues confronting the world, like malnutrition, environmental exploitation and the lack of safe drinking water. Francis was asked about the church’s opposition to condoms while returning Monday to Rome from Kenya, Uganda and the Central

JERUSALEM (AP) - The body of an Israeli transgender woman who committed suicide will be cremated despite her ultra-Orthodox family’s wishes, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in documents obtained Wednesday. Before she killed herself earlier this month, May Peleg wrote in her will that she wanted to be cremated, a practice that Jewish law forbids. Her religious family took the request to court, which sided with Peleg’s representatives. The court balanced Peleg’s wishes against her family’s desire for a Jewish burial, pitting religious law against individual rights and highlighting the contrasts between the country’s Jewish character and its often liberal orientation. Rabbinical authorities oversee the country’s Jewish burial practices, though a single crematorium is allowed to operate quietly. Peleg, 31, was raised in the deeply conservative ultra-Orthodox community, which shuns gay and transgender people, and was estranged from her family. She was a prominent LGBT activist in Israel and her suicide elicited an outpouring of grief. Peleg said she did not want a Jewish burial because the religion would not recognize her as a woman. “This constitutes a lack of respect and an erasure of my identity,” according to a statement released by her supporters. Her will stipulated that she wanted some of her ashes to be buried under a tree, where her two children could come to mourn. Lawyers representing Peleg’s mother, who brought the appeal to the Supreme Court, argued that Peleg was mentally unstable. Lawyer Yitzhak Dahan said the family wanted a Jewish burial so that they could have a grave to visit. The court sided with Peleg’s lawyers, who had argued that her individual rights outweighed her family’s desire. “May’s will and wishes prevailed. Human dignity prevailed. The LGBT community prevailed,” a campaign for Peleg wrote on its Facebook page following Tuesday’s decision.

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Israel court allows transgender woman’s cremation

December 03, 2015

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NATIONAL NEWS

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ALBANY, NY (AP) - New York will dedicate $200 million more to its effort to end the AIDS epidemic by 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. The new funding will expand housing assistance statewide for people with HIV and enhance services at “one-stop” STD clinics in New York City. It will also expand the use of a medication that can protect uninfected people at risk of infection and increase funding for medical care for those living with the disease. The new money is on top of $2.5 billion New York is already spending to encourage testing and prevention, and support those living with the disease. “New York was once the epicenter of the AIDS crisis, but now we are showing the nation how to fight back and make this epidemic a thing of

Arizona gay marriage is legal but not on tribal lands

Gov. Andrew Cuomo

AIDS Activist successfully crosses Atlantic in solo journey Mooney arrived at the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten in June 2014 and began making his way up the East Coast. He lost 80 pounds and encountered numerous setbacks during the journey. Mooney was robbed of his passport and food on an island off Haiti in November 2014; his passport was later recovered. This past August, the Coast Guard rescued him off North Carolina after his boat hit a submerged cypress stump and began taking on water. The boat was repaired, and he continued on his way. “I’m just grateful that I’ve been able to continue and to never give up,” Mooney said. “It’s just to encourage folks to get tested for HIV in memory of my brother.”

ACLU-TN says yes to student’s free speech NASHVILLE, TN (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee has filed a lawsuit to protect students’ right to free speech after a senior was censored for wearing a shirt to school supporting equality for lesbian and gay people. The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Richland High student who was censored by the Giles County school system, about 86 miles south of Nashville. The shirt read: “Some People Are Gay, Get Over It.” According to the lawsuit, the school’s principal prohibited the student from wearing that shirt or any other shirt referencing lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender rights because it might provoke other students. Following the incident, ACLU-TN sent a letter to the school system explaining that schools can only censor student speech when the speech itself - and not other people’s reaction to it - is disruptive to the educational process.

NEW YORK, NY (AP) - A man who rowed across the Atlantic Ocean for AIDS awareness has arrived home in Brooklyn, ending a 21-month journey. Victor Mooney arrived at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Friday and plans a ceremony at the Brooklyn Bridge on Monday, he said on Saturday. “I’m happy to be in Brooklyn,” Mooney said. “I still haven’t absorbed it.” The 49-year-old rows in memory of his brother who died of AIDS in 1983. He says his goal is to spur people to get tested for HIV. After failing on three previous attempts to row solo across the Atlantic, Mooney set off from the Canary Islands off the coast of African on Feb. 19, 2014.

