Peter Lien

Why print media is dead and where we are going now.

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:30:00 +0000

Repeal DADT Now! Ethan Geto says.

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:28:00 +0000

To the Editor:

Dear Sir,

Thanks to Gay City News for your consistently excellent news coverage and exceptionally insightful editorials. However, as an LGBT activist since 1971 and a public policy consultant who has provided pro bono public relations services for the past decade to the Palm Center/Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California/Santa Barbara, I must strongly disagree with your editorial of July 29th, 2009, "Some Perspective on Washington" in which you criticize some LGBT activists for pushing for immediate suspension of Don't Ask, Don't Tell by executive order of the President/Commander-in-Chief, arguing "Without a clear buy-in from the military and decisive support in Congress, Obama would be walking into the same firing squad that doomed Bill Clinton’s effort to integrate the Armed Forces."

Your logic in recommending that President Obama NOT act to immediately suspend Don't Ask, Don't Tell is literally fatally flawed. How many soldiers' lives – straight or gay – should continue to be sacrificed because services of an Arab-language interrogator, a medic or a highly-trained and decorated combat hero is unavailable because they were dismissed on a totally irrational premise? Your central argument that President Obama would be walking into a political firing squad akin to Bill Clinton's experience when he sought to open military service to openly gay personnel in 1993 fails to take into account that public support for repeal of this policy since 1993 has grown to overwhelming proportions. Every major national poll shows not only that a vast majority of Democratic voters support immediate repeal, but so do clear majorities of Republican voters and self-described conservatives; there is simply no political "trap" for President Obama in immediately suspending Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It's astonishing to me that even some of our own organizational leaders don't grasp what 16 years in contemporary culture means. Think of the political, cultural and social differences between 1940 and 1956, or 1956 and 1972. Tremendous shifts occur during 16-year periods in our fast-transitioning global and national cultures, but at the risk of mixing metaphors, some people want to fight the last war over again.

While you argue that President Obama should spend time getting "buy-in" from Congress and the Pentagon, gay men and women are daily being drummed out of the service, including many mission-critical personnel. Also, and critically, the tens of thousands of closeted gay and lesbian personnel in the armed forces will continue to live in fear – not fear of the Taliban or Al Qaeda, but because their careers may be destroyed. This high anxiety among gay service members is what contributes to any possible breach of unit cohesion – no one functions at their best while living a lie. President Obama has said that repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a matter of national security, and he's right. If the President truly believes that ending this harmful policy is a matter of national security, then the only rational response is for the President to suspend Don't Ask, Don't Tell immediately and stop the hemorrhaging of expensively-trained and urgently-needed troops.

The GCN editorial spoke of the need to gain "buy-in" from the military. The Palm Center has held dozens of meetings with high-level strategists and planners in the Pentagon – and almost every one of these senior officers is eager for repeal. They know that commanders in theatres of combat are typically distraught when they are about to lose their gay soldiers because so many of them are invaluable to the mission. And recent studies have shown that a majority of new recruits are perfectly comfortable serving alongside openly gay troops and that a large number of returning combat veterans say they knew gay personnel in their units and were not troubled by their presence. So this supposedly difficult transition will be relatively smooth. Why wait until the antediluvian block in Congress relents?

Rep. Patrick Murphy, Democrat of Pennsylvania, a terrific young Congressman and Iraq combat veteran who is leading the effort to gather support in Congress for repeal – and with whom I had an opportunity to talk this week – should keep on aggressively gathering votes for full repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But that effort would be not at all inconsistent with an order by the Commander-in-Chief immediately suspending this appalling policy while Congressman Murphy continues to round up votes for repeal. But because Rep. Murphy knows that the President doesn't want to administratively suspend Don't Ask, Don't Tell, as a good soldier he is cooperating with the President's misconceived political assessment.

This is a rare instance when our community can rightfully claim the mantle of national security to support a key plank of our policy agenda. We should do – and aggressively press the President to do the right thing, and do it now.

Respectfully, Ethan Geto

Summer Luvin'

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Just finished helping my friend Bradford complete his first VBLOG entry for his very successful weekly commentary on Gay.com titled "Dating Bradford"...

National Healthcare Now?

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:53:00 +0000

If not now, then when? The current "system" is not working and only a cooperative national system will work.
"To pay for cancer care, Americans report they would take a variety of dire steps. Nearly seven out of ten (66%) report they would go on government assistance to pay the cost of cancer treatment. Four out of ten or more would sell their cars (48%) or their homes (38%), would borrow the money (44%) or declare bankruptcy (40%). Fully one third (33%) say they would simply stop the cancer treatment."

