Choosing to be straight

Here are the sample ballots for Jefferson County for the November 2, 2010 election. There are several ballots there, because there are County Commission races and state legislator races and such where everyone does not have the same choices so they will receive different ballots.

The ballot is continued on the back.

There are 44 races on the ballot, if I counted correctly. If not, it's close. There are a lot of candidates to become familiar with in order to make a decision as to who to vote for.

There are a few races that you might be familiar with: Governor, Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, but how about State Board of Education District 4? Quick, tell me the candidates.

But there is a solution. Use this quick guide to voting provided by Bessemer Opinions.

Make one mark on the ballot.




Straight Party Voting.

Mark "Alabama Democratic Party" on your ballot.

Remember, if you are voting for Republicans you are supporting a party whose members want to do away with Social Security, wants to take health care away from those who now have it, want to increase unemployment in our state, want to do away with the 14th Amendment, want to re-criminalize homosexuality, want to take away a woman's right to choose even in the case of rape or incest, want to allow Wall Street to run rampant, who don't believe the part of the 1st Amendment about not establishing a religion, who want students to carry guns to class, who want to censor books like mine, that have gay characters or are written by gay authors, who want to demonize immigrants, who want to remain in Afghanistan for 1000 years, who disagree with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (If you aren't familiar with these issues and the Republicans that support these positions, ask me in the comments section).

This picture is actually a message to those 19th century holdovers that believe one's sexual orientation is a choice.



This is one time that flaunting your straightness is allowed.

I decided I will be straight, on November 2. A Straight Democratic Party voter, that is.

Won't you be Straight with me?

The bad news

Two more young gay people have taken their lives this week. There is so much hatred directed toward these kids that they cannot see the love and support that the LGBT community and our allies have been sending their way over the last few weeks (actually all long, it's just been more publicized over the last few weeks).

Corey Jackson was one of the boys. Corey was 19 years old, and a student at Oakland University. He hanged himself on Tuesday.

“Corey lived to please people; he lived to make everyone around him happy,” his friend Justine Roy said. “He gave off this positive aura, this positive vibe that you couldn’t help but be happy and smile.”



The president of Corey's fraternity, TKE, Nick McCormick, said “I think the bullying may have something to do with it; maybe it was some negative support he may have gotten. If I had to give it a guess, the perception of his lifestyle might have had an effect on him.”

Other published reports say bullying did not play a role, but I can see where officials would try to sweep that under the rug. The family says bullying is to blame.

The other young man was Terrel Williams, a 17 year old student from Beverly Hills. He left a suicide note.

“I’m sorry to my immediate loved ones, but I feel suicide is the only way out. I felt coming out, and being happy with Daric, was the best thing I could’ve ever done. But I didn’t think it would lead to my death at an early age.

“Today, was the record worst day of my life, some kids at school stole some of my stuff that I got from people I really cared about, and that really pushed me over the top, next to being shoved into a wall, and my ribs being broken.”

His mother released this statement after an errant picture and some errant information was released.

So I am not posting a picture of Terrel.


Two thirds of Americans believe churches contribute to gay suicides. Obviously.

President Obama has come on board to tell young people "It Gets Better."

The good news (and an endorsement)

Hey, good news. The lawsuit challenging Ken Gulley's residency was dismissed yesterday afternoon. I wonder how many more frivolous lawsuits will be filed before he's sworn in.

A reader left a comment that I found interesting.

The irony is that Jessie Burrell is Gaston Randall's mother. Gaston ran for City Council in Bessemer using his office as his home address - he really lived in Lipscomb, where he later ran and became a city council person (forced from office due to scandal). I never heard her say anything about Gaston. In fact, her political action group, the Voter's League, actually endorsed Gaston in that election. This is the same group (Burrell, Dudley, McAdory, et al)that were supporters of Ed May.

At least they are providing some comedy in a city that really needs to lighten up a bit.

In other election news the race for Ag commissioner is not too exciting. Let me say this, though, we've had a good one, that being Ron Sparks. He's right when he tells us that his history of expanding markets for our agricultural products indicates he has the experience necessary for talking with foreign interests and such in bringing business to the state. So, yes, vote for Ron Sparks for governor.

And speaking of governor, what is with Bob Riley wanting to increase unemployment in the state again by closing Indian casinos. What kind of legacy is he trying to create? Hey, cowboy Bob, Indian casinos are regulated by Federal law. Send your task force in there and let's see what happens.

But I'm interested in the race to replace Sparks as Ag commissioner. Democrat Glen Zorn is running against Republican John McMillan. Zorn has been assistant commissioner of Agriculture. McMillan has served in the legislature.

A letter writer in the Birmingham News today gave an endorsement for Zorn.