Photo: govenor.ny.gov

December 03, 2015

FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AP) - Cleo Pablo married her longtime partner when gay weddings became legal in Arizona and looked forward to the day when her wife and their children could move into her home in the small Native American community outside Phoenix where she grew up. The Ak-Chin Indian Community doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages and has a law that prohibits unmarried couples from living together. So Pablo is suing the tribe in tribal court to have her marriage validated. Pablo’s situation reflects an overlooked story line following the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision this year that legalized gay marriages: American Indian reservations are not bound by the decision and many continue to forbid gay marriages and deny insurance and other benefits. Pablo’s tribe said marriage laws are a matter for the tribe to decide.

the past,” Cuomo said in a statement detailing the new funding. “We are making rapid progress toward a future where more people know their status, medication is easily accessible, and new cases are more and more rare.” The state hopes to decrease the number of new cases to below 750 by 2020. It is already reporting significant milestones: no new cases of motherto-child transmission were reported in the past year - the first time that’s happened since the epidemic began. State figures indicate more than 200,000 New Yorkers have been diagnosed with AIDS since the disease was first identified. More than 112,000 people in New York are living with the disease today. Cuomo plans to outline the state’s progress, and its next steps, in a speech Tuesday at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.

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New York state adding $200M more to $2.5B fight against AIDS

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PHOTOS ALEXANDER KACALA

BOBBY BLAIR’S HIDING INSIDE THE BASELINE SCREENING AT THE VENUE Tennis legend Nick Bollettieri, NLB Ambassador of Inclusion Billy Bean, and friends, family and associates of MMP founder Bobby Blair screened his autobiographical television documentary Hiding Inside the Baseline at a dinner and awards ceremony at the Venue. Blair said “Making a difference is where we go from here. Encouraging our youth to live their truth.” He thanks the entire staff at The Manor, with a special nod to Brett and Robbie Tannenbaum, plus his family at MMP. COO Peter Jackson said “The documentary will help everyone to see what I know first-hand: Bobby Blair is a winner in life because he has the heart of a champion.”

December 03, 2015

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NATIONAL NEWS

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Supreme Court’s Election-Year Lineup ing election. “I think Roberts recognized this was going to be an issue in front of the voters,” Ruger said. The electorate ultimately would decide the health care law’s fate, he said. Court decisions close to an election, especially when they produce big changes in the law, also can increase attention paid to those issues. This is part of what Texas A&M University political scientist Joseph Ura called the court’s agenda-setting effect. Ura pointed to Brown v. Board of Education’s outlawing of racial segregation in public schools and Lawrence v. Texas’ ban on state anti-sodomy laws as examples of past decisions that altered “the existing arrangement of material or symbolic benefits in our political system.” Researchers found that those decisions “led to a large, sustained increase in the media’s attention” to those issues, Ura said. Last term’s big rulings on health care and same-sex marriage already have prompted criticism of the court, and of Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy in particular, from several Republican presidential candidates. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, for example, has said that putting Roberts on the court was a mistake, even though Cruz endorsed his nomination in 2005. The court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United that led to a flood

of what critics call “dark money” in political campaigns remains controversial, and Democratic candidates have pledged to try to undo it. The Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that established a woman’s right to an abortion produced a backlash that eventually showed up in election returns, said Sara Benesh, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “A lot of scholars say (President Ronald) Reagan got elected because of Roe v. Wade. Pro-life forces really got him moving in his campaign,” Benesh said. But there is little evidence that the court itself will become an issue in the campaign, except perhaps on the margins, she said. The court and the justices are little known to the public. “It seems to me a long, drawn-out relationship between any decision the court might make and any decision an individual might make in the voting booth,” Benesh said. Every four years, interest groups across the political spectrum try to make that connection for voters. Elections matter, they say, because the winner may get to choose justices who will serve for the next quarter century or longer. Indeed, with four justices in their late 70s or early 80s, and the court so closely and fiercely divided, any appointment could dramatically change the court’s direction.

Texas has been underway for two and a half years. President Barack Obama’s plan to shield from deportation millions of immigrants who are living in the country illegally was rolled out a year ago and almost immediately challenged in court. Faith-based groups that say they are forced to be complicit in providing objectionable birth control to women covered under their health plans have been challenging the Obama administration for more than three years. It is still is possible the immigration dispute will not be heard until next fall, if at all. Now that the cases are at the marble courthouse atop Capitol Hill, the justices’ decisions could feed campaign rhetoric that already has been heated on abortion and immigration, to name just two issues. In June 2012, Chief Justice John Roberts provided the decisive vote that saved Obama’s health care overhaul in the midst of the president’s campaign for re-election. A short time later, Republican candidate Mitt Romney proclaimed that as president he would do what the high court failed to do that June - get rid of the health care law. Obama won re-election, and the law survived. Ruger said the chief justice wrote a nuanced opinion that appeared to show some sensitivity to the loom-

