MI Assistant AG suspended over gay-bashing blog - UPDATE

Andrew Shirvell with photo shopped picture of Chris Armstrong

UPDATE: It appears that Attorney General Mike Cox didn't suspend Asst. AG Andrew Shirvell. Shrivell says reports of his suspension are untrue, and that he has merely taken a voluntary leave of absence from his job.

Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, said this morning that media reports saying Cox suspended Shirvell were inaccurate.

If that's the case, then Cox should be fired!

Clearly these two anti-gay, Tea Party state employees should not be the leading law enforcement officials in the state.

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Finally, some good news! If you hadn't heard the background on this story, the Assistant Attorney General in Michigan -- Andrew Shirvell -- started a blog for the sole purpose of harassing University of Michigan student leader Chris Armstrong. So why would a presumed adult take the time to stalk and harass a college student? Chris Armstrong is gay.

Another Michigan blogger described Shirvell's behavior this way:

You would think the guy working for the republican Attorney General who lectures in schools about how to stop cyber bullying would know better. But Michigan AG Mike Cox's Asst., Andrew Shirvell just can't keep his teabagging, gay hating, religious zealot mouth shut.

College student Chris Armstrong is the President of the University of Michigan's Student Assembly. And he's been politically active, or as christian teabagger Asst. AG Shirvell might put it, "using his Nazi-like anti christian cult to lure innocent heterosexuals into accepting the evil gay." Evil, anti christian things like campaigning against tuition hikes, and working for safe housing for transgendered youth on campus.

Michigan's Attorney General has been reluctant to do anything, citing Shirvell's First Amendment free speech rights. All of Shirvell's blogging activity has allegedly taken place after hours.

Shirvell had recently stepped up his harassment of Armstrong by stalking the college student near his residence, and at local clubs where Armstrong was known to hang out. The actions caused Armstrong to seek a personal protection order against Shirvell.

I began this post by saying there is finally some good news! Well, after (cough) careful consideration, MI Attorney General Mike Cox has had a change of heart and suspended Shirvell.

Attorney General Mike Cox changed his stance Thursday, suspending Andrew Shirvell after the assistant attorney general attracted national attention for a controversial blog that ridicules and denounces a University of Michigan student leader for his gay advocacy, religious beliefs and character.

The suspension came a day after Cox told CNN he didn't intend to fire Shirvell, citing civil service rules that protect government employees from being "fired willy-nilly" for exercising their rights of free speech.

Cox said he hadn't earlier read all of Shirvell's blog, "Chris Armstrong Watch," that dogs Armstrong, the 21-year-old, openly gay president of U-M's student government and accuses him of "anti-Christian behavior," "mocking God," promoting homosexuality and trying "to recruit your sons and daughters" into the gay lifestyle.

"I'm at fault here," Cox said. "I've been saying for weeks that (Shirvell's) been acting like a bully, that his behavior is immature, but it's after-hours and protected by the First Amendment."

Republican (Tea party supporter) Cox couldn't leave it at just suspending Shirvell. He had to take a shot at Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who posted on Twitter that she would have fired Shirvell.

"I don't know why she's so freaking irresponsible. ... she went to Harvard Law School," Cox said. "The civil service rules are a huge shield for free speech and she knows that."

As governor, Granholm enacted policies applying to state workers that bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation -- but those rules apply to the workplace, not to what employees say or blog after-hours. The rules allow political appointees like Cox to fire employees for "just cause," including "conduct unbecoming a state employee," said Matt Fedorchuk, a spokesman for the state department of civil service.

What determines that conduct isn't explicitly described. [...]

Larry Dubin, a professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, said he doubts that Shirvell can effectively perform his job representing the public, when he's forcefully expressed his "biblical" views condemning homosexuality as the work of the devil. "My real concern is whether as an attorney for the Michigan Attorney General's Office, he can competently represent gay people in our state," Dubin said.

"Perhaps that raises a legitimate question as to his competency to hold this job, rather than examining his right to speak his brand of hate."