Zorn will not need any on the job training. He is an able administrator, a fiscal conservative and proven public servant.

The other day John McMillan was a guest on the Lee Davis talk radio show. They had talked about some agriculture programs at Auburn, and Davis asked if there were any other ag programs in the state, such as at junior colleges or tech schools. McMillan replied that he didn't know. And he wants to be Ag Commissioner? Hint, there are. Horticulture programs are just one example.

Here's an interview with Zorn where he covers the issues important to Alabama.




And here's his ad. "Zorn. Glen Zorn."





Visit Glen Zorn's web site here.

Vote for Glen Zorn for Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries.

Still waiting on a phone call

I hope the Bessemer Board of Education realizes I'm serious.

I went by there yesterday, wearing my purple "Port St. Joe" t-shirt, to follow up on the letter I sent last week, and to get a copy of the Bessemer bullying policy.

I was unable to meet with the person I had sent the letter to, and was told he would give me a call, but I haven't heard anything. I'll go back today, and every day, until I get to speak to someone, and until we see a change in the policy.

Update: I went back this morning and was still unable to anyone. I was, however, told that I needed to speak with Mr. Foster, the superintendent. He is who I mailed the letter to, so he knows why I am trying to contact him. In fact, in the letter, I told him I would.

Why am I pursuing this? Because the Bessemer policy has not been updated since 2008. The Student Harassment Prevention Act was passed in 2009, and required the policy to be updated by July 2010.

The Board knows this. I mean, even if they didn't get word from the State Department of Education, surely they had seen my column in the Western Tribune (you know, that weekly newspaper that used to be), where I mentioned it in a story about gay kids getting a break.

The model policy developed by the state lists the following personal characteristics regarding harassment: race, sex, religion, national origin and disability.

Bessemer does not even do this. There is no list.

The law states "Based upon experience, a local board of education may add, but not remove, characteristics from the list. The additional characteristics or perceived characteristics that cause harassment shall be identified by the local board on a case-by-case basis and added to the local board policy. The list shall be included in the code of conduct policy of each local board."

And from Fort Worth

You've seen the video of Fort Worth council person Joel Burns delivering his emotional message at the city council meeting.

Joel and his husband, political consultant J. D. Angle, were on the Lawrence O'Donnell show yesterday.

If you haven't heard the part of Burns' speech that describes him popping the question it's included in this video. Nice.




If you haven't seen the entire 12 minutes of Joel's speech, watch this. Watching the full 12 minutes is much different than watching the 30 seconds or so that we've seen on the news. You can use a few minutes of your time to watch this. Heck, you're surfing the internet anyway. Slow down and watch.




I'm just wondering if we live in a community where elected officials would feel comfortable speaking out like this. Will the leaders in Bessemer, the new council and the new school board, step up to the plate and move this city forward, helping to make it into a city, and a school system, that values all of its citizens and students and provides a safe environment for learning?

Time will tell.

Take her with you!!!

Update: Breaking news (around 4:30) - a Bessemer judge has dismissed the challenge to Ken Gulley's election.

***********

Another challenge to the election of Ken Gulley as mayor has been filed by the same person, Jessie Burrell, that filed the earlier suit that was thrown out. The election had to be certified before it could be challenged.

She lays out 20 points in a statement which according to her prove that Gulley does not live in Bessemer.

This suit was filed Friday.

The entire statement from Burrell is printed in the Western Star today.

I don't understand statement number 1.

"1. On October 5, 2010 the City of Bessemer held an election for the office of Mayor. Ten persons, including Ms. Burrell and Mr. Gulley, declared themselves candidates for the office."

First of all, ten people did not declare themselves candidates for mayor. There were two people on the ballot on October 5, Ken Gulley and Ed May. It was a runoff. Ms. Burrell was not on the ballot on October 5, having lost her city council bid. And she was never on the ballot in the mayor's race. And there were never 10 people in the race.

If the wording of this statement is any indication of the inteligence behind this case, they have no chance.

I have the court documents that she filed. Here is the first page out of 5.



When you read the Western Star, what you read is actually what she wrote.

The Western Star, in their "Why?" column, says this suit is a joke. Among other things:

"Over 70 percent of the people of Bessemer have said, "May go back to Mobile or go back to Birmingham."


Can I add, take Jessie Burrell with you?


Ms. Burrell is not asking the court to find Mr. Gulley unqualified based on legal grounds, it seems. She concludes with "wherefore, premises considered, Plaintiff prays that this court will take jurisdiction...The Plaintiff further prays that upon this declaration, that Mayor May be declared the winner of the election..."



I pray that this case will be thrown out before it makes Bessemer look even more foolish. I mean, here's a guy that over 70% of the people want out. 4,145 people voted for Gulley, 1,543 voted for May. Yet he still has his minions fighting for him?