December 03, 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court’s lineup of new cases is fit for an election year. Affirmative action, abortion and another look at the Obama health care law all are before the court, and they could well be joined by immigration, giving the justices a run of cases that reads like a campaign platform. Also coming; disputes involving public-sector labor unions, the death penalty and the way electoral districts are drawn. Decisions in these high-profile cases almost certainly will split the court along ideological lines, mirroring the country’s stark partisan split. What’s more, the most contentious issues won’t be resolved until late June, barely four months before the 2016 presidential election. What started as a somewhat sleepy term - especially following major decisions last June on health care and same-sex marriage - has become much more interesting, says University of Pennsylvania law dean Theodore Ruger. “This is a court that remains very assertive in its role in declaring what the law is,” Ruger said. The accumulation of wrenching social issues and pointed policy disputes at the Supreme Court at this moment is mostly a matter of chance. A legal fight over the regulation of abortion clinics in

December 03, 2015

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FORT LAUDERDALE—Ray Fetcho, who performed as the iconic drag queen Tiny Tina for decades, died on Saturday, November 28, 2015, at the age of 67. While the ofﬁcial cause of death was cancer, Fetcho had been ﬁghting a longtime battle with diabetes as well. In June, 2010, Fetcho lost his left leg which had to be amputated after a small infection turned gangrenous. At the time, his former partner Rob Trout, coordinated a series of fundraising events to help pay for Fetcho’s healthcare. Ironically, Fetcho had just gotten a new job working in a senior activity center in Coconut Creek when his health crisis began. That opportunity came after a legal battle which attracted statewide attention. Fetcho had previously lost his job as a licensed practical nurse after a decades-old arrest was revealed in the course of a routine background check. The arrest occurred on March 31, 1976, during a raid at The Copa, the legendary dance club that operated for decades on South Federal Highway. Tiny Tina was hosting a “Wet Jockey Shorts Contest” and was taken into custody for promoting ‘lewd and lascivious’ behavior by throwing water on boys wearing briefs. Attorneys Russell Cormican and

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largest publicly-accessible LGBT WILTON MANORS, FL— archives; the Stonewall Library is Tampa Bay activist Chris Rudisill the nation’s largest LGBT lending has been hired as the new executive library. Thousands of community director of the Stonewall National members and tourists annually expeMuseum & Archives (SNMA), rience both rotating and permanent beginning on December 7, 2015. Rudisill was selected after a national exhibits at the Stonewall Gallery in Wilton Manors, FL. search was conducted by SNMA. “Chris is a perfect ﬁt Rudisill has for Stonewall, which is been director of the gaining greater promiLGBT Community nence as the leading Center Services of national institution deMetro Wellness and voted to preserving and Community Censharing LGBT history,” ters of Tampa Bay said Stonewall Board since 2012. In his Chair Gary Bitner. “He previous role as exhas the vision and the ecutive director of skillset to help StoneSt. Petersburg Pride wall become a truly from 2010-2012, he national organization.” was credited with “I look forward to raising the visibiliPhoto: miamiherald.com serving the greater LGty, participation and BTQ community through the work funding of the festival by 31%. of Stonewall National Museum & In his new role at Stonewall, Archives, preserving our history and Rudisill will oversee all aspects of giving a voice to our movement,” its management, fundraising and says Rudisill. “While I will greatly programming, including the Stonemiss the Tampa Bay community, I wall National Education Project, look forward to serving the greater which annually attracts hundreds of LGBTQ community through the educators and administrators to a conference that works to create safer work of Stonewall National Museum and Archives, preserving our and more productive learning environments for all students. The Stone- history and giving a voice to our wall Archives is one of the country’s movement,” he adds.

Passage: Tiny Tina succumbs to cancer

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Chris Rudisill new executive director of Stonewall National Museum & Archives

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SUNSHINE STATE

Photo: facebook.com

SFGN publisher Norm Kent successfully sued the state and the Agency for Health Care Administration to get Fetcho’s license restored. Writing on Facebook, friend and fan Joel S. Slotnick, said: “Condolences, thoughts, prayers and much love to Rob, his family countless loved one and friends, especially to William ‘Cathy Craig’ Lewis who has been one of his dearest longtime friends and partners in crime on stage. Tina, say hi to Dana and Ginger for me. Get a show ready for we will see you again.” A memorial all-star tribute will take place on Monday, December 7, at 7 pm, at Boardwalk, 1721 North Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, with guest performances, complimentary drinks and buffet.

Discussion panel set for Angry Fags News and co-host on Local 10’s public affairs broadcast This Week in South Florida; and Sgt. Frank Pilewski, named Ofﬁcer of the Year by the Wilton Manors Police Department, and an authority on assault and violent crime. Attendance at the discussion is free, following the Dec. 13 performance at Island City Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Hwy., Wilton Manors, FL 33305. Tickets for the play may be purchased at IslandCityStage.org or by calling 954-519-2533.