It doesn't stop there for Shirvell. Also on Thursday, Diane Brown, a spokeswoman for the campus police, confirmed Shirvell is subject to an ongoing investigation of "harassing or stalking" and banned from campus. Shirvell was read a trespass warning on Sept. 14 that bars him from setting foot on campus, Brown said. Shirvell is appealing the order, but no hearing date has been set.

Armstrong may need a body guard now that Shivell has been suspended.  Judging from the way Shivell has escalated his harassment of Armstrong, he's probably not safe.

We've heard a lot about kids bullying other kids lately. Is it any wonder this behavior takes place, when adults -- in positions of authority -- act this way!  Shivell needs to be fired, to send a strong statement that this behavior is not acceptable.

Secret sex video linked to NJ student's suicide

It is just completely unacceptable to me that any college-age student would think they have a right to invade someone's privacy this way. A life is lost, and for what? The students responsible need to spend time in jail thinking about their actions, and as a society we MUST stop passing judgment on people because of their sexual orientation, or ANY characteristic that cannot be changed.

The death of a Rutgers University freshman stirred outrage and remorse on campus from classmates who wished they could have stopped the teen from jumping off a bridge last week after a recording of him having a sexual encounter with a man was broadcast online.

"Had he been in bed with a woman, this would not have happened," said Lauren Felton, 21, of Warren. "He wouldn't have been outed via an online broadcast and his privacy would have been respected and he might still have his life."

Gay rights groups say Tyler Clementi's suicide makes him a national example of a problem they are increasingly working to combat: young people who kill themselves after being tormented over their sexuality.
A lawyer for Clementi's family confirmed Wednesday that he had jumped off the George Washington Bridge last week. Police recovered a man's body Wednesday afternoon in the Hudson River just north of the bridge, and authorities were trying to determine if it was Clementi's. [...]

Clementi's roommate, Dhraun Ravi, and fellow Rutgers freshman Molly Wei, both 18, have been charged with invading Clementi's privacy. Middlesex County prosecutors say the pair used a webcam to surreptitiously transmit a live image of Clementi having sex on Sept. 19 and that Ravi tried to webcast a second encounter on Sept. 21, the day before Clementi's suicide. [...]

Collecting or viewing sexual images without consent is a fourth-degree crime. Transmitting them is a third-degree crime with a maximum prison term of five years.

The Court should throw the book at these two students.

"The notion that video of Tyler doing what he was doing can be considered a spectacle is just heinous," said Jordan Gochman, 19, of Jackson, who didn't know Clementi. "It's intolerant, it's upsetting, it makes it seem that being gay is something that is wrong and can be considered laughable."

Other students who did know Clement were upset that they didn't do more to help him. "I wish I could have been more of an ally," said Georges Richa, a freshman from New Brunswick.

About 100 people gathered Wednesday night for a vigil on campus. They lay on the ground and chanted slogans like, "We're here, we're queer, we're not going home."

Several gay rights groups linked Clementi's death to the troubling phenomenon of young people committing suicide after being harassed over their sexuality.

On Tuesday, a 13-year-old California boy died nine days after classmates found him hanging from a tree. Authorities say other teens had taunted the boy, Seth Walsh of Tehachapi, for being gay.

Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, said in a statement that his group considers Clementi's death a hate crime.

"We are heartbroken over the tragic loss of a young man who, by all accounts, was brilliant, talented and kind," Goldstein said. "And we are sickened that anyone in our society, such as the students allegedly responsible for making the surreptitious video, might consider destroying others' lives as a sport."

Newspaper columnist and gay rights activist Dan Savage has launched a YouTube channel in an effort to reach out to gay and lesbian youth. His "It Gets Better Project" features video's by lesbian and gay adults who share their stories about harassment and how it does (eventually) get better.

I've been fortunate in that I've not faced a lot of harassment, but then I didn't come out until I was an adult. It's tough for boys and girls who are struggling with coming out. Often they are shunned by their families and friends, and become targets for abuse. Even someone perceived to be lesbian or gay can face harassment and violence. And imagine the challenges faced by transgender women and men.