Anyone who defends the current for profit healthcare system is simply out of touch with reality.

Americans Fear Paying for Cancer Treatment As Much As Dying of the Disease
A recent survey commissioned by The Community Oncology Alliance (COA), a non-profit organization dedicated solely to community oncology, underscores concerns Americans have about the cost of cancer detection and treatment.

Peter's Shamanic Journey - 1999 to 2005

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:16:00 +0000

New Vision - Bold plan - Moral Choice - Economic Freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:57:00 +0000

Every so often an idea is launched that when you hear it you know deep inside of you that it will change the world. Meet Shai Agassi and listen to his plan that is already in action towards changing the world. Removing OIL BURNING cars from the road forever within 10 years.

New work for Penn Medicine

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:08:00 +0000

Memorial Day Weekend and Pink Floyd.

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:32:00 +0000

Keith Brand of WXPN explains his bizarre shopping habits and Pink Floyd. Celebration of Matty Hart's birthday. Narration by Chris (Lady) Bartlett on Gay sensibilities. Shot and edited by: Peter Lien

Patient Clarity - Peter and Scott focus on healthcare

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:08:00 +0000

This video is about our new focus on low impact and low profile shooting for healthcare and pharma industry. Check out the video.

Call your Congressperson or Senator on this issue today!

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 23:09:00 +0000

06/05/2008

Human Rights Groups Demand Immediate Release

For Immediate Release
June 5, 2008

Media Contact:
Frank Mugisha, SMUG, +256 772 616 062
Victor Juliet Mukasa, IGLHRC, +27 762 544 951

Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) today condemned the arrests of three Ugandan LGBT activists and called for their immediate and unconditional release. The three -- Onziema Patience, (an FTM transgender, 28), Valentine Kalende (female, age 27) and Auf (male, age 26) -- were arrested yesterday morning by the Uganda Police Force at the 2008 HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting currently taking place in Kampala, Uganda. Along with other LGBT and HIV and AIDS activists, they were peacefully protesting statements made by a Ugandan government official that no funds would be directed toward HIV programs targeting men who have sex with men. SMUG and IGLHRC have fears for the safety of the three activists.

On 2 May, 2008, Kihumuro Apuuli, Director General of the Uganda AIDS Commission, stated that, "gays are one of the drivers of HIV in Uganda, but because of meagre resources we cannot direct our programmes at them at this time." The SMUG activists staged a peaceful protest at the HIV Implementers meeting to protest the Minister’s statements and gross neglect on the part of the Ugandan government in responding to a growing HIV epidemic among the country’s LGBT community. They were arrested and detained at the Jinja Road Police Station immediately after taking the stage at the meeting, distributing leaflets and holding up small placards demanding attention to HIV vulnerability among LGBT.

"Today I realized how dangerous it is for us LGBTI people to express our constitutional rights,” said Frank Mugisha, Co-Chairperson of SMUG. “I am worried about my comrades who are in police custody.”

According to a recent report by the University of Nairobi and the Population Council, gay men in neighboring Kenya have a sero prevalence rate of 26%. Twenty-six years since the beginning of the epidemic, Uganda hasn’t implemented a single program to prevent transmission of HIV among men who have sex with men in the East African nation.

“The remarks made by the head of the AIDS Commission were very disturbing to members of the LGBT community,” said Kasha Jacqueline, Chairperson of Freedom and Roam Uganda, a lesbian organization in Uganda. “If they want us to die, let them ask themselves if they wish themselves the same. Excluding us is just going to make the situation worse.”

The HIV Implementer’s Meeting is an annual event described as an opportunity for HIV program implementers to share lessons learned and best practices in the scale-up of HIV/AIDS programs. It is co-sponsored by the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), UNAIDS, the World Bank, the Global Fund, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+). IGLHRC is also requesting that the co-sponsors of the Implementers’ Meeting contact the Ugandan Government to demand the release of these activists.

“Gay men and lesbians are not ‘drivers of disease’,” said Paula Ettelbrick, Executive Director of IGLHRC. “Homophobia drives HIV. Silence drives HIV.”

In November 2004, the Ugandan government fined a local broadcaster, Radio Simba for airing a program that discussed anti-gay discrimination and the need for HIV/AIDS services for lesbians and gay men. The government claimed that Radio Simba had violated federal law promoting broadcasting that is contrary to “public morality.”