Thelma and Louise wreaking havoc with unintended consequences. A panel of speakers will segue into an audience discussion on the themes and issues contained in the South Florida debut of the play. The panel members include Dr. Gary M. Forrest, a psychologist with multiple licenses and certiﬁcations in anger resolution therapy, substance abuse, couples counseling, and marriage and family therapy; Glenna Milberg, reporter for Local 10

December 03, 2015

Photo: islandcitystage.org

Island City Stage is hosting a panel discussion following the Dec. 13 performance of Atlanta playwright Topher Payne’s provocatively titled comedy Angry Fags. The play follows Bennet, a speechwriter for Georgia’s only gay congresswoman, and his roommate Cooper, as their fear and frustration turns to rage after the killing of Bennet’s ex. They come to the conclusion that “acceptance” as second class citizens isn’t enough and they quickly morph into a gay

December 03, 2015

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THE AGENDA BUSINESS NETWORK GATHERING AT THE GRAND SPA & RESORT

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December 03, 2015 31

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What Utah Taught You

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PUZZLE

December 03, 2015

Across

1 Openly lesbian Jackie Biskupski was just elected mayor here (with 39- and 42-Across) 5 Takes off 10 Balls of queens 14 “Would ___ to you?” 15 Head dog 16 Publisher of same-sex couples’ legal guide 17 Sin City star Jessica 18 Sashay 19 Member 20 Start of what Utah taught about a lesbian couple? 23 Contemporary of Schubert 24 ___ B’rith 25 Caesar’s way 28 Really go after 32 Deck foursome 36 It grows on you 38 Diana’s accessory 39 See 1-Across 40 Org. for ending AIDS 42 See 1-Across 43 Tatum of The Bad News Bears 46 Greek love 47 Ted Casablanca item 49 Balkan dweller 51 Vibrator in a mouthpiece 53 Last stop before home 57 More of what Utah taught 63 Off-Broadway prize 64 Like someone blown away 65 Take a risk 66 City of Baudelaire’s land 67 “Our” for Ulrichs 68 La Douce role of Shirley 69 “___ me!” (computer nerd’s taunt?) 70 Wife and wife, for example 71 End of what Utah taught

Down

1 The King and I setting 2 Islam’s deity 3 Martina’s sign 4 Wet-eyed 5 TV wife of two gay Dicks 6 Sink problem 7 Recess at St. Peter’s 8 Dawson’s Creek network 9 “We are everywhere,” e.g. 10 Precariously situated, especially for Doug Mattis 11 Cheer for the Chicago Sky, e.g. 12 Pleasure orally 13 Like autoeroticism 21 The Last King of Scotland character 22 Having no play 26 A pop 27 Removing the foreskin and more 29 Like my lady, on Broadway 30 “... ___ take arms against ...” (Hamlet) 31 Catch them at P-town 32 Loads 33 Permission request 34 Barely made, with “out” 35 South Beach cooler 37 Trojan Horse, e.g. 41 Wife and wife, e.g. 44 Property right 48 The monotony of monogamy, e.g.? 50 All-natural food no-no 52 Journalist Minkowitz 54 Urvashi Vaid’s birthplace 55 Update the arsenal 56 Skin layer 57 Where orientation is determined, some say 58 Heed a master 59 Fly catchert 60 Witch’s area in The Wizard of Oz 61 Popeye’s ___’ Pea 62 Giant James For the solution to this puzzle, go to www.floridaagenda.com/puzzle

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December 03, 2015

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5 1 20 o We’ve scoured the Internet to help you

select that one perfect present that says just how much you really care. With price ranges to ﬁt any budget, leave it to the Florida Agenda to uncover the ultimate in holiday memories.

December 03, 2015

Samsung Gear VR Virtual reality has never looked so kool, or felt so real. Explore the likes of Jurassic World and EVE’s Gun Jack as if they were actually there —which you are when you slip on this headset that’s Netﬂix and Hulu enabled. The affordable, high-quality Gear VR headset is the only accessory you’ll need for your Galaxy smartphone to instantly access immersive gaming, movies, series, and apps. $100.00 (Samsung.com)

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A Barbershop Shave—without the Barbershop

Corksicle Whiskey Wedge For the man who has everything, this whiskey glass has its own built-in silicone ice wedge to keep your liquor chilled without watering it down. Manhattans never looked so chic. $25.00 (amazon.com)

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Toffee Tan Leather Laptop Case