As I've said before, it's all rooted in sexism. If our culture didn't try and place individuals in such rigid roles it wouldn't matter if a boy wanted to be a cheerleader, or a girl wanted to play on the school football team.

Ohio Male Cheerleader Beaten by Bullies

This is another example of why people need to be concerned about sexism. Tyler Wilson expected some teasing, what he didn't expect was a broken shoulder and bruises. Here is a little boy who is planning ahead. He wants to get into college, and cheerleading could provide that avenue. At a nearby university, the University of Toledo, half of the 40 cheerleaders are male.

Sexism not only hurts women and girls, but also men and boys. It's time for society in general to stand up to the bullies and say "no more!"

God Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule - Still Relevant

In 2001 The Onion published "God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule." Sadly, nine years later it's still relevant. Killing or injuring someone because of their religion -- or yours -- is just not right.

Take a few moments to read this ... it's worth the time.

Responding to recent events on Earth, God, the omniscient creator-deity worshipped by billions of followers of various faiths for more than 6,000 years, angrily clarified His longtime stance against humans killing each other Monday.

"Look, I don't know, maybe I haven't made myself completely clear, so for the record, here it is again," said the Lord, His divine face betraying visible emotion during a press conference near the site of the fallen Twin Towers. "Somehow, people keep coming up with the idea that I want them to kill their neighbor. Well, I don't. And to be honest, I'm really getting sick and tired of it. Get it straight. Not only do I not want anybody to kill anyone, but I specifically commanded you not to, in really simple terms that anybody ought to be able to understand."

Worshipped by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, God said His name has been invoked countless times over the centuries as a reason to kill in what He called "an unending cycle of violence."

"I don't care how holy somebody claims to be," God said. "If a person tells you it's My will that they kill someone, they're wrong. Got it? I don't care what religion you are, or who you think your enemy is, here it is one more time: No killing, in My name or anyone else's, ever again."

The press conference came as a surprise to humankind, as God rarely intervenes in earthly affairs. As a matter of longstanding policy, He has traditionally left the task of interpreting His message and divine will to clerics, rabbis, priests, imams, and Biblical scholars. Theologians and laymen alike have been given the task of pondering His ineffable mysteries, deciding for themselves what to do as a matter of faith. His decision to manifest on the material plane was motivated by the deep sense of shock, outrage, and sorrow He felt over the Sept. 11 violence carried out in His name, and over its dire potential ramifications around the globe.

"I tried to put it in the simplest possible terms for you people, so you'd get it straight, because I thought it was pretty important," said God, called Yahweh and Allah respectively in the Judaic and Muslim traditions. "I guess I figured I'd left no real room for confusion after putting it in a four-word sentence with one-syllable words, on the tablets I gave to Moses. How much more clear can I get?"

"But somehow, it all gets twisted around and, next thing you know, somebody's spouting off some nonsense about, 'God says I have to kill this guy, God wants me to kill that guy, it's God's will,'" God continued. "It's not God's will, all right? News flash: 'God's will' equals 'Don't murder people.'"

Worse yet, many of the worst violators claim that their actions are justified by passages in the Bible, Torah, and Qur'an.

"To be honest, there's some contradictory stuff in there, okay?" God said. "So I can see how it could be pretty misleading. I admit it—My bad. I did My best to inspire them, but a lot of imperfect human agents have misinterpreted My message over the millennia. Frankly, much of the material that got in there is dogmatic, doctrinal bullshit. I turn My head for a second and, suddenly, all this stuff about homosexuality gets into Leviticus, and everybody thinks it's God's will to kill gays. It absolutely drives Me up the wall."

God praised the overwhelming majority of His Muslim followers as "wonderful, pious people," calling the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks rare exceptions.

"This whole medieval concept of the jihad, or holy war, had all but vanished from the Muslim world in, like, the 10th century, and with good reason," God said. "There's no such thing as a holy war, only unholy ones. The vast majority of Muslims in this world reject the murderous actions of these radical extremists, just like the vast majority of Christians in America are pissed off over those two bigots on The 700 Club."