Happy Inaugeration Day!!

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:13:00 +0000

On the Philadelphia Mall - Independence Hall on Inaugeration Day with Jay Lassiter.

Skylar Fein speaks about community rising from ash

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:40:00 +0000

Remember the Upstairs Lounge, Prospect.1 New Orleans

"On the night of June 24, 1973, an arsonist set fire to the stairway leading to the Upstairs Lounge, a popular gay men's club in the French Quarter. With no escape, desperate patrons, some of whom had been singing around the piano moments before, chose between jumping from the windows and facing the blaze. Thirty-two died; 15 others were badly burned. From the street below, charred bodies could be seen in the smoke-darkened windows. As reporter Angus Lind, then a writer for The States-Item, understated: "It was not pretty." Though a disgruntled customer was suspected of the crime, no one was convicted.
Some remember the fire as the stunning event that emotionally bonded the Crescent City gay community. Some remember it as a senseless loss of life and nothing more."

Skylar Fein a former Philadelphia resident and Radical Faerie moved to New Orleans shortly before Katrina hit.

http://blog.nola.com/dougmaccash/2008/11/fein_pages.html

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:18:00 +0000

It's almost Christmas time!

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:59:00 +0000

This year has been an interesting one. The country is going through it but my photography work has been booming! Strange. Well Eric and I are moved into a new house and we both feel a bit like a steamroller ran us up and down and I just found out that the first heating bill came to 535 dollars! So I hope that I will be able to get the new heater installed soon so I can start cutting down on the bills.

Chris Bartlett will be moving into our house now in March and not January which allows Eric and I a little more time to chill out and all that.

What is on tap for next year? Well a new kitchen for one and I will be doing a bit of traveling to Africa in the spring too.

Looking forward to a white and snowy new year!

Peace!

Peter

Thanksgiving Message from President Elect Obama

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:29:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:47:00 +0000

Eric and I moved into our new house on 47th Street this week just in time for Thanksgiving Day.

Proposition 8, Homophobia, and Racism

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:19:00 +0000

Joint Statement by
Leaders of Metropolitan Community Churches,
The Fellowship and Unity Fellowship Church Movement

November 13, 2008

"We affirm that there are no separate battles in the fight
for human equality. The struggle for LGBT equality stands in
solidarity with the struggles of people of color, immigrants, and
all who still seek basic human and civil rights."

Only days ago, the United States elected its first African American president. That evening, the LGBT community heard our names included in the election night speech of the new President-elect.

On that same day, in California, Arizona and Florida, the same voters who made that historic moment possible also voted to eliminate the constitutional right of LGBT people to marry those we love. This vote was yet another painful reminder of the unfinished work of achieving civil and human rights for LGBT people in our country.

The LGBT community is blessed with institutions that continue to perform private and religious wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples - but this neither justifies nor compensates for denying full equality under the civil marriage laws to one group of citizens.

Together, we must continue on the journey toward justice and equality. There is no turning back.

We reject efforts to blame African American and Latino communities for the passage of Proposition 8; to do so is to yield to simplistic, false, and racist reactions. All communities in California, and in other states with anti-gay legislation, contributed to the outcome.

We acknowledge the particular vulnerability of African American and Latino LGBT people, who have experienced racist backlash from the white LGBT community over the passage of Proposition 8. We must not tolerate such actions.

We affirm that there are no separate battles in the fight for human equality. The battle for LGBT equality is also the battle for racial and ethnic equality. The struggle for LGBT equality stands in solidarity with the struggles of people of color, immigrants, and all who still seek basic human and civil rights.

The truth is this: In the vote on Proposition 8, misinformation, under the guise of religious tradition and representing many communities of people, ethnicities and races, was our greatest opponent. Those who bought into the arguments in favor of Proposition 8 are victims of misinformation; they demonstrate the magnitude of the need for public education.

In contrast with the campaign of misinformation that led to the passage of Proposition 8, we are called, above all else, to be truth-tellers. The truth is that we all deserve to be treated equally under the law.

We value the role of public rallies, marches, protests and peaceful, non-violent civil disobedience in the long-term struggle for civil rights and commend those who, by their participation in such activities, give a public face to our love and our lives. We disavow all use of violence.

We support the many paths of activism, including the use of the courts to protect our rights and civil disobedience to focus public attention on injustice. And we affirm that the task of public education remains our deepest calling.