2015

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Harry’s delivers quality craftsmanship, simple design, and modern convenience to guys who know they shouldn’t have to overpay for a great shave. The Winston razor is constructed of lightweight aluminum alloys, similar to those found in modern aircraft, for marrying lightweight control with sturdy, dependable performance. Beyond that, this set has everything you need to initiate yourself with the Harry’s way of shaving—a razor, three blades and special shave cream, all handsomely boxed..$30.00 (hackberry.com)

The team behind This Is Ground ﬁnds creative solutions to everyday problems through well designed, high-quality handmade leather goods. The Mod Laptop Craft Edition case has ample space for organizing all the odds and ends of your everyday carry, and sports premium leather that will age and mold nicely based on how - and what - you carry. Normally $500.00, but now on sale for $425.00 (hackberry.com)

Jimmy Fallon Pocket Dial™ for iPhone® 6/6s Jimmy Fallon, of Tonight Show fame, came up with this exclusive design for a pocket square and iPhone case that slips into the chest pocket of your sportscoat. Nobody is the wiser that you’ve being fashion conscience AND keeping your cell phone near your heart. Plus, all of the net proceeds beneﬁt the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a Kenya-based charity that protects Africa’s elephants from ivory poaching and extinction. $48.00 (jcrew.com)

The Best Citrus Facial Wash December 03, 2015

For the man who has everything, this whiskey glass has its own built-in silicone ice wedge to keep your liquor chilled without watering it down. Manhattans never looked so chic. $25.00 (amazon.com)

December 03, 2015

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YOUR LIFE: AN OWNER’S MANUAL

December 03, 2015

OVERCOMING THE HOLIDAY BLUES For many of us, the holiday season holds nostalgic memories full of laughter, delicious foods and joyous times with family and friends. However, laughter and family and friend connections can fade. The holiday season can often be a dreaded and lonely time for people. There is nothing worse than having a dediBy cated day full of memories James bombard you Miller with loneliness and grief where all you feel you can do is sit and feel depressed, lonely, and forgotten. One thing I always instruct people to do is plan for the holidays. When you can plan for what you are going to do, on the specific day, it helps you focus on the practical logistics as opposed to the emotional thoughts of what has changed. When you focus on what

has changed, that will be your focus for the day. Refocus on what you can do for yourself and plan to have a fun, eventful day. There are some people with whom I work who say to me, “James, I don’t have anyone with whom to spend the holidays.” As lonely as that feels, you can still plan to spend the day with yourself. It may sound cliché, but when you plan your daily itinerary, you realize you can still honor the traditions or events that you experienced during happier times. In preparation for planning your holiday event, write down past traditions, or memories that brought you joy throughout the years. Are there traditions or ideas you can recreate by yourself or with your new set of friends? Which ones would you like to recreate? Next, start the planning process for the specific day. What time are you going to wake up? Are you cooking? What food is on the menu? What time are eating? What will be your entertainment: movies, parade, football game,

etc? Is there a specific music play list you’d like to hear that day? Is there a new cocktail you’d like to try? What’s your favorite dessert? The idea is to make your agenda full of choices you make that will create new traditions and memories and allow your mind to be occupied. When you externalize your emotional energy into practical logistical action you will find your holiday season is not as dreaded as you originally thought it would be. Remember, if you decide to partake in adult libations, alcohol is a depressant. Rule of thumb: whatever emotional state you are in prior to drinking will exacerbate the mood. If you are feeling depressed, then the depression will manifest itself more strongly. If you are feeling hopeless, hopelessness will overtake you. Don’t overindulge in alcohol or you may be consumed with overwhelming emotions. Don’t emotionally forecast that your future will always be this way. What you are experiencing today does not mean you will feel

the same way tomorrow or that your future will be full of loneliness. It’s often difficult not to memorialize a holiday, but when you focus on what you no longer have, you are setting yourself up to recreate these same feelings of loss every holiday season. Make a decision to be proactive this holiday season. Just because it may be different than in the past does not mean it cannot be special in its own way. Creating new traditions, even if it’s by yourself helps you break away from your yesteryears.

James Miller is a licensed psychotherapist who is currently known for his website: www. JamesMillerLifeology.com where he gives daily advice, weekly iTunes podcasts and teaches virtual classes for successful people to simplify and transform their lives. For consultation or for more information, visit: www. JamesMillerLifeology.com.

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December 03, 2015

BY MIKEY ROX

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THE FRIVOLIST

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Swishy Christmas Movies to Make Your Holidays Merry and Bright When the weather outside is frightful, your DVD player is delightful with this fortnight of holiday ﬂicks that appeal to gay and lesbian sensibilities.