Continued God, "Read the book: 'Allah is kind, Allah is beautiful, Allah is merciful.' It goes on and on that way, page after page. But, no, some assholes have to come along and revive this stupid holy-war crap just to further their own hateful agenda. So now, everybody thinks Muslims are all murderous barbarians. Thanks, Taliban: 1,000 years of pan-Islamic cultural progress down the drain."

God stressed that His remarks were not directed exclusively at Islamic extremists, but rather at anyone whose ideological zealotry overrides his or her ability to comprehend the core message of all world religions.

"I don't care what faith you are, everybody's been making this same mistake since the dawn of time," God said. "The Muslims massacre the Hindus, the Hindus massacre the Muslims. The Buddhists, everybody massacres the Buddhists. The Jews, don't even get me started on the hardline, right-wing, Meir Kahane-loving Israeli nationalists, man. And the Christians? You people believe in a Messiah who says, 'Turn the other cheek,' but you've been killing everybody you can get your hands on since the Crusades."

Growing increasingly wrathful, God continued: "Can't you people see? What are you, morons? There are a ton of different religious traditions out there, and different cultures worship Me in different ways. But the basic message is always the same: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism... every religious belief system under the sun, they all say you're supposed to love your neighbors, folks! It's not that hard a concept to grasp."

"Why would you think I'd want anything else? Humans don't need religion or God as an excuse to kill each other—you've been doing that without any help from Me since you were freaking apes!" God said. "The whole point of believing in God is to have a higher standard of behavior. How obvious can you get?"

"I'm talking to all of you, here!" continued God, His voice rising to a shout. "Do you hear Me? I don't want you to kill anybody. I'm against it, across the board. How many times do I have to say it? Don't kill each other anymore—ever! I'm fucking serious!"

Upon completing His outburst, God fell silent, standing quietly at the podium for several moments. Then, witnesses reported, God's shoulders began to shake, and He wept.

'Traditional Family' Didn't Work for Payton Ettinger

How often have we heard that children need a 'traditional family' -- meaning a mother and father. That certainly didn't work for Payton Ettinger.

[Courtney G.] Tressler called police May 17 to say she had found her son, Payton Wesley Ettinger, dead four hours after feeding him and putting him in his crib for a nap, authorities said. A pathologist's report found the boy had virtually no food in his stomach or intestines when he died.

The pathologist found that the boy suffered from "profound malnutrition," had no body fat and that the "skin on his face was drawn tightly against his skull and face bones with obvious emaciation," according to a probable charge affidavit against Tressler.

Investigators said the boy had not seen a doctor since Nov. 3, 2006, when he weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces as a 1-year-old, according to the affidavit.

Tressler told officers she had intended to take her son to a doctor May 15 after noticing he had lost weight but had delayed the trip for financial reasons. But investigators said in the affidavit that she visited a doctor twice on May 19 for her own medical reasons.

Clearly the mother didn't have his best interests at heart. What about Payton's father?

Payton Ettinger was unable to speak, walk or control most of his physical movements due to brain damage suffered during abuse by his father, police said. The boy's father, Martin Ettinger, is serving a 5-year prison sentence in Michigan after pleading guilty to battering his son so badly the child was confined to a crib and required constant care.

The next time some uninformed person tells you that children need to be in 'traditional families' instead of with loving same-sex couples or single mothers, tell them it didn't work for Payton Ettinger.

Dr. George Tiller Murdered

I am deeply sadden by news of the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a Wichita doctor who was one of the few physicians to perform late-term abortion procedures. Dr. Tiller was shot and killed as he attended church.

Dr. Tiller has provided abortion services since the 1970s, has long been a target of anti-abortion violence. In 1993 he was shot in both arms by an anti-abortion fanatic, but recovered. Dr. Tiller has also come under legal attack, with the most recent being a citizen-initiated grand jury investigation. Dr. Tiller was acquitted in March of charges that he had performed late-term abortions in violation of state law.