Progressive communities of faith must effectively engage our call to be public educators. Money and advertising, alone, will not secure the hearts and minds of our neighbors. To the wider community, we must make the convincing case that our country is best served by treating all people equally under the law, thereby fulfilling the promise of our nation's founding creeds.

And because so much of the opposition to marriage equality is religion-based, we must help those in the Christian faith to effectively grapple with the question, "Would Jesus discriminate?" For all people of faith, we must make the convincing case that only good can come from recognizing and protecting love and commitment, and that the separation of church and state is still the best safeguard for all of our religious freedoms. It is our witness to these truths that will win the day.

As leaders of Metropolitan Community Churches, The Fellowship, and Unity Fellowship Church Movement, we affirm our commitment to challenge ourselves and our communities to represent the best of our respective faith traditions, by seeking to treat and respond to others, even our opponents, as we ourselves want to be treated.

We covenant, as leaders of divergent faith traditions, to honor our differences, while remaining true to our deepest convictions, and to respond in ways that extinguish, rather than fan, the flames of bigotry that are rooted in racism and homophobia.

Racism, sexism, and homophobia are diseases of the soul that taint movements for equality. We commit ourselves to work for an end to all our divisions, until at last we stand together as one people, equal both in the eyes of God and the laws of this nation.

signed

Bishop Yvette Flunder
The Fellowship

Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches

Bishop Tonyia Rawls
Unity Fellowship Church Movement

Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, Vice-Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches

Marriage Equality Protest in Philadelphia NO ON 8

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:58:00 +0000

Marriage Equality NO ON 8 protest - Philadelphia (HD Version) from Speck on Vimeo.

Visiting Japan in Philadelphia. Guess where?

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:31:00 +0000

Our new home.

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:22:00 +0000

Big News!

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:28:00 +0000

Eric and I are moving to West Philadelphia to our new house on 47th Street in the Garden District! Considering all that was going on in the world I am very grateful that we were able to find a wonderful old house (built in 1915) that needs some updating and find a buyer for our house in Fairmont all in three months! I will miss walking our dogs in the park, Lemon Hill but am looking forward to our new neighborhood!

Check out more photos of our new house: http://gallery.me.com/peterlien1#100066&view=grid&bgcolor=black&sel=6

Election Day, Philadelphia 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:58:00 +0000

Election Day for is always a special day for me. I live in Philadelphia in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and this year I again volunteered to drive people to the polls. Usually I have canvased but this year I felt the age speak to me loudly through my left knee.

My first ride was an older man who said he was voting for McCain but the rest of the day was all Obama voters, disabled and older voters who mostly need a ride just a short distance.

I really enjoy doing this service for my community helping get voters to the right polling place. I feel it is my responsibility but it is also a tradition for me that I do to honor my father and mother both who have passed on. The day was leading me to many polling places, each time meeting wonderful people I would have never have met. This is something my father would have loved to do with me, and I find myself on election day with the memory of my father lingering with me, feeling his pride in me as a father feels for his son.

The reality of driving people is varied with mostly people showing up in the wrong place and needing help . One voter needed a 25 mile ride to her polling place outside the city and as darkness came to the city I picked her up on the corner of Diamond and 25th Street. She is a single mother in her 20's with two children who are both teens, she is attending Temple University. I asked her how she could do it, go to school and raise her children. She laughed and said thank you so much for helping me make my vote count, I thought for a moment that I was never going to make it to the polling place in Abington. I asked her about her boys and we spoke about the difficult times she was having with them. I could see in her eyes that she was longing for her boys to have a male role model. She cried thinking about it. I then asked her if she knew if her sons had a hero, someone they looked up to, and she stopped crying and looked at me reflecting on the question.

After a while she said no, they have nobody to look up to. Then I turned to her and said, tell them that they have a hero now.

She smiled at me and said, you are amazing and Peter, I will never forget this day.

Either will I.

Watching the coverage later that night after the election was called, I noticed that white people on TV needed to ask black people if this was a great day and how it felt for them. But as a person who has light skin I find that question odd.

For me the question should be asked to all the people of color including white people. After all these years, we as white people have finally found a way to move forward and see a man as he is, respect, love and admire him, then place our hopes in him to lead us to a promised land. Ask me too how I feel and I will tell you I cried tears of JOY!

Register to Vote!

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:26:00 +0000

Welcome Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:34:00 +0000

On Voting.

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Lien) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:42:00 +0000