“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest it.”
— Elie Wiesel, Activist and Holocaust Survivor
John Hayden
Aformal-yet-cool vibe engulfed The Venue March 24 as SunServe presented Studio: SHINE gala. Channeling the spirit of the iconic Studio 54, there was a lot of sparkle and glitter in tuxes and bowtie fashion was on point.
But beyond the glitter and glam, everyone was there to support a community organization that affects thousands of lives every year. The night began with a cocktail hour and a presentation of awards. David Jobin, CEO of the Our Fund Foundation received the Dr. James Lopresti Visionary Award. Karen Prescod, founder of Bowtie Kids, was given the Jason Jenkins Tomorrow’s Legacy Award and community activist Marc Martorana received the Outstanding Community Partner Award.
Once that was finished, over 300 people moved into the dining room, where the DJ played beats on point with the disco theme while aerialists spun high in the air suspended by just a colorful piece of cloth.
SunServe works with mental health, trans, youth services, senior services, addiction,
housing insecurity, and more. Many groups had representatives at the gala to show support and gratitude.
“SunServe is a community service. I’ve had many community services through SunServe,” guest Tommy Murrell said. “My main purpose to be here is to meet other members of the community and show solidarity with the community. We’re under constant attack, so being with those that love you and support you and hear you and see you is really important right now.”
The LGBT community is under attack in the state legislature, especially youth and trans. After dinner, SunServe CEO Tony Lima made a special call for donations dedicated to youth services, and several people stood up on the spot and pledged several thousands of dollars each.
Floatarama President Scott Schramm was there and said supporting SunServe is a natural fit.
“SunServe has so many of the core values that Floatarama is trying to work with youth
and mental health issues. We are thrilled to give back to their organization.”
Schramm says their partnership let SunServe hire an additional case worker.
“We are incredibly thankful for the overwhelming success of our SunServe Studio SHINE Gala! The event was full of inspiring stories, amazing people, and a whole lot of fun and glamour,” John Marler, SunServe Director of Communications said.
Putting on an event of this scale, Marler says, took the entire SunServe team.
“My deepest gratitude goes to all the SunServe Team Members who attended the event and worked their dancing shoes off.”
He also acknowledged the efforts of Tony Lima, who became CEO about 18 months ago.
“[He] has a unique ability to capture the attention of our greater community and draw them closer to see the magic SunServe’s team delivers to the most vulnerable members of our society.”
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SUNSERVE WORKS WITH MENTAL HEALTH, TRANS, YOUTH SERVICES, SENIOR SERVICES, ADDICTION, HOUSING INSECURITY, AND MORE. MANY GROUPS HAD REPRESENTATIVES AT THE GALA TO SHOW SUPPORT AND GRATITUDE.
Apple TV’s “The Big Door Prize” dropped March 29 and includes lesbian representation. Heather Hogan, with Autostraddle, described the show as a cross between “Twilight Zone,” “Black Mirror,” and “Schitt’s Creek.”
Crystal R. Fox, an ally of the LGBT community, plays Izzy, the mayor, a business owner, a middle-aged lesbian “mommi,” and a former dancer. Izzy also has a drama- filled complicated relationship with her ex-partner.
A central plot point includes a machine called MORPHO that dispenses cards to reveal life’s true potential.
Izzy’s card reveals she is a dancer, and that label takes a particular hold of her.
“I can’t think of a time I’ve gotten to watch a Black lesbian in her 60s live out a
rom-com plot on TV!” said Hogan. Between the mystery, existential questions, and the lesbian rom-com plot, “The Big Door Prize” is a must-see.
“Wizards Of Waverly Place” allowed Selena Gomez to rise to stardom in the early 2010s. Gomez played Alex Russo, a sly, sarcastic, sneaky, and outgoing wizard. The show’s main character who was meant to be bisexual.
“Wizards” cast Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise host a rewatch podcast titled “Wizards of Waverly Pod,” where they reminisce on their time together with guests who helped make the show what it is today.
In the latest episode, Peter Murrieta, the show’s executive producer and head writer, revealed that Alex was initially meant to be bisexual.
In season 3, Alex befriends Stevie Nichols, played by Hayley Kiyoko. The writers wanted to “expand outside friendship.”
“I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us was the
relationship between Stevie and Alex. But we weren’t able to at that time…” said Murrieta. In response, Stone said, "If we were just a few years down the line, we maybe could have played with that."
#Stalex fans were right, though this ship must remain imaginary.
SELENA GOMEZ
MEANT TO BE BI IN ‘WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE’Selena Gomez. Photo via Twitter. Crystal R. Fox. Photo via Facebook.
Arizona, like Florida, is one of 15 states with 10+ anti-LGBT bills this legislative session.
Joseph Darius Jaafari, an investigative reporter with the Arizona Republic, founded LOOKOUT PHX, an online LGBT newsletter on Substack, due to the lack of queer coverage in local Arizona news.
“This is something that we need. This is something that people want,” said Jaafari in an interview with Fronteras.
Jaafari founded LOOKOUT in January with his husband, Jake Hilton, and has clarified that the newsletter is not affiliated with the Arizona Republic.
LOOKOUT has covered a range of pieces, from prisoners being punished for queer intimacy to a gay couple being run out of their home and more. Jaafari says that’s “just the beginning.”
“We have health issues that we need to talk about, we have testing issues we need to talk about, we have education
issues, we have housing issues, all these things that just are not covered thoroughly and consistently. They’re treated as an afterthought,” said Jaafari.
A parent in Utah is flipping the script on conservatives by trying to ban the bible from school libraries, calling it “one of the most sex-ridden books around.”
The Salt Lake Tribune reports the parent has submitted a request for their school district in Utah to review the Bible for any inappropriate content.
“Incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape, and even infanticide,” the parent wrote in their request, the Tribune reported. “You’ll no doubt find that the Bible [...] has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition.”
Onanism is another word for masturbation.
In 2022 Utah passed a law banning books
containing “pornographic or indecent” content from schools, in libraries and in the classroom.
According to the new law something is indecent if it includes explicit sexual arousal, stimulation, masturbation, intercourse, sodomy or fondling.
One problematic passage from the bible cited includes Genesis 19:8: “See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish.”
Afederal judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the infamous “drag ban” in Tennessee.
According to USA Today, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker said the law as written is too vague and leaves the door open for differing outcomes based on a person’s assessment of what is, and isn’t, obscene.
“A law is unconstitutionally vague if individuals of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application,” Parker wrote in the 15-page decision, USA Today reported.
The law was to go into effect this past Saturday.
The lawsuit against the new law was brought by Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based LGBTQ theater group.
“If Tennessee wishes to exercise its police power in restricting speech it considers obscene, it must do so within the constraints and framework of the United States Constitution,” Parker added in his ruling. “The Court finds that, as it stands, the record here suggests that when the legislature passed this Statute, it missed the mark.”
A federal judge recently ordered one county in Texas to put books with LGBT and racial themes back onto shelves in public libraries citing the First Amendment.
“Although libraries are afforded great discretion for their selection and acquisition decisions, the First Amendment prohibits the removal of books from libraries based on either viewpoint or content discrimination,” the judge said according to CNN.
Some of the books in question include “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson; “They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; and “Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen” by Jazz
Jennings is a prominent trans activist in South Florida and star of the show “I Am Jazz.”
“This is a ringing victory for democracy,” Ellen Leonida, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in the Texas case, told CNN. “The government cannot tell citizens what they can or can’t read. Our nation was founded on the free exchange of ideas, and banning books you disagree with is a direct attack on our most basic liberties.”