This tragedy illustrates the extreme measures anti-abortion fanatics will take in their attempt to control women's reproductive choices -- and it must be treated as domestic terrorism. This is the first murder to take place since the Department of Homeland Security was formed in 2002 and Yikes calls on them to investigate this. The person (or persons) responsible for this tragedy must be captured and brought to justice.

We have lost a brave and compassionate man who placed the well-being of his patients above his own personal safety. In memory of Dr. Tiller we must all rededicate ourselves to insuring women have access to safe and legal abortion.

My heart goes out to his family, friends, coworkers and patients.

Adam Walsh: May He Rest in Peace

In 1984 I had an opportunity to meet John Walsh, father of Adam Walsh who was murdered in 1981. His son's death was still very raw, and he talked about his fear for his family. We were at a fundraising event for the advocacy he was doing on behalf of missing children, hosted by the radio station I worked for at the time.

John Walsh turned his tragedy into a mission that has led him to change laws, helping children and their families nationwide.

Maybe now that his sons case has been closed, the torture he has felt for the past 27 years can be put to rest. The Associated Press reports:

A serial killer who died more than a decade ago is the person who decapitated the 6-year-old son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh in 1981, police in Florida said Tuesday. The announcement brought to a close a case that has vexed the Walsh family for more than two decades, launched the television show about the nation's most notorious criminals and inspired changes in how authorities search for missing children.

"Who could take a 6-year-old and murder and decapitate him? Who?" an emotional John Walsh said at Tuesday's news conference. "We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know. The not knowing has been a torture, but that journey's over." [...]

Police named Ottis Toole, saying he was long the prime suspect in the case and that they had conclusively linked him to the killing. They declined to be specific about their evidence and did not note any DNA proof of the crime, but said an extensive review of the case file pointed only to Toole, as John Walsh long contended.

"Our agency has devoted an inordinate amount of time seeking leads to other potential perpetrators rather than emphasizing Ottis Toole as our primary suspect," said Hollywood Police Chief Chadwick Wagner, who launched a fresh review of the case after taking over the department last year. "Ottis Toole has continued to be our only real suspect."

Toole had twice confessed to killing the child, but later recanted. He claimed responsibility for hundreds of murders, but police determined most of the confessions were lies. Toole's niece told the boy's father, John Walsh, her uncle confessed on his deathbed in prison that he killed Adam.

Wagner acknowledged numerous missteps in the investigation and apologized to the Walshes.

Adam was last seen at a Hollywood, FL, mall on July 27, 1981. Two weeks later his severed head was discovered in a canal 120 miles away. His body was never recovered.

The police have acknowledged they made crucial errors in their handling of the case, and John Walsh has harshly criticized them. But today, he had this to say:

The Walshes, who appeared Tuesday flanked by their other children, long ago derided the investigation as botched. Still, John Walsh praised the Hollywood police department for closing the case.

"This is not to look back and point fingers, but it is to let it rest," he said.

Wishing John Walsh and his family peace this holiday season.

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The politics of distraction and why the "bad man" can't win

Obama has got to stop laughing off the attacks from the McCain/Palin camp as simply the "silly season" in politics. What we have right now is the politics of distraction. McCain/Palin NEED the politics of distraction so that voters won't discover just how aligned their politics are with the current administration.

And LET'S BE CLEAR ABOUT ONE THING ... George W. Bush has nearly destroyed this country. Obama had it right during his acceptance speech when he said "ENOUGH."

We've had ENOUGH of an administration that caters to special interests -- like oil companies, defense contractors, and all the others who have seen their profits go through the ROOF during this administration -- while hard working Americans suffer.

We've had ENOUGH of an administration that can bail out failing corporations but turned a blind eye to families losing their homes.

We've had ENOUGH of an administration that continues to lie to the American people -- lies that have resulted in the deaths of THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.

We've had ENOUGH of an administration so filled with corruption it's getting harder and harder to find even a single person with integrity in ANY department of government.

The political HAS become PERSONAL.