1. Home for the Holidays Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) navigates dysfunctional family dramedy during her solo trip home for Thanksgiving when her teenage daughter opts out of the year’s celebration. Tensions predictably boil over at the family table, but the weekend is wrapped nicely in a bow when the special guest of Tommy, Claudia’s gay brother, offers a second helping of stufﬁng. The Jodie Foster-directed Home for the Holidays celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

December 03, 2015

2. Make the Yuletide Gay Astonishingly, there are few holiday ﬁlms that feature LGBT characters (this list is fairly comprehensive as a result), let alone ﬁlms that have gay main characters. But out director Rob Williams changed that in 2009 by adding the spritely sweet Make the Yuletide Gay – about an in-thecloset college student (Keith Jordan)

whose boyfriend (Adamo Ruggiero) suddenly shows up on his doorstep – to the Christmas-movie canon. MTYG has earned several awards, including Best Narrative Feature at FilmOut San Diego, Festival Favorite at Philadelphia QFest, and the Jury Award for Best Men’s Feature at the Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

3. Holiday Heart Ving Rhames stars as a Christian drag queen (uh huh – how’d that ﬂy under your radar until now!?) who takes in a drug addict (Alfre Woodard) and her daughter after his police-ofﬁcer boyfriend dies. Based on the Cheryl L. West stage play of the same name, this made-for-Showtime movie has an astonishing 92 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

4. Scrooge & Marley A modern-day variation of Charles

Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this reimagined version depicts Scrooge as a bitter old queen whose bahhumbug attitude gets a makeover from the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future... and Bruce Vilanch.

Santa Claus himself after making a Christmas wish for a boyfriend. Mental illness works in mysterious ways, y’all. David Burtka – before he was ever a twinkle in NPH’s eye – also stars in this 1999 romantic comedy.

5. Love, Actually

7. Red Lodge

Widely regarding as one of the best holiday movies of the new millennium (by straight girls, at least), this romantic comedy told via 10 separate-but-intertwining stories throws the gays a bone with Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) and Joe (Gregor Fisher) – a rock star and his manager, respectively – who decide that getting drunk and watching porn together for Christmas is better than being alone. Because duh.

An impromptu marriage proposal is given at a train station en route to a holiday celebration with family in Montana. In lieu of an engagement ring, there’s a cock ring – because these dudes are classy AF.

6. 24 Nights An unlucky-in-love gay man (Kevin Isola) thinks his new co-worker (Stephen Mailer) may be a gift from

8. Holiday in Handcuffs There’s not a chance you missed this ABC Family staple that premiered in 2007 – what with all the endless promotion the initial season (Clarissa and A.C. Slater are together on your TV for the ﬁrst time – watch!) and the subsequent showings during the channels “25 Days of Christmas” schedule. It’s about as well acted as

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14.

11. photo: 1. basmentrejects.com

2. youtube.com 8. wordpress.com 11. amazon.com 14. fandango.com

14. Love the Coopers

If it’s an Irving Berlin musical, it must be Christmas! There’s a void of LGBT characters in this 1942 black-and-white musical starring Mr. Holiday Bing Crosby and the light-on-his-feet Fred Astaire – well, none that are speciﬁcally labeled as such, at least. But we’d be fooling ourselves if we thought there’s nary a nancy-boy singing and dancing around that hotel all day.

11. Miracle on 34th Street

13. Rent

10. Too Cool for Christmas

Natalie Wood! Do you need another reason?

A year in the life of Bohemian New Yorkers set between Christmas Eve 1989 and 1990. You’ll come for the story, but you’ll stay for the soundtrack.

Technically you won’t be able to pick up this newly released ﬁlm on DVD until next year, so instead you’ll have to head to your local cinema to watch yet another dysfunctional family handle the holidays the best way they know how – with binge eating and alcohol. But between bickering and laughing and crying – and more bickering – there’s Anthony Mackie (one of only a handful of black gay characters in a holiday ﬁlm) as a closeted cop who doles out life advice… even if he should be practicing what he’s preaching.

9. The Family Stone

Perhaps the Christmas ﬁlm with

Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has been published in more than 100 outlets across the world. He splits his time between homes in New York City and the Jersey Shore with his dog Jaxon. Connect with Mikey on Twitter @mikeyrox.

December 03, 2015

12. Holiday Inn

As if Carrie Bradshaw’s alter ego, Sarah Jessica Parker, isn’t enough to get you on board with this Home for the Holidays-esque romantic comedy-drama, the brood’s deaf, gay son Thad (Tyrone Giordano) and his interracial partner Patrick (Brian White) should be. Plus Dermott Mulroney, Paul Schneider and Luke Wilson!

the most interesting backstory, Too Cool for Christmas (a tale about a teenage girl who shuns the reason for the season – and her gay parents – in favor of a ski getaway with friends) actually has a straightparent companion version that appeared on Lifetime in December 2004. Not much has changed since then – there are still no holiday movies with prominent gay characters on Lifetime – which is why you should support this festive anomaly all the more.

any Melissa Joan Hart/Mario Lopez vehicle should be, but they’re cute, so there’s that.