INVESTIGATORS ARE PIECING TOGETHER DETAILS SURROUNDING THE DEATH OF A POPULAR MIAMI MODEL WITH TIES TO BILLIONAIRE TECH MOGUL PETER THIEL.
SFGN obtained a copy of the Miami Police Department incident report from March 8 when Jeff Thomas, a 35-yearold model and social media influencer, was pronounced deceased outside of his Brickell Ave. apartment. The redacted report lists the incident as suicide, although Thomas’ agent told the Daily Mail he may have fallen from his luxury hi-rise while taking a selfie.
In a post, Thomas’ brother suggested it was suicide. “What you may not know is Jeff struggled with addiction and mental health challenges, which ultimately led to his tragic passing,” wrote Skylar Ray Thomas.
Thomas’ relationship with Thiel was
described as a romantic “kept” arrangement by The Intercept. They met at Coachella, before Thiel’s 2017 marriage to Matt Danzeisen. Thiel is said to have lavished Thomas with cars, houses, trips and luxury goods, in exchange for confidentiality.
During their time together, Thomas, reportedly, attempted to deter Thiel from backing socially conservative political candidates. Thomas told The Intercept the relationship was uncomfortable and unsatisfying, realizing he had become a symbol of Thiel’s power.
“It was stressful. He wanted me to get the nicest car, the nicest house. He wanted to kind of show his power, to kind of show that he had me in this dollhouse,” Thomas told The Intercept.
Thomas was employed by Londonbased AMCK Models, a premium “all boys” agency. He founded his consulting agency, One Popsicle, that focused on investments in the art world.
George Castrataro, a prominent gay bankruptcy attorney, was re-arrested last month and charged with three first- degree felonies and two second-degree felonies.
Castrataro was already facing a multitude of similar charges. He was arrested in June of 2020 and charged with grand theft and fraud, where he was accused of stealing over a half-million dollars from his client’s estate accounts.
These new charges appear to be from the same time period as the earlier charges. They include two counts of grand theft over $100,000; two counts of grand theft between $20,000 and $100,000; and one count of organized scheme to defraud.
Castrataro is no longer able to practice law in Florida. He was disbarred in November of 2020.
Before his arrest, Castrataro was a well-known and reputable attorney and prominent member of the local LGBT community. He had served on multiple local non-profit LGBT boards. He also launched an unsuccessful bid for the city commission in Fort Lauderdale in 2018.
Castrataro’s earlier criminal case was initially delayed due to the pandemic and since then has languished in the courts.
Castrataro will now be confined to his home and has to wear a GPS monitor on his leg.
Castrataro told SFGN in 2021 he believes his current predicament is just a big misunderstanding.
“I regret that given the pending case I am very limited in what I am able to say. This
year has been difficult,” Castrataro said at the time. “I believe that the things that have been alleged and reported are inaccurate. I am confident that once the matter is resolved, I will be able to clear my name.”
Castrataro already pled not guilty to his first set of charges and has pled not guilty to the new set.
Several of Castrataro’s alleged victims have spoken to SFGN over the years.
The Roddy family is one such alleged victim and has accused Castrataro of stealing $49,111 from them.
Bill Roddy’s son Wayne died in 2019 from pancreatic cancer. He was 57. Wayne had been a yoga and dance teacher. According to his family, he also had a background as a paralegal. Thus, before he died, he made sure all of his affairs were in order.
Wayne left $49,111 to 12 beneficiaries including his father and sister, Jan Blanton.
Wayne’s sister Jan Blanton, said she believes it was her family’s complaints to the Florida Bar that initiated the investigation that wound up costing Castrataro his law license.
Another alleged victim is Donna Nunes, who accused the former attorney of stealing $92,537 from her brother’s estate.
“[My brother] really wanted to leave my brothers and me something and this happens. It’s terrible,” Nunes previously told SFGN. “[Castrataro] went through all of this schooling, then decides to do this and throw his life away. It’s such a shame. Florida has so many different crooks.”
“I REGRET THAT GIVEN THE PENDING CASE I AM VERY LIMITED IN WHAT I AM ABLE TO SAY.”
- George Castrataro
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When the trans community is being intimidated like never before, South Florida’s trans community and allies came together to be out loud and proud. The Pride Center hosted Trans Day of Visibility, a celebration of inclusion and a call for help.
The night began with cocktails and food, followed by a program of speeches, songs, and other artistic performances. The event focused on the societal contributions made by members of the trans community as well as a reminder of the attacks coming at them from all sides.
Tatiana Williams of Transinclusive Group helped plan the evening.
“Trans Day of Visibility highlights the resilience within the community. Often when we’re talking about the trans community, especially about what’s going on in our state, we’re talking about things that are not so great. This event is to recognize all the great work
that’s happening through advocacy.”
She points out what many want to ignore: that trans people are as diverse as the rest of the community.
“Trans are poets, writers, [and] entertainers. We don’t often highlight that.”
With many states, including Florida, considering anti-trans laws, including banning medical treatment to trans youth, it’s important to celebrate the points of light and not let them get swallowed up by the darkness.
“What we do is to continue as trans-led organizations. We continue to highlight the resiliency. We don’t want to get weighed down with the negativity. We need that energy. We need that light. We need to be fueled and let them know we will not be erased.”
The World AIDS Museum (WAM) is in Fort Lauderdale but its reach is expanding well beyond the borders of South Florida. The University of Illinois has invited WAM’s Executive Director, Terry Dyer, to be part of a series of readings, plays, essays, and books focusing on minority issues.
“I take a tremendous amount of pride in serving as an advocate for those living and thriving with HIV,” Dyer said. “My goal is always to bring a positive face and awareness to the epidemic especially to those in underserved and marginalized communities.”
Organizers learned about Dyer through his book, “Letters To A GAY Black Boy,” detailing his experiences with race, homophobia, social justice, HIV, and acceptance.
“Terry’s book is a story in which many of our students could feel identified,” organizer Jose Manual Diaz-Soto said. “We hope that our
The Florida House is coming for your pronouns.
On March 31, GOP lawmakers passed a “Don’t Say Gay” expansion (HB 1069) by a vote of 77-35, with two Republicans opposing the measure.
Last year’s Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, restricted classroom discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools through third grade.
This year’s bill expands it through eighth grade. The measure also allows anyone in the district to object to any material in the classroom, or school library, or on a reading list that depicts or describes any sexual conduct, even if it is not pornographic, if it is not for a health course. The offending material would be removed pending investigation and subject to permanent removal.
A notable addition to this year’s bill targets pronouns prohibiting school staffers or students from being required to refer to people by pronouns that don’t correspond to the person’s sex.
“The Florida House’s decision to expand the infamous ‘Don’t Say LGBTQ+’ law, despite widespread pushback from students, parents, and teachers from across the state, is a disservice to Floridians,” said Maxx Fenning, president of Prism, an LGBT youth services organization in South Florida. “Students deserve to feel seen and heard in their schools and to learn about all people, not just the ones that make conservatives comfortable.”
To add insult to injury the House passed the bill on the International Transgender Day of Visibility.
of Orlando. One Democrat supported the measure last year as well James Bush III – he was defeated in his 2022 primary race. Vance Aloupis of Miami, and Amber Mariano of Hudson did not seek re-election.