Crime in my neighborhood is skyrocketing. We've had dozens of break-ins, armed robberies and cars stolen in JUST THE PAST FEW MONTHS! The robbers are getting so brazen they are breaking into houses while the owners are home! It's so disconcerting that I just had an alarm system installed. I RESENT feeling afraid in my own home!

To make matters worse, I talked with one of my neighbors last night and she shared a chilling story. I will call my neighbor Bea. Bea and her husband moved next door about three years ago. They are wonderful neighbors -- quiet, their house and yard always look nice, and they are always willing to offer help to anyone who needs it. Bea works as a nanny and sometimes cleans houses for additional income, her husband is a contractor.

Bea had just picked up her daughter from daycare and was driving home. It was a sunny afternoon and she had just been paid by her employer -- in cash. Bea stopped to get gas on the way and had just started filling her tank when a man approached. He jumped into her car, started the engine, and drove off -- with little Abby still in her car seat in the back.

Bea's heart stopped. She was screaming for him to take her purse, take the car, but PLEASE GIVE HER DAUGHTER BACK. The man either didn't hear her, or didn't care. In a split second he, the car, and little Abby were GONE.

Bea started running after her car, screaming at the man. Someone at the station called the police.

I can't even begin to know the horror my dear friend must have felt as she watched her daughter being so violently taken away.

As she was telling me this story my heart stopped. Abby is a beautiful little three year old girl. When I see the two of them together it's not at all uncommon for Abby to come running toward me, with her arms outstretched, wanting me to pick her up. She is so sweet and loving. All I could see was her face.

And then fear was replace by anger. I was angry at George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for their greed -- greed that created a climate where people feel desperate. Some so desperate they will do despicable things. I wanted Bush and Cheney, and all their cronies, in prison -- for a very long time.

This story has a happy ending. The carjacker ditched the car a few miles from the scene of the crime. He took Bea's purse -- with the $300 she had earned that week -- but he left our beautiful little Abby in the back seat.

Another driver saw the car, with the gasoline hose still attached, and called the police. Abby was back in her mothers arms within the hour, and Bea understands just how incredibly lucky she is. She can replace her $300 salary, she can replace all the contents of her purse ... the one thing that could NEVER have been replaced was Abby.

Abby is still traumatized by the incident. When she sees a man who matches the description of the carjacker she begins to cry and asks her parents "is the bad man going to hurt me?"

Now it's personal ... our little Abby is safe and sound at home with her parents. We were lucky -- and I'm using the universal "we" because Abby's safety is the responsibility of ALL OF US ... and WE simply can't let the bad man win ... again.

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Steven Parrish: Killed for being gay

The Baltimore Sun reports:

Two teenagers were ordered held without bail yesterday in the death of a Randallstown High School student who was stabbed and stomped to death after his fellow Bloods gang members found messages on his phone that suggested he was gay.

Steven T. Hollis III, 18, of Randallstown and Juan L. Flythe, 17, of West Baltimore - both of whom are members of the Bloods gang, according to police - were arrested and charged Thursday evening with first-degree murder. They are accused of killing a fellow gang member days before his high school graduation in May.

The body of Steven Parrish, 18, was found May 29 in a wooded area near his parents' home and Woodlawn Cemetery. "

It's awful," Baltimore County prosecutor William B. Bickel said in an interview after yesterday's bail-review hearing in Towson. "You're talking about a gangland-style execution because he was gay. They took him out back in a field and stabbed him to death."

An autopsy revealed that Parrish died of both blunt-force and stabbing injuries, according to court records. He suffered 50 superficial cutting wounds to his arms, neck, head, wrist and hands in addition to one stab wound to the chest that injured his heart and caused significant blood loss. He also had bruises on the left side of his neck.

Clearly these young men are not Boy Scouts, but Steven Parrish has paid a high price for not conforming to a macho culture. His fellow gang members deemed it necessary to kill Steven, least anyone think they were weak for having someone gay in their gang.