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THE WEEK: FORT LAUDERDALE

By Patrick Robert

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12/06 Television as Art

photo: browardcenter.org

12/04 It’s a Wonderful Life

The Arts Radio Network Theatre Project adapts scripts from classic movies during the heyday of radio and performs them live with specially designed sound effect devices. Tonight’s feature It’s a Wonderful Life revolves around the desperation of a man on the verge of suicide when facing bankruptcy. A town, his old good deeds, and an angel come to his rescue in this traditional holiday favorite. 7:30 p.m. Broward Center for the Performing Arts. 201 SW 5th Ave. Fort Lauderdale. 33312.

NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale explores the use of television in the realm of contemporary art through their newest exhibit, To Be Continued: Television as Art. Some works on display include Vito Acconi’s Theme Song, which attempts to seduce the spectator into the television set he’s trapped in, and Yoko Ono’s video sculpture Sky TV, a short-circuit direct video feed of the sky. The exhibition continues until January 10th. 12:00 p.m. NSU Art Museum. 1 E. Las Olas Blvd. Fort Lauderdale. 33301.

photo: altpress.com

12/07 Silverstein Post-hardcore Canadian band Silverstein coined their name because of their deep love for the I Know Where the Sidewalk Ends author, a sensitive sensibility that informs much of their emo music. Their second album Discovering the Waterfront earned them moderate success, with a Juno Award nomination and a spot in the Billboard 200. 7:00 p.m. Revolution Live. 100 SW Third Ave. Fort Lauderdale. 33312.

photo: youtube.com

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December 03, 2015

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THE WEEK: MIAMI

photo: madeinthedistrict.com

Cyndi Lauper’s first Broadway musical Kinky Boots earned her a Tony Award for Best Score. The popular show, as well, earned the Best Musical Tony and became a phenomenon. Based on the 2005 film, Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie Price as he takes over a shoe store, aligns himself with charismatic drag queen Lola, produces a line of high-heeled boots, and discovers himself in the process. 8:00 p.m. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. 1300 Biscayne Blvd. Miami. 33132.

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Miami Youth Ballet presents the classic story of The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky’s famous holiday ballet beloved for both its dazzling costumes and its famous musical composition, noted for its use of the celesta. The plot revolves around a German girl and a Nutcracker Prince as they enter a winter wonderland ﬁlled with exotic creatures, toy soldiers, sugar plum fairies, and a Mouse King. 8:00 p.m. South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center. 10950 SW 211th St. Cutler Bay. 33189.

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12/09 Kinky Boots

12/05 Miami Ballet: The Nutcracker

12/05 Art Basel

photo: miaminewtimes.com

Artists from across the country descend upon beautiful Miami for a weekend-long citywide art exhibition. Founded by gallerists in 1970, Art Basel focuses on the role that galleries play in the nurturing of artists and the development and promotion of visual arts. This year’s event features 267 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Various times. Various locations.

photo: youtube.com

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THE WEEK: JACKSONVILLE .

By Patrick Robert

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12/03 Flo Rida

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The Floridian rapper is known as a “Wild One” skilled at getting “Low” and has a streak of hit singles dating back to 2008. His albums include Mail on Sunday, R.O.O.T.S., Only One Flo (Part 1), and Wild Ones. His music has amassed over 75 million downloads, making him one of Florida’s most successful musical natives. 6:00 p.m. Mavericks Rock N’ Honky Tonk. 2 Independent Dr. Jacksonville. 32202. photo: latimes.com

12/05 Brian Wilson

photo: torrentbutter.eu

12/03 Eddie Izzard: Force Majeure

December 03, 2015

Transgender trailblazer Eddie Izzard also happens to be one of the most revered stand-up comedians today. With rambling monologues, Izzard weaves hilarious tales in the style of Monty Python. His career of late has included supporting roles in such ﬁlms as Ocean’s Twelve, Mystery Men, Igor, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. 8:00 p.m. Florida Theatre. 128 Forsyth St. Jacksonville. 32205.

photo: bossip.com

Legendary singer songwriter Brian Wilson is known to be one of the greatest creative geniuses in music history. His innovative style led to more than two dozen Top 40 hits for his band the Beach Boys. His brilliant mind also led to multiple, infamous nervous breakdowns which severed his ties with the band for many years, a tumultuous history chronicled in the newly released ﬁlm Love and Mercy. 8:00 p.m. Florida Theatre. 128 Forsyth St. Jacksonville. 32205.