“The LGTBQ+ community continues to be vilified and degraded by this State Legislature,” said Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Steve Glassman. “I continue to speak out at our City Commission meetings because no one should remain silent and the hate and bigotry coming out of Tallahassee must be challenged.”
Brandon Wolf, press secretary for Equality Florida, blasted DeSantis, accusing him of just trying to further his presidential ambitions.
students find a safe space in our department. A space where they can feel heard and seen.”
Since joining WAM last year, Dyer’s top priority has been growing the organization’s footprint. This trip to Illinois is a big step.
“HIV does not discriminate against race, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Therefore, education about the disease should not discriminate as well. Our work at WAM is drastically being affected by the bans in the state of Florida, so it is more important than ever for us to expand messaging. Partnering with universities across the country, corporations, and tours will allow us the opportunity to fulfill our mission on a larger scale.”
The bill still needs to be approved by the senate and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. But DeSantis has already moved forward with expanding his “Don’t Say Gay” agenda by putting forth a proposal before the state Board of Education that would restrict classroom discussion through the 12th grade.
The two Republicans who opposed the bill are state Reps. Demi Busatta Cabrera of Coral Gables and Will Robinson of Bradenton. Last year the bill passed 69-47 in the House with seven Republicans breaking ranks to oppose the measure. Three of them switched sides this year to support the expansion including Chip LaMarca of Lighthouse Point, Jim Mooney of Islamorada, and Rene Plasencia
“The legislature has made itself an arm of the DeSantis 2024 campaign. More book bans will come. More classroom censorship will come. More educators will flee the profession. More families will wonder whether Florida is the right place to raise their children. All in service to DeSantis’ desperation to be president and the cowardice of those lawmakers who refuse to stand up to his regime,” Wolf said. “Shame on DeSantis’ cronies for peddling more anti-LGBTQ lies on the House floor and ramming through an expansion of the censorship policies that have emptied bookshelves across the state and wreaked havoc on our schools. Shame on them for ignoring the voices outside demanding a state that respects all families and protects all students.”
It was obvious Democrats could not stop a 6-week abortion ban from passing the Florida Senate Monday.
Instead of making a last-ditch plea to stop the bill, Democratic Sen. Lauren Book spoke directly to the women who will be affected, even going so far as reading her phone number aloud on the Senate floor, NBC6 reported
“Please don’t take matters into your own hands. Do not put your safety at risk. No back-alley abortions. There are people and funds that will help you. No matter where you live, no matter how desperate of a situation you are in, no matter how helpless it may seem. I promise, you are not alone. Call my office,” Book said.
The proposed law will ban most abortions at 6 weeks, with exceptions for women facing life-threatening harm during pregnancy. It also includes exemptions for victims of rape,
AFlorida principal was forced to resign recently over an art lesson where she showed Michelangelo’s sculpture of David to her sixth-grade class.
The firing whipped up a worldwide storm of controversy including being mocked in a skit on Saturday Night Live.
Michelangelo’s 16th-century sculpture is one of the Renaissance’s most famous pieces of art. But some parents at the Tallahassee Classical School complained and compared it to porn, since David is nude.
incest and human trafficking, but only up to 15 weeks.
The measure passed 26-13 with two Republicans opposing it.
The House is expected to take up the issue next week.
Two prominent Democrats were arrested April 3 in Tallahassee while peacefully protesting Florida’s proposed 6-week abortion ban.
Nikki Fried, chair of the Democratic Party of Florida, and Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book were among about a dozen protesters who were handcuffed and arrested according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
The protesters were taken away by police while sitting in a circle and singing “Lean on Me.”
According to the Tallahassee Police Department, the protesters were asked to leave, but refused to do so.
“After multiple warnings throughout the day, protesters acknowledged they understood that anyone refusing to leave the premises at sundown would be subject to arrest,” a spokesperson for TPD wrote, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. “This evening, after sunset, the majority of
the crowd left the property while 11 people refused to leave despite numerous requests.”
“Tallahassee PD just arrested peaceful protesters outside the Capitol who were advocating against the abortion ban,” Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, tweeted. “Florida is now where freedom goes to die.”
Fried and Book were released later in the night.
“I’m out. And not ever backing down,” Fried wrote on Twitter. “Just fucking vote @ FlaDems!”
The school’s board chair, Barney Bishop, defended their decision to oust the principal to Huffpost.
“Parental rights trump everything else,” Bishop told the outlet. He added the pandemic gave parents an inside look at their children’s education. “They didn’t like the woke indoctrination that was going on. We don’t use pronouns. We don’t teach CRT and we don’t ever mention 1619 — those are not appropriate subjects for our kids.”
The school’s education philosophy is modeled after Hillsdale College in Michigan — a small Christian school that focuses on classical education curriculum.
Hillsdale quickly cut ties with the school after the controversy unfolded.
“This drama around teaching Michelangelo’s David sculpture, one of the most important works of art in existence, has become a distraction from, and a parody of, the actual aims of classical education,” Emily Stack Davis, a Hillsdale spokesperson said in a statement to Mlive. “Of course, Hillsdale’s K-12 art curriculum includes Michelangelo’s David and other works of art that depict the human form.”
Ironically, David is rooted in the Old Testament of the bible and depicts him preparing for his fight against the giant Goliath.
According to Mlive.com Hillsdale partners dozens of charter schools across the country to provide its K-12 curriculum, which focuses on a classical approach to math, science, literature and history.
NPR reported tourists are flocking to the statue in Italy ever since the sculpture made headlines.
“Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia, which
“It’s part of history,” Isabele Joles from Ohio, who is studying French and Italian art with her school group, told NPR. “I don’t understand how you can say it’s porn.”
Bishop gave an interview to Slate where he told the magazine there are no safe spaces at their school.
"Our education model] is about moral values, civic values,personal responsibility. Those are the things that aren’tbeing taught in schools. Along with history, science, math,art, music. We don’t have safe spaces for kids so theywon’t be offended by a Halloween costume. We don’t use pronouns. We teach them phonics. We teach Singaporemath. They learn to speak Latin. Every student learns amusical instrument."
The reporter then followed up with: “You say you don’t have safe spaces for kids to be offended by, say, a Halloween costume, but aren’t you just protecting kids, giving them a safe space, from Michelangelo’s David?”
Bishop’s response: “Come on, Dan. That’s ridiculous.”
If you believe right-wing activists you’d think there is an epidemic of transgender shooters. After it was reported the shooter in the recent Nashville school shooting was trans – conservative pundits went nuts.
“There is a clear epidemic of trans or nonbinary mass shooters.”
— Donald Trump Jr., in a video post, March 28
“One thing is VERY clear: the modern trans movement is radicalizing activists into terrorists.”
Kid Rock made his transphobic views well known in a recent video on social media that has gone viral, where he’s wearing a MAGA hat and shoots up cases of Bud Light. The offense?
The company teamed up with social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who is openly trans.
Nic Zantop, the deputy director of Transinclusive Group, reacted to the video telling SFGN, “Throughout our history, there have always been voices who choose to utilize their platforms, power, and privilege to advocate for equality and a more just society, and others who fuel their desire for attention and relevance by sowing hate and division.”
Mulvaney has partnered with the beer company for a clever social media campaign to promote a sports-related contest where she hugs cans of Bud Light and shows off a one-of-a-kind can with her face on it.
The video is light, tongue-in-cheek fun. Rock response is not.
He posted the video saying, “Grandpa’s feeling a little frisky today,” and then proceeds to destroy four cases of Bud Light using an automatic rifle. He ends the video saying “Fuck Bud Light and fuck Anheuser-Busch. Have a terrific day.”