On the day before Parrish's death, several members of the gang met at his home, according to charging documents. There, Hollis and Flythe discussed finding what they believed to be "gay" text messages on Parrish's cell phone.

Angered by the messages and a photograph they found, they worried that their Bloods group would appear weak to others if word got out that they had a gay member, according to court records.

Carrie Evans, Policy Director for Equality Maryland, issued a statement about the tragedy.

When you work in the LGBT civil rights movement, you learn to construct a thick wall around your heart as a means to survive. Sometimes though an 18-wheeler comes crashing through that wall.

As I read the story in the Baltimore Sun about the killing of Steven Parrish, I kept re-reading the witness accounts. "...Parrish left his parents' home with another young man and walked toward the woods. About a minute later, the witness and other neighbors heard someone yelling and pleading, "Stop! Why are you doing this to me? I didn't do anything!" His wrongdoing? The insinuation (or fear) he was gay and the implications this had for the gang he was a part of. I kept on imagining the awful things that may have been going through his head as he was being led to his vicious death. Was it the fear of violence and death that many LGBT people feel when someone "discovers" our secret? Was it regret that he hadn't tried hard enough to be straight? Was it sadness that he could not live his life openly and honestly as a young gay man? Was it betrayal that his sexual orientation would trump any familial bonds with his gang brothers? Was it resignation that being murdered is the horrific price one pays for "not being a man?"

I will never know.

I do know that we do this work in hopes that we can create a world that embraces Steven and all of the young, old and in between people who are gay or don't fit into the rigid gender roles that society imposes. We must move out of our isolating silos, whether they are lesbian, black, Muslim, Lakota, or disabled. These silos protect us from nothing but living fully. We sit in our silos reading or watching stories about the murder de jour, the problems with our schools, the lack of affordable housing, the HIV/AIDS crisis and domestic violence, being thankful that our silo is "safe." Once in a while we may even feel a pang of empathy for someone in another silo but don't quite know where to go with that feeling. There is no doubt the societal conditions leading to Steven's death are not easily remedied. There also is no doubt the remedies are not cleverly hidden in our silos and only emerge when we leave the silo.

Commit to step out of your silo, start with small jaunts - tutor at your local public school, stop someone when they are telling a homophobic "joke," don't look away when you walk past a homeless person. Stepping out of the silo may be scary and intimidating, but I know when I step out of mine, I will think of Steven.

It is important for everyone to challenge the homophobia that exists in our culture. And homophobia is rooted in sexism, so we must continue to fight that battle as well. It hurts everyone when even one person is considered "less than" for simply being who they are.

No Justice for Sean Bell

Sean Bell was celebrating with friends the night before he was to be married. It was a bachelor party turned tragic when in the wee hours of the morning -- on his wedding day -- Bell was killed as police officers fired 50 shots at the unarmed man.

The three officers on trial for the shooting were acquitted of all charges today. This simply cannot be justice.

Three detectives were acquitted of all charges Friday in the 50-shot killing of an unarmed groom-to-be on his wedding day, a case that put the NYPD at the center of another dispute involving allegations of excessive firepower.

Justice Arthur Cooperman delivered the verdict in a Queens courtroom packed with spectators, including victim Sean Bell's fiancee and parents, as at least 200 people gathered outside the building. [...]

The officers, complaining that pretrial publicity had unfairly painted them as cold-blooded killers, opted to have the judge decide the case rather than a jury.

Officers Michael Oliver, 36, and Gescard Isnora, 29, stood trial for manslaughter while Officer Marc Cooper, 40, was charged only with reckless endangerment. Two other shooters weren't charged. Oliver squeezed off 31 shots; Isnora fired 11 rounds; and Cooper shot four times.

A conviction on manslaughter could have brought up to 25 years in prison; the penalty for reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, is a year behind bars.

The case brought back painful memories of other NYPD shootings, such as the 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo — an African immigrant who was gunned down in a hail of 41 bullets by police officers who mistook his wallet for a gun. The acquittal of the officers in that case created a storm of protest, with hundreds arrested after taking to the streets in demonstration.