I notice on page 5 there was instruction to the sheriff to serve the defendant at ... his Hueytown address. No, his Bessemer address. Wait, it's f**ked up.

Kenneth D. Gulley

306 Westlake Circle SW (that's his Bessemer address that he swore to in his affidavit)

Hueytown, AL 35023 (that's his former city of residence, and zip code)


Will the sheriff even be able to deliver it?

Of course, legal issues are unpredictable. Bessemer Opinions will be following this.

It Gets Purple (and purple is better)

This is a colorful blog. We've turned pink for the month of October (and turning pink has messed up our format a bit, the videos overload some if the sidebar items, but that's OK, for a while. If you're new, Bessemer Opinions is normally not this sloppy looking).

And for today, we are purple, to bring awareness to the problem of bullying in schools.

We are getting ready for fall around here. More pictures below.

If you've kept up with this blog for the past couple of weeks, you already know how concerned we are about the bullying problem. Well over 200 people have sent letters to their state Senators and lots of people are wearing purple today. If you haven't sent a letter, please go here, add a personal note to the suggested text, and send it away. We do the work. We print out your letter and deliver it to the senator.

The employees of Google say that it gets better.





I've not reported much on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell developments, one reason being is that by the time I write something and you see it, other new developments have occurred. But this is neat. Dan Choi has re-enlisted in the army as an openly gay man.

Now, we all love Hillary. She's joined in with those making "It Gets Better" videos. From the heart, and compassionately, she makes the case. and sounds very presidential in doing so. Ahem.




I've added a new blog to My Blog List on the sidebar. Shadetree Theology is the reflections of a man who is still recovering, if I may, from being a minister in a "charismatic/Pentecostal" denomination, and having to break through that cloud when he came out as a gay man. He is going through a lot of what I did with his family, and he reveals a lot of the unfairness of the process of divorce and trying to do so amicably. Been there. There are hundreds if not thousands of such stories, but Trey is local. Trey, I can offer you this: It does get better.

Today I am visiting the Bessemer School Board. This could be interesting. If you are a Bessemer student, read this.

I think there are going to be some stories about Bessemer in the next two weeks, but for now, things are calm and cool. Martha would be proud of my fall decor.

Deep Purple

Tomorrow I'm going to be purple.

You should too.

Wear purple on Wednesday as a way of demanding safe schools. Let people know why you are wearing purple. Teens gotta feel safe.

Specifically, in Alabama, the Student Harassment Prevention Act which was signed into law last year neglected to include sexual orientation and gender identity or expression while offering protection for such things as race and religion as characteristics about which students should not be harassed or bullied. In other words, kids can get away with calling fellow students fag or queer or pansy until that kid begins to skip school or harms them self. But use a racial slur, or challenge someone's disability, and it stops right there.

"Oh, the gays are screaming again about a perceived problem that really doesn't exist," you might say.

A survey by the Alabama Safe Schools Coalition of Alabama high school students revealed some startling facts.

59% have been verbally harassed at school (called a derogatory word)

22% have been physically harassed

58% have had mean rumors or lies spread by other students

Remember, these are Alabama students. These actions have consequences.

34% felt unsafe at school

18% have skipped school because of harassment

60% report they have been unable to concentrate in classes

36% report they have had lower grades because of harassment

43% report they have had thoughts of suicide

These are students in our schools. 43% are thinking of suicide.

Harassment and bullying is affecting their grades.

And the problem is not just with other students.

29% felt that they had been treated unfairly by their teachers or administrators.

Over 50% reported problems with anger, self esteem issues, and increased problems interacting with peers. Significant numbers also report feelings of spiritual isolation, eating disorders and headaches.

It could be your kids, or your grand kids, or your niece or nephew being harassed. and it affects all the kids, not just the gay ones.

So do this.

First, go here to send a message to your state Senator. Over 180 messages have already been generated, including a good number from Bessemer. Priscilla Dunn will be getting the message, but I am 100% sure that she is already on the right side of this issue. But we want the Alabama Senators to know that they can fix this problem by passing an "upgrade" to the bill to include sexual orientation and gender identity or expression..

2. Wear purple on Wednesday, and tell people why.

Now, you don't have to go this far. This Brit boy turned his whole self purple.




Now I am about to make a major upgrade to my laptop. So I may come back here tomorrow very happy, or I may not come back at all. But regardless, I'll be (wearing) purple.

And, I'm reminded of my favorite Deep Purple song from the days in my parent's basement when there was a smoky haze in the air. You might be more familiar with the Tina Turner version, or even Celine Dion, but this is the original, and the instrumentals at about the 3:00 mark are unbelievable.

River Deep Mountain High