While Rock, whose real name is Robert James Richie, avoids making a verbal connection, the message was clear to his followers who posted anti-trans comments in support of Rock. Over eight million people viewed the video in the first two days.
Rock is known for his conservative views
and support of former president Donald Trump.
Mulvaney’s video has made waves among right-wing pundits and media. Anheuser-Busch responded the outrage with a statement to Fox News:
“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points,” the statement reads.
Jason Isbell, a Grammy winner and former member of Drive-By Truckers and, came up with a better way to take on Rock.
“This is finally how we get him. Leave no bigoted beers to drink,” Isbell tweeted in reference to the fact that Rock’s beer of choice Coors Light has had an anti-discrimination policy including sexual orientation since 1978 and started offering domestic partnership benefits to its employees in 1995. In fact, they have an entire web page on their website dedicated to the company’s efforts to promote diversity and equality.
Mulvaney hasn’t responded to Rock’s video, but has posted, “If you are in a position of power to hire someone trans or non-binary, please do! We need to exist in every space. I want to see trans people doing allll [sic] the brand deals.”
Zantop echoed those feelings.
“In a world that is increasingly hostile to trans people, our visibility, leadership, and representation are all powerful forces that advance the fight for equality. In 2023, faced with mounting attacks on our community’s safety, health, and well-being, we need more equality, not less.”
— Benny Johnson, production chief at Turning Point USA, in a tweet, March 27
About 80% of the time these schools shooters are transgender and the media tries to cover it up
– From the March 28, 2023, edition of Infowars’ The Alex Jones Show
Multiple news outlets covered this disinformation campaign including the Washington Post: “The data is clear: There is no ‘clear epidemic’ of transgender mass shooters” and Associated Press: “FACT FOCUS: No ‘incredible rise’ in transgender shooters.”
In Johnson’s tweet he referred to four shootings:
“The Colorado Springs shooter identified as non-binary. The Denver shooter identified as trans. The Aberdeen shooter identified as trans. The Nashville shooter identified as trans.”
James Alan Fox, a statistician and professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University told the Associated Press: “There are a lot of mass shootings, hundreds of mass shootings, and to cherrypick four of them and say here’s a trend, that’s wrong. You can’t make a conclusion that’s significant. It is not significant in any statistical sense.”
The earliest of those four shootings, Denver, happened in 2018.
In a response to Johnson’s tweet Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, tweeted “!”, which has been viewed 7.7 million times.
Some of these shooters may be trans or gender non-conforming but it’s not definitive.
For instance, as the Washington Post reports the Colorado shooter claims to be non-binary, but a police detective “testified earlier this year that the shooter ran a neo-Nazi website, used gay and racial slurs while gaming online and posted an image of a rifle scope trained on a gay pride parade.”
Of course, it’s also true this shooter could very well be non-binary and a neo-Nazi. But even if all four are trans and/or nonconforming there still would be no epidemic of trans people committing mass shootings.
As the Post points out there is no universal definition of mass killing/shootings. They define a mass killing as an event in which four or more people, not including the shooter, have been killed by gunfire.
Under that criteria only one of the four shootings would be classified as a mass killing.
According to the Post: “The Violence Project counts 188 mass public killings since 1966. So with 0.6% of the population, transgender people would expect to be involved in about one shooting.”
As for mass shootings, the Gun Violence Project has counted 2,697 since 2018. They define a mass shooting as “4 or more shot or killed in a shooting incident, not including the shooter, in any circumstance.”
Using that criteria, the Aberdeen and Denver cases cited by Johnson, would also be counted.
“With 0.6% of the population, one would expect at least 16 mass shootings to be conducted by people identifying as transgender,” the Post writes. “Instead there are just three possible cases cited by conservatives.”
“This is capitalizing on tragedy for political purposes,” Fox said. “One should not conclude that being trans or non-binary, they should be more likely to commit a crime like this.”
At least six drag-related events were interrupted or canceled over the past couple of weeks with threats of violence, including a church in Ohio vandalized by Molotov cocktails.
The church in Chesterland, Ohio suffered minimal damage and a week later organizers held the planned Drag Show Story Hour, according to 19 News. A 20-year-old man was arrested for the incident.
Meanwhile a restaurant in the same area also received threats after they announced a drag show brunch. According to 19 News, the Chardon, Ohio eatery faced three week’s worth of threats leading up to the event.
Several dozen protesters showed up at the brunch shouting bible verses. Counter protesters also showed up in support.
“I am loving that there’s probably 10 times more people over here than over there, it’s fantastic,” one counter protester said. Another: “We’re all about love, we have no agenda more than love one another, be who you are, don’t be afraid to be out there in the world, that’s all we want.”
In Louisville, Kentucky a Drag Show Story Hour was interrupted after a bomb threat, but the show went on, according to USA Today.
“My name is Diana Rae, and this is Drag Queen Story Time,” USA Today reported her saying. “I want to read you guys a book called ‘My Awesome Brother.’”
The picture book tells the story of a child whose older sister is transitioning.
After reading, according to USA Today, the drag performer asked everyone to look at a stranger and repeat these affirmations: “You are loved. You are special … When you are feeling down, and you feel like you’re not going to make it, remember today that I believe in you. And you have to keep going.”
She finished up lip-synching a Lizzo song called “Special.” Rae’s home also received a bomb threat.
In the Eastern Kentucky city of Prestonsburg an all ages drag show was canceled after facing threats online.
“We felt like the level of risk was too great to follow through with the event,” an organizer told the Lexington Herald-Leader. Proceeds from the event were to be used for genderaffirming clothing and a resource bank.
In Indianapolis, Indiana a bookstore was temporarily closed following a bomb threat against its monthly Drag Story Hour event, according to Indy Star.
In Solana, California a drag show at a local entertainment venue was canceled after organizers came across a YouTube video claiming something had been planted at the venue. Proceeds were to be used for their local free PrideFest.
“We just decided in an abundance of caution that, regardless of what the SWAT team would find there, it was not the right night to do this ... the day after the Nashville shooting,” an organizer told KPBS.
John McDonald
Trans youth are increasingly left with little health care options as more and more states ban gender-affirming care.
Data released on March 22 by the Human Rights Campaign indicates 50.4% of trans youth (ages 13 to 17) have lost or are at risk of losing access to age appropriate, medically necessary gender-affirming care in their state. Labeling trans treatments as child abuse, Republicans have introduced bills across the country that outlaw the practice and in some cases making it a felony for doctors to prescribe puberty blockers or hormones.
“If you are trans, particularly if you are targeted by legislation like this, I have one request for you — please stay alive,” Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr pleaded from the House floor last week.
Zephyr, a trans woman, acknowledged the pain caused by debating the issue and offered lifelines to those struggling with their identities.
“Stay alive, lean on your community in
these times, if you are in crisis call 988 or go to the Trevor Project for support, we will be there for one another through this and ultimately we will win this fight in the end,” she said.
Eleven states — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Utah — have passed bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth. Oklahoma is considering a ban up to the age of 26.
Florida’s ban took effect March 16.
“It’s sad that we have to say this, but our children are not guinea pigs for science experimentation,” Gov. Ron DeSantis declared in his State of the State speech.
For 10 years PrEP has been hailed to lower HIV infection rates. When used properly the drug lowers the risk of HIV by at least 99% among gay and bi men and trans women.
In the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, judge Reed O’Connor ruled that forcing companies to cover PrEP as a part of their employee insurance violates the religious freedom of companies that object to LGBT people.