Pictured above is Sean Bell with his fiancee Nicole Paultre and their daughter.


Previously:
Coast to Coast Racism
November 26, 2006

Tragedy strikes another college campus

A gunman has killed 5 students on an Illinois campus, before turning the gun on himself. There has been no reason given yet for the shooting, but a young man walked into a classroom and opened fire before killing himself.

The New York Times reports:

A gunman shot 18 students in a a Northern Illinois University geology class on Thursday afternoon in DeKalb before killing himself, according to witnesses and the authorities.

News organizations reported that four people were killed by the gunman, although that was not immediately confirmed by the university, which last reported that four of the victims were in critical condition. The Chicago Sun-Times and The Chicago Tribune reported that Don Grady, the Northern Illinois University police chief, confirmed the fatalities just after 6 p.m. Central time.Three or four of the victims suffered head wounds, according to a local hospital.

On its Web site, Northern Illinois said that 18 victims were transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb. Eight were listed in stable condition and six were reported in good condition.

The shooting took place on the snowy campus located in DeKalb, about an hour’s drive west of Chicago. One student, George Gaynor, told The Northern Star, the college newspaper, that “a skinny white guy with a stocking cap on” burst through a side door at about 3:05 p.m. Central time, just minutes before the geology class in Cole Hall, with about 150 students in attendance, was to end.

Let's keep the families of these students in our thoughts tonight.

Calling Dr. Phil ... 911 ... Dr. Phil ...

If asked I'm sure most men don't have a clue why their wife/girlfriend/partner is upset. And I would bet they don't think they are the problem in their relationships, but sometimes you just never really know. Take this story for example. Was he being over demanding? Did he push his wife to her limit? Was this the straw that broke the camel's back? What do you think?

A woman who was angry because her husband wanted her to turn up the heat pulled out a gun and shot their flat-screen TV while he cowered behind a pillow, Macomb County authorities say.

The 65-year-old man called 911 Sunday night from the basement of their Washington Township home, about 25 miles north of Detroit.

"My wife's got a gun. She's shooting at me," Joseph Grucz said in the recorded call.

He told the operator that Cheryl Grucz, 61, was angry because he wanted the heat turned up. She fired a round while he hid his head in a pillow, striking the plasma TV, then went upstairs, the Detroit Free Press said.

"She's all excited about it because she's so cheap," the husband said.

His wife, who had picked up another extension, told the operator she wanted to tell her side.

"I'm not going to hurt him. He has pushed me over the edge, that was all," Cheryl Grucz said, according to a recording obtained by WXYZ-TV. "He has had a stroke, and he's taking it all out on me."

"No I'm not," her husband said.

"Yes, he is," she told the dispatcher.

Cheryl Grucz was arraigned Monday in Romeo District Court on a charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, a charge with a top penalty of 10 years in prison. She also faces a felony firearms charge. Grucz was freed on $50,000 bond until a preliminary examination Jan. 15.

The judge also ordered her to enroll in a domestic violence program, WDIV-TV said.

So, should this woman go to jail? What do you think? Inquiring minds want to know.

Is there a connection?

The dollar is shrinking, people are losing their homes, the UAW has called a nationwide strike for the first time in 37 years, and there is a steep rise in violent crime. Gee, do you think there could be a connection?

Violent crime in the United States rose more than previously believed in 2006, continuing the most significant increase in more than a decade, according to an FBI report released yesterday.

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program found that robberies surged by 7.2 percent and homicides rose 1.8 percent from 2005 to 2006. Violent crime overall rose 1.9 percent, substantially more than an increase of 1.3 percent estimated in a preliminary FBI report in June.

The jump was the second in two years, following a 2.3 percent rise in 2005. Taken together, the two years represent the first steady increase in violent crime since 1993, FBI records show.

The uptick presents a significant political challenge for the Bush administration, which has faced growing criticism from congressional Democrats, big-city mayors and police chiefs for presiding over cuts in federal assistance to local law enforcement agencies over the past six years.

I'll let you decide.