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THE WEEK: ORLANDO

Stylistic innovators Hall and Oates found success in the 1980s with a string of diverse pop hits, selling an estimated forty million records. Their musical style was dubbed “rock and soul” and infused elements of both rock and roll and R&B with some aspects of the new wave style popular at the time. Six number one hits include such classics as “Private Eyes,” “Maneater,” “Out of Touch,” and “Kiss on My List.” 8:00 p.m. Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. 445 S. Magnolia Ave. Orlando. 32801.

The stage show of the classic holiday film features all of the hallmarks of the beloved classic: a grumpy Scrooge-esque character, a comical dog, and a family-friendly community of “Whos.” Best of all, the show includes the popular holiday tunes “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas.” The Broadway production broke records—over 1.2 million theatregoers have enjoyed the show across America. 7:30 p.m. Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. 445 S. Magnolia Ave. Orlando. 32801.

photo: cb-pr.com

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12/08 How the Grinch Stole Christmas

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12/03 Hall and Oates

12/04 The Secret Garden

photo: rukkus.com

The 1991 musical brings to life Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic bildungsroman. In the early 20th century, Mary Lennox is orphaned after a cholera outbreak kills her parents. She is sent away from the British Raj to Yorkshire, England to live with relatives she has never met. There, she and a young gardener tend for both a neglected garden and her cousin and uncle. 7:30 p.m. The Harriett. 54 W. Church St. Orlando. 32801.

photo: fanpop.com

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December 03, 2015

VENTS E Y N A M SO STOP! E N O Y L N O

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THE WEEK: PALM BEACH .

By Patrick Robert

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12/04 Nicolas King

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When Liza Minelli starts praising your voice, you know that you have talent and a future just ripe for the taking. Jazz crooner Nicolas King has been performing since age four, has been seen in such Broadway shows as Beauty and the Beast, A Thousand Clowns, and Hollywood Arms, and has opened for Liza. He was the recipient of the Julie Wilson Award in 2010 and recently released his newest album Nineteen. 8:30 p.m. The Colony Hotel. 155 Hammon Ave. Palm Beach. 33480. photo: clevescene.com

12/03 Kansas

December 03, 2015

1970s American rock band Kansas sold over one million copies of the single “Dust in the Wind,” a song that continues to receive heavy radio airplay. “Carry On Wayward Son” is almost just as popular—one of the most played tracks on classic radio stations. The group has had eight gold albums and three sextupleplatinum albums. 8:00 p.m. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. 701 Okeechobee Blvd. West Palm Beach. 33401.

photo: wtop.com

12/08 Blue Man Group

photo: broadwayworld.com

With attendees reaching over 35 million worldwide, Blue Man Group has become a modern theatre institution. The bizarre yet popular phenomenon combines comedy, theater, rock music, and dance into a multi-sensory experience full of vibrant color and heart stopping rhythm. 8:00 p.m. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. 701 Okeechobee Blvd. West Palm Beach. 33401.

THE WEEK: TAMPA / ST. PETE .

Vanilla Ice became famous in the 1990s for his hit single “Ice, Ice Baby.” Unfortunately, that one-hit-wonder also led to Vanilla Ice becoming a whipping boy for comedians everywhere. Now, though, Robert Van Winkle has learned a way to translate his notoriety into a tour that rides the current wave of 1990s nostalgia. He is the top bill in the Legends of the Old School tour. Other acts include Salt-NPepa, TKA, 2 Live Crew, and Color Me Badd. 7:30 p.m. Sun Dome Arena. 4202 E. Fowler Ave. Tampa. 33620.

Sexually ambiguous, lithe, and egocentric Peter Pan may be the eponymous star of the classic story Peter Pan, yet the tale is told through the point of view and character arc of less-magical human Wendy. Peter and the Starcatcher is a play based on the 2006 novel by South Florida native Dave Barry. The plot follows Peter and a sweet but sophisticated mysterious new friend named Molly as they keep a magical secret safe, protecting the world from evil. 7:00 p.m. Freefall Theatre. 6099 Central Ave. St. Petersburg. 33710.

photo: palmbeachpost.com

photo: latenighton.com

12/04 Craig Ferguson Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson found critical acclaim for his Emmy Awardnominated and Peabody Award-winning talk show The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Although Ferguson’s ﬁrst career wasn’t comedy (he began as a drummer for punk bands in the UK), roles on The Drew Carey Show and stage training helped him ﬁnd his niche in the pop cultural landscape. 8:00 p.m. Capitol Theatre. 405 Cleveland St. Clearwater. 33755.

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12/05 Peter and the Starcatcher

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12/04 Legends of the Old School

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photo: thirteen.org

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