Eight individuals and two businesses from Texas filed the lawsuit. They claim the free PrEP requirement forces business owners to pay for services that encourage homosexuality, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug abuse.
One plaintiff also objected to having to cover screenings for sexually transmitted diseases, contraceptives, and counseling for unmarried people.
But the activist judge did not stop there.
He also ruled the Affordable Care Act’s Preventive Services Task Force, the agency that decides what services need to be covered, is unconstitutional.
“The Affordable Care Act requires that some of the most basic preventive services be included in services,” said Stephen Fallon, the executive director of Latinos Salud. “From prenatal care to PrEP to annual check-ups, these life-saving and inexpensive services should not be subject to an ideological exemption.”
In its latest effort to sanitize sexuality, the DeSantis administration has now entered a private place of business, threatening to revoke the liquor license of the Hyatt Regency Miami, following the “Drag Queen Christmas” event that was held at the hotel-affiliated James L. Knight Auditorium in December. The admission policy allowed children under the age of 18 to attend the show with an adult.
The DeSantis administration does not take aim directly at the drag queens but instead claims that, because children were exposed to the drag show (despite a warning from the state), the hotel’s premises should lose its liquor license.
What was supposed to be a routine hook up from Growlr, an adult gay dating app, turned into a nightmare for Brett Parson, a well-respected former police officer from Washington D.C.
Parson met a 19-year-old man at Coconut Creek gas station. Or so he thought. It was only revealed later that the man was in fact a 16-year-old boy. The age of consent in Florida is 18.
Parson and the boy engaged in sexual activity in the car before attempting to drive elsewhere. The boy attracted the attention of the police and was later pulled over and confessed to the hook up.
“From the outset, it was our position that things weren’t as they appeared,” Parson’s attorney, Michael Dutko, told the Washington Post. “Brett Parson was not some predator in search of a child or young person. He did nothing but go onto an adult site looking for companionship.”
In court documents, the victim also stated he consented to the acts and never felt forced or threatened.
Those facts, however, are irrelevant in Florida. If you are over the age of 23 it is unlawful to have sex with a minor regardless of whether you’re ignorant of the minor’s age, or even if the minor lied about their age.
Parson, who was 53 at the time, was first arrested in February of 2022 and charged with two counts of Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor. At the time, the parents of the boy wanted to press charges against him. Prosecutors recently dropped the charges against Parson because the victim was no longer willing to cooperate.
The victim’s parents had wanted to proceed with the trial, but not if it meant their son having to recount the experience on the witness stand.
“This is a case that failed because the victim refused to prosecute. However, it should serve as a warning to anyone using dating apps that the people you meet may not be what they first appear to be. Just because someone’s profile says they are an adult, that may not necessarily be the case,” said Russell Cormican, a criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale. “Failing to take precautions to verify the age of the person you are talking to could lead to criminal charges or extortion attempts. Mr. Parson ultimately prevailed in his case, but it certainly came at a price. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this circumstance.”
Before he retired, Parson served as a supervisor in the D.C. police department’s LGBT liaison unit.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation accuses the venue of several violations, including a prohibition of “lascivious exhibition” to people under the age of 16. “The nature of the show’s performances, particularly when conducted in the presence of young children, corrupts the public morals and outrages the sense of public decency.”
“Exposing children to sexually explicit activity” violates the Department’s licensing standards for operating a business and holding a liquor license,” claims a DeSantis official.
Last year, Governor DeSantis signed the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits public school teachers in Florida from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity.
This is a different kind of war DeSantis has started. It is now clear that DeSantis does not want to protect kids from topics in a public education setting. It is now clear that DeSantis is using kids as a tool to root out a community that contributes to the economy and creates the flair that makes Miami great.
In 1992, the Miami Herald published a collection of stories, “A Gay Renaissance,” highlighting how the influx of gay people to Miami restored dilapidated Art Deco buildings, opened businesses, opened a local chamber of commerce, and built political clout. In 1994, Miami became the first city in Miami-Dade County to ban discrimination
based on gender identity. “We are here to live in peace. We are citizens just like everyone else. We are lawyers and doctors and judges. And the fellow who delivers the newspaper, and the ones who are waiting on you, and who are washing your dishes,” said Michael Aller, of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.
If the DeSantis administration is genuinely concerned about the welfare of children, it would prohibit them from being permitted to enter establishments like Tilted Kilt and Twin Peaks Restaurants, which have locations across the state, where young waitresses are hyper-sexualized, and required to don lingerie while serving liquor to patrons who bring children along.
DeSantis is attempting to set a dangerous precedent which could lead to the administration threatening to close movie theaters where adults to bring their children to movies with sexualized scenes. Or restrictions on concerts like Lady Gaga, Madonna and Beyonce. Now is the time for Floridians to stand up to this witch hunt against the LGBTQ community disguised as an effort to protect the children.
Tamara Holder is a nationally recognized civil rights attorney. She built a pro bono legal clinic at Rainbow Push Coalition under Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr, and was a progressive legal analyst on Fox News Channel for nearly a decade.
Washington Post reporter Fenit Nirappil highlighted this disturbing trend, pointing out that, in fact, mass shootings “are overwhelmingly carried out by cisgender men” and that “trans people are more likely to be victims of violence than cisgender people.” University of Washington associate professor of criminal justice Eric Madfis, who has studied the gender dynamics of mass shootings, told the Post: “This is not a good-faith effort at trying to address school shootings and mass shootings. This is a cynical, bigoted attack.”
But in the right-wing echo chamber, transgender people are not only a major force behind mass mass shootings (there is no data supporting this), but they also represent a burgeoning domestic terrorist movement seeking to attack society from within. These false claims are a mirror image of right-wing media’s own long pattern of incitement against LGBTQ people, which has been followed by either near-silence or outright justification of anti-LGBTQ violence after it occurs.
In one example, a hoax claim from a white nationalist social media account, alleging that trans people were planning to kill Christians,
IN ONE EXAMPLE, A HOAX CLAIM FROM A WHITE NATIONALIST SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT, ALLEGING THAT TRANS PEOPLE WERE PLANNING TO KILL CHRISTIANS, MADE ITS WAY INTO FOX NEWS’ PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING, WITH STAR HOST TUCKER CARLSON PRESENTING THIS OBVIOUS LIE AS IF IT HAD BEEN A REAL THREAT.
made its way into Fox News’ prime-time programming, with star host Tucker Carlson presenting this obvious lie as if it had been a real threat.
Here are further examples of prominent right-wing media personalities using the tragedy in Nashville to promote a full-on scare campaign against an entire marginalized group:
Turning Point USA’s Benny Johnson: “The Colorado Springs shooter identified as non binary. The Denver shooter identified as trans. The Aberdeen shooter identified as trans. The Nashville shooter identified as trans. One thing is VERY clear: the modern trans movement is radicalizing activists into terrorists.” [Twitter, 3/27/23]
Right-wing podcast host Tim Pool: “Trans people right now, I believe — this is what’s going around right now on Twitter — per capita, trans people commit more acts of terrorism than any other demographic. Now, that does sound pretty shocking, then you realize there’s very few trans people.” [Timcast IRL, 3/27/23]
The Federalist CEO Sean Davis: “The trans cult is the most deadly and dangerous violent terrorist group in America per capita, and it’s not even close.” [Twitter, 3/27/23]
Right-wing podcast host Liz Wheeler: “This is what Queer Theory was intended to do: create a new vanguard of supposedly ‘oppressed’ LGBTQ people to stage a neo-Marxist revolution against the cishetereopatriarchal Christian ‘oppressors.’ Trans grooming is working.” [Twitter, 3/27/23]
Anti-trans troll group Gays Against Groomers: “Tennessee banned child sterilization and mutilation (gender-affirming care) and weeks later, a radical trans activist shot up a Christian elementary school. They’ve weaponized the trans movement and turned activists into martyrs, teaching that the solution to policy debate is violence. This is so dangerous.” [Twitter, 3/27/23]
Fox News host Laura Ingraham: “A deranged woman who calls herself, or is beginning to call herself, a man — and then of course overall celebrated by elites for doing so — took the lives of six innocent people. Instead
of getting Hale the help that she needed along the way, our social media culture, Hollywood, even corporate America affirmed what would ultimately be a lie that our genetic makeup can somehow be denied.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 3/27/23]
Newsmax host Greg Kelly: “Looking at the data, looking at recent history, it would seem that transgender is potentially more of a threat if applied recklessly than, say, white supremacy, OK? We have actual documented episodes where we don’t have them from white supremacists over the past recent history.” [Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, 3/27/23]
The Daily Wire’s Candace Owens: “When you play Frankenstein with people’s body’s parts, you can’t be surprised when they behave like monsters. A person willing to execute violence upon his/her own body will not hesitate to impart violence onto someone else’s”. (Owens later threatened legal action against right-leaning outlet Newsweek for reporting on her tweet.) [Twitter, 3/27/23]
Infowars’ Alex Jones bizarrely claimed: “Now, about 80% of the time these school shooters are transgender, and the media tries to cover it up.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones
Show,
Daily Wire host Michael Knowles: “Guns have nothing to do with this, have absolutely nothing to do with this. … They certainly haven’t become all that much more dangerous, if at all. What has changed is the fact that we call insanity sanity, and we call truth falsehood, and we call good evil, and we call beauty ugliness” [The Daily Wire, The Michael Knowles Show, 3/28/23]
Carlson: “The trans movement is targeting Christians, including with violence. Most Christian leaders in this country don’t want to admit that. … Yesterday’s massacre did not happen because of lax gun laws. Yesterday’s massacre happened because of a deranged and demonic ideology that is infecting this country with the encouragement of people like Joe Biden. Let’s start by being honest about that.” [Fox News, Tucker Carlson Tonight, 3/28/23]
Right-wing activist Christopher Rufo: “The ‘trans suicide’ blackmail, which threatened violence against self, was not enough to prevent state legislatures from banning child sex change procedures, so now the movement proceeds to the second phase, ‘trans vengeance,’ which threatens violence against others.” [Twitter, 3/29/23]
Geri smoked menthol cigarettes. Now she has COPD. There is no cure. She’s hoping to get on the lung transplant list, but she doesn’t know if she’ll be accepted in time.
You can quit smoking.
For free help, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
The best laws are only as good as the motives of those who are supposed to uphold them. Florida’s once-proud “Government in the Sunshine,” having survived under eight previous governors, is now endangered by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
He’s the first Florida governor to claim an “executive privilege” exists to allow him to withhold public records, a pretext nowhere found in Florida’s Constitution, which says every governmental record is subject to public disclosure unless the Legislature has created a specific exemption for it.
There are 1,159 exceptions and counting to the open meeting and open records laws, according to the Florida First Amendment Foundation. None recognizes an executive privilege.
A Tallahassee Circuit judge named Angela Dempsey, who may soon be on the short list for a Supreme Court appointment from DeSantis, created executive privilege for him. An attorney who had filed suit to demand that DeSantis turn over documents warned Dempsey that to rule for DeSantis “would render Florida’s Public Records Acts meaningless and impotent.”
She did it anyway, ruling on Dec. 20 to allow the governor to use executive privilege in that Tallahassee court case.
Dempsey’s decision is being appealed. If it’s sustained, DeSantis could maintain that all government agencies under his control have the same privilege, which would elevate a disaster for government transparency in Florida into a catastrophe.
The governor’s office also routinely slowwalks freedom of information requests, holding them for “review” for months at a time, and has created a highly contentious relationship with the capital press.
Further, DeSantis signed legislation shielding university presidential searches from public view. The law calls for three finalists to be identified in the process, but that requirement has been gamed when universities name only one finalist, effectively quashing public debate over the
decision. That’s how Ben Sasse, a Republican senator from Nebraska, became president of the University of Florida.
DeSantis has virtually nullified public access to the elected state Cabinet, whose meetings are supposed to be an open window into much of the government, simply by rarely calling any meetings at all.
Now, there’s pending legislation to exempt any of the travel records maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is responsible for his security, that would reveal where he’s been traveling and shed light on whether he is reimbursing the state for using his official jet to sell his new book and pursue the presidency.
Those new laws (SB 1616, HB 1495) would be retroactive, deep-sixing all pending requests. They would apply also to the records of the governor’s family, the Cabinet, legislative leaders, the chief justice and people traveling with them.
When the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times asked FDLE last year for several weeks’ worth of DeSantis’s travel records, the newspapers said the agency released a few heavily redacted ones and withheld others with the excuse that there was a backlog of requests.
The legislators fronting for DeSantis say the bills would help protect the governor, those traveling with him and the agents who guard them. That doesn’t explain why historical data should also be exempt.
(Disclosure: The Florida Center for Governmental Accountability is in litigation with DeSantis over records dealing with his use of state funds to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.)
To appreciate how radically reactionary DeSantis is, let’s look back at Florida’s open government history.
Governor LeRoy Collins, Florida’s first great reformer, urged the 1955 Legislature to pass an open meetings law for all state or local policy-making boards. He had been fighting with the Board of Control, which ran the universities, over its secret meetings.
The people, Collins told the Legislature, “have yielded to us no right to decide what is good for them to know or for what it is bad for them to know.”
The Legislature initially didn’t agree, but one legislator who had heard Collins say that, J. Emory “Red” Cross of Gainesville, tried session after session to ban secret meetings. Each bill was dead on arrival in the rural-dominated Legislature.
Cross’s “Government in the Sunshine” bill finally passed in 1967. It was the first session after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Legislature reapportioned to represent people, not pine trees, taking away inordinate power from the more rural areas of the state.
The same session also updated and significantly strengthened Florida’s open public records law — Chapter 119 of the statutes — which dates back to 1909.
Three future governors — Reubin Askew, Bob Graham and Lawton Chiles — were legislators in the 1967 session. So was Robert Shevin, a Miami senator who became
attorney general and a fierce advocate of liberally interpreting government transparency laws. He and the courts gave expansive interpretations to both the Sunshine and public records laws.
Claude R. Kirk Jr., the first Republican governor in Florida since Reconstruction, was a showman who enjoyed vetoing Democratic bills. But he didn’t veto those.
As a U.S. senator, Chiles used Florida’s open government laws as a model for national legislation that Congress enacted in 1976. But after his election to governor in 1991, some of the reporters had quarrels with him over documents he didn’t want released.
Chiles was governor when the Legislature adopted a constitutional amendment forever guaranteeing public access to meetings and records. It came in response to a Florida Supreme Court decision that appeared to exclude agencies established in the Constitution, like the governor and Cabinet, from such access.
Then-Attorney General Bob Butterworth strongly pushed for the amendment, which
voters approved by a record 87% in the 1992 election.
Ten years later, the public ratified another amendment requiring a two-thirds vote in each House to create or renew an exemption from the public record or open meetings laws. That majority was 77%.
Those referenda proved that open government is enormously popular with the people. It is as helpful to individual citizens as to the media.
From Kirk to DeSantis, governors of both parties generally understood that self-evident truth and complied with the Sunshine laws, albeit with occasional lapses and frayed relations with the Tallahassee press corps.
Askew, who served as governor from 1971 to 1979, appropriated the word “Sunshine” for his 1976 initiative amending the Constitution to include a strict ethics code for public officials that requires them to disclose their personal finances. The people passed it with 78.9 percent of their votes.
Graham, who served two terms as governor beginning in 1979, and Gov. Bob Martinez, his successor, were respected by the media for their commitment to open government.
Republican Jeb Bush, elected in 1999, and his staff occasionally had contentious relations with the media. On taking office, he refused to reveal his calendar and insisted on meeting in private with legislative leaders. But he did not stiff public records requests like DeSantis is doing, and he showed respect to the Sunshine laws.
Bush’s successor, Charlie Crist, had extolled government sunshine as attorney general. On his first day in the governor’s office, Crist publicly signed an executive order creating an Office of Open Government.
Crist’s successor, Rick Scott, had become a millionaire running a private hospital company. He was unaccustomed to public disclosures, didn’t take easily to Florida’s, and cracked the door to the ugliness we see today from DeSantis.
Steve Bousquet, a Times capital bureau chief during Scott’s regime, says Scott and his agencies “routinely foot-dragged” Chapter 119 requests. He flew on his own airplane,
having sold the state’s, leaving no official record trail of his travels, and opted out of a national “Flight Aware” program, making it impossible to track the private aircraft.
But unlike DeSantis, Scott did not try to weaken the laws.
Mike DeForest, an Orlando television investigative reporter, discovered in February that DeSantis’s office has been reviewing — and delaying — Chapter 119 requests sent to agencies under the governor’s command, including the Department of Corrections, the Department of Health, and the FDLE.
More than 280 batches of records were sent to the governor’s office in 2021, wrote DeForest, with dozens returned to the agencies more than two months later and a few kept for nine months or more. This appears to be in complete contradiction to the Public Records Act, which demands government agencies turn over public records in a “reasonable” amount of time and makes unjustified delays unlawful.
The “executive privilege” decree Dempsey signed, which was essentially drafted by DeSantis’s lawyers, is the greatest threat to open government in Florida since the 1992 amendment engraved Sunshine into the Constitution.
In that case, an anonymous petitioner identified only as J. Doe sought documents pertaining to a secret committee of “six or seven pretty big legal conservative heavyweights” that DeSantis said helps him vet candidates for appointments to the Supreme Court.
Other sources have revealed that one member of the shadow committee is Leonard Leo, the Federalist Society guru who effectively controls federal judicial appointments under Republican administrations.
Doe sued for relevant documents that weren’t forthcoming. Asserting executive privilege, the governor’s lawyers argued that executive privilege is “rooted in the separation of powers.” They also claimed that “the privilege is not for the executive but for the benefit of the public to ‘protect the effectiveness of the overall governmental system at stake.’”
It is as LeRoy Collins objected 68 years ago. Government is once again telling the public what is good or not good for them to know.
“Think you know Ron DeSantis? Think again.”
That’s how the first attack in the 2024 presidential cycle against Gov. DeSantis begins. A super PAC aligned with former President Donald Trump is spending $1.3 million for a week’s worth of ads, according to Politico
They’ll run on Fox News Channel, CNN and Newsmax.
It’s notable because DeSantis has yet to declare his candidacy. It’s widely expected he will do so once the legislative session in Florida wraps up in May.
The MAGA, Inc. ad hits DeSantis over his previous support for cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
“The more you see about DeSantis, the more
you see he doesn’t share our values. He’s not ready to be president,” the ad closes with. In other campaign news the recent indictment of Trump in New York City has given him a boost in the polls. The first survey conducted post indictment shows a surge of the former president. In that poll Trump holds a 26-point lead over DeSantis in the GOP primary – up from eight points two weeks ago.
THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE ALSO ROUTINELY SLOWWALKS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS, HOLDING THEM FOR “REVIEW”
FOR MONTHS AT A TIME, AND HAS CREATED A HIGHLY CONTENTIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CAPITAL PRESS.
CHECK WEBSITES AND FACEBOOK PAGES FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION REGARDING IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE OF SERVICES, AS WELL AS VIRTUAL VIEWING OPTIONS.
Easter is not a feast that the church celebrates only one day of the year. The 50 days between Easter and Pentecost are known as the Eastertide, a time of focused reflection on the mystery of the Resurrection and who we are called to be as part of a new creation. Of course, every Sunday is also a mini-celebration of the Resurrection.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is fond of saying, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.” Scripture tells us that God is love and “everyone who loves is born of God” (1 John 4:7-8). In fact, we are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). We are, then, created out of love, in love, and for love.
Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is more than the image or likeness. He is the exact
imprint of God’s very being (Hebrews 1:3), love incarnate embodied for us. So, when Jesus was raised from the dead, it was love that defeated and survives death. We pass from death to life because of love.
Love is of our essence and we live, we truly live, when we love. Moreover, “those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them” (1 John 4:16); so we are never to turn our backs on love. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and each time we receive Holy Communion, we receive what we are to become – more fully the Body of Christ for the world, love incarnate, love within. “If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12).
Easter is about the power of love. It matters not whom you love, but that you love.
Love as you are loved by God … and us.
“What was it like when I wailed in the hospital at the news that Lincoln needed to be put down?” I asked Ray this morning. We don’t often get to see ourselves through the eyes of our beloved. I rarely lose control. I wanted to know what he saw, and how he felt.
“You were traumatized, and you tried to muffle your screaming grief as you pulled on your hair,” Ray said. “I knew not to interrupt it, but my focus was on you.”
“How long did it go on?” I asked.
“A few minutes.”
“I remember you offering to drive us home, but I assured you I was able to drive. I just hated that before we got to see Lincoln and be with him when he was put to sleep, they asked us to pick out a box for his ashes.”
“I knew that I had to make the decision,” Ray said. “You were too upset to think about the ashes.”
“When did you get to express your grief?”
“When we put him down,” he said. While we were sharing so personally about how we experienced the other, I took the opportunity to say, “I often wonder what you’ll miss least about me when I’m gone, and what you’ll miss most.”
“I can’t even go there,” he said.
The conversation about how I looked to him when I was in such untypical, uncontrolled behavior at the hospital was prompted by a medical problem that had resulted.
The persistent lump in my throat, feeling like a golf ball, was ex-rayed, given an ultrasound, and finally a nasal endoscopy.
“Have you had any recent trauma?” the doctor asked.
“When our dog died six weeks ago, I wailed in agony.”
“You damaged your vocal cords, and acid reflux is filling the grooves of the damage.” He handed me a paper that described exactly my condition, and he prescribed an antacid.
Ray and I had a good, teary conversation about missing Lincoln after we lit the candle and incense in his honor today, and in that of a friend’s best friend who had died yesterday.
I know that I don’t see the world through Ray’s eyes nor he through mine. It fascinates me that we’ll be together for 47 years in May and while I think I know him best, and he me, we are two different souls with very different life experiences. And, yet, we grow together by discussing the same meditations each morning, watching the same programs, and often reading the same books. Nevertheless, I want to hear from him periodically about how he witnesses my behavior. I can feel it, but I cannot see it.
“What are my worst or most challenging behaviors? Being bossy? Finishing your sentences?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ray said. “It’s too painful to think about. I’ll miss everything about you.”
Brian McNaught has been an author and educator on LGBTQ issues since 1974. Former Congressman Barney Frank said of Brian, “No one has done a better job of chronicling what it’s like to grow up gay." www.brian-mcnaught.com.
As a former Chicagoan, I am very picky about my pizza. While I have yet to find any place that serves good deepdish pizza similar to my favorite in Chicago, Lou Malnati’s, thankfully the restaurant ships frozen pizzas which are almost as good as the restaurant version. I am beginning to develop an appreciation for New York-style pizza, although I still think if you can fold it, it should be classified as a taco. There are also places down here that dish up a good Neapolitan style, a fairly good Detroit style, and a reasonably good facsimile of a Chicago stuffed pizza (which is very different from deep dish.) Here are a few of my favorites.
By the way, I do not, as a rule, include franchises or chains when I am comparing restaurants. If you think Domino’s or Papa John’s make edible pizzas not only are your tastebuds out of whack but so are your politics (do a Google search of the politicians each business supports).
BONA ITALIAN
2468 Wilton Dr., Wilton Manors
954-565-7222
bonaitalian.com
To be honest, I didn’t care too much for Bona’s pizza. It was beautifully made, just not to my taste. Usually, I get the excellent chicken piccata. But one day, on a whim, I asked for the pizza to be cooked well done and added extra cheese. It tasted just like the thinpizzas of my youth. Now, if I could get them to do a square cut, it would be perfect.
HERITAGE PIZZA
903 NE 5th Ave., Fort Lauderdale 954-635-2335
heritageftl.com
Even if the pizza wasn’t as good as it is, folks would keep coming back for the service. It’s not unusual to have six different employees check to make certain everything is to your liking. It’s that kind of attention to detail that
rules at Heritage. The pizza is Neapolitan style, but with some beautifully curated toppings. I want to try the charred onion puree, fontina, radicchio, caramelized onions, and prosciutto combo next time. The pizzas are pricey, ranging upwards to $26 for a 12-incher. The small dining room is loud and not conducive to conversation, so picking up a pie and taking it home is your best bet.
PATIO BAR & PIZZA
901 Progresso Dr., Fort Lauderdale 954-740-6000 patiobarpizza.com
Patio Bar & Pizza offers woodfired brick oven pizzas in the Neapolitan style. While it is not my preferred style of pizza, it is one of my preferred locations for two reasons. The restaurant encourages customers to customize their pie, making it cheesy, spicy, or extra-crispy. Although there is inside dining, we always opt for the spacious flagstone patio which offers a distinctly urban feel, from the nearby traffic, trains, and stunning downtown views. There is an excellent collection of cocktails, beers, and other drinks. It draws a late-night crowd that is there as much for the drinks as the food. Service is efficient if not the friendliest, but most of the servers are so attractive, I’m willing to overlook that.
BLUE STEEL PIZZA COMPANY
2460 E. Commercial, Fort Lauderdale 954-716-6875 bluesteelpizzaftl.com
Detroit-style pizza looks like Chicago-style deep-dish, but the similarities end there. The dough is similar to a focaccia, light and fluffy, and fills most of the pan. The toppings lay on top of the dough and a blanketed by grated cheese, which also oozes down the side crust and gives a wonderful, caramelized edge to the ‘za. Blue Steel has taken over the space formerly occupied by Gatsby’s.
I teased about this place a few weeks ago. The pizza maker here is a Chicago ex-pat who is dishing up authentic stuffed pizza. For those not in the know, a stuffed pizza is a deep-dish pie, filled with cheese and toppings, topped with another thin crust, which is then topped with cheese and sauce (and sometimes toppings). One slice is usually enough for a meal and is eaten with a knife and fork. Although other places make similar pies, Il Baretto is the only one I would say comes closest to authentic Chicago-style
stuffed pizza.
What about you? What is your favorite pizza place? Drop me an email and let me know.
Jason Parsley
The 2017 duet “Rainbowland” featuring Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus was nixed from a first-grade spring concert in Wisconsin after it was determined it could be too controversial.
Living in a Rainbowland
Where you and I go hand in hand
Oh, I’d be lying if I said this was fine
All the hurt and the hate going on here
We are rainbows, me and you
Every color, every hue
Let’s shine on through
Together, we can start living in a Rainbowland
School District of Waukesha
Superintendent Jim Sebert told FOX News: “It was determined that ‘Rainbowland’ could be perceived as controversial.” One parent, Sarah Schindler, said, “I think, for some reason, the district sees rainbows as a
political symbol.”
Parton summed up the song to Taste of Country in 2017 like this: “It’s really about if we could love one another a little better or be a little kinder, be a little sweeter, we could live in rainbow land. It’s really just about dreaming and hoping that we could all do better.”
J.W. Arnold
Over a three-decade career, prolific playwright and producer Ronnie Larsen has created dozens and dozens of plays, and even a couple of musicals. But for his latest work, he upended his usual process.
For “Now & Then,” a critically-acclaimed 2018 musical, composer Dennis Manning approached Larsen with a collection of country music-inspired songs and Larsen imagined the story about the trials and tribulations of a gay couple over several decades.
He did the same thing for “Come Out, Come Out,” a nostalgic show about the lives of gay men in the city during the 1920s. Larsen began researching songs from the period (“The naughtier [double entendre], the better,” he said.) and then built the show around his favorites.
The idea for “One More Yesterday,” premiering this weekend at the Foundry, started with a story, not the music. The plot started to come together more than four years ago, inspired by the work of Carbonellwinning actress Angie Radosh, who stars.
“It’s the story of a Broadway actress, Lidia Taylor, who has won three Tony awards, but never achieved ‘star’ status,” explained Larsen. “Her career has dried up and she’s living on nothing. She just wants to work again, to get a second chance.”
Lidia’s agent gets her cast in a campy, no-budget horror movie, “The Vigilante Granny,” and everything changes, he added. But “One More Yesterday” is a serious musical and not an ode to “Sunset Boulevard” or the desperate choices of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis later in their careers.
For the music, Larsen turned back to Manning and enlisted the services of music director Bobby Peaco to add the Broadway touch to Manning’s lyrical songs.
“It’s an interesting process: Dennis writes the song and then passes it to Bobby, who turns it into a show tune. Dennis records it, then Bobby records it and then we hand it off to the actors. It’s not a countrywestern song by the time we’re done, it’s a Broadway ballad,” Larsen said.
Larsen assembled an A-list cast and crew for the show, including Carbonell winners
He’s also not sparing resources. The show has a $100,000 budget over a sixweek run, but Larsen’s not too worried.
“I would write a scene and [Angie and Avi] would read it and I was just left speechless. They understood the rhythms of the characters immediately. And Angie is so connected to the material. She told me she knew this character,” Larsen added.
But, then again, he’s also careful not to jinx the show: “You never quite know what you have until you get to the run-throughs and then an audience.”
If the buzz following a sneak peak performance last week before a live audience is any indication, Larsen just may have another hit on his hands.
More than anything else, Margaret Cho is unconditionally, unapologetically herself. Cho is the champion of debunking taboo subjects like sex, race, world politics, sexual orientation, and womanhood (to name a few) with her unabashed, sure-fire humor.
DON’T MISS ONE NIGHT WITH MARGARET CHO!
This event contains adult language.
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